Talks
Quotes
At some point in our future lives, everyone we know now will know everything we know and they will know that we knew it all along – Henry B. Eyring
We are not here to teach discussions. We are here to teach people.
Am I serving time or am I serving the Lord?
Don’t talk to strangers – unless you’re doing missionary work.
You cannot convert people beyond your own conversion.
What would your life be like if you didn’t have the gospel? That’s how life is for your non-member friends.
Don’t worry about feeling green (as a missionary) – it’s green things that grow – Bruce Hafen
Be the kind of missionary your mother hopes you are, your father prays you are, and your Heavenly Father knows you can be.
If the discussions were enough to convert people, we would have mailed them out a long time ago.
We continually strive to share the gospel with others, but we cannot dilute it to suit their taste. We did not set the standards, the Lord did. It is his church. Bruce R. McConkie
Being a mission president is like taking 200 priests on an overnight campout for 2 years. Paul H. Dunn
Some missionaries go through a two-year mission, but the two-year mission doesn’t go through them.
You are not doing the church a big favor by going on a mission. The Lord is doing you a favor by allowing you to have one of the greatest experiences of your life. – Parents, Missionaries, and Girls Who Wait pg. 14.
You can take a girl out of a mission, but you can’t take a mission out of a girl.
What difference can you really make during a two-year mission? Christ’s mission was only three years.
Spoiler Alert: God Wins!
Everyone who has been warned needs to warn his neighbor. It’s the same as a tornado or flood. You wouldn’t say, “I’m not going to warn my neighbor – it would inconvenience them.” You would run house to house yelling. The gospel needs to be the same.
L Tom Perry – on preparing young men to serve missions “We spend too much time repairing sins and not enough time teaching prevention.”
You are an adult now – it’s okay to talk to strangers!
If you ever get discouraged, think of Noah: He worked for 300 years preaching to the people, and then all his contacts were drowned.
Your success as a missionary does not depend on the acceptance or rejection by the people you invite.
As a missionary, you are only reminding people of something they already know.
There will never be an “ideal” time to be a missionary. There will always be distractions and reasons not to get started. We can all do something. Not all of us will be full time missionaries right now. Not all of us can work in the temple. But each of us can “save souls” in one way or another, living or dead. What aspect of “saving souls” is right for your stage of life right now? –Shannon Williams
I decided to speak on how we all deal with feelings of inadequacy, whether that’s as missionaries, or parents, or as leaders in the Church. We can’t however, let those feelings of inadequacy overwhelm us. When I was little and started taking piano, I remember feeling overwhelmed when I started learning about 8th notes. I just stared at my song and cried out of frustration, thinking I would never be able to understand. Brad Wilcox uses this analogy of a piano student in a BYU devotional, and then says, “There should never be just two options: perfection or giving up. When learning the piano, are the only options performing at Carnegie Hall or quitting? No. Growth and development take time. Learning takes time.” That is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as a missionary. I think before I came out, I thought I would just put on my nametag, and automatically have all the skills, knowledge, and spirituality to be a great missionary. It turns out, however, that–like anything worthwhile in life–it takes work. We must take things one day at a time, strive to not compare ourselves against others, and rely on The Lord. President Monson has said, “Life by the yard is hard. By the inch it’s a cinch”. Rather than feeling overwhelmed or inadequate, we must rely on Christ to help us become a little bit better each day. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with something placed in your life right now, remember to trust The Lord. He trusts you! – Rachel Larsen
Mis-sion-ary (Noun): a person who leaves their family for a while, so that others can be with their FAMILIES FOREVER.
Missionary work is not easy, but it’s also not impossible.
Story of Charles Blondin:
Back in the 1800s there was a man who decided to walk across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. So there they planed it out and 10,000 people from the America side came to watch this man and 10,000 from the Canada side came to watch as well. And this man grabbed his balancing pole and started to walk across Niagara Falls and it took him 25 minutes but he made it all the way to the other side. When he got to the other side he said ‘ you came for a show ” and he started his way back to the America side. After 25 minutes he made his way back. The people were going crazy! No one has ever walked across Niagara Falls and to do it twice is remarkable!! As this man was standing in front of this crowd he said ounce more. “You came for a show ” and he threw his pole to the side and a man started to bring him this Wheelbarrow. Then this talented man asked “Who believes that I can cross Niagara Falls with this wheelbarrow? ” They all shouted We Believe We Believe!! Then this man answered back and said ” I’m so glad you believe because I only need one volunteer to get in the wheelbarrow for this last stunt.” The crowd went silent as no one was willing to get in the wheelbarrow and put their life on the line. Then this wise man replied ” But I thought you said you believed ”
How far are we willing to put our trust in Christ? I believe in him and I’m proud to say that I am a disciple of Christ. And I am… but when I stand on the sidewalk in front of a house or I’m walking to a person that I feel impressed to talk to. Do I believe enough that when he asks me to open my mouth and share the gospel that I won’t question and have faith that I know that it will all work out in the end? Do I get in the wheelbarrow or do I stand on the sidelines and say I believe… – Cody Lilya
Thoughts from a missionary – Sometimes I have to remember that it really is God’s timing, and that most people require many introductions to the gospel before they will finally embrace it. Sister O explains it like a rollercoaster. Sometimes people are on the top of the rollercoaster, when they’re particularly susceptible to the spirit and open to the message of the gospel. Things like moving, a death or birth in the family, and other life changes can put them in that place. We as missionaries and members have to find out who’s at the top, ready to accept the gospel. Then, I might add, we have to invite them. Remembering this makes it easier as a missionary, because then you’re not disheartened when someone says no. You just think, “Well, someday they’ll be at the top, and then they’ll embrace it.”
There has been a distinct change in me this week. I feel more like Ammon and his brethren, when they could not bear that any soul should perish! I care so deeply for these people sometimes, it pains me when they don’t keep commitments. Before, when someone dropped us, I’d think, “Oh, that’s too bad. Now we won’t have as many lessons.” But now, I think, “No! You just can’t reject it! Please, please accept this wonderful gift! You are my brother/sister and I desperately want you to have the happiness I have found.” I have become much more bold as my love for people has grown, and I’ve become more invested in their eternal welfare. There’s a saying that I love. “Sometimes we become so afraid of offending people that we never even save them.” Don’t let fear get in the way. Just love them enough to be bold. – Savannah Williams
“They could not bear that any human soul should perish, yea even the very thought that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.” The sons of Mosiah and Alma felt this way because they themselves had been through that torment. Mosiah 28:3. That is what gave them their missionary motivation.
Talk Teach Inspire 