During the Seminar for New Mission Presidents on Monday, June 25, President Thomas S. Monson drew from his wealth of experience to instruct leaders on the keys to successful missionary service.

President Thomas S. Monson shares from wealth of experience to instruct leaders.

The 118 new mission presidents and their wives received four days of training and counsel in the Provo Missionary Training Center prior to assuming leadership for their assigned missions.

"Your call and the call of your missionaries come by prayer," President Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency, assured them. "Each missionary should know that "whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies." The call is "a charge from the Lord, who said, 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

"'Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world"' (Matthew 28:19-20).

A few years ago, a missionary was disappointed with his mission call, he related. President Monson counseled with this young man, and he reluctantly began serving. The young missionary experienced a change of heart in the mission field and he later wrote to President Monson: "You provided me with a sliver of hope that this mission really was where the Lord needed me. I want you to know that I am very grateful I was sent to the mission I was, even though it was the furthest thing I had hoped for. It was a humbling experience.... I had the opportunity to teach a few people and see them repent and be baptized. I have truly been blessed."

A former mission president in Toronto, Canada, President Monson told how, during this service, he became well-acquainted with each missionary, knowing his or her home town, the parents' names and what his or her father did for a living. On occasion, he would go into the nearby woods to pray for his missionaries. "There was a lot I needed to know," he said. "I knew each missionary was the pride of his or her parents. I sought to know how to bless them."

Thoughtful gestures also bless the families as they know their missionary child is loved by the mission president. He told how his wife, Frances, sent cards to the mothers of each missionary for Mother's Day, and how much those were appreciated.

Missionaries are also blessed as they succeed, but in order for missionaries to succeed, they need to be able to find people and teach them the gospel. One way this is done is by working closely with members. "No mission achieves full potential without member help," he said. "Seek it consistently."

Missionaries thrive on referrals from members, he said. He quoted President David O. McKay, who observed: "I think this plan of referrals is one of the best plans that was ever instituted in missionary work. It brings into activity every member of the Church and every member should realize that he or she is a missionary...."

President Monson suggested that as mission presidents set the spiritual tone for the mission, they will encourage missionaries to work in an area, not through it.

He encouraged mission presidents to have good relationships with stake presidents, sharing information about missionary transfers and changes in assignments. "Ignore and you injure; inform and you inspire," he said.

"Under the new approach to teaching, your missionaries should be even better prepared with the content of the discussions and their flow," he said.

Serving their missions well will provide lifetime experiences for mission presidents and their wives that will bless them long after their service has been completed. As the poet James M. Barrie wrote, "God gave us memories, that we might have June roses in the Decembers of our lives."