Preparing Your Future Missionary

The most important preparation for a mission is Spiritual. But parents can help their children develop practical skills as well.

          Missionary work is a new world for most young missionaries, a radical change of lifestyle. MANY WISH THEY HAVE BEEN BETTER PREPARED. But how should prospective missionaries prepare for the experiences that await them in mission field? And how can parents help?

          Clearly the most important kind of preparation is spiritual. Prospective missionaries should do all they can do to develop their testimony and to ensure that they are worthy of representing the Lord. But practical skills are also important in determining how successful a missionary is in the mission field.

           In an address to Church Leaders and parents of prospective missionaries, President Gordon B. Hinckley shared cautions about the demands of the work and the importance of adequate preparation. "This work is rigorous," he said. 'It demands mental sharpness and capacity. It demands faith, desire and consecration. It demands clean hands and a pure heart. The time has come when we must raise the standards of those who are called to serve as ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ.... We need missionaries, but they must be capable of doing the work.

            In addition to nurturing their children's spiritual development, parents can help their children become successful missionaries by guiding and encouraging them in at least three area: setting goals, learning how to work,and taking care of their emotional health.