Man. I wish that I actually had time to write this post awhile ago. I have actually had this one planned for ages, it just seems that NOW is the first time that I actually have the time to sit down and write it out.
So, let’s begin.
A while ago now, for FHE in my singles ward here on campus, we had a mini MTC (missionary training center). TO be completely honest, I wasn’t really excited to go, I am not planning on going on a mission any time soon (although, who knows. That can change at any moment) and it didn’t really sound like a super fun activity. However, I knew there was going to be a cute boy there, and my room mate wanted to go.
Thank Goodness for her. She has dragged me along to so many activities that I did not want to go to, and surprise, surprise, I always learned something that I needed to know at that point in my life. Without fail.
Anyways. The focus throughout the night was on member missionary work. We’ve all heard the phrase, ‘Every Member A Missionary’. Now, I don’t know about you, but that sometimes scares the crap out of me. I always get so…apprehensive when it comes to doing missionary work, simply because I have absolutely no idea where to start. It’s not like I don’t have any nonmember friends, growing up in California, having member friends was an oddity. But whenever I think of missionary work, I always get the picture in my head of the suit and tag. And that freaks me out.
During the course of the night, one of the guys who was teaching, handed each of us a pencil. With the pencil came this statement “Not one person in the entire world knows how to make a pencil.” Yet here it was in my hand. I was holding a pencil. How was this true?
Well, I knew the answer right away. In fact, I immediately turned to my room mate and told her that not one person knew how to make a pencil, because it takes multiple people to make a pencil. I don’t know the specifics, but I figure that it takes one person to cut the wood, one to make the graphite, one to make the eraser, one to put it all together, etc.
I was correct. The teacher then went on to show us an essay written, entitled I, Pencil. If you have a chance, go read the whole thing. It has some interesting points.
Simple? Yet, not a single person on the face of this earth knows how to make me. This sounds fantastic, doesn't it? Especially when it is realized that there are about one and one-half billion of my kind produced in the U.S.A. each year.
Pick me up and look me over. What do you see? Not much meets the eye—there's some wood, lacquer, the printed labeling, graphite lead, a bit of metal, and an eraser.
The essay then goes on to talk about how millions of people have played a part in the creation of the pencil, even though many have no idea that they had any contribution at all.
So, you are most likely sitting there reading this thinking to yourself, ‘That’s nice Nicole. But I thought this was about missionary work. What does a pencil have to do with missionary work?’
Well let me tell you.
Often, I think that many of us are guilty of not doing any missionary work because we are afraid, we get overwhelmed. After all, we are only one person. What can one person possibly do?
That was exactly my fears about missionary work. But one of the major things that I learned from this lesson is that there is not one single person who is responsible for missionary work. Again, let me explain.
No matter how amazing of a person you are, no matter how righteous or spiritual you are, you alone will not convert anyone. Often, the person who is being converted to this wonderful gospel has been becoming prepared for a long time. Through small and seemingly insignificant events in their lives, they have been prepped to receive the gospel.
With this in mind, I have begun to look at doing member missionary work differently. I always used to get so scared because I thought that when I did missionary work, it was all me, that if I messed up in any way, that I would have ruined their chances for eternal happiness. However, I can now see things in a different light, that I alone am not going to convince this person to join the Church. Sure, I play a part, and although that part may be small, it is really important.
Next time you are feeling down on yourself for not doing ‘missionary work’, just remember, not one person knows how to make a pencil. It takes all of us.
