my story

So what's a mormon missionary anyway?

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe in the ancient and modern direction from God to spread the gospel message:

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." (Matthew 28:19)

"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)

"And ye shall go forth in the power of my Spirit, preaching my gospel, two by two, in my name. lifting up your voices as with the sound of a trump, declaring my word like unto angels of God." (D&C 42:6)

God has been clear that his gospel must be spread to the whole world, and so out of duty and love, we do just that. We don't call upon the wise and learned to do this work, but instead call upon the young men and women of the church, usually between the ages of 18 and 25. Why would we do that? Our message is simple, and even though it may seem contradictory to trust such a large task into the hand of such young people, the church is growing. Each year hundreds of thousands of people all over the world come to taste of the goodness of the gospel message, and gain a spiritual witness that Jesus Christ's gospel has again been established to the earth.

Being a missionary isn't an easy task, and it isn't a quick process. In church, we grow up singing songs like "I hope they call me on a mission, when I have grown a foot or two". We strive every day to keep the commandments and live pure lives so that one day we might be worthy to wear a name badge that means we are representatives of Jesus Christ. When we decide to serve a mission, we spend a few weeks filling out an application online -- think college applications without the essays or ACT/SAT scores. After we finish that process (which includes your doctor and dentist signing off your good health), the application is sent into church headquarters. Once there, a leader of the church, namely a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, considers your application and prayerfully assigns you to one of the 405 missions around the world. Each mission covers a geographical area somewhere in the world - anywhere from a hundred miles to thousands.

Once we become a missionary, there are a lot of rules we follow. We don't watch TV, movies, or listen to music that isn't about church topics. We write family and friends once a week via email or letters, and are able to call or skype home twice a year (usually Christmas and Mother's Day). We have one day a week where we have 8 hours to rest from our labors and accomplish necessary tasks such as grocery shopping and laundry, as well as participate in site-seeing or recreation. Other that than, we are servants of the Lord 24/7, trying to spread the gospel in whatever way we can. We are always finding ways to use our time effectively and fulfill our purpose as missionaries - inviting 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. Sometimes that means we knock on doors, sometimes we spend time doing service in the community and helping members of the congregation strengthen their faith, and hopefully, we spend a lot of time teaching other people about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

In Summer of 2013, I wrote a post on my blog, which describes my personal experience in deciding to serve a mission. To read the full story and see a video of me opening my call, go here.

In summary, I never wanted to serve a mission. I was someone who grew up thinking I wouldn't go, but after a lot of prayer and thought, I realized that God had a different plan for me. He wanted me to serve, so I did. After submitting my application, I received the assignment to serve in the Washington DC North Mission, which covers part of DC and Maryland. After a few months of preparation, I bid my family farewell on September 25, 2013:

They dropped me off at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT, and we had one last hug:

 I then waved goodbye and headed off to a new adventure, determined to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ because I loved it so much:

It was hard. I mean, what in the world would possess somebody to voluntarily do all that stuff? Those pictures are sort of heartbreaking, and I was the one who put myself through that.

Being a missionary is hard, I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I wake up and think, "What am I doing here, is this even worth it?" But then I remember everything that has led up to me being there and all the love I've felt from Heavenly Father throughout my life and how many people don't know that He loves them. I remember how many people don't know the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and I realize they deserve to hear it. I remember how many people haven't felt the blessings of the priesthood, or authority and power from God here on the earth, in their homes and in their lives, and I want everyone to obtain the peace and closeness with God I've felt through the priesthood. I want them to know that God loves them and that He sent His son and that the same church His son, Jesus Christ, established when he was here on the earth has again been restored. I want them to know that God still speaks to us through prophets and that He's brought forth an additional book of scripture, the Book of Mormon, to help testify that Jesus is the Christ. I want them to know that He has a plan for them and that we can see our loved ones after death and live with them forever in a state of peace. I want them to know just how happy they can be.

After thinking all that through, it's enough to keep going.

So that's why I'm here and that's what I'm doing. I hope you can learn more about me and about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as I post, and I hope you feel free to ask me questions and learn more. This gospel is great, and I want to share it with you.