The chief difficultly lay in learning the language, and some elders never overcame this obstacle. But Elder Cannon persisted, never letting an opportunity pass to talk to the people and improve his understanding of the language. He “also tried to exercise faith before the Lord to obtain the gift of talking and understanding the language.” Then, one day while speaking with some native neighbors, George Q. Cannon “felt an uncommonly great desire to understand what they said.” He would later report that he felt “a peculiar sensation in my ears,” and that this made him so excited he that he jumped up “and exclaimed to Elders Bigler and Keeler who sat at the table, that I believed I had received the gift of interpretation!”
many young
missionaries experience loneliness and homesickness while they are away from home and George was not exception. He would write in his journal, “It was then that I found the
value of the Book of Mormon. It was a book which I [had] always loved.
But I learned there to appreciate it as I had never done before. If I
felt inclined to be lonely, to be low spirited, or homesick, I had only
to turn to its sacred pages to receive consolation, new strength and a
rich outpouring of the Spirit. … Especially can I recommend it to those who are away from home on missions.”
Heber J. Grant had a very different experience in Japan, where he was called in 1901 to open proselyting. Not surprisingly, he found a meager harvest due to differences in cultural and religious background – not to mention the language barrier. Heber made the effort to learn Japanese, but it was a frustrating endeavor. Additionally, he discovered that a high standard for worthiness and conversion was required before people could be baptized because it was found that a few had joined or tried to join with less than honest intentions. One person was only interested in using his membership for personal gain, while another demonstrated himself as having no real understanding of the principles he had been taught.
Heber was discouraged and he began to question whether he was adequate for the task as he compared his labors with the labors of the early missionaries in the U.S. and in England, where it was not uncommon for converts to be hauled in by the hundreds and thousands. Wilford Woodruff had baptized hundreds during a period of just a few weeks in England, for example. Reason dictated that comparing England and Japan was unrealistic because of the vast differences in their composition, but that did not seem to alleviate the concern and anxiety that Heber experienced.
With the lack of success in proselyting, Heber shifted more focus to the other purpose of a mission president, the training and development of his missionaries. Frequent training and testimony meetings were held which provided the missionaries the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to associate with a member of the Council of the Twelve. Heber believed that the motivation and incentive, as well as the skills and abilities he might plant in the young elders under his charge would be transmitted by them to their families and associates and, in turn, by them to their descendants.
Heber was discouraged and he began to question whether he was adequate for the task as he compared his labors with the labors of the early missionaries in the U.S. and in England, where it was not uncommon for converts to be hauled in by the hundreds and thousands. Wilford Woodruff had baptized hundreds during a period of just a few weeks in England, for example. Reason dictated that comparing England and Japan was unrealistic because of the vast differences in their composition, but that did not seem to alleviate the concern and anxiety that Heber experienced.
With the lack of success in proselyting, Heber shifted more focus to the other purpose of a mission president, the training and development of his missionaries. Frequent training and testimony meetings were held which provided the missionaries the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to associate with a member of the Council of the Twelve. Heber believed that the motivation and incentive, as well as the skills and abilities he might plant in the young elders under his charge would be transmitted by them to their families and associates and, in turn, by them to their descendants.
Despite all of the adversity experienced in Japan, Heber was in no hurry to return home. As he reported during the October 1903 general conference, “When I received my release, I felt that I could not come home; that I must stay at least six months more; and the first night, instead of being happy, as one usually is when released to return home, I felt sad, for the first and only time in Japan. I did not go to sleep until three or four o’clock in the morning, and I felt I must cable home and ask permission to remain.”
The next morning he had a change of heart. “I disliked to have to tell you that I had been there 15 months and done nothing,” he said. “I wanted to stay six months more, to get some results from the active labor we had done there, so that I could come home and say I had done as well as other apostles who had gone out on missions. . . . It was pride and not the Spirit of the Lord, that prompted this feeling.”
After returning home, Heber was called to preside over the European mission, where he would have more success. Japan had been a refining fire, and this perhaps made the success in Europe all the better. When he left England for home in 1907, he could count not only hundreds of conversions that had come about either directly or indirectly through his efforts, but also the new insights he had gained into the secrets of leadership. Additionally, he had gained a broader perspective of the world and its people; new acquaintances who would play leading roles in church affairs in the future; and treasured memories he would often recall in years ahead for use in sermons or lessons.
Not all hardworking missionaries are as blessed as Elder Cannon when it comes to the spectator sport of teaching and baptizing. Many missionaries work hard but are not blessed with baptisms; meanwhile, other missionaries have baptisms even as they appear to work less hard. It may seem perverse that "bucket" (lazy) missionaries have baptisms while hardworking missionaries do not. Yet the hardworking elders who are not baptizing much, if at all, may be receiving the greater blessing. Adversity is a refiner's fire and those who are truly tested are truly blessed. Through time and experience, the mysteries of God are contemplated and understood.
No matter how much adversity one has experienced, or how much one has learned, they are still human and will continue to fall short of perfection because of their weaknesses and inadequacies. The good news is that the Atonement is there for them, even if their failings are not great sins. There will always be the opportunity to humble ourselves and have faith in Christ and to be lifted by His grace.
No matter how much adversity one has experienced, or how much one has learned, they are still human and will continue to fall short of perfection because of their weaknesses and inadequacies. The good news is that the Atonement is there for them, even if their failings are not great sins. There will always be the opportunity to humble ourselves and have faith in Christ and to be lifted by His grace.
Sources:
Choate, J. M. (1987). George Q. Cannon. Friend. Retrieved November 14, 2012 from https://www.lds.org/friend/1987/01/george-q-cannon?lang=eng
Nibley, P. (1942). Missionary Experiences. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book.
Wilson, W. A. (2000). George Q. Cannon: A Biography. BYU Studies, 39(3).
Gibbons, F. M. (1979). Heber J. Grant: Man of Steel, Prophet of God. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book
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