Make Your Home a MTC (Missionary Training Center)

Here's a Family Home Evening Idea for you.  It's based on the message we discussed in our last Relief Society week night meeting.  The presenter asked us what missionaries do and then reviewed with us some of their daily activities and how we might help our children/ grandchildren practice doing what they will do on their missions.

1 STUDY - D&C 11:21 and PMG (Preach My Gospel) p. 17 - study the scriptures and this amazing book, as well as other resources from the Church.

2.  TEACH - PMG p. 29 (last paragraph)  Give children opportunities to teach in FHE, family scripture study, Sunday School and YM/YW classes, home teaching, missionary splits.  What other opportunities can you think of?

3.  TESTIFY - PMG p. 198  Teach your children what a testimony of and how to simply state what they know to their friends without necessarily sounding "preachy."

4.  OYM - OPEN YOUR MOUTH  D&C 33:8-10  & D& 11:21  Accept the challenge to have at least one conversation per week about the gospel with someone not of our faith.    He shared this story:

There was a man who was famous for his ability to give a sermon on any topic at any time.  A church found out about this talent and inved him to come and preach.  They wanted to test him on his ability to do this and so they told him that he would walk to the podium and there would be a white piece of paper with his topic written on it.  He was to read it and then give a half hour sermon on that topic.

The man went to the podium and when he looked at the white piece of paer, he found that it was completely blank.  He smiled and looked over at the organizers, who had sheepish grins on their faces.  he then turned toward the congregation and delivered an hour-long sermon on purity and being white and clean.

Our presenter then asked us if we could do that and how would we do so.  Then he divided us into groups of 2 and gave each group a bowl with several slips of paer in it.  We were to choose one of the pieces of paper and speak for 2 minutes on that topic.  He reminded us to bear our testimony and to teach what we know and feel.  He invited us to br totally awesome by using a scripture or two.  Here are the topics:

Baptism    
Commandments    
Prophets    
Life after death    
Priesthood    
Word of Wisdom    
Atonement    
Prayer

5.  WORK - Give children responsibilities and encourage them to get a summer job when they are in high school that involves interacting with people.  He referred to Elder L. Tom Perry's talk "Raising the Bar" found in the Nov 2007 Ensign magazine.

6.  EXERCISE - PMG p. viii  All missionaries are required to exercise 30 minutes/day.

7.  SERVE & LOVE - PMG p. 148 (middle paragraph)  Missionaries are required to give 4 hours/week serving.

8.  GET REJECTED - Do not protect children/ youth from the consequences of life that teach them how to deal with rejection and discouragement.  Teach them how you deal with disappaointment and trials.  Talk about it and help them develop skills that build their resilience.  (There's a great article in this month's Ensign.)

9.  BE WORTHY - PMG, chapter 4  Teach children/ youth that they do not need to be perfect; they need to be clean.

In the Nov 2005 Ensign, David A Bednar stated, "the single most important thing you can do to prepare for a call to serve is to become a missionary long before you go on a mission. Please notice that in my answer I emphasized becomingrather than going..."

I hope these ideas will help you think of what you can do NOW and from now on to help your children/ youth prepare to serve a mission.