A Daily Glimpse, What I Do as a Missionary

I love being here as a missionary!  I love the work and the service I am able to give here.  I know being here and the blessings I have felt is something I would have never anticipated.  However, I think for many people there may be a little bit of a mystery about what exactly I do as a missionary every day, both for members and those who are not members.  As we are a part of new mission, how we work is a little different than what has been standard missionary procedure in the past, different than what most members are familiar with.  And I assume most non-members do not have much of an idea of what being a Mormon missionary entails to begin with.  So hopefully this will be something interesting to everyone who reads it!  I want to first talk about why I am here, then what do we do here as missionaries, and last, how we do it.

I am here because I love being a missionary!  I am here because this church is true.  I am here to share with others the blessings and comfort I have found from Jesus Christ in my life.  I feel blessed with the trials and struggles I have had in my life.  They have helped me better understand the role of Jesus Christ in my life.  We all have times of difficulty, and times when we feel we have more than we can handle.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is designed to help us with the struggles we have.  Trials and hard things are a part of Gods plan for us.  It is through relying on Jesus Christ and His gospel that we can use these struggles to come closer to God in our lives.  As I felt abandoned, I was able to find He was there for me.  As I felt lost, I have been able to find direction from Him.  As I was confused, I have found understanding from His gospel and His plan for us.  Because this has been such a blessing for me in my life, I am now here as a missionary to share it with others.  I am here because this is something which will bless and help the lives of all those who accept it.  I am here to help others find the same lasting joy and peace in their lives despite the challenges they have.

A Goal in the Hole

I have really enjoyed the Christmas Holidays!  As a missionary I feel it has been an exceptionally blessed time for me as everything has seemed so much more simplified.  I have not had to worry about getting gifts or decorations or any of the usual things which come with the season.  But I feel it has been a very blessed time for all of us here to experience a little more what the real meaning of the Christmas Season is.  It has led me to ponder a little more about the future, it seems this Christmas season I have gotten a lot of warnings about preparing for the future, and establishing a sure foundation on Jesus Christ as the scriptures teach us.  Even the board game my parents got for us to play here seems to teach this principle.

The game is called “Feast and Famine.”  It is basically playing out part of the story from Joseph and the Old Testament.  The first part of the game players are trying to collect pieces and tokens during a time of plenty to prepare for the impending famine.  The next half, players try and use the preparation they have done to save the house of Israel.  As is logical, the person who has acquired the most in the first round is able to be most successful in the second round, it is about preparing and planning ahead.  While the game is quick and fun, it has led me to think about how we can establish a sure foundation for the hard times in our lives. 

It's Simply Elementary!

Like I previously mentioned in my post “Have You Thanked Your Personal Cheerleaders Today?,” I am very grateful for the things my parents have done for me.  Immediately following Elder Holland, Sister Rosemary M. Wixom talked about the righteous example of parents in her talk titled “Stay on the Path.”  Supporting her words, Sister Mary N. Cook also talked about being a righteous example in her talk “Be an Example of the Believers.”  I love how even though none of the speakers in conference are assigned a talk they all seem to center around the same themes.  I enjoyed her inspired words urging us to reach out more to our children, and stand as a righteous example for them.

Although I do not have any children of my own . . . or plan to have any soon, the principles and lessons which Sister Wixom talked about are certainly applicable in our lives no matter who we are.  I think in each of our lives we do not fully realize the impact we have on others, or how we can affect them.  The year before I came here as a missionary I had a unique experience to volunteer at an elementary school.  This experience helped me to understand some of the principles Sister Wixom talked about.

Feasting in Hospitals, and Feasting With a Notebook.

It seems with almost every major event or occasion we have a feast.  There is the ever famous Thanksgiving feast, a Christmas feast, an Easter Feast, a birthday feast, a graduation feast, feasts to celebrate gatherings of friends and family.  The list is endless, we even sometimes have the feast in and of itself be the event. 

Some feasts are a true banquet, with time and effort put into preparing the food.  Other feasts are more spur of the moment; victuals picked up at a nearby corner store.  This is the kind which requires very little to no preparation, built on a foundation of candy bars and potato chips.  Some feasts leave us with a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment; others with a feeling of sickness and regret.

Show and Tell With Half Dead Chickens

I have grown up with animals.  My parents had two dogs when I was born.  When I left a year ago to come on my mission we had two dogs, a cat, a cockatiel, an aquarium with fish, and chickens and ducks.  I understand my parents have also recently gotten another dog.  As I think back on the pets we have had many memories come to my mind, mostly of our dogs.

Dogs are typified as being loyal.  I remember our dogs chewing up the sprinkler system at our house, eating the fruit off of our trees, the accidents in the house training them, but being able to later clean the messes outside.  I remember them jumping on me with muddy paws, chasing them when they chased other random animals, bathing them after they were sprayed by a skunk, and countless other memories.

Boo . . . Get off the Stage!!!

I have very mixed emotions about performing in public. I hate the feeling of anxiety, but yet, I love it at the same time. I took piano lessons as I was growing up and most of any performing I did was with a piano piece I had prepared. I remember the anxiety before coupled with the sick feeling in my gut, and the dread and fear of taking my turn on the stage. It was always a wonderful experience when my performance was admirable. But that was not always the case. Some performances went smoothly, and others a little more bumpy. I am sure we have all had experiences when we have failed. We were diligent in preparing; we ironed out the flaws, but still fell short.


More so than the successes we have; it is how we take the failures in life that shape us. It is easy to take the good things in life, but not so easy with the failures. It is mostly how we take the failures in our lives that define who we are. I remember one such failure of mine at a piano recital when I was in High School.

Pearls found in 1 Nephi during scripture study

At a meeting a few months ago President Allen, a leader in our mission, used an analogy of “pearls” to talk about little pieces of wisdom or insight in the scriptures.

I came across such a pearl this morning during my studies.  I was watching the BYU scripture discussions online this morning as they discussed in the beginning of the Book of Mormon the story of how Nephi and his brothers were able to obtain the brass plates.  The plates were important because they had the scriptures on them.  Having those enabled them to teach their posterity in the future the commandments gospel of Jesus Christ which is necessary for us to find real happiness and joy in life. which would bless and help them in their lives.  In the Book of Mormon we read Nephi and His brothers have trouble getting the plates from a wicked man name Laban.  They try many different things, but in the end Nephi is led by the Spirit, and finds Laban drunk and passed out.  Nephi, as led by the spirit, kills Laban, and is then able to obtain the plates.  We know God commanded Nephi to do, as it was the only way for them to get the plates; but it still makes me wonder why Laban was killed.