What I Wish I'd Known Before My Mission by John Bytheway

Author:John Bytheway [Bytheway, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mission
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 1996-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Part Three

The Lord, My Companion, and Me

When the Spirit is present, people are not offended when you share your feelings about the gospel.

—M. Russell Ballard

The Spirit Converts

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

As you walk down the street with your companion, it appears to most of the world that there are only two of you. In reality, there are three. Never forget this most important trio: “The Lord, my companion, and me.” It is this trio that does missionary work. Without the Lord, you just do a whole lot of walking for two years. Without your companion, you lose power, protection, and the promise of the Holy Ghost. And without you, all of you, your whole heart and soul, the Lord lacks an instrument through which he can do his work.

You take the Lord’s name upon you in a spiritual way every time you take the sacrament, but on a mission you do it physically. It’s no small thing to have the name “Jesus Christ” attached to your suit or your dress. You’ll want to watch what you do, because you represent him now. As you may remember from earlier in the book, one of the main things I wondered after I opened my call was what kind of shirts I would wear. I am so embarrassed. What a stupid thing to be thinking about! I guess I was still in high school mode, overly concerned about my clothes. When I got into the mission field, I put away the high school things, and started to grow up (see 1 Corinthians 13:11). The most important part of my wardrobe then was a little badge that said, “Elder Bytheway—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” Inside my “white bible” was a small, certificate-type thing. It was my I.D. Underscored by President Spencer W. Kimball’s signature, it certified that I was “a duly ordained minister of the gospel.” I remember reading those words for the first time and thinking, Me? An ordained minister? No way.

We talked about Ammon in the chapter titled “Called to Serve.” Now I’d like to add one more word: “Called to Serve Him.” Remember who you’re serving and why you’re out there. What a relief it is to have such a powerful third member in your companionship! You don’t have to serve alone.

I love the Lord. He helped me so much on my mission. He helped me know what to say. He watched over me. At times, he seemed to pick me up and carry me home.

One night Elder Lewis and I were walking back to our apartment. I was so discouraged. We had been teaching a wonderful, humble man. He was an older man, a kind and soft-spoken Lutheran deacon. When we went back for the third discussion, he answered the door and told us that he didn’t want us to come back anymore.

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