Giving, Not Receiving -- A Key to Happiness

One of the greatest lessons a missionary can learn is that true happiness comes when we give -- and not when we receive. Our culture encourages self-absorption. Missionary work encourages self-sacrifice. The transformation from selfish teenager to self-less follower of Christ is remarkable!

When one is assigned to be a leader, he often learns great lessons about giving. Missions have an organizational structure that requires us to assign missionaries to the roles of District Leaders and Zone Leaders. A District Leader is responsible for 4-8 missionaries in his district. He conducts District Meetings every Monday at 10:30AM. He trains his missionaries, encourages them, inspires them and helps in any way he can. Along the way he gains valuable hands-on experience about leadership. And his perspective changes about people and progress. Zone Leaders are responsible for 2-4 District Leaders and their districts. They typically have 18-26 missionaries under their responsibility. They train the District Leaders and help the entire zone achieve their goals. In addition to their regular responsibilities, they spend many additional hours helping new missionaries become proficient and confident.

Personal growth comes quickly when a 19 or 20 year old is thrust into a leadership role with significant responsibilities. It is in these assignments that they often learn that giving is much more important than receiving. And their happiness quotient hits an all-time high! Here is an email from one such missionary who was recently assigned to be a District Leader:

"President Murray,

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as a district leader. My testimony has already been strengthened so very much that as I focus on the needs of others. God will help me more with my needs, which in some way seem to resolve themselves. Our district is doing the best it has in months. Serving as a district leader has helped me learn much better time management skills.

I have felt greater charity fill me as I have sought to serve the other missionaries in this area. This is a very humbling assignment as there are several missionaries here that would seem to be more qualified- one in particular. The district is doing very well: Elder "A", a brand new missionary, seems to be doing pretty good. Elder "B" is a great trainer. The Sister missionaryies are doing well too I believe.

I now have a much stronger testimony - that I will be writing down in my journal - that serving and focusing on others is the very best way to receive blessings, and mostly to be happy and come closer to Christ myself. This strengthened testimony of service will be with me, and change the ways I choose to live, for the rest of my eternal life.

I am the happiest right now that I have been my whole mission, and I attribute that to the opportunity to serve and focus on others."