Moments that Matter Most

This is one of my favorite videos of all time. :)

" My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most... As we turn to our Heavenly Father and seek His wisdom regarding the things that matter most, we learn over and over again the importance of four key relationships: with our God, with our families, with our fellowman, and with ourselves." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

(for the entire address, go here!)

Here Am I, Send Me!

The announcement:
(Particularly starting at 4:28)

My reaction: 

What am I doing?

I'm going on a mission! So what does that mean?

I'm going to be leaving my home and family (and friends and school) to teach the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That's it in a nutshell. A lot of people may get the wrong idea about what my goals are in this decision.

Hopefully this post can clarify, at least a little.

I'm not going up to Canada to try to force people to something that they don't really want. I'm not going out there to find people to swindle or bully or manipulate to be baptized. Rather, I know that there are people out there who are looking for someone like me to help them to find the truth... to figure out who they are, why they're here, what their purpose is and learn that they are loved, they are sons and daughters of a Father in heaven who wants them to be happy.

I truly believe and know, without a doubt, that through Christ, through his sacrifice that enables us all the change a little, each day, to become a little better, a little kinder, a little more loving, a little more trusting.... through Christ and his enabling sacrifice, we can achieve complete happiness. I know that, and I want to share it with the world. I'm really just sharing truth and light and happiness, and I can't wait to witness God change people's lives. :)

I found a website that explains what I'll be doing even better than I have been able to. :) The article is great, but even better is the video at the bottom. Watch it! That'll be me!

http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/topic/missionary-program

"As a missionary I have been able to watch people. As they begin to learn about Jesus Christ, they begin to understand what God sees in them."

"If the worth of a soul is great to God, I have a pretty big reason to help someone else. It doesn't matter what kind of help they need, I'm just there to help them."

"Every single person on this earth is precious. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only way for us to find happiness in this life, and eternal life in the life to come; to eventually return back to live with our Heavenly Father. And that's what he wants, he wants us all to return. That's what I want, that's what we as missionaries want. What we want is for all of us, every single person no matter who you are or where you are, to be happy and return to live with God."

Canada Montreal Mission Map!

Hey! There has been some confusion as to what area exactly my mission covers. My mission is the Canada Montreal mission, but the actual area itself covers so much more than that. Here's the official map! :) This whole mission will be split up, I believe, into a bunch of districts, and then into smaller areas. I will only serve in one area at a time, but as the 18 months pass I will be moved around. I hope that makes sense!

To see a larger map... Go here! (and click on the map... it'll magnify)

An Infographic about the Life of a Mormon Missionary!

A Mission?

 I'm going on a mission!

18 months! From March 2013 to September 2014!

I will leave behind many things, cell phones, the internet (except to send weekly emails home), tv, movies, dating, most music, as well as other things which aren't coming to mind right now...

Why in the world would I choose to do this?!

In the October 2012 General Conference President Monson made an announcement that has completely changed my entire life. He declared that the age requirements for missionaries for the LDS church had been adjusted, and that female missionaries could begin serving at age 19 instead of 21, which has been the previous protocol. I turned 19 just two months before this announcement, so this was particularly striking to me. The mission decision had previously been something that I had been contemplating, but with an attitude a little along the lines of "anything could happen between now and when I turn 21". Suddenly the decision of whether or not I was going to serve a mission was right before me, and not in some distant destination.

Obviously, choosing to serve a mission, putting your entire life on hold for a lengthy period of time to serve the Lord, is a HUGE commitment/sacrifice/decision. For a few weeks after the announcement I thought long and hard about what it was that I was supposed to do. I prayed to God, telling him that I was willing to do whatever it was that he wanted me to do, and that I trusted Him to guide me. After a lot of thinking, prayer, and discussion with my parents, I made the decision to begin the process of turning my recommendation papers in. I have since received my call, to the lovely Canada Montreal mission, reporting March 20th.

This decision is huge for me. I can imagine that many, particularly not of the LDS faith, are confused as to why I would decide to do such a thing. What you have to understand, is what being a member of this church means to me. It isn't merely just a really great organization that I'm a part of. It's not just an awesome support system that teaches good morals as to how to be a good person. It's so much more than that. My beliefs, my knowledge of this gospel (and when I say gospel, I mean the 'good news', entire message of the church) is such a monumental component of who I am. A lot of the things that are posted here summarize what I'm trying to say pretty well. It really is like finding the cure for cancer. I want to share the message of the LDS church with EVERYONE! The beliefs of the church are the cure for all of the ills of life today.

I could talk for days about why I'm serving a mission... and the good news is... That's exactly what I'm going to do! Every letter I send home will be a testimony of why I'm doing what I'm doing, and it'll be put up here for you to read.  I hope you can make some sense of it, and know that I'm doing what I'm doing because I want to serve other people. I want to do all that I can to make them happy, to give their lives fulfillment, and share this wonderful thing that I am so lucky to have in my life.

Yay!

What do I believe? ... No, really?

No. But really. You think you might know what I believe, but you probably really don't. :) At least, please take a minute to refresh yourself on my beliefs so you know why the heck I'm doing this crazy thing for 18 months.
www.mormon.org/jesus-christ