As I have lost vision in one eye due to macular degeneration I have become more grateful for other kinds of vision such as hindsight.
I didn’t realize that Elder Ballard grew up in a less-active family.
As Elder Ballard speaks about his missionary service and directs his remarks to the young men right after President Nelson reminded us that every worthy, able young man is expected to serve I am thinking that we must be seeing far fewer young men serving than in the past (that might be fewer as a percentage rather than raw numbers).
I never hear about the service of a mission president without wishing that I might have that opportunity at some point.
I wonder if one reason that they expect every young man but only welcome any young woman is because the young men would be more likely to find excuses to do something else if they only had a more gently encouragement than young women are.
Isaac is not currently worthy and not currently on track to become so. Do we have an opportunity to change that? The other boys aren’t on the right trajectory yet but we certainly have time to correct that for each of them.
When you are released from your mission, remember that you are not released from church activity.
I have reflected on how the economic challenges associated with the Great Depression in the 1930s led to an unfortunate turn for my parents and our family. My father became so involved in saving his automobile dealership and supporting a family during this difficult period that for a time my parents did not attend church.
I missed that the family inactivity was only temporary. With that context I can understand how they could be focused on other things and let church attendance slip.
The Lord knows you. When you are serving your mission, you will have experiences that will help you come to know Him better. You will grow spiritually in serving Him. In His name, you will be sent on errands to serve others. He will give you experiences with promptings from the Holy Ghost. The Lord will authorize you to teach in His name. You can show Him that He can trust you and can rely on you.
As an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, I now call upon you young men—and those young women who desire to serve a mission—to begin right now to talk with your parents about serving a mission. I also invite you to talk with your friends about serving a mission, and if one of your friends is not sure about serving, encourage them to talk with their bishop.
Enlisting the power of positive power pressure. (At least it should be positive.)
Commit to yourselves and to your Heavenly Father that you will serve a mission and that from this time forward you will strive to keep your hearts, hands, and minds clean and worthy. I invite you to gain a solid testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
When you are released from your mission, remember that you are not released from activity in the Church. Build upon the good habits you learned on your mission, continue to strengthen your testimony, work hard, pray, and be obedient to the Lord. Honor the covenants you have made. Continue to bless and serve others.
I remember as a missionary saying that this was the key in post-mission life to getting the greatest benefit from missionary service.
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