"Commitment is doing the thing you said you would do, long after the mood you said it in has left you." George R. Zalucki


Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A missionary people

Have you ever wondered why members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints [Mormons] place such a heavy emphasis on missionary work? One reason is captured in a hymn frequently associated with missionary work titled, "Called to Serve". The second verse begins,
"Called to know the richness of His blessing-Sons and daughters, children of a King. Glad of heart, His holy name confessing Praises unto him we bring."
Missionary work is sharing the joy and happiness we have in our lives with others. A prophet named Heber J. Grant once said, "...it is our duty above all other to go forth and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the restoration again to the earth of the plan of life and salvation...We have in very deed the pearl of great price. We have that which is of more value than all the wealth and the scientific information which the world possess. We have the plan of life and salvation... The best way in the world to show our love for our neighbor is to go forth and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,"
These revised Junior mint boxes were handed out to some of our missionaries during a preparedness fair [the major emphasis of the event focuses on emergency preparedness, 72 hour kits, first aid...]. Fun idea, but great sentiment. The atonement of Jesus Christ was never meant to bless only a select group of people, but is intended and offered to all of God's children.
Everyone that is blessed with gospel knowledge then has the wonderful privilege and responsibility to share it with others. One of my favorite scriptures is found in Doctrine and Covenants section 88 verse 81 which reads in part, "it becometh everyman who hath been warned to warn his neighbor." When I read this scripture, I often change the word 'warn' to 'bless' as that reflects my feelings about the knowledge I have about God's plan of salvation for His children.
If a member of our faith invites you to meet with the missionaries to learn more about Jesus Christ, what a compliment! That invitation is a reflection of their great esteem for you and the overcoming of their own fears of how you might receive it. If your friend hasn't asked you to learn more, be brave and ask them! They're probably wondering if you're interested. As much as the world sees our faith as aggressive about missionary work, many members of the church are shy about sharing what they know with others. They understand how important the message is and so are intimidated about saying the wrong thing or coming across as less than sincere and blowing your chance to hear about it! Slowly, surely, we're doing better. Another prophet named David O McKay said "True Christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for your fellow men. This is the spirit of missionary work." As we individually do better at becoming more like the Savior Jesus Christ that we follow, more and more,...hopefully, you'll have an invitation to learn more.

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When I was 14 or 15, I had a teacher that prided himself on being a thinker. We had some enlightening discussions in his classroom. He helped me ask some great questions that led to tremendous answers that still guide me today. We agreed on many things, but were at odds on a few. One of them was religion. I had a lot of respect for this man, but it amazed me that someone who claimed to be open minded was blind to just how closed minded he was when it came to God. He was always challenging my faith. He considered my beliefs to be a sign of my weakness. His claim was that unless it could be acknowledged by the 5 senses, there was no proof that God existed. I struggled as a young person to help him understand that he was limiting his understanding to what he had personally experienced, cutting himself off from other possibilities. The best that I could do was to try and help him understand how I knew; that things of the spirit could only be understood and perceived by the spirit. Years later, I still don't have a better answer to this one fundamental question, but I face the same dilemma. This blog is dedicated to preserving stories and experiences of missionaries in the Arizona Mesa Mission both during and after their formal missions. Some stories are fun and light hearted, but others are of a spiritual nature. The blog forum is so convenient, yet the format is limiting. There is more to these words than letters on a page. To truly understand the messages requires not only an open mind, but a soft heart.

After all, "A man's reach should exceed his grasp, else what's a Heaven for?- Robert Browning"

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