Preparation for Missionary Life

Improvement Era Vol. XVII SEPTEMBER, 1914 No. 11

Preparation for Missionary Life

BY JAMES G. DUFFIN, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE CENTRAL STATES MISSION

Every young man in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints not physically or otherwise incapacitated, who has had the proper home environment, looks forward to the time when he will have the privilege of taking a mission to the world. This is a proper desire and is as it should be in every family of the

Church, for the Lord has restored the gospel and has placed upon the members of the Church the responsibility of administering it to his children upon this earth. With a full understanding that they are accountable to him for the faithful performance of this duty, it is but natural that those who clearly understand their position should feel anxious about the preparation that should be made to enable them to efficiently perform the duties of messengers of eternal life. •

Each succeeding year the demand for capable missionaries is increasing. New fields are continually being opened, and opportunities for the teaching of the gospel among all classes of people were never greater than at the present time. This condition in the various missions is most encouraging and should stimulate the members of the Church to greater exertion to meet this increasing demand for the spread of the principles of the gospel of our Lord. Upon whom rests the responsibility of preparing our young men for this important work, for preparation there most certainly should be? In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, November, 1831, the Lord says:

"And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands wehn eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents.

1004 IMPROVEMENT ERA "For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized; "And they shall also teach their children to pray and to walk — uprightly before the Lord." Doc. and Cov. 68:25-28.

It will thus be seen that, primarily, the responsibility is placed upon the parents. There are the best of reasons for this. It is a well established fact that the strongest characters in the — Church the men who have the greatest influence upon their fel- — lows for the salvation of their souls are those who through careful home training have led clean and wholesome lives and have lived up to the requirements of the gospel from their childhood. The importance of the early training of those who are to be God's messengers will more fully appear, when we consider that they are to be ministers, not of the "letter" only, but of the "spirit" of the gospel. This "spirit," the real converting power in the missionary's work, cannot be taken on at will. It is obtained only by a life devoted to God's holy purposes. An elder may be able to reason well, present the doctrines of the gospel in a clear, logical manner, but if he is unable to touch the hearts of his hearers, his speaking will avail but little for their salvation. Who has not, in listening to some humble elder speaking under the influence of the Holy Spirit, felt a warm glow permeate his whole being, its influence touch his heart, humble his spirit, enlighten his mind, give him renewed determination to live a better life, and cause his soul to go out in gratitude to his Father in heaven for his merciful plan of salvation? It is just this influence the true missionary exercises upon the minds and hearts of his hearers, and that brings them to repentance and to an obedience to the gospel plan. But the work of preparation is not to be confined to the home. Here the foundation is laid. Upon this the superstructure is to be built by the quorums of the priesthood, and the work of such other institutions as have been organized for the growth and development of the members of the Church, both spiritually and intellectually. Again, the writer desires to call the attention of our young men to this fact: That although the Lord requires parents to teach their children the principles of eternal life and to give them a training in the things of God, and the Church to provide ways and means for the intellectual and spiritual growth of its members, every intelligent being who has reached the years of accountability has his agency, for the exercise of which he must give an account to his Maker. In the exercise of this agency every young man should be united with his parents and the priesthood for the development of every grace and power of mind, spirit, and body, that he might thereby be truly fitted for the great

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work entrusted by Deity to his people. The young elder who has taken this course at home never fails when he gets into the mission field. But what of this mission ? What is it he has to present that is of such importance to the world that the elder will leave his home and all that are dear to him, his business affairs, and, without financial compensation, bearing his own expenses, spend years of his time in this work? He goes to the world as a witness that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is a prophet of the living God, with the message of a new dispensation given to man, of the fulness of the gospel restored, of the priesthood brought to earth with the keys and powers thereof, having authority to organize and build up the Church of the Lord and to administer the sacred ordinances of the gospel, to present three new volumes of scripture, with a call to repentance and warning of judgments to come. To get a comprehensive understanding of that which has been revealed concerning these truths, to prepare himself to present them so that they will appeal to the reason and judgment of his hearers, and to be able to maintain his position by evidence, is an important part of the preparation of the elder for missionary labor. Concerning the teaching of these truths the Lord, in a revelation to Joseph Smith, given Feb. 9, 1831, says:

"And again, the elders, priests, and teachers of this Church shall teach the principles of my gospel, which are in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, in the which is the fulness of the gospel; "And they shall observe the covenants and Church articles to do them, and these shall be their teachings, as they shall be directed by the Spirit; "And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the power of faith, and if ye receive not the Spirit, ye shall not teach. "And all this ye shall observe to do as I have commanded concerning your teaching, until the fulness of my scripture is given. "And as ye shall lift up your voices by the Comforter, ye shall speak and prophesy as seemeth me good: "For, behold, the Comforter knoweth all things, and beareth — record of the Father and the Son. Doc. & Cov. 42:12-17.

At a later date the revelations contained in the Doctrine & Covenants were compiled and published, and this book, the Pearl of Great Price and the two books mentioned in the revelation above quoted, became the standard works of the Church. From these four volumes of scripture the elder can gain a most comprehensive knowledge of that which has been revealed for the salvation of the human family. P>ut it is urged that the missionary cannot use scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants, the Book of Mormon, or the Pearl of Great Price in speaking to those who are not of the Church, because they do not accept these books as authority, it is therefore

1006 IMPROVEMENT ERA contended that the study of these books is not essential as a preparation for missionary labor. Without going into all of the reasons for urging our elders to become thoroughly acquainted with these books, the writer will say: The elder who gets his information direct from the revelations of the Lord always feels sure of his position, for he speaks of that which God has revealed, not merely of what some one "believes" or has taught, and his teaching is accompanied by a power that comes from knowledge gained first-handed. Astudy of Church history is a very important part of this preparation of the missionary. Every missionary should be able to relate interestingly, and with proper attention to detail, the story of Joseph's first vision, the visits of the angel Moroni, the coming forth of the Book of Mormon, the restoration of the priesthood, the organization of the Church, the migration of the Saints, the manner of laying out their cities and towns, their educational system and that provided for taking care or the poor, and many other subjects of history and practice of his people. What elder when speaking upon these events has not seen the apathy of his congregation give way to interest, coldness to cordiality, resentment to sympathy? Having laid the foundation of his knowledge in the revelations of the Lord, the prospective missionary should explore other fields — science, literature, philosophy, history of nations, etc. The plan given by revelation is most broad and comprehensive. The writer cannot do better than quote it here "And I give unto you a commandment, that you shall teach one another the doctrine of the kingdom; "Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand; "Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and perplexity of the nations, and the judgments which are on — the land, and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms." Doc. & Cov., 88:77-79. Now the object of this extensive course of study? "That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the — mission with which I have commissioned you." Verse 80.

The missionary should not lose sight of the fact that he goes out as a commissioned ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ. His life, therefore, should be such as to maintain the dignity of His life. He, also, should not forget that the manner in which he conducts himself will be, to a very great extent, the mesaure

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by which his people will he judged by those whom he meets during his labors abroad. His language should be chaste, his expressions temperate, but he should be fearless in meeting the opposition of those who oppose and misrepresent the great work of which he is a representative, and in presenting the truths of which he has prepared himself to be an advocate. In closing, a few extracts from a letter by the writer to one of his sons performing missionary labor, might be of some interest to the elders in the "field" :

January 22, 1911. My Dear .Son: Your letter of recent date was received in today's mail, and as I shall leave tomorrow morning to be absent from home a few days on business, I am taking this evening to write you. Your position is right in not trying, in any manner, to mislead any one concerning the doctrines of the Church, and in not making any misrepresentations concerning the faith and teachings of the Latter-day Saints. Nor should any elder resort to subterfuge to meet opposition to the principles the Lord has revealed for the salvation of his children. Nothing of this kind is necessary in the work of our missionaries. There may be times when it would not be wise to present advanced principles of the gospel to people who have not fully investigated our teachings, but this would not justify any elder in telling untruths concerning them. Why should any elder feel it necessary to tell untruths concerning that which God has revealed, forsooth, there are some who will not accept his revelations, and therefore oppose them. We do not expect all men to accept this gospel, any more than the farmer expects all seed that he plants to germinate and produce a crop. Truths must be taught as seeds must be planted before they can take root. This is our work, the responsibility of receiving or rejecting is upon those to whom the testimony is given. I wish to impress upon you that in all of your work among the

people, you should be frank and open if you will retain their confidence and good will. I am not afraid but that you will do this, but 1 write in this way, if possible, to make deeper the Impression upon your mind the fact that nothing is to be gained by resorting to sonhistry in presenting the things of God to our fellows or in the defease of them. You write with regard to magazine articles with which the country has been flooded, about our people. Magazine articles do not always state our position correctly. More often it is mis-stated bv them. T surest, therefore, before you attempt to make any explantations of things published about our people or their faith, where you feel that you ought to do so to meet misrepresentation, fhal you first state the attitude of our people from nur point of view. Bv taking th's course you will be enabled to get the truth before the peonle and do much more good than by trying to explain awav the garbled statements of vicious, or misinformed, or uninformed writers, as the case might be. PROVO, UTAH