PROVO, Utah — Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can find the Savior speaking directly to them — if they will liken all scriptures unto themselves, Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught during a Sept. 22 devotional at the Provo Missionary Training Center.
Reading from Matthew 4:19-20, when Jesus invited Simon Peter and Andrew to drop their fishing nets at the Sea of Galilee, Elder Andersen drew a parallel to every missionary who sets aside education, opportunities and the comforts of home and family to serve the Lord.
“Can you see yourself in that experience?” the Apostle said. “These scriptures apply to you, and as you put yourself into them, they will come alive to you in a spiritual way that you haven’t experienced thus far.”
Elder Andersen and his wife, Sister Kathy Andersen, spoke to more than 2,800 missionaries during a Tuesday evening devotional that was also broadcast to MTCs worldwide.
Memorize meaningful scriptures
On many occasions, Elder Andersen has encouraged missionaries to search for meaningful scriptures — “something you read that turns your heart and says inside of you, ‘This is true. I believe this’” — and commit them to memory.
“These scriptures that you memorize on your own, of your own volition, without any compulsion, will come to you at the very moment you need them, and it will come with power,” he said. “And it will stay with you all of your life.”
Sister Andersen said she was inspired after hearing her husband give this counsel to missionaries and began memorizing scriptures — a practice that has been a “great blessing” in her life.
Sister Andersen then recited — from memory — a series of New Testament scriptural passages spoken by the Savior, including: His invitation to “Come, follow me”; the Beatitudes; the Lord’s Prayer; His plea in Gethsemane, “Not as I will, but as Thou wilt”; and His declaration, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
“I love Him. I adore Him. He is our Savior and Redeemer,” Sister Andersen testified.
The Book of Mormon
Elder Andersen encouraged missionaries to immerse themselves in the Book of Mormon. “Nothing speaks so clearly of Christ, and nothing speaks of His Atonement so powerfully,” he said.
From Nephi to Moroni, Book of Mormon prophets testify of the Savior — and studying their words will deepen not only a missionary’s witness of Christ but also of the Restoration, he said.
“It is a book of conversion. As you share it with those that you teach, you will see how their spirits will come alive with the truthfulness of it.”
7 parables
Elder Andersen walked missionaries through seven parables of Jesus Christ, showing how each applies to their service, including the sower (Mark 4:3-20), the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7), the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46) and the 10 virgins (Matthew 25:1-13).
“You take a chapter or a story or a few verses, and you let them sink into your spirit,” he said. “You think about them, you ponder about them, you pray about them, and you say, ‘How does this apply to me? How does this apply to those I’m teaching?’ And as you do that, you will have things come into your mind.”
In the parable of the sower, Elder Andersen told missionaries they are the ones constantly casting seeds. “You can’t decide whether they’re on stony ground or whether they’re on perfect ground,” he said. “You are always speaking of Christ.”
In the parable of the talents, he counseled missionaries not to compare themselves to one another. “Be yourself,” he said, noting that talents will grow throughout a mission and beyond.
Grouping the prodigal son and the lost sheep, Elder Andersen taught that every person a missionary meets — “whether rich or poor, whether famous or totally unknown — has incomparable value to our Heavenly Father.”
With the good Samaritan and the sheep and the goats, Elder Andersen taught missionaries to cultivate compassion — for companions, leaders and those they teach. “Don’t be afraid to weep with those who hurt,” he said.
Elder Andersen concluded with his witness of the Savior.
“Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. He lives,” he testified. “He is the central being of all human history, and just as He has promised, He will come again.”
What missionaries learned
After the devotional, missionaries spoke with the Church News about what they learned from the Spirit while listening to Elder Andersen.
Elder Henry Rose, from Morgan, Utah, assigned to the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar East Mission, said Elder Andersen’s retelling of Simon Peter and Andrew leaving their nets to follow the Savior hit home.
“It really struck me — here I am, I’ve dropped my nets, and I have the opportunity to go and serve my Lord and feel the joy that comes with bringing that gospel to others,” he said. “There are a lot of nets I had, and I loved those nets. ... But I’m so happy to have found this new part of me that is serving the Lord.”
Sister Lucy Rhodehouse, of Pocatello, Idaho, is preparing to serve in the Oregon Eugene Mission. She said Elder Andersen’s remarks about the parable of the lost sheep left a lasting impression.
“The one that stuck out to me the most was when he talked about how every person I meet has value to Heavenly Father,” she said. “I’m going to meet a lot of people, and I need to remember that He loves each and every one of them personally and knows them personally. I need to bring that kind of love when I teach them.”
Elder Camden Hull, of Provo, Utah, going to the Côte d’Ivoire Abidjan South Mission, said he was uplifted and inspired by Elder Andersen’s message.
“I feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders,” he said. “It was a beautiful confirmation that I am doing the right things.”
Sister Kenyon Dewitt, from Snowflake, Arizona, heading to the Missouri St. Louis Mission, said Elder Andersen’s message helped her appreciate something she was already beginning to experience — seeing the scriptures come alive in her daily scripture study.
“It is so much easier to study for long periods of time and to dive deeper into the scriptures here than it ever was at home,” she said.
