Lord will aid those whom He calls
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PROVO, UTAH
For newly called mission presidents and their wives, President Henry B. Eyring has a simple message: "You are never alone in the Lord's work."
President Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, expressed that message June 24 at the annual Seminar for New Mission Presidents held at the Missionary Training Center.
"You will have times when you wonder if the call you have is beyond you," President Eyring said. "You may even wonder, 'Is this too much for me?'
"I have had such moments. And I have learned to banish them quickly. If you let them linger, they grow, and then your power to serve diminishes. That will be as much a danger for your missionaries as it is for you and for me."
He said the thought that one is never alone in the Lord's work has taken away his self-doubt as he labored in a call from the Lord to serve that has seemed to be beyond him.
Citing Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon, the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees, President Eyring commented that the Lord of the vineyard labored with his servants. "If we could feel the reality of what it means to be called into the vineyard to labor with Him, He could replace our self-doubt with courage to go forward," President Eyring said.
He then shared a personal incident that occurred soon after he was called to serve in the Quorum of the Twelve. President James E. Faust, then of the First Presidency, told him in private that he had been watching him, and it appeared Elder Eyring was beginning to feel doubt that he was qualified for the call. Anticipating some reassurance, the new apostle was surprised when President Faust answered the expected question by pointing upward and saying, "Don't ask me. Ask Him."
"It has taken me years to see and feel what he was teaching me," President Eyring remarked. "He knew that the only source for the answer to my question was the Lord of the vineyard. ... Only the Lord knew in what way the Atonement and the Holy Ghost had changed and purified me."
President Eyring said he has learned how to seek and then to feel assurance that he is approved enough to go forward in confidence.
"Everyone needs that assurance," he observed. "Your missionaries will seek it from you. They are grateful when you praise them." Such recognition is pleasing, he acknowledged, but added, "Only God is a sure source of the accolade: 'Well done, thou good and faithful servant.' And the accolade we need is to know that by serving Him faithfully, we have become more like Him."
Such awareness could shape the praise the presidents give their missionaries, President Eyring suggested. "You will tend to praise them more for what they are becoming than for what they have done. You will help them recognize their growth in character. You will note how what they have done has helped you discern in them what God has helped them to become."
President Eyring identified what seemed to him a "disconnect" when he first studied the official missionary guide, Preach My Gospel. Filled with direct commands for action, the book nevertheless states: "Your success as a missionary is measured primarily by your commitment to find, teach, baptize and confirm people and to help them become faithful members of the Church who enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost."
President Eyring admonished: "Avoid comparing yourself to other missionaries and measuring the outward results of your efforts against theirs. Remember that people have agency to choose whether to accept your message. Your responsibility is to teach clearly and powerfully so they can make a correct choice."
Missionaries and their leaders may be saddened at times when some do not accept their message, saddened because they love them and desire their salvation. "You should not, however, become discouraged," he said. "Discouragement will weaken your faith. If you lower your expectations, your effectiveness will decrease, your desire will weaken and you will have greater difficulty following the Spirit."
President Eyring said he has come to know that the most certain evidence of the Lord's approval is that the Lord trusts him by sending the Spirit to testify, guide and help him in the harvest. "I find that comes only after prayer, searching the scriptures and the words of the living prophets, exact obedience, love of others, humbly listening to the Spirit and long and painful labor."
