Missions aren’t saving ordinances

I’ll be honest. I definitely idealized missions. (Our culture kinda does that, too. We don’t tend to talk about the long days of cancellations, the cold-shoulder companions, the frustration you feel when you don’t have support from the ward, the un-glamorous uphill bike rides during rainstorms on flat bike tires, et cetera. And those things…

My mission and mental illness

For a long time I blamed my mental illness on my mission. I wanted to serve a mission because Jesus Christ had changed me. The Book of Mormon brought peace that I hadn't experienced before. And I wanted to share that with others. I diligently prepared to serve a mission for three years. I taught with…

Jesus is carrying you

It was two years ago today-- New Year's Day 2017. It was past 10 P.M. and I got a call from my mission president. It's never good to get a call that late. He told me he had just gotten off the phone with my mother. I remember thinking, But it's midnight in Florida. Why…

Exact obedience is trying to obey

In my first post about exact obedience, I cited a scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants, where God says that His gifts are "given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do.” I focused on the first half of the verse, noting how God distinguishes between the commandment…

God’s plan: we’re in this together

At the Missionary Training Center where I work, there are these beautiful murals of scriptural characters all throughout the buildings. Each of them has a thought-provoking question to consider in context of the painting. This one is of Moses. The question on the wall next to it is: What role do I have in God's…