This past week has been 6 week training and transfers.  It was busy and stressful and also fun.  We are tired!  Some really amazing missionaries went home.  It's hard to say goodbye.  It's fun to hear them tell about how much their mission has changed them and how much their love for the Savior has grown.  It's also fun to hear about all the crazy things that have happened to them.  A mission is the best and worst experience of your life I think.

Today I want to talk about the younger missionary age. The information I'm sharing has had a huge impact on me.  I will include some quotes from Insights from a Prophet's Life:  Russell M. Nelson, and make just a few comments.  

 President Nelson was on the committee when they decided to lower the age of missionaries.   He says there was lots of discussion about reasons to change the age:  military requirements, college interruptions, and "some young men weren't as pure at 19 as they had been a year earlier and subsequently disqualified themselves from serving."

"In one meeting, where the pros and cons of lowering the age requirement were aggressively expored, Elder Nelson cited the various reasons youth, particularly young men, were choosing not to serve and then drew on his medical background to characterize the situation:  'We are losing the lifeblood of this Church,' he said, 'and in my world we'd call that a hemorrhage.'"

"Change often creates growing pains, and these advancements in missionary work were no different.  Some young men, swept up in the eighteen-year-old movement, went on missions before they were ready.  Some sisters, caught up in a wave of "Why not serve since we can go so much earlier,' were not adequately prepared.  The number of missionaries not completing their mission increased.  Access to technology and the web was too enticing for some missionaries.  And there were naysayers who pointed out that though the number of missoinaries had increased dramatically, the number of baptisms had not."

"But when all was said and done, 'we did not make this change because we expected more converts,' Elder Nelson explained.  'We did it to stop the hemorrhage and to save the lifeblood of the church.'

"He felt we could build them, teach them how important it was to keep their hearts and minds clean, and have them come back stronger."

In a meeting about the impact of recent changes, both positive and negative "Some General Authorities wondered out loud if they were sending missionaries out too young; others questioned giving them electronic devices.  The attendees were respectful while probing tough questions that deserved discussion.  Elder Nelson listened quietly and then said, 'My brethren, remember why we made these decisions.  We made them to save the next generation.'"

Reading this has changed my life.  Sometimes I've caught myself saying, "How did this missionary ever get out here?"  I will never say that again.  I will say, "The best place for this missionary is right here, right now." I hope that even for missionaries who go home early, it will have a positive impact on them.

We have to work hard to make sure young women and young men are ready to come.  This is a life changing experience.  You can't really duplicate it.  Young Men, Elders Quorums and Young Women and Relief Society organizations need to focus on this.  We want to keep more missionaries here.

To our grandchildren:   Prepare well for a mission.  It's hard and it's easy.

*  Know how to take care of yourself.  Know how to cook, clean, do wash.  Develop a love of cleanliness.

*  Practice being obedient.  If you are young, just try obeying your mom or dad immediately.  See what happens. Think of something you can work on.  Teenagers could work on that too.  How about picking something out of For the Strength of Youth that you struggle with.  Practice being obedient.  See what happens.  I see great blessings here that come from even small acts of obedience.  As Housing Coordinator, I tell the missionaries to start their day with a simple act of obedience and watch the blessings flow:  Get up on time and make your bed.
Grandkids, will you conduct an experiment on this and report back to me? Practice being obedient!   How did it go?  What happened? 

*Learn how to have self-restraint on your devices.  They are a great tool of righteousness OR a tool of the devil.  It depends on you.  It will be so sad if we have to take away devices because of the disobedience of the missionaries who can't control themselves.

*Don't get your self-esteem from social media.  Get your self-worth from God.

*Develop a close relationship with your Savior.  Don't wait until you get here. Know who He is.  Follow His teachings.  Turn to Him for help. Accept His love.  Accept God's love.

*Do something hard and discover that you can!  Our mission president tells every new missionary that to survive here you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

*Exercise every day.  If you call the nurse here and tell her you don't feel good, you are having headaches, your stomach hurts, or you are depressed, or almost anything, the first question she asks, "Are you exercising every day?"

Grandkids:  share with us the successes and failures you have in these areas. What have you learned?  We all learn from mistakes too.

We love you!!!!!