A day in the life of LDS missionaries
A religious mission is like a race: no energy should remain when the race is finished. The runner wants to hit the finish line and collapse, and that is the attitude that missionaries Elder Boizelle and Elder Billingsley of the Utah Ogden mission said they are working towards.
Missionary service for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a full-time volunteer service ranging from six to 24 months. Billingsley, originally from Chicago, Ill. said he has has been serving in the mission field for more than three months and describes his service as the hardest work he has had to perform.
Every morning is similar for the missionaries. They wake up at 6:30 a.m.. Billingsley said from the then until 8 a.m. is spent on yourself to work out, eat breakfast and get ready for the day.
At 8 a.m., an hour is alloted for personal study time. Boizelle, originally from Mesa, Az. who has been serving for nine months, said during personal study time missionaries study church materials such as “Preach My Gospel,” which Boizelle said is a gospel refe
rence used to help missionaries get into the LDS scriptures and teach them well. He also said the scriptures and church articles from church publications are studied.
Following personal study time, the elders spend time studying as a companionship and leave their apartment by 10 a.m. every morning.
Boizelle said most of their teaching comes from references and very rarely do they tract, which means knocking on people’s doors in neighborhoods. Billingsley said the reason they do not tract as much in their specific mission is they feel there are more productive things to do with their time.
“By tracting you will run into a lot of members,” Billingsley said. “It’s not completely useless, however. You can find referrals from those you do tract.” Boizelle said by doing service for individuals, talking to ward members, and finding out what help is needed to be done in the community is just as important as tracting. He said that while helping others, individuals become excited about the religion and sharing the message with others.
On any typical day, Boizelle said they will teach an average of three missionary discussions. Discussions are taught in the homes of church investiagtors. Boizelle said there is no set number of discussions they must teach but four lessons need to be taught before baptism into the LDS religion. He said these lessons include the restoration of the gospel and the story of the prophet Joseph Smith, the plan of salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ and things that must be done to return to our Heavenly Father and also the commandments people need to live before qualifying for the blessings of eternal life. “These lessons can be in any order which the spirit directs us to take and they can be in any format,” Boizelle said. “Essentially, in our personal and companionship study we internalize the doctrine and learn it thoroughly and are able to know for ourselves it is true and are able to share it more easily.” Billingsley said most people who listen to the missionary discussions are very respectful and receptive to the message contained within. He said very few people will not take the time to at least talk to them.
Boizelle said there are always individuals ready to receive the religious message and those who are not.
“There are those people who are very set in their ways and are comfortable with their lifestyle or just don’t want to hear us,” Boizelle said. “But there are also plenty of people who are already prepared. We don’t go and try to convince people, we go to teach people who are ready to learn.”
Even with being miles away from home and family, not reading a newspaper, watching television or seeing the latest movie Boizelle and Billingsley said being out of the worlds events has not been as difficult as they imagined.
“It’s not so much giving up the world,” Boizelle said, “But you’re setting your priorities straight for what’s most important.”
Billingsley said missionaries love to get letters from friends and family back home but the letters can be good or bad.
“The thing about letters is you get excited to get them,” he said. “But once you get one and you start reading, it reminds you of home and you get homesick. It’s kind of a good and bad thing for me. I really look forward to them but at the same time they take my mind off of what I am really here to do.
Billingsley said the best part of serving a mission is being around so many individuals and focusing on them.
“We are not focused on ourselves at all,” Billinglsey said. “We are so focused on other people and helping them learn more about the gospel. We get to see the change that comes into their lives. It is incredible.”
Boizelle said while teaching individuals the religious message, to see them connect to the message and learn from the Holy Ghost, who is believed as third member of the godhead, is the greatest thing he has seen on his mission.
“I’ve seen people learn the truth but not from us,” he said. “Clearly we aren’t the greatest teachers. But learning from the greatest teacher, the Holy Ghost, is how people truly do learn truth from us. We just present the atmosphere.”
-courtnie.packer@aggiemail.usu.edu