feeling sick today, good time to get on the blog and get some studying done. today I read what the for strength of youth has to say about physical and emotional health, and for the most part, everything on there was about the physical side. and I think that its the emotional side that's going to be tough for me. does anybody have any suggestions of places to look for more info?

Becoming a Missionary David A. Bednar You and I, today and always, are to bear witness of Jesus Christ and declare the message of the Restoration. … Missionary work is a manifestation of our spiritual identity and heritage.

      All of us who have received the holy priesthood bear the sacred obligation to bless the nations and families of the earth by proclaiming the gospel and inviting all to receive by proper authority the ordinances of salvation. Many of us have served as full-time missionaries, some of us presently are serving as full-time missionaries, and all of us now are serving and will continue to serve as lifelong missionaries. We are missionaries every day in our families, in our schools, in our places of employment, and in our communities. Regardless of our age, experience, or station in life, we are all missionaries.

Proclaiming the gospel is not an activity in which we periodically and temporarily engage. And our labors as missionaries certainly are not confined to the short period of time devoted to full-time missionary service in our youth or in our mature years. Rather, the obligation to proclaim the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is inherent in the oath and covenant of the priesthood into which we enter. Missionary work essentially is a priesthood responsibility, and all of us who hold the priesthood are the Lord’s authorized servants on the earth and are missionaries at all times and in all places--and we always will be. Our very identity as holders of the priesthood and the seed of Abraham is in large measure defined by the responsibility to proclaim the gospel.

My message tonight is applicable to all of us in our priesthood duty to proclaim the gospel. My specific purpose in this priesthood meeting, however, is to talk candidly with the young men of the Church who are preparing for the call to serve as missionaries. The principles I will discuss with you are both simple and spiritually significant, and they should cause us to ponder, to evaluate, and to improve. I pray for the companionship of the Holy Ghost for me and for you as we consider together this important subject.

A Frequently Asked Question

In meetings with young members of the Church around the world, I often invite those in attendance to ask questions. One of the questions I am asked most frequently by young men is this: “What can I do to prepare most effectively to serve as a full-time missionary?” Such a sincere question deserves a serious response.

My dear young brethren, the single most important thing you can do to prepare for a call to serve is to become a missionary long before you go on a mission. Please notice that in my answer I emphasized becoming rather than going. Let me explain what I mean.

In our customary Church vocabulary, we often speak of going to church, going to the temple, and going on a mission. Let me be so bold as to suggest that our rather routine emphasis on going misses the mark.

The issue is not going to church; rather, the issue is worshipping and renewing covenants as we attend church. The issue is not going to or through the temple; rather, the issue is having in our hearts the spirit, the covenants, and the ordinances of the Lord’s house. The issue is not going on a mission; rather, the issue is becoming a missionary and serving throughout our entire life with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. It is possible for a young man to go on a mission and not become a missionary, and this is not what the Lord requires or what the Church needs.

My earnest hope for each of you young men is that you will not simply go on a mission--but that you will become missionaries long before you submit your mission papers, long before you receive a call to serve, long before you are set apart by your stake president, and long before you enter the MTC.

The Principle of Becoming

Elder Dallin H. Oaks has taught us most effectively about the challenge to become something instead of just doing expected things or performing certain actions:

“The Apostle Paul taught that the Lord’s teachings and teachers were given that we may all attain ‘the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ’ (Eph. 4:13). This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something. …

“… It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of deposits required to be made in some heavenly account. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become” (“The Challenge to Become,” Liahona, Jan. 2001, 40; Ensign, Nov. 2000, 32).

Brethren, the challenge to become applies precisely and perfectly to missionary preparation. Obviously, the process of becoming a missionary does not require a young man to wear a white shirt and tie to school every day or to follow the missionary guidelines for going to bed and getting up, although most parents certainly would support that idea. But you can increase in your desire to serve God (see D&C 4:3), and you can begin to think as missionaries think, to read what missionaries read, to pray as missionaries pray, and to feel what missionaries feel. You can avoid the worldly influences that cause the Holy Ghost to withdraw, and you can grow in confidence in recognizing and responding to spiritual promptings. Line upon line and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, you can gradually become the missionary you hope to be and the missionary the Savior expects.

You will not suddenly or magically be transformed into a prepared and obedient missionary on the day you walk through the front door of the Missionary Training Center. What you have become in the days and months and years prior to your missionary service is what you will be in the MTC. In fact, the nature of the transition through which you will pass in the MTC will be a strong indicator of your progress in becoming a missionary.

As you enter the MTC, you obviously will miss your family, and many aspects of your daily schedule will be new and challenging. But for a young man well on his way to becoming a missionary, the basic adjustment to the rigors of missionary work and lifestyle will not be overwhelming, burdensome, or constraining. Thus, a key element of raising the bar includes working to become a missionary before going on a mission.

Fathers, do you understand your role in helping your son to become a missionary before he goes on a mission? You and your wife are key in the process of his becoming a missionary. Priesthood and auxiliary leaders, do you recognize your responsibility to assist parents and to help every young man become a missionary before he goes on a mission? The bar also has been raised for parents and for all members of the Church. Prayerful pondering of the principle of becoming will invite inspiration tailored to the specific needs of your son or to the young men whom you serve.

The preparation I am describing is not oriented only toward your missionary service as a 19- or 20- or 21-year-old young man. Brethren, you are preparing for a lifetime of missionary work. As holders of the priesthood, we are missionaries always. If you truly progress in the process of becoming a missionary, both before going on a mission and in the mission field, then when the day arrives for your honorable release as a full-time missionary, you will depart from your field of labor and return to your family--but you will never cease your missionary service. A priesthood holder is a missionary at all times and in all places. A missionary is who and what we are as bearers of the priesthood and as the seed of Abraham.

The Seed of Abraham

The heirs of all the promises and covenants made by God to Abraham are referred to as the seed of Abraham (see Bible Dictionary, “Seed of Abraham,” 771). These blessings are obtained only by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Brethren, the process of becoming a missionary is directly related to understanding who we are as the seed of Abraham.

Abraham was a great prophet who desired righteousness and was obedient to all of the commandments he received from God, including the command to offer as a sacrifice his precious son, Isaac. Because of his steadfastness and obedience, Abraham is often referred to as the father of the faithful, and Heavenly Father established a covenant with and promised great blessings to Abraham and his posterity:

“Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

“That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

“And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou has obeyed my voice” (Gen. 22:16–18).

Thus, Abraham was promised a great posterity and that the nations of the earth would be blessed through that posterity.

How are the nations of the earth blessed through the seed of Abraham? The answer to this important question is found in the book of Abraham:

“And I will make of thee [Abraham] a great nation, and I will bless thee above measure, and make thy name great among all nations, and thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in their hands they shall bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations;

“And I will bless them through thy name; for as many as receive this Gospel shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed, and shall rise up and bless thee, as their father” (Abr. 2:9–10).

We learn in these verses that Abraham’s faithful heirs would have the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the authority of the priesthood. Thus, the phrase “bear this ministry and Priesthood unto all nations” refers to the responsibility to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ and to invite all to receive by proper priesthood authority the ordinances of salvation. Truly, great responsibility rests upon the seed of Abraham in these latter days.

How do these promises and blessings relate to us today? Either by literal lineage or adoption, every man and boy within the sound of my voice tonight is a rightful heir to the promises made by God to Abraham. We are the seed of Abraham. One of the primary reasons we receive a patriarchal blessing is to help us more fully understand who we are as the posterity of Abraham and to recognize the responsibility that rests upon us.

My beloved brethren, you and I, today and always, are to bless all peoples in all the nations of the earth. You and I, today and always, are to bear witness of Jesus Christ and declare the message of the Restoration. You and I, today and always, are to invite all to receive the ordinances of salvation. Proclaiming the gospel is not a part-time priesthood obligation. It is not simply an activity in which we engage for a limited time or an assignment we must complete as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rather, missionary work is a manifestation of our spiritual identity and heritage. We were foreordained in the premortal existence and born into mortality to fulfill the covenant and promise God made to Abraham. We are here upon the earth at this time to magnify the priesthood and to preach the gospel. That is who we are, and that is why we are here--today and always.

You may enjoy music, athletics, or be mechanically inclined, and someday you may work in a trade or a profession or in the arts. As important as such activities and occupations can be, they do not define who we are. First and foremost, we are spiritual beings. We are sons of God and the seed of Abraham:

“For whoso is faithful unto the obtaining these two priesthoods of which I have spoken, and the magnifying their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies.

“They become the sons of Moses and of Aaron and the seed of Abraham, and the church and kingdom, and the elect of God” (D&C 84:33–34).

My dear brethren, we have been given much, and much is required of us. May you young men more fully understand who you are as the seed of Abraham and become missionaries long before you go on a mission. After coming back to your homes and families, may you returned missionaries always be missionaries. And may all of us rise up as men of God and bless the nations of the earth with greater testimony and spiritual power than we ever have before.

I declare my witness that Jesus is the Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. I know that He lives! And I witness that we, as holders of the priesthood, are His representatives in the glorious work of proclaiming His gospel, today and always. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Looking Up to Lance

Aunt Kim’s Memory:  I clearly remember looking up to Lance when he was preparing to go on his mission.  I remember being so proud that he had decided to do this and watched as he saved his money, learned the gospel, talked about a mission, and learned practical skills that would help him on his mission.  I’m sure he had no idea how closely I was watching.  

Missouri, Kansas, & Kentucky

Dear Ryker,

As I have looked back at my own missionary preparations I came across a journal entry which I will retell here and have subsequently titled for purposes of this blog Missouri, Kansas, and Kentucky.  I was 20 years old and headed to Utah State University in the fall of 1989.  I felt I needed a car and so my older sister Dana and I set off for St. Louis Missouri where an old car of my Grandpa's who had recently passed away lay unwanted by anyone else.

We flew into the airport there and stayed a day or two at my Uncle Taylor's before heading west to Utah like the early pioneers.  We made it to the middle of No-Where Kansas on a Friday before the old brown sedan started making funny noises.

Now here we were two young girls on the side of a busy freeway, before the time of cellphones.  My sister was at least knowledgeable enough to be "freaking out," as I describe it in my journal, I on the other hand was rather naive and thought of it as a grand adventure.

A big rig rumbled to stop where a rather rough looking trucker in our estimation asked if he could be of assistance.  He assessed Grandpa's car and determined that we wouldn't be able to drive it any further.  We timidly accepted a ride to the next exit from the trucker who turned out to be quite nice.  Aunt Dana recalls that he stayed with us until our car was able to be safely towed to the service station.  The first tow truck driver to show up was drunk and the truck driver sent him away.  Aunt Dana writes of the truck driver,

"He told us he stopped because he had 2 little sisters and would have wanted someone to stop and help them in the same situation.  He watched out for us that day!"  We were told that no one would be available to even look at the car until Monday.  We were now stuck in the small town of Russell with no transportation.  Aunt Dana said,

"We spent the first night in a motel with only rotary phones and you only had to dial 4 numbers for local calls."

Aunt Dana felt that we should try to get a hold of the local LDS church in the area so in her words, she writes,

"We called the church house on a Saturday morning and I did not have much hope that anyone would be there but a ward clerk (I think) answered and said he just stopped in for a little bit to do something on the computer and we just happened to catch him there."

We were eventually put in contact with an LDS family, the Williams, who lived there in Russell.  Dana describes them in this way,

"The Williams were a very unique family with amazing stories.  He was an attorney, but was also someone who was so dyslexic that he could not read at all and had to have someone else read all of his books to him in college and then he would memorize everything.  His wife was a college professor at a nearby small college.  They had a daughter living with him that was actually his daughter from a previous marriage where his wife tragically died when the little girl was just a baby."

The Williams came rushing to our rescue.  They took us in, fed us, gave a bed to sleep in and even escorted us to their small branch on Sunday, where I must admit we felt a little foolish without dresses to wear.  I even ended up playing the only hymn I could for Relief Society, page 116 Come Follow Me.  I hadn't ever attended church in such a small congregation before and I was thrilled to find that not only is the church true everywhere but that I loved the spirit that I felt there even with such a small gathering of the saints.  It reaffirmed in my mind the desire to serve a mission which was currently in my thoughts and plans.

We stayed on in Russell for several more days before leaving the Williams Family with fond farewells and  a still old but repaired car.  The Williams family offered a parting gift, to help pay for my mission when the time came.  And they did faithfully sending a monthly check throughout my mission.

I still think of that trip with gratitude for a wonderful big sister, a nice trucker, rescue and good families like the Williams of Russell Kansas.

It must not have been to long after that, that my step-brother Guy left on his mission because I record those two incidents together in my journal as I was not in the habit of writing daily at that time.  My journal reads,

"Guy is in the MTC.  He is going to the Lousville Kentucky Mission.  He will be a great missionary.  It was a awesome spiritual experience for the whole family when he got set apart.  We all bore our testimonies, and the spirit there was so strong.  I am so proud of him."

I can in my minds eye still picture that meeting as well as my own setting apart.  The faces of my younger siblings Joseph and Catryna come clearly to my mind.  I wanted so badly to be such a good example to them.  I wanted them to know that I really did have a testimony of the church that I knew it was true and that I wanted to serve a mission because I loved the gospel.  I worked hard to prepare for a mission during that time by studying the scriptures, through prayer and by participating in institute classes.  I remember getting the papers from my Bishop so that I could start my dental and medical work.

It was an exciting time and I hope that as you prepare this next year that you too will be able to have confirmed in your mind not just the desire to go but the courage to do so.  I love you Ryker.  You will make a great missionary.


Love Mom

Mormon Message Video

Sharing Your Beliefs

http://youtu.be/e_5GWFpHwjM

Tips for Sharing the Gospel Online at lds.org

SHARING THE GOSPEL ONLINE

Sharing the Gospel Online

“There are new ways to invite others to ‘come and see.’ Let’s make sharing our faith online more a part of our daily life. LDS.org, Mormon.org, Facebook, Twitter—all provide opportunities.”

http://www.lds.org/church/share?cid=HPL1P01W01046&lang=eng

Happy Birthday Ryker!  Countdown to 18 begins today.  Hard to believe.... where has the time gone.  We love you.  Have a great day.

Aunt Dana, Uncle Burt, Andrew, Zach and Meili

 Ryker 07/26/05Andrew 07/26/05

preparetoserve.com

BYU student creates website to help new Mormon missionaries

By Brady McCombs, Associated Press

Published: Tue, July 9 10:00 a.m. MDT

1 comment

Missionaries sing the opening hymn during a devotional as the anticipated 2013 "summer surge" settles over the LDS Church's two MTC campuses in Provo. Officials are finding creative ways to accommodate more than 4,000 missionaries at a time — including walking them all to BYU's Marriott Center for MTC-wide devotionals Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Provo.

(, Tom Smart, Deseret News)

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A-A+

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — When Alex Balinski prepared for his Mormon mission to Argentina five years ago, he went to the library and rented a few documentaries to learn more about the South American county where he would be spending the next two years.

Today's young Mormons like 18-year-old Jake Townsend, however, are much more likely to pull out their iPads or laptops and scour the web to learn about their mission countries.

That's why Balinski, a 23-year-old student at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, has spent the last eight months creating a website that serves as a database of YouTube videos about the food, history and traditions of many of the countries where Mormon missionaries serve.

The website, www.preparetoserve.com, features nearly 10,000 videos about 85 countries and 34 American states, Balinski said. Most of the videos are existing ones he found on YouTube that have been indexed within the site. About 1,300 of the videos are based on interviews Balinski has done with returned missionaries.

"When it comes to understanding the country, the people, the place and the food, I think there is a need there that can be filled," Balinski said.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has its own website for missionaries, and sends men and women first to special training centers where they learn languages and prepare spiritually for missions that are considered a rite of passage for many Mormons. Men serve two years while women go for 18 months.

Balinski doesn't want to interfere with that training, and got the blessing from a local church leader to move forward with the site, which is not an official church site. He believes his website supplements that preparation by helping missionaries better understand the cultures they'll be living in. Each video has been screened to make sure they are appropriate for young missionaries. Beach scenes, for instance, are edited out, he said.

Townsend, of Draper, Utah, is going on a mission to Saltillo, Mexico, and found the videos about Mexican culture and traditions quite helpful.

"I've grown up around the church, but the members there are probably different than the members of church here," Townsend said of Mexico. "It's cool to know some of the differences."

The website is hitting its stride just as the Mormon church sends out more missionaries than at any time in its history.

Within weeks of Balinski quitting his job last fall and deciding to go all in on the website, LDS church leaders made a surprise announcement that there were lowering the minimum age for missionaries from 21 to 19 for women and from 19 to 18 for men.

That led to a surge in mission applications as new, younger missionaries joined older missionaries already planning to go. The 70,000 young men and women serving missions now is a record. Church officials say there will be 85,000 by the end of the year. The previous record total of missionaries at one time was 61,600 in 2002, church figures show.

"The timing could not have been better," Balinski said.

More recently, the church leaders announced that missionaries will do less door-to-door proselytizing, and instead, use the Internet to recruit new church members.

Balinski said his website is mainly geared to helping missionaries and their families before they leave, but said he'd be ecstatic if church officials allowed missionaries to view the site while serving.

For now, he's just working about six hours a day to improve the site by adding more videos. His goal is to make website profitable enough to serve as his main job.

He pulls in about $600 a month from businesses who pay to have their ads on the website, which gets about 200-300 visits a day.

He weaves the work in alongside his final college internship and his responsibilities to his wife, Rebecca, and 10-month old son, Nephi. His wife served a mission in the Philippines.

"We are both very passionate about missionary work," Balinski said. "We'd like to help missionaries get more excited than they've been before and help them learn everything they can."