November 2009
Dear Creed,
I am so proud of you! I know you are the type of young man who will make a wonderful missionary and serve the Lord valiantly. Below is the talk that I gave at Jacob’s farewell. We no longer have family members speak at missionary farewells, but I wanted you to have this because it is the key to success as a missionary and in all that you do in life. It is the most important lesson I can teach you.
Embarking in the service of God
In the missionary training center, one of our instructors was trying to inspire us to be the types of missionaries that would make our mothers proud. He told us to keep the mission rules and to study and pray. His parting words of advice were: “Elders, you can’t fake the work.”
It was several months before I began to understand what he meant. D&C Section 4 is commonly thought of as referring to missionaries. While that is true, it is also about work and it applies to all of us. Let me skip through this section and highlight some of the comments it contains.
“O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength…”
“If ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the WORK.”
“The field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store”
“And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the WORK.”
Notice a pattern? These verses all describe actions that are required of us.
This section of scripture provides a pattern of success not only for missionaries, but for all of us as well. In summer, we’ve all seen fields of grain turn from green to yellow. And as the heads of grain reach the peak of ripeness, the gold color turns to white in the brightness of the summer sun. This is the moment the farmer waits for. After months of planting, cultivating and irrigating, this would seem to be the culmination of all his efforts. Yet acres of ripe grain are of no value without further effort by the farmer. He doesn’t get paid for grain that is still in the field.
Harvest time is the beginning of real labor, not the end. Extra workers are often required because there is much to do and the time is short. It is monotonous work. From daylight until dark, day after day, the laborers must thrust in their sickles and reap. And when all the grain is cut, the work still is not done. The grain must be threshed to separate the wheat from the chaff. Then the clean grain must be milled. The resulting flour can then be made into dough and baked. And only then can the farmer taste the result of a full year of work.
Although it can seem dreary, those who work hardest learn to feel the joy that comes from fruitful labor. They come to value soreness that comes at the end of the day. They appreciate the open expanse of a field that has been cleaned of its crop. And they know the comfort of full storerooms and the knowledge that there will be food to eat during the cold winter months.
In the case of reaping souls, the Lord has already done much of the labor. He has sown and tended. For us, the field is white, already for harvest. We have only to step into the waiting fields and thrust in our sickles. And if we serve with all our heart, might, mind and strength, our reward is much better than bread. We can “stand blameless before God at the last day.”
If we thrust in our sickles with our might, we “layeth up in store that we perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to our souls.”
In asking us to help bring in his harvest, the Lord is not requiring of us anything that he does not expect of himself. He has told us that his work and his glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. It sounds quite simple.
As a missionary, I felt like missionary work was about the hardest thing I’d ever had to do. Looking back, the transition from missionary work to parenting seems like the difference between kindergarten and graduate school. And I’m sure the difference between what the Lord is asking us to do and what he is doing himself is just as dramatic.
When we step into the Lord’s white field and begin to swing our sickle, our efforts and skill are obvious. We can cut a wide swath or a narrow one. Our pile of grain will be great or small, depending on how we use our might, mind and strength. You can’t fake the harvest of grain.
We all embarked in the service of God when we were baptized and we promised our older brother Jesus Christ that we wanted to be like him. In fact, we wanted to be known by his name and we promised we would keep all his commandments.
For the next two years you will wear Jesus’ name on a badge on your chest for all the world to see. More importantly, you and all of us should always have his name engraved on our hearts. No one can see it, but we should feel it all the time. And when we come to a field that is white, our hearts should long to feel the sickle in our hands. We should yearn for the sore and aching muscles that come from laboring all day in the fields to help the Lord harvest the souls he has planted.
And when the harvest is over, we will rest with our Lord, secure in the knowledge that our storerooms are full.
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I taught you to work hard and I have always tried of be an example of that. There will be times when this challenge will seem difficult to bear, but I know you have the strength to do whatever is needed.
We will pray for you every day. Anytime you get discouraged or wonder if you can really do what you are being asked, just remember all of your family members who are praying for you to have success and for Heavenly Father to bless you with his spirit.
I am going to miss you for the next two years, but I am glad you have chosen to take this time to serve your Heavenly Father. He will bless you and me for the work that you do. I know the time will pass quickly and I look forward to your return in November 2011.
Love, Dad
Utah Bloghive
