“A missionary is someone sent by Jesus Christ just as He was sent by God. The great controlling factor is not the needs of people, but the command of Jesus. The source of our inspiration in our service for God is behind us, not ahead of us. The tendency today is to put the inspiration out in front— to sweep everything together in front of us and make it conform to our definition of success. But in the New Testament the inspiration is put behind us, and is the Lord Jesus Himself. The goal is to be true to Him— to carry out His plans.
Personal attachment to the Lord Jesus and to His perspective is the one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary work the great danger is that God’s call will be replaced by the needs of the people, to the point that human sympathy for those needs will absolutely overwhelm the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, and the conditions so difficult, that every power of the mind falters and fails…” ~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, ‘What is a Missionary’, October 26
Gone are the days when LDS missionaries were told ‘I’d rather you come home in a casket, than come home early’. In an effort to hold tight to that which isn’t theirs, the Church is throwing out all kinds of ideas to keep the younger generation from leaving the fold.
A new missionary program announced by the LDS Newsroom this week has basically rewritten their definition of what constitutes a missionary. It’s become painfully obvious they’re throwing anything at the wall hoping something will stick… (more…)
