Dear Bro.
Chris Blackhurst & MM 8th Ward Young Men.
Having been
on the mission for eight months to the day now, I have learned many things
about life and especially about the Gospel of Jesus Christ that I could have
learned no where else in the world. I
have been thankful for what I had done to prepare to serve the Lord for two
years but also wish I could go back and do a few things to prepare more
effectively. I am thankful for the work
ethic I fostered before coming out here because without it I would have been
wasting my time. Above all things, hard
work pays the most and goes the furthest.
Here are a few suggestions for each of you to prepare effectively to
serve the mission.
1. Read the Book of Mormon, Study it!
2. Read the Bible, at least the New
Testament. The world knows the Bible and
if you know the Bible, you can have a greater influence on people. You can link the Bible to the Book of Mormon
in many ways. Study and find those
links. Find the links to the Restoration.
3. Study Preach My Gospel. Get Familiar with the lessons now, get
familiar with the mission schedule. If you think you can learn them in the
MTC, you are mistaken. There are so many things that go on in the
mission field you don't have time to learn the doctrines last minute. Start now.
"Before ye seek to declare my
word, seek to obtain my word."
In the mission we declare the word of God, so
seek to obtain it now!
4. Begin Talking with everyone you
come in contact with, practice starting conversations and getting to know
people quickly. I have seen so much time wasted because missionaries are scared
to talk with people. You are expected to
talk with 150-200 people every week and have a gospel discussion with them. Become a talker now,
develop those people skills.
2
Timothy 1:7-"For God hath not given the spirit of fear, but of POWER and of LOVE and of a SOUND MIND."
Do not be afraid or ashamed of the gospel you bear, for Christ is your
companion wherever you go!
5. Be Prepared! When you get to the
mission field you get trained for 12 weeks, after those 12 you could be
training like me haha. And after only seven
months you could be a district leader, I’ve seen missionaries become
leaders in the mission after just three months. Be prepared to take
anything by the horns.
6. BE EXACTLY OBEDIENT. Obedience is
the price we pay for miracles. By obedience we show our faith to our Heavenly
Father. By obedience we obtain the spirit and without the spirit
we cannot do anything! Practice being submissive, obedient and humble. At times wethink rules are dumb but they are there for our joy and happiness,
just accept them as they come. Pray for strength.
7. Do Everything to make your
testimony hard as rock. "Remember that it is upon the rock of
our redeemer who is Christ the son of God that
ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his
mighty winds, yea his shafts in the whirlwind, yea when all his hail and
his mighty storm shall beat upon you it
shall have no pwer over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless
wo, because of the rock upon which ye
are built, which is a sure foundation, wheron if men build they cannot
fall." The Lord is building us
into men on the mission. And we can
recieve no witness until after the trial of our faith. Our faith is constantly tested and tried in
the mission field. Build upon that rock now so that you will not be shaken in anything.
The mission is awesome! You will meet
great people, you will see miracles, your faith will become as iron. You will
come to know the gospel more vastly. The Gospel is so complete and so simple
yet so complicated, we learn more everyday, but we can learn more and faster
than ever on the mission.
The mission is 10 years of
university, only the professor is God Himself, all powerful, all loving all
knowledgable. You gain skills and trades
here far beyond anything you can learn at home.
Maybe sometimes we feel the gospel is boring, church is boring, the
scriptures are boring. Above all, I
testify that The Gospel of Christ is everything! Nothing else matters. Ipod, X-box, computer, facebook, movies,
tv..you name all the material things of the world and it all adds up to
nothing. Money cannot buy salvation, it
cannot purchase true happiness. Only Christ can purchase true happiness and
salvation through His blood. Come unto Him and purchase bread without money and
without price. Bring other to Him. Come on a mission and experience the
greatest blessing of life. Come experience the joy, the treasures, the wisdom.
Nothing else matters!
In Mosiah Chapter 9 we learn about
the people of Zeniff and their war with the Lamanites to take back their own
land. Zeniff arms the people with bows, arrows,
cimeters, swords, clubs and all manner of weapons of war that they could
INVENT! They took upon themselves the full armor of God, the breastplate of
faith, the helmet of salvation the sword of truth. They prayed and supplicated
with the Lord that they might be successful that the Lord would deliver them! God hear their prayers and delivered them out
of the hands of the Lamanites. Now liken
this to yourselves. Prepare for battle, your time is almost here. It comes
quick. Take upon yourselves the full
armor of God, pray for strength, arm yourselves with all manner of weapons that
you can INVENT! The scriptures, your
prayers, your fasting, your love for the Savior, take up all these weapons and
join the ranks!
I Testify that this is the Work of
Our Savior Jesus Christ, this is His great and marvelous work and a
wonder. Fill yourselves with the
attributes of Christ, learn them in PMG chapter 6. They will bless you. Drink deeply from the words of life in the
scriptures daily, they will bless your life. I Testify that God lives, He has a
great plan for us, Christ Lives, He has saved us from sin and death. Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God, Christ
directs His church through Him. Joseph Smith did see God the Father and His son
Jesus Christ He was a prophet of God! The Book of Mormon is True.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Braden Cottle
New Zealand Wellington Mission
Missionary for the Lord Jesus Christ
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