Choosing to serve

Character… is a habit, the daily choice of right over wrong; it is a moral quality which grows to maturity in peace and is not suddenly developed on the outbreak of war.
– Charles Wilson

My mom says that I used to grab my scriptures and march around the room singing “I hope they call me on a mission” when I was little. It was always something I thought of, but I still had to make the choice to serve when the time came.

When I turned 20 and realized it would be possible for me to serve in a year, I decided I needed to know if that was the right choice for me. I made it a matter of personal prayer, study, and fasting. And the answer I received was that it was the right choice for me.

The previous October to me making that choice, President Hinckley had said this:

I wish to say that the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve are united in saying to our young sisters that they are not under obligation to go on missions. I hope I can say what I have to say in a way that will not be offensive to anyone. Young women should not feel that they have a duty comparable to that of young men. Some of them will very much wish to go. If so, they should counsel with their bishop as well as their parents. If the idea persists, the bishop will know what to do.

I say what has been said before, that missionary work is essentially a priesthood responsibility. As such, our young men must carry the major burden. This is their responsibility and their obligation.

We do not ask the young women to consider a mission as an essential part of their life’s program. Over a period of many years, we have held the age level higher for them in an effort to keep the number going relatively small. Again to the sisters I say that you will be as highly respected, you will be considered as being as much in the line of duty, your efforts will be as acceptable to the Lord and to the Church whether you go on a mission or do not go on a mission.

– President Gordon B. Hinckley
Some Thoughts on Temples, Retention of Converts, and Missionary Service
General Conference, October 1997

The interesting thing to me was how many people, when they found out about my decision to serve, seemed to have taken the words of the prophet as meaning that sisters should not serve. Some people need to learn to pay attention better.

I did not choose to serve a mission because my mom served a mission (my mom did not). My younger sister did not choose to serve a mission because I served a mission (my sister did not). I did not choose to serve a mission because my bishop asked me to. For young women who wish to serve it needs to be a personal decision. I’ve seen sisters who were serving because of parents or friends or because they did not know what else to do at that point in their lives, and they were ineffective in many ways. Without a conviction of why they were doing what they were doing they could not press forward when things got hard.

Not all young women should serve missions. But I believe all young women should choose to prepare for a mission, whether it be an official full-time one or not. Choosing to prepare to serve a mission involves choosing to study the scriptures and make them part of your life, to know the gospel and write it in your heart. It involves choosing to be at your best health and to live a fiscally responsible life. It means choosing to prepare for and live worthy of the temple. And whether those choices lead to a full-time mission or not, they will greatly benefit your life for years to come. There are many types of missions after all.