Ballard - One More - April 2005

Elder Ballard follows up on previous talks about raising the bar on missionary service.

• Today, we call for more qualified missionaries, young men who have prepared to serve by accepting the challenge of our prophet “to practice self-discipline, to live above the low standards of the world, to avoid transgression and take the high road in all their activities.”

Raising the bar means that our youth have stronger testimonies of the restoration.

• When our youth understand the significance of the Restoration of the gospel and know for themselves that God is our Heavenly Father and He loves all of His children, that Jesus is the Christ, and that together They personally visited Joseph Smith to open this, the final dispensation of time, they will want to help carry this message to the world. When our youth see the Book of Mormon as tangible evidence that the message of the Restoration is true, they will be filled with a desire to do their part in teaching these truths to our Heavenly Father’s children.
  
• We know that all have within them the Light of Christ. Our responsibility as parents, teachers, and leaders is to kindle that light in our youth until the flame of testimony burns deep within their hearts and souls and then to encourage each one of them to take that flame and use it to help kindle the Light of Christ in others.

Parents have a responsibility in helping to raise the bar on their children as well.

• It is true that the bar has been raised for our missionaries. This means that the bar has been raised for parents and leaders as well. We will need to increase our faith and expand our efforts to give every young man the opportunity to serve.

Elder Ballard says we can reach more people then ever with the message of the gospel but we need missionaries that are worthy to take that message to the world.

• We need more hardworking, testimony-enriched missionaries in order to reach more of our Heavenly Father’s children who are now at a place where we can reach them. These are our brothers and sisters, and we have the responsibility to teach them the message of the Restoration.

All this discussion leads up to a call of action from Elder Ballard to bishops.  He extends a challenge to reach one additional youth that is not on their radar for missionary service and help prepare them to serve a mission.

• Now we have a special request for you bishops and branch presidents. We are aware that you already know those who have cleared the bar and are preparing to accept mission calls during this year. What we are asking leaders in every unit to do is to counsel together with parents and pray to find at least one more young man, above those already committed, who can be called to serve. If the over 26,000 wards and branches in the Church will send all of those whom they are already planning to send into the mission field plus one more, the ranks of our full-time missionaries will swell and we will move much closer to our divine mandate to take the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Of course, these missionaries need to be worthy, faithful, healthy, and fully committed. Perhaps this one more may not be ready right now. So we ask parents and stake and ward council members to rely upon the discerning power of the Holy Spirit to know whom you can help to be ready for a call this year.
  

Elder Ballard gives us three suggestions on how to help establish a rich tradition of missionary service in your family, stakes, wards, and branches.

• First, make sure all of our youth understand who they are.
  • Remind them that they are here at this particular time in the history of the world, with the fulness of the gospel at their fingertips, because they made valiant choices in the premortal existence.
    
• Second, teach the doctrine.
  
  • While activities and social events have their appropriate place in our overall youth program, it is the doctrine that converts and commits. Our youth have a right to expect that their parents and Church leaders and teachers will see that they know and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost will confirm the truth to their hearts and will ignite the Light of Christ in their souls.
    
• If priesthood leaders excuse any of you from full-time missionary service, we ask you and your families to accept the decision and move forward.
  
  • You can prepare to participate in the saving ordinances of the temple and find other ways to be of service. And we ask all of our members to be supportive and to show great love and understanding in assisting all of our faithful youth in their various Church callings.

Raising the bar is such a great concept in missionary service but also in our personal lives.  I challenged the men in my quorum last week to reflect on their personal lives and find a way to become more fully committed to living the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We need missionaries that are fully committed and prepared to enter the mission field.  We don't need missionaries that gain a testimony in the mission field.  We need missionaries that have a testimony before they go.  A mission will change the lives of investigators but it will also change the lives of the missionary.  Having a testimony and living worthy to serve prior to entering the mission field will help that missionary reach more people as the Spirit will be with him as he shares the gospel.  I hope we can all encourage our family members and friends live worthy of the special call that could come their way.