PROVO, Utah — "What a tremendous opportunity to be walking across the stage of life at this remarkable and wonderful season," President Gordon B. Hinckley declared June 25 to new mission presidents and their wives as he spoke of the approach of a new century and a new millennium.

"There have been only a few millennia since Adam and Eve walked out of the garden. There have only been two millennia since the Savior walked the Earth. And you are going to be out doing His work during this change of millennia. I think it is a marvelous thing. The Church is really doing so well. I feel like saying hallelujah! Keep it up! Go forward with faith!"

President Hinckley was the concluding speaker at the annual New Mission Presidents Seminar at the Missionary Training Center here June 22-25. He was accompanied by his wife, Marjorie. The seminar concluded after his address. In the few days following the seminar, new presidents and their wives embarked for their mission fields where they, in most cases, spent only a few hours with their predecessors before assuming the helms of one-third of the Church's missions.

Following his address to the new mission presidents, President and Sister Hinckley were taken from the training center's Wilford Woodruff Administration Building, where the new mission presidents were assembled, to the training center auditorium, which was filled with missionaries. Missionaries also lined the walkways between the buildings hoping to catch a glimpse of their leader. Sister Hinckley spoke briefly to the missionaries and bore her testimony.

In his address to the mission presidents, President Hinckley encouraged the new leaders to "give to the Lord the very best you have. Thank Him every day for what good has been accomplished. Thank Him every night for the activity, for the dedication, for the wonderful work of those young men and women and a few older ones who are placed under your direction. What a great season of life this is."

The Church leader recalled that it was 66 years ago this month when, as a young man, he left for his mission. "As I got on the train, my father handed me a card, a little 3 X 5 card, and on it were typed the words: 'Be not afraid, only believe.'

"I know some of you are frightened. I am always reminded of Paul's great words to Timothy: 'For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.' (2 Tim. 1:7-8.)

"That is a tremendous statement," said President Hinckley. "I picture Timothy as a young man in a white shirt, with a girl at home who is just framing a letter, a 'Dear John,' to him, and so on. Paul writes to him in the midst of his affliction. 'For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power' — the power of the priesthood, the power of our calling, the power of our message. 'And of love' — love for the people, love for our field of responsibility, love for the Lord whom we serve, 'And of a sound mind' — which I interpret to be the consistency, simplicity and wonderful aspects of the gospel message."

" 'Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.' I love that mandate. I think it is tremendous.

"I hope, my brothers and sisters, that you can infuse your missionaries with the spirit of capturing every great opportunity that comes their way. They will have failures, you'll have failures. They will have disappointments, you'll have disappointments. Discouragement can become contagious. You must rise above it and lift those about you."

President Hinckley emphasized the importance of the gospel message. "Our message is so imperative, when you stop to think that the salvation, the eternal salvation of the world, rests upon the shoulders of this Church. When all is said and done, if the world is going to be saved, we have to do it. There is no escaping from that. No other people in the history of the world have received the kind of mandate that we have received. We are responsible for all who have lived upon the earth. That involves our family history and temple work. We are responsible for all who now live upon the earth, and that involves our missionary work. And we are going to be responsible for all who will yet live upon the earth.

"No one ever received a greater or more compelling mandate than we of this Church have received, and we'd better be getting at it."

He expressed his love for the new leaders. "I just cannot get over the great feeling of love which I have in my heart for you wonderful men and women who are going out, leaving behind all that is dear and precious to you to go out and preside over missions. I pray the Lord will bless you. I pray that His watchcare will be over you. I pray that you'll be protected from accident and harm."

He asked that the mission leaders regard the missionaries as companions, not servants. "You'll have no success except their success. And you must never, never lose sight of that."

Later, in his address to the missionaries, President Hinckley observed that the missionaries "look just great. I hope that every one of you is going to be the kind of missionary that your mother thinks you are. If you are that kind of a missionary, you'll be all right. Write that in your journal and live up to it."

Missionaries, as a group, are a phenomenon, a "remarkable body of people," he said. He told of his missionary training. "President David O. McKay was one of our instructors. I shall never forget that he came over and instructed us. He said, 'Each of you is an ambassador plenipotentiary of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now that word plenipotentiary is a $66 dollar word. Not many of us knew what it meant. But what it means is simply this: you go out as an ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ, with full powers, plenary powers, if you will, to represent Him before the world. The fact is that on your narrow shoulders rests the name and the message and the reputation of this Church."

He said that missionaries are the Church to those on whom they call. "Go with a smile on your face. Be happy in this work. A friendly reception never came to a man with a frown. Smile."

As the missionaries laughed, he said: "That's better — you just look better when you are smiling. Be happy about it. Wear on your countenance the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the 'good news' which He came into the world to communicate to the world. Be happy about it."

President Hinckley counseled each missionary to look for the best in his or her companion. The companion "is there for a purpose. He isn't there just to decorate you. He's there to make you shine, he's there to serve a great purpose. Think of what life would be without your companion. Getting up every morning alone, going out to work, knocking on doors every day, alone. Pretty scary, wouldn't it be? I think it would. Be grateful for your companions. I thank the Lord and will always be grateful for my companions in the mission field. I had only three of them during the two years I was there." He said he had the same companion for 15 months, "What a wonderful young man he was. How I loved him, and I hope he loved me. We became fast and good and wonderful friends."

Reflecting on his mission, President Hinckley said, "I see that it did so much for me, far greater than the time spent, two years. The things that happened in my life transcend so many other values. I am here today because of that mission, and I plead with you now to make the most of your missions."

He counseled, "The message you carry is a precious and wonderful message. There is no greater message in all the world than this of which you bear testimony."

This testimony, he said, "will grow stronger in the field, and I pray that you will never lose it, as long as you live, and that from this remarkable experience will come strength and faith and power for all the years that follow throughout your life."