The single most important thing a young priesthood holder can do to prepare for a call to serve a mission is to become a missionary before he goes on a mission, Elder David A Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve said during the priesthood session of conference Saturday evening.
"In our customary Church vocabulary, we often speak of going to Church, going to the temple and going on a mission," he said. "Let me be so bold as to suggest that our rather routine emphasis on going misses the mark."
He explained, "It is possible for a young man to go on a mission and not become a missionary, and this is not what the Lord requires or what the Church needs."
Elder Bednar suggested that the process of becoming a missionary includes increasing one's desire to serve God. "And you can begin to think as missionaries think, to read what missionaries read, to pray as missionaries pray, and to feel what missionaries feel," he noted.
"You can avoid the worldly influences that cause the Holy Ghost to withdraw, and you can grow in confidence in recognizing and responding to spiritual promptings," he said. "Line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, you can gradually become the missionary you hope to be and the missionary the Savior expects."
The nature of a young missionary's transition to the Missionary Training Center will be a strong indicator of his progress in becoming a missionary, Elder Bednar said.
"For a young man well on his way to becoming a missionary, the basic adjustment to the rigors of missionary work and lifestyle will not be overwhelming, burdensome or constraining," he said. "Thus a key element of raising the bar includes working to become a missionary before going on a mission."
Fathers, with their wives, are key in this process, he said, and priesthood and auxiliary leaders have a responsibility to assist parents in helping every young man become a missionary before he goes on his mission. "The bar also has been raised for parents and for all members of the Church. Prayerful pondering of the principle of becoming will invite inspiration tailored to the the specific needs of your son or to the young men whom you serve."
Noting that priesthood holders are missionaries always, Elder Bednar said if young men progress in becoming missionaries, they will never cease their missionary service, even after their release as a full-time missionary. As the "seed of Abraham," priesthood holders have the responsibility to "bear this ministry and priesthood unto all nations," (Abraham 2:9) he said.
"Brethren, you and I, today and always, are to bless all peoples in all the nations of the earth," he said.
