There is a lot to consider when deciding to serve a mission. I’ve gone through the process myself and collected the scriptures that helped me the most. Comment below if you have more!
Scriptures
Quotes From Prophets
- “Let the Saints remember that great things depend on their individual exertion, and that they are called to be co-workers with us and the Holy Spirit in accomplishing the great work of the last days” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 178–79).
- “We don’t ask any people to throw away any good they have got; we only ask them to come and get more. What if all the world should embrace this Gospel? They would then see eye to eye, and the blessings of God would be poured out upon the people, which is the desire of my whole soul.” (Joseph Smith. History of the Church, 5:259.)
- “Do not be discouraged on account of the greatness of the work; only be humble and faithful. . . . He who scattered Israel has promised to gather them; therefore inasmuch as you are to be instrumental in this great work, He will endow you with power, wisdom, might, and intelligence, and every qualification necessary.” (Joseph Smith. History of the Church, 4:128–29.)
- “The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (Joseph Smith. History of the Church, 4:540).
- “There is neither man or woman in this Church who is not on a mission. That mission will last as long as they live, and it is to do good, to promote righteousness, to teach the principles of truth, and to prevail upon themselves and everybody around them to live those principles that they may obtain eternal life” (Discourses of Brigham Young, sel. John A. Widtsoe [1954], 322).
- “Our duty is to preach the gospel to all men.… This is what God expects of us” (John Taylor. The Gospel Kingdom, sel. G. Homer Durham [1943], 234–35).
- “We have come to this earth upon a mission … that we may have power to go forth and warn the nations of the earth. … As elders of Israel, very few of us fully comprehend our position, our calling, our relationship to God, our responsibility, or work the Lord requires at our hands” (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, sel. G. Homer Durham [1946], 124).
- “There is no mortal man that is so much interested in the success of an elder when he is preaching the gospel as the Lord that sent him to preach to the people who are the Lord’s children” (The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow, comp. Clyde J. Williams [1984], 70).
- “We have a mission in the world: each man, each woman, each child who has grown to understanding or to the years of accountability, ought … to be qualified to preach the truth, to bear testimony of the truth” (Joseph F. Smith. Gospel Doctrine, 13th ed. [1968], 251–52).
- “We as a people have one supreme thing to do, and that is to call upon the world to repent of sin, to come to God. And it is our duty above all others to go forth and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the restoration again to the earth of the plan of life and salvation. … We have in very deed the pearl of great price. We have that which is of more value than all the wealth and the scientific information which the world possesses. We have the plan of life and salvation. … The best way in the world to show our love for our neighbor is to go forth and proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, of which he has given us an absolute knowledge concerning its divinity” (Heber J. Grant in Conference Report, Apr. 1927, 175–76).
- “That is your mission, my brethren and sisters of the Church, that is your responsibility. Freely you have received and our Heavenly Father will expect you freely to share with His other sons and daughters these glorious truths” (George Albert Smith. Sharing the Gospel with Others, sel. Preston Nibley [1948], 213).
- “We will attain our exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom only on the condition that we share with our Father’s other children the blessings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and observe the commandments that will enrich our lives here and hereafter” (George Albert Smith. Sharing the Gospel with Others, 190).
- “Every member … a missionary!” (David O McKay in Conference Report, Apr. 1959, 122).
- “True Christianity is love in action. There is no better way to manifest love for God than to show an unselfish love for your fellow men. This is the spirit of missionary work” (David O McKay Gospel Ideals [1954], 129).
- “We have heard that we are all missionaries. Every member … is or ought to be a missionary; … as members of the Church, having pledged ourselves to the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ we become missionaries. That is part of the responsibility of every member of the Church” (Joseph Fielding Smith. Take Heed to Yourselves [1971], 27–28).
- “Missionary work is but home teaching to those who are not now members of the Church, and home teaching is nothing more or less than missionary work to Church members” (Harold B. Lee. Improvement Era, Dec. 1964, 1078).
- “Now is the moment in the timetable of the Lord to carry the gospel farther than it has ever been carried before.… Many a person in this world is crying, knowingly and unknowingly, ‘Come over … and help us.’ He might be your neighbor. She might be your friend. He might be a relative. She might be someone you met only yesterday. But we have what they need. Let us take new courage from our studies and pray, as did Peter, ‘And now, Lord, … grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word’ (Acts 4:29)” (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball [1982], 546).
- “We must share the gospel with others. That is our responsibility—every member a missionary. That is the call of prophets of God. …Member-missionary work is one of the great keys to the individual growth of our members. It is my conviction that member-missionary work will raise the spirituality in any ward where applied” (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 208–9).
- “Surely taking the gospel to every kindred, tongue, and people is the single greatest responsibility we have in mortality. … We have been privileged to be born in these last days, as opposed to some earlier dispensation, to help take the gospel to all the earth” (Howard W. Hunter. “Walls of the Mind,” Ensign, Sept. 1990, 10).
- “What does the Atonement have to do with missionary work? Any time we experience the blessings of the Atonement in our lives, we cannot help but have a concern for the welfare of others. … A great indicator of one’s personal conversion is the desire to share the gospel with others.” (Ezra Taft Benson “The Atonement and Missionary Work,” seminar for new mission presidents, June 1994).
- “We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory, ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39). Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere” (Gordon B. Hinckley in Conference Report, Apr. 1995, 94; or Ensign, May 1995, 71).
- “Let there be cultivated an awareness in every member’s heart of his own potential for bringing others to a knowledge of the truth. Let him work at it. Let him pray with great earnestness about it” (Gordon B. Hinckley“Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep,” Ensign, May 1999, 106).
- “Missionary work isn’t the only thing we need to do in this big, wide, wonderful Church. But almost everything else we need to do depends on people first hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ and coming into the faith. … With all that there is to do along the path to eternal life, we need a lot more missionaries opening that gate and helping people through it.” (Jeffrey R. Holland. “We Are All Enlisted,” Ensign, Nov. 2011, 46–47)
- “My beloved brethren, you and I, today and always, are to bless all peoples in all the nations of the earth. You and I, today and always, are to bear witness of Jesus Christ and declare the message of the Restoration. You and I, today and always, are to invite all to receive the ordinances of salvation. Proclaiming the gospel is not a part-time priesthood obligation. It is not simply an activity in which we engage for a limited time or an assignment we must complete as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Rather, missionary work is a manifestation of our spiritual identity and heritage. We were foreordained in the premortal existence and born into mortality to fulfill the covenant and promise God made to Abraham. We are here upon the earth at this time to magnify the priesthood and to preach the gospel. That is who we are, and that is why we are here – today and always.” (David A. Bednar, Becoming a Missionary.)
- “I’ve studied carefully and prayerfully some who are remarkably faithful and effective witnesses of the Savior and His Church. There is no single pattern in what they do. There is no common technique. Each has prayed to know what to do. They each seem to get a different answer, suited especially to them and to the people they meet. Pray for the chance to encounter people who sense there could be something better in their lives. Pray to know what you should do to help them. Your prayers will be answered. (Henry B. Eyring, “A Child and a Disciple,” Ensign, May 2003.)
- “We can also pray daily for our own personal missionary experiences. Pray that under the divine management of such things, the missionary opportunity you want is already being prepared in the heart of someone who longs for and looks for what you have. “There are many yet on the earth… who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it.” Pray that they will find you! And then be alert, because there are multitudes in your world who feel a famine in their lives, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of the Lord.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Witnesses unto me,” Ensign, May 2001)
- “None of us should be like the fisherman who thinks he has been fishing all day when in reality he has spent most of his time getting to and from the water, eating lunch, and fussing with his equipment. Fishing success is related to how long you have your line in the water, not to how long you are away from the apartment. Some fishermen are away from home for twelve hours and have their line in the water for ten hours. Other fishermen are away from home for twelve hours and have their line in the water for only two hours. This last type may wonder why they do not have the same success as others. The same principle applies to missionaries, whom the Master called ‘fishers of men.’ A missionary’s line should drop into the fishing water the moment he or she leaves the apartment.” ( Dallin H. Oaks, seminar for new mission presidents, June 20, 2000)
- “Some of you may feel guilty that you are not giving much help to the missionaries. Today I invite you to relax and set aside your concerns and focus instead on your love for the Lord, your testimony of His eternal reality, and your gratitude for all He has done for you…. The Savior Himself showed us the way when He invited His disciples to “come and see… where he dwelt, and [they] abode with him that day” (John 1:39)…. Similarly, our homes can be gospel-sharing homes as people we know and love come into our homes and experience the gospel firsthand in both word and action. We can share the gospel without holding a formal discussion. Our families can be our lesson, and the spirit that emanates from our homes can be our message…. Creating a gospel-sharing home is the easiest and most effective way that we can share the gospel with others…. From every indicator we have, there is nothing more effective that any of us can do for our friends than to say “come and see” by joining with us in sacrament meeting. Far too many do not know they are welcome to worship with us.” ( M. Russell Ballard, “Creating a Gospel-Sharing Home”, Ensign, May 2006)
- “I add my personal witness: Our missionaries are not salesmen with wares to peddle; rather, they are servants of the Most High God, with testimonies to bear, truths to teach, and souls to save. Each missionary who goes forth in response to a sacred call becomes a servant of the Lord whose work this truly is. Do not fear, young men, for He will be with you. He never fails. He has promised: “I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88). (Thomas S. Monson, “Missionary Memories,” Ensign, Nov 1987, 41)
- “Now, some of you may be shy by nature or consider yourselves inadequate to respond affirmatively to the call to serve. Remember that this is the Lord’s work, and when we are on the Lord’s errand, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. The Lord will shape the back to bear the burden placed upon it.” (Thomas S. Monson. Prepare to be a Missionary).
- “None of us will honor our Heavenly Father and our Savior more than by serving as a devoted, compassionate missionary, “For them that honour me I will honour.”1 Samuel 2:30 . (Thomas S. Monson. Prepare to be a Missionary)