PROVO, Utah — When Jesus Christ invited Peter and Andrew to “follow me,” the two fishermen “straightway left their nets, and followed him” (Matthew 4:19-20).
After describing this account before 1,535 training missionaries, Elder Jonathan S. Schmitt said: “In order for you to commit your whole soul to the Savior and your missionary purpose, I invite you to drop your nets. Like the apostles of old, I invite you to drop them ‘straightway,’ meaning immediately, today.”
Elder Schmitt — a General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Missionary Department — spoke in a Nov. 10 devotional at the Provo Missionary Training Center. He was accompanied by his wife, Sister Alexis Schmitt.
“As you drop your nets and give your all to the Savior, He will bless you with increased joy, increased strength and increased power,” said Elder Schmitt.
He invited listeners to leave behind five “nets” as they begin their missionary service.
1. The net of worldly media and entertainment
If used correctly, technology can help missionaries be more effective at finding, teaching and baptizing God’s children, said Elder Schmitt. However, “stay away from anything online that distracts, degrades or damages your spirit.”
He cautioned missionaries to not bypass the safety features on their phone, to stay away from unauthorized shared media folders and to avoid engaging in inappropriate online chats.
“You’ll be amazed at the miracle that happens when you drop the net of worldly media,” said Elder Schmitt. He noted that such choices “will fill your mind and heart with light and truth” as they receive and recognize spiritual guidance.
2. The net of pornography
The Lord gives missionaries standards to help them protect each other from the “plague of pornography,” such as always staying with a companion.
“To help you drop the net of pornography, the Lord wants to give you power through Jesus Christ,” said Elder Schmitt. “One of the instruments of this power is the Book of Mormon.”
He quoted the late Church President Russell M. Nelson, who in October 2017 said, “I promise that as you daily immerse yourself in the Book of Mormon, you can be immunized against the evils of the day, even the gripping plague of pornography.”
3. The net of casualness
Missionaries have in the temple “entered into the highest and holiest covenants available here on earth,” said Elder Schmitt.
“As you rise up and match your language, your dress and your appearance to your calling as a representative of Jesus Christ, ... you’ll feel an increase of His power flowing through you.”
Dropping the net of casualness requires intentional, persistent effort, he said, but doing so allows missionaries to be transformed by Him.
4. The net of pride and selfishness
Despite His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Savior selflessly prayed, “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).
Said Elder Schmitt: “If we’re going to become like Jesus, we need to do the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way.”
The natural man wants to do things his own way, Elder Schmitt said. However, “as we drop this net — through faith, repentance and seeking to develop the Christlike attributes of humility and meekness — we will be transformed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”
5. The net of unrepented sin
“If there are any of you who are still dragging a net that is filled with unrepented sins, please don’t wait to drop this net.” Elder Schmitt added that “repentance” is perhaps the most joyous and hopeful word in the English vocabulary.
As Doctrine and Covenants 18:11-13 explains, the Savior “hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on conditions of repentance. And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!”
Elder Schmitt said: “Repentance grants us access to the amazing grace of Jesus Christ and the cleansing power of His Atonement. And it brings the Savior joy when we choose to repent.”
‘Commit your whole souls to Jesus Christ’
The word “sacrifice” literally means “to make sacred,” said Elder Schmitt. So as missionaries drop their nets, they “offer [their] whole souls as an offering” unto the Lord (Omni 1:26).
“I invite you to commit your whole souls to Jesus Christ and to your missionary purpose. The power of heaven will be with you as you accept and act on this inspired invitation.”
Sister Isabella Dracoulis from San Antonio, Texas — assigned to the Greece Athens Mission, speaking Greek — said after the devotional that she was taught not to let anything hold her back from serving the Lord. “Helping people come to Christ is His will, and Jesus Christ is the center of our work.”
Sister Alece Schiwek from Stuttgart, Germany — also assigned to the Greece Athens Mission — gained a greater witness of blessings that come by giving oneself to the Lord in service. “I want to put my focus on Christ and not on the small, everyday things that distract me from my purpose.”
‘Through you He will do miracles’
In her remarks, Sister Schmitt said God calls ordinary and unlikely people to do the impossible — Enoch, who was slow of speech; Alma the Younger, who used to be a vile sinner; Joseph Smith, a 14-year-old uneducated farm boy.
“He could have chosen more learned, more religious, more knowledgeable people, but He chose them, the humble followers of Jesus Christ. I testify that through you He will do miracles.”
Heavenly Father is in the details, said Sister Schmitt, and missionaries will be forever blessed because of their willingness to give their all.
“With God nothing is impossible. Christ is in charge of your mission. He’s in charge of this work.”
