“Chapter 15: Missionary Service: A Sacred Charge,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Thomas S. Monson (2020)

“Chapter 15,” Teachings: Thomas S. Monson

Chapter 15

Missionary Service: A Sacred Charge

“Missionary work is an identifying feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

From the Life of Thomas S. Monson

During a flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles, President Thomas S. Monson had an experience that illustrates his readiness to share the gospel. A young woman sitting beside him was reading A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, a book by Elder LeGrand Richards (1886–1983), who was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. President Monson asked the young woman if she was a member of the Church.

“Oh, no,” she replied. “Why would you ask?”

President Monson explained that the author of the book was a leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Is that right?” the young woman asked. “A friend gave this to me, but I don’t know much about it. However, it has aroused my curiosity.”

As President Monson wondered if he should say more about the Church, the words of the Apostle Peter came into his mind: “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). “I decided that this was the time when I should bear my testimony,” he said.

“I told her that it was my privilege years before to have assisted Elder Richards in printing A Marvelous Work and a Wonder. I told her something about that great man. I told her of the many thousands of people who had embraced the truth after reading that which he had prepared.

“Then it was my privilege, all the way to Los Angeles, to answer her questions relative to the Church—intelligent questions that came from a heart which was seeking the truth. I asked if I might make arrangements for two sister missionaries to call upon her. I asked if she would like to attend our branch in San Francisco, where she lived. Her answers were affirmative.”

When President Monson returned home, he passed along this information to Church leaders in San Francisco. “Can you imagine my delight when, a few months later, I received a call from [the stake president] in which he said, ‘Elder Monson, I’m calling about Yvonne Ramirez, an off-duty flight attendant, a young lady who sat next to you on a flight to Los Angeles. … She has just become the newest member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She’d like to speak to you and express her gratitude.’”¹

“A sweet voice came on the line: ‘Brother Monson, thank you for sharing with me your testimony. I am the happiest person in all the world.’

“As tears filled my eyes and gratitude to God enlarged my soul, I thanked her and commended her on her search for truth and, having found it, her decision to enter those waters which cleanse and purify and provide entrance to eternal life.”²

men talking — “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

Teachings of Thomas S. Monson

We have a mandate to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Long years ago a divine command was given by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as He said to His beloved eleven disciples: “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” [Matthew 28:19–20]. Mark records that “they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them” [Mark 16:20].

This sacred charge has not been rescinded. Rather, it has been reemphasized.³

Christ teaching — “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19).

Missionary work is an identifying feature of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Always has it been; ever shall it be.⁴

We are a missionary-minded people. … That energetic missionary from the Book of Mormon, even Alma, provides for us a blueprint of missionary conduct: “This is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy” (Alma 29:9).

I add my personal witness: Our missionaries are not salesmen with wares to peddle; rather, they are servants of the Most High God, with testimonies to bear, truths to teach, and souls to save.⁵

To each of us comes the mandate to share the gospel of Christ. When our lives comply with God’s own standard, those within our sphere of influence will never speak the lament, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” [Jeremiah 8:20].

The perfect Shepherd of souls, the missionary who redeemed mankind, gave us His divine assurance:

“If it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

“And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!” [Doctrine and Covenants 18:15–16]. …

I pray that we will have the courage to extend the hand of fellowship, the tenacity to try and try again, and the humility needed to seek guidance from our Father as we fulfill our mandate to share the gospel.⁶

Our outlook toward others can help them change.

We need to bear in mind that people can change. They can put behind them bad habits. They can repent from transgressions. They can bear the priesthood worthily. And they can serve the Lord diligently.⁷

In one particular meeting, N. Eldon Tanner, who was then an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve, had just returned from his initial experience of presiding over the missions in Great Britain and western Europe. He told of a missionary who had been the most successful missionary whom he had met in all of the interviews he had conducted. …

Brother Tanner asked what was different about his approach. … He said that if he knocked on the door and saw a man smoking a cigar and dressed in old clothes and seemingly uninterested in anything—particularly religion—the missionary would picture in his own mind what that man would look like under a different set of circumstances. In his mind he would look at him as clean-shaven and wearing a white shirt and white trousers. And the missionary could see himself leading that man into the waters of baptism. He said, “When I look at someone that way, I have the capacity to bear my testimony to him in a way that can touch his heart.”

We have the responsibility to look at our friends, our associates, our neighbors this way. Again, we have the responsibility to see individuals not as they are but rather as they can become. I would plead with you to think of them in this way.⁸

There are countless individuals who have little or no testimony right now, those who could and would receive such a testimony if we would be willing to make the effort to share ours and to help them change. In some instances we can provide the incentive for change.⁹

Full-time missionary service is the opportunity of a lifetime.

The deep yearning of countless numbers is expressed in the plea of one who spoke to Philip of old: “How can I [find my way], except some man should guide me?” [Acts 8:31].

… The world is in need of your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save. The harvest truly is great. Let there be no mistake about it; the missionary opportunity of a lifetime is yours. The blessings of eternity await you. Yours is the privilege to be not spectators but participants.¹⁰

Every worthy, able young man should prepare to serve a mission. Such service is a priesthood duty—an obligation the Lord expects of us who have been given so very much. Young men, I admonish you to prepare for service as a missionary. Keep yourselves clean and pure and worthy to represent the Lord. Maintain your health and strength. Study the scriptures. Where such is available, participate in seminary and institute. …

Sisters, while you do not have the same priesthood responsibility as do the young men to serve as full-time missionaries, you also make a valuable contribution as missionaries, and we welcome your service.

To the mature brothers and sisters of the Church, I remind you that the Lord needs many, many more of you to serve as full-time missionaries. If you are not yet at the season of life to serve a couples mission, I urge you to prepare now for the day when, as your circumstances allow, you and your spouse might do so. There are few times in your lives when you will enjoy the sweet spirit and satisfaction that come from giving full-time service together in the work of the Master.

Now, some of you may be shy by nature or consider yourselves inadequate to respond affirmatively to the call to serve. Remember that this is the Lord’s work, and when we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. The Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it.¹¹

Prepare to serve worthily, with an eye single to the glory of God and His purposes. You will never know the full influence of your testimony and your service, but you will return with gladness for having had the privilege of responding to a sacred call to serve the Master. You will be forever loved by those to whom you bring the light of truth.¹²

missionaries — “The missionary opportunity of a lifetime is yours. The blessings of eternity await you.”

The Lord will help us in our missionary service.

[An] example of lives filled with service … is the missionary experience of Juliusz and Dorothy Fussek, who were called to fill an 18-month mission in Poland. Brother Fussek was born in Poland. He spoke the language. He loved the people. Sister Fussek was born in England and knew little of Poland and nothing of its people.

Trusting in the Lord, they embarked on their assignment. The living conditions were primitive, the work lonely, their task immense. A mission had not at that time been fully established in Poland. The assignment given the Fusseks was to prepare the way so that the mission could be expanded and gain permanence, that other missionaries be called to serve, people taught, converts baptized, branches established, and chapels erected.

Did Elder and Sister Fussek despair because of the enormity of their assignment? Not for a moment. They knew their calling was from God, they prayed for His divine help, and they devoted themselves wholeheartedly to their work. They remained in Poland not 18 months, but rather served for five years. All of the foregoing objectives were realized. Such came about following an earlier meeting where Elders Russell M. Nelson, Hans B. Ringger, and I, accompanied by Elder Fussek, met with Minister Adam Wopatka of the Polish government, and we heard him say, “Your church is welcome here. You may build your buildings, you may send your missionaries. You are welcome in Poland. This man,” pointing to Juliusz Fussek, “has served your church well, as has his wife. You can be grateful for their example and their work.”

Like the Fusseks, let us do what we should do in the work of the Lord. Then we can, with Juliusz and Dorothy Fussek, echo the Psalm: “My help cometh from the Lord” [Psalm 121:2].¹³

Missionary work requires preparation, love for others, and our best effort.

May I suggest a formula that will insure your success as missionaries:

Prepare with purpose;
Teach with testimony;
Labor with love.

First, prepare with purpose. Remember the qualifying statement of the Master: “Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind” [Doctrine and Covenants 64:34]. Missionary work is difficult. It taxes one’s energies; it strains one’s capacity; it demands one’s best effort—frequently a second effort. No other labor requires longer hours or greater devotion or such sacrifice and fervent prayer. …

Second, teach with testimony. Peter and John, those converted fishermen who became Apostles, were warned [by the Sadducees] not to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Their answer was firm: “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” [Acts 4:19–20].

Paul, the Apostle, that sterling testifier of truth, was speaking to all of us—members and missionaries alike—when he counseled his beloved friend Timothy: “Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” [1 Timothy 4:12]. …

Third, labor with love. There is no substitute for love. Often this love is kindled in youth by a mother, expanded by a father, and kept vibrant through service to God. Remember the Lord’s counsel: “And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work” [Doctrine and Covenants 4:5]. Well might each of us ask himself: Today, have I increased in faith, in hope, in charity, in love?¹⁴

Years ago I worked with a man named Sharman Hummel in the printing business. I once asked him how he came to receive his testimony of the gospel.

He responded, “We lived in the East. I was journeying by bus to San Francisco. In Salt Lake City a young girl entered the bus—a Primary girl—who sat next to me. She was going to Reno, Nevada, for a visit with her aunt. As we journeyed westward, I noticed a billboard: ‘Visit the Mormon Sunday School this week.’

“I said to the little girl, ‘I guess there are a lot of Mormons in Utah, aren’t there?’

“She replied, ‘Yes, sir.’

“Then I said to her, ‘Are you a Mormon?’

“Again her reply: ‘Yes, sir.’”

Sharman Hummel then asked, “What do Mormons believe?” And that little girl recited the first article of faith; then she talked about it. Continuing, she gave him the second article of faith and talked about it. Then she gave him the third and the fourth and the fifth and the sixth and all of the Articles of Faith and talked about all of them.

Sharman Hummel said, “I was profoundly impressed. When I arrived in San Francisco, the very first thing I did was to look … for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I called the mission president, and he sent two missionaries to where I was staying. I became a member of the Church, my wife became a member, [and] all of our children became members.”

The entire Hummel family remained active in the Church. Each of the daughters has been to the temple. Countless are those who have been brought to a knowledge of the gospel by the members of this family—all because a young child had been taught the Articles of Faith and had the ability and the courage to proclaim the truth.¹⁵

Suggestions for Study and Teaching

Questions

President Monson taught that each of us has a “mandate to share the gospel of Christ” (section 1). Why does Heavenly Father want us to share the gospel? What are some ways you have shared the gospel? When have you felt Heavenly Father guiding your efforts? When have you experienced joy from sharing the gospel?
Review the story of the missionary in section 2. Why do you think this missionary’s way of seeing people helped him in sharing the gospel? How has the gospel helped you make changes in your life?
How has missionary service blessed you or someone you know? (See section 3.) What are some ways we can prepare for missionary service? How can adults help children and youth prepare to serve missions? How can we assist the missionaries?
What can we learn from the story of Elder and Sister Fussek? (See section 4.)
President Monson emphasized that “there is no substitute for love” in missionary work (section 5). Why is love essential in missionary work? What can we learn about missionary work from the young girl who shared the Articles of Faith? Consider each day how you would reply to the following question from President Monson: “Today, have I increased in faith, in hope, in charity, in love?”

Related Scriptures

Ezekiel 34:11–15; Mark 16:15; Alma 26:1–16; Doctrine and Covenants 15; 60:2; 84:85–88; 88:81; 123:11–17

Teaching Help

“When learners share what they are learning, they not only feel the Spirit and strengthen their own testimonies, but they also encourage other [family or] class members to discover truths for themselves. … Reserve time for student sharing in every lesson—in some cases, you may find that these discussions are the lesson” (Teaching in the Savior’s Way [2016], 30).