These last 10 days have flown, but so much has happened that it feels like forever ago that I emailed home. I forget sometimes that Sister Ma and I have only been companions for that brief week and a half. She really is a wonderful companion and missionary. She has a lot of faith and energy in everything she does, and it gets me really excited about things. She's an especially good example to me of goal-setting. Missionaries set goals quite frequently--at least every night in our planning session for the next day, and also goals for the week in our weekly planning session. Still, I feel like I have so much to understand about goals and how to use them. There's a quote in Preach My Gospel (the book missionaries, and also church members, study about how to do missionary work; it includes material to be taught to investigators, but also chapters on topics such as how to do the work by the Holy Ghost, how to use time effectively, developing Christlike attributes, etc.) that says:
"I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don't set goals in our life and learn how to master the techniques of living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on life only to see that we reached but a small part of our full potential. When one learns to master the principle of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life." (Elder Ballard, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, PMG p.146)
Every time I read this quote I realize that I have some repenting to do in this area. I have definitely not yet mastered "the principle of setting a goal," let alone "the techniques of living to reach our goals," but I believe that it must be critical to reaching my full potential. I also remember something I learned from our Zone Conference last move. We had a visiting area authority, Elder Anthony Perkins (area authorities are church leaders who preside over specific geographical areas of the world). He told us that when he was younger and called to be an elders quorum president (a local leader in a ward or branch of the church), he and his two counselors sat down to set some goals. They set goals about things like what kinds of lessons they would have every Sunday, how many activities they would have, what percentage of the brethren in their quorum would do their home teaching, etc. He then took these goals to the bishop. The bishop reviewed them, and then gave him some correction. He pointed out that the goals were not centered on the salvation of souls. They then reconsidered their goals, and were able to make meaningful differences in the lives of individuals. Elder Perkins pointed out that their original goals weren't bad, but they weren't getting at the most important point of their service. So recently as we set our companionship goals, and as I consider my personal goals, I've been trying to think more than usual about the real purpose. Why do I want to memorize Chinese characters? Why do I want to be familiar with the scriptures? Why do we want to find some number of new people to teach every week? All of those are means to a greater end, like being able to read the scriptures in Chinese with those we teach and expound to their understanding and the strengthening of their faith. And their increased understanding and faith are only a part of the larger process of enduring conversion. The good news is that the Lord still seems willing to work through us even though our efforts are always imperfect; I'm grateful to say from personal experience that whether or not we receive Lord's blessings is largely dependent on our doing our best, not on how good our best is.
