The updated communication policy for full-time missionaries represents an extraordinary opportunity for missionaries and their families to be more closely linked and more fully aligned in the work of gathering Israel. President Russell M. Nelson has invited members to be anxiously engaged as part of the “Lord’s Battalion” in the latter-day work of ministering and gathering. The availability of weekly communication through various technologies should be applied specifically to strengthen missionaries, bind families and increase faith through united purpose.
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For example, rather than an email that reads like a checklist of what happened during the previous week, missionaries can engage in specific conversations about the work and invite the faith, prayers and efforts of their family members more specifically into their work.
In the past a family might hear about a discouraging week, struggling investigator, difficult area, upcoming challenge or even wonderful spiritual growth well after everything played out. Rather than simply receiving backward-facing report emails, a family can engage in forward-facing, faith-filled efforts to demonstrate devotion to the work in their own lives.
Lead image by Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News. Story by Boyd Matheson, Deseret News.