John Bytheway - What I Wish Id Known Before My Mission

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bytheway, John, 1962
What I wish Id known before my mission / by John Bytheway.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-57345-207-6 (pbk.)
1. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsMissionsHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. MormonsMissionsHandbooks, manuals, etc. 3. MissionariesHandbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.
BX8661.B87 1996
266.9332dc20

96-34139
CIP

Printed in the United States of America
R. R. Donnelley and Sons

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

To my missionary hero, Abinadi, who may have felt that he had failed as a missionary, but who through Alma the Elder and his posterity altered the religious life of the Nephites and Lamanites for more than five centuries

Acknowledgments

I wish to thank many people who have influenced this project. Special thanks go to my mission presidents, the late Elder Robert E. Sackley and President Menlo F. Smith, and to all my companions and fellow missionaries in the Philippines Baguio Mission.

I am also indebted to Russ and Colleen Peterson (and their fax machine), Kathy Schlendorf, Brad Wilcox, and Cameron Burrup for their helpful input and suggestions on the manuscript. Thanks also to Sheri Dew, Emily Watts, Shauna Gibby, and the entire Deseret Book staff.

Finally, thanks to my new wife, the former Kimberly Ann Loveridge, not only for marrying me (and thereby dramatically reducing the stress level of my parents) but also for giving me her constant encouragement and support.

Part One

Before You Go

Remember that it is a day of warning, and not a day of many words. If they receive not your testimony in one place, flee to another, remembering to cast no reflections, nor throw out any bitter sayings. If you do your duty, it will be just as well with you, as though all men embraced the Gospel.

Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 43

Now What?

Some are better prepared to serve the Lord the first month in the mission field than some who are returning home after twenty-four months. We want young men entering the mission field on the run. President Ezra Taft Benson

So, youve rented that cap and gown thing, youve walked down the aisle, and now youre a high school graduate, huh? Good for you! Now what? Well, now you wear shorts, sit around, guzzle pop, and watch ESPN. Right? Wrong! Well, okay, maybe for a day or two, but take another look at the program they passed out at graduation. You might notice another word on there: Commencement. To commence is to start. Graduation isnt the end, its just the beginning! Your life is just getting started, my friend.

Up until now, youve been like a train. All youve had to do was follow the track. In sixth grade, if someone had asked you what you were doing with your life, you would have said, huh? because you were just following the track, doing what everyone else was doing. The track took you through elementary school, junior high, and high school. Now, suddenly, the track ends. Youve grown out of your choo-choo train, and now you can trade it in for an airplane that will take you anywhere you want to go.

So, what are your plans? Airplanes need flight plans, you know. If youre a young man, this is easy. If youre a young woman, it gets a little more interesting. Ill explain:

If youre a young man:
when youre 12, youre a deacon,
when youre 14, youre a teacher,
when youre 16, youre a priest,
when youre 19, you go on a mission,
when youre 21, you come home,
eventually get married, and live happily ever after ...

If youre a young woman:
when youre 12, youre a Beehive,
when youre 14, youre a Mia Maid,
when youre 16, youre a Laurel,
when youre 18, you graduate,
and then ...

Hey, what happened? You graduate from high school, and your world is wide open. You have more options than the young men of the same age. The prophets have said that every young man should serve a mission. But if youre a young woman, and you want to serve, you have a few more years to wait. What should you do? Im glad you asked.

This may seem like a strange time to retell the story of David and Goliath, but stay tuned. When David was preparing to meet Goliath, he chose him five smooth stones out of the brook and put them in his bag (1 Samuel 17:40). Later, when he confronted Goliath, he put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone (verse 49). The first stone he picked and hurled with his sling was the next thing that went through Goliaths head, so to speak.

You know the story, but heres a question you may never have thought of before. What if David had missed? What if his stone had flown over Goliaths head? Well, he had four other stones in his bag, and he would have loaded one of them. You see, David had backup plans. He had Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, and Plan E.

Young women can do the same thing David did. Youve graduated, and you are faced with a huge Goliath called What should I do next? Perhaps you want to go on a mission. Good for you! Reach in your bag, pull out the first stone, and label it Plan A: Mission. But wait! While youre preparing for Plan A, what if Mister Wonder, I mean, Brother Wonderful comes along? Aha! Heres why you have five stones. You reach into your bag and label another stone Plan B: Marriage, you put it in your sling, and you bean him on the noggin. In the meantime, I suggest putting Plan C: Education in your sling while youre waiting to turn twenty-one.

If youre a young man, Plan A is a full-time mission, and thats the only stone youll need right now. But you too might have to wait for a while before you can turn in your papers. What should you do?

Guy or girl, the important thing is that you have a purpose, a goal, an objective. Snarfing pizza and root beer while rotting in front of the TV is not a purpose. Its a lack of purpose. So, what kind of purpose should you have while preparing for a mission? Wait! We just missed it. Preparing for a mission is the purpose! Thats the main thing. What are you doing? Youre preparingthats your purpose. Lets talk about how you can fulfill that purpose.

TIME TO PRESS PAUSE ON THE TAPE RECORDER OF LOVE

Young women, this next part is for the guysyou already know what to do if Brother Wonderful comes along, right? Still got that rock in your bag? Okay. Young men, while preparing for a mission, you dont want to get your feet entangled in the anchor chain of the Love Boat.

The kind of girl you want to date and marry will not only want you to go on a mission, she will expect you to. Shell know that a mission can make you a much better person, and she wont be so selfish as to keep you from going.

One of my favorite definitions of a friend comes from Elder Robert D. Hales: A true friend makes it easier to live the gospel. At this time in a young mans life, living the gospel means going on a mission. The prophets have said it for years. If a romance is making it harder for you to go, you might have to ask, Is this relationship a friend or an enemy?