Archive for category: Preparing for a Mission

When I arrived in my first area in Argentina (the city of Parana), I was shocked at how fast my companion walked. He didn’t quite run, but he sure did speed walk, and it took a file for me to get used to it. When Ezra Taft Benson was President of the Church in May 1986, he encouraged new missionaries to “enter the mission field on the run.” While missionaries should be physically prepared for the hard work of missionary service, President Benson was talking more about hitting the ground running spiritually.

“We love all of our missionaries who are serving the Lord full time in the mission field. But there is a difference in missionaries. Some are better prepared to serve the Lord the first month in the mission field than some who are returning home after twenty-four months. We want young men entering the mission field who can enter the mission field ‘on the run.’” (To the “Youth of the Noble Birthright” by President Ezra Taft Benson, May 1986)

Here are specific things that President Benson said future LDS missionaries can do to  “enter the mission field on the run.”

• Prepare Your Whole Life: “Prepare well for a mission all your life, not just six months or a year before you go.”
• Stay Morally Clean: A “vital ingredient in preparation for your mission is to always live a clean life. We want morally clean young men in the mission field. We want you to live the clean life all of your life. We want the morally clean life to be your way of life.”
• Have Faith: “We want young men entering the mission field… who have the faith born of personal righteousness and clean living that they can have a great and productive mission. We want missionaries who have the kind of faith that Wilford Woodruff and Heber C. Kimball had, each bringing hundreds and thousands of souls into the waters of baptism.”
• Stay Active in the Church: “Give me a young man who has kept himself morally clean and has faithfully attended his Church meetings. Give me a young man who has magnified his priesthood and has earned the Duty to God Award and is an Eagle Scout. Give me a young man who is a seminary graduate and has a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. Give me such a young man, and I will give you a young man who can perform miracles for the Lord in the mission field and throughout his life.”
• Realize the Privilege of Missionary Service: “Not only should a mission be regarded as a priesthood duty, but every young man should look forward to this experience with great joy and anticipation. What a privilege—what a sacred privilege—to serve the Lord full time for two years with all your heart, might, mind, and strength.”
• Date People Who Give Encouragement: “You can do nothing more important…even temple marriage should wait until after a young man has served an honorable full-time mission for the Lord. And I would admonish you to date only faithful young women who also believe this and give you that encouragement.”
• Understand the Purpose of Missionary Work: “Know that the real purpose in going into the mission field is to bring souls unto Christ, to teach and baptize our Heavenly Father’s children so that you may rejoice with them in the kingdom of our Father. (See D&C 18:15.)”
• True Repentance: “The miracle of forgiveness is real, and true repentance is accepted of the Lord. But it is not pleasing to the Lord prior to a mission, or at any time, to sow one’s wild oats, to engage in sexual transgression of any nature, and then to expect that planned confession and quick repentance will satisfy the Lord.”
• Look Forward to Missionary Service: “Young men, look forward to full-time missionary service….Prepare now for your mission by doing these things we have discussed this evening.”

The LDS Seminary and Institute programs are wonderful tools in helping young men and young women prepare for full-time missionary service. The year 2012 marks 100 years since the first Seminary class was establish. To commemorate this anniversary, the Church held a worldwide Seminary Centennial Broadcast on Sunday, January 22, 2012 with President Boyd K. Packer as the featured speaker.

A Brief History of the LDS Seminary Program

• 1912: The first Seminary class is held at a home near Granite High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. Thomas J. Yates was hired as the first teacher and taught afternoon classes to 70 students.
• 1920: Seminary enrollment was 2,982.
• 1925: Seminary enrollment was 8,527.
• 1926: President Heber J. Grant initiated “collegiate seminaries” which would later be called LDS Institutes of Religion.
• 1938: There were ninety-eight functioning seminary programs in the following US states:  Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.
• 1950: The early-morning seminary program began in California. The first early-morning seminary classes were taught before school in Church meetinghouses near public schools. Seminary enrollment was 28,677.
• 1962: Early-morning seminary was introduced to Finland and Germany (a total of 34 students) in response to requests for programs outside of the U.S. and Canada.
• 1967: The first home-study seminary classes begun in scattered rural areas for students are held in Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois.
• 1975: Seminary enrollment was 183,670.
• 1980: Sequential Scripture Teaching, the program to use the four books of scripture (Old Testament, New Testament, the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants) for the four years of seminary, was introduced emphasizing the importance of using the scriptures in the lives of students.
• 2010: Seminary enrollment was 369, 373.
• 2012: 100 year anniversary of LDS Seminary.

Keeping the Sabbath day holy is one of the best things you can do to prepare yourself for a mission. As you keep yourself unspotted from the world through proper Sabbath Day observance (see D&C 59:9), you will draw closer to the Lord, and you will find yourself more willing to make sacrifices in order to further the work of the Lord through missionary service.

When Moses came down from the mountain with the ten commandments, this is what the Lord said, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.” (Exodus 20: 8-10) Modern prophets have taught us that keeping the Sabbath day holy also means not shopping or playing sports on Sunday. I’d like to share three stories with you about the importance of keeping the Sabbath day holy. I hope these examples fortify your desire to always keep the Sabbath day holy, and to continue to prepare yourselves to serve a faithful mission to help bring others to Christ.

1. Eli Herring, a BYU football player who turned down the NFL because he wouldn’t play on Sunday.
2. An experience I had that taught me the importance of not working on Sunday.
3. Clayton Christensen, who missed his championship basketball game because it was held on Sunday.

Eli Herring: Said No to the NFL and Sunday Football

Eli Herring went to High School in Springville Utah where he participated in football, basketball, wrestling and track. He was the captain of the football team and earned All-Region and All-State honors and led his team the state championship. He was recruited to play football by several universities but choose BYU because it was the only school that did not withdraw a scholarship offer when he announced his plans serve a Mormon mission.

After his freshman year at BYU, Eli Herring was called to serve an LDS mission in Salta, Argentina. Brother Herring served honorably and came back from his two-year mission stronger, faster, more coordinated, and even more ready to play football. Brother Herring played the position of offensive tackle and earned honorable mention from the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 1993 and made the second team All-WAC in 1994. In addition to football, during his time at BYU, Brother Herring earned a bachelors degree in mathematics and got married to his sweetheart, Jennifer Anderson.

Brother Herring was projected to be a first round draft choice in the 1995 NFL draft, but he made the decision to forgo a professional career. Brother Herring wouldn’t play football on the Sabbath, and he wrote letters to each NFL team saying so. Regardless, he was still drafted in the sixth round by the Oakland Raiders. Raiders’ assistant coach Bruce Allen flew to Provo and offered Eli a three-year, $1.5 million contract, but he rejected it.

Eli Herring and his wife Jennifer now have seven children. Brother Herring works as a school teacher and assistant football coach at Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah. His starting salary as a high school teacher was around $22,000 a year, which, at that pace, would take him over 20 years to earn what the Raiders would have paid him in a single season. Without hesitation, Brother Herring says he does not regret his decision to stand by his principles rather than have a professional football career. (See the Wikipedia article on Eli Herring)

Jimmy Smith: Learned to Not Work on Sunday

When I was in high school, I had a job at McDonald’s. I always liked working the cash register, but they always had me in the back making the hamburgers. I was one of the fastest hamburger makers they had, so they almost never let me be a cashier. My first month on the job, I got the employee of the month award. It was a good after school job. It helped me save money for my mission, and the fringe benefits were nice…free hamburgers, french fries, and milk shakes.

One Sunday, I was sitting at home after church when the phone rang. It was the manager of my McDonald’s asking me to come into work. Now I had told the people at McDonald’s from the beginning that I wouldn’t work on Sunday, so they never scheduled my regular shift on the Sabbath. But this particular Sunday, they said, was an emergency, because several workers didn’t show up and they really needed someone to come in and help.

I asked my parents if I could go into work just this one time because it was an “emergency.” My parents left the decision up to me, and I decided to go in and work. While there, cooking up Big Macs and Quarter Pounders in the kitchen area, I noticed several of my school friends walk into the restaurant. These friends knew of my Mormon faith and I had remembered talking to them about my beliefs, including keeping the Sabbath day holy. I was embarrassed for them to see me, and luckily, they didn’t. On that day, for once, I was glad to be in the back cooking, rather than up front working the cash register.

I immediately knew that I had made the wrong decision to break the Sabbath and go into work that day. From that time forward my faith and determination was fortified to avoid working on Sunday and to keep the Sabbath day holy. And I am grateful that the Lord has always blessed me for keeping that commandment. I know my life before, during, and after my mission has been blessed by keeping the Sabbath day holy.

Clayton Christensen: No College Basketball For Him on Sunday

From President Thomas S. Monson’s October 2010 General Conference Talk, The Three Rs of Choice… “May I share with you an example of one who determined early in life what his goals would be. I speak of Brother Clayton M. Christensen, a member of the Church who is a professor of business administration in the business school at Harvard University.

“When he was 16 years old, Brother Christensen decided, among other things, that he would not play sports on Sunday. Years later, when he attended Oxford University in England, he played center on the basketball team. That year they had an undefeated season and went through to the British equivalent of what in the United States would be the NCAA basketball tournament.

“They won their games fairly easily in the tournament, making it to the final four. It was then that Brother Christensen looked at the schedule and, to his absolute horror, saw that the final basketball game was scheduled to be played on a Sunday. He and the team had worked so hard to get where they were, and he was the starting center. He went to his coach with his dilemma. His coach was unsympathetic and told Brother Christensen he expected him to play in the game.

“Prior to the final game, however, there was a semifinal game. Unfortunately, the backup center dislocated his shoulder, which increased the pressure on Brother Christensen to play in the final game. He went to his hotel room. He knelt down. He asked his Heavenly Father if it would be all right, just this once, if he played that game on Sunday. He said that before he had finished praying, he received the answer: “Clayton, what are you even asking me for? You know the answer.”

“He went to his coach, telling him how sorry he was that he wouldn’t be playing in the final game. Then he went to the Sunday meetings in the local ward while his team played without him. He prayed mightily for their success. They did win.

“That fateful, difficult decision was made more than 30 years ago. Brother Christensen has said that as time has passed, he considers it one of the most important decisions he ever made. It would have been very easy to have said, “You know, in general, keeping the Sabbath day holy is the right commandment, but in my particular extenuating circumstance, it’s okay, just this once, if I don’t do it.” However, he says his entire life has turned out to be an unending stream of extenuating circumstances, and had he crossed the line just that once, then the next time something came up that was so demanding and critical, it would have been so much easier to cross the line again. The lesson he learned is that it is easier to keep the commandments 100 percent of the time than it is 98 percent of the time.” (Thomas S. Monson, “The Three Rs of Choice,” October 2010)

Here’s the video version of President Monson’s story about Brother Christensen:

The Savior uses sheep and shepherd analogies throughout his teachings and throughout the scriptures. To understand these teachings better, my co-workers and I recently visited a sheep farm in Huntsville, Utah. We spoke with the shepherd and learned much about lambs, sheep, and shepherding.

A Good Shepherd Risks His Life for His Sheep

Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10: 11)

The name of the shepherd we spoke with was Leon Fielding. Brother Fielding told us many stories about how he sacrificed sleep and risked his life to care for and protect his sheep. He said in the time of year when the sheep give birth, he will go days without sleep, so that he can be there to take care of the new lamb when it is born. He has also stayed up all night in a tree on his farm to protect his flock from coyotes.

Coyotes Attack the Strongest Sheep First

“He that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.” (John 10: 12)

Brother Fielding doesn’t have to defend his flock against wolves; where he lives coyotes are the prevalent predators that try get his sheep. Brother Fielding mentioned something interesting about the coyotes if they ever happen to get in the sheep pasture: they attack the strongest sheep first. He speculated that this is because the coyotes enjoy the challenge. It may also be due to the fact that with the strongest sheep gone, the smaller, weaker ones will be easier to get. (Note the llama in the photo helps protect the sheep from coyotes.)

I think the same is often true within the Savior’s flock, that Satan frequently attacks the strongest among us. I saw many investigators on my mission that, as they started to progress in the gospel, they frequently would begin to encounter trials and temptations. Those of great faith would conquer those trials and come through even stronger in their testimony (like the Almada family).

A Good Shepherd Knows His Sheep

“For behold I know my sheep, and they are numbered.” (3 Nephi 18:31)
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” (John 10: 14)

Brother Fielding knows exactly how many sheep are in his flock. He knows if the coyotes get one, and he knows if a stray sheep finds its way into his flock.  He knows his sheep, their names, and their personalities. He knew that there was one sheep in the flock that would rub up against him and have Brother Fielding scratch his neck all day if he would let him. And sure enough, as soon as he called them over, that sheep came to him for a back rub.

Sheep Recognize the Shepherd and Follow His Voice

Jesus said this of the shepherd: “The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.” (John 10: 3-5)

As soon as me and my co-workers walked up to the gate outside the field, the sheep all walked to the far side of the field. We were wearing strange clothes and we were talking in voices they did not recognize. But once their shepherd, Brother Fielding, called for them they came right over, walked among us, and some of the sheep even took food from people in our group. (And you better believe the llama was keeping a close eye on us throughout.)

In the mission field, you represent the Savior and therefore your voice is his voice in gathering His sheep into the fold through baptism. In my mission, I learned that those who are true followers of Christ will recognize that the restored gospel we preach comes from the Good Shepherd, and they will want to join the Church. “Ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts.” (D&C 29:7)

A Good Shepherd Finds the Lost Sheep

“And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.” (Luke 15:3-5)

Sheep are quick to flee and panic in the face of stress which makes shepherding a difficult task for the untrained shepherd. But sheep also have a natural inclination to follow a leader, though in the absence of a shepherd a leader is often simply the first sheep to move.

So it is with people, particularly young people. With proper leadership and examples, youth tend to live up to expectations and follow righteous paths. But frequently young people follow the crowd or the example of friends and peers. It is often in these times that they get lost from the Savior’s fold. Thankfully, we have parents, home teachers, and other Church leaders who will leave the ninety and nine to go rescue the lost sheep.

Feed My Sheep

“Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” (John 21: 15-17)

It goes without saying that a good shepherd feeds his or her sheep. May we all feed the Lord’s sheep, both those in our families, in the Church, and throughout the world. We can feed the Lord’s sheep by being good parents, holding regular family home evening, and daily family prayer and scripture study. We can feed the Lord’s in our wards and stakes by magnifying our callings, being faithful home teachers and visiting teachers, and fulfilling other assignments. And we can feed the Savior’s other sheep throughout the world through faithful missionary service.

All photos in this post are courtesy of Patti Rokus.