In his talk “Your Mission Will Change Everything” Elder David F Evans, of the Quorum of the Seventy, encourages young men to prepare to serve a mission. This is a wonderful talk about how a mission can change your life for the better.
Elder Evans opens the talk by telling about one winter day when he was interviewing missionaries. The missionaries were cheerful as they came even though it was storming out. Many of them walked or biked through the storm to attend the interviews. He was impressed with their positive attitudes. Later that evening he realized how much the Lord loves his missionaries.
“By a wonderful gift of the Spirit, I felt His love, the pure love of Christ that He has for faithful missionaries everywhere, and it changed me forever. I understood how precious each missionary is to Him. I caught a glimpse of what prophets would describe as the ‘greatest generation of missionaries’ the world has ever known. I began to understand why it was necessary to raise the bar so that missionaries everywhere would be entitled to the protection, direction, and happiness that accompany the Spirit of the Lord. I also began to understand why—as parents, bishops, stake presidents, and other leaders—we must do everything we can to help the young people of the Church become worthy of the blessings of missionary service.”
Elder Evans then went on to share the story of when President Hinckley was serving his mission in England. He was discouraged and had written to his father. His father told him to forget about himself and go to work. President Hinckley did that and he was blessed in his service.
Elder Evans then invites the young men to prepare themselves to come and serve missions. He also invites young women if they feel that they should as well as senior couples. Elder Evans encourages us to help those young men to prepare for missions as well.
This is a wonderful talk. As you read it you can really feel the importance of missionary work. I have a brother who is now serving a mission. I am proud of his choice to go. It is wonderful to hear the ways that he has grown spiritually on his mission. His focus in on sharing the truth with others. My younger sister served as well. I know that she felt joy as she was able to share the gospel with others.