Skip to main content

"I'm Going to Boise!"

The LDS comedy The Singles Ward plays up the oft-used missionary joke of being called to serve in Boise, Idaho. After a young man opens his mission call, his friends say something polite and quickly come up with excuses to leave, commenting privately how awful his call is. When the young man shares his call at a store, the employee smiles politely and says, "How nice." Other mission calls viewed as awful include a missionary's home country, a place only a few hours away, or a place where they speak the missionary's native language.

Why do we have this attitude about mission calls? The purpose of a mission is not to go on a vacation, study abroad, or collect stories for bragging rights (as played up in The RM). It's not about us! The purpose of a mission is to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Heavenly Father wants all His children to return to Him and He loves them all the same, regardless of where they live or what language they speak. No people are worth more or less to Heavenly Father, no mission is better than another, and all missions have challenges. We must view a mission call as an opportunity to bless His children with the joy of the gospel. We must learn to love the people, the place, and the culture. Only when we have the right attitude about missionary work will we be successful.

Challenge: Next mission call opening you attend, have genuine excitement and support for the missionary no matter where he or she is going. If the call is your own, pray for sincere love and joy before opening it.

photo from ldsfilm.com
Labels:

Comments

Reese said…
I totally agree!! People focus on the wrong part of the story all too often.

Also, not all missions are formal callings from the church, we are all called to serve in many different capacities. Ultimately to spread the message of LOVE and our Savior.

I often think of my personal calling as a mother the most important mission I could serve - and the most challenging. I often sing "I'll go where you want me to go". Motherhood is not glamorous as the world sees it, it often isn't exciting (though often is!!), can be repetitive and is full of hard work and sacrifice. It is also SO rewarding and SO important. There will be no greater influence a person can have on another person, and the love that we give our children comes back to us 100-fold.

That song gives me comfort on the nights when I'd rather be up doing my own projects rather than just sitting still with my children and holding them when they're having a hard time sleeping. It reminds me of the purpose, which removes the feeling of drudgery and replaces it with deep satisfaction.

Great post, Francesca!
September 6, 2010 at 2:17 AM
Anonymous said…
I love serving God and being a misionary right in my own backyard wherever that is-DAD
October 21, 2010 at 1:45 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preach by the Spirit

ldsclipart.com I'm a writer, editor, and linguist. The words I choose and how I organize them are very important to me. That is why I prefer expressing myself through writing over any other method. I also enjoy public speaking because sharing my insights is exciting. I prepare my speeches, talks, and lessons in advance so I know exactly what I'm going to say. Church talks I always write out word for word to ensure I don't forget anything and so it's coherent and cohesive. As a teen, I would practice my talks until I practically had them memorized. Due to the increased focus on making the Sabbath a delight and sacrament meeting more spiritually fulfilling, our branch president told us he wanted us to have only an outline for our talks and to lean on the Spirit for guidance. Only once have I ever used just an outline. It was September 2006 in my college ward for a talk about how to prepare for general conference, a topic easy to expound with just notes. Two week...
3 comments
Read more

How to Know if the Book of Mormon Is True

photo from lds.org A previous set of elders put me on the 12-week course for new missionaries. Last night as I was finishing up the week on revelation through the Book of Mormon, I came upon this study activity: Read Moroni 10:3-5 and discuss how these verses show what an investigator must do to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon. Discuss the meaning and importance of real intent and how to help investigators develop real intent. I considered skipping it since I had read that scripture passage countless times, especially with studying Preach My Gospel , and because the discussion seemed to focus on real intent, which had been covered thoroughly in that week's study. But I decided to humor myself and do it anyway. And what I learned surprised me. There are actually four steps an investigator must complete before asking God with real intent and receiving an answer: Read the Book of Mormon. How can we know if something is true if we haven't even read it? We have to b...
4 comments
Read more

Music and Heaven

The Sunbeam lesson I taught today was "Music Makes Me Happy." Whether it be instrumental or voice, music can calm fear, brighten sorrow, and dispel anger, and it serves as a way to praise and pray to Heavenly Father. "There is no music in hell," said Brigham Young, "for all good music belongs to heaven." He also said, "If we could hear the music there is in heaven, it would overwhelm us mortals." We may not yet be able to hear heaven's music, but "never, indeed, do we feel so near heaven as when listening to the performance of some grand anthem, in which the angels themselves might fitly take their parts" (John Taylor). Good music and grand anthems take form in Church-related and classical music. "If you do not have a taste for it [classical music], listen to it thoughtfully," counseled President Hinckley. "If you do not like it the first time, listen to it again and keep listening. It will be something like going to ...
2 comments
Read more