Q:  "What should I do?  I have done well in school, and I especially like science and math.  I plan for a BS in physics or chemistry and going on to graduate studies. I finished high school this past June, having just turned 18.  I have been admitted to the university.  I love the Lord and want to fill a mission.  Will I just forget everything while I’m away?"

A:  Good questions!  An honorable mission can be a great unselfish act in a young life.  A wise person will not allow any selfishness to affect the decision about a mission and when to go.

"What is in it for me?"  is not an honorable question.

What is the best preparation for excellent service in the mission?  What is the best preparation for continued excellent service in the sciences?  Good news:  It is the same!  And what is the preparation?  It is a disciplined life of work (study) at the upper limit of one's ability.  [Remember that disciple and discipline do have the same root.]  For the eighteen-year-old high school graduate, that means a freshman year following the outlined schedule for your major; e.g., for some majors, religion classes or institute, physics, chemistry math, and English.  Keep texts, all notes, problem sets, and exams for good review when you plow into your sophomore year.  Do not let anyone advise you to "get general education out of the way."  Do not listen to anyone who says "the first year does not matter much." Take the courses outlined for your chosen major, modified as recommended by your department advisor.  Then be diligent in the way that your mother believes you are and that your father prays you will become.

Carry that same level of disciplined work into the mission.  Give the Lord your heart and willing mind.  Then at the conclusion of a faithful mission, you will be ready to step back into studies, making a good review through your text, notes, problems and exams.

Will you have forgotten it all?  Of course not.  The university is mostly about thinking, reasoning, comprehending, understanding, seeing relationships, and putting them together.  If you were disciplined as a freshman and a faithful disciple as a missionary, you will find yourself quickly regaining your bearings as a good university student.  You will find with joy you are more mature in thinking, reasoning, comprehending, understanding, and so forth.

For men and women the questions and answers are the same; the timing is different.

We from earlier generations wish you the joy of good discipline and faithful discipleship!