Local Leader Message
Preparing to Serve Missions
“After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel.”
A statement attributed to President Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985) was quoted by Elder H. Verlan Anderson in the October general conference of 1986. “Missionary work is the lifeblood of the Church . . . were it not for missionary work, the Church would wither and die on the vine.”1
The Savior thus commanded, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”2
It is the duty of every able and worthy young man and woman, if she so desires, to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some years ago, our daughter was called to serve a full-time mission in the Harare Zimbabwe Mission. Upon learning of this development, a Church leader asked her how she felt about going to the missionary training center. Her response was that it felt like leaving one MTC and going to another because she believed our home was like a missionary training center.
It is of utmost importance to start preparations for full-time missionary service as early as possible. This allows the candidate enough time for preparation, which then allows him/her to enjoy a successful and fulfilling mission experience.
During the period when we prepared our children for missionary service, these are some of the areas on which we concentrated. We taught them at a tender age the importance of personal and family prayer every morning and evening. As a result of this habit, they were able to develop a strong faith and trust in the Lord.
We would read them stories from the Book of Mormon and other scriptures even before they were able to read for themselves. I am reminded of an experience during one of our many family scripture studies. Our then four-year-old son offered to read from the Book of Mormon. I gave him the book and he opened and started reading, “I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat . . .” (See 1 Nephi 1:1). I was surprised with the fluency with which he was reading because I knew he was not yet able to read. I said, “Takudzwa, show me where you are reading.” When he brought the book to me it was opened to the book of Enos. To the utter amazement of all present, we realized he wasn’t reading anywhere but that he had memorized that scripture as we were studying previously as a family. Home evenings were an integral part of our Monday plans.
As the children grew older, they were enrolled in seminary, which played a pivotal part in their understanding of gospel principles. This then developed into a sustained conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As counselled in the scriptures, “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.”3
A lot of emphasis was also placed on the principle of work; we assigned our children duties and work assignments suiting their ages and strength. At a tender age, they were able to perform basic chores and at the same time earn something that they would put aside for their mission needs. We never assisted them with chores that they could do for themselves. Elder Neal A. Maxwell put it so succinctly, “Those who do too much for their children will soon find they can do nothing with their children. So many children have been so much done for they are almost done in”4.
The teaching and living of commandments such as moral cleanliness, honesty, tithing, Sabbath observance—and others—helped to build a strong character and a firm testimony. This qualified them to teach what they lived unto the convincing of seekers of the truth. Missionary work is very demanding, hence physical, mental, and emotional preparation were never ignored in our family.
President Russell M. Nelson taught, “Anytime you do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—take a step toward making covenants with God and receiving their essential baptismal and temple ordinances, you are helping to gather Israel”5. Participating in temple and family history work became a tradition in our home as each child searched and prepared names of deceased relatives to take to the temple. I must say this was and has continued to be a strong and loving link between us and our forebearers.
Lastly, I cannot overemphasize the need to prepare for priesthood ordination. This requires thorough studying of the priesthood and of duties found in the General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, chapters 8 and 18 (See ChurchofJesusChrist.org)—and the Doctrine and Covenants, sections 20, 42, 72, 84, 107 and 121. As the Prophet Joseph Smith declared, “After all that has been said, the greatest and most important duty is to preach the Gospel.”6
Dunstan G.B.T. Chadambuka was named an Area Seventy in April 2019. He is married to Pertunia Mudarikwa; they are the parents of three children.