Missionary Work & Preparation

LDS Quotes On Missionary Work & Mission Preparation

The Saints should not imagine that because they know the truth and the Work of God at the present time, that they will always know these things and therefore be able to stand. If they lose the Holy Spirit through their transgressions, from that moment their knowledge respecting the Work of God ceases to increase and becomes dead; a short time only elapses before such persons deny the faith. They may not deny that the Work was ever true, or that the Elders were ever the servants of God, but they will place a limit and say, ‘Up to such a time the work was true and the Elders were all right, but, after that, they went astray,’ – that very period being the time at which they themselves had committed some act or acts to forfeit the Spirit of God and kill the growth of that knowledge which they had had bestowed upon them. This has been the case in numerous instances in the past. . . . It is plain that it is they who have transgressed, and thereby driven the Spirit of the Lord from them; and at the very time they say the Church of God strayed, they themselves were guilty of transgression.

George Q. Cannon  |  “Knowledge, without the Aid of the Spirit of the Lord, Not Sufficient to Save,” Millennial Star, 8 Aug. 1863, pp. 505–6.

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Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the LDS church

When the Lord delivers this person to your view, just chat—about anything. You can’t miss. You don’t have to have a prescribed missionary message. Your faith, your happiness, the very look on your face is enough to quicken the honest in heart. Haven’t you ever heard a grandmother talk about her grandchildren? That’s what I mean—minus the photographs! The gospel will just tumble out. You won’t be able to contain yourself!

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland  |  "Witnesses unto Me"

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“Zion-building is not preparation for heaven. It is heaven, in embryo. The process of sanctifying disciples of Christ, constituting them into a community of love and harmony, does not qualify individuals for heaven; sanctification and celestial relationality are the essence of heaven. Zion, in this conception, is both an ideal and a transitional stage into the salvation toward which all Christians strive.”

Terryl and Fiona Givens  |  "The Christ Who Heals"

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Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the LDS church

“It [Missionary work] is by definition the most important thing you can do in the world, in time or eternity. For this reason you are engaged in the saving of the human soul. And that is the highest and holiest work in the universe. That is the thing that God Himself said was His work and glory. It is the purpose for which the Savior came to the earth and gave His life and was resurrected to open those possibilities and promises of Eternal Life. It is the purpose for which every prophet has lived and every apostle has spoken. It is the purpose for which every missionary since Adam and Eve has gone forth to declare the truth. You join those ranks! You join that brotherhood and sisterhood and it is as I said by definition, by theology, it is the most important thing you can do.”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland  |  “The Miracle of a Mission”

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“Studying the gospel and sharing it daily can be accomplished by anyone with or without an official call. Please remember that it doesn’t take a name tag to do missionary work!”

Elder M. Russell Ballard  |  “Questions and Answers”

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The Savior chose a very dramatic moment in which to emphasize the value of missionary work. He gave to his apostles the choice of their hearts. Peter said that he preferred to depart speedily from this life and be with the Savior in his kingdom. John the Beloved chose to stay behind and bring souls unto Christ.

Imagine the importance of that beautiful moment, Peter choosing to be with the Savior in his kingdom above; and yet the Savior turned and said to Peter, “John my Beloved has chosen the greater thing.”

Robert E. Wells  |  The Greatest Thing in My Life

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I haven’t met anyone who found the gospel later in life who didn’t wish it could have been earlier.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson  |  The Joy of the Saints

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Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the LDS church

You’re the most prayed for people on the face of the earth. I really believe that. I do not believe, collectively speaking, that there is any body of people that’s any collective circle of individuals are prayed for on the face of the earth than the LDS missionaries.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland  |  “The Miracle of a Mission”

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James M. Dunn

No missionary that ever lived failed to influence the lives of many for the better regardless of the number of converts he may have gained.

James M. Dunn  |  The Blessings of Missionary Service

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“If we are going to fill the world with goodness and truth, then we must be worthy to receive inspiration so we can bless the lives of our Heavenly Father’s children.”

Elder M. Russell Ballard  |  “Filling the World with Goodness and Truth,” Ensign, July 1996, 14.

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In every high-jumping competition there is a minimum height at which the competition starts. The high jumper cannot ask to start at a lower height. In the same way, you should not expect the standards to be lowered to allow you to serve a mission. If you want to be a missionary, you must be able to clear the minimum standards.

L. Tom Perry  |  Raising the Bar

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“People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude.”

John C. Maxwell

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And today many say, “How silly! How could accepting Christ save me? They will not turn their heads to look nor incline their ears to hear. They ignore the great witness that comes from these conferences. We ought to, indeed we must, heed the counsel of these men, for the Lord said, “What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same.”

Boyd K. Packer  |  Conference Report, Oct. 1968

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“Of all the training I have received in my Church assignments, none has been more important to me than the training I received as a nineteen-year-old elder serving a full-time mission.”

Elder M. Russell Ballard  |  Missionary Service Blessed My Life Forever

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Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the LDS church

“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?”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland  |  “Missionary Work and the Atonement”

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“As you entered the mission field you concluded one phase of life and began another. To this point many of you have had the protection and close support of family and church leaders and teachers. Now you have moved into a new phase of life on your own. You are essentially on your own. From this point on, you are wholly responsible for what you do and most importantly for who you become.”

Lawrence Corbridge  |  “The Fourth Missionary”

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Our main task is to declare the gospel and do it effectively. We are not obligated to answer every objection. Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand. (President Ezra Taft Benson)

Robert Millet  |  “What We Believe,” BYU Devotional, Feb. 3, 1998, p. 9

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“My beloved brothers and sisters, what has been accomplished thus far in this dispensation communicating gospel messages through social media channels is a good beginning—but only a small trickle. I now extend to you the invitation to help transform the trickle into a flood. Beginning at this place on this day, I exhort you to sweep the earth with messages filled with righteousness and truth—messages that are authentic, edifying, and praiseworthy—and literally to sweep the earth as with a flood.”

Elder David A. Bednar  |  To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood

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“Sometimes … we find that even when we do our best to serve the Lord, we still suffer. You may know someone who faces these most challenging of circumstances: consider the parent whose child becomes ill, for whom everyone prays and fasts with all their heart and soul, but who ultimately dies. Or the missionary who sacrifices to go on a mission, then develops a terrible illness that leaves him or her severely disabled or in chronic pain. … The key is to remember that faith and obedience are still the answers—even when things go wrong, perhaps especially when things go wrong.”

David E. Sorensen  |  "Faith Is the Answer," Ensign, May 2005, 73

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“Never let your faith be difficult to detect.”

J. Reuben Clark

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Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the LDS church

“It’s very important that the messenger be worthy of the message. We ask you to look a certain way and act a certain way because of the message.”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland  |  “The Miracle of a Mission”

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“My purpose in writing this book is simply to offer my witness that being a member missionary can be a source of deep happiness. It need not be hard. You will pull wonderful friends into your life because they will be able to feel your love for them when you invite them to learn more about their Heavenly Father. And every time you take someone figuratively by the hand and introduce him or her to Jesus Christ, you will feel how deeply our Savior loves you and loves the person whose hand is in yours.”

Clayton M. Christensen  |  The Power of Everyday Missionaries

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“Never pity missionaries; envy them. They are where the real action is — where life and death, sin and grace, Heaven and Hell converge.”

Robert C. Shannon

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“If you’re not a full-time missionary with a missionary badge pinned on your coat, now is the time to paint one on your heart- painted, as Paul said, ‘not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God.”

Elder Neil L. Andersen  |  It’s a Miracle

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“How profoundly grateful I am for the experience of that mission. I touched the lives of a few who have, over the years, expressed appreciation. That has been important. But I have never been greatly concerned over the number of baptisms that I had or that other missionaries had. My satisfaction has come from the assurance that I did what the Lord wanted me to do and that I was an instrument in His hands for the accomplishment of His purposes.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  The Question of a Mission

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“If you’re not a full-time missionary with a missionary badge pinned on your coat, now is the time to paint on on your heart- painted, as Paul said, ‘not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God.’”

Elder Neil L. Andersen

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“Depend on it. God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so.”

James Hudson Taylor

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“You have to be willing to offend. You have to be willing to take the risk. That’s exactly where the faith comes in. Our commitment is supposed to be a test. It is supposed to be hard. It is supposed to be impractical in the terms of this world.”

Hugh Nibley

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“Studying the gospel and sharing it daily can be accomplished by anyone with or without an official call. Please remember that it doesn’t take a name tag to do missionary work!”

Elder M. Russell Ballard  |  Questions and Answers

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“If we are going to fill the world with goodness and truth, then we must be worthy to receive inspiration so we can bless the lives of our Heavenly Father’s children.”

Elder M. Russell Ballard  |  Filling the World with Goodness and Truth

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