Fruits of our labors! — 1991
My father-in-law has often said that occasionally the Lord lets you live long enough to see the fruits of your long-forgotten labors. I had a small taste of that delicious fruit at the missionary farewell of a wonderful young man in our ward. I have spent much time with this great young man, particularly during his years in the Teachers’ Quorum. I was the advisor when he served as president and we became very close. The presidency and myself had training sessions and planning meetings at our home every Sunday night, and we enjoyed both spiritual and light-hearted times together. We always had a friendly rivalry on the basketball court, and enjoyed our competition. This young man was the first missionary to leave from our ward that I really felt that I had had some influence on. During the farewell, this young man’s father said, “There is one person here today that I have to thank personally for what he’s done for our boy.” He turned towards me and continued, “Brother Mike, you’ll never know what a great, positive influence you’ve had on our son’s life. Thank you.” The young man, in his remarks, thanked me personally as well, adding, “Brother Taylor taught me how to come unto Christ.” I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to associate closely with great young people such as this young man. What a wonderful missionary he will be.
As an epilogue to this experience, I have to add an experience we had with this young man before his farewell. In September, we invited him to come and speak to our youth about how he prepared for his mission and how he felt about his call. Expecting that his dress and appearance would be consistent with the topic and circumstances, no explicit instructions were given him. He arrived in multi-colored shorts, sandals, a loose white T-shirt, and a leather necklace. During his talk he said that he had never read the Book of Mormon but was doing so now. I assume that he is not much different than most prospective missionaries, but his experience punctuated the fact that we need to continue to stress the basics with our youth, including daily scripture study and reverence for sacred things. I’m sure that he will be a successful elder and reap a rich harvest. His preparation began in the premortal existence and his spirit is receptive.
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