A Mission Prepares You for Temple Marriage
Jun 26th
Last year, when I wrote about Mission Companions, I mentioned that learning to get along with your mission companion is excellent practice for learning to get along with your eternal companion, your wife. Today I’d like to elaborate more on how a mission prepares you for temple marriage.
The Importance of Temple Marriage
Those who are sealed in the temple have the assurance that their marriage will continue forever if they obey their covenants. They know that nothing, not even death, can permanently separate them.
Our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, said, “Make certain that the marriage in your future is a temple marriage. There is no scene so sweet, no time so sacred as that very special day of your marriage. Then and there you glimpse celestial joy. Be alert; do not permit temptation to rob you of this blessing.” (From Whom Shall I Marry?, New Era, Oct. 2004)
Heber J. Grant, 7th president of the Church, emphasized the importance of every young man and woman starting their life together with a temple marriage.
I believe that no worthy young Latter-day Saint man or woman should spare any reasonable effort to come to a house of the Lord to begin life together. …The blessings and promises that come from beginning life together, for time and eternity, in a temple of the Lord, cannot be obtained in any other way and worthy young Latter-day Saint men and women who so begin life together find that their eternal partnership under the everlasting covenant becomes the foundation upon which are built peace, happiness, virtue, love, and all of the other eternal verities of life, here and hereafter (Heber J. Grant, “Beginning Life Together,”Improvement Era, Apr. 1936, pp. 198–99).
Jacob’s Efforts to Marry in the Covenant
The story of Jacob marrying Rachel has always seemed to me as a good example of the making every possible effort for a temple marriage. When Jacob was ready to get married, his father, Isaac, instructed him not to marry any of the daughters of Canaan because they were not of their faith. Rather, Isaac instructed Jacob to go to his uncle Laban’s home and seek a wife there, among people of their same faith (see Genesis 27 & 28).
So great was Jacob’s desire to marry someone of his faith that he traveled a great distance to meet Rachel, the daughter of Laban. They met at a well, feel in love, and Laban promised they could get married if Jacob would complete seven years of service. Genesis 29: 20 says, “And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.”
A Mission Prepares You for Temple Marriage
Elder Richard G. Scott said that mission “experiences will develop a foundation for the later blessing of your being a strong husband and father.”
Now may I speak from my heart of what an honorable full-time mission has meant to me personally…I fell in love with an exceptional young woman. At a critical point in our courtship, she made it very clear that she would only be married in the temple to a returned missionary. Duly motivated, I served a mission in Uruguay. It was not easy. The Lord gave me many challenges that became stepping-stones to personal growth. There I gained my testimony that God the Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, did in fact visit Joseph Smith to begin a restoration of truth, priesthood authority, and the true Church on earth…At the same time, my future eternal companion, Jeanene, was being molded to become an exceptional wife and mother by her own mission. Most important, all that I now hold dear in life began to mature in the mission field. Had I not been encouraged to be a missionary, I would not have the eternal companion or precious family I dearly love. (From Now Is the Time to Serve a Mission! Elder Richard G. Scott, Ensign May 2006)
Elder Gene R. Cook of the Seventy also explained how a mission prepares you for temple marriage:
May the Lord bless you to go forward humbly, prayerfully, and worthily to the mission field and serve as instruments in bringing many souls to him. Know clearly that there are hundreds of thousands who have done so, who have served and are serving faithfully and worthily in the work of the Lord. While you are young, set a pattern of worthiness and faithful service. Do so with all of your heart, and the Lord will greatly bless you, not only in the mission field, but through the rest of your life, your temple marriage, and right into the eternities. (From Worthy to Serve by Elder Gene R. Cook, New Era May 1994)
My Temple Marriage
I know that my faithful missionary service helped prepare me for a temple marriage. It helped me learn to get along with others, to work together for common goals, and it helped me grow spiritually and provide a sound foundation for a Christ-centered life along with my wife. I love my wife with all my heart, and I am eternally grateful that we started off our marriage the right way, being sealed by priesthood authority with a temple marriage. I know that as you strive to do your duty as a missionary, the Lord will bless you with a stronger marriage, and a happier life on earth and in heaven.
The following is a great little video with Elder Packer and Elder Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, talking about the blessing of a temple marriage.
Lesson on What is the Priesthood
Jun 15th
My calling in my ward is an assistant scout master with the 11-year-old Scouts. As the boys turn twelve, they move on to do their Scouting with the 12-year-old deacons, and they are ordained to the priesthood. I recently realized that I was with these boys for an hour a week in the year prior to getting ordained to the priesthood, yet we had never talked about this important step in their lives.
So last week I wrote the post What is the Priesthood? in preparation for a lesson on that subject that I gave to my 11-year-old Scouts. If you have interest in teaching a similar lesson, below is an outline and instructions that should be helpful. Do reach out to me if you have further questions.
Lesson and Preparation
For the lesson, I decided it would be a fun, interactive, attention activity to make an electric circuit with a batter, a cord, a switch and a light bulb. So I went to the store and I bought an ordinary flashlight and took it apart. I pulled out the battery, and the light bulb. Then I bought a light switch and a short cable. I cut the cable into three sections and stripped the ends of each. I hooked both of the cables up the switch and with the third section of cable, I hooked it up to the light bulb. But I left the rest of the circuit disconnected so the Scouts could do it during the lesson.
As we started the lesson, the boys were extremely curious about all the electric parts. I asked them to help me assemble the circuit, and with a little help they were able to do so. The boys really enjoyed putting the light circuit together, and I think it was a great way of introducing the topic of the priesthood. And to parents who might be concerned about the safety of this activity: do not worry. The batter only supplies 6 volts of electricity, which is a very small amount and completely safe to handle.
Tips for the Lesson
- Keep it simple. The priesthood is a difficult concept to really understand, for adults as well as youth.
- Don’t mix metaphors. The light circuit example isn’t perfect a analogy; it is simply a metaphor to help us understand the priesthood. We invited the bishop of our ward to attend when we gave this lesson and he was very helpful in explaining concepts and we are glad he came. At one point, though, he started comparing the priesthood to the power of attorney, which is a good analogy in and of itself. But trying to explain multiple metaphors seemed to only confuse the boys. I think it’s best to save other analogies for other lessons.
- Have For the Strength of Youth pamphlets available. When we began talking about how priesthood holders need to be clean and worthy to use the priesthood, I wished I had For the Strength of Youth pamphlets to hand out to the boys as we discussed standards for behavior, dress, and media. These 11-year-olds had some concept of worthiness, but it was clear that this was somewhat of a new topic for them.
- Print out the bookmark to hand out. I created a What is the Priesthood bookmark that has the diagram of the light bulb, switch, and battery on one side, and on the other side has what the five elements represent in the priesthood analogy. Feel free to download it, print it out, and use it in your lesson.
What is the Priesthood?
Jun 9th
When I was a student at Brigham Young University, I took a class on the Doctrine and Covenants with a professor named Dennis Wright. It was one of the more difficult religion classes I ever took, but it was also probably one in which I learned more than most. I remember studying some sections on the priesthood, and professor Wright introduced the topic by asking the class: what is the priesthood?
He then showed a diagram, like the one to the right, and asked, which of the five elements represented the priesthood:
- The battery
- The cable carrying the electricity
- The light switch
- The light bulb
- The light emanating from the light bulb
After different students in the class raised their hands and guessed all five different answers, Professor Wright said that his was a bit of a trick question. He said all the students were right because, depending on the context in which we use the word, any part of the diagram could be representative of the priesthood.
The battery symbolizes that God is the source of all priesthood power.
The priesthood is the eternal power and authority of God. John Taylor, third President of the Church, said that “the power manifested by the priesthood is simply the power of God.” (from The Gospel Kingdom by G. Homer Durham). Elder Bruce R. McConkie, in his book Gospel Doctrine, stated that “the priesthood is the power of God delegated to man by which man can act in the earth for the salvation of the human family.” The Doctrine and Covenants is replete with scriptures that explain how priesthood power is the power of God. Here are just a few:
- D&C 107: 8 “The Melchizedek Priesthood holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world, to administer in spiritual things.”
- D&C 121: 36 “The rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and … cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.”
- D&C 128: 8 “Now, the nature of this ordinance consists in the power of the priesthood, by the revelation of Jesus Christ, wherein it is granted that whatsoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”
The wire reminds us that we must be clean and worthy to carry priesthood power.
Metals are used for electric wires because they are good conductors, that is, they conduct the flow of electricity very easily. Through metal wires, electric power is channeled from the power source to wherever it needs to go. We can think of the priesthood as that channel that allows the power of God to flow to us on Earth, but that power only flows through good conductors. To be a good conductor of priesthood power, priesthood holders must be clean and worthy.
President Thomas S. Monson, in his April 2009 talk called Be Your Best Self, said, “Each man and each boy who holds the priesthood of God must be worthy of that great privilege and responsibility. Each must strive to learn his duty and then to do it to the best of his ability. As we do so, we provide the means by which our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, can accomplish Their work here upon the earth.”
God gives His priesthood authority to worthy men, and that priesthood can and should only be used in righteousness. This is how the Lord said it in D&C 121: 41 -42, “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; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile.”
The light switch is like priesthood keys: The power to turn on and off the power.
Priesthood power can only be used when it has been turned on, or authorized, by some who holds priesthood keys. Priesthood authority is governed by those who hold priesthood keys such as a bishop, who holds the keys in his ward, or the President of the Church who holds the priesthood keys for the whole Church. The Lord explained, in D&C 132: 7, that it is only the President of the Church who has all priesthood keys: “I have appointed unto my servant Joseph to hold this power in the last days, and there is never but one on the earth at a time on whom this power and the keys of this priesthood are conferred.”
Jesus Christ holds all the keys of the priesthood, and he has given the prophet and apostles in the Quorum of the Twelve the keys that are necessary for governing His Church. Only the senior Apostle, the President of the Church, may use (or authorize another person to use) these keys for governing the entire Church. The President of the Church delegates priesthood keys to other priesthood leaders so they can preside in their areas of responsibility. Priesthood keys are bestowed on presidents of temples, missions, stakes, and districts; bishops; branch presidents; and quorum presidents (even Deacon and Teachers Quorum Presidents). (From LDS.org: Gospel Topics: Priesthood)
The light bulb is like priesthood holders: Men such as Apostles, Bishops, Deacons, etc.
God gives priesthood to men in the Church so they can act in His name for the salvation of His children. All worthy male members of the Church are eligible to receive the priesthood and be ordained to a priesthood office. Aaronic Priesthood offices include Deacon, Teacher, Priest, and Bishop. Offices of the Melchizedek Priesthood include: Elder, High Priest, Patriarch, Seventy, and Apostle.
Here is what Elder M. Russell Ballard said about understanding priesthood offices:
Priesthood offices are not status symbols but opportunities for service. High priests and elders are equally responsible to serve faithfully in the offices to which they have been called. All priesthood holders assist our Heavenly Father in accomplishing His divine purpose: ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.’ (Moses 1:39.)…Although we speak of the Melchizedek Priesthood as the greater priesthood, we must not misunderstand the importance of the Aaronic Priesthood. The service given by a faithful bearer of the Aaronic Priesthood is just as important in the eyes of the Lord as the service given by one holding the Melchizedek Priesthood. (From The Priesthood: A Lifetime of Service)
Former Church President Joseph Fielding Smith said in the June 1971 Ensign, talking to priesthood holders, “We are the Lord’s agents; we represent him; he has given us authority which empowers us to do all that is necessary to save and exalt ourselves as well as his other children in the world.” And another former Church President Harold B. Lee said in the July 1973 Ensign, “When we [act] in the name of the Lord, as holders of the priesthood, we are doing it in the name and in behalf of our Heavenly Father.”
The light shining is like priesthood blessings in our lives.
Priesthood holders can be authorized to preach the gospel, administer the ordinances of salvation such as baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and otherwise bless people on this earth. President James E. Faust, former counselor in the First Presidency, said these priesthood “blessings are available to all who are worthy through those authorized and even appointed to give priesthood blessings…Priesthood blessings do not just involve men. They bless equally and fully the women and children of the family.” (see Priesthood Blessings)
In D&C 84: 20- 21, the Lord explains that “In the ordinances [of the priesthood], the power of godliness is manifest. And without the ordinances thereof, and the authority of the priesthood, the power of godliness is not manifest unto men in the flesh.” Gospel ordinances of salvation that bless our lives on earth and in Heaven include baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost, the Sacrament, Temple Marriage, Anointing the Sick, Blessing a Baby, and many others.
The most important use of the priesthood takes place in the family where each husband and father in the Church should strive to be worthy to hold the priesthood. With his wife as an equal partner, he presides in righteousness and love, serving as the family’s spiritual leader. He leads the family in prayer, scripture study, and family home evening, and gives priesthood blessings for direction, healing, and comfort. Though many members do not have faithful priesthood holders in their homes, through the service of home teachers and priesthood leaders, all members of the Church can enjoy the blessings of priesthood power in their lives. (once again, from LDS.org: Gospel Topics: Priesthood)
I Will Go Where You Want Me to Go
May 30th
One of my favorite missionary hymns was written by a good woman, who was not a Latter-day Saint, who’s words express the faithful commitment of followers of Christ in all ages: I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go.
It may not be on the mountain height
Or over the stormy sea,
It may not be at the battle’s front
My Lord will have need of me.
But if, by a still, small voice he calls
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine:
I’ll go where you want me to go.
I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord,
Over mountain or plain or sea;
I’ll say what you want me to say, dear Lord;
I’ll be what you want me to be.
(“I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go,” Hymns, no. 270)
Ammon and the other sons of Mosiah in their mission to the Lamanites… Alma and Amulek crying repentance unto the people of Ammonihah… Nephi and his brother Lehi preaching throughout the land of Nephi… Samuel the Lamanite high on the Zarahemla city wall: All of these faithful Book of Mormon missionaries and prophets showed their obedience to the Lord’s call and their faith in His all powerful hand by going where the He wanted them to go.
When you submit your mission papers, you indicate your willingness to serve as a missionary for the Lord wherever he, through his living prophet, sends you. Some missionaries, it has been reported, when they receive their mission call letter, have feelings of disappointment regarding where they have been called to serve. To those missionaries and their families, I quote from Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
Almost a decade ago, I read a letter from a returned missionary… He had written to thank those who direct missionary work “for daring to send me where the Lord required rather than where I had deemed appropriate.” He had come, he said, “from a background of proud, competitive intellectualism.” Before his mission he was a student at a prestigious university in the eastern United States. Quote:
“I guess out of a sense of obligation and inertia, I filled out my [missionary] papers and sent them in, extremely careful to mark the column indicating greatest desire to serve abroad and in a foreign language. I was careful to make it apparent that I was an accomplished student of Russian and fully capable of spending two years among the Russian people. Confident that no committee could resist such qualifications, I rested confident that I would enjoy a wonderfully mind-expanding cultural adventure.”
He was shocked to receive a call to serve in a mission in the United States. He didn’t know anything about the state where he would serve, except that it was in his own country speaking English rather than abroad speaking the language he had learned, and, as he said, “The people I would work with would likely be academic incompetents.” He continued, “I almost refused to accept the call, feeling that I would be more fulfilled by enlisting in the Peace Corps or something else.”
Fortunately, this proud young man found the courage and faith to accept the call and to follow the direction and counsel of his fine mission president. Then the miracle of spiritual growth began. He described it thus:
“As I began to serve among the uneducated people of [this state], I struggled mightily for several months, but gradually the sweet workings of the Spirit began to tear down the walls of pride and disbelief that had wrapped themselves so tightly around my soul. The miracle of a conversion to Christ began. The sense of the reality of God and the eternal brotherhood of all men came more and more powerfully to my troubled mind.”
It was not easy, he admitted, but with the influence of his great mission president and with his growing love for the people he served, it was possible, and it occurred.
“My desire to love and serve these people who in the ultimate scale were at least my peers, almost definitely my superiors, waxed stronger and stronger. I learned humility for the first time in my life; I learned what it means to make our valuations of others [without relying on the] irrelevant details of life. I began to feel swelling within my heart a love of the spirits that came here to earth with me.” I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go, by Elder Dallin H. Oaks, October 2002.
It is Not Where You Serve, But How
When I was a 19 year old boy awaiting my mission call, I was hoping to go to France or really just about anywhere French-speaking. I had studied French in High School, instead of Spanish like my brothers. My older brother got called to Salta Argentina, and was still serving there when I got my call. Prior to opening my call letter, I was hoping to go anywhere outside the US and outside Spanish-speaking Latin America. I wanted to go somewhere different and unique, but when I opened the letter, I found that I would be serving in Argentina just like my older brother, though in a different part of the country.
For a brief moment I felt the pride and resentment of someone disappointed by where they were called to serve. But those feelings soon left as the Spirit confirmed that Argentina was where the Lord needed me to serve. And of course, in retrospect, I can’t imagine having served anywhere else. I met so many good people, and was able to see many families come into the waters of baptism. I had great companions and mission presidents that influenced me to become better. There is no doubt that the Rosario, Argentina mission is where the Lord needed me, and where I needed to be.
By accepting my mission call and seeking to magnify that calling in a manner pleasing unto the Lord, I learned that it is not where you serve that matters, but how you serve. This lesson was taught powerfully, through word and deed, by President J. Reuben Clark, former counselor in the First Presidency of the Church, when he said: “In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, one takes the place to which one is duly called, which place one neither seeks nor declines” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1951, 154). This he said, by the way, when he was called as second counselor in the First Presidency, after serving for over 16 years as first counselor.
Examples of Willingness to Go Where Needed
Quoting again from Elder Oaks, “I recently reviewed the missionary papers of over 50 senior couples. All had already served at least three missions when they submitted their papers for another call…The priesthood leaders’ comments on the papers of these couples are testimonies of service and sacrifice. I quote several:
- “Willing to go anyplace, do anything for whatever length of time required.”
- “[These] are great examples of Church members who dedicate their lives to the Lord.”
- “Willing to serve in whatever capacity called.”
- “Will go anywhere and do what is asked. It is not a sacrifice; it is a privilege.”
I hope the same can be said about each of you, and about me one day when my wife and I apply to serve as missionaries.
Jesus, the Perfect Example
Of course, our Savior Jesus Christ gave the greatest example of willingness to go where Heavenly Father wants us to go. The Savior would have rather not drank the bitter cup and suffered for our sins in Gethsemane and on the cross of Calvary (see D&C 19:18), But he, in all humility, said to the Father, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).
May we follow the example of Christ, and seek the will of the Father, and not our own. May we, through our words and deeds, always say “I will go where you want me to go, dear Lord.” Truly, missionaries are called by God, and through faithful service, they and their families will be greatly blessed of the Lord.
Climb Higher
May 23rd
Years ago I clipped this ad from a magazine. I can’t remember what the original advertisement was for, but I was struck by the applicability of the principles for many different aspects of life.
We’ll give you the training,
the tools, and the challenge.
How high the climb is up to you!
Today let’s apply this to preparation for a mission and how it will help you climb higher. It’s the perfect analogy.
1. The Training
Though you are being trained daily as you make righteous choices, study the scriptures, choose good friends, keep commitments, and work hard, the formal missionary training will be in the Missionary Training Center.
In a letter from President and Sister Smith (president of the Provo, Utah MTC and his wife) to prospective missionaries, they share great information about the experience you might have at the MTC:
“As you achieve goals, keep commitments, and stay focused on what really matters, you will receive excellent training to prepare you for your MTC experience.”
2. The Tools:
In the April 2010 General Conference President Thomas S. Monson taught us about the tools that prepare us for missionary service:
“Young men, I admonish you to prepare for service as a missionary. There are many tools to help you learn the lessons which will be beneficial to you as well as helping you to live the life you will need to have lived to be worthy. One such tool is the booklet entitled For the Strength of Youth, published under the direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. It features standards from the writings and teachings of Church leaders and from scripture, adherence to which will bring the blessings of our Heavenly Father and the guidance of His Son to each of us. In addition, there are lesson manuals, carefully prepared after prayerful consideration. Families have family home evenings, where gospel principles are taught. Almost all of you have the opportunity to attend seminary classes taught by dedicated teachers who have much to share.” Preparation Brings Blessings by President Thomas S. Monson
a. For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. Have you read it recently? Challenge: take 5 minutes before bed every night and read through one of the topics. Double Challenge: set a goal to improve on 1 principle taught. Triple Challenge: choose 1 principle a month to work on.
b. Lesson Manuals. Preach My Gospel is an excellent tool to study NOW to prepare yourself. Scriptures are the best lesson manuals ever. Challenge: commit to study 10 minutes a day out of the scriptures. Double Challenge: commit to 15 minutes a day study time. Triple Challenge: commit to 30 minutes a day study time in the scriptures and lesson manuals.
c. Family Home Evening: Do you participate in family home evening? Are you attending with a pleasant attitude? Challenge: If your family isn’t having them regularly, YOU initiate it. Plan a lesson. Keep it simple and fun. Double Challenge: Offer to teach a lesson once a month. Teaching gospel principles NOW will prepare you for teaching the gospel on your mission.
d. Seminary. This is a great place to learn the scriptures. Memorize the scripture mastery scriptures. Participate in class discussion. If you have early morning seminary, this is great practice for rising early. Make it a habit now! Challenge: commit to graduate from Seminary. Make it priority NOW.
3. The Challenge
The Challenge is to BECOME… become a disciple of Christ… become a valiant example of gospel principles.
“Brethren, the challenge to become applies precisely and perfectly to missionary preparation. Obviously, the process of becoming a missionary does not require a young man to wear a white shirt and tie to school every day or to follow the missionary guidelines for going to bed and getting up, although most parents certainly would support that idea. But you can increase in your desire to serve God (see D&C 4:3), and you can begin to think as missionaries think, to read what missionaries read, to pray as missionaries pray, and to feel what missionaries feel. You can avoid the worldly influences that cause the Holy Ghost to withdraw, and you can grow in confidence in recognizing and responding to spiritual promptings. Line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, you can gradually become the missionary you hope to be and the missionary the Savior expects.” David A. Bednar, “Becoming a Missionary,” Ensign, Nov 2005
As you TRAIN daily,
utilize the TOOLS,
and accept the CHALLENGE to become,
you are choosing to be like those described by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:
“What we need now is the greatest generation of missionaries in the history of the Church. We need worthy, qualified, spiritually energized missionaries who, like Helaman’s 2,000 stripling warriors, are ‘exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity’ and who are ‘true at all times in whatsoever thing they [are] entrusted’ ( Alma 53:20 )” (The Greatest Generation of Missionaries by Elder Ballard in Ensign, Nov. 2002).
Climb Higher
How high the climb is up to you! Make it a worthwhile journey!
The view from the top is excellent and well-worth the hard work.
