This week I was going to write you about having a vision and goal setting. I thought that it would be an appropriate topic for the start of the new year and your transition to the mission field coming up. But in light of your letter, I chose a different topic for today. I wanted to address some of the things your former MTC President said at the close of his service there. My object in writing you is not to discredit or undermine the words of your former MTC President. I do, however, hope to offer an alternative perspective of his words which you may take however you would like.
This is a quote taken from your email, “When he talked about obedience, I realized that I had been thinking about obedience wrong. Obedience in the mission field is not about me, it’s about love for my investigators and my trust in God. If I am less obedient, I will have less sensitivity to the Spirit and will not be able to teach my investigators as effectively!”
I have many thoughts about obedience in the mission field, and I am sure I will write several more emails on the topic, some of them expounding on ideas I will present today. I’ll start by quickly addressing the second sentence of the above quote. I love the first clause of that sentence. Obedience is not about you. I believe that is absolutely correct. I would change the second clause of the sentence a little bit though. I think obedience is about love for God and Jesus Christ first, and about your discipleship to Them, and secondly about love for your fellow man – your investigators and companions (see Matthew 22:36-40) – and your trust in the servants God has called. It is also about the Gospel principle of submission.
I changed the phrase from “trust in God” to “trust in the servants God has called” because the mission handbook referred to as the “white bible” is not a Bible at all (not even in the linguistic sense of the word as it means “a collection of books”). The “thou shalt’s” and “thou shalt not’s” of the “white bible” are written by men, albeit inspired men, and they are policies, not doctrines. They are not even on the same plane as the “thou shalt’s” and “thou shalt not’s” of the doctrinal ten commandments written by the finger of God. Mission rules were not written by God; they were written by His servants to whom He delegated authority. We have to trust them because they are the authors. God is not the author, although I feel certain He inspired much of the book.
But I want to focus on the third sentence today, as it causes me the most concern. There is an ugly, viscous chain of thought that can result from this idea. It says, “If I am not obedient, then I can’t have the companionship of the Spirit. If I can’t have the companionship of the Spirit, then I can’t teach my investigators effectively. If I can’t teach my investigators effectively, then I am useless as a missionary. If I am useless as a missionary, I might as well go home.” Oftentimes, if allowed to get that far, the chain can lead to misery and leaving the Church. My goal today is to break this chain at every link.
In the Church, we often talk about “being worthy” whether it be to take the sacrament, to be baptized, to enter the temple, or to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. God is the Judge. He delegates His authority as judge to chosen servants, which include bishops, stake presidents, and mission presidents. That is why they are often referred to as judges in Israel (D&C 107:68-76). It is through their keys, that people are interviewed and found worthy to take the sacrament, be baptized, and enter the temple. But to whom has God delegated the authority to judge one’s worthiness to have the companionship of the Spirit? I know of no scripture that answers that question, and so I assume God has reserved that authority for Himself.
God is the Owner of truth. When we tell ourselves that we are unworthy of the Spirit, a decision that is apparently not ours to make, we pit our perception of truth against God’s ownership of it. We cannot limit God’s power to bless us with the Spirit in this way, but we can limit our ability to receive the blessings of the Spirit. Let God decide. Don’t limit yourself by assuming you can’t have the company of the Spirit. In my opinion, if you can answer the temple recommend questions honestly, and are therefore worthy to enter the celestial room of the temple, which is a representation of the Celestial Kingdom of God, which is in the presence of God the Father, you are probably worthy to be in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Hopefully that was enough to break the first link so let’s move on to the second, “If I can’t have the companionship of the Spirit, then I can’t teach my investigators effectively.” Of all of the links of the chain, this one probably holds the most truth. Lies are often beneath absolutism, and that is the case in this example too. Without the companionship of the Spirit, you certainly can’t teach investigators as effectively, but it may not be correct to say that you can’t teach them effectively at all. After all, an investigator’s conversion depends on whether or not they feel the Spirit regardless of the spiritual state of the missionary, and anyone can feel the Spirit, no matter how sinful their lifestyle. If that were not so, repentance would be extremely difficult and rare and maybe even impossible. A truly prepared person will be converted as they feel the Spirit testify of the truths that are taught to them.
When it comes down to it, you’ll probably see as I’ve seen that the most disobedient and unspiritual missionaries often baptize more, sometimes much more, than the most obedient and spiritual missionaries. And I’m not talking about baptisms that go inactive in a week. I’m talking about real conversions. I can’t explain it. It happens.
On to the third link of the chain, “If I can’t teach my investigators effectively, then I am useless as a missionary.” Chapter 1 of Preach My Gospel does a great job of breaking this link. “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 ho enjoy the presence of the Holy Ghost.” It’s interesting that by this measure, the disobedient missionaries who don’t work hard but baptize a lot are not as successful as the obedient, hard-working missionaries who baptize very little. It is also noteworthy that success is based on your commitment to teach and not necessarily your effectiveness as a teacher. Other measures of your success as a missionary listed in Preach My Gospel include loving the people and desiring their salvation, developing Christ-live attributes, seeking earnestly to improve, and going about doing good. If you don’t teach effectively as a missionary, but you do these things, you are in no way useless as a missionary. It’s not all about teaching investigators and helping them to convert, it’s more about your own conversion.
The fourth and final link of the terrible chain is, “If I am useless as a missionary, then I might as well go home.” The missionary at this stage has lost hope. He has lost hope in the Gospel of change through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He feels that his condition is irreversible, and so he gives up. It is a tragic scene. If only he could see the measure of Christ’s infinite love for him. If only he could see that “the miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed.” (Brad Wilcox, His Grace Is Sufficient) If only he could see the change that could be wrought in him (Mosiah 5:2). If only he could hear Elder Holland’s words of encouragement, “Don’t you give up… Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead.” (Elder Holland, "An High Priest of Good Things to Come") If only he could see that there is always hope, that “there really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the “light that is endless that can never be darkened.” It is the very Son of God Himself.” (Elder Holland, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come”) If only he could that see the chain can be broken through Christ.
Now, I should make mention that through daily repentance, not even the first link can form. It says instead, “If I am disobedient, then I repent, and the Spirit cleanses me and accompanies me.” Repentance is the great preventive measure. It protects us.
Before concluding, I want to reiterate that this email is largely based on my personal opinion and that I do not claim it to be doctrine. I believe I have met my goal to offer another perspective for you to consider. On that note, I would like to finish with a scripture:
"And now, my brethren, I wish from the inmost part of my heart… that ye would hearken unto my words… and not procrastinate the day of your repentance; But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering; Having faith on the Lord; having a hope that ye shall receive eternal life; having the love of God always in your hearts, that ye may be lifted up at the last day and enter into his rest. And may the Lord grant unto you repentance… that ye may not be bound down by the chains of hell.” (Alma 13:27-30)
I love you, Luke! Keep up the good work.
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