“We Are the Missionaries”

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woman holding up book and greeting three missionaries

Illustration by Brian Call

My parents loved to share the word of the Lord. They regularly gave away boxes containing copies of the New Testament to neighborhoods, prisons, hospitals, and schools.

As part of my parents’ efforts, my father sang, read scriptures, testified of Jesus Christ, and closed with prayer. By being included in that experience as a child, I developed a desire to serve God.

When my father suffered a heart attack, however, what we called “evangelization” ended. I couldn’t distribute copies of the New Testament on my own, so I asked my father for permission to find a missionary church.

By age 15, I began to ask questions about doctrine, baptism, tithing, and church organization. My father said no church today practiced things as taught by the Savior. But if I found such a church, he said, I should join it.

Years later, I had a disagreement with a coworker. When he came by our house to apologize, he left a book titled Our Heritage: A Brief History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In it, I read about the martyrdom of the Prophet Joseph Smith. This story touched me deeply.

I also found a photo of two young men wearing white shirts, ties, and name tags. They shared the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. I wondered if there were such missionaries in my town.

That evening I prayed and asked God to help me find His missionary church. The next day I looked for the missionaries. I checked with every person I saw who was wearing a white shirt, but I had no success.

Outside my home a few days later, I saw three people wearing white shirts, ties, and name tags! I ran inside, got the book, and hurried after them.

When I caught up with them, one of them asked, “Can we help you?”

“Is this book from your church?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s our book,” he replied enthusiastically. “We are the missionaries.”

After several weeks of learning about the restored gospel, I was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A year later my father was baptized.

Because I still wanted to serve the Lord—a desire that had remained with me since I was young—I began preparing to serve a full-time mission. What joy I felt the day I received my own call to be a full-time missionary!