Obedience

In light of my most recent post on the importance of the Christ-like attributes, I've decided to do a series on them. With each one, I hope to share valuable insights from my personal study as well as personal experiences from my mission, in order to SHOW what being a missionary is like as opposed to merely explaining.

First on the docket is the missionary bread and butter: Obedience

Starting with Preach My Gospel is most effective, page 122 in chapter 6:

Obedience is one of the most important principles in missionary work, and it's the principle we hear the most about. Our meetings, our training materials, our handbooks, the scriptures we study, the schedule we keep--everything we do as missionaries is carefully organized to maximize our ability to be obedient. Our obedience, more than anything else we do, will determine our success as missionaries. It is impossible to reach your full potential as a servant of Jesus Christ without obedience to the commandments and the mission rules.

To illustrate this, I remember an incident from my mission that left a lasting impression on me.

My trainer and I were scoping our some distant and unfamiliar parts of our area in order to scope out new teaching opportunities. We were on the far side of our area, trying to make sense of our map in relation to the streets around us. Paved, organized streets began to give way to favelas and pathways off the beaten track. The spirit of discovery was with me in every step, and I was genuinely happy to be seeing new places after several weeks of talking to people in familiar places all the time.

At one point, we began looking for less active members with the hopes of being able to have a quick lesson, sit down, perhaps ask for something small to eat before continuing on our way. As we approached the end of a large street, I had an odd sensation come over me. Even though we were merely at the end of a normal street, I felt as if I were approaching the edge of a cliff. The closer we came to the end of the street, the more pronounced that feeling became. I didn't know exactly where I was, and I questioned myself if we actually were coming to the end of our area. I felt embarrassed to ask my companion about it or to say anything to her because I was a new missionary--I already questioned her enough as it is. But when we came to the end of the street, my feet simply locked into place and would not go another step. I may have reached out in front of me and knocked on an actual wall, and it would not have surprised me in the slightest.

My world simply ceased to exist beyond the edge of that sidewalk.

What was in those lovely green apartment complexes across the street, or beyond them, or in any other part of São Paulo, it simply didn't matter. I realized that for the entirety of my time in Santa Teresa, they didn't exist anymore. My world was instantly reduced to the size of a piece of paper as I thought about our map. I felt confined and slightly claustrophobic. How do we, as missionaries who are still normal people, survive within such a small space? My desires to be obedient and to be independent were at the same crossroads as I was in that moment--one safe in my area, the other over the edge of cliff.

I made a decision in that moment to never go over the edge. Independent nature aside, I had a purpose to complete, a mission to accomplish. There were people who needed me HERE, the Lord would bring them HERE, and I had nothing more important to do than what was going on RIGHT HERE in this moment. When it came to obedience, I was staying in my area--and that small decision had eternal consequences on the rest of my mission.

In time, I discovered some scriptures that expressed the true spirit of obedience I needed to seek after. They're in Philippians 2:

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto ddeath, even the death of the cross.
9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ was never AWOL. He was never anywhere He should not have been, doing things He should not have been doing. He was obedient. Serving Him requires that we pay the same price, with the same love and faithfulness. One of the most valuable assets we can have as we prepare to serve missions is not just a testimony--it is the sincere, heartfelt desire to be obedient. I testify that this spirit of faith and humility brings success more than anything else a missionary can seek after. This is the type of missionary the Lord can and will use to perform His miracles in the lives of His children.

I testify that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. He lives, and He is intimately involved in every aspect of our lives. He is constantly seeking to help us, and that fact is never more apparent than when we are in His service. His Church is restored again to the earth. The Book of Mormon is true. Joseph Smith truly was a prophet of God. The Lord has called His servants to do His work in His vineyard for the last time. As we go forth valiantly to bring souls unto our Father, He will bring us safely home. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Mission Preparation

Sarah was sitting across the table from me at the YSA Christmas party, and she approached me with an honest question that I know a lot of Young Women and female Young Single Adults are asking right now.

"What advice would you give to someone who is preparing to serve a mission?"

I made a mental note to mention Sarah to the Sisters serving in our branch. They'll want to know about her to invite her to go teaching. This is truly one of the most valuable things you can do to prepare--make yourself available to go out teaching regularly with the missionaries in your area. But I remember when I was in her shoes not so long ago, asking the recently returned missionaries in my ward what I should do.

So I told her what I wish someone would have told me to do almost two years ago when I was finally putting in mission papers, because it has been about that long now.

"Sit down with yourself and make a personal inventory of your weaknesses and your strengths. Then make plans on how you will turn your weaknesses into strengths, and how your strengths will help you be an effective missionary."

She has a slightly shocked expression on her face. This isn't what she expected.

"Everyone is going to tell you to study Preach My Gospel, especially chapter 3 with all of the lesson material in it so you can teach effectively," I responded. "And that is important. But that's what you have the MTC for. They are going to be extremely effective on helping you with what to teach and how to teach it.

"If I could go back and do my preparation again, knowing what I know now about being a missionary, I wouldn't focus on how or what to teach. You just do the best you can with that and the Spirit makes up the difference. I botched so many lessons when I first started out, and that's when I could even speak at all in Portuguese! But the thing that made the biggest difference in my service wasn't what I knew. It was how Christ-like I genuinely was at any given moment. It doesn't make a difference what you know until you become the sort of person you should be as a missionary. So if I were you, I would focus primarily, if not completely on the Christ-like attributes for right now."

"Oh," she said. "Where are those?"

"In Preach My Gospel. It's chapter 6."

Every person's journey on the mission is totally personal. The cross to bear is unique to each of us, and is the heaviest thing that each of us will ever know. When I was struggling on my mission, chapter 6 and the Christ-like attributes were the first place of guidance I always sought out. My Portuguese copy looks like an NFL playbook--the page on Patience has absolutely no place left to write anything else in it. Studying them daily helped me to focus on what was really stopping the Book of Mormon and the principles from Preach My Gospel from leaping off the page and into the lives of the people in my area.

"When a man makes war on his own weaknesses he engages in the holiest war that mortals ever wage. The reward that comes from victory in this struggle is the most enduring, most satisfying, and the most exquisite that man ever experiences. … The power to do what we ought to do is the greatest freedom."

Bryant S. Hinckley

When we truly believe that change is possible for ourselves as we apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives, we can't help but believe that the same thing is possible for the entire human race. We are filled with love and desire to go out and find those people, to teach them, and to help them prepare to be baptized into the true Church of Jesus Christ. We are led by the Spirit. Our mouths are filled with the words we need to say. We have greater peace in our lives, an assurance that our service has made a difference, and that we have accomplished our purpose as missionaries.

When in doubt, always remember: Real problem exists between study table and chair. Had I understood that then as well as I do now, I would have prepared for my mission very differently.

But the mission doesn't end--it just changes shape. What we do with our missions afterwards is more important than what we do with it during the 18 months of wearing the badge. How that translates into our day-to-day lives depends entirely on what we do with the Christ-like attributes. My commitment to the person I become each day is the biggest responsibility I have in time, for the sake of eternity.

I know that God lives, and I know that His missionaries are called of Him by divine revelation. I know we are called by a living prophet and real apostles who possess restored priesthood authority from God. I know that my missionary service taught me everything I need to know to receive eternal life--it's up to me now to practice it, apply it, and receive the promised blessings which always come when we are faithful. I leave that testimony in the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen

(For more on mission preparation, especially for all of the extraordinary women who have stepped up and answered the call to serve, see this and this from the Church's website)

Mission Angel Preparation

Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, no matter where they serve, use the same manual for everything they do. Whether they're teaching lessons to investigators, training each other to be more effective teachers, mobilizing wards to do missionary work, or planning how to best use their time as missionaries--everything they need to do and become is in Preach My Gospel.

Preach My Gospel derives its name from section 50 in the Doctrine and Covenants. On a whim, I recently decided to read that chapter, to see if it would yield insight into this special resource we've been given by the Lord.

What I discovered humbled me, and I think every prospective missionary should read that chapter before even thinking about putting in their mission papers.

Section 50 is a direct rebuke against the Elders of the Church for hypocrisy--to eliminate it from their midst, to beware of it in other people, to overcome it through their work and the grace of God. In fact, the name Preach My Gospel is an answer to a direct question asked in verse 13:

"Unto what were ye ordained?"

That question isn't supposed to be answered by rote--it's a question that is supposed to dig at our hearts and turn out our pockets. Because the Lord is asking the question, it translates into a much more personal exchange.

Unto want were you ordained?--What power has He given us? Do we even know? What responsibilities go along with the covenants we've already made, and are we meeting them? Have we embraced what it means to be responsible before God?

Unto what were you ordained?

To be lazy? To pass our portion of the work off onto someone else? To entertain ourselves endlessly? To pollute the gospel with political agendas, personal offenses, and pet philosophies? To leave others in the darkness of their own misery, poverty, hunger, and despair--while we use our blessings and resources to live in luxury and comfort? To destroy ourselves through sins of which we refuse to repent?

Unto what were you ordained?--What are you trying to do? Why are you here? What is your motivation for serving a mission? What is your responsibility as a member of this Church? Do you care about that responsibility?

There's a reason this section is on the cover of Preach My Gospel.

{ Note: No one, to my knowledge, is naked in this picture }

Hypocrisy and wearing a fake, pretty Church face doesn't go very far in the mission field. The work is hard and many times unrewarding. The days are long, and extremely structured. The standards are strict, and the questions we must answer in regards to our performance are sharp and often painful. My sweetheart sent me a letter at the beginning of his mission, explaining that being a missionary is like standing naked in a packed football stadium, with all the lights and eyes on you. Any attempt to cover yourself, to sneak away unnoticed, or to be more or less than what you are just makes you feel even more ridiculous.

By nature, the work is designed to beat the hell and evil and hypocrisy right out of us--because to give away that much of ourselves for anything less than sincere faith and sacrifice is madness.

Essentially, I think there's a very specific purpose that Preach My Gospel takes its name from a section that speaks so harshly against hypocrisy. Being a missionary and being a hypocrite do not go together. Eventually, one gives in to the other. But it has been my experience that this manual doesn't just condemn against hypocrisy. Preach My Gospel eliminates hypocrisy from the congregations of the Church when used to its fullest potential.

How does it do so? Preach My Gospel teaches the gospel of Jesus Christ with clarity and precision. It makes specific connections between Christ's doctrine and needed behavior changes. It covers both temporal and spiritual stewardships. It delivers the teachings and expectations of Jesus Christ in brief statements of pure truth. Preach My Gospel makes it clear that the Lord, not the Church, has essential expectations for our discipleship. It gives specific instructions on what to do to live the gospel of Jesus Christ instead of simply knowing it. Every ward and branch needs to understand the difference between knowing and living the gospel. That process begins in the life and heart of each Latter-day Saint, as he recognizes the value of his contribution in the work of Jesus Christ. Only then will the purpose of the gospel--not the interests of the members--become the focus of the ward/branch's efforts. Only then can the purposes and objectives of the Priesthood be realized and manifested.

But what are those purposes and objectives?

In the process of preparing for a mission, young men are ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood. That Priesthood is part of a special holy order. Men and women both enter into that order through the holy endowment of the temple. These men and women are then set apart as missionaries--the final piece of a very special preparation process. The end result--the purpose of the Priesthood--is to enter into the ministry of angels. (see 2 Nephi 31: 13 and Moroni 7: 35-37)



Which is what makes Elder Holland's talk from last Sunday so remarkable--not because it is news, but because it is the truth plainly and unapologetically stated. He called his associates in the general authorities angels because that is what they are. That is what the gospel of Jesus Christ has made of them, after a lifetime of devoted service to the Church. That is what they are ordained to be--joint heirs of Christ and co-participants in His work of salvation for the living and the dead.


And they aren't the only ones. If one goes back and ponders over Elder Holland's General Conference talks from past sessions, this isn't the first time he has spoken of angels. Careful study of The Ministry of Angels and The Tongue of Angels reveals that Elder Holland doesn't just see angels among the general authorities--he sees them among faithful Latter-day Saints everywhere. Indeed, he has taught that to be angelic in our discipleship and our service is evidence of our faith in Jesus Christ. If we are not angelic, we are not becoming the disciples that the gospel, by design, is supposed to make of us.

For eighteen months, I'm going to be an angel. I will have the power and authority to minister in the name of Jesus Christ. The work I do in Brazil will be as binding as if it were done by unseen angels, and that could terrify me where I stand.

But it doesn't.

Why? Because I have Preach My Gospel. Everything I need to know about being an angel, a Saint, and a Sister is already in there. I have no reason to be afraid--only to be believing, and to take my place among the noble and faithful angels who came before me. The ones who wanted to live lives of great consequence and purpose--souls who meet challenges with love and are not shaken by fear and trepidation.

That is my purpose because it is the aim of Jesus Christ. He is my exemplar, the source of every desire for good in my soul. I love Him, I worship Him, and I cannot wait to stand beside Him in ministering to His children. I bear my witness that He lives. He alone atoned for our sins. He performed the Resurrection, that we might rise from death. His coming in glory is nigh, and if we are prepared we shall not fear. I bear that witness in His holy name, even Jesus Christ. Amen

Almost There--an Update

To become a sister missionary is more or less a plan of eight phases.

Phase One: Decide to go

Phase Two: Talk to your bishop and get him to set you up with mission papers.

Phase Three: Fill out papers

Phase Four: Doctors and Immunizations.

If you're in the U.S. and immunizations aren't covered by your insurance, check with your local health department. It was cheaper for me to pay for them out of pocket at the health department than to pay for a doctor to give them to me. I'm told this is usually the case.

Phase Five: Dentist/ Oral surgery

If you're in the Provo area and you want a good dentist to do your dental exam, I recommend Dr. Corbin Matthews at Cougar Dental. I haven't been paid in any way to say that. It's a suggestion I make because of the superb experience I had with him. My wisdom teeth removal was not a typical procedure, and he went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I was cared for properly and promptly. It made my experience and recovery less painful and stressful than it otherwise would have been.

Phase Six: Facebook group

It's a tradition at this phase of the mission call process to start a Facebook group and have everyone you know guess where you'll be serving your mission. You then track the guesses on a map, and usually give a prize to the person who comes the closest.

I have a map, but it's occupied with tracking all of the temples. So I decided to make one online with Google Maps instead.


View Mission Guesses Map in a larger map


As soon as I get the interviews I need with my bishop and stake president, the papers will be submitted to Salt Lake City. The goal is to have them submitted before I leave Provo  by Christmas  some time this century.

Phase Eight: Practice Practice Practice

Preach My Gospel has become my new best friend. I've been out teaching with the Sisters once already, and Preach My Gospel is a large contributing factor to the confidence I have in presenting the gospel effectively. We placed a Book of Mormon the first night I went out with them, and it was the most amazing experience. And it wasn't because the people we found wanted to be baptized on the spot or anything. It was because of the feelings of love I had for them as we offered them what means so much to us. It was because I made a significant contribution to what we presented, and I see that I'm ready to do this for 18 months. It was awesome to see Preach My Gospel at work. I loved it, and I can't wait for the next opportunity to teach with them.

Preparing to serve a mission is without a doubt the hardest thing I've ever done. It has required all the faith, patience, and courage I have--and a lot I didn't have. I wouldn't have made it through this process if I wasn't already living the way I'm supposed to, becoming every day the person I know Jesus Christ wants me to be. If I wasn't able to cleave to God while everything else falls apart around me, putting my life in His hands time and time again, if I didn't have a long history of trusting Him and relying on His miracles, I would've failed. I genuinely believe that I only survived it because of Him, because there were a couple of times I actually could've died and probably should have.

Being a missionary in this Church is something I'm willing to give my life to become. Not just 18 months of my time--my life. I can say that because that is nearly what it has cost me. I say it with all the fervor of my soul because I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the the true and living church of the true and living God. I want to live my life in such a way that for Jesus to be the Christ, for this Church to be true, is the only explanation for it. That certainty comes by how well I prepare my testimony for the challenges I face, and how I use it to overcome them.

I want a testimony I can use to change the world, and I know that Jesus Christ has paid the price for me to be able to put in the work and reap that reward. His Atonement is the supernal gift to all mankind, and the fullness of His gospel is how we claim the fullest endowment of His grace, the promise of His help. There is no other name under heaven whereby man can be saved, and I bear you that witness in praise of His holy name,  Jesus Christ. Amen

The Gospel in My Life

Studying the scriptures through Preach My Gospel has been one of the most powerful transformations to my testimony I have ever experienced. I love Preach My Gospel, and I love the changes it has brought to me. I never realized that all the "dailies" and all the commandments we keep are functions of the gospel, and that the gospel is what brings Christ into our lives.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the message of salvation we, as members of the Church, are under covenant to share with the world. That message includes 5 fundamentals:

1. Faith in Jesus Christ as the resurrected Lord, the only one who has/will ever atone for all of the sins of mankind
2. Repentance to be reconciled with Jesus Christ for all of the sins we have ever personally committed
3. Baptism under restored priesthood authority, as existed in Christ's church anciently
4. Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, a confirming ordinance of that same authority
5. Enduring to the End--to become continually converted to Jesus Christ by remaining true to the gospel

That's it. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those five things are the root of true conversion. And, as I recently learned, that gospel is not just a preliminary set of steps for new members to go through. Once the first four are finished, a person does not stay permanently at step five, in a vague state of generally doing what we know we should.

No, the gospel is a repeating cycle. To endure to the end means to repeat the cycle continually. The Sacrament becomes the symbolic representation of baptism and confirmation after someone has already been baptized and confirmed. The commandments we follow are then supposed to work together as functions of that gospel, to bless our lives for good and help us grow spiritually.

I attended this talk by Elder Ballard on the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I came into it hoping to gain much-needed insight on time management.

Afterwards, I realized that if I would strive to make a schedule that is based on the gospel itself, I would feel the Holy Ghost's influence more abundantly in my life. So I sat down and categorized how all the things I have to do fit into the gospel itself.

For example, I was reminded that scripture study is inseparably tied to faith in Jesus Christ. It has been my experience that faith in Jesus Christ is almost impossible to maintain unless you consistently read the scriptures--especially the Book of Mormon. Personally, that's also where I chose to classify my studies and college classes because in order for them to be worth my time and money, they need to be building my faith in Jesus Christ. I've found that when I put forth the effort to find Christ in even my most secular subjects, He makes it possible for me to understand many lessons that only He can teach me.

Repentance, for me, is largely grounded in prayer. Once I understood that a crucial part of my prayers needed to be daily repentance, it became a lot easier for me to remember to pray every day, and for my prayers to be more than 30 seconds long. When prayers are a constant vehicle for repentance, they become the conversational prayers I have heard so many teachers strongly recommend, but never instruct anyone on how to begin. For someone who is trying to have more conversational prayers with the Lord, I would recommend starting with adding repentance to them each and every day.

Baptism by immersion was an interesting one. I associated that with temple worship because I'm still in the baptism-by-proxy phase of my temple experience. But this could also apply to the Sacrament, and thereby Church attendance. Because baptisms performed outside the temple are almost identical to the ones performed inside, the jump from the first to the second is not hard to make. But how often do we think of Church meetings as being a place to be immersed in the goodness of God? That's what Zion and the Church are supposed to be like--and whether they are or not depends entirely on what we personally put into them, i.e. all of ourselves. If we continually plop ourselves down in a chair and expect to be spiritually fed without putting any effort into it, we will continue to be disappointed when that feeling of immersion does not come.

The one that jumped out to me the strongest, however, was receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost through the laying on of hands. This made me think of the priesthood, and the question I had to ask myself was "How can I get the priesthood to be more of an active force in my life?" The answer that came to me immediately was the Relief Society, and thereby Visiting Teaching. (If you're curious as to how I made that jump, read this and this.) FHE also came to mind, which actually surprised me way more than Relief Society and Visiting Teaching did. I never thought of FHE as being a means of having the priesthood in my life. As I continued to ponder, I realized that service opportunities fit well under this one because the Holy Ghost inspires people to serve. The laying on of hands in itself is a giving act--one we are commanded to extend to anyone who will receive it.

I have a white board I use to do my planning and time management, and I decided to color code each of the four principles with its own color. I plan to continue doing so as I implement this plan, in order to track the gospel's presence in my life. Once I can build the habits of following through with my plans, and assessing my performance, I can more easily identify how to add things to my life when I feel I need extra help in an area. By being a careful steward over the gospel's influence in my life, I can fortify myself against temptation and the attempts of the adversary to lead me astray.

From this I have learned that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not a catch-all phrase to describe every good thing. The gospel is how every good thing--every commandment, every truth, every principle--is tied to Jesus Christ. When we see those connections as they really are, and keep them unimpeded in our lives, we magnify the ability of God to bless us and endow us with great faith and power. We become more true to what we know, disciples of Jesus Christ. Our light is more able to shine because it is more easily magnified through our righteous actions, and I know that as I strive to lay that gospel foundation in my life, that gospel will lay a foundation in me for greater things to come.

I testify of this in the holy name of my Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, whose gospel this is. Even so, Amen.