The Battle of our Lives

Okay, this blog is now becoming my Mission President's blog :) I have other posts written with my own words, but they're all still in drafts. I just get so excited when I read his messages, that I have to share them! 

“My Commission”

     As we read the Book of Mormon, we will read through the accounts of contentions, battles, and wars. We must all wake up to the fact that we are daily fighting a war. This war has eternal consequences! In this mission daily battles are won and lost. Satan, with his hosts, is the foe. He is knowledgeable, clever and relentless. His desire is to deter, discourage and distract us from the work of God and destroy the warriors in the Lord’s army.

While examining battles described in the scriptures, it is easy to understand the common attributes of the ultimate victors. Obedience, diligence, spirit, faith and vision characterize the true warrior of God. Worthiness, commitment, love, selflessness, focus and hard work are the traits of the victors.

In speaking to a group of 20 stake presidents in our mission last week, they all agreed that one of the challenges of the missionaries in this mission is that they do not fully understand who they are and the stature of their calling. Our missionaries are the very best warriors, fighting the most important battles in the history of time. You were chosen and committed to this battle before you were born. We are protected by marvelous armor, but it will only protect if we always put on the whole armor as we go into battle. We must gird our loins with truth. We must put on the breastplate of righteousness. Our feet will be shod only by preparation through studying the Gospel and Preach My Gospel. The shield will only be ours if we truly have faith. Our heads are protected only when we understand the missionary lessons. The sword will bring peace and confound our enemy, for it is strengthened and sharpened by the Spirit. (Eph. 6:11-19) This is one step in building our confidence. Let us learn from Achilles* that we cannot afford to leave one part of our body unprotected.

We must embrace “My Commission” penned by Bruce R. McConkie.

                  “I am called of God. My authority is above that of kings of the earth

  By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.

           He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him-to stand in His Place,

       to say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering

          to the very people to whom He has sent me. My voice is His voice, and my acts

        are His acts; my doctrine is His Doctrine. My commission is to do what He wants

          done; To say what he wants said; to be a living modern witness in word and in

   deed of the divinity of His great and marvelous Latter-day work. How great a calling!”

We have all covenanted with the Lord that we would fight this battle to the death for eighteen months or two years. Your call letter read:

“You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 (18) months.

You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. As you devote your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs, the Lord will bless you with increased knowledge and testimony of the Restoration and of the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Your purpose will be 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. As you serve with all your heart, might, and strength, the Lord will lead you to those who are prepared to be baptized.

The Lord will reward you for the goodness of your life. Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among His children. We place in you our confidence and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary. You will be set apart as a missionary by your stake president. Please send your written acceptance promptly, endorsed by your bishop.

Sincerely, President Thomas S. Monson”

You all sent that letter to President Monson or you would not be here today. How good is your word? Can the Lord trust you? In the process of answering this call from the Lord you have willingly relinquished your agency. The decision has been made. You no longer have the option to choose whether you will serve or not. Your choice is HOW YOU WILL SERVE. How you serve will determine how the Lord is able to bless you on your mission, throughout your life and through the eternities.

May the Lord bless you with this endeavor so you can “meet the measure of your creation.” (D&C 88:19)

* In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War. Legends state that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for his heel. He died because of a small wound on his heel, the term Achilles’ heel has come to mean one’s point of weakness.

Who can read this message and restrain from exclaiming "SIGN ME UP FOR THIS!!!!"I'm a soldier in the Lord's army and I love living in enemy territory. I will fight until death for the cause of truth because this is what I came here to do. I am so excited, guys. SOOO excited! 

Update

I apologize, I haven't forgotten about you, my precious blog. It seems that the more I live (I'm making myself sound like I'm 80) the more I don't care about a lot of things. Like, watching television for example, or coloring my hair, or updating my blog apparently. With each day I understand with more fervor that this life is fleeting, and this gift of time is more valuable than anything for sale. We can't buy time or sell it, but we sure can choose to use it wisely or to waste it. I believe in the truth that what I do during this short mortal life will have eternal consequences so therefore, why be frivolous or careless? Which reminds me of how much I hate the current YOLO attitude which disregards all personal accountability. But I'm not going to get worked up about that today. My point is that I haven't written a post in several weeks and during that time huge life altering things have happened!

First and foremost, I GOT MY MISSION CALL! I got assigned to my mission on August 24th, and on August 31st it arrived in my mail box! I was at work when I got a picture message on my phone from my step-mom saying "you've got mail!" I looked at the picture and felt a jolt of excitement mixed with peace then quickly returned to work before I got too distracted. It wasn't until I left work that night when reality settled into my mind. My car was filled with tears and happy feelings and prayers as I drove home. Of course, like any family event in my life, the few hours leading up to opening my mission letter were stressful and chaotic. Coordinating different schedules, computers, internet connections and 3 different time zones is complicated. But thankfully, it worked so that most of my family could watch using google plus and skype. (technology rocks) I sat at the kitchen table with two computers facing me, my grandparents on speakerphone by my head, and my dad and step-mom near my side. There was so much anticipation. I started to shake a little as I opened the letter. I was worried my dad would find out where I was going before I did because he was standing above me, so I was really careful to cover it up. Reality hit like a pillow to the face when I read the words "you are hereby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." I almost started to cry, and felt nervous for the first time since I began this endeavor. Then I read "You are assigned to labor in the Utah Salt Lake City South mission."
My mind stopped processing after I read the word "Utah." I know there was a lot of commotion coming from my parents, the computers, and the phone, but I blocked out the noise, kept my head buried in my letter, and continued to read so I wouldn't cry. I tried to force a smile on my face as I looked for my report date and language. The rest is a blur. I think everyone was being supportive and congratulatory but I just wanted everyone gone so I could cry. I felt in my heart that it was right, but I wasn't excited about it. I was looking for adventure, for something new and exotic, maybe even dangerous. I wanted to learn about, and fall in love with, an entirely different culture.
U-T-A-H doesn't exactly spell out "foreign and new"
But it didn't take long for the sad feelings to fade. I knew it was right, and I accepted that this is what I signed up for. I didn't do this so I could go on an exotic trip or take awesome pictures, or vacation in a cool place for 18 months. I did this so I could invest 100% of myself to the cause of truth, to labor in the service of my God, and to help my brothers and sisters come closer to Christ. Like I've said before, if there's an adventure I want to take, I'll take it. If I want to travel or explore someplace new, I'll do it. But this is not an adventure. This is a mission assigned to me from God. A cloak of responsibility has been placed on my shoulders, and I accept it with honor and humility.
It's been about a month and my perspective has completely changed since the night I read my mission call. I am so excited to be serving in the Salt Lake City South Mission! I have heard only great and wonderful things about it. This may be strange, but I already love it! I know my mission (I love saying my mission) will be demanding and glorious, and all sorts of difficult. And I know Heavenly Father has people in store specifically for me to meet. I think Utah missions require missionaries who teach most powerfully by example because there are so many confusing examples living there. For this reason, I recognize that Heavenly Father is exercising an enormous amount of faith in me, for which I am graciously humbled. I am extremely grateful my life has led me precisely to this point, and I love that my dream has come true! I am soon to be a missionary!       

Discouraged much?

Anytime I get nervous or anxious about my mission, (or more accurately, discouraged) I go to the mission blog so that my thoughts and feelings can come back down to earth. Today as I entered the home page, a message from my mission president, President Miller, showed up as the first post. I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with you.

DISCOURAGEMENT

President Gordon B. Hinckley was called to the European Mission with headquarters in London, England. The mission was hard and success seemed impossible. Discouraged, Gordon wrote his father saying, “I am wasting my time and your money. I don’t see any point in my staying here.” His father’s reply came, “Dear Gordon, I have your letter. I have only one suggestion. Forget yourself and go to work. With love, Your Father.” After pondering this response and reading Mark 8:35, Gordon promised the Lord that he would try to forget himself and go to work. “I count that as the day of decision in my life. Everything good that has happened to me since then I can trace back to the decision I made at that time.”

For those who have been or are discouraged, I would ask you to view the letter President Hinckley’s father wrote to him as a letter written by your parents to you and make this as the “day of decision”. Of all the tools Satan employs he is most effective with this instrument. When he cannot get to a missionary in any other way, he uses this tact. During World War II the Japanese had a woman by the name of “Tokyo Rose” who sent messages many times each day telling the “American Boys” to go back home. She would taunt them that they were giving their lives for no reason and they should go home and enjoy the comforts of their home. Although Tokyo Rose is not calling you, there are sirens from the adversary saying the same thing.

BEWARE OF THE EVIL TOOL: A Chinese legend describes how the Father of Sin decided to have a sale and dispose of all his tools to anyone who would pay his price. The implements were laid out in a row for inspection and among others were tools labeled: “Malice”, “Envy”, “Hatred”, “Jealousy”, and “Deceit”. Each one had a price tag on it. Apart from the others lay a harmless looking, wedge-shaped tool, very much worn from use. It was priced a great deal higher than the rest. One of the buyers asked the Devil what it was, “That, he answered, is Discouragement: and it’s in fine shape.” “But why have you priced it so high?” asked the buyer. The Devil answered; “Because it is more useful to me than any of the other tools. I can pry open and get inside a man’s consciousness with that wedge when I can’t get near him with any of the others. And believe me, once I do get inside, I can use that man in whatever way suits me best. Of course, you’ll notice it is well worn. That’s because I use it with nearly everybody, for very few of you mortals know that it belongs to me.” However, the price was so high that this particular tool was never sold. The Devil still owns it and is still using it. ( From The Ambassador. ) See Hymn # 241 “Count Your Blessings” –Do not be discouraged, thinking all is lost.

Please review and identity these scriptures and how they relate to discouragement

2 Nephi 2:1-2, Mosiah 3:129, Mosiah 4:27