Cover image via Gospel Media Library. 

One of the most pressing questions young people in the church have today is the question of whether or not they are ready to serve a mission.  Ever since the eligible age for mission service was lowered to 18 for young men and 19 for young women, youth in the church have debated as to their personal preparation.  Should they leave right after high school, or would it be better to first spend a year at to college?  Sometimes the pressing question is “Should I go at all?”

Well-meaning parents and church leaders rightly encourage young people to choose to serve, knowing how a mission will bless their lives and the lives of others.  However, adequately preparing these precious young people is huge responsibility.  The youth don’t know how ready they must be.  They have never served a mission.  They only know a fraction of what they will encounter.  It is our responsibility as parents and church leaders to help them be adequately prepared.

Too often we send off aspiring missionaries with a single bit of counsel, “just have faith.” The counsel to go forward with faith is excellent counsel, however young people with a nascent understand of faith tend to focus on the “works” aspect of faith when what they really need to focus on is the part of faith that is all about Hope.

Hope Essential to Faith

Hope is an intrinsic part of faith.  There is no such thing as Faith without Hope.  The scriptures help us understand this.

Ether teaches, “Faith is things which are hoped for.”  (Ether 12:6).

Alma teaches “therefore if he have faith ye hope for things which are not seen…” (Alma 32:21)

Mormon teaches “How is it that ye can attain unto faith save ye shall have hope?” (Moroni 7:40)

Hope is what motivates young people to do good works.  Hope motivates us to act.  The scriptures indicate that Because the Anti-Lehi-Nephites hoped for eternal life, they kept the law of Moses. (Alma 25:16).  Because King Lamoni’s father had an intense hope for eternal life he bowed and repented. (Alma 22:15-16).

When we understand what it means to have hope it will be obvious that hope is vital for young people pondering a mission.

What Constitutes Hope?

Hope includes desire.  “I hope they call me on a mission, when I have grown a foot of two,” means “I want to go on a mission.  It is the desire of my heart.”  Alma asked his followers at the waters of Mormon if they desired to bear one another’s burdens.  They clapped their hands and exclaimed “This is the desire of our hearts.”  They wanted to be baptized.  They wanted to enter into a covenant with God.

As this pertains to young people, they will be ready and prepared to serve when serving is their desire.  If they don’t want to go, they are not prepared to go.

Increasing Desire

How do we help young people have a desire to serve?  We don’t want to coerce them into leaving before they are ready, or guilt them into going, just to please us.  We want them to serve because it is truly the desire of their hearts.

As mission leaders my husband and I noticed that the most enthusiastic missionaries, the ones who were absolutely delighted at the privilege of serving were the ones who had experienced the Atonement of Jesus Christ in their lives.  When Covid came and we had to send missionaries home early these missionaries wept bitterly.  They loved the mission.  They were so grateful for the blessing of the Atonement in their own lives they jumped at the chance to help others repent and come unto Christ.

They felt as Ammon did when he taught the Anti-Nephi-Lehites.  Ammon asked,

“Oh then, why did he not consign us to an awful destruction, yea, why did he not let the sword of his justice fall upon us, and doom us to eternal despair?

“Oh, my soul, almost as it were fleeth at the thought.  Behold, he did not exercise his justice upon us, but in his great mercy hath bought us over that everlasting gulf of death and misery even to the salvation of our souls.”  (Alma 26: 19-20).

In the middle of this chapter where Ammon boasts about the conversion of the Anti-Nephi Lehites, he spends four verses to reflecting on his is own experience with the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  His understanding of the Atonement and his abundant gratitude makes him a very effective missionary.

Sometimes young people come to the mission field, having not repented of their sins.  In the best of cases they are able to do so in the mission field and then become effective missionaries.  In other cases they return home to complete their preparation.  A young person is not prepared to serve if he has not yet repented of his sins.

Of course, repentance is a continual process that each one of us engages in on a daily basis.  However, a change of direction, a mighty change of heart, where he or she has no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually, is what prepares a young person to serve.

Looking Outward

It is difficult to appreciate what a tremendous blessing the gospel can be in someone’s life when you have never been without it.  Young people who have grown up with a priesthood leader in the home and have enjoyed the love and harmony that the gospel brings may not be able to fathom how sad people can be without these blessings in their lives.

Young people who have an opportunity to look beyond themselves and become aware of the lives of those who have lived without the gospel will develop compassion for others and they will recognize what a tremendous difference a knowledge of Jesus Christ makes.  People with a testimony of their Savior have hope.  They change their lives.  They overcome addictions.  They pull themselves out of poverty.  They make marital covenants and become faithful spouses.

One of our missionaries softened his heart when he met a woman who was making her living inviting a different man into her bed every night.  He and his companion worked tirelessly to help this woman find another way to survive, eventually giving her the courage to move out of her house to a place far away where her customers could not find her.  There she began a new life as a member of restored gospel.

Young people who have had the opportunity to volunteer at homeless shelters, or soup kitchens, or a battered woman’s shelter will recognize the need for the gospel of Jesus Christ in the lives of all men.  Their narrow world view suddenly becomes much larger, and their desire to make a difference is ignited.

Gratitude

I was always impressed with our missionaries who showed gratitude.  They didn’t complain if they had to travel long distances to zone conference.  They didn’t grumble if I served a meal that wasn’t to their liking.  They accepted gracefully whatever area they were assigned to.  They never demonstrated a sense of entitlement.

These missionaries were grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives.  They were grateful for supportive families.  They were grateful for leaders that worked hard to teach them.  They were grateful for little things like umbrellas and bottled water and perfectly ripe bananas and clean sheets.

I am convinced that those missionaries who showed such gratitude on the mission were taught gratitude at home.  They were the ones who didn’t complain that they had to get up early for seminary, but were grateful to their teacher, who also got up early and spent time preparing the lesson. They were the ones who didn’t complain about attending church meetings but were grateful they had a place to meet and the opportunity to learn important truths.

Lots of times we prepare missionaries by teaching them how to scramble eggs, iron a shirt, tie a tie or change a tire (hopefully they know this… we had to teach this particular skill on the mission).  However, preparing a missionary spiritually is even more important than preparing him physically.

Spiritually Prepared

A spiritually prepared missionary will want to serve.  Because it is his desire he will grow in all the necessary ways as a missionary.  His enthusiasm and positive attitude will help him learn how to contact, how to teach, how to invite, and help him overcome his fears.  His progress as a missionary begins with his desire.  If a young person has the desire to be an effective missionary, I can assure you, he or she will be an effective missionary.

D&C chapter four teaches that “if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.”  We might think this is a pretty low bar—not necessary to be a good public speaker, not necessary to be courageous or brave, not necessary to memorize all the seminary mastery scriptures–the only requirement is desire.  I would suggest that this is not a low bar.  Desire is paramount.  It is the desire and the determination that leads to good works.  A young person with desire is prepared to serve.