The Missionary Badge

Without a doubt, one the biggest highlights of this first month as serving as missionaries was this moment:

There is something really special about the opportunity to wear a missionary badge. It is hard to describe. but everyone who has worn one knows what I’m talking about.

We wear this missionary badge all day, every day. On this badge is everything we will represent while serving in Tennessee:

First, the badge first has my name.

It has the name of our family.

It has the name of the church.

And most importantly, it has the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ…right next to our own, and Kimberly and I feel a deep commitment to do all we can to strive to represent Him. 

On the fridge in the mission home here in Knoxville are the missionary tags worn my our family as we’ve served missions.

The top badge is the missionary tag I wore in the Hawaii Honolulu Mission 33 years ago. The second tag is Lincoln’s tag that he wore in the Singapore Mission. The third tag is Rachel’s from the Spain Barcelona Mission. The other two are placeholder for the missionary badges that Kimberly and I wear today.

I’ve kept my missionary badge for all this time because it is a treasured and powerful symbol that reminds me of the experiences I had as a missionary. It reminds me of the people I met and taught and worked with, the missionaries I served side-by-side with, of the crazy experiences that happened, all the funny experiences, the miracles that I witnessed, and most importantly, how all of these things changed my life. That’s a lot wrapped up into this small name tag.

For years I kept my missionary badge on my mirror in my room where I would see it every day. But one day, I noticed it was gone, and I found out my 16-year old son had stolen it and put it up on his mirror. I can’t tell you how happy that made me because to me it meant he was looking forward to the day when he would serve a mission and would get the opportunity to wear his own missionary badge.

The Book of Mormon teaches us that one thing we commit to when we are baptized is “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God” (Mosiah 18:9). There is a connection between standing as a witness of God at all times, and in all things, and in all places and wearing this missionary badge. It’s a power symbol to me and to everyone I meet each day. I’d forgotten what it’s like to notice people to sneaking glances at my missionary badge trying to understand what it stands for and symbolizes. As a missionary, I get to wear this tangible reminder of who I represent, and it helps shape the way I act.

We wear it all the time…literally everywhere we go. I find it to be a powerful reminder that we are here to represent Him. At times, that can feel daunting, but I’m very grateful for the expectation and standard it sets for who I’m trying to be.