But I did want to add this talk to Logan's blog. This talk is fairly serious and explains very well who Logan is trying to be on his mission. Logan is working so hard to be the best he can be. He puts 100% focus on his mission, his companion, his mission president and the people he serves and teaches. It makes my heart smile 1000 times to know that he knows why he is there, serving the people in the Brisbane area. It wasn't on a whim or by chance, it was firmly planted beneath his feet and designed by the Lord.
Many years ago I entered the Mission Training
Center as a young enthusiastic missionary. The training was shorter and
simpler then, but the spirit was just as powerful. I have long forgotten
most of what was said, but an observation made by the president of the
Mission Training Center struck me and has remained with me to this day. He
said in essence: “Every mission has a number of good, even great
missionaries, but most missions only have about five or so consecrated
missionaries – those who are willing to lay everything on the altar
of sacrifice.”
Today I believe we have many more such consecrated
missionaries. But to those of you who are not quite there, but would like
to be, it is you to whom I would like to speak today – about becoming a
consecrated missionary.
What is a Consecrated Missionary?
What is a consecrated missionary? It is a
missionary who is willing to lay everything on the altar of sacrifice and
to hold nothing back. It is a willingness to give every ounce of
energy, every conscious thought, and every drop of passion to this work –
to submit our will to God’s will whatever it may be. Every missionary who
has been to the temple has covenanted to consecrate his all. The book of
Omni records the depth and breadth of that covenant: “Yea, come unto me,
and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him” (Omni 1:26).
The law of consecration is the law of the
temple, it is the law of the celestial kingdom, and it is the law of
a celestial mission.
Parley P. Pratt was such a consecrated missionary.
He had served as a missionary for more than 25 years of almost constant
labors. He had just returned from his latest mission in Chile. He was
hopeful that he could now remain at home and enjoy his family, but
such expectations were short lived. President Brigham Young called him to
serve yet another mission– this time in the eastern states. One can
imagine the feelings that must have swelled up in Parley’s heart. Perhaps
he thought, “Haven’t I given all that a mortal could be expected to give?
Don’t I deserve to spend some time with my family and friends? Can’t I just
relax for a while?”
But Parley P. Pratt was a consecrated missionary. On
September 7, 1856, shortly after learning of his call by Brigham Young, he
offered the following tender reflections and prophetic insights: “I
have desired, after travelling for twenty-five or twenty-six years, mostly
abroad, to stay at home and minister among the people of God, and take
care of my family; but God’s will be done, and not mine. If it is the will
of God that I should spend my days in proclaiming this Gospel and bearing
testimony of these things, I shall think myself highly privileged and honored.
And when the Spirit of God is upon me, I think it matters but very little
what I suffer, what I sacrificed–whether I secure the honor or dishonor of
men, or where I die, if it so be that I can keep the faith, fight the good
fight, and finish my course with joy. I have all eternity before me, in
which to enjoy myself.” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, p. xxv.)
Sometimes there is a temptation to withhold part of
the offering. Such was the case with Ananias and Sapphira, his wife. The
scriptures tell us that they sold a piece of land. Under the law of
consecration they were to turn over the entire sale proceeds to the church, but
secretly they kept back part of the price. The consequence was devastating
– they were struck dead (Acts 5:1-10). Sometimes good men, perhaps even
great men, can’t quite bring themselves to put everything on the altar of
sacrifice, and in the course lose their eternal lives. So it was with
the rich young ruler. He had kept the commandments from his youth up. Then
the Savior declared, “Yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all thou hast and
distribute unto the poor…and come follow me.” But it was too much to ask,
and he went away sorrowful, unwilling to put his all on the sacrificial
altar.
Peter, overhearing the conversation and understanding
there could be no shortcuts to eternal life, no holding back, declared in
contrast: “We have left all and followed thee” (Luke
18:18-28). Perhaps we have one or two things which we lack, that we hold
back from the sacrificial altar, that prevent us from becoming a
consecrated missionary. May I discuss some of those, so that hopefully we
too might become like Peter and leave our all on the altar of sacrifice.
Put On the Altar of Sacrifice Any Disobedience
First, a consecrated missionary puts on the altar
of sacrifice any streak of disobedience he may possess, however large or
small it may be. He has an unrelenting quest to be exactly obedient. King
Lamoni recognized that Ammon was a consecrated missionary, for he
said: “Even he doth remember all my commandments to execute them” (Alma
18:10).
When I first entered the field as a mission
president, I met several times with a missionary who was struggling with
obedience. One day in frustration he blurted out: “What then is it you
want me to do?” I replied: “You have missed the point. It is not what I want
you to do, it should be what do you want to do?” There was a moment of
silence and then he made this insightful observation: “You are not just
asking me to change my behavior; you are asking me to change my nature.”
He was so right.
If you only change your behavior, then you will
be the same person you were when you left home, subject to the same
problems that plagued you then. But if you change your nature you will go
home a new man or woman, with the power and discipline to conquer your old
Goliaths. If you only get up at 6:30 am because your companion does, you
have merely changed your behavior. If you get up whether or not he does, you
have changed your nature. If you speak good words but entertain bad
thoughts, you have only changed your behavior. If you also change your
thoughts you have also changed your nature.
With the Lord’s help we can transform our natures.
King Benjamin gave the key as to how we can do it. We must become
“submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all
things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth
submit to his father.” (Mos 3:19).
That is the key – to submit our will to God’s will.
One missionary, upon going home told me that he
slept in one morning. His companion said to him, “It’s time to get out of
bed.” This missionary responded, “I don’t want to.” His companion replied,
“It’s not about what you want, it’s about what the Lord wants.”
The missionary said; “I have never forgotten that – a mission is about
that the Lord wants, not what I want.”
A consecrated nature will cause us to be obedient,
not because we have to, but because we want to. Such a nature may cause us
to change the music we listen to; it may cause some to be more positive in
their speech, or more exacting in following the morning schedule or
more diligent in their studies. Whatever it is, the consecrated missionary
will read the white handbook with enthusiasm, anxious to obey and follow
every rule with exactness, knowing that it is not a book of restraints,
but a book of blessings. He will have an overarching, burning desire to do
the Lord’s will, not his.
Leave Our Fears on the Sacrificial Altar
Second, consecrated missionaries leave their fears
on the sacrificial altar and open their mouths with everyone. This will be
one of your great challenges in the mission field. It sometimes separates
the consecrated missionaries from the good missionaries. I recognize
there may be multiple reasons why someone doesn’t open his mouth at all
times and in all places – why he holds back a part of the offering. It
could be a timid personality, or a fear of man, or a streak of laziness,
but whatever the excuse may be, it must eventually be overcome. It never outweighs
the Savior’s command which states: “And thou must open thy mouth at all
times.” (DC 28:16). This injunction is repeated again and again in the
scriptures.
On another occasion the Lord said, “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.” And then comes the
promise to those who do: “And I will give unto him strength such as is not
known among men” (DC 24:12).
Sometimes in life we just have to square our
shoulders and do it. There is no magic pill that makes us courageous, no
passage of time that strengthens us, no memorized approach that emboldens
us. We are left only with the compelling counsel of King Benjamin: “And now, if
ye believe all these things, see that you do them” (Mosiah 4:19).
Years ago my grandfather was serving as the
president of the Rotterdam Branch in Holland. He told of a woman who came
to him destitute, who had earned the equivalent of an American quarter for
the entire week. She asked if she needed to pay tithing. He looked at
her for a minute in her impoverished condition, and then said: “Sister, if
this were my church, I would not take your tithing. But it is not my
church; it is the Lord’s church, and tithing is a principle upon which
blessings of the Lord are predicated.” (LeGrand Richards Speaks, P.
185.) She paid her tithing.
If I could as a Mission President, I would have
exempted some missionaries who struggled with opening their mouth. I knew
how hard it was for them, but I couldn’t. The command to open one’s mouth
is not my command. It is not the command of Preach My Gospel, it is not
the command of the missionary department, it is the command of the Lord
who has spoken on this subject again and again through his living
prophets. Sometimes we have to be like Nephi and say, “I will go and do
the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth
no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way
for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1
Ne 3:7). Eventually we must do more than tell the stories of the Book of
Mormon; we must live them.
The Lord, in speaking to a group of departing
missionaries (like you), told them five times to “preach by the way” (DC
52:10-27). We preach by the way when we talk to people in the parking
lots, when we speak with people in elevators, when we speak to people in the
stores or on the bus or at the gas stations. Consecrated missionaries
preach by the way at all times and in all places, both day and night. Sometimes
we have missionaries who are so worried about offending people that in the
process they never ever save them.
I had an assistant who used to say, “If you want to
baptize a few people you talk to a few people, if you want to baptize a
lot of people you talk to a lot of people and if you want to baptize
everyone you can, you talk to everyone you can.” But the Lord gave an even
further reason for opening our mouths. He declared: “And it shall be given
thee from the time thou shalt go [out of thy apartment in the morning],
until the time thou shalt return [to thy apartment in the evening] what
thou shalt do”. (DC 28:15-16). In other words, you will have the spirit from
the moment you leave your apartment until the moment you return to your
apartment if you do what is required in verse 16: “And thou must open thy
mouth at all times, declaring my gospel with the sound of rejoicing.
Amen.”
The reason it is so important to open our mouths is
that every time we do so we exercise faith, and every time we exercise faith we
invite the spirit and miracles into our lives. Consecrated missionaries
open their mouth with everyone.
Put Our Romantic Passions on the Table
Third, a consecrated missionary puts his romantic
passions on the altar of sacrifice; he has a locked heart and a focused
mind. He is never flirtatious, he does not have an eye on the cute BYU
coed or the friendly young single adult, nor is his prime focus with the young
women after sacrament meeting. He is not obsessed with his girl friend
back home. He rises above all of that.
In my day the white handbook contained this
all-inclusive statement: “Put out of your mind all thoughts of home,
school, your girl and worldly things.” It was a powerful reminder that our
mission was the sole focus of our mind and the sole passion of our heart. As
hard as it may be, the consecrated missionary disciplines his passions.
His eye is riveted to this work. He is like the thoroughbred horse with
his blinders on. He races ahead, seeing only track and finish. If an inappropriate
thought enters his mind, he drives it out with a hymn or scripture. His
mind does not go with the flow. Rather, there is an active, concerted,
conscientious effort to keep his mind pure and clean.
When David saw Bathsheba on the rooftop, he
continued to watch – that was his downfall. When Joseph was tempted by
Pharaoh’s wife, the scriptures say: “[He] got him out” (Gen 39:12), and
that was his salvation. It is no different with our minds. Alma
taught this principle to his son Corianton, who had unfortunately unlocked
his heart to the harlot Isabel. Alma scolded his son severely and said,
“Yea, she did steal away the hearts of many, but this was no excuse for
thee, my son.” And then he gave him the remedy to be a
consecrated missionary, “go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but
cross [or discipline] yourself in all these things.” (Alma 39:4,9).
You young missionaries who enter the field, will be
surrounded, almost immersed, by those in immodest clothing, by suggestive
billboards, by magazines and papers that have lost all sense of moral
decency. If you garnish your thoughts with virtue unceasingly (DC 121:45)
the consequences will be monumental in your life. As a missionary you will
have confidence that the Lord will hear and answer your prayers. The Lord
himself promised: “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall
thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.” (DC 121:45) In
addition, when you go home and date, you may not only have a romantic
courtship, but one that is also clean and wholesome. And when you are
married you will be a loyal and true spouse. If every action is preceded
by a thought, then every consecrated missionary must first have a clean
and consecrated mind.
Give Up Pride
Fourth, a consecrated missionary gives up his
pride on the sacrificial altar. The Lord made it clear, “And no one can
assist in this work except he be humble and full of love” (DC 12:8). Pride
manifests itself in many ways – one way is disloyalty to those who are our
leaders.
Loyalty is much more than a reluctant
submissiveness. It is an active pursuit, not only to follow the counsel of
our leaders, but to seek their counsel. A consecrated missionary hungers
and thirsts for instruction as to how he can be better, and how fortunate
we are to have so many missionaries in the world who manifest that spirit.
Again and again missionaries would ask me in the field, “President, what
can I do to be a better missionary.” And oh, how they became so.
Pride may manifest itself in jealousy of
companions. I think of one of the finest elders of our mission. I never
heard him say “I.” It was always “we” or “my companion did this” or “my
companion did that.” Though his words always credited someone else, somehow you
always knew he was the driving force behind it all. Pride may
manifest itself in a reluctance to confess our sins. We may be too
embarrassed to do so, or fearful of the consequences or unrealistically
hoping the sin will somehow vanish if we serve an honorable mission. But
at the root of each of those excuses is pride.
On one occasion a missionary came to me with a
belated confession. I asked him what motivated him to come. He responded:
“I finally disclosed to my companion that I had something to confess to
the President, but I didn’t want to go home. Then my companion
said something that struck me to the very core. “Elder,” he said, “there
is something even more important than your mission.” Somewhat surprised I
replied, “What is that?” Then came his answer: “Repentance – repentance is
more important than your mission.” The young Elder who sat before me said,
“President, I knew he was right. And that is why I am here. I want
to repent.” Not too long ago I received an invitation to attend his temple
sealing.
Some have honestly asked, “When should I confess?”
When the sin is of such a serious magnitude that it may trigger a
disciplinary proceeding or continues to linger in our minds so that we
cannot have peace. If we then fail to confess, our spiritual horizons become
limited. It is like being surrounded by a circular, impenetrable wall. In
such a circumstance, we have some limited room in which to move, but we
are trapped. We will look in vain for a slit through which we can squeeze,
an opening through which we can pass, an end around which we can
travel. There are no end runs, no secret openings, no hidden passages.
Serving a faithful mission does not obviate confession; months and years
of abstinence no not erase its need; one-on-one pleading with the Lord is
not a substitute. Somewhere, sometime, somehow one must face the wall
square up and climb it. That is confession. When we do this our spiritual
horizons become unlimited and we become entitled to the promise of the
Lord. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow”
(Isaiah 1:18).
Pride may manifest itself in a defensive attitude
or a multitude of excuses. On one occasion I reprimanded a missionary for
an act of blatant disobedience. He started to offer excuses; finally I
said, “If you want to offer excuses I cannot help you. If you are willing
to acknowledge the wrong, I will work with you and we can build for a
constructive future on a sure and solid foundation.” That day he had to
choose between rationalization and repentance. Fortunately he chose the
latter.
One night I was with an Elder Choi and Elder
McClellan. We were talking to a mother who was reluctant to let her
17-year-old son be baptized. For at least ten minutes of the conversation
she chastised these elders severely, and literally “raked them over the coals.”
No doubt they were embarrassed, perhaps even offended, particularly since
their mission president was present. In my estimation they had done
nothing wrong. Instead, they were taking an undeserved whipping of substantial
proportions. I thought, will they fight back, will they argue, will they
defend their position? To their credit there was no argument, no excuses –
simply the humble response that they were trying to do what was best for
her son and if in any way they had failed to do so they were sorry. They
were not trying to win an argument. They were trying to save a soul. With
that humble spirit, her heart softened, and finally she agreed that she
would listen more carefully to the message her son was being taught. They
were consecrated missionaries – every ounce of their pride had been put on
the altar of sacrifice.
We Put our Negativism and Sarcasm on the Table
Fifth, consecrated missionaries are willing to give
up any negativism or sarcasm. Instead they are optimistic and positive.
They have a 24-hour smile. They live the invitation of the Savior, “Be of
good cheer I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). There is not a
negative bone in their bodies. There is no rejection at the door or on the
street that can dim their enthusiasm. They are willing to pay the price of
repeated rejection for the hope of a single conversion. Whatever the world
throws at them, they throw back a smile, because they know they have the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
Consecrated missionaries are like Heber C. Kimball
and Brigham Young, who left for their missions to England. Their families
were poverty stricken, they were sick, and there was little food available
for the ensuing months. Heber and Brigham, finally able to raise themselves from
their own sick beds, kissed their wives and started on their journey. Brigham
recorded: “It seemed to me as though my very inmost parts would melt
within me at the thought of leaving my family in such a condition.” (Men
With a Mission, p. 71.) But before they were out of sight, Brigham
directed the teamster to stop. He and Heber mustered all their strength to
stand, they raised their hats over their heads three times and shouted,
“Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Israel.” We have such consecrated missionaries
who can shout “Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Israel” even when they are
bombarded with rejection, or illness, or disappointment – who have unwavering
faith in the promise of Paul: “let us not be weary in well doing; for in
due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Gal 6:9).
Extra-Milers
Consecrated missionaries are extra-milers. They put
on the table of sacrifice every ounce of their energy, every hour of every
day. When Roger Bannister broke the four minute mile, he collapsed at the
finish line into the hands of his well-wishers. A journalist, sensing all that
was involved in that historic moment wrote: “The runner, open-mouthed,
thin-legged, knowing only pace and goal, spending his strength so that the
finish, at one mile, there was nothing more.” For a consecrated missionary
there is nothing more to give at the end of the day. He has put it all
on the altar of sacrifice.Consecrated missionaries are missionaries who
would finish the marathon. They are missionaries who would go the full fifteen
rounds. They are missionaries who carry no white flags.
Years ago at family night we would have wrestling
as part of the evening activities – our children loved it. When the kids
were little I would sometimes hold them down and ask, “Do you give up?” At
first they would say, “Yes Dad, I give up.” Then I would say, “No, you
never give up, you never give up.” As time would pass and I would ask the
question again, they would quickly reply, “No, Dad I never give up.”
Consecrated missionaries never give up on the Lord’s work. They never
throw in the towel. They would have made it from Palmyra to Salt Lake Valley.
Nothing would have weeded them out along the way. For you see, they had
unwavering faith.
Consecrated missionaries are out of the apartment
by 10:00 a.m. They do not come back before 9:00 p.m., except for lunch or
dinner. They speak to everyone. They knock at one more door. There is a
quickness in their pace and an urgency in their work. You can see it in
their faces.
Years ago I was a young missionary in Washington DC.
I was on an exchange with an Elder Hafen. It was a bike area. We had an
appointment across town but the rain started to pour. He asked, “Should I
cancel the appointment?” I replied, “This is your area, you make
the decision. “He thought for a moment and then replied, “Let’s ride.” I
love those words – “Let’s ride” – rain, sleet, snow, it doesn’t matter –
“Let’s ride.” That is the spirit of a consecrated missionary.
When consecrated missionaries are exhausted and
nothing is left, they rely upon their faith, and the reserve tanks of
energy somehow carry them through the day. They too become recipients of the
promise to Joseph Smith: “In temporal labors thou shalt not have strength
for this is not thy calling.” But then the promise: “Thou shall devote all
thy service in Zion; and in this thou shalt have strength” (DC 24:7-9).
What Does it Cost to Become a Consecrated
Missionary?
What is the cost to become a consecrated
missionary? Some time ago I saw a movie on the life of Martin Luther. He
was about to be tried for heresy. Shortly before he was to meet with the
Court of Inquisition, his spiritual mentor (a monk who had trained him and
loved him) was cutting his hair with a razor. At one point the monk
reprimanded Luther for having turned the world upside down, leading the
world in revolt – Protestants against Catholics.
Then in a stirring moment, Luther grasps his
arm and asks: “You wanted me to change the world. Did you think there
would be no cost?” You young missionaries came out here to change the world, to change
lives, but there is a cost. It costs everything that you have on the altar of
sacrifice – your fears, your pride, your laziness, your disobedience, your
weaknesses; we cannot hold anything back. When you came to the mission
field you burned the bridges behind you, you burned the ships in the
harbor. There is no retreat to your former life. You cannot have one foot at
home and one foot in the mission field.
That is a certain formula for frustration. The Lord
demands our whole soul on the sacrificial altar. That is the price we must
pay, and when we do, we then become instruments in the hands of God.
What Is the Power of a Consecrated Missionary?
What is the power of a consecrated missionary? Suppose I were to give you the
following options, which would you choose?
100 mediocre missionaries or 80 consecrated
missionaries?
100 mediocre missionaries or 50 consecrated missionaries?
100
mediocre missionaries or 20 consecrated missionaries?
100 mediocre
missionaries or 2 consecrated missionaries?
(by the way, the names of those
consecrated missionaries are Alma and Ammon)
Nephi realized that power comes with consecration,
not numbers. Laman and Lemuel could never understand this. They could not
comprehend how they could get the brass plates. After all they said, “How
is it possible that the Lord will deliver Laban into our hands. Behold he
is a mighty man, and he can command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty, then
why not us.” For them it was all about numbers – 50 was more than 4,
therefore they could not prevail. But for Nephi, man’s power was
inconsequential. It was only the Lord’s power that counted. He replied:
“For behold he [God] is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than
Laban and his fifty, yea, or even his tens of thousands” (1 Ne 4:1). The
power of a consecrated missionary is without limit. It is manifested in so
many ways. As to Nephi (son of Nephi), the scriptures tell us his words
were so powerful, that for his detractors, “it were not possible that they
could disbelieve his words” (3 Ne 7:18). When the sons of Mosiah preached the
gospel, the scriptures declare: “They taught with power and authority of
God” (Alma 17:3). And as to those consecrated missionaries who thrust in
their sickle with all their souls, the Lord promised: “your sins are
forgiven you” (DC 31:5). Those are the powers and blessings of a
consecrated missionary, and that is why the Prophet Joseph said; “it is
not the multitude of preachers that is to bring about the glorious
millennium; but it is those who are ‘called, and chosen, and
faithful.” (TPJ 42). In essence – the consecrated.
Consecrated Missionaries Serve the Savior Because
They Love Him.
What is the driving, motivating force for a
consecrated missionary? It is the Savior and His Atonement. If we fail to
be obedient, if we fail to be humble, if we fail to be fearless, perhaps
we intellectually understand the Atonement, but somehow we fail to grasp
the underlying love of his sacrifice. Once we feel that, as well as
understand it, we will be driven to give our all. We will realize that our
all is a small repayment for his all.
Becoming a Consecrated Missionary
Each of us might appropriately ask, “What lack I
yet to become a consecrated missionary?” There is no escaping it. God will
demand our all. If we are shy or reserved – God will compel us to change,
to be bold. He will jerk us out of our comfort zone again and again. If we
are lazy or idle, he will push us and pull us even when we are exhausted. If we
are disobedient, he will press us until we have a child-like
submissiveness. He will not let us be content with our weaknesses.
Whatever the weakness may be that holds us back
from becoming a consecrated missionary, the Lord has promised that if we
have faith in him, and humble ourselves before him, that he will make weak
things become strong unto us (Ether 12:26-27). I believe that. I do not
believe there is one missionary whose weaknesses are greater than the potential
strengths within him. Why? – because each of us is a son and daughter of
God, with his divine nature and divine potential woven into the very
fabric of our souls. I do not think the Lord expects immediate perfection
of us, but I do believe he expects immediate progress, and with that
progress comes consecration. I believe that he recognizes and appreciates
every step we take forward, however small it may be, striving to put our whole
souls on the altar of sacrifice. At first, consecration may seem like Mt.
Everest, unconquerable, unapproachable, unassailable, but every step we
take forward, however minute it may seem, furthers our ascent, until one
day we have attained the summit.
May we not be content with being a good, even
a great missionary, when we have the capacity to be
consecrated missionaries. Mormon declared with boldness: “Behold, I am a
disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to
declare his word among his people that they might have everlasting life”
(2 Ne 5:13). May it be so with each of us, in the name of Jesus
Christ, Amen.
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