Missionary Work
Bring the Book of Mormon to life
Purpose
Learn how to read the Book of Mormon with someone who may have difficulty understanding it.
Description
Have each youth identify someone they could read the Book of Mormon with who may have difficulty understanding it (such as a younger brother or sister or a friend who may have never read it). Invite them to set up a specific time each week to read together. To help the youth prepare for this activity, give them time to practice in pairs. Guide them as they role-play helping each other understand the storyline, difficult words and phrases, and doctrinal truths contained in the verses they read (see Preach My Gospel,110–11). Encourage them to do the same when they read with the person they identified.
Invite the youth to come together after about a month of doing this, and have a discussion about what they learned and what they can do to better prepare themselves to help others understand the Book of Mormon.
Church tours
Purpose
Help the missionaries give tours of the local Church building.
Description
Plan an activity with the missionaries where you invite less-active members and friends not of our faith to take a tour of the Church building. The missionaries should be in charge of giving the tour. Tours often begin in the foyer, where participants gather for an opening prayer. Then the missionaries lead the group to the baptismal font (if your chapel has one) and explain about our need for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. They may take time to point out the artwork around the building, and they may use this artwork to teach about the restored gospel. Tours often end in the chapel by the sacrament table, where the missionaries teach about the sacrament and our need to make and renew covenants with God. Depending on the guidance of the Spirit and the circumstances of the tour, the missionaries may extend invitations to learn more about the gospel, attend church, or be baptized.
Throughout the tour, you will be invited to bear testimony of gospel principles. You can prepare for this experience by studying topics such as the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Restoration of the gospel, the sacrament, and baptism. You could also prepare by asking the missionaries to give you a tour before you invite others to participate.
I follow Jesus Christ
Purpose
Practice answering questions about the gospel by sharing how we follow Jesus Christ.
Description
Invite the youth to come up with several questions that they hear about their beliefs or the Church. Divide the youth into several small groups, and give them each a question. Invite the youth to read the question, look up scriptures in which the Savior or His prophets teach principles related to the issue or question, and prepare answers to share with the entire group by following a format like the one below:
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Our question is ________________________________________________.
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The Savior taught _______________ (read a scripture and explain what it means).
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In my life, I have found that _____________ (share personal experiences living this principle).
Example:
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Our question is: Why don’t you drink coffee?
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The Savior taught through His Apostle Paul that our body is a temple, and that we should treat it that way (read 1 Corinthians 6:19). For me, this means not taking things into my body that are harmful to it. Coffee is one of those things. The Savior has revealed a code of healthto the Churchcalled the Word of Wisdom, which also teaches us to avoid drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
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In my life, I have found great blessings as I have tried to follow the Savior in keeping my body like a temple (share a personal experience or testimony).
Improve my teaching skills
Purpose
Learn and practice basic teaching skills through training others.
Description
Prior to the activity, display questions like the following: How should I teach from the scriptures? How can I ask effective questions when I teach? How can I listen better to those I teach? How can I teach based on the needs of my investigators? How can I help people overcome their concerns? (See Preach My Gospel chapter 10.)
Let the youth choose one of these skills to improve on, and divide them up into companionships based on what they have chosen. Each companionship could then study together their skill from Preach My Gospel and prepare to demonstrate the skill for the entire group. In their training, encourage them to define the skill, demonstrate how it works, and let others practice.
Mini mission
Purpose
Experience what mission service is like and improve gospel study habits.
Description
Put the youth in companionships of the same gender, and give each companionship a “mission call” to serve somewhere in the world. Have each companionship study a lesson from Preach My Gospel and prepare to teach it to a family in the ward. Arrange with members of the ward for a companionship to come to their home, eat dinner, and teach a lesson as if the family were not members of the Church. As a part of this activity, youth could live many of the missionary rules for a week (such as waking up at 6:30, studying the scriptures for an hour a day, limiting use of media, and so on). Youth could also learn about the culture, climate, and other qualities of the area they are assigned to. Consider involving the bishop in this activity to teach youth about the requirements for full-time mission service, how to submit a mission application, and so on.
Mission memories and meals
Purpose
Hear about the experiences of a returned missionary and gain experience teaching.
Description
Take the youth to the home of a member who served a full-time mission. Have the member instruct the youth in preparing a simple meal they could prepare on their missions. Invite the returned missionary to share experiences from his or her mission for a few minutes, and invite several youth to share a message from Preach My Gospel with the member’s family.
Missionary exchanges
Purpose
Participate in missionary work by going with the full-time missionaries to find and teach others.
Description
(Note: This activity is ideal for priests and Laurels.) Working with the ward mission leader, plan a time when the youth can go with the full-time missionaries to find and teach others. Ask the missionaries about what lessons are likely to be taught so the youth can prepare by studying the appropriate section in Preach My Gospel.
Once most or all of the youth have had this opportunity, invite them to share their experiences during a Mutual activity. What did they learn? What did their experience inspire them to do to prepare better for their missions?
Missionary movie night
Purpose
See what missionary work is like.
Description
Watch together an episode from one of the Preach My Gospel DVDs (The District 1 or The District 2). Have a discussion about what the youth learn about missionary work from the episode. What did they learn about missionary work that they didn’t know before? Based on what they saw, what do they feel they need to do to prepare for missionary service?
Missionary open house
Purpose
Share the gospel with members of the community in an open house, cultural event, or another activity.
Description
Work with the bishopric and full-time missionaries to plan, prepare, and publicize a missionary open house, cultural event, or another activity at the local meetinghouse. Let the youth create and hand out fliers, greet the guests, share basic doctrine with the visitors, and plan other activities to help visitors learn about the gospel at the open house.
Missionary tips from missionaries
Purpose
Learn about missionary work from the full-time missionaries.
Description
Invite the full-time missionaries or recently returned missionaries to discuss possible scenarios and available resources for sharing the gospel. Ask them to explain how they study as they prepare to teach. Role-play what youth can say to their friends about the Church in a variety of settings. Invite the youth to have a missionary experience each week and share their experiences.
Place a Book of Mormon
Purpose
Become involved in missionary work by preparing to give a copy of the Book of Mormon to someone.
Description
Give the youth copies of the missionary edition of the Book of Mormon. Invite them to write their testimonies in the inside front cover and mark some of their favorite passages. You could invite the full-time missionaries to suggest additional passages to mark. Give them opportunities to practice explaining what the Book of Mormon is to someone who has never read it (help them or have them help each other with examples). Invite them to give their copies of the Book of Mormon to someone who is not a member of the Church and testify of the Book of Mormon to that person. During a future activity, invite the youth to share their experiences.
Role-play a missionary situation
Purpose
Practice teaching gospel truths and answering gospel questions.
Description
Divide the youth into companionships, and have them prepare short lessons from chapter 3 of Preach My Gospel. Each companionship could then teach other youth who are playing the role of an investigator. Invite the “investigators” to ask questions during the discussion for the companionship to answer. After the companionship is finished, they could change roles and the other youth could teach.
This activity will be more successful as the youth understand the basic study and teaching skills contained in Preach My Gospel chapters 2 and 10. Consider reviewing some of these skills before asking the youth to teach.
Share a Christ-centered message with others
Purpose
Invite others to come unto Christ by sharing inspired messages through social media.
Description
Watch the following Christ-centered videos together: “Because of Him” (see above), “Christlike Attributes,” and “His Sacred Name—An Easter Declaration.” Share your thoughts and feelings about the Savior with each other. During the activity or later that evening, share one of these videos through social media, such as Facebook or Twitter. The following week, share your experience with doing this, including the responses from others as you shared these sacred messages.
Keep in mind that one reason the Church has created these videos is so members can share them with others, including friends of other faiths.
Study as missionaries do
Purpose
Improve gospel study habits using missionary materials.
Description
Put youth in companionships, and assign each pair a chapter from the scriptures. Have them study their chapter following the guidelines on pages 17–18 of Preach My Gospel (pray, study with real intent, listen to the Spirit, apply what you learn) and then teach a lesson on what they learned to another companionship or to the entire group. Consider inviting the youth to apply these guidelines in their personal scripture study.
Teaching people from other cultures
Purpose
Learn about teaching the gospel to people from other cultures and backgrounds.
Description
Invite returned missionaries who served in various places throughout the world to share their mission experiences with the youth. Each could set up a table and present information on the culture and religion of a certain area, show photos and souvenirs, or provide samples of foreign food. Discuss how the culture and religions of the people in their mission influenced how they taught them the gospel. Youth could be divided into groups and move around to each returned missionary’s presentation.
The Book of Mormon and questions of the soul
Purpose
Learn how to use the Book of Mormon to help investigators answer their questions about life and spirituality.
Description
Assign each youth one of the “questions of the soul” on page 107 of Preach My Gospel. Challenge the youth to find out how the Book of Mormon answers those questions (if they need help, refer them to the chapters listed with each question in Preach My Gospel). Invite them to share what they find.
Share an experience you have had in which studying the scriptures helped you receive an answer to personal questions. Invite the youth to share any experiences they have had.