Gifts From the Mission Field

Young men serve for 2 years as
missionaries for the church.

Recently I came across a Business Week article published in June 2011 titled God's MBAs: Why Mormon Missions Produce Leaders. The authors highlighted the disproportionate number of influential mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in major corporations, academia, and government (e.g. Stephen Covey, Mitt Romney, Clay Christensen, etc.). The central hypothesis is that the 2-year missionary experience, which all LDS young men are expected to serve, and which many do serve, explains the success rate of these high profile and others less famous names but highly successful people.

The article is interesting in its own right and there could be a lot of good discussion from it. But what I believe is a more important legacy of a two-year mission for a young man who has faithfully served a mission, is how it prepares him for fatherhood. I recognize that 1) there are excellent fathers who didn't serve missions (or are LDS for that matter), 2) that effective fatherhood is a result of many other factors as well, and 3) that missionary service does not guarantee good fatherhood. Yet, there is no denying the many 'gifts' or 'treasures' that LDS fathers can receive from their missionary service. Here are a few:

1. Relying on the power of prayer and trusting in God's grace
2. Selfless service to others
3. Discipline, persistence, and hard work
4. Solid understanding of the plan of salvation and the role of families in the plan
5. Dealing with adversity and disappointment
6. Learning to listen and to be guided by the Holy Spirit
7. People skills such as listening, empathy, teaching others, etc.
8. Sense of direction and focus in life and personal responsibility
9. Maturity and perspective about what's really important
10. Becoming a good partner and friend

Surely there are other gifts. What is your experience? How have you seen missionary service prepare someone for fatherhood? I welcome your comments.