Prep Your Missionary

Take Your Greatest Assets On Your Mission

By Allison Beckert

Missionaries can often sound, act, and look alike. The goal of the mission is shared, as is the strong faith of the missionaries who power it. However much you sacrificed to go do the work, there are a few things that should never be left at home or locked away.

The one thing that should never be left, and which is actively asked and grown during preparation and training is your testimony. However, your testimony isn’t just what you share from the pulpit, and it isn’t a rote speech prepared for sharing with investigators. The use of the word “testimony” in the church applies not to just a public sharing of experience or belief, it means the root of that belief and the root of our faith that helps us move mountains for ourselves, the Lord, the mission, and for the benefit of those we meet. So, pack your testimony. Pack it for yourself first, know where your fire comes from, and continue building it throughout your preparation and your mission.

Pack your talents, as well. We teach and share that talents are meant to be shared, meant to be built and developed, and meant to glorify God. While much of missionary instruction encourages throwing full effort and energy into the work, talents aren’t meant to be tossed to the side. Talents are also far more varied than playing an instrument or drawing beautiful pictures. While some talents can’t be indulged on the mission, they are still part of what make you unique and special to God and those you meet. Shared interests can open doors that would otherwise be unavailable in a setting like a lesson or church activity.

Some of your most valuable tools on your mission will likely see amazing development during your mission, so bring the seeds of your most essential tools: Love and Compassion. We’re encouraged to love one another, to mourn with those that mourn, comfort those that stand in need of comfort. The times when you have experienced this role before your mission will just be seeds of a greater talent and skill. Those you meet and teach as missionaries, when they’re touched by the Spirit, will often be at their most vulnerable and in troubling positions in their lives. Remember your seeds, those rare moments when, as a youth, you may have experienced a truly vulnerable friend or family member open up.

Finally, listen. Our Savior listens, to us and to everyone. Practice listening with attention, with heart, and with the Spirit. And when listening is difficult, or isn’t coming easily, pray and remember what being listened to feels like.