*Guest post written by Halee, author of Halee’s Thoughts.
I still remember my first year of Sunday School when we were being taught about missionary work. The reason I still remember those lessons is because our teacher would always ask us the exact same question multiple times throughout the lesson, “What are the three best ways we can be a missionary now?”
Immediately after he would ask the question, the entire class would respond in unison, “By example. By example. By example.”
I always kind of rolled my eyes until I took the time to think about the missionaries I knew. I still remember this certain pair of sister missionaries that served in my ward when I was younger and thinking I wanted to be just like them when I grew up. Those black name tags didn’t make them kind. Those black names tags didn’t make them Christlike. It was Christ. It was atonement. It was the Spirit. They might have been full time missionaries but it was their Christlike example that made them so great. It’s the Spirit that they carry with that allows them to teach people.
What you do reflects your name and who you are. The things you do not only reflect on you but on your Savior, Jesus Christ. We made a promise at baptism to take upon His name.
I grew up in an area where there wern’t very many members. For a little bit my siblings and I were the only members of the church in our school. My mother always made a point to tell us to set a good example and to always “be good and do good!” So, we tired our best and did what we could to set a good example in our school. When I graduated I received multiple letters in my senior book telling me that it was because of my strong example that they tried harder to be better. I wasn’t doing anything extraordinary. All I was doing was following the Savior’s example to the best of my ability. That’s it. I had no idea I was making such a difference.
You may not realize it but your example is everything. Just think of the domino effect. Someone seeing you doing a random act of service could help them do the same and so on. You smiling at someone while you walk by them has the same effect. It may be hard to see sometimes but I promise you that your little efforts matter and are SO important. Your daily example is powerful and inspiring. You may never know who’s been influenced by your strong example but know that someone is always watching— so be a good example, because that makes a good missionary. That is how missionary work is started. You can’t ask someone to read their scriptures and pray daily if you aren’t. Your example is more powerful than your words. Try try try to be that good example.
Anyways, I just want you to always remember that people are watching you. There is someone that is looking up to you and trying to become more like you. There is someone out that’s heart is being softened towards the church and the gospel because they know you. The best missionaries lead by example and that is something that we must strive to do in order to be an effective missionary, whether full time or not. So like my mom always says, “Be good, do good!”