Nowhere on the internet can I find this talk, but luckily for me, a Sister Missionary who served in my area and became a great friend introduced me to it by sending me a copy. It is fabulous and should be read by every missionary or missionary-to-be.
I thought I was going to be great. I thought I was going to get out in the field and be an F-A-B fab missionary. But then I read this talk and realized just how much of my nature I need to change to be completely moldable by the Lord so that I can be His mouthpiece and servant. It's a humbling talk, for sure, but also a definite motivator.
It's long, but worth it. Promise.
Enjoy :)
President
Tad R Callister
September
6, 2007
Becoming a Consecrated Missionary
Many years ago,
I entered the Missionary 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 MTC
president struck me that has remained with me to this day. He said, “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 in the Canada Toronto East Mission. But to those of
you who are not quite yet there, but would like to be, it is to you 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 had covenanted to consecrate his all. The book of
Omni records the depth and breadth f 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 Zion mission.
Parley P. Pratt
was such a consecrated missionary. He has served as a missionary for more than
25 years of almost constant labors. He had just returned home 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? Cant 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 my 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
possession and secretly kept back part of the price. As you recall, the
consequence was devastating—they lost their lives (Acts 5:1-10). Sometimes good
men, perhaps even great men, cant 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.
Leave Our Fears
On The Sacrificial Altar
First, we can
leave our fears on the sacrificial altar and open our mouths with everyone. 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 reason may be, it is never ever good enough. It never outweighs the
Savior’s command which states: “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 all those who do: “And I will give unto
him strength such as is not known among men” (DC 24:12). This injunction is
repeated again and again in the scriptures On another occasion the Lord said,
“And thou must open thy mouth at all times” (D&C 28:16). And yet again,
“Lift up your voice and spare not” (DC 34:10). As to those who are unwilling to
do so, the Lord warned: “But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not
open their mouths but they hide the talent which I have given unto them because
of the fear of men” (DC 60:2)
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 ye 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 this 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, I
would exempt some who struggle from opening their mouth. I know how hard it is
for them, but I cannot. 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 commandment unto the children of men, save he shall
prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth
them” (1 Nephi 3:7). Sometimes 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, 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 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.
Jeremiah
discussed the challenges he faced in opening his mouth. He said that he was in
the “derision daily,” meaning that he was ridiculed on a regular basis.
Obviously fed up with the rejection and the mocking, he momentarily threatened,
“I will not make mention of him [meaning Christ] nor speak any more in his
name.” In other words, he would no longer speak as a representative of Jesus
Christ, and declare the gospel. In essence he took off his badge and declared
he was going home. Then the noble spirit of Jeremiah surfaces, and he said:
“But his word was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones and I was
weary with forbearing and I could not stay” (Jer 20:8-9). Thereafter, he could
not stay in his “apartment.” He could not stay from sharing the gospel; he
could not stay from opening his mouth. He became a spiritual hunter (Jer
16:16). It seems only appropriate that Jeremiah should prophecy of hunters in
our day: “and after will I [the Lord] send for many hunters, and they shall
hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the
rocks” (Jer 16:26). Consecrated missionaries are the hunters he saw.
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 miracles.
Put Our Romantic
Passions on the Table
Second, 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 blonde laurel or the friendly young single adult, nor
is his prime focus with the young women after sacrament meeting. He rises above
all of that. As hard as it may be, he 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 song or scripture or poem. 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, 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. You young missionaries are surrounded, almost
immersed, by those in immodest clothing, by suggestive billboards, by magazines
and papers that have lost all sense of moral decency. I know you are trying to
garnish your thoughts with virtue unceasingly (DC 121:45). I commend you for
this and encourage you in this noble pursuit. The consequences will be
monumental in your life. As a missionary you will have confidence that the Lord
will hear and answer your prayers. When you go home and date, you may have a
romantic courtship, but one that is still 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
Third, 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—perhaps in 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 our mission who manifest that spirit.
Pride may
manifest itself in jealousy of companions. I think of one of the finest elders
of this 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 defensive attitude of 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, we can then build for a
constructive future on a sure and solid foundation.” Fortunately he chose the
latter course.
The other night
I was with 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 them severely, and literally “raked them over
the coals.” No doubt they were embarrassed, perhaps even offended. 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—their pride had been put on the altar of
sacrifice.
We put our
Negativism and Sarcasm on the Table
Fourth, the
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 6:33). 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 a 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.
Several weeks
ago, Elder Basha and Elder Meis went to finalize the baptismal plans for a man
who had resolved to be baptized. To their great dismay, he made a 180 degree
turn about and decided that he was no longer interested in the Church. They did
their best to appeal to his spiritual inclinations, reminding him of the time
he had borne his testimony, but to no avail. No doubt they were disappointed,
even discouraged, for a moment. They attended to another appointment, and then
returned to their bikes, only to learn they had both been stolen. They sought
transportation, but found that there was a breakdown in the transit system, and
thus they needed to walk home. But this was not the end of their troubles.
Elder Meis felt a severe pain across his chest, which was later discovered to
be shingles—a terribly painful disease. At the end of that fateful day, we saw
Elder Basha and Elder Meis. They had a smile from ear t ear. They related to us
the story and then, with their shining countenances that can never be dimmed,
they said, “But we’re happy, because we know the gospel of Jesus Christ is
true."
They reminded me
of 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 should “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 shall we reap, if we faint not” (Gal
6:9).
Put On The Table
Our Selfishness And Disobedience
But there is
more. A consecrated missionary puts on the table 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 came on this mission, 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 reflective
observation: “you are not just asking me to change my behavior; you are asking
me to change my nature.”
In order to
become consecrated missionaries, some could be more exacting in their
obedience, not because they have to, but because they want to. Then they will
not only change their behavior, but their natures. Then they will become saints
“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). Such a nature may cause some to change the
music they listen to; it may cause some to sacrifice the comfort of members’
homes and stay for shorter periods of time; it may cause some to be more
compliant in obeying the dinner policy, or more positive in their speech, or
more exacting in following the morning schedule. 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.
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 supporters.
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
had 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 the missionaries
who carry no white flags. Years ago at family night we would have wrestling as
a 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 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. When they 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 Be A Consecrated Missionary?
What is the cost
to become a consecrated missionary? Some time ago I saw a movie on the life of
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 reprimands Luther
for having turned the world upside down, leading the world in
revolt—Protestants against Catholics. Then in a stirring moment, Luther grasps
his arms and asks: “you wanted me to change the world. Did you think there
would be no cost?” You 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. The Lord demands our whole soul on the sacrificial altar.
That is the price we must pay, and when we do, we 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 of 80 consecrated missionaries?
100
mediocre missionaries or 50 consecrated missionaries?
100
mediocre missionaries or 20 consecrated missionaries?
100
mediocre missionaries or 1 consecrates missionary? –by the way, the name of the
one consecrated missionary is Ammon.
Nephi
realized that the 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 powerful 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, 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 Peter spoke, the righteous were pricked
in their hearts (Acts 2:37). 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.
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 had 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 that the strengths within him. Why? –because each of us are sons and
daughters of God, with his divine nature and diving 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. May this be the burning and unquenchable quest
of us all.
