As young men recite the Aaronic Priesthood Quorum Theme, they say, “I will prepare to become a diligent missionary.” As they take those words to heart, they will be doing one of the best things ever to lay a foundation for a bright future.
Recently, I attended the wedding reception of the son of a friend from Chile, named Mauricio. He was a young man in one of the wards in which I served when I was young missionary in Chile. I always asked him to help us with missionary work and encouraged him to serve a mission. A few years later he wrote me a letter from his mission saying, “Thanks for encouraging me to go on a mission. I can’t imagine where I would be had I not chosen to serve.”
Later, when I served in Chile again (this time as a mission president), Mauricio was serving as a stake president. He said to me, “Thanks for encouraging me to go on a mission. I can’t imagine where I would be had I not chosen to serve.” We were meeting at the wedding reception of his son, who had just returned from his own mission, and was now married in the temple. He said, “Thanks for encouraging my father to go on a mission. I can’t imagine where I would be had he not chosen to serve.”
I felt such joy as I realized that what I had done so many years earlier had affected generations. As I drove home from the wedding reception, I said a prayer: “Heavenly Father, thank you for encouraging me to serve a mission. I can’t imagine where I would be had I not chosen to serve.”
Don’t expect to see all the fruits of your labor on your mission. Those fruits may continue to grow up 20, 30, or 40 years down the road. Keep that in mind as you prepare to be a diligent missionary!
—Brother Brad Wilcox
First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency