Quotes About Missionary Service Page 7
"I know from experience that some seasoned members of the Church do not know when they are receiving a witness of the Spirit...Perhaps lifelong members of the Church don't recognize the testimony of the Spirit because they have had it so often they take it for granted. Perhaps they are looking for something startling and different... I have heard adult members of the Church claim they do not have a testimony because they have never experienced a 'burning in the bosom' (D&C 9:8). If I thought this scriptural 'burning' only referred to caloric heat, I would have to say that I have never had a burning in the bosom either... In this usage, it does not seem to refer to heat but rather to an intensity of feeling. For me, the witness of the Holy Ghost is an intense feeling of serenity or well-being."
Elder Dallin H. Oaks Instructing missionaries at the MTC on June 21, 1988
"Some are better prepared to serve the Lord the first month in the mission field than some who are returning home after twenty-four months. We want young men entering the mission field 'on the run'."
President Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 192
"I promise you that the time you spend in the mission field, if those years are spent in dedicated service, will yield a greater return on investment than any other two years of your lives."
President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, Nov. 1995, p. 52
"I can promise you that the Spirit is a lot more anxious to help you than you are to be helped."
S. Dilworth Young
"I have often said one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work! If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. Work, work, work—there is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work."
Ezra Taft Benson, Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 200
If you don't know how to work, or if you don't like to work, work anyway. You'll come to realize after a while that, as with most things in life, you have a choice. You can either enjoy work or despise it; it's up to you. To paraphrase the words of Og Mandino, "You may work grudgingly, or you may work gratefully. You may work as an animal, or you may work as a man." (Og Mandino, The Greatest Secret in the World, p. 66)
John Bytheway, "What I Wish I'd Known Before My Mission" p. 37
"Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. It is always given when righteousness is present, and the greater the measure of obedience to God's laws the greater will be the endowment of faith."
Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 264
"Unless missionaries choose obedience, consecrating all of their time, talents and resources in the service of the Lord while they are in the mission field, they cannot fully realize all the great blessings the Lord has in store for them."
Robert D. Hales, Ensign, May 1990, p. 41
"An enterprising turkey gathered the flock together and, following instructions and demonstrations, taught them how to fly. All afternoon they enjoyed soaring and flying and the thrill of seeing new vistas. After the meeting, all of the turkeys walked home. — It is not our understanding of the principles of the gospel that brings the blessings of heaven. But the living of them."
Merlin R. Lybbert (May 1990 Ensign, page 82)
"In addressing a congregation, though the speaker be unable to say more than half a dozen sentences, and those awkwardly constructed, if his heart is pure before God, those few broken sentences are of more value than the greatest eloquence without the Spirit of the Lord and of more real worth in the sight of God, angels, and all good men. In praying, though a person's words be few and awkwardly expressed, if the heart is pure before God, that prayer will avail more than the eloquence of a Cicero. What does the Lord, the Father of us all, care about our mode of expression? The simple, honest heart is of more avail with the Lord than all the pomp, pride, splendor, and eloquence produced by men. When he looks upon a heart full of sincerity, integrity, and child-like simplicity, he sees a principle that will endure forever—'That is the spirit of my own kingdom—the spirit I have given to my children'." (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 169)
Quoted by Henry B. Eyring, Gen. Conf., Oct. 1997