Why Do Mormon Boys Serve Missions?
Photo credit: Jason Wright for Deseret News
Some people might find it a bit odd that while a vast majority of young men who graduate high school are making preparations to begin their studies at a local college or university, or are entering the job market to begin their careers, many Mormon young men are preparing to serve a two-year mission for their Church. Why is that?
The theology of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that the priesthood is the authority given to worthy male members of the Church to act in God’s name for the salvation of His children. Even though the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the responsibility of all followers of Christ, in The Church of Jesus Christ it is a specific duty for men who hold the priesthood. Therefore, any worthy young man of the priesthood who has a desire to go on the Lord’s errand and labor in His vineyard preaching the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is called to the work.
So, why do Mormon boys serve missions? Answer: to preach the message of the restored gospel, and through that message and the testimony and witness of the Holy Spirit, bring precious souls – men, women, and children unto the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Missionary Work is Work, but there is Also Time for Fun
Each day Mormon missionaries go forth sharing the message of the gospel with people they meet. Sometimes people will stop and listen to what they say, or invite them into their homes to share a message, but there are also times when they are rejected and have doors slammed in their faces. For the average person, being rejected can be discouraging. However, Mormon missionaries are pretty ingenious young men, and they often find ways to lift their spirits and to have a little fun while doing the work that they have been called to do.
This week’s “Video Find of the Week” features three missionaries serving in New York City who take time to have a little fun while riding in a car lip syncing to a song by the Nashville Tribute Band called “Children Go Where I Send Thee” from their album The Work: A Nashville Tribute to the Missionaries.
For anyone who may not be familiar with the Nashville Tribute Band, it is a Mormon music group founded by Jason Deere and Dan Truman, the pianist of the popular country group Diamond Rio. Years of traveling around the world touring with the Nashville Tribute Band, as well as, the experiences that both Deere and Truman had as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ, led to the writing and production of the album The Work: A Nashville Tribute to the Missionaries. The album pays tribute to the culture of sending thousands of missionaries into the world and all of the experiences associated with the missionaries, their families and friends as they serve.
Each of the missionaries knows his part of the song well, and they are able to execute a flawless rendition that even the Nashville Tribute Band themselves would be pleased to listen to.
