One of the blessings of missionary work is that missionary work cleanses sin. Of course only our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has the power to cleanse us of sin, which power he possesses thanks to his suffering for the sins of the world.  And by faithfully doing missionary work, we do the things that are necessary to take advantage of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

When I arrived in Argentina and had my first interview with my mission president, he shared this scriptural concept and it has always stuck with me. I wish I had written down the scripture he shared with me that day, but perhaps it’s better that I can’t remember what it was because it has caused my to do my own scripture study of the subject.

The following are scriptural examples I have found as evidence that missionary work cleanses sin:

• To early Church missionaries the Lord said, “And in this place let them lift up their voice and declare my word with loud voices, without wrath or doubting, lifting up holy hands upon them. For I am able to make you holy, and your sins are forgiven you.” D&C 60:7
• To the early pioneers of these latter days the Lord said, “And I give unto you, who are the first laborers in this last kingdom, a commandment that you assemble yourselves together, and organize yourselves, and prepare yourselves, and sanctify yourselves; yea, purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean.” D&C 88:74
• Praying about the 12 apostles he chose in the ancient Americas, our Savior said, “Father, I thank thee that thou hast purified those whom I have chosen, because of their faith, and I pray for them, and also for them who shall believe on their words, that they may be purified in me, through faith on their words, even as they are purified in me.”3 Ne. 19: 28
• When the ancient Jared rejected the prophet Ether after he was sent by God to exhort the people to believe in God, the Lord said, “If they have not charity it mattereth not unto thee, thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.” Ether 12:37
• Ezekiel 33:9 “if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

Which, if any, of these scriptures was the one my mission president shared with me all those years ago, I do not know.  But it seems to me, through studying these scriptures, that sincere, true missionary efforts naturally leads to forgiveness of sins.  By being a worthy missionary and helping others come unto Christ, we ourselves are brought closer and receive His cleansing power.

It’s not the doing missionary work gives you a free pass from your sins.  It’s that to do true missionary work requires the individual to go through the God-given steps of faith, repentance, and cleansing Priesthood ordinances of salvation which make us worthy and able to return to live with God.

The main purpose of missionary work is to help bring others to Christ, but and importance secondary purpose is that it brings the missionaries themselves closer to Christ.  I thank Heavenly Father for this wonderful blessing of missionary work with its dual effect of gathering those into the restored gospel who previously did not know of it, and its ability to cleanse and purify the missionary workers themselves.

From its beginnings, the Mormon Church has been a missionary oriented church, sending out missionaries to all parts of the world. Perhaps you have wondered why the Church asks so many missionaries to serve a Mormon mission?  And perhaps you have also wondered why so many young people (and some older missionaries too) are willing to put their life on hold and work to spread the gospel?  I thought I would devote today’s post to explaining why Mormon Missionaries serve.

It’s a Commandment

Missionary work is a commandment from the Lord.  When the resurrected Jesus Christ met with his apostles he said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matt. 28: 19)  The Lord has reiterated that commandment in modern times when he said to Joseph Smith the Prophet, “Behold, I sent you out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor” (Doctrine & Covenants 88:81).

It Brings Us Joy

When we experience the blessings of living the gospel of Jesus Christ, we naturally want to share those blessings with others. The Lord spoke of the joy that comes into our lives when we share His gospel when he said, “Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God…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!” (D&C 18:10,15).

The Book of Mormon also has a great illustration of this principle. In his vision of the Tree of Life, when Lehi had partaken of the fruit and tasted of its goodness, his first desire was to share it with his family. (see 1 Nephi 8: 12)

Why I Served My Mission?

I served a full-time mission for the Church in Rosario Argentina from 1995 to 1997.  Prior to my mission, there were several factors to contributed to why I wanted to serve.  I had been raised in the Church and had actively participated in Church activities all of my life.  I believed the teachings of the Church to be true. I knew Christ was my Savior, and that the Mormon Church was His Church.  I know Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was the word of God.  I knew I had a priesthood duty to share the gospel with others. 

During the mission, my reasons for serving grew and developed.  The reasons above are more in line with the commandment to do missionary work, but as I was engaged in the work, the joy of missionary service took over.  I realized that I had been called to serve a mission to bring the joy of the gospel to the Almada family in Parana, Argentina, and the Godoy family of Rosario, and dozens of other individuals and families.  Helping these people to know of the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, of the reality of our Heavenly Father, and of the eternal joy of family life, not only helped them, it also brought me joy and satisfaction beyond description.

Today marks the 180th anniversary of the restoration of the priesthood of God.  It was May 15, 1829 when Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery went into the woods on the banks of the Susquehanna River and prayed to God to for the authority to baptize.  Their prayer was answered and the resurrected John the Baptist, the same who baptized Jesus Christ, descended from heaven, laid his hands on their hands and ordained them to the Aaronic Priesthood.  This event is recorded in section 13 of the Doctrine and Covenants and this is what John said:

“Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.”

Restoration of the Priesthood Video

Below is a video that I found depicting the restoration of the priesthood.  The video seems to be a 1970s seminary video produced by the LDS Church, but it’s good and short (about 6 minutes).  It portrays John the Baptist restoring the Aaronic Priesthood to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery followed by Peter, James and John coming to restore the Melchizedek, or higher Priesthood.

Missionary Work Inherent in the Priesthood
Elder David A. Bednar, in his Nov 2005 talk called Becoming a Missionary, said:

“All of us who have received the holy priesthood bear the sacred obligation to bless the nations and families of the earth by proclaiming the gospel and inviting all to receive by proper authority the ordinances of salvation…Proclaiming the gospel is not an activity in which we periodically and temporarily engage. And our labors as missionaries certainly are not confined to the short period of time devoted to full-time missionary service in our youth or in our mature years. Rather, the obligation to proclaim the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is inherent in the oath and covenant of the priesthood into which we enter. Missionary work essentially is a priesthood responsibility, and all of us who hold the priesthood are the Lord’s authorized servants on the earth and are missionaries at all times and in all places—and we always will be. Our very identity as holders of the priesthood and the seed of Abraham is in large measure defined by the responsibility to proclaim the gospel.”

Blessings of the Priesthood

So on this anniversary of such an important occasion as the restoration of the priesthood, I hope that we priesthood holders remember that missionary work is an inherent part of the priesthood we hold.  I also pray that we remember what a privilege and a blessing it is to hold the priesthood.  It is through the priesthood that the Lord does his work and blesses mankind.  And by being faithful in our priesthood callings, we prepare ourselves and become eligible to receive magnificent blessings from the Lord ourselves. 

As it says in the oath and covenant of the priesthood found in D&C 84:33–34 “For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies. They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God”