Juel Leroy Andreasen (1907-1994) served with the U.S. Army Dental Corps at Fort Ord, near Monterey, California, for much of World War II. A returned missionary of the Danish Mission, Bro. Andreasen took a leading role among the Latter-day Saints on that base.

Early in 1944, he gave this address at a meeting of L.D.S. soldiers.

-oOo-

I am thankful for this opportunity of speaking to you to-night. Because of the size of the audience and because some of you may be leaving soon, I feel as if I should tell you a few things that may be helpful to you wherever you may be sent.

Many of you feel that you are being cheated out of a mission for your Church because of this war. It is true you are being cheated of the particular kind of mission you have dreamed of since your childhood; but you are now on as great, if not a greater mission than any of you ever dreamed of. Because of this conflict you are on a two-fold mission, one for your country, and one for your church.

The mission for your country is one of preparing and fighting for America, this land with its laws, customs, freedoms, ideals, etc., that were given you as a birthright. Anyone or anything that threatens the destruction of these ideals, whether internal or external, must be destroyed, even by force if necessary, so that we can pass on to future generations as good, if not a better birthright, than has been given to us. We cannot always enjoy these blessings without sacrifice and sorrow. Thousands died to give us our American way of life, and thousands must now die to preserve it, and spread its blessings throughout the world.

As for the mission of your Church, you have a great advantage over the missionary of old in that you do not need to spend the greater part of your time in trying to get acquainted with people so they will recognize and become interested in your message. You are constantly associating and working with men, who, under the ordinary missionary system, would perhaps never even read your tracts, let alone invite you into their homes and converse with you.

Now it is not enough that you live your religion. You can do that, and still be a failure as an army missionary. If you do not use wisdom in your association with your buddies, you will become an object of ridicule; where if you do use wisdom, you become an object of respect and admiration.

This thing called wisdom is as important to your success as “keep cool” is to the success of a doctor in an emergency. In the administration of first aid in every condition, the first important thing is “keep cool.” And so with the army missionary your important first rule of success is “use wisdom,” because if you do not use wisdom, the living of your religion is of no account as far as bringing the truth to others.

First of all, in using wisdom in your army life, never allow any of your buddies to think for one second that you think you are better than they, because if you do you are placing yourself upon a pedestal where they can never reach you, but can only point you out for ridicule. It is all right if they place you there, because then they can look up to you and even come to you for counsel and advice, and your light can then so shine that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.

As little a thing as refusing a cigarette is very important. Any person who sincerely offers you a cigarette is your friend; he thinks enough of you to offer you something of his own, and therefore, you should feel honored and not insulted, and you should be careful in refusing his offer so you will retain his friendship and not lose his good will. There is really only one way to do this, and that is to say, “No, thank you,” no more, or no less. Even if you just add three more words, you may lose every chance of ever teaching by word or deed your message to that person, and the more words you add or subtract, the less your chance will be. Even to say, “No, thanks, I don’t smoke, is not using wisdom because your buddy may think, “There is a fellow who thinks he is better than I, because he doesn’t smoke.” You may have placed yourself beyond his reach.

I have used this illustration because it is simple and common, but you must use the same wisdom in all your dealings, and then the opening will come. You will be asked questions about your religion, and eager ears will listen. There again comes wisdom into the picture. Never force by way of mouth your religion on anyone, because all minds are closed to those words. If you use wisdom, you or your religion will not be ridiculed, even among the most ungodly, and if you don’t use wisdom you will bring on ridicule which will do you or your Church no good. Teach your religion by example.

This conflict may end, and you may never see any direct results, and yet I promise you that there will come results if you do your part, eve though you may never hear of them while you live here on earth.

Because you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, you are being watched by many, both night and day, and what you do will affect many; just as the lives of my scout and Church leaders have greatly affected my life, even though at the time they never had an idea I watched their lives to find a plan and pattern for my own.

Little things you do may reap great results in a short time, and you may be greatly surprised when you hear of these results. My companion and I were called in a home in Denmark while out tracting, and I was asked to pray for a very sick man, who was as near death as I ever hope to see. He nor any of his family belonged to the Church, though they had heard of us. We knelt by his bed and I prayed, although on my part I had very little faith in his recovery, although I never doubted for a minute that God could heal him if there was a reason for so doing.

One day, about five years later, while attending dental college, I received a letter from my brother Carl, who was then in Denmark on a mission. He wrote about ordaining a man an Elder in the Church; when he was through, the man said, “I want to show you a picture of the young man who converted me to the Church.” He then showed my brother a picture of me, and told him the whole story.

Yes, we are watched, and good or bad effects will be the result of our lives. from our lives, others are making plans to help build their character. Will they be good or bad?

Many of you will never return from the conflict, as it cannot be with you as it was with the sons of Helaman. This army is made up of men of many religious beliefs, and there must be missionaries in the hereafter. You are the logical ones to do that work, you speak their language and are their friend.

In the final analysis it doesn’t matter whether we come back or not; of course there will be sorrow if we don’t. But what does matter is if we do come back, will we be a credit to our country, church, parents – and most of all to ourselves?

May God bless you wherever you may be sent, not making your way particularly easy, but making you strong enough to triumph over all your enemies, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.