Magazine prints special issues
E-mail story
It's easy. Send a link to the story you were just reading to a friend. Just fill out the form on this page and we'll send it along.
Your name and e-mail address are transmitted to the recipient. Otherwise, it is considered private information; see Privacy policy.
The New Era, long dedicated to the development of the youth of the Church, devotes special interest in the upcoming March issue to the purposes of missionary work and the preparation of young men and young women to serve as missionaries.
"The Lord has given no greater charge to His people than sharing the gospel with our Heavenly Father's children," said Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve in his message titled, "How to Prepare to Be a Good Missionary."
the message of the gospel throughout the world. Covers feature missionaries serving in Fiji.
Later in his message, Elder Ballard added, "Youth ought to get acquainted with what goes on in missionary work."
With that encouragement, the 68-page March issue of the New Era and Liahona magazines includes a message from President Gordon B. Hinckley on the blessings of a mission and a message from President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, on the five M's of successful missionary work: the message, the missionary, the member, the mission and the mission president. There is also a description of life at the missionary training center, and an hour-by-hour recounting of a typical day in the mission field.
This issue also clarifies the various steps in the application process.
An article, titled "Your Call to Serve," leads the future missionary applicant through the process, beginning with the temporal aspects of financing a mission as well as health and well being, and the spiritual preparation which requires the removal of obstacles through repentance that would hinder the influence of the Holy Ghost.
The article notes how the application process should begin four months in advance of the time the missionary can leave on a mission, assuring sufficient time to complete all requirements.
A testimony by Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve offers insight into the spiritual process of assigning missionaries.
"We go into a room ... it will be a two- or three-hour session and sometimes longer.... Within minutes, and sometimes less than a minute, the impression comes so powerfully that it would be, if it were a single instance, something that you would never forget. Can you imagine sitting there for hours at a time, having that happen time after time without interruption? I testify to you that it is real."
At some point during the application process, whether it comes before the arrival of the white envelope announcing the mission, or whether it comes later, most missionaries will feel something of the weight of their calling and wonder about their worthiness and readiness.
"I want to serve a mission," wrote one prospective missionary, "but I feel that my testimony should be stronger. What should I do?"
Answers to such questions are provided by priesthood leaders and by the personal experiences from other young men and young women.
"To find and teach and baptize and confirm someone who has never paid much attention to God or to Christ and His great atoning sacrifice is one of the greatest services a priesthood holder can provide," wrote Elder Ballard.
"This issue of the New Era, as well as a section of the Liahona on the same theme, will help youth throughout the Church become missionaries now and prepare to be full-time missionaries in the future," said Elder Gerald N. Lund of the Seventy, an executive director of the Missionary Department and an advisor to the New Era.
"The responsibility to share the message of the Restored Gospel to the world has been a hallmark of the Church from its earliest beginnings. This special issue will help both parents and leaders as they guide and encourage the youth to prepare themselves for this important responsibility."
One of the first principles highlighted in the issue is the call for missionaries to be self-reliant.
"Young people ought to learn to take care of themselves and not be so dependent on their mother or father," wrote Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve.
Such missionaries "know within themselves that they can succeed no matter where they are sent and no matter the circumstances. They know they are tough enough to handle anything in a world that is becoming less interested in the things of God. We need missionaries with that kind of self-assurance."
E-mail to: shaun@desnews.com
