Lock your Heart

When I arrived in Puerto Rico, I was handed a lot of different talks to read.  I opened one of them and it was entitled “Lock your heart.”  I kind of chuckled at first, but I have come to find that inappropriate or romantic “love” is more common in the mission field than you would think.

Other mission presidents have shared this same talk with their missionaries.  In the discourse “Before the Call,” David R. Mickel says “Until missionaries learn to bring their heart into the mission field, which I think means their affections, I find that they generally limit their ability to progress spiritually. It’s difficult to be overly committed to someone at home and bring your mind into the mission field."

Now why would I include this for missionaries everywhere?

BECAUSE IT IS SO CRUCIAL TO A MISSIONARY!

I never liked the phrase lock your heart, only because you go into the mission to love others.  So I say instead : SEAL YOUR HEART

My favorite song says “Tune my heart to sing THY GRACE…Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.  Take my heart, oh take and SEAL IT, seal it for thy courts above.”

I know many people who married someone they met on their mission whether it was another Elder or Sister, a member, or a convert.  I can’t write about sealing your heart without addressing this, because it does happen.  If the Lord leads you to someone, I cannot say that it is wrong.  But one thing that each of my friends did to seal their heart on their mission, was to talk to the mission president about it.  You don’t want your mission to be romantic: that is not what you are there for.  If you think someone likes you, or you like them, request to be moved.  Talk to your mission president about it because he wants you to have a successful mission with your heart in the right place.

The song says that we are prone to wander…that will happen occasionally as you receive letters from friends from home, but try to not make letters romantic.  People at home can go to work and school and maybe not think about it all the time, but it is really easy for missionaries to have a wandering mind when romance is in the air.  So stop it!  Ha ha.  You can share spiritual stories and gospel testimonies that will leave you both feeling uplifted without too much distraction.

After the mission is over, you can definitely pursue those opportunities if you feel the Lord is still guiding you in that direction.  One Elder and I liked each other after the mission, but during the mission, there was no interest in that way.  As I think back on the situation, I am so grateful that I didn’t focus on that during that time, because then I didn’t have any guilt after the mission or feel that I had taken myself away from the work.  I know you are wondering….so no, I didn’t marry that missionary.  I married a man who is better than the man of my dreams *sigh*  The missionary however is still a good friend of mine, and I just can’t stress enough, how nice it is to not feel guilt or regret when I think of our relationship.

Just decide now that you will seal your heart to God, that for this time, you will bask in the joy that is the gospel, and trust that God will lead you to a wonderful man or woman AFTER your mission.