"You only get one chance to serve a mission; it is your responsibility, your duty, to use it to its fullest; to give every last ounce of energy until you collapse in exhaustion at the end of it. All the hardships, all the tears, all the hard work will be looked back upon as the best thing you've ever done, not because you enjoyed it, not because you baptized everyone, but because you have everything you had, even when you didn't think you could, and especially when you didn't want to. Live your mission to your fullest, work harder than you've ever worked before. Let people know that this is the most important thing in the world to you... If you do not run until have nothing left to give, and then keep on going anyway; cry and pray and work and sweat and plead until you are so drained that all you can do is turn to the Lord; if you don't do this, then these people will be partially upon your head. Come out of your mission proud of what you've done, and this experience will bless the rest of your life." - Jeffery R. Holland
"As you seek to know the will of our Heavenly Father in your life and become more spiritual, you will be far more attractive, even irresistible!" - James E. Faust
"Trusting Jesus" said: "Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, why is this so hard? Why doesn't it go better? Why can't our success be more rapid? Why aren't there more people joining the church, why don't people just flock to the font? Why isn't the only risk of missionary work the risk of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font? I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation was never easy. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never easy for Him. It seems to me that missionaries have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane." - Jeffrey R. Holland
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover." – Mark Twain
"I wish to invite members of the Church to consider anew the great mandate given by the Lord to all who desire to be known as his disciples. It is a mandate we cannot dodge, and one from which we cannot shrink. That mandate is to teach the gospel to the nations and peoples of the earth." - Gordon B. Hinckley
"I promise that because of your faithful response to the call to spread the gospel, He will bind up your broken hearts, dry your tears, and set you and your families free. That is my missionary promise to you and your missionary message to the world."
- Jeffrey R. Holland
- Jeffrey R. Holland
"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike... you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection." - Jeffrey R. Holland
"Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font? You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? It seems to me that missionaries and mission leaders have to spend at least a few moments in Gethsemane. Missionaries and mission leaders have to take at least a step or two toward the summit of Calvary. For that reason I don’t believe missionary work has ever been easy, nor that conversion is, nor that retention is, nor that continued faithfulness is. I believe it is supposed to require some effort, something from the depths of our soul. If He could come forward in the night, kneel down, fall on His face, bleed from every pore, and cry, “Abba, Father (Papa), if this cup can pass, let it pass,” then little wonder that salvation is not a whimsical or easy thing for us. If you wonder if there isn’t an easier way, you should remember you are not the first one to ask that. Someone a lot greater and a lot grander asked a long time ago if there wasn’t an easier way. The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators. When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived." -Elder Holland
“Pray to understand that your mission is not about you. There will be some days when things aren’t going at all like you expected, the people in the ward aren’t helping you, and even your companion may seem to have a shaky testimony. But your problems and frustrations will arise when you start to use to words “I” “me” “my”. Don’t do that. This mission is about Him and the people you have been called to serve. This is for them.” -Stake President Hannemann
There was a large group of people. On one side of the group stood a man, Jesus. On the other side of the group stood Satan. Separating them, running through the group, was a fence.
The scene set, both Jesus and Satan began calling to the people in the group and, one by one - each having made up his or her own mind - each went to either Jesus or Satan.
This kept going. Soon enough, Jesus had gathered around him a group of people from the larger crowd, as did Satan.
But one man joined neither group. He climbed the fence that was there and sat on it. Then Jesus and his people left and disappeared. So too did Satan and his people. And the man on the fence sat alone.
As this man sat, Satan came back, looking for something which he appeared to have lost. The man said, "Have you lost something?" Satan looked straight at him and replied, "No, there you are. Come with me."
"But", said the man, "I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor him."
"That's okay," said Satan. "I own the fence."
The scene set, both Jesus and Satan began calling to the people in the group and, one by one - each having made up his or her own mind - each went to either Jesus or Satan.
This kept going. Soon enough, Jesus had gathered around him a group of people from the larger crowd, as did Satan.
But one man joined neither group. He climbed the fence that was there and sat on it. Then Jesus and his people left and disappeared. So too did Satan and his people. And the man on the fence sat alone.
As this man sat, Satan came back, looking for something which he appeared to have lost. The man said, "Have you lost something?" Satan looked straight at him and replied, "No, there you are. Come with me."
"But", said the man, "I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor him."
"That's okay," said Satan. "I own the fence."
A missionary in Boston once asked President Boyd K. Packer, “What is the most important thing I can learn on my mission?” President Packer answered, “Obedience. If you don’t learn obedience your mission will never start. When you learn obedience, your mission will never end.”
"I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.
I’m finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tainted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.I no longer need pre-eminence, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I don’t have to be first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.I now live by faith, lean on his presence, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power.
My face is set, my gait is fast and my goal is Heaven.
My road is narrow, my way is rough.
My companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear.I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided, diluted, or delayed.I will not flinch in the fare of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I will not give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up and paid up for the cause of Christ.
I must go ’til he comes. Give until I drop. Preach all I know. And work ’til he stops me and when he returns for his own.
And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
MY BANNER WILL BE CLEAR!"
The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ.I will not look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.
I’m finished and done with low living, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tainted visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.I no longer need pre-eminence, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I don’t have to be first, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded.I now live by faith, lean on his presence, am uplifted by prayer, and labor with power.
My face is set, my gait is fast and my goal is Heaven.
My road is narrow, my way is rough.
My companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear.I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, divided, diluted, or delayed.I will not flinch in the fare of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I will not give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up and paid up for the cause of Christ.
I must go ’til he comes. Give until I drop. Preach all I know. And work ’til he stops me and when he returns for his own.
And when He returns for His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
MY BANNER WILL BE CLEAR!"
"For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord. Every previous gospel dispensation has drifted into apostasy, but ours will not. True, there will be some individuals who will fall away; but the kingdom of God will remain intact to welcome the return of its head--even Jesus Christ. While our generation will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah, when the Lord cleansed the earth by flood, there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God. All through the ages the prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it--you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time as there is of us. Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized. Now is the great day of the devil's power, with the greatest mass murderers of all time living among us. But now is also the great day of the Lord's power, with the greatest number ever of priesthood holders on the earth. And the showdown is fast approaching. Each day the forces of evil and the forces of good pick up new recruits. Each day we personally make many decisions that show where our support will go. The final outcome is certain--the forces of righteousness will finally win. What remains to be seen is where each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this fight--and how tall we will stand. Will we be true to our last-days, foreordained mission? Great battles can make great heroes, but heroes will make great battle. You will never have a better opportunity to be a greater hero in a more crucial battle than in the battle you will face today and in the immediate future. Be warned that some of the greatest battles you will face will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul." - Ezra Taft Benson
I know it. I live it. I love it.
"We need to ponder in the scriptures and in the words of living prophets. We need to make plans which are not only wishes but covenants. And then we need to keep our promises to the Lord. And we need to lift others by sharing with them the blessings of the Atonement which have come in our lives." - Henry B. Eyring
"In the gospel of Jesus Christ you have help from both sides of the veil, and you must never forget that. When disappointment and discouragement strike—and they will—you remember and never forget that if our eyes could be opened we would see horses and chariots of fire as far as the eye can see riding at reckless speed to come to our protection. They will always be there, these armies of heaven, in defense of Abraham’s seed." - Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable." - Joseph Addison
"I have often said that one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work! If a missionary works, [she] will get the Spirit; if [she] gets the Spirit, [she] will teach by the Spirit; and if [she] teaches by the Spirit, [she] will touch the hearts of the people and [she] will be happy. Work, work, work-there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work." - Ezra Taft Benson
"Seek to know God in your closets, call upon him in the fields. Follow the directions of the Book of Mormon, and pray over, and for your families, your cattle, your flocks, your herds, your corn, and all things that you posses; ask the blessings of God upon all your labors, and everything that you engage in." - The Prophet Joseph Smith
"As I stared out the window in silence
and wiping the tears form my eyes
I see all the faces of those that I love
we had just said our last good-byes.
The ride was long and trying
And two questions were plaguing my mind
Do I want the life that lies ahead
or the one that I just left behind.
Eighteen months is such a long time,
But others have given much more.
It's contagious, this desire to keep driving on,
And hope for the very next door.
In no time at all you cherish each day,
The work is replaced with a song
All the good you can do, today's not enough
There's more and then more as time goes on.
As I sit once again reflecting
That the time has so swiftly gone by
It's strange how this feeling's familiar
And I blush cause I'm starting to cry.
As I stare out the window in silence
Wiping the tears from my eyes
I see all the missionaries and the contacts I love
We have just said our last good byes
The ride was long and trying
And two questions were plaguing my mind
Do I want the life that lies ahead
Or the one that I just left behind."
and wiping the tears form my eyes
I see all the faces of those that I love
we had just said our last good-byes.
The ride was long and trying
And two questions were plaguing my mind
Do I want the life that lies ahead
or the one that I just left behind.
Eighteen months is such a long time,
But others have given much more.
It's contagious, this desire to keep driving on,
And hope for the very next door.
In no time at all you cherish each day,
The work is replaced with a song
All the good you can do, today's not enough
There's more and then more as time goes on.
As I sit once again reflecting
That the time has so swiftly gone by
It's strange how this feeling's familiar
And I blush cause I'm starting to cry.
As I stare out the window in silence
Wiping the tears from my eyes
I see all the missionaries and the contacts I love
We have just said our last good byes
The ride was long and trying
And two questions were plaguing my mind
Do I want the life that lies ahead
Or the one that I just left behind."