It’s hard for me to put into words how I feel about going on a mission. There doesn’t seem to be any right words to do justice to such feelings . So, instead, I’ll share with you what I’ve come to learn as I’ve prepared to serve my mission.
Service is the essence of not just a mission, but of life.
When I first started preparing for my mission, I believed the best way I could do that was to study as much as I could. I put great emphasis and importance on this. Now don’t get me wrong, studying and preparing in this way is very important, after all, how can the Holy Ghost “bring all things to your remembrance,” if we have not studied the word of God, (John 14:26) But there is an equally important aspect of missionary work, of life, and that is service. I’ve come to learn that to be the best missionary I can be, and to be a true daughter of God, I need to be a server of God.
As missionaries, and as members who strive to serve, we stand with some of the greatest servers ever to live. Abinadi, Alma the younger, the sons of Mosiah, the twelve apostles of the Lamb, (to name a few) and even the Saviour himself, because at the heart of missionary work is service. At the heart of service is charity, and at the heart of charity is the pure love of Christ. No wonder King Benjamin taught, “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God,” (Mosiah 2:17)
The Saviour taught Peter the apostle that if he loved the Lord, he must feed His sheep, (see John 21:15-17) Everything we do, everything we are, everything we covenant to be, comes back to the Saviour. We imitate His life and His life was one of service. However we choose to serve, let us be servers of God in all that we do, in all that we say, and in all that we think.
I love my Heavenly Parents, I love my Saviour and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and I love this gospel. I can’t wait to share this love, this blessing, this truth. Remember, we serve in place of the Saviour until He returns again. Do not waste this sacred privilege.