Those Pesty Missionaries

Me in the park in Lugano, Switzerland  © Chad Card

This weekend, I was able to reflect on where I was and what I was doing ten years ago when the tragedy of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Flight 93 occurred on 9/11.  There is a part of me that wishes I was in the United States at the time, so that I could have been a witness to the heroism and great change I heard and read about and so that I could have commiserated with my family, friends, and nation.  The greater part of me, however, is glad I was not in the United States because I feel I was doing something far more important than feeling wounded by an event that was out of my control--I was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in Lugano, Switzerland at the time.

I don't want to get into the feelings I had ten years ago (you can read about them in my other blog), what I do want to discuss here is the type of work I performed as a missionary.  I have heard from some people that they believe the work of a missionary is to recruit people to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but that is not the case.  It would be a lie to say that missionaries don't want people to join the Church, but the goal of missionary work is not to increase enrollment for the mere want of greater numbers.  Although I also have to admit that to some missionaries the number of people they baptize on their missions does seem to be all that matters, the true goal of missionary work is to teach people about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and allow every individual the opportunity to come closer to Him.

Franco continues to affect my life even after his passing  © Chad Card

I am actually of the opinion that the missions members of the LDS Church serve are 80%-90% for the spiritual growth of the missionaries and only 10%-20% for helping people come unto Christ.  I say this because it is impossible for a missionary to convince anyone to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and make, often major, life changes to become a member of the LDS Church.  Religion is not an academically logical concept and no one can be truly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through such logic.  If religion is not spiritual it is not true religion.  One comes to a real knowledge of Christ and His teachings through spiritual experiences and spiritual logic.  Humans can argue topics until they are blue in the face, but they are hard pressed to convince anyone to understand things as they do.  However, the logic of the Spirit (Holy Ghost) is so powerful that it is all but impossible to refute it.  People can close themselves off from the Spirit and shield themselves from His teachings, but if one is willing to open oneself to the Spirit, He can alter one's perceptions of life-long beliefs in an instant.  Missionaries know or should know that they do not convert people to the Lord.  The role of a missionary is to help people learn of the Spirit and to allow the Spirit to teach and alter people's lives.  Any missionary that tries to do otherwise will be unsuccessful.

I am a convert to the Church and I first came in contact with the Church through missionaries who knocked on my door one night in September of 1998.  I had no personal use for religion in my life, but I was still interested in different religions and I took this opportunity to learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Gospel of Jesus Christ that it taught.  I know from firsthand experience that the missionaries, although really great people, were not responsible for my eventual conversion.  They certainly helped teach me things that were helpful for me in order to learn how to feel and recognize the Spirit in my life, but it was the experiences I had with the Spirit that brought me to an acceptance of the gospel.  Once I joined the Church through baptism and confirmation, which allowed me to receive the Holy Ghost as a constant companion, the things of the Church and the Gospel that didn't make sense to me began to unfold and the gospel became so logical to me.  This is what I mean by spiritual logic--it is not what one can learn from books, but what is taught by the Spirit.

I became a missionary for the LDS Church not because it was forced upon me ( I was already 24 and it was not expected of me,) but because as I began to grow in my understanding of the gospel, I had an overwhelming desire to offer other people the same opportunities I had had to come to a knowledge of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost and the incredible joy this knowledge brings into one's life.  Prior to my experiences with the Gospel, I was a broken young man with many internal scars and an abundance of unhappiness and emptiness in my life.  Through the understanding I gained of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Atonement for me and for all of us, I was able to find healing for my wounds and a pure joy and happiness to fill the void of my life.  I had tried for at least a decade to find such a remedy, but the world and logic could and will never be able to provide it.  It is only through the atoning power of the Savior that this is possible.

Me with Wilma and Petra in Locarno, Switzerland  © Chad Card

I did not become a missionary to add more numbers to the rolls of Church membership, I became a missionary to allow others to experience the same healing and joy in life.  We live in a beautiful world unfortunately full of awful things and the ills of this world will never be solved by man-made means alone.  People need to be able to heal spiritually and rely on the strength that comes from God.  Without this, people become closed, hardened, and vengeful.  Until we as a species can learn to love people who are not related to us, who are different from us, who hail from different lands, speak different languages, and believe differently, we will never be able to have true peace and happiness in this world and have the eyes to really see how beautiful the earth and all of the creations upon it are.

Anziano Bennett, Muyiwa, and I at Muyiwa's baptism  © Chad Card

As a missionary, I had two years in which I was able to forget myself and my needs and focus on the needs of others.  Sure, I had a directive to bring the Gospel to others and I wanted to do this for the reasons I have already explained.  However, I was the one who was transformed by this experience, because I learned what it means to have compassion for those around me and to love people unselfishly.  There is only one way to gain this and that is through service.  There is a reason we call it missionary service and not recruitment in the Church, because that is what it is--it isn't service to the Church, but service to God's children on this earth.  It is through service to others that we come to know how magnanimous God's love is for us and we learn that we have the same capacity to love others as He loves us.  The people I served in Italy and Switzerland will forever be etched in my soul and the love I have for them is eternal.  How great would our world be if we could all understand the true power of selfless service and love of which Jesus Christ is the greatest example?!

I apologize if this post seems too preachy, which is not the intent of this blog, but there really is no other way to convey what missionary work is.  It is my hope that this will help others understand why members of the LDS Church decide to serve missions and will help reduce the knee jerk reaction some people have when they see LDS missionaries.  This was not a comprehensive description of missionaries or missionary work, so if you would like further details, please leave a comment.