'I am with thee,' the Lord told Paul, the missionary
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"Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:
"For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee:" (Acts 18:9-10.)This passage of scripture implies it is not always easy to be a missionary. Several of the Lord's apostles and prophets in this dispensation have acknowledged the challenges of missionary work and the accompanying rewards.
President Ezra Taft Benson, in addressing mission presidents in 1986, cited the words of encouragement given Paul in Acts 18:9-10. President Benson added: "The Lord will sustain members in their missionary responsibility if they just have the faith to try...Share with them the joy they will experience by finding and fellowshipping friends and neighbors."
President Joseph Fielding Smith declared: "It is true that not every man is a natureal missionary, and there are those who shrink from the responsibility of raising their voices in proclamation of the gospel, and yet this is an obligation that we owe to this fallen world. The elders in the very beginning have been commanded to serve the Lord with all their `heart, might, mind and strength,' for the field is white and ready for the harvest.
"A penalty was to be inflicted upon those who failed and they were not to stand blameless at the alst day. The preaching of the gospel was to be a means to them by which they were not to perish, but bring salvation to their souls. There are many who have been sent forth who have had a fear of man, yet the Lord has promised to support them in their labors if they will trust in Him." (Church History and Modern Revelation, 1:220-221.)
In the April 1922 general conference, Elder George Albert Smith declared: "It is not an easy task; it is not a pleasant thing, perhaps, to be called out into the world, to leave our dear ones, but I say to you that it will purchase for those who are faithful, for those who discharge that obligation as they may be required, peace and happiness beyond all understanding...[It] will prepare them that, in due time, when life's labor is complete, they will stand in the presence of their Maker, accepted of Him because of what they have done."
