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President Henry B. Eyring: Establishing the Church while helping missionaries become disciples of Christ

Treat each missionary ‘as a sacred trust for whom you were personally prepared,’ President Eyring tells new mission leaders

PROVO, Utah — President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, began his message to new mission leaders on Friday, June 21, with his testimony.

“You were called of God by revelation to your missionary service. I also believe that your missionaries are called to serve with you,” he declared during the 2024 Seminar for New Mission Leaders.

One hundred forty-eight new mission leader couples from 30 different countries gathered June 20-23 at the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah, to receive instruction and training prior to beginning their three-year assignments.

Over the four days, the mission presidents and companions hear messages by each member of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in addition to other general Church leaders serving on the Church’s Missionary Department and Missionary Executive Council. This year’s cohort of mission leaders will be reporting to missions in 53 different countries on July 1. The Church will have 450 missions worldwide when those leaders begin their service.

In his remarks, President Eyring noted the testimony that each missionary and mission leader is called by revelation may seem a “bold belief” or “improbable,” especially in view of the growing number of missions and missionaries. However, President Eyring knows from personal experience “that the Savior directs such personal details in His work,” he said.

To illustrate, President Eyring shared of the “wonderful opportunity” he had as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to assign missionaries. “I looked forward to that sacred responsibility. In the few minutes of making those assignments, I always felt a clear assurance that the Lord had made the assignment. In that process, I also felt that each missionary assigned was to serve under the care of a particular mission president,” President Eyring related.

New mission leaders listen at a seminar.
Attendees at the 2024 Seminar for New Mission Leaders listen to President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, speak Friday, June 21, at the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. | Leslie Nilsson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

One particular time, President Eyring recalled praying humbly for help in assigning a young missionary. The symbol “3-M” came into his mind.

Although puzzled, President Eyring asked to see the missions starting with the letter M. He then saw the need for a Mandarin speaker in the Australia Melbourne Mission under the leadership of President Cory Maxwell.

“My purpose in recounting that incident is to suggest that you might reasonably treat each missionary who comes to your mission as a sacred trust for whom you were personally prepared,” President Eyring said.

Missionaries will come to mission leaders from unique backgrounds and differing degrees of spiritual development. “Yet you can appropriately pray to be given the inspiration to know what you can do to help each one, whatever the conditions they will face in your mission,” President Eyring assured.

He noted that the leaders’ handbook makes clear “that helping your missionaries become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ and establishing the Church through the conversion of God’s children are your and their combined purpose. This responsibility to establish the Church works together at the same time with the responsibility to help missionaries become lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ.”

‘Seek Christlike Attributes’

Mission leaders will have the opportunity to help missionaries in their personal efforts to become more Christlike disciples in His work, President Eyring taught. He cited Chapter 6 of “Preach My Gospel” — “Seek Christlike Attributes” — which asks missionaries to consider how seeking Christlike attributes helps them fulfill their missionary purpose.

“Your missionaries will be blessed by your example and your encouragement in their efforts to develop Christlike attributes,” President Eyring promised. “Their choices to seek to acquire specific attributes will be private and personal. But their progress and their frustrations could be observable in your interactions with them. As you listen to their testimonies and their teaching and from what you feel in your interviews with them and their companions, you will see them grow.”

President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, center, speaks.
President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, center, speaks Friday, June 21, 2024, at the 2024 Seminar for New Mission Leaders at the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. | Leslie Nilsson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

President Eyring said he once asked a missionary three of the six questions found in Chapter 6 of “Preach My Gospel.”

“His replies gave me hope and a feeling of the Savior’s love for this missionary,” he recalled.

To the question “How will seeking Christlike attributes help you fulfill your purpose as a missionary?” the missionary responded: “Throughout my mission I’ve seen that the key to being an effective missionary is being a pure vessel through which the Spirit can work. Seeking Christlike attributes has prepared me to do the Lord’s will as I have become more like Him and aligned my will with His.”

President Eyring next asked, “How can you both seek and receive Christlike attributes?”

The missionary answered, “I have sought and continue to seek Christlike attributes daily as I make concentrated efforts to remember who I am and my purpose. Those attributes are gifts from Heavenly Father. By praying and then going to work, doing our best to do what the Savior would, I believe these attributes develop with time.”

President Eyring’s final question to the missionary was, “Which attribute should you focus on now?”

New mission leaders listen at a seminar.
Attendees at the 2024 Seminar for New Mission Leaders listen to President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency, speak Friday, June 21, at the Provo Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. | Leslie Nilsson, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The missionary then related an experience halfway through his mission where he was struggling and feeling like a failure. “I remember getting down on my knees and begging my Heavenly Father for direction on what I needed to do to change. I immediately felt His love, but as I continued to pray and wrestle with my situation, I knew in my mind and heart that I needed to make an effort I had never made before to turn my will over to Him,” the missionary recalled.

As he strived to give his heart to the Lord, it became clear to the missionary that he needed the gift of integrity. “At the time, this was not one of the attributes listed in Chapter 6 of ‘Preach My Gospel,’ but it was something I focused on and felt the Savior wanted me to develop. I did focus on it, and day by day I saw it grow in me. It changed my words, actions and even thoughts. It changed me as well as my attitude, which in turn changed the work. …

“Thanks to the Savior, I have developed integrity in addition to other attributes throughout my time here [in the mission]. It has changed my mission and my life. I know that the Lord speaks to those who honestly seek to change, and He will provide the way for them to do it.”

The experience of this missionary gave President Eyring hope, he said, “and can give you hope that your missionaries will experience the gift of God’s grace as they are changed in missionary service.”

In conclusion, President Eyring promised mission leaders, “The Lord will bless you and your missionaries. He will reward their diligent effort to grow in their power to invite Heavenly Father’s children to come unto Him. I promise you that He will bless them, and He will bless you as you help them to grow closer to being like Him in missionary service and over a lifetime.”

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