Traits of Missionaries

Preach the Gospel with Purity and Fervent Testimony

Joseph Fielding Smith said:
“The preaching of the Gospel should be done in the spirit of the utmost humility and perseverance. missionaries are commanded not to idle away their time, but to give to the Lord their heart, and serve him with all their ‘might, mind and strength.’ Every missionary who goes forth is under the solemn obligation and pledge to bear his testimony of the restoration of the Gospel, and witness of its truth. In doing this he leave all who hear him without excuse and their sins are on their own heads. If he fails to do this then he will not ‘stand blameless before God at the last day’ “(Joseph Fielding Smith, CHMR 1:343).

President John Taylor clearly stated our mission. He said:
“Our mission has principally been to preach the first principles of the gospel, calling upon men everywhere to believe in the Lord God of heaven, he that created the heavens and the earth, the seas, and the fountains of waters; to believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, repenting of their sins, to be baptized for the remission of the same; and then we have promised them the Holy Ghost. In doing this the Lord has stood by us, sustaining those principles that we have advanced; and when we have ministered unto men the ordinances of the gospel; they have received for themselves the witness of the Spirit, even the Holy Ghost, making known to them for a surety that the principles that they had received were from God.” (The Gospel Kingdom, sel. G. Homer Durham [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1943], 223)

Missionaries to Match the Message

We need missionaries to match our message. We need missionaries who really know and love the Book of Mormon, who have a burning testimony of its divinity, and who by the Spirit can challenge their investigators to read and ponder its pages, knowing with complete assurance that the Lord will manifest the truth of the Book of Mormon to them by the power of the Holy Ghost. (Mission Presidents Seminar, Provo, Utah, 25 June 1986.) (Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], 204.)

The Power of a Testimony

To succeed in sharing the gospel, whether as full-time missionaries or as member missionaries, you must have a burning testimony of the divinity of this work. Your first obligation is to get that testimony through prayer, through fasting, through meditation, through study, through appealing to the Lord to give you the testimony, and through responding to calls when they come to you. You must know that God lives; that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the world; that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God; and that the priesthood and authority of our Heavenly Father is here. (Ezra Taft Benson, “Of the Most Worth,” Tambuli, Feb. 1990, 2)

Humility and Charity

Humility is the beginning virtue or the precursor of all spiritual growth. Until we are humble, we cannot grow. Elder Richard G. Scott describes this virtue in even greater detail: “Humility is the precious, fertile soil of righteous character. It germinates the seeds of personal growth. When cultivated through the exercise of faith, pruned by repentance, and fortified by obedience and good works, such seeds produce the cherished fruit of spirituality (see Alma 26:22). Divine inspiration and power then result. Inspiration is to know the will of the Lord. Power is the capability to accomplish that inspired will. (See D&C 43:15–16.) Such power comes from God after we have done “all we can do” (see 2 Ne. 25:23) (“The Plan of Happiness and Exaltation,” Ensign, Nov. 1981, 11).

Elder David B. Haight has stated:

“Charity is especially important in missionary work. Its influence, radiated by the missionary, helps to create within the investigator a desire to learn and softens his heart to the truth. Charity can fill the missionary with an unquenchable desire to serve his fellowmen. Without it, as difficulties arise and proselyting seems unfruitful, he may lose interest and slacken his pace. But with Christlike love, the missionary will persevere through adversity because he becomes a caring and dutiful messenger of Christ. A Christlike love for others can purify a missionary’s motives and consecrate his labor and true desire to share the gospel” (A Light unto the World, 73).

The Spirit will Teach and Convince

President Hinckley has reminded us, “The Spirit of the Lord will overcome the effect of any differences . . . between him who is teaching and him who is being taught (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City: Desert Book Co., 1997], 619).

The Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost

Elder Parley P. Pratt answered this question when he described the extraordinary characteristics of this remarkable power:
“The gift of the Holy Ghost . . . quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands, and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them by the gift of wisdom to their lawful use. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation, and social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, invigorates, and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being” (Key to the Science of Theology, 101–2).

The Holy Ghost

Wilford Woodruff explained that, “Unless you have the Holy Ghost with you when you go out to preach the Gospel, you cannot do your duty” (CR, Apr. 1898, 32).

“True it is that honest truth seekers come to know the truth and divinity of the Lord’s work by the power of the Holy Ghost: they receive a flash of revelation telling them that Jesus is the Lord, that Joseph Smith is his prophet, that the Book of Mormon is the mind and will and voice of the Lord, that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth. [Many] gain a testimony before baptism. But it is only after they pledge their all in the cause of Christ that they receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the heavenly endowment of which Jesus spoke. Then they receive a fulfillment of the promise, “By the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moro. 10:5). Then they receive “the spirit of revelation, and the Lord tells them in their heart and in their mind whatsoever he will” (D&C 8:1–3) (McConkie, Bruce R. The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1979-1981], 4:98–99).

The Spirit and the Book of Mormon

A missionary who is inspired by the Spirit of the Lord must be led by that Spirit to choose the proper approach to be effective. We must not forget that the Lord Himself provided the Book of Mormon as His chief witness. The Book of Mormon is still our most powerful missionary tool. Let us use it. (Mission Presidents Seminar, Provo, Utah, 24 June 1976.) (Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], 204.)

Worth of the Spirit a Key to Success

“To be a successful missionary one must have the Spirit of the Lord. We are also taught that the Spirit will not dwell in unclean tabernacles. Therefore, one of the first things a missionary must do to gain spirituality is to make sure his own personal life is in order.”
(Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], 198 – 199.)

Pray for Help

Your greatest help will come from the Lord Himself as you supplicate and plead with Him in humble prayer. As you are driven to your knees again and again, asking Him for divine help in your mission, you will feel the Spirit, you will get your answer from above, your mission will prosper spiritually because of your dependence and your reliance on Him. (Mission Presidents Seminar, Provo, Utah, 25 June 1986.)
The modern-day challenging and testifying missionary prays every morning to “lead me this day to a family that I can fulfil my purpose.”
(Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988], 199 – 200.)

Teach from the Heart

President Hinckley has taught us many wonderful truths about teaching. He said, “We must strengthen ourselves and our people to get our teachers to speak out of their hearts rather than out of their books, to communicate their love for the Lord and this precious work, and somehow it will catch fire in the hearts of those they teach” (Gordon B. Hinckley, Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City: Desert Book Co., 1997], 619).

Who you are Teaches what you Say

As Elder Hans B. Ringger so eloquently explains:
“The foundation and guiding light for all our decisions is the gospel of Jesus Christ and His message to the world. The teachings of Christ must be embedded in our desire to choose the right and in our wish to find happiness. His righteous life must be reflected in our own actions. The Lord not only teaches love, He is love. He not only preached the importance of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, He lived accordingly. His life reflected the gospel that He preached. There was and is total harmony between His thoughts and His actions” (“Choose You This Day,” Ensign, May 1990, 25).

Work–The Key to Missionary Work

“One of the greatest secrets of missionary work, is work. If missionaries work we will get the Spirit; if we get the Spirit, we will teach by the Spirit; and if we teach by the Spirit, we will touch the hearts of the people; and we will be happy. There will be no homesickness and no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. That’s the secret—work, work, work. There is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work” (Ezra Taft Benson, in a mission presidents’ seminar, Aug. 1982).

Never Contention

“…never permit contention in your companionships. Some of your missionary companions will be your life’s dearest friends. Be the kind of companion you would like to be with. Be unselfish in your relationship with your companions. When there is contention, the Spirit of the Lord will depart, regardless of who is at fault.
Each of us is an individual with unique strengths and talents, different from any other person in the world. Each of us has weaknesses. In a harmonious companionship, there is teamwork—where one is weak, the other is strong. As a boy, I learned to drive a team of horses. If one horse was balky, the other could not pull the load alone. So it is in a missionary companionship. Each must pull his share of the load.” (James E. Faust, “What I Want My Son to Know before He Leaves on His Mission,” Ensign, May 1996, 40)

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

We Can Do it with Faith in Jesus Christ

President Gordon B. Hinckley observed that we represent Christ’s army:
“In this work there must be commitment. There must be devotion. We are engaged in a great eternal struggle that concerns the very souls of the sons and daughters of God. We are not losing. We are winning. We will continue to win if we will be faithful and true. We can do it. We must do it. We will do it. There is nothing the Lord has asked of us that in faith we cannot accomplish” (“The War We Are Winning,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 44).

Faith Required to Do the Work

President Hinckley reminds us:
“If there is any one thing you and I need in this world it is faith, that dynamic, powerful, marvelous element by which, as Paul declared, the very worlds were framed (Heb. 11:3). . . . Faith—the kind of faith that moves one to get on his knees and plead with the Lord and then get on his feet and go to work—is an asset beyond compare, even in the acquisition of secular knowledge.” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1997], 186).

Faith is the power 

1. Faith is the shield of protection from the fiery darts of the adversary (see Eph.6:16).
2. Faith is evidenced by our works (see James 2:18).
3. Enos, the great prophet, exercised faith unto repentance, and his guilt was swept away (see Enos 1:8).
4. By faith the prophet Lehi received the blessing and the gift of the Holy Ghost. 5) Living by the Spirit comes from faith (see 1 Ne. 10:17).
5. Living by the Spirit comes from faith (see 1 Ne. 10:17).
6. Prayers to heal the sick, as well as miracles, occur by the power of faith (see James 5:15; 2 Ne. 26:13).
7. The Liahona worked by faith, diligence, and giving heed to the word.
8. Receiving direction in life depends on the faith we exercise (see 1 Ne. 16:28).
9. Faith gives us strength and it can do all things. (see Alma 2:30, 14:26).
10. We are alive in Christ through faith (see 2 Ne. 25:25).
11. We become mighty in word, able to preach the word through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (see Ether 12:23).
12. Miracles are wrought through faith; angels appear through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ (see Moro. 7:37).
13. We learn through faith (see D&C 88:118).
14. By faith we can do all things that are expedient in the Lord (see 2 Ne. 1:10; Moro. 7:33).
15. We pray, exercising faith with real intent for help with struggling children, and the Lord will send angels (see Mosiah 27:13–14), be they mortal or celestial.
16. It was faith that Nephi and Lehi (the sons of Helaman) exercised to help bring about the great change among the Lamanites (see Ether 12:14).
17. Faith is necessary in order that the Lord can work through us, for He works only with those who exercise faith (see Ether 12:30).
18. Faith is the principle that moves us to do good (see Alma 29:4).

“When the first elders were taught in the School of the Prophets they were taught seven lectures on faith. This was their preparation to serve as missionaries—increasing their faith. We too can increase our faith. Let’s not move all the mountains today. Let’s just have faith to follow the Prophet and prepare ourselves to be servants of the Lord Jesus Christ to become missionaries to match the message. Let’s have faith enough to build up the kingdom of God through love and service to our fellow beings. By small and simple things, great things come to pass—simply through exercising our faith (see D&C 64:33). So let us commit to some goals and a plan to increase our faith by searching the scriptures, fasting and prayer, and being full of humility that we might teach our brothers and sisters to increase their faith in coming unto Christ.” (Raising the Bar)

Responsibility and Duty

David O. McKay has said:
“Ours is the responsibility—greater than ever before:
1. To proclaim that the Church was divinely established by the appearance of God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ to the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that divine authority through the priesthood is given to represent Deity in establishing Christ’s Church upon the earth.

2. To proclaim that its assigned responsibility to fulfill the admonition of Jesus to his Apostles: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matt. 28:19–20).

3. To proclaim peace and goodwill unto all mankind.

4. To exert every effort and all means within our reach to make evil thinking men good, and good men better, and all people happier.

5.To proclaim the truth that each individual is a child of God and important in his sight . . .

We are all missionaries. We may drop a word here, bear our testimony, be an exemplar by what we do; and, as we accept this call and discharge our duties in the stakes, wards, quorums, and the mission field, our acts will ‘roll from soul to soul and go forever and forever.'” (CR, October 1969, 86–87)

Time

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.

Every night, it rules off as lost whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good   purpose.

It carries over no balances.

It allows no overdrafts.

Each day, it opens a new account with you.

If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back.

There is no drawing against the “Tomorrow.”

It is up to each of us to invest this precious fund of hours,

minutes, and seconds in order to get from it the utmost

in job performances and personal happiness.

How many minutes do you have each week to use effectively

to bring to pass the eternal life and immortality of man?

(Anonymous)

Thomas S. Monson: Missionary Service

1. Prepare with purpose;
2. Teach with testimony;
3. Labor with love.
“First, prepare with purpose. Remember the qualifying statement of the Master: “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind.” Missionary work is difficult. It taxes one’s energies, it strains one’s capacity, it demands one’s best effort—frequently a second effort. No other labor requires longer hours or greater devotion or such sacrifice and fervent prayer…
Second, teach with testimony. Peter and John, those converted fishermen who became Apostles, were warned not to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Their answer was firm: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”…
Third, labor with love. There is no substitute for love. Often this love is kindled in youth by a mother, expanded by a father, and kept vibrant through service to God. Remember the Lord’s counsel: “And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.” 11 Well might each of us ask himself: Today, have I increased in faith, in hope, in charity, in love? When our lives comply with God’s standard and we labor with love to bring souls unto Him, those within our sphere of influence will never speak the lament, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”… (Thomas S. Monson, “That All May Hear,” Ensign, May 1995, 48).