Doctrine & Covenants/Church History 2015-01-04 10:28:00
I brought in my son’s mission calls and passed them around. Most of them in the class had never seen one before. They loved looking through them.
I made small suitcases and gave one to each of them…caution, the girls LOVED them, the boys not so much :)
They were to copy down in their suitcases what to pack and what to leave behind.
I asked the question, “What is a missionary supposed to pack?”
Then I asked “What should a missionary leave behind”
I was looking for “sin”
To help students understand why it is important for prospective missionaries to repent of their sins, we read aloud the following statements by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
“In this battle between good and evil, you cannot play for the adversary whenever temptation comes along and then expect to suit up for the Savior at temple and mission time as if nothing has happened. … God will not be mocked. …
“… The Lord has drawn lines of worthiness for those called to labor with Him in this work. No missionary can be unrepentant of sexual transgression or profane language or pornographic indulgence and then expect to challenge others to repent of those very things! … The Spirit will not be with you, and the words will choke in your throat as you speak them. You cannot travel down what Lehi called ‘forbidden paths’ [1 Nephi 8:28] and expect to guide others to the ‘strait and narrow’ [2 Nephi 31:18] one—it can’t be done” (“We Are All Enlisted,” Ensign orLiahona, Nov. 2011, 45).
Elder Holland:
“Whoever you are and whatever you have done, you can be forgiven. Every one of you … can leave behind any transgression with which you may struggle. It is the miracle of forgiveness; it is the miracle of the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. But you cannot do it without an active commitment to the gospel, and you cannot do it without repentance where it is needed. I am asking you … to be active and be clean. If required, I am asking you to get active and get clean” (“We Are All Enlisted,” 45).
