The time is almost upon us that I leave my home here is Salem, Oregon and head out to do the Lord's work. This blog will
hopefully be updated weekly by my parents. To start it off, I will post my farewell talk that was used in both of my church wards:
On the 20th
of August, my mom texted me while I was at work with the words, “It’s here.” It
was obvious that she was referring to my mission call, as we weren't waiting
for anything else. I quickly finished up work for the day and headed home, full
of anticipation. Not so long story short, I opened up my mission call with
family and friends watching via YouTube and read that I would be going to the
California San Fernando mission. That’s definitely not where I expected to go;
I was hoping for Canada or Japan. But
nonetheless, that’s where the Lord has called me, and so I shall go and do the
things the Lord commands.
For years I've
been thinking about going on a mission. Pretty much my entire life has been
focused on this one thing. But, being honest, a couple years ago I didn’t
really want to go on a mission anymore. I was quickly slapped out of that by
the Spirit when it told me that if I don’t go, I’m going to miss something
really huge in my life that I need. Kind of hard to ignore a prompting like
that.
I was asked to
give a talk from the Saturday afternoon session from the most recent General
Conference by Elder S. Gifford Nielson entitled “Hastening the Lord’s Game
Plan”. He asked a question that I think we should all take a moment to think
about: What would you do if the prophet of the Lord really called you? In his
talk, the question came to his mind after a phone call where a young boy
shouted to his mother that President Hinckley was on the phone, when in
actuality it was not. His answer to the question though is that he has called all of us already. President
Thomas S. Monson said, “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come
together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto
Him.”
We've all been
called to do the work. There’s a phrase that often gets said around here that
states that Every Member is a Missionary. The only difference between you and
me is that I got a fancy paper that told me where I could best go serve the
Lord. Another difference is that you’re all allowed to go see the second part
of the Hobbit, while I can’t. Now, how can we as member missionaries to our
duty to God? I will let Elder S. Gifford Nielson answer that, as how he says it
is better than I could say it:
First,
specifically pray to bring someone closer to the Savior and His gospel every
day. You could do this by seeing all people as sons and daughters of God
helping each other on their journey home. Think of the new friends you would
make.
Second, pray for
the missionaries serving in your area and their investigators by name every
day. The only way to do this is to greet them, look at their badge, call them
by name, and ask them who they are teaching. Elder Russell M. Nelson wisely
contributed, “Until you know a person’s name and face, the Lord cannot help you
know his or her heart.”
Third, invite a
friend to an activity in or out of your home. Wherever you go or whatever you
do, ponder who would enjoy the occasion and then listen to the Spirit as He
directs you.
Everyone on this
earth is a son or daughter of our Heavenly Father, who loves us dearly no
matter how far we stray from Him. He knows us better than anyone, including
ourselves. When we pray every day to bring someone closer to the Savior and His
gospel, and if we truly want to do it in our hearts, He will guide us to those
who need to meet us every day of our lives. It could be as simple as making
sure you’re living the gospel standards, or saying hi to a stranger on the
street. Every little thing we can do, while having the spirit with us, can
plant those seeds needed in the hearts of others that are needed to grow into
the learning and comfort of the gospel we all openly enjoy.
Elder S. Gifford
Nielson’s second point is to pray for the missionaries serving in your area.
Greeting them, getting to know them personally, and supporting all that they
do. When a ward or branch strongly supports the missionaries and their purpose,
the love of the members can much more easily be seen by investigators in the
church. Missionaries feel at home and more comfortable when we get to know
them, and their hearts and the hearts of those they teach will be much more
receptive to the teachings of the spirit.
His third point is
to invite a friend or two to an activity in or out of your home. While being
kind for those strangers around us and talking to them, nothing is more
effective then talking with your friends. Around them, you can be more open and
they may be more willing to come with you to activities. Not necessarily
church, but you can invite them to Family Home Evenings, ward activities,
barbeques, ice-skating, whatever it is that your ward or family is doing.
There are plenty
of ways we can spread the gospel around us, from the small things to the big
things. What will always be the best thing to get across though is the Spirit.
Without it, there will be no true teaching. When we go and do with a heart full
of song and the spirit accompanying us, anything is possible, and anyone can be
taught.
I would like to
continue by reading a story from Elder S. Gifford Nielson’s talk about a pair
of shoes:
My awakening to
these unique verses [these versus were quoted prior to the story] played an
important role in my first assignment as an Area Seventy. I was a bit nervous
being the companion of an Apostle, Elder Quentin L. Cook, at a stake
conference. As I walked into the stake president’s office for the initial
meeting that weekend, I noticed a pair of tattered-looking, bronzed shoes on
the credenza behind his desk, accompanied by a scripture ending in an
exclamation point. As I read it, I felt the Lord was aware of my study, had
answered my prayers, and that He knew exactly what I needed to soothe my
anxious heart.
I asked the stake
president to tell me the story of the shoes.
He said:
“These are shoes
of a young convert to the Church whose family situation was strained, yet he
was determined to serve a successful mission and did so in Guatemala. Upon his return I met
with him to extend an honorable release and saw his shoes were worn out. This
young man had given his all to the Lord without much, if any, family support.
“He noticed I was
staring at his shoes and asked me, ‘President, is anything wrong?’
“I responded, ‘No,
Elder, everything is right! Can I have those shoes?’”
The stake
president continued: “My respect and love for this returning missionary was
overwhelming! I wanted to memorialize the experience, so I had his shoes
bronzed. It is a reminder to me when I walk into this office of the effort we
all must give regardless of our circumstances. The verse was from Isaiah: ‘How
beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth
salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!’ (Isaiah 52:7).”
I don’t think I’m
going to come home in the same shoes I left in, but wouldn't’t be great if I left
a few pairs of those worn out shoes behind? We should all be striving to work
hard, even if we think we can’t, to bring others to the peace, comfort, and
power of the gospel. As we do, we will be blessed by the Lord in many countless
ways.
One thing a
mission requires is sacrifice, as many of us know. There have been stories in
the New Era about plenty of young men who gave up promising scholarships for
school, or a great place on a fancy sports team, to go on a mission. I don’t
have the opportunity to give up either of those, but there are many things I’ll
be missing when I’m out in the field. I will miss my sister graduate from high
school. I will miss my younger brother’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor, and his 18th birthday when he
will receive the Melchizedek priesthood. If my older brother does some awesome
things, which he likely will, I’ll miss that. I’ll be missing two years of
school that I could have used to further my pursuits. I’ll also be missing a
billion awesome movies slated to come out in the next two years, but I’m lucky
enough to be coming home right before Star Wars Episodes 7 comes out, so I have
something to look forward to not missing.
I’ll close with a
quote from Elder L. Tom Perry and President Henry B. Eyring, both who were
quoted by Elder S. Gifford Nielson in his talk:
“This is the most
remarkable era in the history of the Church. This is something that ranks with
the great events that have happened in past history, like the First Vision,
like the gift of the Book of Mormon, like the Restoration of the gospel, like
all of the things that build that foundation for us to go forward and teach in
our Father in Heaven’s kingdom” (“Concluding Remarks” [address given at the
seminar for new mission presidents, June 26, 2013], 1, Church History Library,
Salt Lake City).
We need to be
engaged as never before to match the excitement of our leaders and the
commitment of our full-time missionaries. This work is not going to move
forward in the Lord’s intended way without us! As President Henry B. Eyring has
said, “Whatever our age, capacity, Church calling, or location, we are as one
called to the work to help Him in His harvest of souls”
I leave this with
you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
