From the Mission Field
Did God Really Care If I Served a Mission?
In my unique circumstances, I couldn’t help but wonder if it mattered whether I served a mission.
As young adult members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are given the opportunity to serve a mission. Although we know the importance of missionary work, it’s still not easy to choose to serve. Going on a mission involves interrupting schooling, sports, or other worthwhile activities and goals for 18 months or two years.
And there are additional challenges that prospective missionaries struggle with. Missions are demanding, physically and mentally. Missions are especially intimidating when prospective missionaries have doubts or uncertainties about their testimonies. And for some, especially converts to the Church, the decision to serve may involve family opposition and even threats of breaking off contact or disowning.
That was the situation I found myself in after joining the Church at the age of 21. Even before I joined, I became aware that young men were encouraged to serve a mission. But I also knew that serving a mission would draw the ire of my father and all my family members. My father had already threatened to cut ties with me if I joined the Church. How would he react to my desire to serve as a missionary?
Almost immediately I began to make excuses for why I didn’t need to serve. I was already past the age when most young men returned home from their missions. I wouldn’t have financial support and likely wouldn’t be able to afford a mission. And I was about to finish my undergraduate studies and planned to start law school. God couldn’t really expect me to serve given all those limitations, could He?
Yet as I considered missionary service, I kept getting a distinct impression that I should serve.
Still, I wondered whether God really cared if I went on a mission and whether the sacrifice could possibly be worth it. Moreover, there were tens of thousands of other missionaries who did not have my unique circumstances and obstacles. Did it really matter if I served?
Each Missionary Is Important, Including Me
As the April 2010 general conference approached, these thoughts weighed heavily on me. The time had come to make a final decision. I had to choose whether to start law school the upcoming fall or to defer for two years so I could serve. I knew I wanted to serve, but I didn’t know if I could really go through with it. And could I bear to tell my family?
Those fears and doubts melted away as I listened to a talk by Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Divine Call of a Missionary.” Elder Rasband, who at the time was serving in the Presidency of the Seventy, was speaking to all Aaronic Priesthood holders,1 but he could have been speaking directly to me.
Elder Rasband described the general process of assigning mission calls, which he said is “typical each week as Apostles of the Lord assign scores of missionaries to serve throughout the world.”2
After describing an experience where he was able to know through the Spirit where a missionary should be assigned, Elder Rasband shared his testimony “that every missionary called in this Church, and assigned or reassigned to a particular mission, is called by revelation from the Lord God Almighty through one of these, His servants.”3
As he shared this story, I could envision my picture on the screen being greeted by an Apostle. I imagined the warmth in his voice as he imagined where the Lord would have me serve. And the Spirit bore witness to my heart that God knew me personally and had a mission experience prepared for me. Equally importantly, I knew that there were people in my mission who had been prepared to meet me, that my unique experiences, circumstances, and obstacles could touch their hearts and help bring salvation to their souls.
Serving Did Matter
Elder Rasband also described how, when he struggled to know where missionaries should be assigned, President Henry B. Eyring, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, gently told him to “pay closer attention and you too can know.”4 I heard in these words a gentle correction from the Lord for me. After the many spiritual confirmations that I had experienced, how could I still doubt whether I should serve? I resolved to pay closer attention to the spiritual impressions I was feeling.
Elder Rasband ended his talk by quoting the Lord’s words through the Prophet Joseph Smith to John Whitmer and Peter Whitmer Jr. when they wondered what was the thing that “would be of the most worth” for them to do (Doctrine and Covenants 15:4, 16:4).5 I had read and reread these words many times in the previous weeks and months as I tried to decide whether to serve, but as Elder Rasband shared them, I knew that the Lord’s response was for me and that “the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me” (Doctrine and Covenants 15:6, 16:6).
Serving would not be easy. It would involve great sacrifice. But it was what God wanted me to do. He did care if I served a mission. And He would bless me for my service.
Blessed for Missionary Service
Elder Rasband gave this talk more than a decade ago. I was recently reminded of it when he shared his experience with President Eyring in a Facebook post. And I was filled with gratitude for the impact this talk had on me.
Serving a mission was truly life changing. I was called to the Russia Novosibirsk Mission, and I loved serving there. Time and time again, I had experiences that confirmed to me that God had sent me there for a reason. I was able to help change lives, and, in turn, my life was changed. My testimony became more firmly rooted and steadfast. I also learned habits of work and study that have continued to bless me even a decade later.
Most importantly, I felt God’s love for me and the Savior’s inexhaustible love for those I served. Every good thing I have in my life now came from my decision to listen to the Lord’s words spoken through His servant Elder Rasband and through the promptings of the Holy Ghost.
If you’re struggling with a similar decision, I would encourage you to turn to God in prayer and listen carefully to the words of God’s chosen witnesses like Elder Rasband. If you feel prompted to serve, do not ignore that prompting. Whatever your circumstances and whatever challenges you face, God will bless you as you serve Him.