Mormons are not weird. Every Member a Missionary.

The term "Every member a missionary" has been around as long as I can remember.  To some, outside of the church, when they hear this they assume it means that every single member of the LDS church's main goal is to convert them.  I promise you, when someone meets a member of the church the first thought that runs through their head is very rarely when they might get them to commit to baptism.  As for myself, I typically tend to think, "wow, this is a really great person that I might become good friends with." 

So why "Every Member a Missionary" if it isn't a requirement to go out and baptize or commit to baptism every person we meet, what exactly does this phrase mean?  It means to lead by example,  live according to your faith, and share - when the opportunity presents itself - what exactly it is that makes you so darned happy.  It doesn't mean to take your family door to door proselytizing  or require you to stand on a crowded corner teaching the gospel. 

Many people who come into contact with me or work with me for any period of time come to know rather quickly that I am indeed a member of the Mormon faith.  If they don't notice the CTR (Choose the Right) ring on my right hand, or the fact that I don't tend to swear or use other bad language, or that I never join them in cocktail hour - - - there is always something that gives me away.  In casual conversation it may come up that I am from Utah (not all Mormons are, by the way), that my husband graduated from BYU, or perhaps it's mentioned that I was involved with a youth service activity.  Either way, I don't hide from my friends or co-workers who I am.  I let them get to know me, the real me - the person I am now and forever.  In these opportunities, I find time and place to share more about this Gospel that I love.  If they indeed want to learn more, I then set up time for them to meet with the full time missionaries (Men and women that volunteer 18 months to two years of their life to serve as Missionaries proselytizing about the Gospel).  If they don't want that, I continue to answer questions as they come up, and continue to be their friend.  Period.

When you find something that makes you happy, truly happy - you want to share it with the world.  For some people that means that they open with it on first conversations.  For some, it is something they hold closely to their heart and only share it with those that they have grown to love and respect.  For some, they write about it.  I tend to fall into the latter two groups, as evidenced by this blog.  I have learned, however, that it isn't about being a missionary, and it isn't about baptizing everyone I know.  It's about sharing a piece of myself, and a piece of my faith, and a whole part of a Gospel that as I've mentioned before is a great deal of who I am. 

Mormons are not weird.  Every Member a Missionary - Every person love your neighbor.

Now to end this post, I seem it fitting to put in this story I heard not too long ago.  I don't know if it's true or not, but I do hope it is.  I love it that much.

When the MTC (Missionary Training Center for the Full time missionaries) was built in Provo, there were lush green athletic fields put in just across the street for their exercise and enjoyment. The fields were so inviting, and due to proximity of location to Brigham Young University - they were typically filled with BYU students taking part in different activities causing the missionaries to not be able to use them as much as intended.  So, very shortly after their installation, a sign was also installed near the edge of the fields that looks like this:

The next day, the groundskeepers went out to find posted on this sign, just below that read:

Every Member a Missionary.

See, I told you it was good.