President Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Presidents help missionaries reach their potential
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Related stories from the 2011 Seminar for New Mission Presidents:
President Monson: 'Precious commodity entrusted to your care'
President Henry B. Eyring: Holy Spirit will help missionaries succeed
President Boyd K. Packer: A voice felt, rather than heard
Elder Russell M. Nelson: Learn, live and teach the doctrine of Christ
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: Mission president, trainer important to new missionaries
Elder David A. Bednar: Becoming a 'Preach My Gospel' missionary
Elder D. Todd Christofferson: Faith in Christ is an 'upward cycle'
Elder Richard G. Hinckley: Recent changes intended to encourage senior couples to serve missions
PROVO, UTAH
Mission presidents have been called to help missionaries focus on their purpose: to invite others to come unto Christ, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf told 128 departing presidents and their wives June 24 at the 2011 Seminar for New Mission Presidents.
"In all that you do, no matter how routine your tasks may occasionally seem, you should see yourself and your missionaries from the eternal perspective of our Heavenly Father's plan of salvation for his children," he said.
While the mission presidents' calling is to increase the number of new and enduring converts to the Church, it is also to assist local leaders and members to establish and strengthen the Church, he said.
"These members represent a vital source of strength and spiritual power for you and your missionaries," he declared.
"Remember, the missionaries and the members need to work together. Missionaries and members belong to the same church, even though at times it might appear otherwise. The Lord said, 'Be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine' (Doctrine and Covenants 38:27)."
President Uchtdorf counseled the presidents to treat the members as if all of the mission's success depended on them. "Teach the missionaries to pray, find, teach, have faith and work as if all the mission's success depended on their own efforts. And then, at the end, and above all, help both to understand that this is not about them, but that this is the Lord's work and that we need to trust and rely on Him always."
He asked them to teach their missionaries that the fruits of their own labors will reach beyond their present horizon. "Generations to come will be grateful and bless their names for their faithfulness and dedication."
He expressed gratitude that many years ago missionaries from California serving in Germany found a family "out of which came this wonderful daughter of Zion, my wife."
President Uchtdorf said, "As these young missionaries arrive in your missions, endure rejection, loneliness, self-doubt, homesickness, exhaustion and temptation, the refiner's fire will purify their souls. They will increase in wisdom and grow up in the Lord. And as they stay faithful, their confidence will wax strong in the presence of God."
He admonished the presidents not to underestimate their influence on the missionaries.
"I remember the time when our son and later our grandsons served missions. They wrote in their weekly letters about the greatness of their mission presidents and how these men were inspired from on high in teaching them wonderful principles. It appeared almost as if they had never heard them before."
He endorsed the missionary guide Preach My Gospel as offering "more than enough topics for three years of teaching and training," and he said he believes in role play as a method to increase the confidence of missionaries in applying the principles they learn.
"Preach My Gospel has been designed to give the missionaries great responsibility and great flexibility to teach by the Spirit," he said. "Your missionaries have been called of God and given great resources of power. You have been called to help them rise to these expectations."
An airline captain by profession, President Uchtdorf drew an analogy from aviation.
A passenger aircraft, he said, moves nicely along narrow taxiways and through tight turns, even though it feels a bit clumsy on the ground.
Once in the air, after the landing gear and wing flaps are retracted, thus removing drag, the airplane begins to operate at its true potential — reacting smoothly and instantly to the inputs of the pilot controls, gaining altitude and reaching out to destinations far away beyond the horizon."
He explained, "Sometimes I think missionaries are going through a similar experience. They may arrive in the mission field a little clumsy. As you help them to get rid of some drag, ... as you guide them to develop some swift acceleration and extra lift, they will discover their true potential and finally become what they are meant to be. They will become true servants of the Lord, following His promptings, reacting promptly to the Spirit, magnifying their callings, climbing through their mission to great spiritual heights and stretching out to divine destinations for themselves and for those with whom they will be in contact."
He gave five suggestions to help bring about such spiritual transformation in young servants of the Lord:
1. "What is important to you will become important to your missionaries."
2. "Be an example of Christlike love, and express that love frequently to your missionaries, to the members and to all with whom you come in contact."
3. "Emphasize that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are the foundation of conversion, retention and activation."
4. "Point your missionaries toward the Savior and His atonement. Teach and testify frequently of the Savior and express your love for Him."
5. "Your primary source of support is from on high. … As servants of the Lord, you and your wife are entitled to our Heavenly Father's help. Humbly seek His guidance through prayer and fasting, by study and also by faith. Act, and do not wait to be acted upon."
