Mission farewell talk

How I prepared for my mission

Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters.  I have been asked to give a talk on how I prepared on serving a mission.  Last week, when Bishop Dye told me I was supposed to talk for a half hour, and I was freaking out, because there was no way I could ever speak for thirty minutes!  Then Bishop told me he was only joking, and that I only had to speak for fifteen minutes.  So, thank you Bishop!

I have wanted to serve a mission my entire life.  People have asked me why I want to serve a mission.  My answer to them is that I want to serve so I can teach and serve the people who don’t quite understand the Gospel yet.  Because the Gospel is a big part of my life, it makes me happy and I want to share that happiness with as many people as I can.  The world can be a dark place, and it could use much more happy people.

When I first got my mission call back in July, I was a little bummed that I didn’t get to go to a foreign mission.  I wanted to experience a new culture outside of the United States and see new things.  After all, California is only two states away!   But, as time passed on, California was growing on me.  My preferences were all met.  I was going somewhere warm, I was speaking Spanish (most of my other friends on missions are on Spanish speaking missions, and so we can have secret conversations and nobody will know what we are talking about!) and I was going on a mission (and that was the most important one). 

In the April 2003 General Conference talk by Daryl H. Garn, he compares missionary work to a game of basketball.  He was a basketball player at Utah State University for two years before going on a mission.  He says, “I believe it is appropriate to compare the game of basketball to missionary work. The game of basketball includes not only the time you compete with another team on the court but also the hours of proper training and practice. The great work of saving souls is not limited to the two years that you serve a mission but, rather, requires years of righteous living and preparation in order to meet the standard for full-time missionary service.”  I’m a sports fan; so comparing things to sports helps me understand the subject more easily.  How I interpreted this quote is that you have to “practice the Gospel” by reading scriptures, praying, going to church and the other Primary answers.  Because that’s what the Gospel is based upon: the fundamentals.  I hear coaches all the time on the radio or TV talking about how their team needs to get back to the fundamentals of their sport.  That’s what I think serving a mission is about; teaching people the fundamentals of the Gospel.  Also, when you practice a sport, you can practice all you want, but if you never compete against other teams, it is difficult to get better.  Like, if you were practicing a shot for a basketball game, there is not going to be as much defense in your face when you practice with your team, as there would be in a real game.  Comparing that concept to missionary work, if you read and learn about the Gospel, but then never put that knowledge to use, how does that help people come closer to the Gospel?  You have to compete, or in a missionary’s perspective, teach, in order to grow. 

In a talk given by Robert K. Wagstaff in the March 2011 Ensign magazine, he talks about how to prepare emotionally for a mission.  He gives a few points that I would like to share.

One of the points is living away from home for a period of time before leaving for the mission field.

               This past semester, while I was attending Utah Valley University, I moved away from home for six months.  I lived with a couple of my friends and I feel that it was a great experience that helped me prepare for my mission.  While living away from home, I didn’t have a Mom, and so I had to pick up the slack from all the things she did.  It’s amazing how many things our mothers do for us!  I guess I did a pretty good job at filling the mother-less void because my friends started to call me Mom!  I learned how to clean, cook, do laundry and a whole bunch of other stuff that I know will help me on my mission.  Another point Brother Wagstaff brings up in his talk is interacting with others.  I have had two jobs recently that have allowed me to interact with other people.  Naturally, I am a shy person and have troubles speaking with people whom I don’t know.  

            Another thing that I know that has helped me prepare for my mission is earning my Eagle Scout award.  Earning that award has helped me gain leadership skills and other sorts of skills that will help me on my mission. 

            In a seminar for new mission presidents, Elder Dallin H. Oaks gives a talk about why we do missionary work.  He says, “We do not preach and teach in order to “bring people into the Church” or to increase the membership of the Church. We do not preach and teach just to persuade people to live better lives. We honor and appreciate the many ministers and others who are involved in the kind of ministry that makes bad men good and good men better. That is important, but we offer something more. One can qualify for the terrestrial kingdom instead of the telestial kingdom without the aid of this Church. We are concerned with a higher destination.

The purpose of our missionary work is to help the children of God fulfill a condition prescribed by our Savior and Redeemer. We preach and teach in order to baptize the children of God so that they can be saved in the celestial kingdom instead of being limited to a lesser kingdom. We do missionary work in order to baptize and confirm. That is the doctrinal basis of missionary work.”

            Going through four years of seminary is another thing that has helped me to prepare for a mission.  The scripture masteries learned in seminary cover just about every topic.  One scripture comes to mind when thinking of missionary work: Jeremiah 16:16.   (Read scripture).  One thing that reminds me of this is a bracelet that I wear.  It is composed of a bunch of fishing swivels hooked together to form a bracelet.  My Young Men’s leader, John Festin, gave this bracelet to me.  He said to remember that our Young Men’s group was fishers of men.  That’s what missionaries are.  Sometimes they get bites and are able to reel in the big fish.  Other times they get bites and then lose the fish.  And sometimes the fish doesn’t bite at all.  In those cases, you just have to wait for that particular fish to bite.  You may have to change the way you approach the fish, because the same approach doesn’t work for everyone.