Elder and Sister Randy D. Funk of the Seventy
Tuesday devotional, March 12, 2019
Tuesday devotional, Elder Randy D. Funk, March 12, 2019
- Elder and Sister Funk gave their presentation together.
- We love being with you. We have enjoyed meeting with missionaries throughout the United States and in the Far East.
- The greatest joy in missionary work is watching people change, but also watching what happens in the lives of the missionaries themselves as they share the gospel to others.
- Consider about what you will become by the time your mission ends. Your testimony, your conversion, your commitment, your capacities will all greatly expand and grow, if you truly devote yourselves to this great work.
- I can’t adequately express to you how my mission as a young man impacted my life. I will forever be grateful for what I experienced and what I felt.
- Missionaries, you cannot go back to who you were before your mission when you complete your missionary service. You need to continue upward and onward, never staying the same or being satisfied with staying the same. Perhaps family and friends will expect you to be about the same as you were upon your return, but do not let that happen. Do not go back to who you were!
- Jesus “increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.”. We should do the same!
- Magnify your calling and you will grow. Invite others, lead others, and the Lord will lead you in your work.
- Your faithful service as a missionary bless you and your future family throughout the rest of your life.
- Elder Funk had invited his trainer to be with us in the devotional. He had him come to the stand. Elder Funk was so appreciative of what his trainer did for him.
- Be a good companion. Be a good trainer.
- I came home with confidence due to my great companions.
- We want to share seven principles that will help you become the missionary you should be, to help you grow in wisdom and stature.
- Number One — Follow Jesus, study his life, learn from his example, and emulate his example. John 8:1-2, notice the words went, early, again, sat down, taught. Be a true disciple.
- Number Two — Study, love, and use the Book of Mormon. Miracles will occur when you use the Book of Mormon in the conversion process. The Book of Mormon provides powerful evidence of the divinity of Jesus Christ and of the true prophetic call of Joseph Smith. Obtain a personal testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Moroni 6 mentions those who were “nourished by the good of God”. That should happen to us every day. Study Alma 53:10.
- Number Three — Focus on your purpose. Forget about yourself and love the people. Your mission will begin when you place your concerns for the people above your own concerns. Find your own life by losing it in the service of others. Matthew 10:34.
- Number Four — Receive and follow promptings. Luke 2:25-26 — the blessings that Simeon received were due to his ability to follow spiritual guidance. Pray for guidance, recognize guidance, respond to guidance.
- Number Five — Fulfill assignments. Rather you are a zone leader, sister training leader, trainer, or junior companion, fulfill whatever assignment you have to the best of your ability. It is not about what you are asked to do, but how you do it!
- Number Six — Be the missionary your mother thinks you are! The Stripling warriors knew that their mothers knew of truth, and they performed according to that understanding. Keep the commandments, walk uprightly, “We do not doubt our mothers knew it…”. One mother said, upon the return of her missionary son, “We did not lose a son for two years — we gained a disciple of Christ because of the two years.”
- Number Seven — Trust in God and Jesus. Seek to do nothing but THEIR will. Don’t go fishing, as Peter did, but rather, feed the sheep!
- When you come to the last day of your mission, how will you look back and consider your service? Hopefully, with no regrets and feeling ultimate joy. Do NOT ever go back to who you were before you left. Continue upward and forward, every day for the rest of your lives.
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