Quotes of the Week:
Prepare well for a mission all your life, not just six months or a year before you go. . .
We want young men entering the mission field who can enter "on the run," who have the faith born of personal righteousness and clean living so that they can have a great and productive mission.
--Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, 5/86
Suffering can make Saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering and self-mastery. The sufferings of our Savior were part of his education.
--Spencer W. Kimball, BYU Speeches of the Year, 1955
Further Reading:
Neal A. Maxwell, "Content with the Things Allotted unto Us," Ensign, 5/00, 72 M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, 4/02, 66-73
Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, 1/11, 4
Handouts:
Alma 17:2--Searched the Scriptures Diligently
Preach My Gospel, p. xRichard G. Scott taught, "Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need. Spiritually sensitive information should be kept in a sacred place that communicates to the Lord how you treasure it. This practice enhances the likelihood of your receiving further light" (Ensign, 11/93, 86).
Your study journal may be a bound journal, a notebook, or a binder. Record and organize your thoughts and impressions in a way that fits how you learn. Develop your own system to easily access key information in the future. Use it often to review, access, and apply what you have learned. Use your study journal to take notes and record impressions.
Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, 11/79, p. 64-65
To understand requires more than casual reading or perusal--there must be concentrated study. . . . not only should we study each day, but there should be a regular time set aside when we can concentrate without interference. . . . The important thing is to allow nothing else to ever interfere with our study. . . . There are some who read to a schedule of a number of pages or a set number of chapters each day or week. . . . It is better to have a set amount of time to give scriptural study each day than to have a set amount of chapters to read. Sometimes we find that the study of a single verse will occupy the whole time.
Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, 5/86
When individual members and families immerse themselves in the scriptures regularly and consistently, . . . other areas of activity will automatically come. Testimonies will increase. Commitment will be strengthened. Families will be fortified. Personal revelation will flow.
Alma 17:2-3--Successful Mission Preparation
Unlocking the Book of Mormon, p. 251(summarizing 17:2-3)1. Be "in the Lord" by following our Savior and keeping His commandments.
2. Wax strong in the knowledge of the truth.
3. Be of a sound understanding.
4. Search the scriptures diligently to know the word of God.
5. Pray and fast.
Regarding this preparation, Gordon B. Hinckley said, "Our young people have an obligation to prepare themselves for missionary service. . . . Live for the opportunity when you may go out as a servant of the Lord and an ambassador of eternal truth to the people of the world."
Spencer W. Kimball, Regional Representative Seminar, 4/3/75
"Oh, our beloved Father in Heaven, bring about the time when we may be able to bring in large numbers as Ammon and his brethren did--thousands of conversions, not dozens, not tens or fives or ones, thousands of conversions. The Lord promised it; He fulfills His promises.
"Please, Father, open the doors of the nations."
Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, 11/02
We must raise the bar on the worthiness and qualifications of those who go into the world as ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thomas S. Monson, Ensign, 1/11, quoting General Conference 10/10
Every worthy, able young man should prepare to serve a mission. Such service is a priesthood duty—an obligation the Lord expects of us who have been given so very much. Young men, I admonish you to prepare for service as a missionary. Keep yourselves clean and pure and worthy to represent the Lord. Maintain your health and strength. Study the scriptures. Where such is available, participate in seminary and institute. Familiarize yourself with the missionary handbook Preach My Gospel.
Sisters, while you do not have the same priesthood responsibility as do the young men to serve as full-time missionaries, you also make a valuable contribution as missionaries, and we welcome your service.
To the mature brothers and sisters of the Church, I remind you that the Lord needs many, many more of you to serve as full-time missionaries. If you are not yet at the season of life to serve a couples mission, I urge you to prepare now for the day when, as your circumstances allow, you and your spouse might do so. There are few times in your lives when you will enjoy the sweet spirit and satisfaction that come from giving full-time service together in the work of the Master.
Now, some of you may be shy by nature or consider yourselves inadequate to respond affirmatively to the call to serve. Remember that this is the Lord’s work, and when we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. The Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it.
Richard G. Scott, Ensign, 5/06
All that I now hold dear in life began to mature in the mission field. Had I not been encouraged to be a missionary, I would not have the eternal companion or precious family I dearly love. I am confident that I would not have had the exceptional professional opportunities that stretched my every capacity. I am certain that I would not have received the sacred callings with opportunities to serve for which I will be eternally grateful. My life has been richly blessed beyond measure because I served a mission.
Now can you understand why I am so anxious to motivate every one of you young men to be a worthy missionary?
I urge you not to pray to know whether you should go; rather, ask the Lord to guide you in whatever may be necessary to become a worthy, empowered full-time missionary. You will never regret serving a mission, but you most probably will regret not serving if that is your choice.
Alma 18:3-9--Service Softens Hearts
Henry B. Eyring, Ensign, 2/04King Lamoni had been brought up with a belief that there was a God but that whatever the king did was right. He had been specifically taught false doctrine that might have made him impervious to feelings of guilt.
. . . Never underestimate the spiritual value of doing temporal things well for those whom you serve.
Vaughn J. Featherstone, New Era, 1975
"Would that our Father, our Heavenly King, could say this about his children--that we remembered all of his commandments to execute them. What would our Heavenly King have us do as his children? We should be faithful in filling every assignment. We ought to be virtuous and pure and trustworthy. We ought to stand steadfast in our callings, filling them in the same dedicated and loyal fashion in which Ammon filled his assignments as a servant of the king."
Alma 18:24-28--Building on Common Beliefs
Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, 11/02, 81We say in a spirit of love, bring with you all that you have of good and truth which you have received from whatever source, and come and let us see if we may add to it. This invitation I extend to men and women everywhere.
Unlocking the Book of Mormon, p. 255
While president of the Central States Mission, Elder Alvin R. Dyer conducted a mission-wide research poll among all of the converts of the mission, asking them to declare when they first knew that the gospel was true. Several thousand participated in the project. Elder Dyer learned that 82% of the converts knew the gospel was true the first time they heard the missionaries bear witness of it. Thus, in most cases, the transforming witness came not after a period of experience with the Church, but immediately upon hearing the message for the first time as the missionaries spoke with the power of the Spirit. Elder Dyer testified that this phenomenon was a substantiation of the Savior's statement: "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27).
Alma 19:16-36--Abish, A Believer In the Savior's Hands
M. Russell Ballard, Ensign, 4/02, 66-73When God asked who would come to earth to prepare a way for all mankind to be saved and strengthened and blessed, it was Jesus Christ who said, simply, “Here am I, send me” (Abr. 3:27).
Just as the Savior stepped forward to fulfill His divine responsibilities, we have the challenge and responsibility to do likewise. If you are wondering if you make a difference to the Lord, imagine the impact when you make commitments such as the following:“Father, if You need a woman to rear children in righteousness, here am I, send me.”
“If You need a woman who will shun vulgarity and dress modestly and speak with dignity and show the world how joyous it is to keep the commandments, here am I, send me.”
“If You need a woman who can resist the alluring temptations of the world by keeping her eyes fixed on eternity, here am I, send me.”
“If You need a woman of faithful steadiness, here am I, send me.”
Between now and the day the Lord comes again, He needs women in every family, in every ward, in every community, in every nation who will step forward in righteousness and say by their words and their actions, “Here am I, send me.”
My question is, “Will you be one of those women? And will you men who hold the priesthood answer the same call?” Now, I know most of you want to. But how will you do it? How, in a world filled with deceptive messages about women and the family—and the significance of both to the Lord—will you perpetually respond to the Lord, “Here am I, send me”?
For those who really want to live up to who you are, for those who at all costs want to repent if necessary and who want to see through Satan’s deceptions, I have two suggestions: First, listen to and follow those whom we sustain as prophets, seers, and revelators. Second, learn to hear the voice of the Spirit, or the voice of the Lord as communicated by the power of the Holy Ghost.
Alma 22:18--Give Away All Sins
Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, 11/02We cannot know the meaning of all things right now. But we can know, right now, that God knows us and loves us individually!
But, brothers and sisters, what keeps us from knowing and loving Him more? Our reluctance to give away all our sins, thinking instead that a down payment will do.
Alma 23:17-18--Anti-Nephi-Lehies
Unlocking the Book of Mormon, p. 268The Lamanites converted by the four sons of Mosiah and their missionary companions took upon themselves the name of "Anti-Nephi-Lehies." The "Nephi-Lehi" part of the title probably had reference to the lands of Nephi and Lehi (or the people living in those lands) rather than to the descendants of Nephi or Lehi.
However, Dr. Hugh Nibley has found "a Semitic and common Indo-European root corresponding to anti that means 'in the face of' or 'facing,' as of one facing a mirror, and by extension either 'one who opposes' or 'one who imitates.'" Thus the term "Anti-Nephi-Lehies" might refer to those who imitate the teachings of the descendants of Nephi and Lehi.
Alma 24:17-19--Burying Our Weapons Deep
Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness, 171-72 (emphasis added)In abandoning sin one cannot merely wish for better conditions. He must make them. He may need to come to hate the spotted garments and loathe the sin. He must be certain not only that he has abandoned the sin but that he has changed the situations surrounding the sin. He should avoid the places and conditions and circumstances where the sin occurred, for these could most readily breed it again. He must abandon the people with whom the sin was committed. He may not hate the persons involved but he must avoid them and everything associated with the sin. . . . He must eliminate anything which would stir the old memories.
Alma 26:5,11--Instrument in the Lord's Hands
Thomas S. Monson, To the Rescue, p. 4
I firmly believe that the sweetest experience in mortality is to know that our Heavenly Father has worked through us to accomplish an objective in the life of another person."
Alma 26:30--Humility
Ezra Taft Benson, as cited in Unlocking the Book of Mormon, p. 275The Lord has said that no one can assist with this work unless he is humble and full of love. . . . But humility does not mean weakness. It does not mean timidity; it does not mean fear. A man can be humble and also fearless. A man can be humble and also courageous. Humility is the recognition of our dependence upon a higher power, a constant need for the Lord's support in His work.
Alma 29:3--Be Content
Neal A. Maxwell, "Content with the Things Allotted unto Us", Ensign, May 2000, 72A significant spiritual journey is thus reflected in but nine soliloquy-like verses.
The same contentment awaits us if our own desires can be worked through and aligned.
Being content means acceptance without self-pity. Meekly borne, however, deprivations such as these can end up being like excavations that make room for greatly enlarged souls.
Some undergo searing developments that cut suddenly into mortality’s status quo. Some have trials to pass through, while still others have allotments they are to live with.
Thus, developing greater contentment within certain of our existing constraints and opportunities is one of our challenges. Otherwise we may feel underused, underwhelmed, and underappreciated—while, ironically, within our givens are unused opportunities for service all about us. Neither should we pine away, therefore, for certain things outside God’s givens, such as for the powerful voice of an angel, because there is so much to do within what has been allotted to us (see Alma 29:3–4). Furthermore, varied as our allotted circumstances may be, we can still keep the commandments of God!
We need not be situated in prime time with prime visibility in order to work out our own salvation!
Ponder how Jesus was and is the Lord of the universe (see D&C 45:1; D&C 76:24; Moses 1:33; Moses 2:1). Yet His ministry, as we all know, was accomplished in a very tiny geographical space. His ministerial travels were very limited. Yet therein the Savior accomplished the Atonement for all of mankind! There were certainly much more prominent hills than Golgotha and much more resplendent gardens than Gethsemane. No matter; these were sufficient to host the central act of all human history!
The Lord knows our circumstances and the intents of our hearts, and surely the talents and gifts He has given us. He is able to gauge perfectly how we have performed within what is allotted to us, . . . Thus, yearning for expanded opportunities while failing to use those at hand is bad form spiritually.
What we could and have done within our allotted acreage, therefore, is known perfectly by the Master of the vineyard.
Neal A. Maxwell, BYU Devotional, 10/10/78
"The truth about foreordination also helps us to taste the deep wisdom of alma, when he said we ought to be content with things that God hath allotted to each of us. If, indeed, the things allotted each of us have been divinely customized according to our ability and capacity, then for us to seek to wrench ourselves free of our schooling circumstances could be to tear ourselves away from carefully matched opportunities. To rant and to rail could be to go against divine wisdom, wisdom in which we may have once concurred before we came here. God knew beforehand each of our coefficients for coping and contributing and has so ordered our lives."
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