(Source: LDS Living; By: David A. Christensen & Jenny Spencer)
For those supporting missionaries while they’re away, it’s good to help them remember what is or isn’t important to be a “successful” missionary. Here are a few things that will help any missionary be happier, stronger, and a better emissary of Jesus Christ.
Love those who ridicule you.
It is inevitable that every missionary will run into antagonistic people who will belittle their beliefs. But, as Christ said, we are to “turn the other cheek” and still see the other person as a son or daughter of God.
With that in mind, we should still love everyone— even those who attempt to tear us down. David A. Christensen, former MTC and mission president and author of Missionary Questions of the Soul, says, “Dealing with difficult or negative people— people who scoff, scorn, and sneer at that which is true, good, and right—has been one of the challenges of every true disciple of Jesus Christ all through the annals of history. However, how we deal with negativity and agitation is important. We can’t stoop to the ways of the ‘natural man,’ choosing to retort or snap back. We must yield to the enticing of the Holy Spirit.” Missionaries should respect everyone they meet and withhold judgment.
Repent often.
We all make mistakes. Missionaries need to remember that they are just as mortal as their investigators and should repent just as much as they teach repentance. In a recent general conference address, Elder Dale G. Renlund said, “A Saint is a sinner who keeps on trying.”
Missionaries must continually repent and change for the better so that they can more fully testify of the blessings of repentance to others. Christensen says, “Humility is a key to repentance and to being forgiven. It is best for us to choose to be humble by seeking the will of Christ. But because He loves us, the Lord allows our experiences to humble us so that we will repent.”
Read more at LDS Living
