‘Prayers Draw Us Close to the Savior,’ President Pace Teaches at Provo MTC

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By Joe Wirthlin, Church News

Out of the 13 chapters within the missionary guide “Preach My Gospel,” 12 of them reference prayer in some way.

“Prayer is essential in the conversion process for us and our friends,” taught Sunday School General President Mark L. Pace at the Provo Missionary Training Center on Tuesday night, July 9.

The weekly devotional gathered about 1,800 training missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to listen to President Pace and his wife, Anne Marie, discuss prayer and the joys of missionary service.

President Pace utilized sections from “Preach My Gospel” — the “finest missionary manual” that the Church has ever had in the 194 years of missionary work — as a basis for his remarks. A quote from President Russell M. Nelson from his first general conference as President of the Church, added to the most recent version of the missionary manual, helped frame President Pace’s teachings on seeking the influence of the Holy Ghost through prayer.

“In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting and constant influence of the Holy Ghost,” President Nelson said. A vital component of this constant influence is daily thoughtful prayer.

“Effective prayer requires humble, sustained effort,” President Pace said. He then tied President Nelson’s teachings to the importance of daily prayer in the lives of the missionaries and in the lives of those they teach.

Prayer in the Lives of Missionaries

President Pace explained that “Preach My Gospel” can teach missionaries how to make their personal prayers more effective. Rather than simply using prayers like “a shopping list” to God, President Pace reminded the missionaries that prayer is a two-way communication with Heavenly Father. “That interaction deserves the utmost respect,” President Pace said.

He encouraged the missionaries to be mindful in their prayers, to avoid simply repeating the same phrases in the same way for each successive prayer. Their prayers should instead come from the heart. He then encouraged the missionaries to use reverential language — like Thee, Thou, Thy and Thine — when praying to their Father in Heaven.

Following their prayers, President Pace said, the missionaries should take several moments to listen to the Holy Ghost. “I have found great blessings in my life by trying to take some time to pause and listen after prayers. God usually answers our prayers through the Holy Ghost. As we pray, the Holy Ghost teaches and confirms truth.”

People can occasionally find it difficult to understand when they are feeling the Spirit. President Pace shared Doctrine and Covenants 6:22-23 and Doctrine and Covenants 8:2-3, explaining that Oliver Cowdrey was taught that peace accompanies a witness from the Spirit. “Peaceful feelings that come into our hearts, that come into our minds, those feelings are manifestations of the Holy Ghost,” President Pace said. “It is not more complicated than that.”

Prayer in the Lives of Those the Missionaries Teach

As president of the Spain Barcelona Mission in August of 2012, President Pace accompanied some missionaries for a lesson. Following their appointment, the missionaries pulled President Pace aside for a prayer outside, thanking God for allowing them to teach that family and asking Him to bless the family to help them understand what the missionaries had taught.

“That prayer with those two missionaries changed my life.”

President Pace continued by explaining that prayer is a great teaching moment within missionary lessons with people interested in learning more about Jesus Christ. He invited the missionaries to start their lessons with simple and sincere prayers, and to encourage those they teach to close the lesson with another prayer.

“If I were a young missionary again, I would try to do a better job in helping others learn to pray in the very first lesson. It makes all the difference,” President Pace said. “Prayer is essential in the conversion process for us and our friends.”

By teaching people how to communicate with God through prayer, missionaries can help them seek Jesus Christ and pattern their lives after Him. President Pace said, “Prayers draw us close to the Savior.”

Finding Joy in Missionary Service

Sister Pace also spoke to the missionaries, sharing her love and encouraging them to find joy in their missionary service. “The gospel is all about rejoicing,” Sister Pace said. “You’ll find, if you look for it, that joy is a theme that’s throughout all the scriptures and especially in ‘Preach My Gospel.’”

In the First Presidency Message included in the front of “Preach My Gospel,” missionaries are promised that “more happiness awaits [them] than [they] have ever experienced” as they serve and teach others the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. As they bring others to Him, Sister Pace said, they can find joy in each day of their missionary service.

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