PROVO, Utah — Looking out across the sea of missionaries in the Provo Missionary Training Center auditorium, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf saw faces of sacrifice, willingness and faith.
“You all have one huge and decisive thing going for you — you chose to serve a mission,” said the acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, then referring to Isaiah 6:8, “In the sacred act of agency, you said to the Lord, ‘Here am I; send me.’”
And paraphrasing a line from the series of “Harry Potter” books, he added: “It is your choices, not just your abilities, which show who you truly are.”
For missionaries, those choices include:
- Understanding the singular importance of inviting
- Having faith in agency, goals and plans
- And being “not weary in well-doing”
President Uchtdorf was accompanied by his wife, Sister Harriet Uchtdorf, and his remarks to more than 2,800 during the Tuesday evening, Sept. 8, devotional in Provo, Utah, were broadcast to other MTCs worldwide.
A missionary’s purpose: Invite
He recited the missionary purpose from “Preach My Gospel,” singling out the first word: “invite.”
Inviting others to come and see, come and help, and come and belong are all part of the overarching principle of love, share and invite, President Uchtdorf said, adding that inviting isn’t selling, embellishing or turning to subtle craftiness, gimmicks or clever tactics.
“You simply bring the truth ‘out of obscurity and out of darkness’ (Doctrine and Covenants 1:30). You hold up the light — the Savior’s light — and let it shine brightly. You help people see how the Savior’s gospel and His Church could bless their lives, their families — now and eternally.”
Agency, goals, plans — and faith
President Uchtdorf underscored the importance of honoring the agency of others, having goals and setting plans. “Goals give life to your plans,” he said, “and plans give muscle to your goals.”
He warned about the hurt when sincere invitations are rejected. “You will feel heartache when people turn down your loving invitations. But it’s a pure, holy, godly heartache. And it is accompanied by the peaceful satisfaction that you did your part and God is pleased with your efforts.”
He reminded his listeners they will be held accountable for their own choices, not the choices of others. “If you have done your best and exercised your own agency in righteousness, you can rest peacefully at the end of each day — and then wake up the next day, ready to give your best again.”
And he told the missionaries that their faith cannot override another’s agency. “Not even God Himself will do that. God calls and invites and reaches out tirelessly, with love and encouragement. But He never compels anyone to obey — that would violate His great plan for the eternal growth of His children,” he said.
If a hoped-for miracle doesn’t happen, it isn’t a failure of faith, he said. “The purpose of faith is not to make things happen the way you want. It is to empower you to act the way God wants you to act.
“Faith is trust,” he continued. “And sometimes the most powerful expression of faith involves continuing to trust the Lord, even when the miracle is not happening.”
‘Be not weary in well-doing’
President Uchtdorf acknowledged that one of the hardest parts of serving a mission is when diligent efforts don’t seem to be making a difference. He offered Doctrine and Covenants 64:32-34 as “an emergency recalibration procedure.”
It reads: “All things must come to pass in their time. Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.”
Admitting that serving a mission is hard, President Uchtdorf said, “To receive the joy of missionary work, you have to intentionally choose to serve through the trying and difficult moments.”
The same applies to the friends that missionaries teach. “Joining this Church requires sacrifice. So often, embracing the restored gospel requires letting go of relationships, habits or lifestyles. It won’t be easy. If it were, it wouldn’t be as joyful or as sacred.”
Conclusion
President Uchtdorf concluded by testifying of Christ, His cause and His living Prophet, President Dallin H. Oaks.
“Jesus Christ loves you. He is pleased with your willingness to accept His call to serve and to follow Him. He is pleased with you, that you stepped forward and said, ‘Here am I; send me.’”
What missionaries were saying
After the devotional, missionaries spoke with the Church News of what they learned from the Spirit while listening to President Uchtdorf.
“I learned that the most powerful type of faith is trusting in God in the hard times, because it’s easy to trust in Him when everything’s going good,” said Elder Collin Taylor of Riverton, Utah, called to the Philippines Laoag Mission. “But when it’s hard, it’s harder to see Him in your life.”
Elder Jeddy Haag of Ankeny, Iowa, and assigned to the same mission, added: “There’s a flame of righteous desire, and we need to feed that flame — and that includes everything you need to do as a missionary.”
A trio of sister missionaries called to the Philippines Antipolo Mission each shared a key learning they had written in their notes from the devotional.
Sister Chloe Thorpe of Gilbert, Arizona, said her learning was “to believe in what we’re building, that it’s important, that we know the importance of the marvelous work that we’re putting forth.”
Sister Isabel Adamson of Draper, Utah, echoed the emphasis on the word “invite.” She said: “That’s the one verb in the missionary purpose that is in our control, no matter our circumstances. Compassionate, courageous disciples extend an invitation as early as possible.”
And Sister Leah Tovey of Cedar Hills, Utah, said: “Jesus is pleased with our willingness to step forward and when we say, ‘Here am I; send me.’ Also, Jesus answers us in ways that we never expect.”
