Preparing to Serve a Mission without “Shrinking”: Thoughts on Last Night’s CES Broadcast by Elder Bednar

Last night, the young adults were lucky enough to be addressed by Elder David A. Bednar, apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, in a CES Broadcast. (For those of you who may have missed the broadcast, you can find it here)

Elder Bednar addressing the YSA at a devotional held at University of Texas Arlington

His address, entitled “That we Might not… Shrink” pulls from Doctrine & Covenants 19:18, which reads:

Which suffering [the atonement] caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

How to: Prepare to enter the temple prior to your mission

The most important thing you will do in preparing to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is enter one of the Lord’s holy temples and make covenants of eternal significance. More on these covenants can be found in a post written earlier this week–“The next big step: Understanding the importance of the temple in mission preparation.”

Oquirrh Mountain Temple, Utah

Because going to the temple for the first time is a big and important experience, it can seem a little daunting or overwhelming. However, proper preparation can help immensely with the process. I was blessed enough to attend the temple for the first time on Friday, and I loved it. Thankfully, I had some wonderful leaders and advice which helped me appreciate the experience–advise which I’d like to pass on to you.

News Flash: Boom in new LDS missionaries leads to creation of 58 new missions

Good morning all!

Yesterday, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced the creation of 58 new missions. These will be split from some of the existing 347 missions, and will not cover any new territories or countries. The changes are meant to accommodate the influx of missionary work that has occurred since the announcement of new ages for missionary service by Thomas S. Monson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in October (a large part of this influx, I am proud to say, being the result of sister missionaries–well done sisters!).

These are exciting times for missionary work, and there’s no better time to be preparing for a mission.

Some lovely sister missionaries in the Belgium mission.

The new missions being created are listed below:

The next big step: Understanding the importance of the temple in mission preparation.

Preparing to enter the temple as you prepare for a mission is an incredible opportunity and experience. We can talk a little more about the how-tos of temple preparation later, but first let’s look at what the temple is.

Many you have probably seen a temple before, but maybe not. Whether you’ve been a member of the Mormon faith for your entire life, or you’re just someone curious about the LDS temples, it’s helpful to be reminded of what a temple is, and why it’s important.

Missionaries as medics

Since this week’s theme is already medicine-related, but it’s Sunday (and hence a “spiritual post” day), I thought that this would be a useful note today:

As missionaries, we carry the good news of the gospel to calm, comfort, and care for the temporal and spiritual needs of those we come in contact with.

Immunizations

So! You’ve gotten your mission call–what next?

There’s a lot to do in preparing physically and spiritually for a mission, so it can be overwhelming in trying to decide where to start. Maybe the best place is with the least-appealing aspect of physical preparation (and one which may take a few months to complete): the shots.

If you’re serving in another first-world country, or even State-side, YOU STILL MAY NEED ADDITIONAL SHOTS. My brother, who is serving in Japan, made the mistake of not checking up on his immunizations (he had visited Japan before, and you wouldn’t particularly think of Japan as being somewhere that you would be particularly susceptible to a certain disease) and was almost unable to have them completed in time for him to leave. SO, to save you stress and scrambling later, do yourself a service and check up on your immunizations now. 🙂

Accepting Your Call with Grace: When things don’t go the way you planned

Finally, the day has come. That large white envelope was in your mailbox, and now you are here, with family and friends, or perhaps just alone in your room. Waiting. Staring at the envelop, dying to open it, with a tiny ounce of fear that you aren’t going to like what you see. The excitement overcomes you, and you tear it open, quickly read, and come to three words you had not wanted to see.

Dear Sister Denison:

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Ohio Columbus Mission…

Now, to any who may live in Columbus Ohio, this is not meant to be any personal offense. I will admit, however, that I was disappointed to see those words.

A Short and Simple Chart of Mission Preparation for Sisters

Here’s a helpful infographic created by the church for sisters preparing to serve as full time missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Enjoy!

Before you Start: Things to Collect before Starting the Online Recommendation Process

If you are like me, then getting started on your mission papers was almost as exciting as getting your call. And, if you’re like me, then after about twenty minutes of filling out the answers that you know, you realize you’re going to need a little bit more information before you’re able to get any further. To prevent this from happening, I’ve compiled a list of things you will want to have on hand or find out before starting your mission papers that you may not just know innately.

Financial Facts: Paying for your mission

Although many religious missions are paid for by the church the missionaries represent, those who choose to serve missions in the Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints are responsible for paying for their own mission.

The Basics:

The cost of serving an LDS mission—regardless of where the missionary is sent— is $400 a month. This will cover rent, food, and other living expenses, as well as the missionary’s plane ticket to and from her mission. For sisters who are planning on serving, the total cost for the 18 month mission will come out to be $7,200. Depending on where the missionary is called to serve, there may also be additional money needed to get the missionary physically prepared before departure with proper shots, clothing, and other gear. This expense can be overwhelming, but it can also be done.