“Bishops and stake presidents have the serious responsibility to identify worthy, qualified members who are spiritually, physically, and emotionally prepared for this sacred service and who can be recommended without reservation” (First Presidency letter, Dec. 11, 2002).

I have written previously about preparing for the emotional demands of missionary service, and much of this site is about spiritually preparing, but one thing I haven’t written much on is what young people should do to prepare for the physical demands of missionary service. Missionary work is just that–work, and it is often hard physically work. Missionaries should be physically healthy and be capable of performing the physical tasks common to missionary work.

Physical preparation includes getting your body physically fit through exercise, learning to follow a healthy sleep schedule, being accustomed to following personal hygiene rules, and learning to eat healthy foods, among other things. A few years ago, Donald B. Doty, Chairman of the Missionary Department Health Services, wrote an article for the March 2007 Ensign magazine called “Missionary Health Preparation.” In the article, he advised future missionaries to start habits of physical health long before their full-time mission. Here is some of his advice.

Regular / Daily Physical Exercise

“A missionary must be able to walk an average of six miles (10 km) per day and ride a bicycle 12 miles (19 km) per day. Prospective missionaries who aren’t walking more than from the car to a class or a job will likely get sore feet and blisters when they reach the mission field. Those who are not used to riding a bicycle regularly will also become very “saddle sore” when a bike becomes their primary means of transportation. A missionary who is out of shape will be fatigued by missionary work, and a tired missionary is more open to discouragement and health concerns than a missionary who is physically fit.”

“Prospective missionaries can prepare for the rigors of missionary life by establishing a regular pattern of aerobic exercise—walking, running, or cycling for one hour every day. Those whose primary form of exercise is playing electronic games or text messaging will take at least four months to achieve the level of conditioning that will allow them to actually enjoy a workout.”

Healthy Eating Habits, Weight, and Cooking

“Rather than living on sugar and fat, young people should learn to enjoy meals consisting of protein and fiber, such as lean meat, yogurt, vegetables, and fruit. Also, drinking more than 12 ounces of carbonated beverage per day is too much. The Missionary Department requires that missionaries have a body mass index no higher than 37. This is actually on the border between obesity and morbid obesity. Prospective missionaries should strive to keep their weight in the normal range, thereby avoiding obesity-related health problems. Being markedly under normal weight can also have serious health consequences.”

“Parents can help their sons and daughters learn how to prepare simple, healthy meals. I stress the word simple because missionaries often cook food on a hot plate or a single gas burner and may not have an oven. Every prospective missionary needs to know the basics of cooking and sanitary food handling.”

Adequate Sleep Habits

“Although sleep needs vary, young adults generally need to sleep seven to eight hours per day. Ideally, they should be in bed by 10:30 to midnight and out of bed by 6:30 to 8:00 a.m. Staying up until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. and sleeping until 10:00 a.m. leaves a person feeling tired all the time and wanting to sleep until noon. Staying up all night to cram for examinations, playing video games most of the night, or working a graveyard shift can be detrimental because keeping late hours resets the body’s clock. Missionaries live a scheduled life. They are in bed by 10:30 p.m. and up by 6:30 a.m. every day. This schedule will be difficult unless prospective missionaries get into a similar routine well in advance of the call to service.”

Employment and Work Ethic

“Missionary work is just that, work. There is nothing easy about missionary work, so young people should develop the ability to work reliably. A regular job teaches such habits as getting to work on time, not missing work unnecessarily, doing assigned tasks well, looking for more work when the assigned task is completed, and not going home early. A job also helps young people understand the value of money. Where possible, prospective missionaries should plan to pay as much of the cost of the mission as possible, rather than depending on parents or donations from others. Helping pay for their own missions will help prospective missionaries learn to live within the stringent missionary allowance.”

Personal Hygiene

“Personal cleanliness and good grooming habits are vital to missionary success. Favorable first impressions are lasting. Clean hands also help missionaries stay healthy and prevent the spread of communicable diseases.” On dental health, he said, “prevention is the key to good dental health. This means a habit of brushing teeth at least morning and night, daily use of dental floss, and consistent visits to your dentist.” Not mentioned by Brother Doty, but other personal hygiene items probably applicable to some young people is getting in the habit of showering daily, using deodorant, and learning to do their own laundry.

Finally, Brother Doty encouraged young people not to wait to establish these habits of physical health. “Those who wait to prepare until the last minute or until after they have received the call to serve may not be ready and may even have their missions delayed.” Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated, “The single most important thing you can do to prepare for a call to serve is to become a missionary long before you go on a mission.” (“Becoming a Missionary,” Ensign, Nov. 2005) That includes becoming physically fit and ready for the physical demands of missionary work. And as missionaries are more physically prepared, they will be better servants in hands of God and more effective in inviting other to come unto Christ.

In this video (above) and podcast (below), I am teaching Lesson 5 of the Mission Preparation class from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to my teenage kids. The lesson topic is the role of the Book of Mormon in missionary work. For investigators, an essential part of conversion is receiving a witness from God that the Book of Mormon is true. For missionaries, a personal testimony of the Book of Mormon is also essential to share their message with power. The Book of Mormon is powerful evidence of the divinity of Jesus Christ and provides another testament of his life, mission, and atonement.

I began planning this series of lessons (there are 15 lessons in all for the Church’s Mission Prep course) long ago but the timing could turn out to be very good for people stuck at home right now due to the COVID-19 virus quarantine. The video/audio is about 40 minutes, so you will want to set aside enough time to watch or listen to it. It could be a great Sabbath day activity to do on a Sunday. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: While I am going by the Church’s Mission Prep manual, please remember this video is not a publication of the Church. I am simply a dad, teaching my children, and I’m sharing our lesson for others to enjoy. This video is not meant to replace the Mission Prep class people can take from their stake or ward or the Church Education System, but for those people wanting to prepare for a mission and unable to take that class, I hope this digital lesson helps fill the gap.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:15 — 34.3MB)

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In this video (above) and podcast (below), I am teaching Lesson 3 of the Mission Preparation class from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to my teenage kids. The lesson topic is Learning by the Spirit of God. Before missionaries can teach by the Spirit, which is essential, they first must come to understand how to learn by the Spirit.

I began planning this series of lessons (there are 15 lessons in all for the Church’s Mission Prep course) long ago but the timing could turn out to be very good for people stuck at home right now due to the COVID-19 virus quarantine. The video/audio is about 40 minutes, so you will want to set aside enough time to watch or listen to it. It could be a great Sabbath day activity to do on a Sunday. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: While I am going by the Church’s Mission Prep manual, please remember this video is not a publication of the Church. I am simply a dad, teaching my children, and I’m sharing our lesson for others to enjoy. This video is not meant to replace the Mission Prep class people can take from their stake or ward or the Church Education System, but for those people wanting to prepare for a mission and unable to take that class, I hope this digital lesson helps fill the gap.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:59 — 35.8MB)

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Google Podcasts | RSS

In this video (above) and podcast (below), I am teaching Lesson 1 of the Mission Preparation class from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to my teenage kids. The lesson topic is the Missionary Purpose–to invite others to come unto Christ. While I am going by the Church’s Mission Prep manual, please remember this video is not a publication of the Church. I am simply a dad, teaching my children, and I’m sharing our lesson for others to enjoy.

I began planning this lesson, which I hope will turn into a series with all 15 lessons from the Church’s Mission Prep course, long ago but the timing could turn out to be very good for people stuck at home due to the COVID-19 virus quarantine. This video is not meant to replace the Mission Prep class people can take from their stake or ward or the Church Education System, but for those people wanting to prepare for a mission and unable to take that class, I hope this digital lesson helps fill the gap.

The video/audio is about 50 minutes, so you will want to set aside enough time to watch or listen to it. It could be a great Sabbath day activity to do on a Sunday. Enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:34 — 44.5MB)

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In my personal gospel study, I was recently re-reading a talk by Elder Richard G. Scott entitled “To Acquire Spiritual Guidance” from October 2009 General Conference. As I read it, I realized (a spiritual prompting, no doubt) that Elder Scott’s words were excellent advice for young people, particularly young women, who were trying to decide if they should go on a mission or not.

My mind then turned to my own teenage daughter and son who will soon be reaching the age to go on a mission. They will also, within a few years, be making important life decisions like where to go to college and who to date and marry. It occurred to me that there are few more important topics for older teens to learn than how to receive spiritual guidance from God. So of course, I made plans to have that be the next topic in family home evening, and I thought I’d share the lesson with this audience too.

There Is No Simple Formula

While I have organized Elder Scott’s advice into a cycle with six steps, he says “there is no simple formula or technique that would immediately allow you to master the ability to be guided by the voice of the Spirit. Our Father expects you to learn how to obtain that divine help by exercising faith in Him and His Holy Son, Jesus Christ. Were you to receive inspired guidance just for the asking, you would become weak and ever more dependent on Them. They know that essential personal growth will come as you struggle to learn how to be led by the Spirit.”

So again, the steps I have extracted from Elder Scott are steps I identified as I read his examples. I have seen this same pattern play out in my own life, so they ring true. But they are not the one and only way to receive spiritual guidance from God. Some of the elements may differ for you and learning how to recognize the voice of God in your mind and heart is a skill you will have to fully learn through your own experiences. But hopefully this will still help.

Step 1: Recognize the Spirit of God

“What may appear initially to be a daunting task will be much easier to manage over time as you consistently strive to recognize and follow feelings prompted by the Spirit. Your confidence in the direction you receive from the Holy Ghost will also become stronger. I witness that as you gain experience and success in being guided by the Spirit, your confidence in the impressions you feel can become more certain than your dependence on what you see or hear.”

Step 2: Write down the inspiration

“Now I share an experience that taught me a way to gain spiritual guidance. One Sunday I attended the priesthood meeting of a Spanish branch in Mexico City. …[the teacher’s] sincerity, purity of intent, and love permitted a spiritual strength to envelop the room. I was deeply touched. Then I began to receive personal impressions as an extension of the principles taught by that humble instructor. …As each impression came, I carefully wrote it down. In the process, I was given precious truths that I greatly needed in order to be a more effective servant of the Lord. The details of the communication are sacred and, like a patriarchal blessing, were for my individual benefit.”

Step 3: Write more detail in private

“I received such an outpouring of impressions that were so personal that I felt it was not appropriate to record them in the midst of a Sunday School class. I sought a more private location, where I continued to write the feelings that flooded into my mind and heart as faithfully as possible.”

Step 4: Ponder and make adjustments

“After each powerful impression was recorded, I pondered the feelings I had received to determine if I had accurately expressed them in writing. As a result, I made a few minor changes to what had been written.”

Step 5: Apply the inspiration

“Then I studied their meaning and application in my own life. …Spirituality yields two fruits. The first is inspiration to know what to do. The second is power, or the capacity to do it. These two capacities come together. …God answers prayer and gives us spiritual direction when we live obediently and exercise the required faith in Him.”

Step 6: Thank God and ask if there is more

“I prayed, reviewing with the Lord what I thought I had been taught by the Spirit. When a feeling of peace came, I thanked Him for the guidance given. I was then impressed to ask, ‘Was there yet more to be given?’ I received further impressions, and the process of writing down the impressions, pondering, and praying for confirmation was repeated.” In other words, return to Step 1.

A Repeatable Experience “as you make this a practice in your life”

“What I have described is not an isolated experience. It embodies several true principles regarding communication from the Lord to His children here on earth. I believe that you can leave the most precious, personal direction of the Spirit unheard because you do not respond to, record, and apply the first promptings that come to you.”

“Impressions of the Spirit can come in response to urgent prayer or unsolicited when needed. Sometimes the Lord reveals truth to you when you are not actively seeking it, such as when you are in danger and do not know it. However, the Lord will not force you to learn. You must exercise your agency to authorize the Spirit to teach you. As you make this a practice in your life, you will be more perceptive to the feelings that come with spiritual guidance. Then, when that guidance comes, sometimes when you least expect it, you will recognize it more easily.”