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.