Spiritually Born of God, Part II

Many years after King Benjamin, the prophet Alma the younger, was trying to stir up the hearts of the members of the Church in Zarahemla, and he appealed to this same covenant and declaration of new birth that all were to have experienced.  To those who were slacking, he recalled that they had been "encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell" with "an everlasting destruction" awaiting them.  But those bands of death were broken and the chains of hell were loosed through "the light of the everlasting word" of Christ.

Noting the "mighty change" that had come to his father, Alma, who in turn brought a "mighty change" to earlier generations in Zarahemla, Alma asked the question that must be asked of all: "Have ye spiritually been born of God?  Have ye received his image in your countenances?  Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?  Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time . . . that your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins?  Behold, I say unto you, that the good shepherd doth call you: yea, and in his own name doth he call you, which is the name of Christ; and if ye will not hearken unto the voice of the good shepherd, to the name by which ye are called, behold, ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd."

Alama went on to say, "I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth.  And behold, it is he that cometh to take away the sins of the world, yea, the sins of every man who steadfastly believeth on his name."

Alma's father was a prophet, and lead the church in Zarahemla, yet as a youth, Alma the younger rebelled and devoted his life to destroying the Church.  His father prayed mightily for his son and one day Alma the younger was confronted by an angel sent by God who asked "why persecutest thou the church of God?"  Alma fell to the earth and his astonishment was so great that he became weak and dumb, that he could not open his mouth, nor could he move under his own power.  After two days of fasting and praying by his father and other believers gathered around him, Alma the younger suddenly stood and declared:

"I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the spirit.  And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. . . .  After wading through much tribulation, repenting nigh unto death, the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God."

Alma would later tell his son Helaman about this experience: "I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins.  Yea, I did remember all my sins and iniquities, for which I was tormented with the pains of hell. . . .  as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world.  Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am in the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.  And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memories of my sins no more"

Alma then contrasted the joy he now felt with the pain he had been suffering: "And oh, what joy, and what marvelous light did I behold; yea, my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!  Yea, I say unto you, my son, that there could be nothing so exquisite and so bitter as were my pains.  Yea, and again, I say unto you, my son, that on the other hand, there can be nothing so exquisite and sweet as was my joy."

We taste the bitter in this mortal life that we may know to prize the sweet.

"If I had not been born of God I should not have known these things: but God has, by the mouth of his holy angel, made these things known unto me, not of any worthiness of myself."  And then, as so appropriately happens, the converted became the converter: "Yea, and from that time even until now, I have labored without ceasing, that I might bring souls unto repentance; that I might bring them to taste of the exceeding joy of which I did taste; that they might also be born of God, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. . . .  For because of the word which he has imparted unto me, behold, many have been born of God, and have tasted as I have tasted, and have seen eye to eye as I have seen."

As a result of such personal experience, Alma the younger would be able to stress that, "The Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance. . . .  Ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore, come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness."


[Source: Holland, J. R. (2006). Christ and the New Covenant:  The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon.  Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.]

Spiritually Born of God, Part I

There are principles of the gospel that the accountable must follow and ordinances of the gospel that they must obtain.  The prophet Mormon stresses this commitment to fundamental requirements in the Book of Mormon.  "The first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith until the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins; And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God."

The significance of these symbolic steps, these first principles and ordinances of the gospel was developed by King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon in his counsel that one must put "off the natural man and becometh a saint through the Atonement of Christ the Lord."  As that fallen, dead, unregenerate man is "an enemy to God," so one overcomes that enmity by being reborn, a new birth that transcends spiritual death.  This spiritual rebirth is symbolized by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, all followed by the faithful living of other gospel requirements thereafter.  The elements of death, burial, and resurrection, symbolically represented by immersion in and emergence from the waters of baptism, signify the new birth by which we declare ourselves for Christ and lay claim to the gift of eternal life that comes through the Atonement.

When King Benjamin concluded his masterful sermon on the life and mission of the Savior, his people were profoundly moved by that message and desired to claim the blessings of the gospel.  They saw themselves as yet being "natural" and unregenerated, viewing themselves "in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth."  With one voice these people cried, "O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men."

Inspired by the resolve of his people, King Benjamin replied: "I say unto you, if ye have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his matchless power, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering towards the children of men; and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come to him that should put his trust in the Lord, and should be diligent in keeping his commandments, and continue in the faith even unto the end of his life, I mean the life of the moral body -- I say, that this is the man who receiveth salvation, through the atonement which was prepared from the foundation of the world for all mankind, which ever were since the fall of Adam, or who are, or who ever shall be, even unto the end of the world.  And this is the means whereby salvation cometh.  And there is none other salvation save this which hath been spoken of; neither are their any conditions whereby man can be saved except the conditions which I have told you."

With a great shout from the people and their unanimous desire to enter into a covenant that would enable them to escape the effects of the physical and spiritual deaths awaiting them, King Benjamin taught the blessings of rebirth -- birth into eternal life through Christ -- including taking upon themselves his name as evidence of their new life, their new covenant, their new identity.

"And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and daughters.  And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free.  There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.  And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ."


[Source: Holland, J. R. (2006). Christ and the New Covenant:  The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon.  Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.]

Saved By Grace, After All We Can Do

We sing about it and we read about it, but we don't often talk about it.

Prepare our minds that we may see
The beauties of thy grace. 

Forgiveness is a gift from thee
We seek with pure intent.

Elder Jeffery R. Holland has written that “Even though there are some conditional aspects of the Antonment that require our adherence to gospel principles for the full realization of eternal blessings, the Book of Mormon makes clear that neither the conditional nor unconditional blessings of the Atonement would be available to mankind except through the grace and goodness of Christ."

"Obviously the unconditional blessings of the Atonement are unearned," Elder Holland continued, "but the conditional ones also are not fully merited. By living faithfully and keeping the commandments of God, we can receive a fuller measure of blessings from Christ, but even these greater blessings are freely given of him and are not technically 'earned' by us. In short, good works are necessary for salvation, but they are not sufficient. And God is not obliged to make up the insufficiency. As Jacob taught, 'Remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved.'”


Aaron taught King Lamoni's father that fallen man “could not merit anything of himself.”

Lehi declared that “There is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah.”

Nephi taught that through baptism we enter the straight an narrow path that leads to eternal life, but that works are not enough to earn our way to salvation. “Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.”

Abinidi taught that “Salvation doth not come by the law alone; and were it not for the atonement, which God himself shall make for the sins and iniquities of his people . . . they must unavoidably perish, notwithstanding the law. . . .”

Jacob counseled us to "Cheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves -- to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved. Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement, that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine."

Moroni would finish the Book of Mormon by giving us a reassurance of the grace of God while noting, however, that it is a grace that requires our honest effort to claim and enjoy:

“If ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; . . . then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ.”
 
Nephi, of course, gave "the most succinct and satisfying resolution ever recorded in the history of the faith vs works controversy," wrote Elder Holland. Nephi said plainly, "We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." 

God, our Father, hear us pray;
Send thy grace this holy day.

Grant us, Father, grace divine;
May thy smile upon us shine. 


[Sources: Holland, J. R. (2006). Christ and the New Covenant:  The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon.  Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.

Hymns: O Lord of Hosts, As Now We Take the Sacrament and God, Our Father, Hear Us Pray.]

The At-One-Ment

For us the blood of Christ was shed;
For us on Calvary's cross he bled,
And thus dispelled the awful gloom
That else were this creation's doom

The law was broken; Jesus died
That justice might be satisfied,
That man might not remain a slave
Of death, of hell, or of the grave.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland has written that “The central fact, the crucial foundation, the chief doctrine, and the greatest expression of divine love in the eternal plan of salvation . . . is the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. Much goes before it and much comes after, but without that pivotal act, that moment of triumph whereby we are made free from the spiritual bondage of sin and the physical chains of the grave . . . there would be no meaning to the plan of life, and certainly no happiness in it or after it.”

The atonement, or at-one-ment, “is the act of unifying or bringing together what has been separated or estranged," continued Elder Holland. "The atonement of Christ was indispensable because of the separating transgression, or fall of Adam, which brought death into the world. In the words of Moroni, 'By Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ. . . .; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. And because of the redemption of man, . . . they are brought back into the presence of the Lord.'” 

The atonement, or at-one-ment, “is the act of unifying or bringing together what has been separated or estranged. The atonement of Christ was indispensable because of the separating transgression, or fall of Adam, which brought death into the world. In the words of Moroni, 'By Adam came the fall of man. And because of the fall of man came Jesus Christ. . . .; and because of Jesus Christ came the redemption of man. And because of the redemption of man, . . . they are brought back into the presence of the Lord.'” 

The Atonement includes gifts that are both conditional and unconditional. The unconditional gifts include the Savior's ransom for Adam's original transgression and the resurrection from the dead.

The conditional gifts require such effort as repentance and faith as they are predicated upon the moral agency and personal discipline of the individual before they can be fully effective. “There are principles of the gospel that [we] must follow and ordinances of the gospel that [we] must obtain" wrote Elder Holland. "Mormon stresses this commitment to fundamental requirements: 'The first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins; and the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart, cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.'” 

“Virtually all Christian churches teach some kind of doctrine regarding the atonement of Christ and the expiation of our sins that comes through it," Elder Holland continued. "But the Book of Mormon teaches that and much more. It teaches that Christ also provides relief of a more temporal sort, taking upon himself our mortal sicknesses and infirmities, our earthly trials and tribulations, our personal heartaches and loneliness and sorrows – all done in addition to taking upon himself the burden of our sins.

“Christ walked the path every mortal is called to walk so that he would know how to succor and strengthen us in our most difficult times. He knows the deepest and most personal burdens we carry. He knows the most public and poignant pains we bear. He descended below all such grief in order that he might lift us above it. There is no anguish or sorrow or sadness in life that he has not suffered in our behalf and borne away upon his own valiant and compassionate shoulders.

“That aspect of the Atonement brings an additional kind of rebirth, something of immediate renewal, help, and hope that allows us to rise above sorrows and sickness, misfortunes and mistakes of every kind. With his mighty arm around us and lifting us, we face life more joyfully even as we face death more triumphantly.”

Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish;
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel;
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish,
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Joy of the comfortless, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure;
Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying—
Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot cure.
 
Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above;
Come to the feast of love; come, ever knowing
Earth has no sorrow but heaven can remove.


[Sources: Holland, J. R. (2006). Christ and the New Covenant:  The Messianic Message of the Book of Mormon.  Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.

Hymns: While of the Emblems We Partake & Come, Ye Disconsolate.]

Sharing the Gospel and Offering Our Whole Souls Unto God

There are a few other attitudes for the whole missionary that I might mention.  In Omni 1:26, it says that we should come unto Christ and offer our whole souls unto Him.  Remember what Elder Jeffery R. Holland said, as quoted in yesterday's post; missionaries should "give it all you have" and be dedicated to the work "every hour, every day, every minute, all the way."  The best reason to go on a mission is to serve the Lord, and by giving it everything we have all the time, we can offer our whole souls as an offering to Him.

In Jacob 1:8 we are told that Jacob labored diligently because he would to God that he could persuade all men to believe in Christ.  If we are truly converted, we want to share with others the joy that we have found.  Jacob's father, Lehi, had a dream where he was led to the Tree of Life, which had fruit which filled Lehi with such exceedingly great joy when he partook of it.  Lehi's joy was so full that he desired to share the fruit with his family.  If we have found such joy, we should want to share it with everyone.

In Mosiah 28: 3 we read that the sons of Mosiah were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature because they could not bear that any human soul should perish.  The sons of Mosiah had been running around with Alma the Younger who was persecuting those who believed in Christ.  When the angel appeared to Alma, calling him to repentance, the sons of Mosiah also experienced a mighty change of heart.  Like Alma, they had seen the awful state which awaited those who rebelled against God, and they wanted to save others from that fate.  So the sons of Mosiah went on a mission to the most difficult place imaginable, the land where the Lamanites lived.  They risked many things, including death, to declare salvation, and ended up converting thousands.

In Alma 29:1, Alma the Younger spoke of his desire to be an angel so that he could declare unto every soul the plan of redemption.  Alma had been on several missions to preach the gospel, having success in some cities, but being imprisoned or cast out from others.  Alma had known frustration even as he desired to share the gospel with everyone, and so he desired to be an angel.  But he knew he was not entirely right to have such a wish.  Missionaries will experience frustration, but should seek to retain a desire to share the plan of redemption with everyone they can.

In Alma 38:3-5 we read that Shiblon labored diligently despite being stoned by the Zoramites.  No one ever threw rocks at me -- though someone did throw an orange peel at me -- and I found it helpful to know that other missionaries had had it worse than I.  Later in verse 14 Alma tells his son to always acknowledge his unworthyness before God.  Alma and Shiblon had watched Zoramites pray from a tower and thank God for setting them apart from others, for making them better than others.

The "chosen people" attitude is decidedly the wrong one for the whole missionary, instead we must be humble, meek and submissive.  We must do as Alma counseled Shiblon and always acknowledge our weaknesses and our unworthyness before God.  As Paul wrote to the Romans, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."  One of the biggest lies is that you or anyone else is superior while others are inferior (or viceversa), for we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father; we all have value, but we all have weaknesses, too, and we all have sinned.

In Jacob 6:12, we are admonished simply to be wise, what more need be said?

There will be moments of frustration as an elder or sister seeks to be a whole missionary.  Everyone has down times occasionally, and everyone experiences feelings of inadequacy.  This is in no small part due to the conditions we face here in mortality and the ideals or teachings we aspire to live by.  There is a gap between reality and the life we strive to live in keeping the commandments and following the Savior's example.  We are commanded to “be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect” and yet we keep falling short.

Some people respond by discarding the ideal.  They say it is too hard so why even try; we will be much happier if we accept reality and not try to live an impossible ideal.  Others ignore reality and say that they have already reached the ideal, even as they continue to fall short just like the rest of us.  Falling short does not mean that we are willfully rebelling against God, it only means that we are human.  The Atonement is not just for sinners, it is also for those striving for perfection.

Remember what the Lord told Moroni in Ether chapter 12, “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble.”  Those who deny reality and claim that they have reached the ideal are not humbling themselves, and as a result will miss out on the opportunity which the Lord then describes to Moroni: “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness . . . and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

Grace is not needed just by sinners, it is also needed by those of us who, accepting reality, strive to reach the ideal.  We strive, we stretch, we reach, yet we fall short.  “It is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.”  We strive to have charity, but come up short when we encounter particularly rude behavior (a door slamming shut), yet by humbling ourselves and having faith in Christ we can by lifted by His grace.  We stretch and struggle, but as we humble ourselves and have faith our weakness becomes strong unto us through His grace.

Pray always and seek to humble yourself and have faith.  Strive always to be humble, meek and submissive.  “Be diligent and temperate in all things.  See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength. . . .  Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are better than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my unworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy – yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times” (Alma 38:10-11, 14).

Pray to be Filled with Charity and Give it All You Have

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke at a Devotional  Missionary Training Center on August 24, 2010.  He said that a mission comes once, so "give it all you have."  Missionaries should be dedicated to the work "every hour, every day, every minute, all the way."  Elder Holland made the point that this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is His church, His gospel, His work, and HIS MISSION. This is not your mission, it is the Lord's mission, he argued.  Elder Holland also said that a mission is not Burger King, "We don't hold the pickles," making the point that missions are not tailored to the needs of the missionary.  "Don't do this your way," Elder Holland added, "do this the Lord's way."

I agree wholeheartedly with Elder Holland, a mission is not Burger King. Missionaries are there to serve the Lord “every hour, every day, every minute, all the way.” However, I feel that I should point out that missionaries are not machines, and they are not all the same.  In my mission, there were missionaries for whom it took everything they had to get 25 hours of teaching and tracting each week, there were others for whom 25 hours wasn’t really a challenge, and still others who easily did more.

It is that middle group that I would focus on; if 25 hours was not a challenge, they probably should have asked themselves if they could have done more, and then they should have stretched themselves to do more.  In a weekly planning session, one of my companions and I decided to do an extra hour of tracting each day in order to get to 30 hours of teaching and tracting (we didn't have much of a teaching pool at the time).  After reaching that goal we decided to try for 35 hours.

Each week in the mission field is different; some weeks being more difficult than others, they require more of the missionary to do what seemed to be so much easier the week before. Meanwhile, you have all of these other things taking up time, like transit to and from appointments, to and from proselyting areas, then you have to eat which often means going back to your apartment (I didn't have the money to eat a McDonald's every day, few missionaries do), and finally there are other aspects of missionary work that don’t qualify as teaching and tracting.

These are not excuses -- as my mission president would have said, “Excuses are just that, excuses.”  There are, however, realities that each missionary must deal with: realities about himself, about his companions, about his areas, and about life in general.  In these realities are to be found opportunity -- the opportunity to develop charity. With charity we can have compassion and understanding towards those missionaries who at first glance look like buckets (the term in my mission for a lazy missionary), but with another glance might be seen as those who are giving their all even if they are doing less.

“Faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.”  As Mormon so eloquently argues in Moroni 7, if we are to have faith, then we must have hope, and if we have faith and hope, then we must have charity.  In fact, if we do not have charity, we are nothing; if we do not have one, then we do not have the other two.  Faith is the first principle of the gospel, it is the starting point for everything, so in a sense at least, we must have faith before we have the other two, but if we do not get the other two, then we will lose our faith.

To have charity, as well as faith and hope, we must be meek and lowly of heart, we must be humble, meek and submissive.  Charity encompasses many of the other attributes mentioned in Doctrine and Covenants Section 4: “Remember, faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.”

I once heard a story about two missionaries, who were experiencing much adversity,  asking each other if they were praying to be blessed with trials.  "Yeah, I'm praying for trials, " said one elder, "are you praying for trials?"  Adversity and trials on a mission are guaranteed, so there is no need to pray for them.  Instead, missionaries should pray that they may be filled with charity as Mormon counsels us to do.

With charity, we may even help the weak to become strong.  As we read in Ether chapter 12, God gives us weaknesses that we may be humble; if we humble ourselves before God, He will turn weaknesses into strengths.  If we have charity, we might be instruments in the hands of the Lord in helping others to become stronger.  In dealing with the realities about ourselves and others, while humbling ourselves before God, and while praying to be filled with the pure love of Christ, we can become powerful tools in the service of the Lord.

In the end, the numbers may not matter as much as the effort that is behind them.  You are on a mission to serve the Lord “all the way.”  What matters is that you are giving it your all, not how many hours you tracted, how many doors you knocked on, or how many people you approached on the street.  You will not be standing before the judgment bar of God auditing your numbers from the mission field.  Instead, In my humble opinion, I think you will be asked a simple question like “could you have done more?” and you will have a perfect knowledge of whether you really could have done more.

[Source for Elder Holland's remarks is my nephew who was in the MTC and present in the audience.]

Love One Another

Another great example for me was a stake missionary in my second area.  This brother had been afflicted with a disease which led to the loss of motor skills, coordination and strength.  He was confined to a wheel chair and had difficulty speaking.  Even worse, his wife had divorced him because she couldn’t handle his situation, and he lived in a shack behind his daughter’s home.  Yet this brother was the most positive person I have ever met.

One night I went on team-ups with the ward mission leader and we went to visit with member family.  While we were chatting, the ward mission leader mentioned this stake missionary I mentioned above and how he should be an example to us, with how active he was with his condition.  “He has been hit with this disease, and his wife divorced him and yet he is fighting it with all he has got to keep going strong.  Here he is, a stake missionary, single adult representative, he works in the clerk’s office each Sunday putting the tithing records on the computer, he takes his son to school each morning (his son had recently moved in with him) and then is there to watch football practice and pick him up.  Here is a man who could easily give up, but he refuses to do so.  With all his fighting he has slowed the affects of his disease some.  This brother is an example to those of us who do not have such a handicap.  But then, we all have a handicap of some sort.”

A few days later this stake missionary invited my companion and I over for lunch, and he fixed us salami sandwiches.  He asked me to bless the food and as I prayed I felt inspired to ask for a special blessing on this good brother.  I said that we were grateful for him and his hospitality and then I asked that a blessing of peace and happiness would follow him wherever he went.  After I closed the prayer I looked up to see tears in this man’s eyes.  He said how much he appreciated us and what a blessing it was for him to be associated with us and to be a stake missionary.  Then he said that he loved us and we told him how much we loved him.  As I ate the sandwich, such simple fare, it was like manna to my taste.

That night I lay in bed amidst a jumble of thoughts.  I thought about love and what it means to love and serve others.  I felt the spirit strongly and was taught by it about love.  One of the most important lessons a missionary can learn is how to love and serve others.  I believe this was one of the great lessons of my mission.  Everything we did was out of love and with sincerity.  We worked hard because we loved God and the people in the area we served.  We taught them the gospel because we loved them.

Many months later I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting in a different area.  I spoke on love and service and told the story of that lunch experience with that stake missionary.  “I have had many other good experiences since.  As I have reflected on them I have been impressed by how much the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of service.

"By modern revelation we know that God’s work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.  God’s greatest glory comes from serving us and what was the greatest act of service ever performed?  It was the Atonement of Christ.  He gave his life for us so that we can overcome the affects of sin and death.

“We are commanded to love God with all of our heart, might, mind and strength, and also to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We are commanded to serve God and our fellowman.  We do this in three ways:

1. By perfecting the saints.  By fellowshipping and strengthening each other in keeping the commandments.
2. By proclaiming the gospel.  By sharing the knowledge we have and the joy we have found with our friends and others.  This is one of the reasons I am on a mission, to share the joy that I have found with others.
3. By redeeming the dead.  By extending the blessings of the gospel to those beyond the veil.”

I read the words to the hymn A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief noting the blessings the narrator enjoyed when he served others.  Then I expressed my love and desire to serve them.  I concluded by bearing my testimony.

Temporal Tuesday: I Want to Ride My Bicycle

For missionaries serving in areas where bicycles are their primary form of transportation, it doesn't take them long to figure out how important their bike is as a missionary tool. Ironically, most missionaries buy the cheapest bike they can find.

When I arrived in California I hadn’t given much thought to bicycles, and neither had my parents.  Ideally, we should have had a little extra in the bank that week for buying a good bike.  As it was, I went to a bike shop in town and found a pretty good deal for a 12-speed bicycle.  Of course, you get what you pay for, and I eventually found myself filled with buyer’s remorse.  I must confess that I was also filled with mountain bike envy.  Mountain bikes were a new thing to me, I never saw one ‘til I got to Palo Alto, and the mountain bikes my comp and the other two missionaries in my flat (apartment) had seemed so much sturdier than my 12-speed.

After a few months a sold the 12-speed back to the bike shop and bought a mountain bike from Sears. In retrospect, I think I should have just bought two new, better rims for the 12-speed, as the original rims were the only source of complaint I really had about that bike. Right after this I was transferred to my second area where, because of an injury my new comp had sustained before my arrival, we were blessed with a car. So I didn’t ride my Sears mountain bike very often, which made its catastrophic failure all the more surprising.

My companion and I were assigned to Seaside, which is just north of Monterey.  The other two elders in our flat were assigned to Marina which was farther north.  In between Seaside and Marina was Fort Ord, an Army base which has since been closed by the government.  There was a bike trail along the coast that passed by Fort Ord, and one day I accompanied one of the other elders on a bike trip to Marina.

On the way back to Seaside, a gear on the back wheel of my bike sheered itself in half.  Additionally, this was a middle gear, so I couldn’t shift from the highest to the lowest gears.  Well, the trail was amidst rolling hills, so I needed to be able to shift.  As it turned out, the other elder towed me home on the down side of the hills and on the flat parts, but I had to walk up all the hills.  This, naturally, slowed us down and we arrived home much later than planned. Fortunately, I was able to sell that bike to a missionary who was able to fix it, though I had to by the new gear set up, and I bought from him the best bike I ever owned, a Raleigh Technium 12-speed.

The lesson here is that a good missionary bike needs to be sturdy, but it also should be light, and the lighter the better. That Raleigh was both, and it no longer mattered that it wasn’t a mountain bike. The only real problem I had with it, besides all the flat tires I had to fix, was one rim getting so far out of true (meaning it got wobbly) that I had to replace it. Speaking of flat tires, most of the flats I got were on the front tire. I had so many that fixing them almost became routine. I patched the front tube so many times that I eventually had to replace it.

Missionary work is hard and a prospective missionary should prepare by getting into good physical shape.  I was not prepared for the amount of bike riding I did when I first arrived in the mission field.  I had trouble keeping up with my companion and considered myself lucky at times if I could still see him, way out in the distance.  One day we got separated at a traffic light that had turned red after he had gone through the intersection, but before I arrived at it.  Fortunately he stopped and waited for the light to turn green so I could cross over and join him.

Whenever I got to a new area, I would start picking out landmarks so I could familiarize myself with the city or town.  One of the first landmarks in my first area was a bridge near our flat which we went over on the way to our area.  I remember struggling to keep up with my companion on the way home the night of my first full day in the area, and thinking I wasn’t going to make it.  Then I saw that bridge and knew we were almost there.  What a great sense of relief I felt as I realized we were just a stones throw from our flat.

After a few weeks it got easier to keep up with my companion as I got plenty of exercise tracting and bike riding.  After two months I got a new companion who had to follow me around because I knew the area.  This allowed me to set the pace.  On the other hand, my new comp almost ran into me one day as I stopped, somewhat suddenly, at our destination.

The Greatest Example, or, The Best Zone Meeting Ever

Speaking of great examples for a missionary, the greatest of all is, of course, the Savior. Jesus Christ came to earth with a mission to perform and nothing ever served to sidetrack him or turn him away from accomplishing that mission. I can remember a particularly special zone meeting where the zone leaders talked about the Savior. They showed us a video with Elder Neal A. Maxwell talking about Christ and then another video with scenes from Christ’s life put to a song titled Never a Better Hero. The spirit was strong and sweet.

"Never a greater compassion, Never a wasted day, Not one regret, True to the end, There was never a better way".

 

One of the zone leaders then shared some thoughts. He read Matthew’s account of the crucifixion and then read Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-18, “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit – and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—.”
  

Then he read Mosiah 5:12-13, “I would that ye should remember to retain the name written always in your hearts that ye are not found on the left hand of God, but that ye hear and know the voice by which ye shall be called, and also, the name by which he shall call you. For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?”
  

This zone leader then said that we as missionaries had a great privilege to serve and come closer to God and Jesus Christ. He asked us to not gauge success on leadership positions, number of baptisms, amount of teaching, or hours tracting on a hot day. Rather, we should measure success on if we came closer to Christ on our mission. I agree, and think that this is the one determining factor. We come closer by serving with all of our hearts, might, mind and strength, and by obedience to all of the rules and commandments.
 

The floor was opened for testimonies and an elder got up and talked about how Moroni says that the Lamanites put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ. And then Moroni said that he would not deny the Christ. This elder liked that and desired to feel that way too, that he could not deny the Christ. All in all that was the best zone meeting ever. The spirit was strong and tears welled in my eyes.

The Whole Missionary seeks to be able to say when the time comes for going home that there was never a wasted day, not one regret, and that he/she was true to the end.  The Whole Missionary is able to say as the apostle Paul did that he kept the faith and finished the race.  The Whole Missionary should also seek to have compassion like the Savior did.  He/She should choose to want to become like Christ, to be faithful and kind like Christ.

On the Topic "Faith Without Works is Dead"

A few weeks after transferring into my last area, we had a zone conference at which I was asked to give an impromptu talk on the subject “faith without works is dead.”  What I spoke about, as recorded in my journal, was at least in part inspired by a letter I had recently received from my oldest brother.

“I asked if our faith does any good if we are sitting in our apartments all day, or sitting in  members homes, listening to the radio or watching TV, or doing any of the other things we should not be doing.  I said that I have had companions say it does not matter, besides, we are not perfect anyway.  They seek to excuse themselves from having to keep the rules.  Living the rules means that we strive to keep them, that at the end of the day we evaluate how we did and ask for forgiveness.  We recognize our imperfections and ask to be forgiven for them.

“I have always seen two reasons for the rules: 1. to keep us from getting too far out of line, and 2. to see if we will do everything the Lord asks us to do, no matter how small, insignificant or even pointless it might seem.  A lot of missionaries appear not to realize that these two years will determine what kind of person we are for the next 60 years or so.  Would it not be better to give our whole souls unto God now in the mission field than some 40 years down the road?

“I had a companion once who came out for the glory of being a missionary and the glory of being a returned missionary.  While many girls, at BYU and elsewhere, can go crazy over a returned missionary, whatever glory there is, it is inside you, and between you and the Lord.  It is in continued love for the Lord and His ways.  Whatever glory is left over at the end of a mission is when a missionary can say he worked hard, finished the street and kept the rules.  That he fought the good fight and finished the race.

“I then turned to and set up Helaman 10:4-5." Nephi, son of Helaman, was praying on a tower in his garden when a crowd gathered below and he began to preach.  He prophesied of the murder of the chief judge only to be accused of being part of a conspiracy.  Nephi demonstrated his innocence by prophesying that when confronted, the chief judge's brother would confess. It is after this somewhat surreal episode that Nephi hears the voice of the Lord.

"Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people.  And thou hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will and to keep my commandments.  And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will."

“What do you suppose Nephi would do if he were serving in San Jose, California?  I imagine him keeping the rules unquestioningly.  I am sure that he would get twenty-five teach/tract every week, if not thirty-five teach/tract and more.  Ask yourself, what would Jesus Christ do if he was serving in San Jose?  We teach our investigators that we are striving to become like Christ.  If Christ would keep the rules, Shouldn’t we?  Should we not ask ourselves, ‘What would Christ do in this situation?’ and then do it?

“It is my prayer that we will all catch the vision.  There is a principle called the 80-20 principle.  It is that 80% of the missionaries do 20% of the work and that 20% of the missionaries do 80% of the work.  Let us really make this the greatest mission in the world with 100% of the missionaries doing 100% of the work.”

If we have character and integrity, not to mention an eye single to the glory of God, will we not keep all of the mission rules, no matter what, as well as work with “unwearyingness” like Nephi of old?  Ironically, my companion at the time I gave that talk would ask me one day if I thought it was fun to break the rules.  Such an attitude is incompatible with the Whole Missionary.

The Importance of Character and Integrity

"The Great Wall of China, built as an impenetrable defense against barbaric hordes to the north, is a magnificent structure," wrote Vice Admiral Thomas J. Kilcline, Captain Irv Elson and Commander Carlos Sardiello (all U.S. Navy) in the July 2010 issue of the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings. "Many believed the wall guaranteed that no army could penetrate the country's borders" they continued. "However, during the first hundred years of its existence, China was invaded three times. Not once was [the wall] torn down or scaled by invading armies. Rather, each time invaders entered by bribing a gatekeeper and simply marching through the gates. The Chinese had so relied on the physical integrity of the formidable stone walls that they overlooked the importance of ensuring the moral integrity of their soldiers."

The authors note that "cracks have developed in our society's walls of integrity. A 2006 Gallup Poll showed that 80 percent of Americans rated the moral condition of our country as fair or poor and thought it was worsening."  Members of the LDS Church are not immune to the conditions of society, and even missionaries may struggle with issues of character and integrity.  It is often said that 20 percent of missionaries do 80 percent of the work while 80 percent do 20 percent of the work -- I always thought the split was more like 90-10. Many missionaries also struggle to live the mission rules; some may find specific rules difficult or even pointless, still others will think it is cool to break the rules.

But, to paraphrase the authors of the Proceedings article, while the moral condition of society and missionaries is open to discussion, one thing is clear: Our first and best line of defense should not be to rely on our "walls" of commandments and rules, but on ourselves, as gatekeepers.  Commandments and rules are important, but our personal integrity is the key as without it we will be more easily swayed to break them.

 In 2008, Vice Admiral Kilcline wrote first about "The Whole Sailor," and discussed the importance of character and integrity. “Character underpins our humanity,” he wrote, “and we should seek to nurture it in our Sailors. Ultimately, character defines a Sailor and has the greater impact on motivation and subsequent performance during peacetime or war.”  Kilcline called character a force multiplier as well as the foundation of decision-making.

“While there may be some debate on the exact definition of character," wrote Kilcline, "there can be no doubt as to our moral principles.  A man or a woman of character is one whose existence rests on a solid moral foundation.  This foundation sustains the Sailor during the greatest trials and crises and will provide the crucial moral orientation for decision-making at the moment of greatest need.”

Integrity, says the author, "is an integral component of one’s character.  The Latin root of the word, integritas, originally referred to the soundness of the armor plate covering the breasts of the Legionnaires of the Roman Empire.  With integrity, all was possible in battle and all was whole.  Absent integrity, there was vulnerability; indeed, there would be a ‘disintegrity’ or disintegration."

Commenting on leadership, Kilcline noted that "Integrity is the unfailing trait that, above all others, a Sailor demands of leaders.  Absent integrity, there is no moral authority to lead.  It is only when our Sailors see and identify in those that lead them that we are able to demand and foster that same integrity from those who serve under us."

Substitute "Missionary" for "Sailor" and we may see the importance of character and integrity in the missionary as well as in his/her leaders.   ". . . See that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."

 "And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence."

 

Temporal Tuesday: What Can I Eat?

When I arrived in my first area, Palo Alto, CA, I was possibly over prepared for missionary work -- more on that later -- but woefully under prepared to live away from home.  On my first day Palo Alto, we got some important temporal things taken care of -- I bought a bicycle, bed sheets, and food.

However, I was befuddled on my first trip to the supermarket as I literally had no idea what to buy.  The only thing I really knew how to make, besides peanut butter sandwiches, was open face cheese sandwiches (melted cheese on toasted bread, this was the extent of my cooking skills).  So I bought some bread and some cheese, and milk, of course.

It didn't take long for me to realize that this was not going work, so in my first letter home I asked for simple meal ideas. Fortunately for me, my parents wrote back with some good ideas, such as heating up a can of soup and mixing it with ramen noodles.  Ramen noodles became a staple.

Another simple idea is spaghetti.  The instructions on the package of spaghetti noodles are easy to follow, and it is a simple matter to heat up sauce from a jar.  One can decide later if they want to try cooking ground beef to add.

Yet another idea is a variation on the open face cheese sandwiches I started with: cheese quesadillas.  Instead of bread, you melt the cheese on a tortilla, and instead of the oven you use a pan on the stove.  I found corn tortillas worked best as the flour tortillas burned more easily.

The point is that moms don't need to teach their prospective missionaries to be gourmet cooks.  Instead they need only give them some experience preparing a few simple, low cost meals before they get into the mission field.  Cost does matter as a missionary' budget does not provide much room for comfort.  In the late 1980s I spent an average of $20 a week on groceries.

First Things First: Why Serve a Mission?

A marvelous work is underway, the Standard of Truth has been erected and no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing.  Young men and women, as well as senior couples, are invited to participate in the work.  What is the right motivation for embarking on this great work?  It is a desire to serve God.  What is the single most important attribute in those embarking upon the work?  It is an eye single to the glory of God.

During my two years I encountered many missionaries with some interesting reasons for why they chose to serve a mission.  One elder came out because he had played board games with the missionaries back home, and somehow he had the idea that playing board games with members was what a mission was.  Another elder, one of my companions, said he came out for the glory of being a returned missionary.  He had witnessed how the young women in his ward at home had practically worshiped returned missionaries.

There are numerous other motivations or circumstances.  Some parents send their kids on missions hoping that they will be reformed.  I think they would be better off sending them to serve in the military. My father never planned on serving a mission – because of a fear of public speaking, among other things – until he had served in the Navy and found out what it was like to be a peon. He was persuaded by his experiences in the Navy to both serve a mission and then to attend college.  

Some parents will bribe their kids in order to get them to serve a mission, for example, they might promise to buy them a car.  But none of these things conform to a desire to serve God, and an eye single to His glory is usually missing.  Personally, I think we can do a better job of preparing missionaries to serve, particularly with the right reason to serve.

When I was out 18 months I was assigned a new companion, an elder who had been with me in the MTC.  His reputation was that he would work hard if his companion worked hard, but by the time we got together he had clearly given up.  He said that tracting didn't work and that he didn't even know why he was on a mission.  I wanted to say something like, "Well, could you figure it out soon, because I know why I'm here, and I've got work to do."  Instead I kept my peace -- I could have also said that I had found two people by tracting that were subsequently baptized, but I digress.

I was on a mission to serve God out of gratitude for the blessings he had given me -- among them the many wonderful friends he blessed me with.  A missionary might have blessings to be grateful for, or he may have other motivations as to why he/she wants to serve God.  In the end, however, that is what it boils down to, a desire to serve God.  I can think of no better reason to serve.

We need to serve for the right reasons, and we need to serve with character and integrity.

A Blog is Born

There was a major announcement during the Saturday morning session of the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the eligibility age for missionaries was lower to 18 for boy -- if they have a high school diploma or equivalent -- and to 19 for girls.  I had many friends react to this news on Facebook by saying that they had sons or daughters or both who could be going on missions sooner than expected.  Then my niece posted that she is considering a mission and could out her papers in eleven months from now. Later in the day, as I sat in general priesthood meeting, listening to the first two talks, I was suddenly inspired.  I thought about starting a blog or discussion group about missionary work to help my friends prepare their sons and daughters to serve.

Okay, so why the title, "The Whole Missionary"?  A couple of years ago I was reading an article in the U.S. Naval Institute's periodical Proceedings entitled “Developing the Whole Sailor” and I could not help but think of how to relate it to missionary work.  The article discussed the importance of character and integrity and I started thinking about what makes up the “Whole Missionary.” Are character and integrity important? The answer can be found in the fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which missionaries everywhere repeat in groups as often as once a week – they did in my day, at least, and in San Jose we also recited The Standard of Truth.

             “. . . See that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.”

             What do character and integrity demand of the missionary? They demand hard work. I hope that you are not disappointed in the simplicity of the answer. Actually, hard work might be an understatement when it sits along side serving with all your heart, might, mind and strength.

             What other attributes make up the Whole Missionary?

              “And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.”

             Maybe this will give you an idea of what this blog will be about -- though there are other subjects, both temporal and spiritual that may be discusses as well.  I hope my friends will find this blog helpful, and may God bless all of your sons and daughters as they prepare to serve the Lord.

*Disclaimer: I have no calling or authority and do not speak for the LDS Church.  I write only from my perspective as a returned missionary.