How can I be the best missionary I can be?

Question

Dear Gramps,

I want to be the best missionary that I can be on my mission. I’m a recent convert; I’ve co-taught several lessons with the missionaries (as advised by Elder Bednar in “Becoming a Missionary”), have continued reading scriptures, am currently studying “Preach My Gospel”, and feel spiritually worthy to serve the Lord. However, I still feel inadequate and lackluster. I want to be the best instrument the Spirit can use. What do you suggest? How can I become the next Dan Jones?

Brother Brennan

Answer

Brother Brennan,

May God bless you for your righteous desires. There are many places in the scriptures where the prophets of God also said that they felt inadequate and lackluster to the task at hand. This appears to be a rather common issue, and it is because while preparation is important, it is the Spirit of God that does all the heavy lifting. And without that you are inadequate to the task the Lord will give you.

From what you say it seems to me that you are doing the necessary preparations, so continue on in your studies of the scriptures, the directions for missionaries. Continue to pray and fast, and prepare yourself to be like Nephi with a willingness to “Go and Do” even if you don’t see how you are going to do it.

Now I would like to take a bit to manage your expectations of being the ‘best.’ It is easy to see why you chose someone who was an instrument in bringing thousands unto baptism as an example and even possibly a goal. But I would like to point out that in the eyes of the Lord, Abinadi was also one of his best. The Lord called Abinadi to serve, and Abinadi served to the best of his ability. Yet from the scriptures we have a record of only one conversion from his preaching, a conversion that Abinadi never lived to see. If Abinadi had judged his efforts by the number of conversions, he very likely would have considered himself a total failure.

So remember that wherever the Lord calls you, you can be your best and an effective instrument in the hands of the Lord, even if you can’t see the impact or see how the Lord is using you to advance his work.

Gramps