Another question that I have received is:

“What do you mean by “called to serve” Isn’t it mostly to convert to religion?

Firstly, you don’t get a say on where you will be sent. I mean on the application, they know any health concerns and you get to say if you would like to learn a foreign language or not – and likely take those into consideration. You are “called” because we do believe that the mission assignment is inspired – it is the mission that you are meant to go to. They (meaning the leaders of the church) review your application and then listen to the promptings as to where they feel you are to be sent, and that is where you are sent.

Secondly, if I could steal from Rachael’s farewell talk – “ there is a reason why you are “called to serve” and not “called to convert”.

The role or job or purpose of a missionary is not to convert – but to serve and to invite people to “Come Unto Christ”. YOU can’t “convert” someone. (Just try convincing someone or having an intellectual conversation trying to convince someone to believe in God or a certain religion, it doesn’t happen.)

What is the definition of service? “The act of helping or doing work for someone”.

I think many interpret service to solely mean humanitarian work (disaster relief, building project, clean water projects, food banks, shelters etc). Missionaries are involved in that type of service – depending on the needs of the areas that they are serving in. There are actually different types of missions and some are solely this type of humanitarian mission (often older couples do these missions – Rob and I are super excited to do at least 1 or 2 of these missions when we are older). Some missions have a larger focus on humanitarian aid than others – depends on the area and the needs of the people. You don’t know ahead of time how much will be required in your area, but regardless of your area, you are asked to seek out opportunities on a weekly basis to participate in serving in this way in your mission’s community. (All members of Church are encouraged to participate in all types of service in their local communities on an ongoing basis – there is a website designed for you to find opportunities in your area called Justserve.org.)

Of course, service can also include the every day things – not just disaster relief but helping someone move, making meals, cleaning yards, painting a fence, shovelling the snow. We had one friend who served in Kenya and was very involved with farming.

Service can also include teaching: teaching a language, reading, writing, math. It is very common for missionaries to teach ESL. When we were in Cambodia as a family, we learned that the best way for people to get out of poverty is through education. If you were able to learn English in Cambodia, it was a good first step to getting out of poverty. Missionaries offer ESL courses (at no cost) to those who want to learn English. Even in Toronto, there are ESL classes offered throughout the week, taught by missionaries, and they often help new immigrants with limited English to learn more.

Service can also include religious teaching. This is what people traditionally think of when they think of missionaries – and it is still a large part of the service that they provide – and yes, I do see it as a kind of service. People are offered the opportunity to learn more about Jesus Christ and our church. I know some believe that is offensive to be offered to learn about religion. That’s just not my take on it, but we are all free to think what we want:) (you can choose to learn about our religion by seeing the musical instead, I guess is what many people think, lol)

Free agency is a beautiful gift that we have. We are free to listen, to not listen, to partake, to not partake, to engage in discussion, to not engage. We are free to do what we want – free to accept something or not accept. Just as there are many people out there who find the message about Jesus Christ offensive, there are many who find it to be a true answer to their personal prayers. An answer to a way of life they have been seeking. They listen, they learn and they may decide they want to become members of our church. And their lives may be forever changed – just as my father’s life was changed when he met Missionaries in the streets of Montreal. The change he made impacted his future generations and I feel incredibly blessed about that. Similarly, millions have listened and decided not to become members as well. Many have chosen not listen. Whatever their choices – to listen or not, to reject or not, to be cruel or not (as missionaries are often the recipients of some cruel treatment), I do not believe in anyway shape or form it diminishes God’s love for them. And I think the main message Missionaries are trying to get across is that God loves all his children.

Again, I draw on Zach’s farewell talk :

Missionary work for me is about giving people the opportunity to learn. To learn about the Gospel and our church and everything found within. Many people see missionaries as people out there to force religion on others and shove Book of Mormons down their throats. 

Simply put, being a missionary for me is just allowing people to make an informed choice with what they want to do. Being there gives locals the opportunity to be taught, but also the option to turn it down. I’m there for the people of Tahiti in a religious sense if that’s what they desire.

I’m ready to be rejected time and time again, but am also ready to teach the one person who says they want to be taught.

My purpose is to love the people there. It’s to love everyone there, regardless of their situation or past. To help whoever needs help and in whatever way I can. 

To try to bring hope to people’s life. To try to help people find purpose. I want to teach them about God and Jesus Christ and his Atonement because that’s what gives me hope and purpose in life. 

All in all, the purpose of my mission is to bring happiness to people. That may come from religion, it may not. I’m there either way to try to share that happiness and joy. 

Religion and this church has shaped me so much and turned me into who I am today. I have become so happy with a big factor being the religion in my life. I want other people to see if they can find the same happiness in the same way.

He goes on to share some of the principles that he has lived by and wants people to have the opportunity to learn about:

…The Atonement also constantly gives me comfort in knowing that there was someone else who has experienced everything I have. We are not alone in anything we go through, and that’s helped me in some tougher times. If I’ve found comfort through that and relied on it in the small trials I’ve faced, I can only imagine how amazing that comfort would be to someone who experienced something so bad that they truly feel alone in.

…Prayer is an outlet I want to be able to teach. I want to show people that they can talk to God personally whenever and wherever they like and God will be with them, aid them and bless them. I want people to be able to use this gift which has brought me so much comfort, whenever they want. God wants to hear from us, and I just want to show people that they can use the tool I’ve appreciated for so many years.

I can’t speak for all missionaries – but I can speak for Zach I think. His desire to serve a mission is a pure one. He wants to share what he believes to be something that has helped him in his life. He knows that many people he talks to will have no interest in the church whatsoever. He knows that many people mock him and think he’s a fool that has been brainwashed by his mother about religion (that’s a discussion for a whole other post – but I tend to think however you raise your children – with religion, some religion, agnostic, atheist – you are teaching them something. There is no neutrality. They learn from what you say and don’t say, do and don’t do. And I think that is ok – they will need to find out and choose for themselves what they want to believe regardless).

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Zach’s desire to serve a mission is truly about service. We do believe that when you are in the service of your fellow being, you are only in the service of your God. You can show your love to God by serving his children. You can show your love to everyone by serving them. In that service, you can lose yourself and then in turn, find a higher and better version of yourself.

If you want to follow Zach’s actual mission blog here it is: zachfioretahitimission.blogspot.com