Dear Elders and Sisters,
Your mission is a microcosm of your life. There is so much
you can learn as you serve that will apply to your future. There may be times
on your mission where you are not with a companion who would naturally be one
of your close friends if you were back home. You may be assigned to an area
where the work is not going well. You may be bored, frustrated, ill, or
constantly fatigued. You may be disappointed in yourself, or in what you have
accomplished. There may be times when you feel you are not being recognized for
your diligence or that opportunities have passed you by. You may have
experienced all of these or any of a hundred other similar feelings.
Prior to coming on a mission, your lives have been mostly
filled with doing things that you wanted to do, when you wanted to do them, and
with those of your own choosing. The process of submitting yourself to the
Lord, and seeking to do His will, is the quest of a lifetime. He can make so
much more of you than you could ever make of yourself. But being submissive
requires great faith. Great faith is a result of tests and trials. No one would
knowingly seek to have tests and trials in life– they are experiences that we
would all like to avoid.
Perhaps in the past, we have all responded to trials and
test by slacking off, making excuses, feeling sorry for ourselves, distracting
ourselves with inappropriate or nonproductive thoughts or activities, etc.
As missionaries, however, we know our purpose. And we know
that Heavenly Father is giving us our mission experience to forge us into a
perfect tool. May I offer some suggestions when we encounter tests and trials? First,
recognize that you are currently in a situation that is beyond your capacity to
do well. In order to accomplish all that the Lord would have you do, you need
help. Ask for it. Follow the Savior’s example and ask for the help that you
need. “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly…” (Luke 22:44). Learn to
pray on your mission. I mean really pray.
Second, be patient in suffering. Think of the example of
Joseph Smith who was just a little older than you when he organized the church.
His life was full of persecution, disappointments, moving from place to place,
and ultimately giving his life for what he knew to be true. He was a great
example to us of pressing on amidst the difficulties of life. What he knew must
surely have been a tremendous source of strength. Do you know what he knew?
Lastly, keep going. Press forward. Lose yourself. “Wherefore, ye must
press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of
hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward,
feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the
Father: Ye shall have eternal life” (2 Ne.31:20).
You are here on your mission to learn how to endure and overcome.
It is not easy. There are no shortcuts or quick fixes. You mission will enhance
your ability to learn these lessons an hundred fold. You can learn more in
these 18 months or two years than you could otherwise learn in decades, if you
will. It is up to you. The Lord needs your best every day. You are not just
here to put in your time. Here is how one of your fellow missionaries said it
in a recent letter to me: “for the first time, I had a
glimpse of what Heavenly Father knew I could become, because of the Atonement.
For the first time, I have an idea of what to become and how I can get there,
and that would not have happened unless I came on a mission. It's funny though;
I came on a mission not looking for that. I didn't come looking to help myself,
I came to help others.”
President
Blickenstaff
Mentor of
Champions
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