Ideas to Assist Missionaries

When Elder and Sister Vaughan J. Featherstone were serving a mission in Texas, Sister Featherstone was feeling frustrated that she couldn’t find any time for herself. She was so busy with her mission duties, she couldn’t find any time to devote to herself. She prayed about it, and the answer came that this was not her time, it was the Lord’s time. She then realized that she needed to focus completely on her mission and not worry about herself. (Ensign, Nov. 1978, pg. 26).

It is the Lord’s time. It isn’t a time to worry about the outside world, but to concentrate fully on serving the Lord by teaching the gospel. All of the missionaries’ time and effort should be dedicated to his or her mission. There will be plenty of time for missionaries to think about schooling, marriage, family, professions, and even retirement for senior missionaries.

Here are some ideas for members to assist missionaries in furthering the work of the Lord:

1. Introduce nonmembers or less-active member to the missionaries. Provide opportunities for the missionaries to meet your friends such as inviting all of them to dinner. Bring friends to ward activities where the missionaries will be attending and make a point to introduce your friends to the missionaries.

2. Tell the missionaries when you have placed a Book of Mormon with someone so the missionaries can follow-up.

3. When new missionaries arrive in an area, apprise them of the work that has been done and help them to meet those who are currently investigating the gospel. The more you can update the missionaries, the less time they have to spend learning that same information.

4. Youth should be very careful to respect the missionaries as representatives of the Lord. They should not invite the missionaries to parties or other youth social activities. They should never be alone with a member of the opposite sex, even if the situation seems harmless. A Stake President once told me that the biggest threat to a missionary is a Laurel. Young women should especially be on their guard and not flirt with young elders.

5. Pray for missionary experiences and to have the missionary spirit. Look for opportunities for the missionaries to share the gospel with those you know. Include the Lord as you seek for those the missionaries can teach.

6. Set a good example for your neighbors. Let others see by the light in your life how the gospel brings you peace and happiness. Show others how excited you are to have the gospel in your life. Your example may pique the interest of those around you and set the stage for missionaries to teach them.

Members can make a big difference in how successful missionaries are in their area. The more assistance members can offer the missionaries, the more success missionaries will have in bringing the blessings of the gospel to others.

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