Moms should take the lead in strengthening their missionaries, a former mission mother said Friday afternoon.

"I cannot overemphasize how critical your letters are to missionaries," said Linda Grow, a former mission president's wife.

Grow told the mothers four ways they can best support their children on missions. The first was to emphasize missionary and family obedience to mission rules. Family members should write only once a week because a higher frequency of writing can become distracting.

"Your missionary will be as obedient as you are," Grow said.

Grow then told mothers they could be their missionary's head cheerleader by making sure each missionary receives letters frequently. If their child wants to come home, she told the mothers to be calm, let the missionary know she "loves them to pieces" but that she does not want her child to come home. She explained that a mission is a "shortcut to maturity both temporally and spiritually."

Mothers are also to share advice and experiences with their missionary and to be careful with disturbing news. Grow suggested family members contact the mission president before telling a missionary about a death or divorce to see the best way to inform the missionary.

Finally, Grow taught the missionary moms they are their child's vital long-distance companions through the spirit. When mothers feel prompted to do something, even if it's contacting the mission president, do it.

Annette Burgess, a member of the Young Women General Board, also urged mothers to strengthen their missionaries.

She told the mothers to pray for their children and to let them know they are praying for them.

"Every missionary deserves to know that his father, and his mother, and his brothers and sisters are praying for them every day," Burgess said.

Burgess also emphasized writing positive letters. She said families could write what they loved about General Conference, their feelings about the Savior and share their testimonies.

She also told the mothers not to count down the days or tell them information to make them miss home or become "trunky."

One of Burgess' innovative ideas was for a family to write to a missionary whom they don't know. The family could separate a sheet of paper into four or six squares and each family member could share a short message of their testimony or favorite scripture in each square.

Burgess told the mothers that missionary world could reap many miracles. One example of this, she said, is a missionary who had eight family members join the church when he served a faithful mission and wrote frequent, positive letters.



Copyright Brigham Young University 5 May 2003