Legacy of Faith through Missionary Service

By John Millar

On the 2 March 1942, all the mission presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were called home because of World War II. President Archibald Campbell was called to be acting mission president for the Australian Mission. He was set apart by former mission president, Elvon W. Orme on the 27 April 1942.

Archibald Campbell was known for his dedication and stalwartness for the gospel of Jesus Christ. He served in numerous ways to build up the kingdom of God in Australia, including as a counsellor to previous mission presidents. After his wife died, he served a mission in his 70s and travelled over the entire Australia Mission. Little did President Archibald Campbell know in 1942 that he was laying a foundation of faith, dedication and service that would be followed several generations later.

In July 2020, President Campbell’s great-grandson, Dale Campbell Maurer, became the last of three brothers to receive a call as mission president; his older brothers, Wayne and Carl had already served in that capacity. These brothers were born in Brisbane Australia as fifth generation Church members and grew up with their great-grandfather’s legacy of faith, dedication, and service.

Middle brother Carl, a current Area Seventy for the Pacific Area, served as mission president in the Australia Perth Mission from 2007 to 2010. This was the same mission where he had served as a young man. His older brother, Wayne, served as mission president in the Philippines Tacloban Mission from 2014-2017 and is currently the missionary training center president for the Philippines. Wayne had also served his first mission as a young man in the Philippines Manila Mission. Dale, the youngest brother, has been serving in the North Carolina Raleigh Mission since 2020. He served his first mission in the Australian Melbourne Mission.

Along with their great-grandfather, Archibald Campbell, this legacy of faith continued with their grandfather, Allan Campbell, who was the first patriarch in the newly established Brisbane Australia Stake in 1960. Allan would regularly teach from the stand, and to his family he shared the need to focus on a legacy of faith and the importance of enduring to the end. Allan and his wife, Madge, also served a mission in the Australia Adelaide Mission in their later lives.

The brothers’ father, Arthur Maurer, served as a counsellor in a stake presidency as well as a counsellor in both the Sydney and Brisbane temple presidencies. Arthur and Jan, parents of the three boys and two girls, also served missions in the Australia Adelaide Mission and in the Suva Fiji Temple. This has set a pattern for their children and currently for their 16 grandchildren who are serving or who have served a mission.

Serving as young missionaries has been a major influence in each of their lives. The transformation personally and the observed changes in other people’s lives, through living the gospel of Jesus Christ, has helped to create a righteous pattern of living and serving in each of their families. Seeking for the continuation of this legacy of faith into future generations is the desire of each of the three brothers and their two sisters.

Whilst the pandemic creates challenges for missionaries serving, they still believe there is no better time to serve a mission than now. The Lord blesses those who serve with personal growth and success, as missionaries build the kingdom of God. The Maurers say that being an instrument in the hands of the Lord blesses and enriches their own lives as well as those whom they are called to serve. From the experience in their own lives and in those of the many missionaries they have served with, they highlighted the following positive outcomes from a mission:

A stronger desire for education and preparation for a self-reliant future.
A positive self-assurance and an ability to communicate well with people.
A personal conversion to the Lord Jesus Christ and His gospel.
Creating spiritual memories with wonderful members and interested people.
A confidence that comes from serving the Lord as a full-time missionary.

Missionary service is one of the most important ways members of the Church can make significant contributions to the work of the Lord. Family missionary service over the decades has become a legacy. While all three Maurer brothers subscribe to the President J. Reuben Clark Jnr. (1871-1961) quote that, “In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how”,¹ they are grateful for their family legacy of faith and for the opportunity to help build the kingdom of God in whatever way the Lord asks of them.