Elder Rasband Teaches Missionaries in Barbados to ‘Love Small’ and Receive Revelation

Elder Ronald A. Rasband concluded his 11-day ministry in the Caribbean Area by traveling to Barbados, where he spoke with missionaries of the Barbados Bridgetown Mission on Saturday, November 16, about the unique work they have as they serve on the islands of the sea.

The member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was joined by his wife, Melanie; Elder Arnulfo Valenzuela of the Presidency of the Seventy and his wife, Pilar; and Elder Valeri V. Cordón, Second Counselor in the Caribbean Area Presidency.

Elder Rasband served his mission in New York City, and his Eastern States Mission included the island of Bermuda, 774 miles (1,245 kilometers) southeast of New York in the Atlantic Ocean. He was assigned to serve on the island for nine months of his mission as a young man.

Elder Rasband shared photos from his time serving in Bermuda and recalled some of the faith-building experiences he had while serving there and his observations now as he reflects on that special time.

One photo showed Elder Rasband and his companion with the governor of Bermuda, John Roland Robinson, 1st Baron Martonmere. They had just given the governor a Book of Mormon. It was a simple, standard copy of the Book of Mormon that most missionaries carried at the time.

“Just a paperback. I didn’t have a fancy version,” Elder Rasband recalled. But that didn’t make the experience any less memorable or the book’s message any less important.

“I got my love for the Book of Mormon on my mission,” he said.

Learning to ‘Love Small’

Elder Rasband told the missionaries they are a kind of spark plug for the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who live on the islands and who are doing their best to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with their friends. He said he understands they face unique challenges that come with serving in a place like this, but they can’t underestimate their effect on the lives of others.

“You don’t even comprehend what can happen in the future because of your good work now. I certainly didn’t,” he said.

One example of this came as Elder Rasband shared the story of the Miller family, who was baptized just prior to his serving in Bermuda. A few years ago, Dorothy Miller hosted a family reunion that Elder Rasband attended with dozens of the Miller’s family members.

“It is still a branch,” Elder Rasband said of the Church in Bermuda. “But small never meant ‘not beautiful.’ None of you in these branches in these islands can ever get depressed about the size of the Church. The Lord gathers, like it says in Jeremiah, ‘one of a city, and two of a family’ (Jeremiah 3:14).”

He encouraged the missionaries to find joy in their service in areas where the Church may be small in numbers and to remember that Heavenly Father doesn’t require large numbers of people to bless them with His Spirit.

“And where two or three are gathered together in His name, what happens? There He will be in the midst of them,” Elder Rasband said.

The role of a missionary is explained in the scriptures and in “Preach My Gospel.” And each missionary has been assigned to serve by an Apostle in a specific place for purposes only Heavenly Father knows, he said. In small branches, that can mean helping members to keep their spiritual flames kindled.

“Keep them in love with the gospel and with the Church,” he counseled the missionaries about those they serve with on the islands. “Even though it’s small, it’s great.”

He also had to learn how to adapt to service in a smaller branch than what he had been accustomed to prior to his mission.

“I learned to love small in Bermuda,” Elder Rasband said. He said the transition from living in large wards and stakes in the Salt Lake Valley where he grew up to the small branches of New York and Bermuda was a positive one for him. And coming to Barbados helped him remember those feelings of love for a tight-knit group of Latter-day Saints striving to do their best.

“I wanted the spirit again of being small, being close, being trusted and being so needed,” he said.

How to Receive Personal Revelation

“Would you like to know how to receive personal revelation here today?” Elder Rasband asked the missionaries.

He pointed to Elder Valenzuela as an example. He had been taking notes of observations and feelings he had during the meeting.

“If you have a pencil and paper or a phone in front of you, you can write down impressions from heaven,” Elder Rasband said.

He taught from the Book of Mormon about a principle he feels is important to all Latter-day Saints, not just missionaries.

“In the Book of Mormon, one of the most-often-spoken phrases is ‘remember, remember.’ How are you going to remember if you have nothing recorded?” he asked the missionaries.

The specific phrase of “remember, remember” was used by Helaman when he spoke to his sons, Nephi and Lehi. In Helaman 5, where that phrase appears twice, Nephi and Lehi remembered they were told by their father to remember, which subsequently brought them increased strength and faith through their trials – including imprisonment. That chapter of the Book of Mormon alone includes the word “remember” a total of 15 times.

Samuel the Lamanite preached “remember, remember” in Helaman 14 when trying to help the Nephites to understand the principles of repentance and agency.

Alma taught Helaman in Alma 37 to “remember, remember” to keep the commandments and be blessed through obedience.

And King Benjamin also taught his people to “remember, remember” after recounting the many ways they had been blessed by following Heavenly Father’s commandments and encouraging them to “hold out faithful to the end.”

The word “remember” is recorded nearly 200 times throughout the Book of Mormon.

“There are going to be times in your mission life when you are going to need a little boost. That’s when you go back to notes from moments like today, when hopefully you are all going to feel the Spirit,” he said.

Elder Rasband shared that he marks in his own notes with an asterisk whenever he’s written something down that was not said but that he felt through a prompting of the Holy Ghost.

“Take notes, so you can ‘remember, remember,’” he told the missionaries.

A Missionary Equation

Sister Rasband spoke to the missionaries about their role of helping guide others to the Savior and shared a type of spiritual equation that she and Elder Rasband used to teach their missionaries when they served as mission leaders in New York.

“If you come to know the Savior more, the more you will love Him. The more you love Him, the more you will want to serve,” she said.

While it can be easy to become focused on the need for exact obedience, shifting that focus to Jesus Christ and striving to understand His love and His Atonement can sometimes have the stronger and more lasting effect on individual missionaries, companionships and entire missions, she explained.

Elder Cordón read from Mosiah 5:13, where King Benjamin asked his people how they could know a master whom they have not served.

“You have a great privilege to be here, to better know Jesus Christ and His gospel, to be His representatives on these islands,” he said.

He then gave a promise to them as they serve with all their hearts.

“You are going to see a lot of miracles in your mission, but remember that the greatest miracle that you are going to see is when someone changes his or her life,” he said.

Sister Rasband referred to 3 Nephi 18 when the Savior taught the Nephites when He appeared to them following the Resurrection.

“Hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up — that which ye have seen me do,” she read from 3 Nephi 18:24.

‘That Is Our Purpose as Missionaries’

The power to baptize was given to the Nephites after the resurrected Savior allowed each individual to feel His hands, feet and side in 3 Nephi 11, Elder Valenzuela taught. The Savior also instituted the sacrament after He gave the power to baptize.

“And now here we are to invite everyone to come unto Christ,” he said. “You have that power and the authority. … That is our purpose as missionaries. So go out and invite them to be baptized, and invite them to come to church.”

He told the missionaries that they should help everyone to know they are welcome in the Church and that Jesus Christ gave His life for them. He said that while some aspects of missionary service have changed over the years, teaching the first principles and ordinances of the gospel has not changed.

Sister Valenzuela told the missionaries that she knows serving a mission can be a challenge.

“You can do it. You can find the people because the Lord is with you,” she said. “You know the Book of Mormon has the power to change lives.”

She encouraged them to work hard and to remember God’s love for them as they work.

“As you work, you will feel His love and feel how much He can help you and guide you,” she said.