The Confidence Complex

"Have not I commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

--- Joshua 1:5

Missionary work is nerve wracking.  I'm often scared of it.

What a waster missionary, staying in his flat all day.

"Wait, a full time missionary?  Scared of missionary work?  The scoundrel!"

Yes, yes, I know.  Blasphemy.  Before you start throwing rotten fruit, let me explain myself for second.  In my defense, I call upon a parable which I just made up.  I've named it "the Simple Walk to Church."

So, you walk to church one day.  About a five minute walk.  It's only around the corner, really, and it's a nice day.  You pass by a few people, say hello to the neighbors and a few people you don't know.  You're in a good mood, the sky is blue, people are out, and you're going to church :)  A great start to what's destined to be a great day.

Sounds good, huh?  Well, that's the non-missionary part of the parable.  Here's what I see:

My companion and I take that same walk to church.  It's a nice day, and we both know what that means...this is going to be longer than a five minute walk.  We finish two hours of study and ready ourselves through prayer for the people the Lord is placing in our way.  We let no one pass by, and each person on the street, this side or the other, is someone who needs to hear about what we have.  

Some listen.  Many don't.  Some are outright rude, others do all they can to avoid us, and some seek our company specifically to argue with us.  

Every single person is a child of God in our eyes, with eternal importance and potential.  Every single person deserves more than a hello.  Every single person can benefit from the message we share.  We arrive at church sad, joyful, and worn out all at the same time.

There's an entirely different perspective from the eyes of a missionary.  It's a different world!  But so is being a "mormon" and you've already done that.  So why not share it?

Seems like a few more people now...

My point is this: we know this Earth to be a place of eternal significance.  We who are blessed with this great gospel must share it with everyone we can, here and now where it will benefit them most.  Yes, it is scary.  Yes, it will be outside of your comfort zone.  However, I promise that it will not kill you.  In fact, I will boldly make the promise that it will make you better in every way.  As you share what you know to be true, you will feel the Spirit, you will grow in knowledge and wisdom, and you will build and strengthen your own testimony.

So how can we overcome that fear?  How do we bypass that thing standing in our way of receiving the amazing benefits of missionary work?  Well, let's consider the following statement:

Fear is the opposite of faith.  When we fear, we do not have faith.

Put into practice, this is quite counterintuitive.  It means that the solution to that nervous feeling you have when bringing up religion is to bring up religion.  The solution to my fear of stopping everyone in my path is to stop and talk to everyone in my path.  The solution is acting in faith.  I have found that it is only then that the Spirit bears you up.  You must open your mouth before the Spirit can fill it with words.

Latter-day Saints, fear not.  Don't be dismayed.  The Lord is with you.  Wherever you go.

Have faith in Him who will wipe away your fears and replace them with confidence.

Courage is built through action, so go and share!