The Goal of Missionary Work
Dear Elder Peterson,
Serving a mission is such an incredible opportunity to grow in so many areas of your life, make lasting memories, and of course love and serve others. I was raised in the Church to a multi-generation faithful family. My father was a Bishop several times before I was called to serve. I completed 4 years of seminary and was top in my class. I had read the scriptures before serving a mission and knew all the answers to the questions asked in my church and seminary classes. However, even with all these experiences prior to serving a mission, as I recall, I was not prepared to administer the Doctrines of Jesus Christ that make up his Gospel. It is my hope that my letters will help and encourage you to come closer to God and teach with greater spiritual power from your own first hand experiences.
Along the way, I hope to share with you some of my own witnesses and experiences with Christ and angels in hopes that you too will come to know and meet Christ for yourself and claim all the blessings of the gospel which are available to you.
As a missionary, your calling is simply to teach people to hear the Lord’s voice. Those who hear his voice are invited to join the church. Those who do not, are not invited to join the church. The Lord said through his prophet Alma,
Mosiah 26:21 & 28
21 And he that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him will I also receive.
…
28 Therefore I say unto you, that he that will not hear my voice, the same shall ye not receive into my church, for him I will not receive at the last day.
Even more important than being part of the church, this is the line that determines whether a person is wicked or righteous and the line that separates the redeemed from those who are cast out. It all comes down to whether or not they hear and hearken to the voice of the lord.
D&C 84:52-53
52 And whoso receiveth not my voice is not acquainted with my voice, and is not of me.
53 And by this you may know the righteous from the wicked…
D&C 38:6
6 And even so will I cause the wicked to be kept, that will not hear my voice but harden their hearts, and wo, wo, wo, is their doom…
Mosiah 16:2
2 And then shall the wicked be cast out, and they shall have cause to howl, and weep, and wail, and gnash their teeth; and this because they would not hearken unto the voice of the Lord; therefore the Lord redeemeth them not.
This, then, is the first goal a person must achieve in their progression. They must hear the Lord’s voice for themselves. This is when true conversion happens. You and I can- not do it for them, but we can teach them how and encourage them to do it for themselves. As stated above, it should happen before a person is received into the Church, and it is the determining factor of whether a person is ready or qualified to be baptized.
(Note: Some people are baptized who are not “his sheep” and cannot “hear his voice”. This is discussed in D&C 132:7-14 where the Lord explains that he is not required to accept any ordinance at our hands/performed by the priesthood that he, himself, has not personally authorized or sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise”. He asks a rhetorical question saying, “Will I receive at your hands that which I have not appointed?” Of course the answer is, “No”. We cannot force God to accept or ratify an ordinance just because it was performed by the priesthood when it was performed on someone unworthy. This places God in ultimate control of all spiritual blessings and resolves the errors of men.)
To be a good missionary, you must first know the Lord’s voice and how to hear it, yourself. The blind cannot lead the blind nor can the ignorant direct the ignorant. You must figure out how it is done for yourself, before you can instruct others. Once you know how to do it yourself, your every effort should be focused on helping others to do it for themselves. It doesn’t matter whether you are teaching the first lesson or the last; your first and foremost goal is to help people, (members and non-members alike), even your own companions, to learn to hear the voice of the Lord. Your every interaction, (even letters home to your family and friends), is an opportunity to teach and encourage people to hear and hearken to the voice of the Lord. Before you begin every interaction, ask the Lord what message he has for each person and group, realizing that the Lord’s words will be uniquely suited to each person and situation if you are doing it correctly. For this reason, it is better to not decide what to say until the Lord tells you in the moment.
“And thou shalt continue in calling upon God in my name, and writing, (and saying), the things which shall be given thee by the Comforter, and expounding all scriptures unto the church.
6 And it shall be given thee in the very moment what thou shalt speak and write, and they shall hear it, or I will send unto them a cursing instead of a blessing.” – D&C 24:5-6
“Therefore, I, the Lord, have suffered you to come unto this place; for thus it was expedient in me for the salvation of souls.
5 Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;
6 For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say.
7 But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things.
8 And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.” – D&C 100:4-8
Ask the Lord to guide you and show you how to use each opportunity to do his will and to bless the lives of everyone you can. This takes work and effort on your part; it is not for the spiritually lazy. This will require you to hear the voice of the Lord constantly. The more you do, the more clear that voice will become, and the more amazed you will be by the miracles you witness.
As a missionary, we often get caught up in thinking that the goal is to get through the discussions and get people baptized. This is not the case. The goal is to help the individuals and groups to hear and follow the voice of the Lord. If a person has received all the discussions and still cannot hear the voice of the Lord, then you’ve failed to prepare them properly. Even if they are received into the Church by baptism, the Lord will not receive them at the last day, so you’ve accomplished nothing. I repeat again, the words of the Lord, given through the prophet Alma who said,
Mosiah 26:21 & 28
21 And he that will hear my voice shall be my sheep; and him shall ye receive into the church, and him will I also receive.
…
28 Therefore I say unto you, that he that will not hear my voice, the same shall ye not receive into my church, for him I will not receive at the last day.
What is the Lord’s voice?
This is a very important question that you need to understand and be able to teach. If you cannot teach people what the Lord’s voice is, then you cannot teach them to listen to his voice, and they will never qualify as righteous people, to be received into the Church. Here is what the scriptures teach:
D&C 18:35-36
35 For it is my voice which speaketh them unto you; for they are given by my Spirit unto you, …
36 Wherefore, you can testify that you have heard my voice, and know my words.
D&C 97:1
1 Verily I say unto you my friends, I speak unto you with my voice, even the voice of my Spirit, that I may show unto you my will…
D&C 75:1
1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, I who speak even by the voice of my Spirit, even Alpha and Omega, your Lord and your God—
D&C 88:66
66 Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound.
The spirit is the voice of the Lord. There are two ways that a person will hear the voice of the Lord before they are baptized.
One way is through you. When and only WHEN you speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, you are speaking with the voice of the Lord. Speaking to Orson Hyde directly, but regarding all missionaries “whose mission is appointed unto them to go forth” and “proclaim the everlasting gospel, by the Spirit of the living God, from people to people, and from land to land, in the congregations of the wicked, in their synagogues, reasoning with and expounding all scriptures unto them”, the Lord said,
“3 And this is the ensample unto them, that they shall speak as they are moved upon by the Holy Ghost.
4 And whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be scripture, shall be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of the Lord, shall be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.
5 Behold, this is the promise of the Lord unto you, O ye my servants.” – D&C 68:3-5
As Nephi explained, “when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost, the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.” (2 Nephi 33:1) Those who have ears to hear will hear the voice of the lord spoken through you as you speak by the power of the Holy Ghost. If they hear it, they will come. All you have to do is focus on speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost and trust that his sheep will hear his voice and come.
Realize that when you speak by the power of the Holy Ghost, they will feel that power, and either come, if they are his sheep or want to be his sheep; or they will run, if they are not or do not want to be his sheep. (If people do not come now, do not write them off and assume there is no hope for them. Many times you will find that people hear his voice and know it but do not want to act on it yet, or they need a little more time to be humbled by life before they are ready to listen. From you, unless the spirit directs you otherwise, these people just need more time, patience, understanding and love.)
The other way that they can hear his voice is directly from the Lord, himself, through the veil. This is the ultimate goal for all converts and far more important than hearing the voice of the Lord through you or anyone else. This is what makes them independant and fully converted to the Lord. If they hear the Lord’s voice through you, but do not learn to speak to the Lord directly, then they will be converted to you, and when you leave, you take the voice of the Lord with you, and they will become spiritually inactive.
For this reason, we teach others to pray and help them to have faith that they can receive answers to their prayers. Not just answers in the form of getting what they want, like a job or an outcome. They need to be taught how to talk to the Lord and hear his voice. Sometimes the answers are feelings and comfort; sometimes words and instructions. But rather than focusing on asking God to do something for them, (like “Please give me a job”), focus on the praying for the Lord to teach them what they need to know and do, (like, “Please show me what to do and how to do it, so that I can get a job). Focus on receiving revelation and interacting with God in prayer so that God can guide and direct the person, rather than do things for the person without actually interacting with them directly. (Does that make sense?)
Only by interacting with God, do we come to know for ourselves that God exists. Over time, as we progress, we come to know who God is and how to be like God through our repeated interactions with God.
I know the path. I’ve walked it. I’ve stood in Christ’s presence and I’ve been held in his loving embrace. The Lord promised, “every one that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit cometh unto God, even the Father.” (D&C 84:47) I give you my first hand witness that this is true, and that it is within your grasp, and it is the ultimate goal for every investigator. If you focus on converting people through the Gospel process, they will gain the “unspeakable gift of the Holy Ghost” and the lord will continually direct them, personally.
I know from experience that before we can be brought back into his presence, we must commune with the Lord through the veil by learning to hear his voice. I did not have my first experience with Christ while serving a mission; however, I know several people who did, including a Peterson family member you know. I encourage you to make this one of your spiritual goals and to start by learning to hear his voice. I also encourage you to make it your primary focus to help others hear the voice of the Lord as you speak by the power of the Holy Ghost and encourage them to talk to God in prayer, and to take the time to listen for His response. I promise that if you do these things, you will come to see and recognize great miracles in your own life, as well as the lives of others.
I leave these thoughts with you in the name of my friend, Jesus Christ, Amen.
With love and faith,
Uncle Philip