Skip to main content

Some Thoughts on Preparing a Child for A Mission



I am just starting the process of sending my six boys out on missions.  But here are some ideas that I have gathered and have tried to implement over the years that might be helpful to others working towards the same goal.


1. Build a Testimony

Hold your family scripture and prayer.  Hold family home evening. Make sure they know the importance of reading scriptures and saying prayers on their own.  Keep them clean and worthy to serve a mission.  But also let them make decisions.  Don’t force.  Give gentle reminders or use consequences when necessary.


2. Teach them to Teach others

The best way to do this is to give them opportunities to teach in your own home.  Have them give family home evening lessons, Come Follow Me lessons or devotional messages.  


3. Serve Others With Your Family

When you go ministering, bring your child with you.  But more importantly look for neighbors and those in your community who need a helping hand.  Shovel snow.  Blow leaves.  When our boys were little we brought dinner to an elderly neighbor in their little red wagon.  And don’t just serve members of your own faith community.  Reach out to everyone around you. Teenagers also seem to respond really well to wider, community-based work.


4. Don’t Focus on Worldly Stuff

There are so many things in this world that are just not important.  Fun but not important.  If sports or cars or clothing or popularity are very important to your child then it will be hard to leave these things behind for a mission.  My children know that one of my favorite scriptures is: “A man’s life consisteth not of the abundance of that which he possesseth.”  I quote it often.


5. Work is the Key

President Ezra Taft Benson said that "one of of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work." Incentivize them to wake up early. Have family work projects that you do together and jobs just for them.  Have them do work that prepares them to clean, to do laundry and to make meals.  We have made different job charts over the years to accomplish this. Teach them to finish a job and to do it well.  Check their jobs and call them back if they aren’t done properly.  Doing hard things at home prepares them for real world work.


6. Teach them to Get Along With Others

This does not mean teaching them to be popular.  Popularity often causes you to sacrifice the most important things on the altar.  Rather, teach them good manners and kindness.  Help them find jobs and volunteer work where they are around others.  Teach them to be a good friend. 


7. Have Them Earn Money for their Own Mission

We prayed about this and found creative ways for our kids to earn money - selling bread or cookies door to door or shoveling snow and mowing lawns.  Encourage them to find a full time job in the summer and other work as needed.  Then help them to pay tithing and to put money in a savings account for a mission.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God Isn't Finished With Him Yet

 When my husband was in graduate school we attended a meeting where a distinguished man spoke. He had been successful professionally, was happily married to a lovely woman, and was the father of a very large family. He spoke eloquently of his life and at one point, he posted a picture of himself as a teenager in his presentation. A wild-looking young man with long, fringed hair flashed on the screen. This picture looked nothing like the clean-cut, well-dressed man before us. The man related that in high school he had gone through a rebellious phase and this haircut reflected that time and attitude. Once, a woman had made a comment to his mother about her son's outlandish haircut and ways. His mother, irked by the comment, retorted "Maybe, God isn't finished with him yet!" I loved that phrase. This mother saw potential in her son and had hope for his future. She knew that with God, change is always possible. Another mother who I love is St. Augustine...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Avoid Being a "Screaming Monkey Parent"

This photo is hitting a little too close to home.  Especially in the summertime with all of our children at home.  Yes, we love our children but we don't always feel capable of parenting them.  In our home this summer we have five boys, one girl, and untold numbers of little friends tracking dirt through our house.  We can go from nice to frazzled, bleary-eyed, and ranting in about an hour.  And often it is our spouses or children who pay the price.  So, what can we do to keep our cool when the days get long and hot?  One key, according to Psychology Today  is prevention.  And prevention means managing our stress before  it gets to epic levels. Here are some things you can do to recharge your batteries so that you don't fizzle out - and hey, you can remember these things using the word "recharge."  Now that's an added bonus! Rest : Go to bed before 10:30.  Get seven to eight hours of sleep.  Our tempers flare more easily ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Teaching Children Chores May be a "Chore," But Here's Why It's Worth It

Partially-shoed son attempts to accelerate his chores. Promptly at 5:30 a.m., our children jump out of bed. We hear the quiet sounds of singing as they cheerfully get dressed, tidy their rooms, and begin their household tasks. They tiptoe up to our room with a wonderful homemade breakfast. With satisfaction we hear the vacuum running and enjoy the fresh scent of lemon cleaner as we sit in bed, reading books, and eating waffles made from scratch. Ha! Have we gone delirious? Yes. As any parent knows, getting children to work is serious work.  In our home chore time brings a chorus of whining and complaining, sometimes accompanied by tears.  Some children flee for the sanctuary of the bathroom.  Others try the camouflage technique of blending into the couch and hoping we won't notice.  But we try to hold firm to our summer deadline - chores must be done by eleven a.m., and before they play with friends or do anything fun, chores must be complete. Sometimes we fee...
1 comment
Read more