When I was in the Missionary Training Center (MTC), one of my instructors challenged us missionaries in the class to write down three personal goals that would guide us in our daily missionary efforts. This request came on the day when they introduced us to the Missionary Handbook, commonly called the “White Bible”.  (Can someone tell me if they still have the White Bible, or if those rules have simply been included in the Preach My Gospel Manual?)

The MTC instructor wrote on the chalk board: “As a missionary, I, always and without conditions:” and then asked us to fill in the blanks. These are the three goals I chose:

• I will work hard
• I will be obedient
• I will love others

Daily striving to live up to these three goals served me well on my mission; it brought success, safety, and joy.  Living by these goals has also brought blessings to my personal and professional life after my mission.

Work Hard

A good work ethic was something my parents always taught me to have.  I can remember my father telling me a story from his mission how he had to be in the hospital for a few days and he regretted not being able to be out on the streets working.  He encouraged me to make the most of every day on my mission by working as hard as I could. While I can’t claim perfection in this area, with very few exceptions, I did work as hard as I could each day, and I attribute much of my joys and successes to that attribute.

 President Gordon B. Hinckley shared the following experience regarding the importance of working hard on his mission:

“I was not well when I arrived. Those first few weeks, because of illness and the opposition which we felt, I was discouraged. I wrote a letter home to my good father and said that I felt I was wasting my time and his money. He was my father and my stake president, and he was a wise and inspired man. He wrote a very short letter to me which said, ‘Dear Gordon, I have your recent letter. I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work.’ Earlier that morning in our scripture class my companion and I had read these words of the Lord: ‘Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.’ (Mark 8:35.)

“Those words of the Master, followed by my father’s letter with his counsel to forget myself and go to work, went into my very being. With my father’s letter in hand, I went into our bedroom in the house at 15 Wadham Road, where we lived, and got on my knees and made a pledge with the Lord. I covenanted that I would try to forget myself and lose myself in His service.

“That July day in 1933 was my day of decision. A new light came into my life and a new joy into my heart. The fog of England seemed to lift, and I saw the sunlight. I had a rich and wonderful mission experience, for which I shall ever be grateful” (“Taking the Gospel to Britain: A Declaration of Vision, Faith, Courage, and Truth,” Ensign, July 1987, 7).

President Ezra Taft Benson also talked about the need for missionaries to work hard: “I have often said one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work! If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. Work, work, work—there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work” (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [1988], 200).

Be Obedient

Obedience, to the commandments and to the mission rules, is a vital component of faithful missionary service.  Great power comes to missionaries that are obedient, and therefore your mission leaders will stress the importance of keeping the commandments and rules in the Missionary Handbook. I know that I was protected by keeping the missionary rules, and the Lord blessed me, my companions and our investigators in the process.

Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander of the Seventy spoke of the importance of obeying the mission rules: “Mission  rules are important in the same way commandments are important. We all need to keep them, understanding that they give us strength, direction, and limits. The smart missionary will learn the intent of the rules and make them work for him. Your mission is a time of discipline and single-minded focus. You will be required to go without some things common to your current lifestyle: music, TV, videos, novels, even girls. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, …but then again, there is nothing wrong with food either, unless you are fasting, in which case even a teaspoon of water is improper” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1991, 59; or Ensign, Nov. 1991, 43).

Love Others

Missionary work is one of the purest acts of love we can do for our fellow beings.  We must love the people we have been called to serve in order to be effective servants of the Lord. We should give sincere friendship and treat others with love and kindness, even if they do not immediately accept the gospel.

 Early in my mission, a leader shared the insight that if we are not having joy, then we are not doing missionary work correctly.  I found that to be true.  When we do missionary work out of a sincere love for our fellow beings, we enjoy it, for we are helping others receive the magnificent blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, blessings of happiness in this life and in the eternities. 

The following scriptures are what the Lord has said regarding love and missionary service.

• D&C 12:8 “And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care.”
• D&C 18:15-16 “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! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!”
• D&C 121:41 “No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned.”

Conclusion

As a missionary, you will have many rules, but perhaps the most important may be the ones you set for yourself. Work hard, obey and love others served me well, and perhaps it will help you to.  But in the mean time, be thinking about this question, in case one of your MTC instructors asks you to fill in the blanks: “As a missionary, I will always and without conditions: ________.”

One of the most important and most constant tasks you must do as a missionary is to continually open your mouth.  Open your mouth and testify of Jesus Christ and His Atonement.  Open your mouth and give testimony of Joseph Smith and his First Vision of God the Father and his Son.  Open your mouth and testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.  (See Bring Souls unto Me, by Elder L. Tom Perry, May 2009 Ensign)

Open Your Mouth: A Commandment to Missionaries

The Doctrine and Covenants is replete with scriptures commanding missionaries to open their mouths and preach the gospel.  Almost always those scriptures contain a promise from the Lord that they will be blessed to know what to say if they take that step of faith and open their mouth.  Here are a few:

• D&C 24:12, to Oliver Cowdery is called to preach the gospel and the Lord says, “At all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night.”
• D&C 28:16, again, to Oliver Cowdery the Lord says “And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoicing.”
• D&C 30:11, John Whitmer is called to preach the gospel and the Lord says, “Yea, you shall ever open your mouth in my cause, not fearing what man can do, for I am with you.”
• D&C 33:10, to Ezra Thayre and Northrop Sweet the Lord says it three times: verse 8 “Open your mouths and they shall be filled,” verse 9 “Open your mouths and spare not,” and again in verse 10 “Open your mouths and they shall be filled.”
• D&C 60:2, to the elders of the Church the Lord says, “But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man.”
• D&C 71:1, to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon the Lord says, “it is necessary and expedient in me that you should open your mouths in proclaiming my gospel…according to that portion of Spirit and power which shall be given unto you, even as I will.”

Opening Your Mouth is Difficult but Necessary

For many missionaries this commandment to “open your mouth” is not easy, which is probably why the Lord mentions it again and again in the scriptures.  Many missionaries, including myself as a young missionary, are shy and unsure of themselves.  Many are called in preach the gospel in lands where they don’t speak the native language.  The excuses for not opening your mouth as a missionary are many but all are rooted in “the fear of man” rather than trust in God.  As noted in the scriptures above, when missionaries open their mouths to declare the gospel the Lord will be with them and help them know what to say.  But it is not until missionaries take that necessary step that the Lord will use them as an instrument in his hands.

Door Knocking

The most common way for missionaries around the world to open their mouths is by knocking on doors or tracting.  In Argentina we did some door knocking, but not a lot.  The primary way in which we opened our mouths in my mission was talking to people on the bus or in the street. In Argentina, the missionaries didn’t have cars or bikes for transportation, everywhere we went we either walked or took the bus.  This was the case for most other Argentines as well, therefore we constantly came across people in the streets and on the bus.  It was difficult for me at first, to strike up a gospel conversation in these instances, but I learned to use both of these methods effectively as a missionary.

Bus Contacting

During my first couple of weeks in Argentina, I was far too shy and unsure of my language skills to sit down next to a stranger and begin a conversation about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I watched my companion do it time and time again as we rode the bus traveling to teaching appointments or other errands.

After a week or two, my senior companion challenged me to sit down next to someone on the bus and talk to them.  Reluctantly, I did it, and my first attempt was actually rather successful.  The man I sat down next to was friendly and even gave me his name and phone number so we could come by his home later for more discussions.  This interaction gave me additional confidence and I continued opening my mouth to testify to strangers on the bus for the rest of my mission.

Of course not everyone we met on the bus was this nice, many people would not talk to us, would get up and move to another seat, or tried to argue with us (don’t argue with people).  Regardless of whether or not my testimony was received, I always tried to open my mouth on the bus and testify of the Lord Jesus Christ and of the message of the restored gospel.

Street Contacting

Street contacting is what I would categorize as talking to people in everyday situations in just about any scenario as you go through the day.  Talking to people we pass in the streets, or that you bump into at the grocery store, the attendant at the photo store, or any number of other situations.  Throughout my mission it took continual effort to open my mouth in these instances, which nearly encompassed the whole day.  Of course, wherever you go, you wear that missionary name tag and there is no time off from being a representative of the Lord.

If we missionaries hadn’t opened our mouth, though, and shared our message in everyday situations, we never would have met and baptized the Almada family.  The conversion of Juan Carlos Lopez, who we first met in the street, never would have happened without opening our mouths.  And the Godoy family, a wonderful couple with two children, were baptized because we struck up a conversation at a photo development store.

Conclusion

“Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.” (D&C 100: 5-6) I testify that this is true.  Open your mouth every chance you get and testify of the Lord and his restored Church and the gospel message that you carry.  If you do, the Lord will bless you with the right words, and he will guide you to the right people, and the Spirit will penetrate the hearts of your listeners and testify of the truthfulness of your words.  You will be blessed and the Lord will be able to bless many others as you become an instrument in his hands.

Many years ago, in a BYU religion class, my professor asked us to write a paper on what it means to magnify your calling. I searched and searched in my old college files but could not find the paper.  And maybe it’s better that way. Though I was proud of my work at that time, I don’t believe the paper was extremely insightful or interesting.  Let’s hope this one turns out better.

I have been trying for many years to read all the way through the Old Testament.  It is the only part of the standard works that I haven’t read in its entirety.  I’m about 85% done now (page 1,009 out of 1,184), and I’ve been reading in the book of Jeremiah.  I read a verse that caused me to give new meaning to the term magnify your calling.  Jeremiah 48:42 “And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself against the Lord.”

When I read this verse, it made me realize that to magnify your calling means to magnify the work the Lord has called you to do and not to magnify yourself. When I was in college, writing about the meaning of magnifying your calling, I expounded on how it meant to do your best to fulfill your calling in the way in which the Lord would want you.  And surely that is a major part of what it means.  But it was clear to me, as I read the scripture above, that you should not perform your calling in an effort to get praise or any worldly gain and therefore magnify yourself.  To magnify your calling from the Lord you should perform your calling with a desire to bring glory to God and serve him by serving his children. 

Take a look at how the term magnify is used in the scriptures in relation to callings:

• The prophet Jacob in the Book of Mormon said, “And we did magnify our office unto the Lord.” (Jacob 1:19.)
• To Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery the Lord said, “Attend to thy calling and thou shalt have wherewith to magnify thine office…In me he shall have glory, and not of himself, whether in weakness or in strength” (D&C 24: 9, 11)
• “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord.” (Luke 1: 46)
• “Let them be clothed with shame and dishonour that magnify themselves against me.” (Ps. 35: 26)
• “Remember that thou magnify his work, which men behold.” (Job 36: 24)
• “Shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it?” (Isa. 10: 15)

In virtually every instance of of its usage in the scripture, magnifying your calling is in the context of magnifying it unto God instead of unto yourself.  It’s not enough simply to magnify our callings.  You must magnify your calling unto the Lord.

Magnifying Your Missionary Calling

 President Gordon B. Hinckley said that every missionary has the responsibility to magnify his calling to teach the gospel plan to the peoples of the earth.  “That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you.” (D&C 88: 80)

Said President Hinckley, “when we live up to our high and holy calling, when we show love for God through service to fellowmen, when we use our strength and talents to build faith and spread truth, we magnify our priesthood. When, on the other hand, we live lives of selfishness, when we indulge in sin, when we set our sights only on the things of the world rather than on the things of God, we diminish our priesthood.” (Magnify Your Calling, Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, May 1989)

My Day with Mario

When I had been in Argentina for two months, and my Spanish language skills were still very weak, I spent the day taking the lead with the missionary work in our area.  My senior companion was gone for the day working with the zone leaders in their area, while they arranged for me to spend the day working in our area with a 17-year-old boy from the branch named Mario. 

I was very nervous about this arrangement, but I fully expected Mario to help me and do a lot of the talking.  Well, as it turned out, Mario hardly said a word all day. We had a couple of first discussions scheduled that day, but the people weren’t home when we got there. 

We spent the majority of the day knocking doors and street contacting.  Being a member who would soon be going on a mission, I thought Mario would help do more of the talking, but with each person we encountered, I did all the teaching.  When it was apparent that I was only going to get moral support from Mario, I was seriously tempted to just go home and spend the remainder of the day in our apartment.

But I persevered because I knew the Lord expected me to magnify my calling unto him, and that he would support me.  At times I felt like a bumbling fool, but despite my weaknesses that day we talked to at least 100 people, and of those, we taught 12 charla cortas.  (Charla cortas means “short discussion.” This was a metric we reported each week and to qualify, the exchange with the person had to be 5 to 10 minutes and we had to talk about most of the principles of the first discussion.)  From those 12 interactions, we were able to set four appointments for a first discussion.

I know the success of that day came because I sought to magnify my calling.  At the end of that day, I felt the strong impression that had my senior companion been with me, that the results would have been the same.  Though my companion was fluent in Spanish and a far more experienced teacher than I, it is the Lord’s work and it is his Spirit that touches peoples’ hearts and does the real work of conversion.  It was humbling to realize that because I sought only to magnify my calling unto God, and not worry about my own perceived weaknesses, the Lord was able to work through me.

And so it will be with each of you, as you seek to humbly magnify your calling as a missionary, and seek only to glorify God as you teach people the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, you will become an effective tool in the hands of the Lord.

Many Mormon missionaries are asked to serve in places far from their home where they are required to learn to speak a foreign language.  Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to all the people of the world, each in their own language, is a mandate from God.  In a revelation to Joseph Smith the Prophet in 1833, the Lord said, “For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power.” (Doctrine and Covenants 90:11)

My Language Learning Story

Note: This video and the text below contain the same story of my learning Spanish.

Prior to my mission call, I had studied French in high school, and when I filled out my mission papers, I indicated that experience and my desire to go to a non-English speaking mission.  I knew that despite two-years of French in high-school, my ability communicate in a foreign language was very poor, so I was a little apprehensive about really learning to speak a new language.  But I found faith and strength in the fact that so many missionaries had gone before me and had learned to speak a new language.

When I received my mission call to a Spanish speaking country, Argentina, I knew the challenge would be even greater than I previously thought.  After spending nine weeks at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) learning Spanish, I found myself in Argentina.  Hearing the people speak there, I wondered if they taught me the wrong language, because I could barely understand anything.  In fact, soon I found out that Argentine’s don’t speak Spanish, they speak el Castellano (Argentina’s version of Spanish). 

The missionary daily schedule has built in 30 minutes of language studying each day, but for me, I found that wasn’t helping my language skills improve fast enough.  So for the first six months I spent in Argentina, I got up a half hour early to get a full hour of language studying each day.  My companions were a big help as well.  Both of my first two companions were native Argentine’s.  The first spoke English, but the second spoke no English.  I had only been in Argentina for three months when I was placed with my second companion.  Those days of pure Spanish speaking, so early in my mission, were very difficult, but undoubtedly helped my language skills tremendously.  I can remember dreaming in English, and then waking and dreading when I realized I had to communicate entirely in Spanish.

With time, my comfort with the Spanish language improved.  In fact, in the later half of my mission I got frequent compliments on my language skills.  One brother, in the Arroyito Ward of Rosario, paid me the ultimate compliment when he said that it took him a few minutes of listening to me speak before he realized I was an American.  He said I had a very good “Porteno” (Buenos Aires) accent.  But those language skills never would have come without hard work and blessings from the Lord of the gift of tongues. 

The Gift of Tongues

President Thomas S. Monson once said, “Make it known to the young people that it is not certain that the Lord will direct their paths to do missionary work in an area where the language they have learned is spoken. But if they are called to a completely different country, they will at least have the advantage of having learned well a second language. Learning another language is then usually not so difficult for them, because they have learned how to study and therefore will make rapid progress, especially when they are guided by the Spirit of the Lord.”

 Elder Jacob de Jager said, “Some missionaries go to the Missionary Training Center to learn a foreign language with great fears because they are afraid they will not be able to learn the language of their assigned mission area. Let me relieve these fears. I have seen the very practical approach of language teaching in the MTC, and I believe in the gift of tongues. Miracles happen when missionaries learn to speak in a foreign language by the power of the Spirit.”

President Joseph F. Smith received the gift of tongues when, as a young man, he went out on his mission. He said: “I was in a foreign land, sent to preach the gospel to a people whose language I could not understand. Then I sought earnestly for the gift of tongues, and by this gift and by study [I am sure he put in a lot of hours], in a hundred days after landing upon those islands I could talk to the people in their language as I now talk to you in my native tongue.” (Gospel Doctrine, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1939, p. 201)

Source: “Become Acquainted … with Languages, Tongues, and People” By Elder Jacob de Jager, Oct 1982.

Ideas for Language Learning

Learning to speak a new language is not easy, but there are some things future missionaries can do to be more prepared for this trial. Steven R. Wright, one time director of language training at the Missionary Training Center, said, “be sure to do these three things: study the language regularly and faithfully, use the language whenever possible, and seek divine assistance.” Here are some further suggestions from Brother Wright:

• Take a language class. Study at a local university, take an adult education class in the evening, or try a home-study course offered by a reputable school.
• Speak the language. Instead of merely learning about the language, have a goal of being able to speak well and understand well. Practice the language with family members or friends who have served a mission or traveled in a foreign culture and have learned this language as a second language.
• Learn about people and cultures. Read about the people and the country. Visit with someone who is from the country or who has been there. If possible, travel to the country to gain firsthand knowledge of it.
• Study vocabulary at home. Vocabulary is the most important area when beginning to study a foreign language. Buy a dictionary, label your home with names of objects in the new language, and practice until the words become yours. Purchase a Book of Mormon in the new language and compare familiar verses in English.

A common topic of discussion I have seen regarding mission preparation is ‘What are the characteristics of a good missionary?’  President Joseph F. Smith, LDS Church President from 1901 to 1918, had much to say on this subject. While it would be difficult or impossible to create an exhaustive list of good missionary characteristics, here are a few highlighted by President Smith: 

1. Constant Communion with the Spirit
2. Humility
3. Knowledge of Gospel Principles
4. Sociability
5. Concern for the Welfare of Others
6. Unspotted from the World

1. Constant Communion with the Spirit

President Smith said that the best way to do missionary work “is to live so that the spirit of God will have communion and be present with us to direct us in every moment and hour of our ministry, night and day.”  He said, “No man can preach God and godliness and the truth as it is in Christ Jesus except he be inspired by the Holy Spirit.”  President Smith further said that “Men are not converted by eloquence or oratory; they are convinced when they are satisfied that you have the truth and the Spirit of God.”  2 Ne. 33: 1 “When a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.”

2. Humility

Said President Smith, “No man is able to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ of himself…We can not preach the gospel of Christ without this spirit of humility, meekness, faith in God and reliance upon his promises and word to us.”  1 Corinthians 2:11 “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”

See my previous post on Missionary Characteristics: Humility.

3. Knowledge of Gospel Principles

“Every missionary should strive to devote part of each day to study and prayerful thought on the principles of the gospel and the theology of the Church,” said President Smith.  “Missionaries are sent forth to preach and teach the first principles of the gospel, Christ and him crucified, and practically nothing more in the way of theological doctrine. They are not commissioned to expound their own views on intricate questions of theology.”  He further said that a missionary’s “mind should be well stored with thoughts worth uttering, worth hearing, worth remembering; then the spirit of inspiration will bring forth the truths of which his auditors are in need.”  D&C 11: 21 “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed.”

4. Sociability

President Smith taught that as a missionary, “You must get acquainted with a man, learn him and gain his confidence and make him feel and know that your only desire is to do him good and bless him; then you can tell him your message, and give him the good things you have for him.”  He counseled missionaries to “avoid contentious argument and debate regarding doctrinal subjects…[Missionaries] are not to go out and make war upon the religious organizations of the world when they are called to go out to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Instead “they should teach as nearly as they can after the manner of the Master—seeking to lead by love for their fellows, by simple explanation and persuasion; not trying to convince by force.”

See my previous post on Missionary Characteristics: Sociability.

5. Concern for the Welfare of Others

President Smith taught that missionaries, “are sent out to offer the olive branch of peace to the world.”  Additionally, missionaries should be ready to say with him, “I am happy to say that I am ready to go through thick and thin for this cause in which I am engaged; and truly hope and pray that I may prove faithful to the end.”  He further taught that “Every missionary boy who returns from his mission full of faith and good desire should take it upon himself to become a savior as far as possible of his young and less experienced associates at home.” D&C 88: 81 “It becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor.”

6. Unspotted from the World

President Smith pleaded, “We want young men … who have kept themselves unspotted from the world, and can go into the nations of the earth and say to men, ‘Follow me, as I follow Christ.’”  “No objection is offered to men being called who in earlier years may have been rough or wayward, if in later years they have lived a godly life and brought forth the precious fruits of repentance,” said President Smith.  He further taught, missionaries must “let our lives correspond with our professions, our words be consonant with the truth we bear, and our acts agreeable to the revealed will of God”

…

Aside from the scriptural references, all the quotes regarding characteristics of a good missionary are taken from Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith, Chapter 9: Our Missionary Duty.