It sometimes occurs that a missionary goes to his field of labor with a misapprehension of the nature of the work. Returned Elders in reporting their labors abroad often speak of the success they met with, and of the opportunities and needs there are for missionary work in the world. In listening to such reports a person sometimes gets the idea that those who go out as missionaries will find people anxiously waiting for them, and ready to receive their message. A missionary soon learns that such is not the case, and sometimes feels that it is only a waste of time for him to remain and try to do anything. How frequently has the remark been made by a newly arrived missionary, "Why, I could do more good at home than I am doing here!" But he soon discovers that to gain success he must work for it. If the people will not come to him, he finds that he must go to them. He must awaken an interest in the message he bears, and to do this he must be patient and diligent as well as prayerful. It is a common remark among missionaries that they are just beginning to do real missionary work that is satisfactory to themselves when they are about to be released. CHAPTER VI. LACK OF ABILITY. If he has not done so before, a young missionary, just beginning his labors, will soon discover his lack of ability to express his thoughts as he would like to. He may fully believe in the Gospel or may even have a strong testimony of its truth, yet he will find that it is not so easy to intelligently and fluently explain his reasons for the belief within him. He may be somewhat familiar with passages of scripture that go to prove the truth of the ideas he entertains concerning the Gospel but cannot readily turn to nor repeat these passages. By contrasting his ability in this line with that of missionary companions who have been longer in the field, he keenly senses this fact. As is sometimes the case, he may have gone to his field with the expectation that the Lord, through His Holy Spirit would inspire him with words to say, immediately when he made the attempt to speak, without any study or thought upon his own part. In his little experience at home he might have observed the remarkable improvement in some young man's speaking abilities after performing a mission. Not knowing what discipline this particular young missionary had to go through while absent, a person may thoughtlessly get the idea that his ability was acquired without much effort.