CHAPTER 11
It is the responsibility, duty and privilege of worthy young men to serve missions, and a great blessing to all who serve and are served.
1 Some time ago, as the General Authorities met together on an upper floor of the temple, President Kimball stood and instructed us, saying: “Brethren, of late I have been concerned and troubled by the fact that we do not have sufficient missionaries proclaiming the message of the Restoration. I hear some parents say, ‘We’re letting our son make up his own mind regarding a mission,’ or ‘We hope our son fills a mission because it would be such a growing experience for him.’” He continued: “I have heard some young men say, ‘I think I might serve a mission if I really want to go.’” President Kimball raised his voice, stood on tiptoe--as he is prone to do when anxious to communicate with power a special thought--and said: “It doesn’t really matter whether Mother or Father thinks it might be nice for a son to serve a mission. It doesn’t really matter whether or not John, Bill, and Bob want to go--they must go!” President Kimball then proceeded to point out the missionary obligation each of us has, to repay the sacrifice and service of those missionaries who left home and family and brought the gospel to our parents or grandparents in lands near and far.
2 We all share this great responsibility. We cannot avoid it. Let no man or woman think that because of where we live, or because of our place in society, or because of our occupation or status, we are exempt from this responsibility. Membership in the Lord’s Church is a gift and a blessing which the Lord has given us in mortality, and He expects us to share that blessing with those who do not have it.
3 Elder Bruce R. McConkie once said: “This call to missionary service does not leave us any choice or option as to the course we should pursue. It is not merely a permissive invitation which allows us to spread the gospel message on a voluntary basis, or if we find it convenient to do so. The decree is mandatory. We have no choice about it, if we are to retain the favor of God.” (In Conference Report, Oct. 1960, p. 54.)
We must realize that we have received a divine commission from God and we neglect it at the peril of our salvation. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “If we do not do our duty in regard to missionary service, then I am convinced that God will hold us responsible for the people we might have saved had we done our duty.” (Ensign, Oct. 1977, p. 5.) This echoes Jacob’s sobering doctrine: “We did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day.” (Jacob 1:19.)
4 And also it is an imperative duty that we owe to all the rising generation, and to all the pure in heart; for there are many yet on the earth among all sects, parties, and denominations, who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.
5 President Thomas S. Monson explained how we can help when he said: “Our missionary experiences have to be current. It is not enough to sit back and ponder former experiences. To be fulfilled, you have to continue to naturally and normally share the gospel.”
6 Preach My Gospel has produced significant results. Success is greater, however, among those missionaries who are most prepared. The best-prepared missionaries, says President Wynn R. Dewsnup of the Utah Ogden Mission, are “those who have had personal spiritual experiences, who have felt the power of personal prayer in their lives, who have been able through personal study and prayer to come to know the Savior in a much more personal manner.”
7 For many young men, now is the time for preparation--preparation for a planned mission. It’s a time for you to apply yourselves in school, to concentrate on the foundation of a good education so that when you are called as an ambassador for Jesus Christ, you will represent him with the dignity befitting one who holds his priesthood.
8 The Lord expects more of the disciple than ordinary response to need, to opportunity, to commandment. He expects more humility, more hearkening, more repenting, more mercy and forgiving and faith, more service and sacrifice.
9 When the call is received, the college text is closed and the scriptures opened. Family, friends, and often a special friend are left behind. Suspended are dating, dancing, and driving, as the three Ds are exchanged for the three Ts--tracting, teaching, and testifying.
10 “Young people preparing for missions must stay as far away from the boundaries of sin as they can,” says Elder Scott. “That gives them the fullest happiness as they prepare; it assures them the greatest capacity to be led by the Spirit.”
11 You need charity, the pure love of Christ, to serve well as a missionary. Loving others is not always easy. It takes service, faith, the Holy Ghost, and courage. Mormon said that you need to pray with all your might to be filled with the pure love of Christ (see Moroni 7:48).
12 The mission life is not easy. It requires self-denial, mental and physical exertion, maturity, self-mastery, spirituality, and a very strong, positive mental attitude. It requires an elder to be a man, not a boy. A mission should be a Spartan life. It will require resiliency and total commitment. To you my young friends who are preparing for missions, remember, it is not one of the most glorious experiences of life because it is easy. The rewards do not come from the glamour of the call nor from the personal attention and accolades that members extend to you after you receive the call. Missions are not rewarding because of assignments to exotic places. It is not a time when growth automatically takes place. A young elder whose girlfriend or parents have persuaded him to go on a mission against his will or have offered some reward to him when he finishes his mission have done the elder a great disservice. We do not need to hold our rewards or promises to an elder. Such things are hollow. Fulfillment will come to the missionary who is willing to practice self-denial. The reward will come from Him in whose service we have been enlisted. No other reward or compensation can compare to the wage received from the Lord of the vineyard.
13 What a marvelous opportunity our missionaries have. They are making the final preparation for their life’s work. They are not going to be common men and women. Every one of them must be special so that the Lord will approve of them and appreciate them. I am speaking of all those who should be on missions as well as those who are on missions. Today they are building their life just as much as if they had loads of gravel and stacks of timber to build it with. If we could see our lives today and then see them 20 years from now, we could each go back and decide: It was back there during those years when I was a missionary where I made my life’s decision. Do you think that the only reason the Lord has called them to the mission field is to preach the gospel? Absolutely not. That is important. But they are also called into the mission field to make sons and daughters of God into strong, powerful leaders in the future.
14 Yea, verily, verily, I say unto you, that the field is white already to harvest; wherefore, thrust in your sickles, and reap with all your might, mind, and strength. Open your mouths and they shall be filled, and you shall become even as Nephi of old, who journeyed from Jerusalem in the wilderness. Yea, open your mouths and spare not, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your backs, for lo, I am with you. Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled, saying: Repent, repent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;
15 “That’s an interesting process. You take a common, ordinary, teenage young man; you call him on a mission; you set him apart; you give him another teenager as a companion; and you send him out some place with a certain amount of money a month provided by himself. You then give him a simple list of instructions: no dating, rigid mission rules--spend all your time preaching and proselyting--and so on.” Ofttimes, too, he’s provided with an automobile. Well, it’s insane when you think about it. It couldn’t possibly work. The only justification is that it does.
16 Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people. And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!
17 Are you thinking of going on a mission? Do it. You have nothing to lose … and lots to gain.
18 I wonder, young man, how successful you would be in convincing a young father who had buried three of his babies in an obscure graveyard halfway around the world because of the gospel of Jesus Christ that a mission is too much of a sacrifice because you want to buy that car or that stereo, or you don’t want to interrupt your schooling, or for some other reason. As members of the Church, I wonder how convincing we would be in telling someone that we are just too busy and maybe just a little embarrassed to share the gospel with our neighbor, especially if that someone were a young father who had buried his bride while on his mission and sent his little girl home to be taken care of by relatives while he finished his service to the Lord.
Is it not time that we listen to a prophet’s voice? Is it not time that we lengthen our stride? Is it not time that we teach the gospel of the kingdom to the world, to our neighbor? In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Younger Elder Brooksby
1-The Aaronic Priesthood Pathway by Thomas S. Monson, October 1984 General Conference
2-Our Responsibility to Share the Gospel by Ezra Taft Benson, April 1985 General Conference
3-Our Responsibility to Take the Gospel to the Ends of the Earth by Jack H. Goaslind, Jr., October 1983 General Conference
4-D&C 123:11-12
5-Was It Worth It? by David F. Evans, May 2012 Liahona
6-Preaching His Gospel by Shanna Butler, Adam C. Olson, and Roger Terry, September 2005 Liahona
7-A Time for Every Purpose by Paul H. Dunn, April 1975 General Conference
8-More Joy and Rejoicing by Marion D. Hanks, October 1976 General Conference
9-Profiles of Faith by Thomas S. Monson, October 1978 General Conference
10-Be One of the Greatest, March 2004 Liahona
11-I Hope They Call Me on a Mission? by Loran Cook, January 2011 Liahona
12-Self-Denial by Vaughn J. Featherstone, January 1979 Liahona
13-President Kimball Speaks Out on Being a Missionary by Spencer W. Kimball, February 1982 Liahona
14-D&C 33:7-10
15-Called of God by Prophecy by Boyd K. Packer, February 1979 Liahona
16-D&C 18:14-16
17-Time Out for a Mission by Rosemary Peck, February 1981 Liahona
18-Faithful Laborers by Loren C. Dunn, April 1975 General Conference
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