Last June I had recently turned 18 and was so sooo excited to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I had been preparing and planning to do so for quite sometime. There was a broadcast that the church was having and it was called Hastening the Work of Salvation. In my mind I was hoping that they were going to do another age change and make it so I could go on a mission then, at 18 years old, instead of waiting another year. Needless to say, that didnt happen. It was just about member missionary work. At the time I was bummed. Not because I dont like member missionary work, thats quite the contrary actually. But because I was thinking about me and about my plan, instead of Heavenly Father and His plan. This past August I received my mission call to serve in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. I was so excited and so ready to serve. In September my dad passed away and I still had that strong desire to serve a mission. I continued to prepare, I went to the temple to receive my endowments, I studied the scriptures how I felt a missionary would. I was doing all the right things. I was worthy and willing. But with all of that, I started to have promptings from my Heavenly Father not to serve. At first I played it off as doubts, as I felt all missionaries preparing to serve had. But it was way more than that, and I knew it. A few weeks ago, I decided with my family and my bishop to cancel my mission call to serve as a full time missionary. It was extremely hard for me to admit that I am not going to serve at this time, but I have felt peace in ways I never have felt before. The broadcast that aired last June about Hastening the Work of Salvation may have disappointed me then, but has brought so much insight to me now. Elder Neil L. Andersen said, If youre not a full-time missionary with a missionary badge pinned on your coat, now is the time to paint one on your heart-- painted, as Paul said, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. Through all these trials that I had and still continue to go through, I have felt the peace that only Christ, the Savior and Redeemer of the world can bring. I encourage everyone to ponder these three questions: During this Christmas season: what is the purpose of Christmas? What is the purpose of this life? And lastly, what brings me the most peace?
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 17:03:14 +0000
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