Missionary Cars

The Standard joke I heard and still hear about being a mission president is “that’s like being on a three year scout camping trip.” I always reply “my scouts didn’t have cars.” The roads in this mission are nearly always packed with cars going 10 to 30 miles an hour over the posted speed limit with no gaps between them. I often think of a Nascar race while I’m driving. Into this environment I place a nineteen year old fresh from an Idaho farm whose only real experience is driving tractors and potato trucks, behind the wheel of a brand new mission car.

One missionary after hitting a guardrail and causing significant damage to the front end of the car complained that the speed limit was too high. “I was going the speed limit, but that was too fast to make the corner. They should lower the speed limit.”

Another didn’t see the car in front of him stop and smashed the whole front end—the car was totaled. It had been driven less than 200 miles.

So what is it like being a mission president? It is the most exhilarating, spiritually uplifting experience I have ever had in all my years serving in church callings. Nothing can compare with the feeling of walking into a room full of missionaries all with their scriptures open studying; words cannot express the strength of the spirit of the Lord that is always present. I have come to know that the Savior watches over and truly loves His missionaries. Nowhere else in the world can be found such dedicated young men and women sincerely wanting to serve others and make a difference in the lives of people. I think it was President Gordon B. Hinckley who replied to the question, “Why do you send 19 year old young men on missions?” the reply, “Because it works.” And so it does.

Just one example from a missionary:
"Later that night we received a voicemail from ___ [who had just been baptized] where he simply thanked us over and over again. It was so sweet and so sincere. I know that that is why I am here. We didn't do anything as far as his conversion, however, he was in the right spot at the right time and simply sharing the message with him has completely changed his life for all eternity. He knows it is true, and that is enough for me to know that this is the Lord's work and it is my purpose to share it. To change lives. It's amazing! I love it! I love being a missionary!!"