Onward Ever Onward

Standing in the hallway of the Mesa Arizona Temple several years ago, I watched as nearly 100 missionaries walked by after a session.  I was in awe of the spirit I felt.  I knew as I watched, "This is the very best we have."  I was struck by their goodness and the joy they seemed to emanate.

Today I was with a group of young missionaries in the Copenhagen Temple.  I sat with them in the session, and afterwards.  Our mission president took a group of 22 young elders and 2 young sisters, along with 6 senior missionaries to the temple today after a training meeting.

It was just as it was in the Arizona Temple....they are amazing.  I looked at them in their white clothing and fresh young faces (some of the young men still have the blush of the teen years on their cheeks.). They sat quietly, some lost in thought or with heads bowed and eyes closed.  They were reverent but joyful.

At times like these thoughts flicker through my mind about where they might be otherwise.  So many places...so many possibilities....studying in the college library, working at a part-time job, at Lake Powell in a houseboat, at Disneyland, playing football somewhere with friends.  But they are here, wearing  white-shirts, ties and name badges.

They spend their time studying Danish and studying the Gospel.  They talk with people everywhere and occasionally are asked to someone's home to teach and share the message they have.  They deal with discouragement and rejection frequently. They are far from home and they are taking on responsibilities that sometimes are unfamiliar to them.

They budget their time and money.  They do their own laundry and ironing (some better than others!), they do their own cooking (and some are becoming very good cooks), they are learning to communicate in a new language, they listen to people's problems, they give manual labor to help people in need, they set up appointments and follow through, they conduct meetings and they do a host of other things that are phenomenal for an 18, 19, 20 or 21 year old to do.

And they do it for two years.  Many, like SK and the other senior missionaries here, will carry a love of Denmark in their hearts for the rest of their lives.  They will speak with fondness of the dear friends they have made here and they will long to return.  They will try to keep their Danish fresh, and they will refer to these two challenging years as some of the best years of their lives.

Even though I am looking through 65-year old eyes, I understand all of that better than I ever have before.

SK snapped this picture from the roof at 5 a.m. this morning....a dramatic sunrise.