A milestone in the life of a missionary is his or her final
or exit interview with the mission president.
At the heart of the interview will be discussion of what
seems to be a lifetime of memorable experiences in key
lessons that have been gained in just 18 to 24 months.
While many of these experiences and lessons may be
common to missionary service, each mission is unique, with
challenges and opportunities that stretch and test us
according to our particular needs and personalities.
Long before leaving earthly home to serve a full time
mission, we left heavenly parents to
fulfill our mortal mission.
We have a Father in Heaven who knows us--
our strengths and weaknesses, our abilities and potential.
He knows which mission president and companions and
which members and investigators we need in order
to become the missionary, the husband and father, and
priesthood holder we are capable of becoming.
Prophets, seers, and revelators assign missionaries under
the direction and influence of the Holy Ghost. Inspired
mission presidents direct transfers every six weeks and
quickly learn that the Lord knows exactly where He wants
each missionary to serve.
A few years ago, Elder Javier Misiego, from Madrid, Spain,
was serving a full-time mission in Arizona.
At that time, his mission call to the United States appeared
somewhat unusual, as most young men from Spain were
being called to serve in their own country.
At the conclusion of the stake fireside where he and his
companion had been invited to participate, Elder Misiego was
approached by a less-active member of the Church.
Brought by a friend, it was the first time this man had
been inside a chapel in years.
Elder Misiego was asked if he might know a
Jose Misiego in Madrid.
When Elder Misiego responded that his father's name was
Jose Misiego, the man excitedly asked a few more
questions to confirm that this was the Jose Misiego.
When it was determined that they were speaking about the
same man, this less-active member began to weep.
"Your father was the only person I baptized during my
entire mission," he explained, and described how his mission
had been, in his mind, a failure.
He attributed his years of inactivity to some feelings of
inadequacy and concern, believing that he had somehow
let the Lord down.
Elder Misiego then described what the supposed failure of
the missionary meant to his family.
He told him that his father, baptized as a young single
adult, had married in the temple, that Elder Misiego was
the fourth of six children, that all three boys and a
sister had served full-time missions, that all were active
in the Church, and that all who were married had been
sealed in the temple.
The less-active returned missionary begin to sob.
Through his efforts, he now learned scores of lives have
been blessed, and the Lord had sent an elder from Madrid,
Spain, all the way to a fireside in Arizona to let him
know that he had not been a failure.
The Lord knows where He wants each missionary to serve.
In whatever manner the Lord may choose to bless us during
the course of a mission, blessings of missionary
service are not designed to end when we are released by
our stake president.
Your mission is a training ground for life.
The experiences, lessons, and testimony obtained through
faithful service are meant to provide a gospel centered
foundation that will last throughout mortality and into
the eternities.
However, for the blessings to continue after the mission,
there are conditions that must be met.
In the Doctrine and Covenants we read, "For all who will
have a blessing at my hands shall abide the law which was
appointed for that blessing, and the conditions thereof."
This principle is taught in the story of the Exodus.
After receiving his commission from the Lord, Moses returned
to Egypt to lead the children of Israel out of captivity.
Plague after plague failed to secure their freedom, leading
to the 10th and final plague--
"For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and
will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt." For
protection against the Destroyer, the Lord instructed
his people to offer a sacrifice--
a lamb without blemish--
and to collect the blood from the sacrifice.
They were then to take of the blood and apply it to the
entrance of each home, the two side posts in the upper door
post, with this promise--
"And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the
plague shall not be upon you to destroy you." The children
of Israel went away and did as the Lord had commanded--
they offered the sacrifice, collected the blood, and
applied it to their homes.
And it came to pass that at midnight, the Lord smote all
the firstborn in the land of Egypt.
Moses and his people, according to the promise of
the Lord, were protected.
The blood used by the Israelites, symbolic of the
Savior's future Atonement, was a product of the sacrifice
they had offered.
Nevertheless, the sacrifice and the blood alone would not
have been sufficient to obtain the promised blessing.
Without the application of the blood to the doorpost, the
sacrifice would have been in vain.
President Monson has taught that
missionary work is difficult.
It taxes one's energies, it strains one's capacity, and it
demands one's best effort.
No other labor requires longer hours, greater devotion, or
such sacrifice and fervent prayer.
As a result of that sacrifice, we return from our missions
with their own gifts: the gift of faith, the gift of
testimony, the gift of understanding the role of the
Spirit, to gift of daily gospel study, the gift of
having served our Savior, gifts carefully packaged in
worn scriptures and tattered copies of Preach My Gospel, in
missionary journals and grateful hearts.
However, like the children of Israel, the ongoing blessings
associated with missionary service require application
after the sacrifice.
A few years ago, while Sister Waddell and I presided over
the Spain-Barcelona mission, I would extend one last
assignment to each missionary during their final interview.
As they returned home, they were asked to immediately take
time to consider the lessons and gifts provided to them by
a generous Father in Heaven.
They were asked to prayerfully list and consider how to best
apply those lessons in post-mission life, lessons
that would impact every facet of their lives: education and
career choice, marriage and children, future Church
service, and most importantly, who they would continue to
become and their continued development as disciples of
Jesus Christ.
There is no return missionary for whom it is too late to
consider the lessons obtained through faithful service and
to apply them more diligently.
As we do so, we will feel the influence of the Spirit more
fully in our lives, our families will be strengthened,
and we will draw closer to our Savior and Father in Heaven.
In a previous general conference, Elder L. Tom Perry
extended this invitation: "I call on you returned
missionaries to rededicate yourselves to become reinfused
with the desire and spirit of missionary service.
I call on you to look the part, to be the part, and to
act the part of a servant of our Father in Heaven.
I want to promise you there are great blessings in store
for you if you continue to press forward with the zeal
you once possessed as a full-time missionary."
Now, to the young men who have yet to serve a full-time
mission, I share President Monson's counsel from last
October: "I repeat what prophets have long taught--
that every worthy, able young man should
prepare to serve a mission.
Missionary service is a priesthood duty and obligation
the Lord expects of us who have been given so very much."
Just as with missionaries past and present, the Lord knows
you and has a mission experience prepared for you.
He knows your mission president and his wonderful
wife, who will love you as their own children, and who
will seek inspiration and direction on your behalf.
He knows each of your companions and what you will
learn from them.
He knows each area in which you'll labor, the members you
will meet, the people you will teach, and the lives you will
impact for eternity.
Through your devoted service and willing sacrifice, your
mission will become holy ground to you.
You will witness the miracle of conversion as the Spirit
works through you to touch the hearts of those you teach.
Now, as you prepare to serve, there's much to do.
Becoming an effective servant of the Lord will require more
than being set apart, putting on a name tag, or entering a
missionary training center.
It is a process that begins long before you are referred
to as "elder."
One, arrive on your mission with your own testimony of the
Book of Mormon, obtained through study and prayer.
The Book of Mormon is powerful evidence of the divinity of
Christ. It is also proof of the Restoration through the
Prophet Joseph Smith.
As a missionary, you must first have a personal
testimony that the Book of Mormon is true.
This witness of the Holy Ghost will become a central focus of
your teaching.
Second, arrive on your mission worthy of the companionship of
the Holy Ghost. In the words of President Ezra Taft Benson,
"The spirit is the most important single element of
this work." With the Spirit magnifying your call, you can
do miracles for the Lord in the mission field.
Without the Spirit, you will never succeed, regardless of
your talent and ability.
Third, arrive on your mission ready to work.
Your success as a missionary will be measured primarily by
your commitment to find, teach, baptize, and confirm.
You will be expected to work effectively every day, doing
your best to bring souls to Christ. I repeat Elder M.
Russell Ballard's invitation given to a previous group of
young men preparing to serve: "We look to you, my young
brethren of the Aaronic Priesthood--
we need you.
Like Helaman's 2,000 scripling warriors, you are also the
spirit sons of God, and you too can be endowed with power
to build up and defend His kingdom.
We need you to make sacred covenants, just as they did.
We need you to be meticulously obedient and faithful, just as
they were."
As you accept this invitation, you will learn a great lesson,
as did Elder Misiego and all who have faithfully served,
returned, and applied. You will learn that the words of
our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, are true.
The missionary opportunity of a lifetime is yours--
the blessings of eternity await you.
Yours is the privilege to be not spectators, but
participants on the stage of priesthood service.
I testify that this is true in the name of
Jesus Christ, amen.
Amen.