I Can Be a Missionary Now

By Linda Christensen

“And if it so be that you should … bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy” (D&C 18:15).

The Apostle Paul was a great missionary. He said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ” (Romans 1:16). Paul traveled to many places to share the gospel. He found joy in sharing the gospel and helping people be happy.

The Prophet Joseph Smith’s brother Samuel was the first missionary in the latter days. Since that time, more than one million men and women have served missions. Each missionary, like Samuel Smith and Paul, has a testimony of the gospel and wants to share it with others.

President David O. McKay (1873–1970) said, “Every member a missionary.”¹ That means you can be a missionary now! Sharing the gospel with others will remind you of your baptismal covenant to always remember Jesus Christ. Remember these words:

I can be a missionary now.
I don’t have to wait until I’m grown.
I’ll live each day the best that I know how,
And they’ll see I have a testimony of my own,
A testimony of my very own.2

Activity

Remove page F4. Cut out the home and the five windows. Glue each window in the window outlines on the gospel-sharing home. With your family, talk about the ideas on the home. Decide together what you can do to be missionaries now. Place the gospel-sharing home where your family can see it.

Illustrations by Thomas S. Child

A Gospel-Sharing Home

Pray for missionary opportunities.

Invite your friends to Church activities.

Be a good example.

Share the gospel with others.

Be friendly.

Sharing Time Ideas

Gather items for simple tasks that require preparation to complete. (For example, task: washing dishes—items could include soap and a dishcloth; task: cooking—items could include a recipe and ingredients.) Prepare a bag with a different task for each class. Ask each class to open the bag, determine what task needs to be completed, and explain why each item is necessary to complete the task. Invite each class to share with the Primary. Explain that just as we need certain things to prepare to do a task, we need to do certain things to prepare to be a good missionary. Place Gospel Art Picture Kit 605 (Young Boy Praying) and 617 (Search the Scriptures) on the chalkboard, and write below them, “I will prepare to be a missionary by praying and reading the scriptures daily.” Ask the children to share how living this principle can prepare them to be missionaries. Summarize the story of Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah. Help the children find Alma 17:2–3, and read it together. Underline the phrases “they had searched the scriptures diligently” and “they had given themselves to much prayer.” Bear testimony of the power of prayer and daily scripture study and how they can prepare us to be missionaries.
Label an empty container “Faithful and Obedient.” Prepare several case studies about faith and obedience for both younger and older children (see Teaching, No Greater Call [1999], 161–62). Begin sharing time by writing “I will prepare to be a missionary by being faithful and obedient” on the chalkboard. Read it with the children. Invite a child to choose a case study. Let the child or class answer what to do. Point out that their answer requires faith or obedience, and let the child put some small objects (beans or pebbles, for example) into the container. After each case study, sing the phrase “I’ll do what is right; I’ll follow his light. His truth I will proclaim” from “The Church of Jesus Christ” (Children’s Songbook, 77). The phrase “His truth I will proclaim” means we will be missionaries. Continue until the container is full.