Teaching about Jesus Christ

Christina Jenkine & Kenzie Lawlor

Christina Jenkins & Kenzie Lawlor spoke at the Treynor Optimist Club on March 12.  They are missionaries serving in the Treynor area for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  They refer to each other as Sister.

Sr. Jenkins is from Virginia.  She has been in Iowa for 3 ½ months.  She is the oldest of four children and has two years left to finish a nursing degree at BYU-Idaho.

Sr. Lawler is from Utah.  She has been in Iowa for 8 weeks and is from a family of six, with four sisters and one brother.  She has one year left to complete her degree in Public Relations at Utah State University.

Sr. Jenkins and Sr. Lawler are serving an 18 month mission.  They pay $400 a month for their mission, working hard before they leave home to save money.  Their parents and friends can help if needed.  As missionaries, they volunteer to serve wherever they were sent by the Prophet of the LDS church.

Sr. Lawler and Sr. Jenkins answered a variety of questions.  They stated that missionaries are sent to about 300 missions worldwide.  There are no missionaries serving in China and several countries of the Middle East, but missionaries serve in most other countries.  The local mission has about 150 missionaries and includes Nebraska, Western Iowa, and part of South Dakota.  The exact area where they serve can change every six weeks.

A missionary’s normal day is to get up at 6:30 a.m. and exercise until 7:00 a.m.  Then they get ready for the day, have individual Scripture study for an hour, then companion Scripture study for an hour.  They leave their apartment at 10:00 a.m. and teach or give tours at the Mormon Trail Center in North Omaha until 9:00 p.m. when they have to be back in their apartment. The missionaries spend 24 hours a day together.  They give tours at the Mormon Trail Center three days a week.

Both missionaries said that the two most important characteristics needed to be a missionary are to love the Savior, Jesus Christ, and to be obedient.  Their greatest challenges are teaching the Word of Wisdom and the law of Chastity.  The Word of Wisdom is a law of health, which involves taking care of your body and avoiding substances that can harm your body, including tobacco, alcohol, harmful drugs, coffee and tea.  The law of Chastity is to abstain from sexual relationships until you are married, and after marriage have a relationship only with your spouse.  When asked why coffee and tea are not allowed, they responded that those were included in directions from Prophets.

The Mormon Trail Center currently has sculptures on display depicting events from the life of Jesus Christ.  The missionaries said that the sculptures are very inspiring and encourage everyone to come see these sculptures.  It is open seven days a week, 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., with free admission.