an introduction

I'm a mormon missionary, and yes, I'm online.

Things have changed in the world of missionary work over the past few years, and I'm now authorized to use approved social media sites as another way to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is new, and this is something that I've been both excited and fearful over. I've asked myself again and again what the best way to go about doing this is. From the very beginning, I've known I wanted to start a blog - it's something I love and something that can reach a lot of people.

To be perfectly honest, however, this is the second blog I've started as a missionary. The first has been woefully neglected during the month of December as a busy schedule set in for me, but as I've thought about my purpose as an online missionary, I've decided not to go back to it.

The fact of the matter is, though online missionary work is different and new and confusing, it's still just that - missionary work. My purpose is the same no matter how I go about doing it: To invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. The way I do that in my day to day life consists of teaching people about the gospel I'm so proud to be apart of, and that's what this blog is going to do as well.

I'm just a normal 20-year-old girl who faces a lot of challenges in life. I have a family, I've had multiple minimum-wage jobs, I've dated, I've not dated, I've done high school, and I've done college. I've made friends and I've lost friends, I've faced trials of my faith and questioned my worth and wondered if God is actually aware of me, as I've been told by so many others. I've cried to him in my darkest moments, asking, "Why did it have to be this? Couldn't it be another trial - any other trial? I can't do this."

Through it all, I've felt a peace and love and joy that comes from the gospel - from being a member of Christ's true church on the earth today, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My purpose here on this blog is to share with you my knowledge and testimony that God lives and that He loves us, and that He speaks to us today, just as He did in days of old. My hope is that we can talk about this together, and that you and I will both feel closer to our Heavenly Father because of it.