What are the four most important things a missionary need to know before embarking to serve the Lord?
In a recent Prospective Missionary Fireside, I had the privilege of hearing Elder Munday, an experienced mission president, speak. (I did miss the beginning part for a dress rehearsal that unfortunately overlapped, but I got to hear the majority of the talk.) From Elder Munday's words, I pulled four main things that every missionary ought to know before going out. So here they are!
1) Be exactly obedient in all that you do
Elder Munday brought up the point that we cannot ask others to keep Gospel commitments if we are not keeping our own! He emphasized the point of absolute obedience multiple times, as a tool to spread the Gospel, and as a way to help us make it through our missions. He said that our names will be sitting with the Savior's, on the name tag we will wear, and we should never do anything that will make someone question why.
I have heard quite a few stories involving exact obedience, and its effects on investigators. My dad likes to tell the story of a girl he taught, who had been an investigator for a while. She was living with her boyfriend, who was an inactive member of the Church. My dad was not the first missionary to come to her door, nor the first to be invited in. If I remember the story right, it was pouring rain when they first knocked on her door. She invited them in, out of the wet, but they said no, until she said that her boyfriend was there. It is, after all, against the rules for the elders to be alone with a sister. That was the first instance of obedience. My dad and his companion began to teach this woman and her boyfriend, but every time they came, there was something tempting them to break the rules. Sometimes, the boyfriend had the game on, and invited them to watch, or there was music on that was against mission rules. But my dad and his companion stayed true and didn't break the rules. They wouldn't watch the game, or they'd ask that the music be turned off or replaced with something appropriate for missionaries. This woman was eventually baptized, and she and her boyfriend were married and began coming to Church. My dad said that she later told him that in the past, they'd had missionaries teach them who did not obey the rules. Those missionaries would've sat and joined in watching the basketball game on TV, or would've come in out of the storm even if there was not another man in the house. But my dad and his companion touched this woman's heart with their obedience and that is why she listened to their lessons and chose to be baptized. Their obedience changed the course of her life.
We heard another story in class just the other day, a shorter story, but equally impactful. There was an investigator who was very close to baptism. In fact, if I remember correctly, their baptism had been scheduled. But then this investigator happened to witness these same missionaries breaking the rules. They called off their baptism and didn't have those missionaries over again. It was another nine years before they were baptized, by a different set of missionaries.
Obedience to the rules in every way can change the course of people's lives, including that of the obedient missionary themselves.
2) Be patient. You're working on the Lord's time
During the prospective missionary fireside, I took special note of one association made by Elder Munday. He said to us that rejection does not mean absolutely "no," but rather means "not yet." They may just not be ready to receive the messages we carry yet. But our efforts are not wasted! If we make a good impression on everyone we see, then we are paving the way for those who come after. How many stories have we heard of missionaries meeting "Golden Contacts" who had been impressed by missionaries, or just members in general, in the past? By being optimistic, patient, kind, and accepting, we are making sure that they will remember us well in the future.
I have long held the belief that we do not meet the people that we meet by chance. Rather, I think the Lord places each person in our way. He is not blind to those we meet and reach out to, but will put in our path the ones that we can help most. Never let the opportunity to make a good impression pass you by, but never be discouraged. You may not be the one to baptize them, but you prepared a way.
We also cannot rush our investigators. While it is important to move forwards with the goal of baptism in mind, I think that it is also important to wait until they are ready. They must be truly converted and ready to accept the Gospel. This is a lifestyle, and a huge commitment, and we cannot rush them into it. They must be ready. For some this will be faster than others, and it's important to be aware of and careful of that fact.
It is also important to note that patience does not mean passivity! Patience, rather, is the knowledge that God has a plan and we are but a small part of it. If we are prepared to take the opportunity, we can affect lives in ways that we will never know. Be patient, and don't give up.
3) Don't forget the small and simple things.
I loved the story that Elder Munday told to illustrate this principle. It went something like this: there was a woman who often had missionaries knocking at her door, but she never let them in. And then one day, she and her husband were driving somewhere. They had to pass through a part of town that was not too neat. She saw, across the street, a pair of elders. One had a burger in his hand, and as she watched, the wrapper blew out of his hand! This elder chased down the wrapper, trapped it under his foot, and then proceeded to dispose of it properly, in a garbage can. The woman turned, incredulous, to her husband, and said "Did you see that??" The neighborhood was very messy, and litter was everywhere. No one would've blamed that elder for just letting the wrapper go. But instead he picked it up. The woman then said to her husband, "Next time the missionaries come to our door, I am going to let them in." Years later, they did come, and she stayed true to her word. She and her husband were both baptized.
Something as simple as picking up after ourselves can lead others to the truth. The Lord works in mysterious ways, after all. Do not forget the small details of your life. Small acts of service can make all the difference.
I have another story that my dad likes to tell that I believe applies to this principle. My dad was transferred into a new area, and in this area, they had one investigator (well they probably had more than one, but this story is about this guy). This man lived in a grand house and he had a humongous library (the kind that I want when I get rich...) with one of those sliding ladders, like in Beauty and the Beast. This man was extremely intelligent, and knew the scriptures like the back of his hand. The missionaries had been trying to teach him for a long time, and on their first dinner appointment, my dad understood why. They had gotten maybe five minutes into the lesson when the investigator waked over to one of his bookshelves, slid the ladder over, and got down a special Bible that I can't remember the name for, but it had a side-by-side translation in four languages. He proceeded to expound on whatever scripture they were studying until my dad and his companion had to leave or risk breaking curfew. My dad went home and prayed about what they could do, and found a small and simple solution. At the next appointment, he asked this investigator if perhaps they could try something. He said "For the first half hour you can teach us, and for the second half hour, we can teach you." Then the man said "Good, but I have a better idea. How about you go first?" This man was later baptized, and my dad says he was able to learn a lot from this man as well. It was a small and simple solution that went a long way.
Another "small and simple" thing that Elder Munday spoke of was actually our own knowledge of the gospel. He said that he saw so many missionaries who came through panicking because they didn't think they knew enough. He'd ask them if they knew the church was true, and if they knew Joseph Smith was a prophet. If they said yes, he said they knew enough. A small and simple, but strong and firm testimony is enough. The Lord will teach us even as we teach others.
So when you're on your mission, don't forget that solutions are not always grand things. Often, they are as easy as saying "let's take turns" like my dad did. Just remember that the Lord works in mysterious ways.
4) Leave the past behind you
Elder Munday put a large emphasis on this point. I love the metaphor he used to hit the point home. He said that our heads only turn so far around on our necks, and our hands and feet only face one direction. We are not meant to look back.
He told a wonderful story as well. He was on the disciplinary council for another man once, and much later, he ran into this man again. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember why the man had needed that disciplinary council. Then he said he heard words, clear as day, "If I the Lord do not remember his sins, what right do you have?" (sorry for the botched quote). This man's past was truly behind him, and his repentance was complete. And we also learned from this that the Lord truly remembers our sins no more.
Elder Munday said that we must make peace with our pasts. We can learn from them, but they cannot tie us down. We cannot preach the Gospel with something holding us back. So before we leave on our missions, we must make peace with everything that we have done before. Regret will keep us from being the best missionaries we can be, and isn't that the ultimate goal? To serve the Lord to the best of our capacity.
I know that this is a principle I have had to work on, even just for life. It is so important, so absolutely vital, to not let regrets hold you back. That's not to say I don't have regrets, but I have been forced to learn to not let them stop me. It is essential to my spiritual and mental health even now, and so how much more important will it be on a mission? Learn to leave your mistakes in the past, and take only the lessons you've learned into the future. If you can master it now, it will be that much easier when you are ready to go on a mission.
Okay, but seriously!
There were so many good principles taught at the fireside. This doesn't even come close to covering them all. But I truly believe these four to be the most vital to know before leaving. Obedience, patience, working through small and simple means, and leaving your past behind you, are all essential to being a great missionary. So if you're a prospective missionary, pay attention! And if you're a return missionary, feel free to add your own advice to anything I've missed in my lack of experience. I'd love to hear more that I (that we all) can do to prepare!
