It just so happens to be my very sweet privilege at present to be writing several full-time missionaries. I love hearing about their experiences, seeing their pictures, gleaning gems of truth they observe and share, and best of all, noticing streaks of deepening conversion to Jesus Christ.
They often inspire and delight me!
Today at Untoalltheworld, I want to, in general terms, mention these full-time servants of the Lord, and specifically, I want to highlight the comments of a few of them. They are young and have yet to mature in many ways. However, those young in years serving with real intent and honest hearts are an incredible blessing to the restored church.
Smiling sisters.
Willing elders.
Sometimes people just can’t help but open their doors to that.
In recent email correspondences, these striving servants of the Lord have typed tender and heart-felt words. I wanted to share a few of them with you.
From a sister serving in Kentucky:
“My friend…showed us a song about how it was an act of faith for Joseph Smith to look up into the blinding light after being surrounded by complete darkness. It made me think about how sometimes when we are in our own darkness, it takes an act of faith to look up toward the Savior, to trust that he is waiting to help us in our dark times. But he is there, always. I love Alma 33:22: ‘…then cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins.’ So when you feel as if you’re in darkness, choose to act in faith and look towards the Savior, and you will be surrounded by his light.”
Beyond her years.
Could there be a better place to look than to Jesus for banishing darkness and beholding light? I think not.
From an elder serving in New Mexico:
“I’ve seen myself grow each and every day. Trials come up in our lives and it’s important to not lose sight of the end goal. With an eternal mindset we can see challenges as a stepping stone to something greater.”
Another way to say: “Think celestial.” What a valuable perspective he’s learning, one that will serve him well throughout adulthood.
From an elder serving in Arizona:
“Having faith in Christ is the strongest foundation you can have in life and when you allow it to take hold in your life, you can overcome all trials.”
What truth!
With a Christ strong foundation, “when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” (Helaman 5:12)
Even after coming home from a full-time mission.
From an elder serving in Nebraska:
“Miracles from God come as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ. There are many ways to think of faith, but I understand it as belief plus action. The more we believe in Jesus Christ and His power to change our specific lives, and the more we act on that belief, the more we will be able to see the miracles in our lives. Doubt and sin are harmful to the belief aspect and the action aspect of faith, and thus harm our ability to see God’s hand in our life.”
What wisdom! Not to mention absolute truth.
From a sister serving in California:
“Jesus will always be there for us. No matter what storm comes. God lives and Jesus is the Christ!”
Short. Simple words. Big, powerful meaning.
From an elder serving in Honduras:
“…this week I studied a lot about who is God and how we can get to know him…found this…quote from Joseph Smith: ‘If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend themselves.’ So how can we come to know the Father and know ourselves? ‘If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also…He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.’ (John 14: 7,9) So as we can know Christ, we will know our Father in Heaven and ourselves…”
Indeed! What purpose to our searching.
From a sister serving in New York:
“…I’m just so grateful that God trusts me with such tender and spiritual experiences…God really trusts us to rely on the Spirit to know what to say and share with people…God really does love each and every one of his children…I was reminded how special of an experience being a missionary is. I get the most incredible experience to dedicate 100% of my time, thoughts, and energy to serve God and to learn how to follow the Spirit. What better skill is there to have than to know how to hear the voice of the Spirit? And I get 18 months to dedicate everything, to tune out the world and listen to the Spirit. What an incredible gift that is!…Try and tune out the world a little more this week. Listen to the prompting of the Spirit and cherish those spiritual experiences because they are gifts from God.”
She ends most of her emails with this: “Jesus loves you and so do I!”
What a devoted minister for Jesus! I love that she knows what a privilege it is to wear the Savior’s name alongside hers for a short season.
I love the Lord’s servants! Don’t let their youthful years fool you. Many of them have so much to offer in way of testimony, sincerity, and power.
Unto all the world: As your circumstances allow, find a full-time missionary to regularly write and get on his/her email distribution list. Your life will be enriched. Promise.