Above All Else Let Us Think Straight

When I was a missionary in the Toronto Canada Mission my mission president M. Russell Ballard used to talk to us in zone conferences about the importance of missionary work. The goal of every mission president is to get their missionaries to use their time wisely and effectively to teach, testify and bring souls to Christ.

I can still remember on at least three zone conferences when he shared with us some counsel. He even told us that he was giving us counsel. One one occasion he stood up and said "He wished he had a magic wand so he could tap each missionary with it. So that you could wake up."

He then would quoted to us 2 Nephi 1: 13, 23

13 O that ye would awake; awake from a deep sleep, yea, even from the sleep of hell, and shake off the awful chains by which ye are bound, which are the chains which bind the children of men, that they are carried away captive down to the eternal gulf of misery and woe.

23 Awake, my sons; put on the armor of righteousness. Shake off the chains with which ye are bound, and come forth out of obscurity, and arise from the dust.

He would tell us that we were in a deep sleep and that we needed to break out of Satan's grasp so that the work could go forward in Ontario and Canada.

He liked to use his grandfather Melvin J. Ballard as a talking point. One of his favorite stories was to tell us Melvin J. Ballard's death bed experience which illustrates how to be an effective missionary. Elder Ballard shared that experience in a 29 November 1983 BYU devotional six years after his mission:

In my office I have a little plaque that reads, "Above all else, brethren, let us think straight." These were the last words in mortality spoken by my grandfather Melvin J. Ballard. As I understand the circumstance, Grandfather, after the very grueling experience of preaching the gospel all through the eastern part of the United States, drove his car from New York to Salt Lake City. When he came into the driveway of his home at 80 North Wolcott Avenue in Salt Lake City, he collapsed. He was rushed to the LDS hospital, where he was found to have acute leukemia. He never came out of the hospital. He went in and out of a coma. As I have had it told to me by my father, who was there, Grandfather pushed himself up in bed, looked into his hospital room as though he were addressing a congregation or a group, and said clearly, "And above all else, brethren, let us think straight." Then he died. I don't go into my office any day of the week that I don't see those words, and I find that they help me a great deal.

He would then tell us that as missionaries we needed to think straight. He told us as straight thinking missionaries we would put away foolishness such as worldly distractions like thinking about girl friends or home or goofing off. Instead we would put our mind, heart and souls on bringing to pass righteousness. Translated that means we were to get to work and teach and baptize. We were sent on missions to be hunters and fishers of the elect of God.

I believed every word the man said. I would come away motivated to bring more people in to the Church. On a different occasion he told us that we were like wind up toys. When he would speak to us we could sustain our efforts for a few days or a couple of weeks but most of us missionaries couldn't keep it up for the five or six weeks between zone conferences.

When he would give us the "talk." I would do what Elder Ballard suggested and "brainstorm" with my companion. We used a method called brainstorming in the CTM. Wikipedia gives a good description of it but doesn't see much value other than as a team building exercise. Mind Tools is a little more complimentary of the process:

Brainstorming is a useful and popular tool that you can use to develop highly creative solutions to a problem.

It is particularly helpful when you need to break out of stale, established patterns of thinking, so that you can develop new ways of looking at things. This can be when you need to develop new opportunities, where you want to improve the service that you offer, or when existing approaches just aren't giving you the results you want.

We used it in the CTM as a way of coming up with fresh ideas for finding and teaching people. I think it had limited success but it reminded us to try different ways of proseltying. Elder Ballard coming from a business perspective used it in his businesses. I think the reason we didn't see as much success with it was that we only heard it described and not modeled. Also many of us were too lazy to even read the handouts.

I only had one companion who used it and that was Elder Lodholm. As a junior companion I seldomly did anything other than what I was told and none of my companions ever took out the handout and discussed it. Being a convert I usually practiced mindless obedience since I didn't know any better than that since I was only a member one year and didn't know jack about missionary work let alone the cultural mores of the church. Elder Ballard beat it in to our heads that we needed to be united and good leaders would follow their brethren. I learned that we don't have to like them just follow them.

There are some that would question my quality of obedience because I slept in on occasion and didn't master the discussions one hundred percent word perfect. But the truth is I followed my companions around like a lap dog. I spoke when called on and gave my limited concepts that I knew. As a junior companion for almost two years I prayed for them and lent my support whenever possible. I was never pressed too hard and usually was called on to bear testimony, to pray or to support what my companion said. I never contradicted them even when a few times they said things that just weren't true. Being a junior companion for two years prepared me for future church callings were men with limited gospel mastery who had never served missions would be my leaders. I learned discipleship.
I know that Elder Ballard was just trying to get us to focus on the missionary work. Missionaries get easily distracted. I think that is why he would tell us not only to think straight but to work smarter not harder. I will address the latter in my next post.

Believing Blood Versus Nepotism: Calling of Mission Presidents and Area Seventies

In calling men to be mission presidents, or area authority seventy many times it is because they have believing blood rather than nepotism. You can put a negative spin on the fact that some of the best prepared people for calling are the relatives of LDS General Authorities.

When I was a young missionary in the Canada Toronto Mission under M. Russell Ballard back in the mid70s Elder Ballard used to tell us about how his grandfather Melvin J. Ballard would talk about how the noble and elect were born in to the homes of LDS families of noble heritage. He personally was the grandson on his father son of an Apostle Melvin J. Ballard and on his mother side of Apostle Hyrum Mack Smith, son of Joseph F. Smith and brother of Joseph Fielding Smith. As missionary I was convinced one day he would be an Apostle. I remember his sense of humor on the day he found out he was called to be an apostle. He said to my wife and I who were visiting him "Pay attention tomorrow in conference and you will see the Lord has a sense of humor. Will wonders never cease?" The next day he was called.

Elder Ballard used to tell us that he had believing blood and that a descendant of LDS general authorities knew a lot about church governance and how things operate so they made natural leaders. He grew up around his grandfather Melvin J. Ballard. His relatives were apostles. I never really disputed this because it made logical sense to me that the Lord placed men like Russell Ballard in the homes in which they were born for a reason so they could learn leadership.

As a convert I didn't really have any frame of reference. It seems to me lifelong members take more offense with this practice than most of us converts. It also stands to reason I was born in a nonmember home because most of us were screw ups. I might have helped thousands of people get their temple work in the last thirty-five years but being a Mormon suck-up is not my idea hence I am not leadership material.

Bruce R. McConkie in A New Witness of the Articles of Faith defines believing blood as: "What then is believing blood? It is the blood that flows in the veins of those who are the literal seed of Abraham-not that the blood itself believes, but that those born in that lineage have both the right and a special spiritual capacity to recognize, receive, and believe the truth. The term is simply a beautiful, a poetic, and a symbolic way of referring to the seed of Abraham to whom the promises were made. It identifies those who developed in preexistence the talent to recognize the truth and to desire righteousness."

J. Golden Kimball is well-known for his colorful phrase "Some people say a person receives a position in this church through revelation, and others say they get it through inspiration, but I say they get it through relation. If I hadn’t been related to Heber C. Kimball, I wouldn’t have been a damn thing in this church.”

James E. Faust poked a little bit of humor at believing blood in his autobiography In the Strength of the Lord: "In reflecting on the "believing blood" that he descended from, Jim says, "I feel heavily the responsibility of living up to the heritage of the people who paid such a great price in leaving their homes and giving their very lives for the Church that had been restored. At the same time, I do not claim any preferences or consequences as a result of my heritage, as I'm mindful of the old saying that those who are always talking about their ancestors can be a little like the potato-the best part of them is underground."

In April 1913 General Conference Joesph E. Robinson, President of the California Mission followed Melvin J. Ballard in speaking saying: "With Elder Ballard, I sincerely rejoice in the fact that I, too, have been born of "believing blood." Sometimes, in the mission field, I have been confronted with the thought, and with the statement that, "this alone accounts for your position as a member of the 'Mormon' faith, or Church, the fact that you were born a 'Mormon.'" At first blush, to some it may appear that there is no particular virtue in one's birth, yet through all time I have learned to have respect to that "believing blood" spoken of in the scriptures, and recognized by the Master Himself when He said, "My sheep know my voice and the stranger they will not follow." I have learned too, from observing not only men of different nationalities, and their predisposition to do certain things because of prenatal influences and training, and different traits of thoughts and living, that in the animal world about us, those who were born to a certain end achieved it more readily than any can be trained to do so; that the bloodhound will follow with unerring scent the trail that is lost to the pampered and petted pet of some lady of high degree. And so I rejoice in the fact that I, too, have been born of believing parents, of the third generation, and it has been my prayer that there shall be no untoward act performed by me that shall turn back the tide of progress set by my ancestors toward the goal of truth and righteousness."

M. Russell Ballard also taught us as missionaries that we called the right man to the job not the best man. He explained that in a church that operates on revelation that the right person for a calling wasn't always the best qualified but they were the person whom the Lord wanted and the person calling them wanted them. He used to tell me in my personal life that if I wanted to get ahead in the LDS church I needed to get along with people. He also told us as missionaries that if we kept our noses clean and got along that we would be leaders one day in the church. I am still waiting for that day. I owe being a high priest myself to a man hearing of my love for Ezra Taft Benson and my love of temple work. He called me to be a high priest group assistant. Turns out he was a cousin of ETB. Otherwise I would have lived and died an elder (Bruce R. McConkie would have chastised me in his talk Only An Elder). The truth was I read over and over in the scriptures that you couldn't be a god unless you were a great high priest. So I desired that priesthood so I could have exaltation in the life to come.

Jeff Spector on Mormon Matters gave an insightful chart of the relationships of current general authorities with mission presidents and other general authority Seventies that are their relations. I knew that Jon Huntsman the in-law to M. Russell Ballard was an area authority Seventy. I wasn't aware that Peter Huntsman my old mission president's son-in-law had been called as an area authority Seventy but Spector has him listed. Peter is a fine man with a good heart. Even if he has limited experience in his church callings the Lord will qualify him like he did his other relatives.

I do know that his father-in-law Elder Ballard thinks highly of him and gave him a leg up when he had him speak at several missionary related-meetings when he was a high priest with no substantial callings when he first moved to Texas. I actually gave Peter a plug in a strange way in a pseudo-calling I had. I was the special assistant executive secretary to the stake president where Huntsman lived in Texas doing special projects like reactivation for the stake president. In a strange way I repaid Elder Ballard for some of the things he has done for me over the years when I spoke up for his son-in-law one day.

I had an interesting experience when I served as assistant stake executive secretary of the Houston North Stake under Richard Page, who is the son-in-law of Graham Doxey formerly of the Seventy. During the time when three men were released as stake executive secretary I operated for a few months as the stake executive secretary and was involved in the calling of a few people.

Not being shy I offered my opinions on matters from who to call to be bishop of a particular ward to selection for the high council.I actually suggested Peter Huntsman when he moved down to the Woodlands to serve on the stake high council. The stake president and his counselors said he was a fine man but that he was probably to busy to serve in that capacity since he was out of country a great deal of the time.

The stake president was unimpressed by people because of their money or position and only impressed by their spirituality and service. There was a heated discussion over whether or not with his business interests he had the time to serve in that capacity since he would be going abroad to chemical plants all over the world. I said what is the difference between him and a couple of other bishops that traveled widely and held firm that they should consider him since we had bishops that worked for oil companies and I said we should consider him. They were both gone a couple months a year. A short time later he was called to the high council.

I asked the same counselor in the stake presidency why he was called and he said he suggested him. I had to laugh. Now I see he has gone on to be an area seventy.I think if a person has the potential it shouldn't matter if they are related or not. It should only matter if they are the person the Lord wants. The Lord qualifies whom he calls.I don't argue that many times relationship can help a person to get a calling or on the track to being a general authority.

In fact Jeff Spector at Mormon Matters clearly points out some of these relationships. I have found in my experience in the church that there is less nepotism on the top than in the middle levels such as the Church Educational System and the Church university system. Try getting a job at BYU where the son-in-laws and children of the professors seem to have a lock on jobs even in the library.

I also later had an experience in the same stake presidency where the two counselors argued about the calling of the stake president's wife as a president in one of the ward organizations. They told him he shouldn't do it. He himself was opposed to his wife serving in that calling because people would accuse him of nepotism.I related to them the calling of Hyrum Mack Smith because I had read the diaries of Anthon H. Lund and shared it with them. When Joseph F. Smith suggested his son be called members of the Quorum of Twelve said that people would accuse them of nepotism. President Lund spoke up and said if President Smith said the Lord wanted him and he wanted him then we should sustain him and he felt his fellow brethren should do so. I said if the bishop felt she should be called and she could do a good job then we shouldn't care about what people say as long as she was the right person for the calling. She was subsequently called.

I am not a firm believer that in every case the person called is the right person or the best person but if they spirit says so we should call someone why should we worry about family relations. One time I was aced out of a job at BYU Hawaii when a VP hired his sister-in-law and I was asked to leave since I had a temporary position. She was no more qualified than I was for the job. He husband actually riled up the students when he was cussing in the classroom at the Samoans who wanted to beat him for his rude behavior. I even wrote an editorial about cussing in the faculty dining table in the Seasider called my star and little fishes a phrase my wife's grandmother would say instead of a four letter word. I find that intellectual pygmies have to resort to profanity while those with a better vocabulary can get the same effect by using words to their advantage. I don't think that editorial made me very popular. I haven't been able to buy a job there since I did that and also squealed out someone for tithing abuse that was at the top of the heap. There is no way you can beat out someone’s relative when you are equally competent.

No one said life is fair so why belly ache. I sucked it up and went to work for the Methodists for a while at a Methodist College in Missouri. I learned to respect them for their beautiful prayers and devotion to chapel similar to our BYU devotionals.

The only down side I can see to calling general authorities relatives is that it limits the opportunities for some of us that are converts or of less noble families. However with the growth of the Seventies quorums and the expansion in to new areas of the world there might be more opportunities for internationalization so the few that are called don't eliminate opportunities since there are so many vacancies for mission presidents and seventies. I only see a small minority among those called of their relatives.

Melvin J. Ballard's dad Henry was a bishop. Maybe if I ever become a bishop my son Michael would have a better chance one day become a church leader but unfortunately for him I doubt at this point in life I will ever be called.

In my church experience I have learned a lot from relatives of general authorities that I have passed on to my children and readers of my blog. Reed Benson was an inspiration to me and he did have the opportunity to be a mission president but he was passed over for higher callings despite his devotion to his father. You can get screwed over even if you are related to a general authority. I am not sure they have it so easy.

No one disputes that there is nepotism in the LDS Church. Michael Quinn clearly shows in his book Mormon Hierarchy Extensions of Power and his doctoral dissertation that there are some pretty close ties during the last hundred years between mission presidents and the calling of general authorities.

When you deal with a lay ministry in any group you will have to deal with relationships. I have a problem breaking the ranks because I move every few years so I can’t be buddies with those who are secure in an area. I think Elder Ballard explanation is the best rationale for answering critics of the practice. If a general authority's son, daughter, nephew or niece is the right person for the job why should blood relations matter?

It doesn't faze me when someone is called that is a relative to the current living authorities. I personally wouldn't call my own relative but if the Lord impressed me to do it I might change my mind. The bible is replete with people related to each other. I am sure every time a Mormon GAs considers a relative they know they will be accused of nepotism. I think we should remember believing blood can trump nepotism when the Lord wants a certain person.

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Mission Presidents and the Effective Use of Time Management

Mission presidents have very busy and chaotic schedules. They sometimes have as many as ten meetings a day. They need to plan out their schedules carefully. They also need to set goals.

In Preach My Gospel it says: "Goals reflect the desires of our hearts and our vision of what we can accomplish. Through goals and plans, our hopes are transformed into action. Goal setting and planning are acts of faith. Prayerfully set goals that are in harmony with the Savior’s command to “teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19).
Set goals for each key indicator. You may also set goals for your personal development. Do everything within your power to achieve your goals while respecting the agency of others. The ultimate measure of success is not in achieving goals alone but in the service you render and the progress of others. Goals are a means of helping you bring about much good among Heavenly Father’s children. They are not used to receive recognition." (Preach my Gospel: A guide to missionary service. Salt Lake City: Intellectual Reserve, 2004, p. 146).

Mission presidents are even encouraged to make sure that their missionaries are effectively using their time wisely. "Occasionally conduct interviews in missionary apartments. As you do so, have your wife or the assistants to the president review missionaries’ area books and daily planners." (Preach my Gospel: A guide to missionary service. Salt Lake City: Intellectual Reserve, 2004, pp. 153).

President Gordon B. Hinckley talked about the importance of what mission presidents do: "In the early days of the Church, the brethren asked the Prophet what they could do which would be of the greatest worth. The Prophet through revelation gave the response of the Lord:

“And now, behold, I say unto you, that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to declare repentance unto this people, that you may bring souls unto me, that you may rest with them in the kingdom of my Father” (D&C 15:6; see also D&C 16:6).

I like that language—that the thing which will be of the most worth unto you will be to do missionary work. The thing of most worth is not the buildings we have. It is not this great building or the other buildings in this area. It is not the BYU campus. It is not the welfare program. It is not the educational program of the Church. It is not any of these things. The thing which is of most worth, as the Lord has repeatedly declared in revelation, is the teaching of the gospel of Christ to those who know not its saving message.

You are not going out into a sidebar activity. You are going out to do that which the Lord has said is the most important activity of all of the many activities of His work. God bless you." (Gordon B. Hinckley, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 23 June 2000).

President Spencer W. Kimball tells us what mission presidents' ultimate goal is: "Our goal is to achieve eternal life. That is the greatest goal in the world. We do not want stake and full-time mission Presidents to establish quotas for the missionaries. Rather, we expect them to inspire missionaries to set their own goals, and make them high enough to challenge their very best efforts, and work to achieve them." (Spencer W. Kimball, Regional Representatives’ Seminar, 3 April 1975, p. 6).

M. Russell Ballard tells us why goal setting is important: "I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principle of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life." (M. Russell Ballard, Salt Lake Area Young Adults, October 18, 1981).

President Ezra Taft Benson says that mission presidents need to set a high standard of performance: "Missionaries should have a standard of performance or excellence to which they ascribe and to which they commit. This should be spelled out in specific terms and held up as the minimum standard by which all missionaries are expected to perform. Missionaries should take pride in being in "the best mission in the Church," and being "missionaries of excellence," as defined through inspiration from their mission president." (Ezra Taft Benson, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 21 June 1975).

Concerning mission presidents helping to their missionaries set goals, we learn in Preach My Gospel: "Over time your mission president may establish standards of excellence or mission goals intended to raise your vision and increase your faith. District, zone, and mission standards will help you stretch, work effectively, and reach higher levels of performance. They are not to be used as quotas that impose specific goals on you and your companion."(Preach my Gospel: A guide to missionary service. Salt Lake City: Intellectual Reserve, 2004, p. 146).

Ezra Taft Benson describes how mission presidents should work with missionaries in setting goals: "It is the responsibility of mission Presidents to help their missionaries understand themselves in relation to their calling to preach the gospel, and to help them set and accomplish effective goals. However, goals and quotas should not be imposed upon missionaries. The guiding principle here was given by the Lord in Section 58 of the Doctrine and Covenants:

For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. (D&C 58:26-28).

There is a difference between a missionary stating the number of investigators he hopes to baptize and imposing on him a stated number of baptisms by district,zone, or mission leaders. Instead of setting goals or quotas for missionaries, mission presidents should help missionaries learn to set realistic goals of their own." (Ezra Taft Benson, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 27-28 June 1974).

He also expresses the opinion that mission presidents need to learn how to goal set themselves: "The setting of personal baptismal goals by missionaries should be explained in detail with specific illustrations and testimonies of others' successes. Mission Presidents need to be converted to goal-setting themselves, in all phases of missionary work, before they will be capable of converting their missionaries to this concept." (Ezra Taft Benson, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 21 June 1975).

In the July 1975 Ensign it says: "“One vital ingredient in time management is prayer. Especially in Church assignments, take your plans to the Lord and be receptive to his inspiration. Then do things his way. Inspiration always comes easier after you’ve done everything you can by yourself—after you’ve set goals and organized your plan of action. Giving your time to the Lord is like giving tithes and offerings. If you give freely, with all your heart, you won’t miss it, and you’ll be able to do more with the time you have left.”

Spencer W. Kimball talks about mission presidents taking the time to think about what they are doing and planning their activities: "You mission presidencies, in your preparation, need to take time between each of your assignments to go to the emery stone and sharpen your ax. When I was a little boy, the pain of my life was the haying time when the numerous knives of the mowing machine has to be sharpened, when my older brother sat and held the blades to the emery stone while I stood on my feet and turned the great emery stone until my back ached and my legs were tired and my hands were blistered. I was glad when I was older and could sit on the seat and hold the knives against the stone while someone else turned it.

The beloved preacher said, "If the iron be blunt and he do not whet the edge, then must he put two more strings." (Spencer W. Kimball, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 27 June 1974).

President Kimball also instructed mission presidents to let the missionaries set their own goals: "I feel that we must use a goal program and let every missionary make his own goal. In the past it seems the mission presidents and sometimes visitors have set goals for people and that isn’t quite right. I believe the mission president should not set the goals for the individual missionaries. Let them have the privilege and the responsibility" (Spencer W. Kimball, Regional Representatives’ Seminar, October 1974).

In addition he said to let it be spontaneous and come from the missionary: "We must find ways to inspire and teach better ways of doing missionary work. We see no objection to every missionary setting himself a goal. We do not want others setting his goals for him--it becomes too mechanical. But there is no reason why each
missionary should not set his own goals." (Spencer W. Kimball, Regional Representatives’ Seminar, 5 April 1976, p. 5).

President Kimball said on the subject of goal setting to be careful you don't baptize unprepared people: "I want to talk to mission Presidents for a moment. Some years ago there grew an error in the method of proselyting, and thousands of people were baptized who were not converted. This raised the eyebrows of the Brethren in Salt Lake. We asked them, the mission Presidents at that time, not to do that anymore. We want people to have a testimony. We want them to understand something about the gospel. But when we showed concern about these numerous improper baptisms, the pendulum swung all the way across, and there were many of the mission Presidents that felt they shouldn't discuss the possibilities and the goals for the future. That's the trouble with pendulums; they nearly always swing all the way or the other direction.

We expect that every year there will be a great increase in the conversions and baptisms, and we hope you mission Presidents will take that into account. We do believe in goals. Why, we live by goals. When we are in athletics we always have a goal. When we go to school, we have the goal of graduation and degrees. Why, our total existence is a goal. You're going to eternal life. That's the greatest goal in the world. We are not against goals, but we don't want you mission Presidents to set up quotas for your missionaries. Inspire them to set up their own goals and to make them high enough to challenge their very best efforts." (Spencer W. Kimball, Buenos Aires Area Conference, 9 March 1975, p. 53).

Also he says, "I am not convinced that mission Presidents should ever set goals for missionaries. They may set goals for their mission if they like and for themselves, but let the missionaries set goals for themselves and then the president will praise and give them adulation for succeeding in the goals which they set." (Spencer W. Kimball, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 20 June 1975).

Elder James E. Faust agrees: "Missionaries should have goals but they should not be imposed by the mission president, his assistants or the zone leaders. I am persuaded that the missionaries will be more dedicated to their work, will be more committed, if they have set their own goals, and happier in their labors than if goals are imposed upon them. The best motivation is self-motivation." (James E. Faust, New Mission Presidents' Seminar, 21 June 1996).

Ezra Taft Benson concurs: "There are a number of good reasons for encouraging a missionary to develop his own goals. Once he makes an honest appraisal of his strengths and weaknesses, the missionary is in the best position to decide what he must do to become more effective. Goals set by a mission president might not be realistic for some missionaries. Moreover, goals imposed by another may offend or discourage the missionary. Most important, the missionary is entitled to inspiration in choosing his personal goals; and when he has sought the Lord through prayer and meditation, he will be motivated best by those goals he selects himself and commits himself to attain." (Ezra Taft Benson, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 27-28 June 1974).

"President [Spencer W.] Kimball expressed the hope that we might have "better interviews, more searching interviews...." Through effective personal priesthood interviews, a mission president can do much to help his missionaries set worthwhile goals. He can help a missionary understand the obstacles that might stand in the way of effective missionary work--obstacles such as bad personal habits, unclean thoughts, or inadequate knowledge of the scriptures and the discussions. When the missionary can recognize these obstacles, he can set about overcoming them through progressive personal goals." (Ezra Taft Benson, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 27-28 June 1974).

Mission presidents need to make sure that their missionaries are productive and keep on task in their missionary labors. President Kimball said about staying on task: "I asked one of the brethren once how he was getting along in a certain mission, and he said, "It's wonderful mission, wonderful missionaries. They are doing everything but preaching the gospel." There are so many leaks of time and effort that the net product is greatly reduced. Each mission president should study prayerfully his own program and be sure that there are no leaks these wonderful missionaries give to the Lord. (Spencer W. Kimball, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 20 June 1975, p. 4).

On another occasion he said: "It will be your responsibility to see that the missionaries are inspired, motivated, and indoctrinated. It will be your responsibility to see that the schedules are stimulating and productive. It will be your responsibility to see that your missionaries do not waste time and that you do not use the missionaries generally for errand boys of extra, unnecessary work. There must not be a waste of manpower; there should not be six or eight or ten missionaries in the mission home doing the work there when three or four can do it. Missionaries in the office should also be proselyting missionaries in every mission. Sometimes the productive work of missionaries is diluted as would be a liquid poured into a sieve." (Spencer W. Kimball, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 20 June 1975, p. 4).

President Ezra Taft Benson suggests that mission presidents set mission specific goals and their own personal goals: "Each mission president should also develop his own personal goals and goals for the mission as a whole. The mission goals should be in harmony with the goals of the missionaries and the mission president should make them known to the missionaries. He might well ask the missionaries to help him achieve his goals just as he helps them achieve theirs. In the process of setting goals and carrying them out, mission presidents should remember to work within the framework of priesthood correlation. It is important that you establish a close relationship with stake or district priesthood leaders if you are to have their full cooperation. If there are established stakes in your mission, get acquainted with the stake president as soon as possible and offer assistance in missionary work. Attend stake conferences and sacrament meetings whenever possible. Talk missionary work enthusiastically everywhere. Attend regional meetings and offer assistance in the missionary phase of the regional meeting. Invite stake missionaries and leaders to zone conference to share the enthusiasm and testimonies borne there. Encourage the stake president to make suggestions on how missionary work can be improved in his stake area. Encourage your assistants and zone leaders to develop a good working relationship with stake mission leaders. Do not forget to express appreciation for the cooperation you receive from local priesthood leaders. A letter or telephone call of appreciation is always appropriate." (Ezra Taft Benson, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 27-28 June 1974).

Henry B. Eyring warns: "There is a danger in the word someday when what it means is “not this day.” “Someday I will repent.” “Someday I will forgive him.” “Someday I will speak to my friend about the Church.” “Someday I will start to pay tithing.” “Someday I will return to the temple.” “Someday …”

The scriptures make the danger of delay clear. It is that we may discover that we have run out of time. The God who gives us each day as a treasure will require an accounting. We will weep, and He will weep, if we have intended to repent and to serve Him in tomorrows which never came or have dreamt of yesterdays where the opportunity to act was past. This day is a precious gift of God. The thought “Someday I will” can be a thief of the opportunities of time and the blessings of eternity....

By serving Him this day, you will come to know Him better. You will feel His love and appreciation. You would not want to delay receiving that blessing. And feeling His love will draw you back to His service, wiping away both complacency and discouragement.

As you serve Him, you will come to know better the voice by which you shall be called. When you go to sleep at the end of a day, the words may come back in memory: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things.” I pray for that benediction on this day, on every day, and on our lives."

Dallin H. Oaks in 2001 cautions us: "All around us we have the good examples of those who seek permanent treasures—those who “hunger and thirst after righteousness” (Matt. 5:6) and put the kingdom of God first in their lives. Among the most visible such examples are the men and women who set aside their worldly pursuits and even say good-bye to their families to serve missions for the Lord. Tens of thousands of these are young missionaries. In addition, I pay particular tribute to those who serve missions in their mature years, some as mission leaders and some as what we call couple missionaries. Their remarkable service evidences their priorities, and their impressive example is a guide to their families and to all who know them.

Our priorities are most visible in how we use our time. Someone has said, “Three things never come back—the spent arrow, the spoken word, and the lost opportunity.” We cannot recycle or save the time allotted to us each day. With time, we have only one opportunity for choice, and then it is gone forever."

President Spencer W. Kimball cautions mission presidents not to let parents pickup their kids distract mission presidents and waste their time. "You must see that their time is so carefully monitored that they will not have time not opportunity to become casual. Too many visitors sometimes visit your missions. I think there are times when you would be in the right way to excuse yourself from them. People from the Church who come sightseeing and want somebody to take them around--you have not the time. You have a big job to do, to bring the gospel to all the people in your area. You cannot be nursemaids or guest leaders to take people around and show the sights. There has been a tendency to do that in many places, and the president seems to feel many times that he had the obligation to take them around or have his missionaries do it." (Spencer W. Kimball, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 25 June 1976, p. 13).

He also warns to be careful with how you use your office staff: "We hope you Presidents will organize carefully and well. Do not over-fill your office force. Do not use your missionaries for messengers commonly, more than is absolutely necessary. You are responsible for their time and for their efforts." (Spencer W. Kimball, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, 25 June 1976, p. 13).

Spencer W. Kimball summarizes the importance of why time is important to a mission president: "This is the work of the Lord that we are doing. We're called to go out and be his servants, special servants, and to give all our time and energy. What a glorious thing it is to give all of your time to the Lord, to have no other responsibilities and that, it seems to me, is one reason why mission Presidents are so devoted. They have had this experience to not have a worry about their finances or other things and they have grown and developed. The Lord has given us the command. The Lord has said this is our duty. So we go forward with this in our minds. May the Lord bless you brethren and sisters. We call down upon you the blessings of heaven as you move from this place to your missions. It is true. There is no question about it. The Lord lives and his Father lives and he watches all our doings and he will appreciate it and show his appreciation for it." (Spencer W. Kimball, Mission Presidents’ Seminar, June 1977).

Dallin H. Oaks tells mission presidents to do things for the right reasons: "A few years ago I heard an illuminating admission by a mission president. He was an educator by profession. When he left his professional position and took up his duties as a mission president, he brought large stacks of professional materials on training and leadership. He intended to use these materials to help his missionaries. At his first mission leadership meeting, he assigned several zone leaders to present some of these materials to the assembled missionaries.

As the meeting wore on, the mission president sensed that something important was missing. He realized, he told me later, that he was trying to accomplish his mission leadership training by following a professional model instead of by doing it in the Lord's way. He stopped a missionary in the middle of his presentation, apologized to him and to the group for making the wrong assignment, and asked a missionary to bear his testimony. As they went forward this new way, the Spirit of the Lord settled over the meeting. Testimonies and resolves were strengthened, and the necessary leadership training was given. The mission president had learned the importance of doing the Lord's work in the Lord's way." (Dallin H. Oaks, The Lord's Way, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1991, pp.1-2).

I think the Preach My Gospel helps us realize that mission presidents and their missionaries have a stewardship that is accountable to the Lord. "The principle of accountability is fundamental in God’s eternal plan. We will all stand before the Lord at the last judgment and give an accounting for what we have done with the opportunities He has given us (see Alma 5:15–19; D&C 137:9)."(Preach my Gospel: A guide to missionary service. Salt Lake City: Intellectual Reserve, 2004, p. 150).

When Melvin J. Ballard was on his deathbed. He raised himself up and said: Above all else brethren let us think straight." Mission Presidents need to be careful of the most valuable resource that they have which is time. My mission president M. Russell Ballard use to share that story and tell we must have the Spirit so they we can work smarter not harder. Mission presidents need to follow this advice in the effective use of their time. Straight thinking mission presidents plan each day wisely so they can be productive servants of the Lord.