Sister Murdoch did not want to go on a mission, but she went anyway. She left her home of 38 years in Salt Lake City and moved with her husband to “The Only Waunakee in the World!” While some of us would consider this an upgrade, Sister Murdoch was understandably anxious. But she wanted to support her husband, whose patriarchal blessing mentions missionary work, and she wanted to be an example to her grandchildren. (I hear this all the time from couple missionaries, and I think it is a noble motivation.) The thing she may not have realized is how much we need her and Elder Murdoch.
The Murdochs will focus on genealogy, staffing the Stake Family History Center, but they also have been asked to assist the ward in visiting less active and inactive members. Hallelujah! Like most wards I have lived in, the Madison 3rd Ward has a long list of such members, and the Church is as dogged as an alumni association about tracking those people down and visiting them. In wards like mine, where traveling from one end of the ward to other takes 45 minutes to an hour, couple missionaries are a great boon to our typically modest reactivation efforts.
Of course, that’s not the extent of the Murdoch’s contributions to our ward. Today they spoke in Sacrament meeting, just after they were confirmed as the new Gospel Essentials instructors. After our church meetings, I saw Sister Murdoch in conversation with another woman in our ward. “I haven’t played the organ in a long time,” Sister Murdoch was saying, “but I can practice.” Over the coming weeks, the Murdochs will receive countless requests for assistance, and they will respond cheerfully to all of them. They are eager to make their mission memorable and meaningful, and we are thrilled to give them the opportunity.
Gordon, thank you for bringing up this topic. Over the years I’ve known so many of these couples in the mission field. What a difference they make, even if sometimes the contributions seems small and the effects limited. But if you add it up worldwide, they represent a major force in the establishment of Zion. Thank you, family Murdoch.
We have a senior couple serving in the Regional Employment Center here. They are from Bountiful, UT. They said that they seemed disappointed when they got their call to be welfare missionaries assigned to employment, because they had asked for a proselyting mission.
Then after they went through training in Salt Lake, and arrived here and got trained by the Employment Center staff, they saw the light of what they are supposed to do. The brother got up in a regional leadership welfare training meeting and said, “Our goal is to learn all we can about Church employment so that we can take the truth of the program back to Utah.”
You’ve never seen a group of stake presidents smile so broadly.
I want to go on the mission that has hot tubs and color TV and room service.
I’m sure we will go on the mission to east LA or Africa and my husband will teach people to garden and I will teach them to make good bread.
Sigh…..
My parents are preparing to serve a mission right now–I’ll be sure to point them to this thread. Thanks Gordon.