Two Types of Missionary Service

Found this on Seth Adam Smith's blog here

Aaron, Ammon, & the Two Types of Missionary Service

Ammon

In The Book of Mormon, we are told of two types of missionaries. The first type of missionary is the surface-level one—a missionary that believes that his/her mission is only to preach to and convert others.  The second type of missionary is the immersed one—a missionary that believes that his/her mission is to love and serve others.
Aaron and Ammon, along with their brothers, went into Lamanite territory to serve their missions among the Lamanites. These particular Lamanites were described as “a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering…and robbing and plundering” (Alma 17:14). Aaron, Ammon, and their brothers “separated themselves one from another, and went forth among [the Lamanites]” (Alma 17:17) “that perhaps they might bring them unto repentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of redemption” (Alma 17:16).
Aaron took the surface-level approach to missionary service. He was only out to preach to and convert others. Because of this, he immediately hit resistance: “And it came to pass as he began to expound these things unto them they were angry with him, and began to mock him;
and they would not hear the words which he spake” (Alma 21:10), and “they contended with many about the word” (Alma 21:11). Eventually, things got so bad that “Aaron and a certain number of his brethren were taken and cast into prison” (Alma 21:13).
Ammon, on the other hand, took the immersed approach to missionary service. His approach was to love those to whom he had been called to serve. In fact, he believed the Lamanites ”to be his brethren” (Alma 17:30), and treated them as such. Captured and bound by the Lamanites, he was taken to the feet of a Lamanite king named Lamoni. When King Lamoni asked why he had come into Lamanite territory, Ammon responded “I desire to dwell among this people for a time; yea, and perhaps until the day I die” (Ama 17:24). He also promptly told the king, ”I will be thy servant” (Alma 17:25). From that time forward, a deep bond of love and friendship began to grow between Ammon and Lamoni. Even Lamoni’s father later noticed “the great love [Ammon] had for his son, Lamoni” (Alma 20:26).
Ammon and Lamoni went on to release Aaron and his brethren from prison. Apparently, while in prison, Aaron had learned the value of service and love over surface-level missionary work, telling Lamoni’s father “we will be thy servants” (Alma 22:3). This missionary work, founded upon service, eventually evolved into one of the greatest conversion stories in The Book of Mormon—perhaps in all scripture.
And all of it was predicated upon learning to love the people.


Read more on his complete post, Recalled to Serve ...

Always Pray unto the Father in My Name

Awesome Message

Always Pray unto the Father in My Name 

by David L. Frischknecht  -  found here

After asking the question
"Of the many prayers in the scriptures, which come to your mind?"

Brother Frischknecht  mentioned a few, including this
"Perhaps to you the most memorable prayer in the scriptures is when the Savior pleaded, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”⁴ “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly.”⁵

Then he asked
"Have you ever been in agony and prayed more earnestly?"

When I heard him ask that question, after referring to Christ's prayer, it touched my heart to realize the comparison.  Many times have I been in agony and prayed more earnestly, and yet I do not remember ever thinking of Christ doing the same.  It was enlightening and inspiring to hear (but I'm sure my words do not express even half of what my heart and mind were feeling at the time I heard it).


His message continued, and gave me more to contemplate.  He said
"The Lord said, “Ye must always pray unto the Father in my name.”⁶
This simple commandment is repeated in countless ways throughout the scriptures. We are told to pray continually ⁷ ; to pray without ceasing ⁸; to pray morning, mid-day, and evening ⁹; and to counsel with the Lord in all our doings ¹⁰. Simply put, Heavenly Father wants us to pray with faith every morning, every night, and often in between."

I loved that - pray with faith every morning, every night, and often in between.  And he kept repeating it thru his message so I could hear it over and over again. And he gave so many reasons why we should - blessings that would come to us if we do.  I have listed the blessings he promised
 
when you pray with faith every morning, every night, and often in between your life is better in every way than if you do not:

- you have the influence and power of the Holy Ghost.
- you choose the right more often.
- you avoid the wrong more often.
- you resist and avoid temptation more consistently.
- you think of others more readily.
- you love and serve your families, friends, and others better.
- you serve the Lord better.
- you repent more promptly and more completely.
- you are better prepared for the blessings of the sacrament and the blessings of the temple.
- you share the gospel with others more frequently and with greater urgency and with deeper conviction.
- you are a better friend and you choose better friends.
- you do better at school and at work.
- you do better at sports and music and dancing and writing and speaking and any other righteous talent you pursue.
- your mind works better.
- your body works better.
- you are a better son, a better daughter, a better mother, a better father.
- your successes are more meaningful.
- your trials are more refining.
- your sadness is shorter.
- Comfort and relief and strength come more quickly.
- you feel closer to your Heavenly Father.
- you know Him better and have stronger faith in Him and in the Lord Jesus Christ. In pleasant times and in hard times, you know what They want you to do, and you are more apt to do it.

- When you pray in faith every morning, every night, and often in between, your life is better in every way than if you do not."


Quite a wonderful list of blessings.  We have so much to gain when we pray in faith every morning, every night, and often in between.   Brother Frischknecht added this

"If you do not pray in faith every morning, every night, and often in between, you live below your privileges. You forfeit blessings. You lose protection. You lose inspiration. You lose comfort. You lose opportunities. You lose light. You lose strength. Again, if you do not pray every morning, every night, and often in between, you live way below your privileges."

Incentive right?  If you do not ... you lose!

He quoted President Gordon B. Hinckley saying,
“Prayer is a marvelous and miraculous resource—the most marvelous and miraculous resource we have available to us.”¹¹

He then quoted President Thomas S. Monson saying,
praying will “solve more problems, alleviate more suffering, prevent more transgression, and bring about greater peace and contentment in the human soul than could be obtained in any other way.”¹²

More incentive!

He went on to talk about Morning Prayer,
"Of all the things we think we need to do in the morning, talking with our Heavenly Father is the first and most important.
 
The practice of “praying first” has something in common with the practice of paying tithing first. Some say they don’t have enough money to pay tithing. But when we pay our tithing first, the Lord blesses us to make better use of the remaining 90 percent than if we had not paid tithing. Similarly, some people think they don’t have enough time to pray, especially in the morning. But when the first thing we do each morning is to speak sincerely and humbly with our Father in Heaven, the rest of our day is more meaningful and inspired and productive. Because we have sought Him in prayer, early and first, we accomplish much more of what is important.
 
There is always time to pray. So let us pray always."


His next topic was to Pray Anyway, telling us that 
"the Lord does not excuse anyone from the need to pray."

He said that you may feel things like not being worthy or you just don't feel like it, or you may even think that God doesn't notice you.  Maybe you are angry or maybe you already prayed and don't want to again.  Whatever the reason for not wanting to pray, he says simply
"Pray Anyway."
"So pray. Pray again. Pray still. Remember to pray always."

"Prayer helps keep our eye single to the glory of God and our mind clear and our heart meek and grateful. Prayer opens a conduit through which the Holy Spirit can convey light, truth, knowledge, peace—all the gifts and fruits of the Spirit—without interruption."


A few more things he mentioned,

"Remembering to pray always is easier when we remember we pray to God our Heavenly Father and to no one else. To you this may seem like a simple and obvious concept. But I invite you to consider with me what a powerful truth this is and the implications it should have for our prayers."

"While we live on earth, we feel separated from Him. Though it is true that we may not see Him now, it is not true that He cannot see us. As President Eyring recently explained, “The pavilion that seems to intercept divine aid does not cover God but occasionally covers us. God is never hidden, yet sometimes we are, covered by a pavilion of motivations that draw us away from God and make Him seem distant and inaccessible.”²⁷

"Every time we address our Heavenly Father, let us remember who He is. Before we rush on to list our blessings and put in our order for more blessings, let us pause and reflect well on the loving, powerful, knowing Father with whom we are speaking. And let us allow this knowledge to influence everything else we say in our prayer."

"In simple terms, praying to the Father in the name of the Lord means that our prayer is offered and activated by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Anointed Redeemer. It means we have faith that the Lord’s atoning mercy and grace allows us to pray to the Father now and eventually bring us back into the presence of the Father.³⁴ And it means we desire to be identified with Jesus Christ; to be called by His name; to accord our will to His will; and to follow, love, obey, and serve Him".³⁵

"Each time we pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, as inspired by the Holy Ghost, we prefigure our ultimate reconciliation with Them in the kingdom of heaven."

"Every time we sincerely pray to the Father in the name of the Lord, a unique, sacred miracle occurs."
"The miracle is that you actually talked with God and that He in fact heard you and answered you."

"... our Father in Heaven desires that we pray to Him always and blesses us beyond measure when we do ..."

...

This was a wonderful message and I enjoyed it all.  The parts I added here today are those parts that stood out to me most at this time, but surely when I go back and re-read the whole message another day and time in my life, something else will stand out.  That full message given by David L. Frischknecht  can be found here.  Reading it often may be a great benefit in ones life.