Service Missionary Preparation

Adjusting to Service Missionary Life

It is common for new missionaries to experience some degree of stress or discomfort. You will need to learn new tasks, meet new people, and work with others. As you learn to do these things, be patient. You will learn to recognize the blessings of devoting your life to the Savior. Remember, the Holy Ghost will be with you. He will help you make this transition. He will assist you in adjusting to your new service missionary responsibilities.

Adjusting to New Experiences

Service missionaries are like many people who enter a new situation. Many go through various stages of emotional adjustment when they begin their service:

• Anticipation

  • You may feel eager for the challenge (see 1 Nephi 3:7).

  • You may feel an increased sense of purpose and loyalty to God (see 3 Nephi 5:13).

  • You may feel happy and look forward to meeting new people and experiencing new places.

• Discovering the unexpected

  • You may begin to question your decision to serve (see Alma 26:27).

  • You may notice physical symptoms of stress, such as disturbed sleep, appetite changes, or irritability.

  • You may unexpectedly find yourself critical of service mission rules and expectations. You may not want to follow them completely.

• “I can do this”

  • You learn to willingly comply with service mission rules and expectations.

  • You learn to have patience (see Isaiah 28:10; Mosiah 4:27).

  • Your physical symptoms of stress, if you had any, begin to diminish.

• Emotional self-reliance

  • You feel comfortable navigating your daily routine.

  • You recognize your personal strengths and progress.

  • You understand what it means to take life one step at a time (see Doctrine and Covenants 98:12).

  • You develop greater self-confidence and an increased desire to serve.

Things You Can Do Now

Find ways to serve others. Your mission is a call to service. Focus on looking outside of your own feelings of discomfort. Minister to those who need a kind word, an act of charity, or friendship.

Talk with others about your adjustment to your service mission. Make time to discuss the following topics with parents, priesthood leaders, or returned missionary friends:

• God has required many people to do things beyond what they felt capable of doing. What can you learn from scriptural examples? You might study Exodus 4:10–12; Jeremiah 1:6–9; Alma 17:9–12; Alma 26:27; Ether 12:23–27; Moses 6:31–32.

• Why is it important to go to bed and wake up on time? Why is it important to maintain good nutrition? Why should you get regular exercise? Why should you have personal prayers?

• How can writing in a journal help you during both successes and challenges?

• How can you respond when troublesome thoughts or feelings don’t go away?

• Focus on strengthening your relationship with your Heavenly Father. Seek the Spirit through personal prayer and scripture study. Listen to uplifting music, and read your patriarchal blessing.

• Be kind to yourself and others. Talk to yourself with the same comforting, kind words you might imagine the Savior using. Remember, thoughts of helplessness, hopelessness, or harsh condemnation are not from the Lord.

• Expect the unexpected. Your experiences as a service missionary will not be the same as someone else’s. Everything will not go exactly as you’ve planned. Strive to be open to change so you can fulfill your responsibilities as a service missionary.

Remember, the Spirit will be with you as you make this transition and will help you adjust to your new responsibilities:

“And whoso receiveth you, there l will be also, for l will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:88).

Summary

Remember that your life as a service missionary will be different from your previous life. But the Lord will reward and bless you. Develop a positive attitude. Exercise faith in the Lord. Be patient with yourself and others. Remember the counsel given to the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7).