Mission Preparation

I have not yet experienced the full intensity of preparing for a mission. I am not even baptized yet! But...I really want to write about this.

My Goals (To prepare):

1.       Little habits. Praying, fasting, tithing, and teaching. I want to be comfortable in all these areas. I am not. I say meaningful evening prayers and I pray throughout the day, BUT it completely blows over my mind in the morning. I rarely pray in the morning/before meals. I have only fasted when someone I am close to needs something desperately. I struggle to fast for my own growth.  I struggle to remember tithing. I often pay a late tithing. Teaching wise, I am gifted at writing, but sometimes let other intimidate me when I share my thoughts. All of these are a work in progress.

2.       Knowledge. How can I teach the Book of Mormon, if I barely comprehend the basic facts? Spiritually, I feel very confident in myself. But when it comes to the war stories and names of bad guys, I am lost. I must show confidence in this book, even if that means I must go read the children’s Book of Mormon OVER AND OVER to fully grasp the stories.

3.       Scripture mastery and references. When I began taking seminary, I began to remember where certain scripture were, and I could cross reference between them. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!!! One scripture may better explain an idea to an investigator. Scriptures also answers question very clearly. Ex: Why do Mormons baptize the dead? 1 CORINTHIANS 15:29!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4.       Releasing self from excessive social/media interactions. I will greatly miss obsessively checking my email. Hey! Why don’t I work on that NOW? Another example: Person is depressed when they aren’t constantly with friends. CHANGE THAT!!! Learn to be happy interacting with strangers (as in, people you don’t know, say the new kid at school) or in solitude. I’m not saying go completely anti-social, but be content if a Saturday night is spent working or even just having some quiet time. During a mission, there will be little time of one’s personal self. That’s the way it should be.

5.       Evaluate self-worthiness. I truly do not say this to be ignorant or judgmental, (I am guilty of the same thing) but it breaks my heart to see boys whose main reason they started to live the LDS standards was because they were expected to receive their a mission call. Change is good, but we need to be good BECAUSE WE WANT TO!!!! :) Not because we are expected to by others! That is “okay”, that is their progression. But I want to be the best me! I want my standards to not even have to change a little bit when I am preparing to enter the MTC! I want to be already living like I have my mission call. I am not there yet. But I can get there.

6.       See where my energy is focused. Personally, us humans waste SO MUCH TIME!!! Whether it’s a girl waiting for her missionary or playing X-box all night: that girl could be doing so much with the energy she is using as she thinks about how much she misses her missionary (This is NOT to insult girls waiting for their missionary, I have friends who are doing this, and they are happy. It is THEIR life, and I am happy that they know how to choose for themselves). The boy playing X-box all the time is truly setting himself up for a struggle during a potential mission. I waste time on pinterest and being emotional and watching Lost. I can better use my time by balancing the time I spend on entertainment/life with spiritual, good things. If I am going to give an hour to watching Lost, the least I could do is match that time and give to the Lord, whatever errand He have me run.

7.       Not putting too much on my plate. For 18 months, I will do very little for myself, entertainment wise and social wise. It could be very tempting to go crazy and overload my schedule. I want to prioritize those family and friends I feel are the most important to visit, and learn from. That sounds selfish, but it isn’t selfish for me to take care of myself.

8.       Figure out a way for me to journal without being costly. I can’t keep buying journals and sending them home every 2 weeks. I need to figure out a way to electronic journal as well as handwrite in my journals.

9.       Mentally prepare self with books, classes, and any resources that will help. Memorize Preach my Gospel!!

10.   Saving money. I put this last, because I was tempted to put it first. This is not the most important preparation, because if I am obeying the Lord, it will work out. Money is not what I need to serve an exceptional mission. My relationship with Christ, my testimony, and knowledge will be much more handy.

 

1 Nephi 11

How did Nephi come to know the things which his father saw?

1. He desired this knowledge.

“For it came to pass that after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen,” (11:1)

2. He believed knowledge would be revealed unto him.

                “And believing that the Lord was able to make known unto me”, (11:1)

3. He pondered, and asked in the name of the Lord.

                “as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord,” (11:1)

                “And the Spirit said unto me, Behold, what desirest thou?” (11:2)

                “And I said, I desire to behold the things which my father saw. ” (11:3)

4. He had faith in Jesus Christ, and was living the word of God.

“And blessed are thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son, the most high of God; wherefore thou shalt behold the things which thou hast desired. ” (11:6)

5. This last idea isn’t necessarily pointed out in those verses, but is implied throughout the chapter. Nephi was perfectly obedient. Therefore the Lord was willing to give him what he asked, because Nephi proved to the Lord that he could be trusted with the great knowledge.

“I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know no commandments unto the children of men, save it he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.”

(Just a note, the Lord already knew whether or not Nephi could be trusted, but it was part of Nephi’s experience to see that the Lord trusted Him.)

The Spirit showed Nephi the tree of life, and what it meant. He showed him Mary, the mother of the Savior; He saw the miracles, and the gathering of the primitive church. He is shown the life of His Savior, whom he believed even though until that point he had not seen. 

At one point, Nephi said:

“And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.” (11:7)

The spirit made manifest unto him that which he did not understand.

 How can we apply this to our lives?

We often hear this: “Of course, we won’t know EVERYTHING in this life.” That is a truth, not a restriction. This is not an excuse to put a halt on our progression. Do we really think that all that is to the gospel is what we learn at church? NO! Church is where we nail down the basics. It is up to us to use the basic, to seek further knowledge. The Lord will give unto us what he gave to Nephi. We can all be prophets. Not in the sense that we will receive revelation for the church, but in the sense that we CAN receive revelation. (Aside from church revelation) The Lord will reveal to us everything he has revealed to his prophets and apostles.  If you don’t currently have a testimony of this principle, the scriptures are where to look. Look of those who have received revelation from the Lord. You will be surprised how often we look over it, and don’t realize that we can have these experiences.

How have I applied this to my life?

The way I came to know Jesus Christ, regardless of my past dislike of the Church, was through these five steps. These five steps, simplified are: righteous desire, prayer, faith, more faith, and obedience. I wanted to know the true religion. I prayed. I learned how to exercise faith. I have a testimony of my Savior, my Father in Heaven, the Holy Spirit, and many aspects of the gospel (prayer, faith, fasting, tithing, etc.)

*By gospel, I mean the teaching of Christ that has led to me the relationship I have with Him*

Now, I am working on obedience. I believe that as I learn to be perfectly obedient, the Lord will reveal unto me anything I want to know. Right now, obedience for me consists mostly of the little things: Fast today; Go talk to that girl, call this person, do this homework assignment early, etc. I believe that through obedience to the basics, I will be given more and more opportunities to be obedient to other tasks.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.