Becoming a Consecrated Missionary

Given by Elder Tad R. Callister, of the Seventy

Provo Missionary Training Center
October 7, 2008
Many years ago I entered the Mission Training Center as a young
enthusiastic
missionary. The training was shorter and simpler then, but the spirit was
just as powerful. I have long forgotten most of what was said, but an
observation made by the president of the Mission Training Center struck
me and has remained with me to this day. He said in essence:
Every mission has a number of good, even great missionaries, but most
missions only have about five or so consecrated missionaries those
who are willing to lay everything on the altar of sacrifice.
Today I believe we have many more such consecrated missionaries. But
to those of you who are not quite there, but would like to be, it is you to
whom I would like to speak today about becoming a consecrated
missionary.
What is a Consecrated Missionary?
What is a consecrated missionary? It is a missionary who is willing to lay
everything on
the altar of sacrifice and to hold nothing back. It is a willingness to give
every ounce of energy, every conscious thought, and every drop of
passion to this work to submit our will to Gods will whatever it may be.
Every missionary who has been to the temple has covenanted
to consecrate his all. The book of Omni records the depth and breadth of
that covenant: Yea, come unto me, and offer your whole souls as an
offering unto him (Omni 1:26).
The law of consecration is the law of the temple, it is the law of the
celestial kingdom, and it is the law of a celestial mission.
Parley P. Pratt was such a consecrated missionary. He had served as a
missionary for
more than 25 years of almost constant labors. He had just returned from
his latest mission in Chile. He was hopeful that he could now remain at
home and enjoy his family, but such
expectations were short lived. President Brigham Young called him to
serve yet another
mission this time in the eastern states. One can imagine the feelings
that must have swelled up in Parleys heart. Perhaps he thought,
Havent I given all that a mortal could be expected to give? Dont I
deserve to spend some time with my family and friends? Cant I just
relax for a while?

But Parley P. Pratt was a consecrated missionary. On September 7, 1856,

shortly after
learning of his call by Brigham Young, he offered the following tender
reflections and prophetic insights: I have desired, after travelling for
twenty-five or twenty-six years, mostly abroad, to stay at home and
minister among the people of God, and take care of my family; but
Gods will be done, and not mine. If it is the will of God that I should
spend my days in proclaiming this Gospel and bearing testimony of
these things, I shall think myself highly privileged and honored. And
when the Spirit of God is upon me, I think it matters but very little what I
suffer, what I sacrificedwhether I secure the honor or dishonor of
men, or where I die, if it so be that I can keep the faith, fight the good
fight, and finish my course with joy. I have all eternity before me, in
which to enjoy myself. (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, p. xxv.)
Sometimes there is a temptation to withhold part of the offering. Such
was the case with
Ananias and Sapphira, his wife. The scriptures tell us that they sold a
piece of land. Under thelaw of consecration they were to turn over the
entire sale proceeds to the church, but secretly they kept back part of
the price. The consequence was devastating they were struck dead
(Acts 5:1-10). Sometimes good men, perhaps even great men, cant
quite bring themselves to put everything on the altar of sacrifice, and in
the course lose their eternal lives. So it was with the rich young ruler. He
had kept the commandments from his youth up. Then the Savior
declared, Yet lackest thou one thing. Sell all thou hast and distribute
unto the poorand come follow me. But it was too much to ask, and he
went away sorrowful, unwilling to put his all on the sacrificial altar.
Peter, overhearing the conversation and understanding there could be
no shortcuts to eternal life, no holding back, declared in contrast: We
have left all and followed
thee (Luke 18:18-28). Perhaps we have one or two things which we
lack, that we hold back from the sacrificial altar, that prevent us from
becoming a consecrated missionary. May I discuss some of those, so that
hopefully we too might become like Peter and leave our all on the altar
of sacrifice.
Put On the Altar of Sacrifice Any Disobedience.
First, a consecrated missionary puts on the altar of sacrifice any streak
of disobedience he may possess, however large or small it may be. He
has an unrelenting quest to be exactly obedient. King Lamoni recognized
that Ammon was a consecrated missionary, for he said: Even he doth
remember all my commandments to execute them (Alma 18:10).
When I first entered the field as a mission president, I met several times

with a
missionary who was struggling with obedience. One day in frustration he
blurted out: What then is it you want me to do? I replied: You have
missed the point. It is not what I want you to do, it should be what do
you want to do? There was a moment of silence and then he made this
insightful observation: You are not just asking me to change my
behavior; you are asking me to change my nature. He was so right.
If you only change your behavior, then you will be the same person you
were when you left home, subject to the same problems that plagued
you then. But if you change your nature you will go home a new man or
woman, with the power and discipline to conquer your old Goliaths. If
you only get up at 6:30 am because your companion does, you have
merely changed your behavior. If you get up whether or not he does, you
have changed your nature. If you speak good words but entertain bad
thoughts, you have only changed your behavior. If you also change your
thoughts you have also changed your nature.
With the Lords help we can transform our natures. King Benjamin gave
the key as to
how we can do it. We must become submissive, meek, humble, patient,
full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to
inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Mos 3:19).
That is the key to submit our will to Gods will.
One missionary, upon going home told me that he slept in one morning.
His companion
said to him, Its time to get out of bed. This missionary responded, I
dont want to. His
companion replied, Its not about what you want, its about what the
Lord wants. The
missionary said; I have never forgotten that a mission is about that
the Lord wants, not what I want.
A consecrated nature will cause us to be obedient, not because we have
to, but because
we want to. Such a nature may cause us to change the music we listen
to; it may cause some to be more positive in their speech, or more
exacting in following the morning schedule or more diligent in their
studies. Whatever it is, the consecrated missionary will read the white
handbook with enthusiasm, anxious to obey and follow every rule with
exactness, knowing that it is not a book of restraints, but a book of
blessings. He will have an overarching, burning desire to do the Lords
will, not his.

Leave Our Fears on the Sacrificial Altar

Second, consecrated missionaries leave their fears on the sacrificial altar
and open their
mouths with everyone. This will be one of your great challenges in the
mission field. It
sometimes separates the consecrated missionaries from the good
missionaries. I recognize there may be multiple reasons why someone
doesnt open his mouth at all times and in all places why he holds back
a part of the offering. It could be a timid personality, or a fear of man, or
a streak of laziness, but whatever the excuse may be, it must eventually
be overcome. It never outweighs the Saviors command which states:
And thou must open thy mouth at all times. (DC 28:16). This injunction
is repeated again and again in the scriptures.
On another occasion the Lord said, At all times and in all places he shall
open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump both
day and night. And then comes the promise to those who do: And I will
give unto him strength such as is not known among men (DC 24:12).
Sometimes in life we just have to square our shoulders and do it. There
is no magic pill
that makes us courageous, no passage of time that strengthens us, no
memorized approach that emboldens us. We are left only with the
compelling counsel of King Benjamin: And now, if ye believe all these
things, see that you do them (Mosiah 4:19).
Years ago my grandfather was serving as the president of the Rotterdam
Branch in
Holland. He told of a woman who came to him destitute, who had earned
the equivalent of an American quarter for the entire week. She asked if
she needed to pay tithing. He looked at her for a minute in her
impoverished condition, and then said: Sister, if this were my church,
I would not take your tithing. But it is not my church; it is the Lords
church, and tithing is a principle upon which blessings of the Lord are
predicated. (LeGrand Richards Speaks, P. 185.)
She paid her tithing.
If I could as a Mission President, I would have exempted some
missionaries who
struggled with opening their mouth. I knew how hard it was for them, but
I couldnt. The
command to open ones mouth is not my command. It is not the
command of Preach My
Gospel, it is not the command of the missionary department, it is the
command of the Lord who has spoken on this subject again and again
through his living prophets. Sometimes we have to be like Nephi and

say, I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I
know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men,
save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the
thing which he commandeth them (1 Ne 3:7). Eventually we must do
more than tell the stories of the Book of Mormon; we must live them.
The Lord, in speaking to a group of departing missionaries (like you), told
them five
times to preach by the way (DC 52:10-27). We preach by the way
when we talk to people in the parking lots, when we speak with people in
elevators, when we speak to people in the stores or on the bus or at the
gas stations. Consecrated missionaries preach by the way at all times
and in all places, both day and night. Sometimes we have
missionaries who are so worried about offending people that in
the process they never ever save them.
I had an assistant who used to say, If you want to baptize a few people
you talk to a few
people, if you want to baptize a lot of people you talk to a lot of people
and if you want to
baptize everyone you can, you talk to everyone you can. But the Lord
gave an even further reason for opening our mouths. He declared: And
it shall be given thee from the time thou shalt go [out of thy apartment
in the morning], until the time thou shalt return [to thy apartment in
the evening] what thou shalt do. (DC 28:15-16). In other words, you will
have the spirit from the moment you leave your apartment until the
moment you return to your apartment if you do what is required in verse
16: And thou must open thy mouth at all times, declaring my gospel
with the sound of rejoicing. Amen.
The reason it is so important to open our mouths is that every time we
do so we exercise
faith, and every time we exercise faith we invite the spirit and miracles
into our lives.
Consecrated missionaries open their mouth with everyone.
Put Our Romantic Passions on the Table
Third, a consecrated missionary puts his romantic passions on the altar
of sacrifice; he
has a locked heart and a focused mind. He is never flirtatious, he does
not have an eye on the cute BYU coed or the friendly young single adult,
nor is his prime focus with the young women after sacrament meeting.
He is not obsessed with his girl friend back home. He rises above all of
that.
In my day the white handbook contained this all-inclusive statement:
Put out of your

mind all thoughts of home, school, your girl and worldly things. It was a
powerful reminder
that our mission was the sole focus of our mind and the sole passion of
our heart. As hard as it may be, the consecrated missionary disciplines
his passions. His eye is riveted to this work. He is like the thoroughbred
horse with his blinders on. He races ahead, seeing only track and
finish. If an inappropriate thought enters his mind, he drives it out with a
hymn or scripture. His mind does not go with the flow. Rather, there is an
active, concerted, conscientious effort to keep his mind pure and clean.
When David saw Bathsheba on the rooftop, he continued to watch
that was his downfall. When Joseph was tempted by Pharaohs wife, the
scriptures say: [He] got him out (Gen 39:12), and that was his
salvation. It is no different with our minds. Alma taught this principle to
his son Corianton, who had unfortunately unlocked his heart to the harlot
Isabel. Alma scolded his son severely and said, Yea, she did steal away
the hearts of many, but this was no excuse for thee, my son. And then
he gave him the remedy to be a consecrated missionary, go no more
after the lusts of your eyes, but cross [or discipline] yourself in all
these things. (Alma 39:4,9).
You young missionaries who enter the field, will be surrounded, almost
immersed, by
those in immodest clothing, by suggestive billboards, by magazines and
papers that have lost all sense of moral decency. If you garnish your
thoughts with virtue unceasingly (DC 121:45) the consequences will be
monumental in your life. As a missionary you will have confidence
that the Lord will hear and answer your prayers. The Lord himself
promised: Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy
confidence wax strong in the presence of God. (DC 121:45) In addition,
when you go home and date, you may not only have a romantic
courtship, but one that is also clean and wholesome. And when you are
married you will be a loyal and true spouse. If every action is preceded
by a thought, then every consecrated missionary must first have a clean
and consecrated mind.
Give Up Pride
Fourth, a consecrated missionary gives up his pride on the sacrificial
altar. The Lord
made it clear, And no one can assist in this work except he be humble
and full of love (DC 12:8). Pride manifests itself in many ways one way
is disloyalty to those who are our leaders.
Loyalty is much more than a reluctant submissiveness. It is an active
pursuit, not only to follow the counsel of our leaders, but to seek their
counsel. A consecrated missionary hungers and thirsts for instruction as

to how he can be better, and how fortunate we are to have so

many missionaries in the world who manifest that spirit. Again and again
missionaries would ask me in the field, President, what can I do to be a
better missionary. And oh, how they became so.
Pride may manifest itself in jealousy of companions. I think of one of the
finest elders of
our mission. I never heard him say I. It was always we or my
companion did this or my companion did that. Though his words
always credited someone else, somehow you always knew he was the
driving force behind it all. Pride may manifest itself in a reluctance to
confess our sins. We may be too embarrassed to do so, or fearful of the
consequences or unrealistically hoping the sin will somehow vanish if we
serve an honorable mission. But at the root of each of those excuses is
pride.
On one occasion a missionary came to me with a belated confession. I
asked him what
motivated him to come. He responded: I finally disclosed to my
companion that I had
something to confess to the President, but I didnt want to go home.
Then my companion said something that struck me to the very core.
Elder, he said, there is something even more important than your
mission. Somewhat surprised I replied, What is that? Then came
his answer: Repentance repentance is more important than your
mission. The young Elder who sat before me said, President, I knew he
was right. And that is why I am here. I want to repent. Not too long ago
I received an invitation to attend his temple sealing.
Some have honestly asked, When should I confess? When the sin is of
such a serious
magnitude that it may trigger a disciplinary proceeding or continues to
linger in our minds so that we cannot have peace. If we then fail to
confess, our spiritual horizons become limited. It is like being surrounded
by a circular, impenetrable wall. In such a circumstance, we have
some limited room in which to move, but we are trapped. We will look in
vain for a slit through which we can squeeze, an opening through which
we can pass, an end around which we can travel. There are no end runs,
no secret openings, no hidden passages. Serving a faithful mission
does not obviate confession; months and years of abstinence no not
erase its need; one-on-one pleading with the Lord is not a substitute.
Somewhere, sometime, somehow one must face the wall square up and
climb it. That is confession. When we do this our spiritual horizons
become unlimited and we become entitled to the promise of the Lord.

Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow (Isaiah

1:18).
Pride may manifest itself in a defensive attitude or a multitude of
excuses. On one
occasion I reprimanded a missionary for an act of blatant disobedience.
He started to offer
excuses; finally I said, If you want to offer excuses I cannot help you. If
you are willing to
acknowledge the wrong, I will work with you and we can build for a
constructive future on a
sure and solid foundation. That day he had to choose between
rationalization and repentance. Fortunately he chose the latter.
One night I was with an Elder Choi and Elder McClellan. We were talking
to a mother
who was reluctant to let her 17-year-old son be baptized. For at least ten
minutes of the
conversation she chastised these elders severely, and literally raked
them over the coals. No doubt they were embarrassed, perhaps even
offended, particularly since their mission president was present. In my
estimation they had done nothing wrong. Instead, they were taking
an undeserved whipping of substantial proportions. I thought, will they
fight back, will they argue, will they defend their position? To their credit
there was no argument, no excuses simply the humble response that
they were trying to do what was best for her son and if in any way they
had failed to do so they were sorry. They were not trying to win an
argument. They were trying to save a soul. With that humble spirit, her
heart softened, and finally she agreed that she would listen more
carefully to the message her son was being taught. They were
consecrated missionaries every ounce of their pride had been put on
the altar of sacrifice.
We Put our Negativism and Sarcasm on the Table.
Fifth, consecrated missionaries are willing to give up any negativism or
sarcasm. Instead
they are optimistic and positive. They have a 24-hour smile. They live
the invitation of the
Savior, Be of good cheer I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
There is not a negative
bone in their bodies. There is no rejection at the door or on the street
that can dim their
enthusiasm. They are willing to pay the price of repeated rejection for
the hope of a single

conversion. Whatever the world throws at them, they throw back a

smile, because they know they have the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Consecrated missionaries are like Heber C. Kimball and Brigham Young,
who left for
their missions to England. Their families were poverty stricken, they
were sick, and there was little food available for the ensuing months.
Heber and Brigham, finally able to raise themselves from their own sick
beds, kissed their wives and started on their journey. Brigham recorded:
It seemed to me as though my very inmost parts would melt within me
at the thought of leaving my family in such a condition. (Men With a
Mission, p. 71.) But before they were out of sight, Brigham directed the
teamster to stop. He and Heber mustered all their strength to stand,
they raised their hats over their heads three times and shouted, Hurrah,
hurrah, hurrah for Israel. We have such consecrated missionaries who
can shout Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah for Israel even when they are
bombarded with rejection, or illness, or disappointment who have
unwavering faith in the promise of Paul: let us not be weary in well
doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Gal 6:9).
Extra-Milers
Consecrated missionaries are extra-milers. They put on the table of
sacrifice every ounce
of their energy, every hour of every day. When Roger Bannister broke
the four minute mile, he collapsed at the finish line into the hands of his
well-wishers. A journalist, sensing all that was involved in that historic
moment wrote: The runner, open-mouthed, thin-legged, knowing
only pace and goal, spending his strength so that the finish, at one mile,
there was nothing more. For a consecrated missionary there is nothing
more to give at the end of the day. He has put it all on the altar of
sacrifice.Consecrated missionaries are missionaries who would finish the
marathon. They aremissionaries who would go the full fifteen rounds.
They are missionaries who carry no whiteflags.
Years ago at family night we would have wrestling as part of the evening
activities our children loved it. When the kids were little I would
sometimes hold them down and ask, Do you give up? At first they
would say, Yes Dad, I give up. Then I would say, No, you never give
up, you never give up. As time would pass and I would ask the question
again, they would quickly reply, No, Dad I never give up. Consecrated
missionaries never give up on the Lords work. They never throw in the
towel. They would have made it from Palmyra to Salt Lake Valley.
Nothing would have weeded them out along the way. For you see, they
had unwavering faith.
Consecrated missionaries are out of the apartment by 10:00 a.m. They
do not come back

before 9:00 p.m., except for lunch or dinner. They speak to everyone.
They knock at one more door. There is a quickness in their pace and an
urgency in their work. You can see it in their faces.
Years ago I was a young missionary in Washington DC. I was on an
exchange with an
Elder Hafen. It was a bike area. We had an appointment across town but
the rain started to pour. He asked, Should I cancel the appointment? I
replied, This is your area, you make the decision. He thought for a
moment and then replied, Lets ride. I love those words Lets ride
rain, sleet, snow, it doesnt matter Lets ride. That is the spirit of a
consecrated missionary.
When consecrated missionaries are exhausted and nothing is left, they
rely upon their
faith, and the reserve tanks of energy somehow carry them through the
day. They too become recipients of the promise to Joseph Smith: In
temporal labors thou shalt not have strength for this is not thy calling.
But then the promise: Thou shall devote all thy service in Zion; and
in this thou shalt have strength (DC 24:7-9).
What Does it Cost to Become a Consecrated Missionary?
What is the cost to become a consecrated missionary? Some time ago I
saw a movie on
the life of Martin Luther. He was about to be tried for heresy. Shortly
before he was to meet
with the Court of Inquisition, his spiritual mentor (a monk who had
trained him and loved him) was cutting his hair with a razor. At one point
the monk reprimanded Luther for having turned the world upside down,
leading the world in revolt Protestants against Catholics.
Then in a stirring moment, Luther grasps his arm and asks: You wanted
me to change the world. Did you think there would be no cost? You
young missionaries came out here to change the world, to change lives,
but there is a cost. It costs everything that you have on the altar of
sacrifice your fears, your pride, your laziness, your disobedience, your
weaknesses; we cannot hold anything back. When you came to the
mission field you burned the bridges behind you, you burned the ships in
the harbor. There is no retreat to your former life. You cannot have one
foot at home and one foot in the mission field.
That is a certain formula for frustration. The Lord demands our whole
soul on the sacrificial altar. That is the price we must pay, and when we
do, we then become instruments in the hands of God.

What Is the Power of a Consecrated Missionary?

What is the power of a consecrated missionary? Suppose I were to give
you the
following options, which would you choose?
-100 mediocre missionaries or 80 consecrated missionaries?
-100 mediocre missionaries or 50 consecrated missionaries?
-100 mediocre missionaries or 20 consecrated missionaries?
-100 mediocre missionaries or 2 consecrated missionaries?
(by the way, the names of those consecrated missionaries are Alma and
Ammon)
Nephi realized that power comes with consecration, not numbers. Laman
and Lemuel
could never understand this. They could not comprehend how they could
get the brass plates. After all they said, How is it possible that the Lord
will deliver Laban into our hands. Behold he is a mighty man, and he can
command fifty, yea, even he can slay fifty, then why not us. For them it
was all about numbers 50 was more than 4, therefore they could not
prevail. But for Nephi, mans power was inconsequential. It was only the
Lords power that counted. He replied: For behold he [God] is mightier
than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or
even his tens of thousands (1 Ne 4:1). The power of a
consecrated missionary is without limit. It is manifested in so many
ways. As to Nephi (son of Nephi), the scriptures tell us his words were so
powerful, that for his detractors, it were not possible that they could
disbelieve his words (3 Ne 7:18). When the sons of Mosiah preached the
gospel, the scriptures declare: They taught with power and authority of
God (Alma 17:3). And as to those consecrated missionaries who thrust
in their sickle with all their souls, the Lord promised: your sins are
forgiven you (DC 31:5). Those are the powers and blessings of a
consecrated missionary, and that is why the Prophet Joseph said; it is
not the multitude of preachers that is to bring about the glorious
millennium; but it is those who are called, and chosen, and
faithful. (TPJ 42). In essence the consecrated.
Consecrated Missionaries Serve the Savior Because They Love
Him.
What is the driving, motivating force for a consecrated missionary? It is
the Savior and
His Atonement. If we fail to be obedient, if we fail to be humble, if we fail
to be fearless,
perhaps we intellectually understand the Atonement, but somehow we
fail to grasp the
underlying love of his sacrifice. Once we feel that, as well as understand
it, we will be driven to give our all. We will realize that our all is a small
repayment for his all.

Becoming a Consecrated Missionary.

Each of us might appropriately ask, What lack I yet to become a
consecrated missionary? There is no escaping it. God will demand our
all. If we are shy or reserved God will compel us to change, to be bold.
He will jerk us out of our comfort zone again and again. If we are lazy or
idle, he will push us and pull us even when we are exhausted. If we
are disobedient, he will press us until we have a child-like
submissiveness. He will not let us be content with our weaknesses.
Whatever the weakness may be that holds us back from becoming a
consecrated
missionary, the Lord has promised that if we have faith in him, and
humble ourselves before him, that he will make weak things become
strong unto us (Ether 12:26-27). I believe that. I do not believe there is
one missionary whose weaknesses are greater than the potential
strengths within him. Why? because each of us is a son and daughter
of God, with his divine nature and divine potential woven into the very
fabric of our souls.
I do not think the Lord expects immediate perfection of us, but I do
believe he expects
immediate progress, and with that progress comes consecration. I
believe that he recognizes and appreciates every step we take forward,
however small it may be, striving to put our whole souls on the altar of
sacrifice. At first, consecration may seem like Mt. Everest,
unconquerable, unapproachable, unassailable, but every step we take
forward, however minute it may seem, furthers our ascent, until one day
we have attained the summit.
May we not be content with being a good, even a great missionary,
when we have the capacity to be consecrated missionaries. Mormon
declared with boldness: Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son
of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people
that they might have everlasting life (2 Ne 5:13). May it be so with each
of us, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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