Growing Older

I paused.
Watching General Conference at the weekend, I observed the effect of age on many church leaders.
Like them, we are all growing older.
Similarly, I observed our departing missionaries as they gave their final testimonies at our recent Zone Conferences.
They too have grown older.
And a little wiser as well.
But, there is also something very different.
They have overcome hundreds, if not thousands of obstacles over the last 18/24 months.
They know a lot about exercising faith in Jesus Christ, loving, and serving people, being obedient and working hard.
They have learned a lot about different cultures and languages.
They know too about the principles of a disciplined life.
They have grown not only physically, but spiritually too, through their service and study of the scriptures.
They have 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒅.
Their hearts are softer, gentler, kinder, and tender.
They have grown in knowledge, confidence, and ability.
In a few days’ time, they will no longer wear a missionary’s badge, but from personal experience, I know they will always be anxious to identify themselves as one who has served the Lord as a missionary.
Shortly, they will complete the full time missionary “chapter” in their own book of life.
And they’ll be ready for a fresh start in their next chapter, knowing what it takes to be a lifelong disciple of Jesus Christ.
To parents, family and friends, be prepared for some great inspirational stories and a powerful glow that will lift each of you to higher ground, to be better, to stand taller and to move forward with an increase in faith.
To those in Belgium and the Netherlands, if you want to speak to any of them before they go, then now is the time!
They’re growing older, by the hour!

Conversation Buddies

At our recent zone conferences, we held a communication activity.
We created a safe space to talk out loud and recreate a companionship council.
It was fun to observe, as each missionary verbalised their thinking.
They each taught one another something they didn’t know!
I noticed too, sometimes, we don’t listen to each other at all.
We may speak at each other, or past each other, rather than with each other.
Part of the exercise was to learn how to talk with one another in honest and effective ways.
Communication is an essential part of daily life, it’s like a lubricant for all our relationships.
Entering a conversation, we join with our own opinions, feelings, and experiences.
Conversations can hold immense power, create connection, and help us to grow.
With their conversation buddies, missionaries learned how to communicate more effectively, in turn leading to the need for some change.

Change

Change is hard.
We’re all human, and we all have our struggles, right?
Your biggest rival to change is most likely some internal obstacle that is going on in your head!
– A lack of confidence
– Laziness
– Procrastination
– Stubbornness
When we attempt to change, sometimes we may apply the wrong tactics.
Yet, daily, seemingly small decisions, can all add up to make a big difference.

Time

As I watch each missionary arrive at the start of their mission, over time, I see them develop, and change.
As each of them humbly turns to one another, and then ultimately turn to Jesus Christ’s great example, He increase’s their capacity to change.
Exercising their faith in Jesus Christ, it is only through Him, that they are all given the strength to make lasting changes in their lives.
He literally changes their hearts, because of His great love and empathy for the people He served.
He can and will do the same for each of us, as we accept His invitation to “Come Follow Him”.
Week in, week out, I am a witness to many, who have experienced a “change of heart” (Alma 5:26) as they learn more about divine communication.
Why not seek out a new conversation buddy, and speak with a missionary today…
How can faith in Jesus Christ help you to change?

Noise

In the Netherlands, noise pollution is a huge challenge.
One of the main sources of environmental noise in the Netherlands is road traffic.
There are statutory limits for road traffic noise.
The government encourages “quieter” tyres, silent asphalt, the installation of many different kinds of sound barriers and the insulation of homes.
Why? Because in a flat land, noise can carry over a very long distance.
We live in an area, known as the “Randstad”, and I am a witness to that noise every, single day.

Too Much Noise

Too much noise can be distracting and even overwhelming.
Yet, mild background noise can improve focus and creativity.
Many years ago, as a young salesman, I sold lots of different products, including public address systems for Premier league football stadiums.
I learned a lot about noise.

Meters

Using a 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 sound meter, I’d often conduct surveys with a technical engineer to check on background or ambient noise levels.
A calibrated meter was an essential tool, to understand the levels of background noise.
It was calibrated regularly.
To 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 something means to rectify, to correct, to change and to standardize, to adjust precisely for a particular function, and to re-measure against a standard to measure accuracy.
I especially like the definition given by the Cambridge English dictionary which is “to make small changes to an instrument.”

Personal Calibration

In a like manner, our missionaries are asked to recalibrate or re-examine their lives as disciples of Jesus Christ, daily.
Each of them carries a small booklet entitled “Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ”.
Sometimes divine adjustments can be painful, and circumstances can compel us to change.
Like the calibrated sound meter measures noise levels, often we need to re-calibrate our personal lives and
– our relationships with our spouse, children and other family members.
– our relationship with other friends and neighbours.
– our relationships with our brothers and sisters in the gospel.
Recalibration is important in every aspect of humanity, including our relationship with Jesus Christ and with others.
Most of us are aware of areas in our lives that need correction and adjustment.
What needs re-calibrating in your life?

Tick Tock

𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 – it’s always running out for someone.
My assistants and I regularly talk about time.
We plan with exactness each 6-week transfer, 42 days to be precise.
Often, we specify minutes for planned events.
Growing older, my notion of time is that it goes faster and faster.
In the mission, there is always someone running out of time.
It focuses minds on the present.
How a watch measures time and how we as humans perceive it, are seemingly quite different.
Our ancestors measured time in days, weeks, months, seasons, and years.
Unlike our ancestors, our measurement of time is different.
Today, we measure time in milliseconds, seconds, minutes, and hours.
Blink, and weeks have gone.

Hymn

I love these words penned by Robert Baird.
“Time flies on wings of lightning;
We cannot call it back.
It comes, then passes forward
Along its onward track.
And if we are not mindful,
The chance will fade away,
For life is quick in passing.
’Tis as a single day.”
(“Improve the Shining Moments,” Hymns, no. 226)
Time is lightning paced.
Each of us are stewards of our time.
Each day counts.

Today

Commenting on world conditions this week UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “Our world is becoming unhinged.”
In 2019, President Russell M. Nelson said, “I plead with you who have distanced yourselves from the Church and with you who have not yet really sought to know that the Saviour’s Church has been restored. Do the spiritual work to find out for yourselves, and please do it 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒖𝒕.”
It’s never too early or never too late to learn about Jesus Christ.
Take time today and speak to a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It’ll be the best time you spend today.
Are you doing everything that you should be doing with your one precious life?

Step by Step

The dictionary says that to walk means to move along on foot or advance by steps.
In life, people take many kinds of walks.
As we walk, we advance 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑.
The greatest of life’s rewards coming from walking along the right paths.
Jesus Christ recommended the strait and narrow way that leads to eternal life (Matthew 7:13-14).
We are encouraged to become like Him, “to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6).
Becoming like Jesus Christ will not happen in an instant, it happens gradually, 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒑.
He will guide us in our walk, at the right speed, in the right direction.
As we walk, we learn to control our thoughts and behaviour.
It takes time, maybe even an entire lifetime and beyond.
It requires daily work and daily effort.
Small steps in the right direction can sometimes turn out to be the biggest steps in our life.
All it takes, is one small step.
Becoming like Him is a slow, steady, and sure process.
The Apostle Paul taught, “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Having faith in Jesus Christ will help us move forward, even if we’re unsure of the next step.
Step by step, inspiration will come.
Step 1, say to yourself, “I can follow Him.”
Step 2, speak to a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It is a process you can start today, one step at a time.
Answers are only one step away.

Notetaking

It is an interesting little four-letter word “note.”
There are all kinds of notes, including bank notes, musical notes, people of note, promissory notes to pay a debt, or a brief record/memorandum used to assist our memories.
In my lifetime, I have sat through all kinds of meetings, thousands of them.
Note taking has frequently been part of my routine.
I know that by listening to and then summarising what you hear can help you understand and remember the information later.
I have probably filled up 100’s if not 1000’s of notebooks too.
Some of which I treasure to this day.
I’ve gathered action points and insights galore.
Taking notes can help you to concentrate and listen more effectively.
In fact, notetaking can also help keep you awake at times and even forces you to pay attention!

Paying attention

Growing older however, I’ve recognised that the most thoughts, impressions and feelings come gently, very softly even.
Last week whilst in a zoom call with Elder David Bednar, with other European mission leaders, he encouraged us to do something different.
Previously, sat in these kinds of meetings my experience is that there is an in initial rush to capture what an Apostle is saying, and like many others I found myself trying to keep up.
This time however, he invited us not to take dictation style notes, but rather to record personal impressions, as President Russell M. Nelson has challenged, so that “I know for myself”.

Knowing

I started to look for and listen for those customised messages, specially crafted so that I could “know for myself” what I needed to learn in that very moment.
As I listened to learn, my note taking changed from words he stated, to personal meaningful impressions that came.
I recognised that there is a space between the words that someone uses to the feelings of the spirit that can stir our souls into action.
Still, small, whisperings of the spirit came.
Why not consider your note taking in your next meeting, seminar or class, consider not recording the words said, but rather the feelings or impressions that come.
Listen to learn and learn to listen.

Rubbing Shoulders

Today, is Elder Douglas Glauser & Sister Marcia Glauser’s last full day in the Belgium Netherlands Mission.

Early tomorrow morning, they’ll catch a plane home.

As I thought about both of them, their service, and their impact upon all of us, a scripture from The Book of Mormon came readily to mind.

True disciples are rightly described as being “…steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works” – Mosiah 5:15

Definitions of these two words, shines additional light on who they really are.

Steadfast: devoted, faithful, resolute, dedicated, firm, loyal.

Immovable: fixed, secure, stable, anchored, unwavering.

Their period of service has provided a unique opportunity for all of us to become intimately acquainted with them.

Their “good works” are legendary.

For a season, many of us were regularly able to rub shoulders with both of them.

As a result:

  • We all stand a little taller.
  • We all feel a little better.
  • We all drew closer to Jesus Christ

Their quiet influence, gentle encouragement, powerful testimonies, and Christlike love and example inspired all of us to be and do better.

It was always a joyful privilege to be around them.

All of our lives have been touched for good, having been both edified and ennobled by the sweet blessings of our association with each of them.

Like Jesus Christ, “who went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), they followed His example perfectly, and subsequently influenced each of us to go and do likewise, “for God was with *them”.

Unquestionably, we shall miss them.

Perhaps we can all learn to speak a little sweeter with all the people we encounter today, and every day, as we honour them and the service they rendered, now and forevermore.

How can you do a little more good today?

Disciplined Hearts

Daily, missionaries are invited to be disciplined.
At the commencement of their service, each missionary receives a copy of “Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ”.
I know that there is no discipleship without discipline.
Discipleship means discipline!
“Walking the path of discipleship takes practice — each day, little by little, grace for grace, line upon line. Sometimes two steps forward and one step back. The important thing is that you don’t give up; keep trying to get it right.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Discipline

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: the quality of being able to behave and work in a controlled way which involves obeying particular rules or standards.
The word discipline comes from the Latin word discere, ” to learn, ” or discipulus, ” learner, ” making a disciple a student and follower.
Each of us, with discipline and effort, has the capacity to control our thoughts and our actions.
Whilst serving, missionaries learn about being more disciplined, every day.
Typically, each day begins at 06.30 and ends at 10.30pm.
Daily activities include, reviewing goals, planning schedules, studying the scriptures, prayer, preparing lessons, finding people to teach, serving others in the community, working with local members, teaching lessons face to face and online, travelling and attending other meetings/activities.

Disciplined Hearts

It requires a disciplined heart to be an effective missionary.
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency everyday lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” – John C. Maxwell.
Through discipline and devotion, and often challenging circumstances, missionaries become much more responsible and respectful in whatever they do.
I am a witness to the fact that discipline is something that can be developed and can act as a bridge between our goals and accomplishments.
“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” – Dalai Lama
Making a real effort to align our actions and behaviours with our thoughts is a sign of true discipline.
How do you develop your daily discipleship and discipline?

Looking for answers?

Missionaries receive lots of questions – daily!
I’ve also found that missionaries have many questions of their own.
Serving as a mission leader, I receive questions all the time!
In life, difficulties can be encountered everywhere.
Christians and those who follow other religious traditions can sometimes have doubts and fears, but it’s been my experience that those of no faith have more doubts and greater fears.
Life has taught me that almost everyone has questions or experiences concerns at one time or another about life or even the gospel.
“Some might feel embarrassed or unworthy because they have searching questions regarding the gospel, but they needn’t feel that way. Asking questions isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a precursor of growth.” Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Searching for answers in the scriptures is a powerful way to study.
It also helps when you choose to study with someone else.
That’s why missionary companion study is such a powerful way to learn.
I enjoyed discovering that again recently.
Finding answers together is really fun.
“We may know some of the answers; we may think we know many more; but there is still so much that no man knows, so much that all of — us together do not know so much for which we must venture forth in faith.” – Henry D. Moyle.
Life has also taught me that the Lord will answer our questions as we exercise our faith through studying the scriptures, we just need to take the time to look and see.
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” – Matthew 7:7
So, the next time you find yourself struggling with a personal question and not finding any answers or any peace, remember to bring the question into your scripture study.
“As we read and ponder the scriptures, we will experience the sweet whisperings of the Spirit to our souls. We can find answers to our questions.” – Thomas S. Monson.
Whatever problem you’re struggling with, the scriptures have the answer!
“When we want to speak to God, we pray. And when we want Him to speak to us, we search the scriptures. ” – Robert D. Hales.
Open your scriptures and start reading.
Answers will come.

Sister’s Shoes

Missionaries constantly come and go.

From every nation around the world, thousands of Elders and Sisters are called to serve.

We arrived in June 2021, during covid times, when there were few new arrivals.

Then, there were only 3 sister missionaries, Eleanor Goodall, Samantha Greenhalgh and Savannah Clark, in the mission.

Post covid, times have changed and there are now many more serving.

Scriptures

This week, I was reminded of a scripture from the New Testament.

“For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:” (1 Peter 2:21).

Many are called to follow His steps, to become like Jesus Christ and “to walk, even as he walked” (1 John 2:6).

The calls don’t occur, simply by chance or coincidence.

They happen by divine intervention, validated with the Lord’s signature.

They are personal.

In amongst last week’s arrivals, there was a familiar name and face.

Like her older sister Savannah, Madison had been called to serve in the Belgium Netherlands Mission.

A new beginning

On Friday, we had our first interview together in Amsterdam.

As we spoke, I recalled the many interviews I’d had with Savannah and our countless sweet memories.

Now, in that moment, living in the present, Madison and I started to write our new memories together.

Memories are timeless treasures of the heart.

In that moment, I felt a deep sense of gratitude for her presence in the mission, knowing that the call to serve here, in this mission, at this time, had been divinely designed for her.

Shoes

I’ll never forget Savannah’s big black boots.

Having big shoes to fill, may present a challenge for some and for others it may be an opportunity.

Not everyone gets to start off in the footsteps of their older sister.

Madison, armed with her sisters’ knowledge and experience, won’t be walking in big black boots; she’ll be adding her unique personal touch by forging a new path in her very own shoes (sandals!).

I hope we all choose to follow the example of Jesus Christ and follow in His footsteps.

It’ll be worth every step we take.