300 Morning Missionaries in PNG

By Elder Robert Gordon

Area Seventy

I was in Papua New Guinea in September 2019 and witnessed a missionary activity as part of the For Strength of Youth Conference, held in Port Moresby.

One weekday morning, 300 youth gathered; all were dressed in their Sunday best and wore a temporary missionary badge. They received instruction from the full-time missionaries about how to approach people and start a gospel discussion. The youth listened intently to the training and an address from the mission president, who called them all to serve a mission for that morning.

The plan was outlined:

The youth would be divided into three groups of one hundred.
Each group would be dropped off at local shopping areas.
They were to form companionships of two or three and fan out to approach people.
They were given a charge to take a Book of Mormon each to share and to get details of interested people to pass on to the full-time missionaries to follow-up.

Buses loaded with these temporary missionaries ventured out. I travelled ahead along with President and Sister Hafoka of the PNG Port Moresby Mission. We dropped off tables that the full-time missionaries had arranged to be set up at a central point in each location to support the youth.

We then drove around each location to observe the activity. We were hoping for a good experience but were a little apprehensive about how things would go. We had time to pass each location three times.

On the first pass we noticed the youth were successfully organising themselves into companionships and heading out. We saw they were attracting some attention. People were wondering what this was about.

On the second pass we noted many people had received a Book of Mormon. We saw people thumbing through the pages at bus stops or sitting on the ground outside the shops reading. We saw a policeman walking away clutching his copy of the Book of Mormon. We were pleasantly surprised how well the activity appeared to be going.

On the third pass many of the companionships were heading back to their meeting place and we stopped to speak with some of them. Each central point had run out of books. The youth were now giving away brochures and we saw many people with these.

The youth excitedly told us about their experience. I describe these little chats as “joyful meetings” (see Alma 27:16). The experience reminded us of how the prophet, Russell M. Nelson, described our youth. He said:

“You are among the best the Lord has ever sent to this world. You have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation.”¹

The statistical report of the activity showed 300 copies of the Book of Mormon had been placed and 406 referrals—names and contact details of people willing to hear more—had been received. These are impressive numbers, but statistics don’t tell the real story.

Once back in their own units the youth universally reported and testified that the missionary activity was the highlight of their conference. Many resolved that when the time came, they would be eager to become full-time missionaries. These young people will be the leaders of the Church. They already understand that when they exercise faith and are obedient the Lord prepares a way for them. Undoubtedly some people would be converted due to being approached that morning. This will be in addition to the deeper conversion of our morning missionaries!

President Nelson said the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil is the greatest work on the earth today.² He also taught during his recent visit to Australia that, “the instrument by which the gathering of Israel will take place is the Book of Mormon”.

I feel that the charge to the youth to give a Book of Mormon at the conference was inspired. We will always do a better job when we have the right tools. The Book of Mormon title page indicates part of its purpose is “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations”.³

Using the Book of Mormon as a gathering tool will increase our capacity to be effective partners in the Lord’s greatest work. Our effectiveness is magnified to the extent we study the Book of Mormon. Remember Joseph Smith declared, “The Book of Mormon [is] the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book.”⁴

Elder Kevin W. Pearson said that daily studying and pondering the Book of Mormon is the “key to spiritual survival”.⁵

President Nelson, addressing the youth, said: “My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, this most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. . . .

“This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.”⁶

I am grateful for the youth in Port Moresby that day. They focused my mind on their special capacity and potential. I also saw how the Book of Mormon is a great tool to use for the gathering of Israel. It is also the tool that once we are gathered will help us stay gathered and helps us to become gatherers.