Not just another mission story

"The following event took place in a Salt Lake City ward in 1974 It occurred during sacrament meeting, and was told by a Regional Representative of the Twelve, who was in the meeting.

A young man, just before leaving on his mission stood in Sacrament Meeting and bore the following testimony:

Brothers and Sisters, as you know during the past few weeks I have been awaiting my mission call. During the time I was waiting, I had a dream. I knew it was not an ordinary dream. I dreamed I was in the pre-existence and was waiting my call to come to Earth.

I was filled with the same excitement and anticipation that I had before I received my mission call. In my dream, I was talking to a friend, he was a dear friend, and I felt a special closeness to him, even though I’ve never met him in this life…

As we talked, a messenger came and gave me a letter, I knew it was my call to go to Earth, in great excitement my friend and I opened the letter. I gave it to him and asked him to read aloud. The letter said:

“You have been called to Earth in a special time and a special land. You will be born into the true church, and you will have the priesthood of God in your home. You will be raised with many advantages and many blessings. You will be born in a land of plenty -a land of freedom. You will go to Earth in the United States of America.”

My friend and I rejoiced as we read my call and while we rejoiced, the messenger returned. This time he had a letter for my friend. We knew it was his call to Earth. My friend gave me the letter to read aloud. His letter said:

“You have been called to Earth in circumstances of poverty and strife. You will not be raised in the true church. Many hardships will attend your life. Your land will be raught with political and social difficulties which will hinder the work of the Lord. You will be born in Costa Rica.”

We wept, my friend and I, as we read his call. And my friend looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “When we are down on Earth , you in your choice land and me in Costa Rica, my friend, please come and find me.”

"Then this young missionary, with tears in his own eyes said, “Brothers and Sisters, I have received my mission call, I am going to Costa Rica.”

There is a sequel to this story. About a year after the sacrament meeting, the bishop of this ward received a letter from the missionary in Costa Rica. The letter had one sheet of paper in it. And on that sheet, written in inch-high letters where four words……

“I FOUND MY FRIEND”

THIS is why I'm going on a mission. I'm not going for the exotic locations, the foreign experiences, personal development, or even the testimony building. I'm going because I want to share the gospel with others. I want others to have the temporal AND eternal blessings the gospel brings. Because of the Plan of Salvation, after I die, I can have eternal life and return to live with my Heavenly Father. Every one on this earth, who has ever lived or who will live on this earth has this divine potential. However, we must accept the gospel. What's so wonderful is how much Heavenly Father wants His children to accept the gospel. He wants us to return to live with Him! He loves us that much! He has said, "Behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39) Everything He does is meant to help us reach this divine potential. How wonderful that a being as powerful and glorious as Heavenly Father has so much love for us. And with such an individualized love! He doesn't just love the human race; He knows each one of us personally and loves us as individuals! Elder Uchtdorf said, "Even though man is nothing, it fills me with wonder and awe to think that 'the worth of souls is great in the sight of God'...This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God."

“Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will. We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.” -Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

I know my Heavenly Father loves me, and I love Him. And THAT'S why I'm serving a mission.

A Message Meant for Me.

So I report to the Provo MTC May 29th and in the past couple weeks, I feel I've just been attacked by the adversary with doubts about my call, my abilities, and my strength. Am I going to be able to learn the language? (I'm going to Korea...) Am I going to be able to handle the missionary work? Am I really ready to make this sacrifice? Do I have enough faith to completely hand my life over to the Lord? I'm sure many missionaries have had similar feelings.

Anyway, last night, I got particularly down. I was so distraught over my inabilities, what I felt I would be missing by giving up 18 months, and many other things. Since it really is a choice for sisters, I was really doubting about whether I'd made the right decision. So I prayed. I asked Heavenly Father to give me something in sacrament meeting today that would help lift me back up, something that would be a little message from Him to me that I was making the right decision.

Today in sacrament meeting: After the sacrament, the first speaker to stand was an RM giving his homecoming talk. He had served in California and talked about how the Lord uses us as His instruments through the Spirit and that there are specific people who have been prepared to hear the gospel from us personally. It was a really good talk, but in my mind I was telling Heavenly Father, "Come on. We both know you can do better than this." After the RM sat down, the entire ward was asked to stand while we sang Called to Serve. Wow. Then the bishop stood. He took the stand and after welcoming the RM back, he said, "Now, I'd like to take the next few minutes to make the case that every young man should serve a mission and that every young woman should consider it." I had to stop my jaw from dropping. Oh. My. Gosh. Okay. Message received. Our bishop took the next 20 minutes to talk about experiences that had happened to him on his mission in Norway that had shown him that the Lord watches out, not only for His missionaries, but for each of us individually. The most powerful thing he said was, "The Lord calls the weak and the simple to this great and marvelous work because He knows they will trust in His strength rather than their own as they go forth with the work."

The meeting ended with I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go; the last verse resonated so strongly:

"So trusting my all to thy tender care,
And knowing thou lovest me,
I'll do thy will with a heart sincere:
I'll be what you want me to be."

For all of us with doubts who are preparing to go out, the Lord has said, "A great and marvelous work is about to come forth unto the children of men. . . Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. . . Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth; yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart." (D&C 6)

All of us who have felt the desire to be missionaries are qualified! Through that desire and through the answer to our prayers we were called. The Lord qualifies those who He calls, and no matter your abilities, the Lord knows your potential is far greater than what you believe it to be. The gospel is true! And it is powerful beyond measure.