My Missionary

I heard this missionary story awhile back and don't know how accurate it is but thought I would share it with my missionary this week.

On his mission in Zimbabwe this Elder was on splits with a bunch of other Elders and they were walking when a bunch of teenagers came running up with knives. In the panic and hysteria everyone started running to get away and this Elder tripped and was left behind. The group came upon him and started stabbing him. He said a prayer and (being the little guy he was asked for strength), he was overcome by the strength of angels as he said and literally threw the attackers from his body. Scared by the immense power, and a little freaked by it all the attackers ran away. He fainted immediately due to blood lose. A lost elderly couple came upon his body and took him to the hospital. Where they discovered that even though he was covered in blood and his shirt and garments torn to pieces, nothing beneath the garments was hit. Nothing vital was damaged. He recovered safely and though he has a large scar the extent of his arm and across his face. He is alive.

My missionary ...

One of the great miracles of missionary service in this Church is that Sid Going and thousands just like him have not asked, “What will I get from my mission?” but rather, “What can I give?”
In 1961, at age 18 and holding the Aaronic Priesthood, Sidney Going was becoming a star in New Zealand rugby. Because of his remarkable abilities, many thought he would be chosen the very next year for the national All Blacks rugby team.

At age 19, in this critical moment of his ascending rugby career, Sid declared that he would forgo rugby to serve a mission. Some called him crazy. Others called him foolish. 4 They protested that his opportunity in rugby might never come again.

For Sid it was not what he was leaving behind—it was the opportunity and responsibility ahead. He had a priesthood duty to offer two years of his life to declare the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. Nothing—not even a chance to play on the national team, with all the acclaim it would bring—would deter him from that duty. 5

He was called by a prophet of God to serve in the Western Canadian Mission. Forty-eight years ago this month, 19-year-old Elder Sidney Going left New Zealand to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sid told me of an experience he had on his mission. It was evening, and he and his companion were just about to return to their apartment. They decided to visit one more family. The father let them in. Elder Going and his companion testified of the Savior. The family accepted a Book of Mormon. The father read all night. In the next week and a half he read the entire Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. A few weeks later the family was baptized. 6

A mission instead of a place on the New Zealand All Blacks team? Sid responded, “The blessing of [bringing others] into the gospel far outweighs anything [you] will ever sacrifice.” 7

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/preparing-the-world-for-the-second-coming?lang=eng

Spiritual Thought:
Excerpt from ...

ACTING ON THE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
DIETER F. UCHTDORF
Second Counselor in the First Presidency

" Another topic I would like to discuss is the difference between growth and real growth. We have heard some about this today. In Church terms, growth could be defined as new members. New members come through children baptized at age eight as well as convert baptisms. Real growth, however, is defined as growth in the number of active members.
In some areas of the Church we have dramatic growth in new members, yet active membership remains stagnant or grows only a little. We have some measurable ways to indicate activity in the Church, such assacrament meeting attendance, ordination to the priesthood at the right age, missionary service, and possession of a current temple recommend. Perhaps the more accurate indicators of real growth in the gospel of Jesus Christ are those that we can’t measure as easily, such as daily prayer, scripture study, family home evening, love at home and for our neighbor, and personal experiences with Christ’s Atonement. These are recorded not by a clerk in Church records but in our hearts and in heaven.
Our missionary efforts are compromised if we baptize God’s children but do not maintain love and friendship with these precious new members who are excited to find fellowship with the Saints and a place of belonging in the household of God.
Here again, our councils can deliberate on the spiritual and temporal welfare of every member—taking special care to consider each new convert. Our work as a council is to help our members grow in their love for Heavenly Father and their fellowman. If we focus our efforts here, one-on-one, many more members will feel that they have found a home in the Church—that they have found the “why” of the gospel.
Brothers and sisters, let us remember that you and I are not perfect. Consequently, our councils will not be perfect either. At times they will be understaffed. At times they may include one or perhaps several people who are not fully engaged in the work or who are distracted by the complications and stresses of everyday life.
Please do not give up. Be careful not to over-idealize your expectations of how your councils should operate. Once again, if you are focused on the “why” of the gospel, the Spirit will direct your humble efforts.
President Hinckley once said, “We are here to assist our [Heavenly] Father in His work and His glory, ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39). Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere.”2 What a humbling statement by a prophet of God.
If your circumstances are less than ideal, please take comfort in knowing that the Lord will support and enhance your efforts, sanctify your decisions and actions, perfect them through the tender mercies of Christ, and “consecrate [your] performance … , that [it] may be for the welfare of [your] soul” (2 Nephi 32:9) and the souls of those you serve.
As I mentioned earlier, there is little good in hearing the word of God if we do not translate what we hear into our lives. Consequently, we ask that you take the following steps without hesitation and continue to do so throughout your service in your callings. "

My Missionary...

I sent this funny story I found online (sorry no source) to my missionary and he quite enjoyed it, thought yours might too :)

It was late fall or early winter, and Elder Thurman was bemoaning the lack of snow in our Southern California town, while his Utah hometown was enjoying good "skiing weather." One evening, following a particularly good DA, the homesick elder and his companion were riding down a long, sloping street when Thurman sat up, took his hands off the bars and put them in his pocket while leaning left and right in a slalom course down the middle of the street.
Elder Sorenson lagged behind, knowing that trunkiness cometh before a fall and preferring to be an observer than a participant. Trouble soon arrived with the dip in the road, which left Thurman's bike out of control as he tried in vain to pull his hands out of his pockets. He and his bike slide along the curb before finally tumbling end over end, filnging tracts and discussion manuals all over Glendora, and Elder Thurman parted ways with his bike while Elder Sorenson sat on his bike, laughing . . .
. . .as Elder Thurman came to rest on the lawn of some people who had been watching this whole circus coming toward them. They ran to him asking if he was all right, and his instant response:
"Now that I've got your attention, what do you know about the Mormon Church?!"
I have always considered this the Ultimate Door Approach . . .

Image from lds.org

My missionary ...

I enjoy writing my brother every week and I am going to start a new set of posts including anything my missionary especially liked in my email, usually the spiritual thought at the end.

I thought I would start with this story, I sent my brother near the beginning of his mission back in April. He mentioned how much he liked this story and I thought your missionary might too :)

Excerpt from my email,

Excerpt from Elder Richards The Joy of Serving a Mission talk:

Image from Mormon Voice

Now I like a little story that President Grant used to tell about the love that converts have for their missionaries. He told about a couple who came here from one of the Scandinavian countries. They hadn’t been taught much about the gospel. All they knew was that it was true. And so the bishop went to this couple and taught them the law of tithing. They paid their tithing. Then later the bishop went to them and taught them about the fast offering. They paid their fast offering. And then the bishop went to them again to get a donation to help build a ward meetinghouse. They thought that ought to come out of the tithing, but before the bishop got through with them, they paid their donation on the meetinghouse.

Then the bishop went to the father to get his son to go on a mission. Now I can hear President Grant standing here, saying, “That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” The man said, “He’s our only child. His mother will miss him. We can’t let him go.” Then the bishop countered, “Brother So-and-So, who do you love in this world more than anyone else outside of your own relatives?” And he thought for a few minutes. He said, “I guess I love that young man who came up to the land of the midnight sun and taught me the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Then the bishop countered, “Brother So-and-So, how would you like someone to love your boy just like that?” The man said, “Bishop, you win again; take him. I’ll pay for his mission.”

Link here: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/1978/10/the-joy-of-serving-a-mission?lang=eng