Hank Smith: 00:02 Welcome to followHIM Favorites. This is where John and I are sharing a single story to go with each week’s lesson. John, we are in sections 71 through 75 this week. I know there’s a lot about mission calls in Section 75. You’ve told me you have a story that fits.

John Bytheway: 00:20 Yeah, I do. Right at the beginning in section 75, verse six, William McClellan is called to go to the eastern countries. Then the Lord says in verse eight, no, go to the south countries.

Hank Smith: 00:32 Yeah.

John Bytheway: 00:33 I like how Elder Bednar has clarified that you’re called to serve and then you’re assigned to labor and those are different things.

Hank Smith: 00:40 Yeah.

John Bytheway: 00:41 We got really acquainted with that here in the 2020s, didn’t we? I was in my home ward. This returned missionary gets up. With his first sentence I thought, oh wow, this kid gets it. Elder Cole Forsyth, he said, I had the privilege of serving during a worldwide pandemic.

Hank Smith: 00:59 Hmm. The privilege.

John Bytheway: 01:01 Yes. Elder Forsyth’s mission began in South Africa. Then the pandemic hit. He was transferred home where he could do nothing but wait for four and a half months. Hank, what do you say in your prayers? Am I done? Do I go out? Am I what.

Hank Smith: 01:18 Oh, can you imagine?

John Bytheway: 01:19 Yeah. Four and a half months of what do I do? He worked as a security guard and began training as an EMT. Completely unsure if he would be recalled. Finally, a new call came Farmington, New Mexico. Okay. Which is a lot like South Africa.

Hank Smith: 01:36 Yeah.

John Bytheway: 01:37 Which no is a different place where he served on a Native American reservation. Cole said he was amazed at how helpful the training he received at home had helped him in his new area as an EMT. Didn’t see that coming. Just as Elder Forsyth was getting comfortable and feeling capable in New Mexico, he was told, pack your bags. You’re heading back to South Africa. His experience was topsy-turvy. Didn’t make much sense to him. Wouldn’t make much sense to an outsider, but his last line in this beautiful homecoming talk, my mission was not what I expected, but it turned out more beautiful than what I had planned.

Hank Smith: 02:21 Elder Forsyth. That’s a great line.

John Bytheway: 02:23 Yeah. Isn’t that nice? I’m like, oh my goodness, I’ve got to write this down. So I did.

Hank Smith: 02:28 And what an example of, because many young people over the last five years have had modified missions.

John Bytheway: 02:35 Mm-hmm.

Hank Smith: 02:35 Perhaps they might be thinking, well, wait, I thought I was called here. Am I really called?

John Bytheway: 02:41 Yes, you’re really called. But what does the Lord look at? You are willing to go. You submitted your name. You said, Bishop, here’s the papers. Call me. Call me on a mission and…

Hank Smith: 02:52 I’ll go where you want me to go.

John Bytheway: 02:55 Yeah. Even if it’s to South Africa. Then to EMT training, then to Farmington, and then back to South Africa. Back to South Africa.

Hank Smith: 03:04 Oh man. Can you imagine? That is spiritual whiplash. We do that all the time with students at BYU. Did you serve a mission? Yeah, I did. Oh, where’d you serve? Well,

John Bytheway: 03:14 Do you have a minute? Sit down. Yeah, but I love that his perspective, it wasn’t what I expected, but it turned out more beautiful than what I had planned. Amen. Elder Forsyth. Good job.

Hank Smith: 03:25 I love it. We hope you’ll join us on our full podcast. It’s called followHIM. You can get it wherever you get your podcast. We are with Dr. Rosalynde Welch this week. What she did with these sections really changed the view of them for me, and I know they did for you as well John. We hope you’ll join us there. Then come back next week. We’ll do another followHIM Favorites.