Letter to the Youth

I wrote to all the missionaries serving from our ward and asked them 3 questions for an activity we are doing this week for mutual.

1.  What are some things you did to prepare to serve a mission that are now helping you to be a successful missionary? (Both spiritual and temporal) 

2.  What do you wish you would have known about a mission before you left?  What could have prepared you more?

    3.  Any words of wisdom for the youth of the Bella Vista ward?

 Here is Elder Frey’s response...

Dear Youth of the Bella Vista Ward, 

This letter is directed to the young men but young women, take the principles it teaches into your hearts as well. Young men are expected to serve by the Lord. You are not, but, the choice of serving a mission is between you and the Lord. 

If you are on the fence on whether or not to serve a mission, or if you do not want to serve a mission, I have a piece of advice for you: go on one. There is only one time in your life that you get to dedicate every aspect of your life 100% to the Lord. Think of it as tithing. You are giving ten percent of your first twenty years to the Lord. As he promises us: "The windows of heaven will be opened and he will pour out blessings and there shall not be enough room to receive it" (Malachi 3:10). 

For those of you who are scared you don't know enough, you are not alone; Enoch felt the exact same way when the Lord called upon him to serve. Enoch said: "Why is it that I have found favor in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?" (Moses 6:31) The Lord promised him, "Open thy mouth, and it shall be filled" (Moses 6:32). If you do your part and study the lessons from Preach My Gospel, and read from the Book of Mormon, I promise you the Lord will do his part and fill your mouth. You know enough. 

Continue to read the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is the World's greatest treasure. As Joseph Smith said in the introduction of the Book of Mormon: "the Book of Mormon [is] the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." The Book of Mormon, as Joseph Smith stated, is the keystone of our religion. It is the basis of our testimony. The Book of Mormon tells us that the Church has been restored, that the church was restored through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that we Heavenly loves us enough to give his Only Begotten. I have read the Book of Mormon 5 times so far and I learn something new every time I read it. If we want to talk to Heavenly Father, we pray, if we want him to talk to us, we read the scriptures and listen to the Prophet. 

There will always be peaks and troughs, or up and down moments in your mission and your life. Elder David A. Bednar shared a story about a man who drove his brand new truck up the mountain to cut wood. "Sadly, my friend went too far along the snowy road. As he steered the truck off of the road at the place he had determined to cut wood, he got stuck. All four of the wheels on the new truck spun in the snow. He readily recognized that he did not know what to do to extricate himself from this dangerous situation. He was embarrassed and worried. My friend decided, “Well, I will not just sit here.” He climbed out of the vehicle and started cutting wood. He completely filled the back of the truck with the heavy load. And then my friend determined he would try driving out of the snow one more time. As he put the pickup into gear and applied power, he started to inch forward. Slowly the truck moved out of the snow and back onto the road. He finally was free to go home, a happy and humbled man" (David A. Bednar, Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease, April 2014). 

The truck is us in our life. We go along and everything is going well. Suddenly our tires lose traction and they spin in place. We can no longer spiritually progress, it is our testimony plateau. Once the heavy load, or burden, was placed inside the truck. It has the traction to continue on the path. The interesting part was, the same amount of gas and power was applied when he was stuck and got unstuck. That is when we are doing all the right things: reading, going to church, praying. God relies on these troughs or down times because during the down moments it will get hard; that is the point. God withdraws from us. The teacher will always stay quiet during the test. These troughs are test of our faith, obedience and diligence, they are stepping stones for us to climb higher. The peaks are when miracles happen. Little growth comes from inside a comfort zone. We need to be tried and face burdens so that our faith and testimony grow. We can be doing all the right things but, if we don't have trials, we can't progress. There is no growth in a comfort zone. Get out of your comfort zone and serve. Choose the harder right not the easier wrong. 

I want to extend a commitment to you today. Doctrine and Covenants 62:3 says "Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you." There is power in this verse. I challenge you to bear your testimony to at least one person. I bear my testimony like many, many times a day. I can feel the power it has on me and on others. I know that the Angels are singing in Heaven rejoicing every time I bear my testimony. I know they will sing and rejoice when you do to. Will you bear your testimony to at least one person this week?

Let your light so shine before men (Matthew 5:16). Be an example to the unbelievers (1 Timothy 4:12). People see the difference between you and others that are not in the gospel. It's like we are walking around with an apple pie; everyone sees that we have that pie. The pie is desirous above all other pies (1 Nephi 8:11). Others want that pie. It is our job to share a slice of the pie with everyone. Give a slice to everybody you see. When you share gospel messages and your testimony, those you share it with get to experience the goodness and joy of the gospel and the Holy Ghost. Everyone has the Light of Christ inside of them. The Light of Christ is simply, "the knowledge of good and evil" (Moroni 7:16). Everyone already knows of the gospel and its teachings, they have that Light. As Boyd K. Packer states in PMG, "the missionary or teacher is making contact with the Spirit of Christ already there. The gospel will have a familiar ‘ring’ to them." We aren't teaching anything crazy or foreign. Like George Vue Yang, one of my recent converts told us, "When other churches taught me, it went in one ear and out the other. When you guys teach me, I understand it." It was familiar to him. It was like hearing it for a second time. We are simply adding oil to the lamp or uncovering the candle for the Light to shine forth; giving that slice of the pie. 

I have been out for 1 year and I can tell you that this is the greatest experience I will ever have. You get to take a break from the World for two years. You do not realize the stresses of living in the World today. That means no video games, no school, no texting, and no music. While that may not seem appealing, you do not know how relaxing it is to get away from all of it. You will never feel more relaxed and more stress free then when you are on your mission. There is nothing to worry about. 1 year so far has felt like a week of school. You just go around and share the truths that you treasure in your heart. You are sharing the truth of the restored gospel, the true church, so you have no reason to fear.

If you plan on serving a mission I commend you and I promise you the Lord is happy with your intent to serve. I have one piece of advice for you: don't strive to become a returned missionary. That tag is too easy to get. Anyone can come out and give 2 years of little effort and return with the RM tag. When you go on your mission, make it your goal to become a returned disciple, a true follower of Christ. A steadfast and immovable servant of the Lord. Serve with all your might mind and strength that you my stand blameless before God at the last day (Doctrine 4:2). That is a disciple of Christ. Make it your goal and do not stray from it. When you come back it shouldn't be a swan dive back into Babylon (Elder Kevin W. Pearson, Stay By The Tree, April 2015). The road to discipleship is a life long path, not an "effort of once a week or once a day. It is an effort of once and for all" (Dieter F Uchtdorf, Are You Sleeping through the Restoration? April 2014). It begins now, strengthens on your mission, and flourishes when you return and live the principles learned.

I know this is the church that Christ established when he was on the earth. It is the true church. There are people out there just waiting for this message. They are waiting for you to share it with them. Oh how great your joy will be if you bring just one soul to Christ. Imagine the joy you will feel if you bring many to him (Doctrine And Covenants 18:15-16). I promise you that serving a mission will be the greatest thing you could ever do. A mission is the event that people talk about forever. Ask anyone you know that has served. The biggest regret I have heard from those that haven't served is not serving a mission. A mission will follow you for the rest of your life. It will either haunt you with regret, or it will bring you and many others everlasting joy. "Whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it" (Mark 8:35). Don't be that person that when the missionaries go to dinner and ask where you served reply, "I didn't because I didn't want to." How do you expect the Lord to bless you when you don't give anything to him. How do you expect to answer to those people you promised before this life to bring them the gospel. They are lost and waiting for you. How can you expect to have a family and sacrifice yourself for them when you cannot give a worthy sacrifice to the man who gives you breath. How do you expect to pay the price for celestial glory when you can't go give up 2 short years of your life. 

I bear my testimony the Book of Mormon is the word of God; Joseph Smith is the prophet of the restoration and that Christ died and rose so that we may all return again. By his blood we are cleansed and by the spirit, we are sanctified. Follow the commandments, live the gospel, study your scriptures, and have happiness. 

-Elder Hayden M. Frey