In Doctrine and Covenants section 84 verse 85 it says “…Treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in that very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man.” The key to preparing for a mission is stated in this scripture; we must treasure up in our minds continually the words of life. For example, a student who has earned C’s and D’s for their first three years of high school, does not just decide they want a 4.0 their senior year and pull it off with ease. The key to accomplishing a hard task is to develop good study habits early in the education years, and preparing for a mission is no different. I came up with four areas that I think helped me the most, but I am sure there are many more. They are family home evening, seminary, youth activities, and daily prayer and scripture study.
Family home evening
I don’t remember the first time my
family held family home evening. It has always been constant. No matter the
circumstances, busy schedules, or even vacations, there was always time for
family night. Some were spiritual, most were entertaining, but all were
important and key in developing my faith. Whether we were playing capture the
flag, or watching a conference talk it was beneficial.One thing that made family nights so important was because they never seemed boring, But rather a different experience every week, with a new pop rendition of primary songs from my dad, and entertainment from my siblings I always loved getting to be with my family. When I went to college, although it was good, it was much harder to find the spiritual peace that I was used to at family night because we had all only known each other for a matter of months in my group. That experience really made me appreciate what I had been taught at home with my family.
Seminary
When I first started attending
seminary in ninth grade, I decided it was important and I quickly learned I
would be blessed for going. I didn’t always have class with my friends, and
sometimes I had some less than ideal teachers, but no matter what I was glad I
went. The lessons ranged from intensely spiritual silent lessons to fun and
entertaining, and sometimes very physical, games.An example of this was my last semester of seminary when I had brother Heward. He is a young tall, skinny guy with an amazing sense of humor and his lessons were anything but normal. In our class he decided one day that the students felt bored and so he came up with a competition. Each day in class he would randomly pick one student to run around the outside perimeter of the seminary building and would record their time. No matter the weather someone always ran and we kept the times on the white board. This was hilarious to watch and drew attention from the other teachers. On the last day of class we said that he needed to take a turn. He took off his suit coat, proceeded to move his tie from around his neck to around his head, took up a three point stance by the door, and then bolted outside. 18 seconds later he stumbled into the classroom with a few grass stains on his pants and extremely out of breath. Because of this classroom competition I was always enticed to go to class and, along with being entertained, was able to be spiritually fed as I was actively engaged in the lessons.
Brother Heward also had very spiritual lessons too. One day when we came to class he read us Alma 48: 17, which is explaining the type of man Captain Moroni was, says “Verily verily I say unto you, If all men had been, and were, and ever would be like unto Moroni, behold the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever, yea the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men.” Brother Heward then challenged us to be like Moroni and then hung a sign above the door that read “Shake Hell” to remind us of our challenge. Aside from the initial giggles that come from us teenagers, this really impacted me and made me want to strengthen my resolve to live righteously. I often found myself thinking of this scripture and trying to emulate the qualities of Moroni.
Youth Activities
I
was blessed with parents who had strong testimonies of their own and knew
exactly what I needed to be doing in order to stay on track, or at least that’s
what it seemed like to me. Once I turned twelve and started going to mutual,
they made it abundantly clear that mutual wasn’t an option. At first I was
slightly displeased with this, but eventually I got used to it and instead of
basing my decision to attend on what we were going to be doing at mutual, I was
able to enjoy the activities and base my social and homework schedule around the
them. This helped me to have a strong spiritual experience every week other
than on Sundays. I know that mutual helped strengthen my testimony and provided
me with so many chances to be around friends and have fun.I am so grateful for my many youth leaders such as Bro. Ashworth, Brother Shelton, and Bro. Simmons, and the time they put into these activities. I know that they truly want the youth to succeed and I hope they know that their efforts were very effective in my life. I developed strong relationships with my leaders because they put more than just time into these activities and always were willing to have fun, but also teach and bear testimony of the gospel. I don’t know if they know it, but this was a significant part of preparing me for a mission.
Trek was also very important. Other than the physical challenges of walking through the desert pulling a handcart, there were so many spiritual aspects as well. We were all asked to bring some sort of item that was important to us and carry it with us throughout the trek. On the last night, bishop asked me to dig a hole by our camp big enough to fit a five gallon bucket in. After I finished everyone gathered around and bishop explained that at our testimony meeting that evening we were to get up and show what item we had brought and explain its importance to us. We were then instructed to put it in this bucket to symbolize the sacrifices made by the pioneers crossing the plains. As each of the youth got up, I was surprised by their courage and humility as they put in this item that meant so much to them. I realized then how much my faith had been strengthened by those around me, and what wonderful examples I had. They didn’t know that they would be getting these things back, and their willingness to sacrifice was so powerful to me. Some of the items were extremely valuable, I think Tyler Ashworth put in a silver brick, and Brother Gardner put in his wedding ring. After everyone had gotten up, bishop explained how the pioneers had made immense sacrifices and that was supposed to help us understand that. He then proceeded to return the items back to their owners and fill in the empty hole. The youth in this ward and their spirituality greatly impacted me and made me want to always be better.
There was one other experience that I feel prepared me very well for a mission. There were a few of us who had an eleven year old scout leader who was very….let’s say enthusiastic. Some of our snow campouts could rival those of winter special forces training. One Friday evening, in late November several years ago we were driven up the canyon as far as the road would go, and then loaded all our equipment onto our sleds. We then proceeded to drag these sleds about a mile further up the canyon in knee deep snow, or at least it was knee deep for me, to a secluded pavilion where we were to camp. We had been instructed NOT to bring any tents, and instead slept on a concrete slab, exposed on all sides to the cold, windy night. I remember we heated rocks up in the fire, then put them into metal pots and clutched them all night to try and keep warm. Needless to say that was a very long night for me….But it taught me that physically I can get through anything……and that Brother Doxy was a little bit insane.
Daily scripture study-double tap
When it comes to scripture study, I
really cannot claim all, or even most of the credit. Like I said, I was blessed
with great parents that would wake us up early in the morning, every morning,
to do family scripture study. Some days it was easier than others, but I know
that it was worth it. My parents always made comments and emphasized important
verses to help us understand the passages, no matter how old we were. I know
that because of this I have had a much stronger testimony of the scriptures and
it has helped me so much already.Right before I began my senior year, we had a combined young men-young women lesson with the bishopric and Brother Reynolds told us how he had never read the Book of Mormon all the way through on his own until his senior year, when he decided that he should do that. He explained how grateful he was for that experience and that it helped him in all aspects of his life. I listened to this and realized that I had read it all the way through several times with my family, but never on my own. I made the resolution to do exactly as he had and began reading every night. I did my best to make the time valuable, and not just read to finish, but read to understand. Sometimes when I didn’t understand something fully, I would give it a double-tap and re-read it to make sure I was getting everything I could from it. I finished the book of Mormon two months before I graduated, and I will never forget the feeling of knowing that I had done it on my own, but more importantly, how much more I had learned from the spirit while I was reading. I know this experience was very beneficial and my only regret was waiting so long to try it.
My parents taught me to pray daily, as we did after family scripture study. Then Brother Ashworth told us that it was important to pray twice a day on our own, along with some advice about dating losers. I learned very quickly that praying was not only a good thing to be doing, but was a great protection and blessing. I know that praying daily brings about a closer relationship with my heavenly father and helps strengthen my testimony and solidify my faith.
Conclusion
As far as preparing for a mission, I
never felt like there was a point where I started some training program, or
where I began some check-list of things I needed to do or study in order to be
ready, but rather that I have received all this training and support from so
many different people and experiences. I feel that because of good habits that
I was taught by my parents, leaders, friends and siblings, that I have been
preparing my whole life without knowing it. This has strengthened my faith by
helping me realize all that can be accomplished when I do not rely solely upon
my own strength. I read Doctrine and Covenants section 84 verse 85 at the beginning of my talk, but we find what is meant by “that portion that shall be given unto every man” just a few verses later in section 84:88 when we are told that “… whoso recieveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up.”
I think that is a wonderful reward for living righteously and I know that I will need that when I am on my mission.
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