Confessions of a Mormon Missionary

1. I don’t like knocking on doors.

I love and dread when someone opens the door; none of us have been taught what to say while knocking on doors. I mentally fumble for words as the door begins to open. I hope what I’ll say is something that person needs to hear. We have a message that will change the world, but knocking doors is the most stressful, least productive, most aggravating way to find people who want a better life.

Door 30: “Hi. We’re sharing a message today about how God teaches us through prophets. May we talk with you for 5 minutes about our prophet today?”       — Not interested.

Door 72: “Hi. We’re giving free copies of this DVD Finding Faith in Christ. May we leave one with you?”       — Why don’t people want free movies?

Door 106: “Hi, have you ever wondered where you came from, why you’re here, and where you’re going?”       — Hm. Thought everyone had.

2. I want to go home, sometimes more than others.

I left myself at home: my family, my home, my friends, my studies, my jobs, my hobbies, my music, my movies, my phone. Only once a week I read emails from home: hardest and best day of the week. Only twice a year I call home. I count down by months or days. Birthdays and holidays are sometimes depressing. I plan for the days when I’ll be home, without letting myself get “trunky.”

3. I’m still tired. Always tired.

Up by 6:30, exercise, study, proselyte and teach, home around 9 p.m., and in bed by 10:30. No day to sleep in, even if you catch a cold or have a headache.

Once a week I have a preparation day. I still get up at 6:30 a.m., exercise, study, then I help clean the apartment, clean the car, go grocery shopping, do laundry, write home, and run any other necessary errands. Back to “normal” work at 6 p.m.

Not usually a desirable schedule for a 23-year-old. I’d like to sleep in every once in a while, at least.

So, why do I do it?

I keep the schedule, teach strangers with people I’ve only known for days or months, and left my family and everything I used to do. I do it because I know this gospel is true. To every person, I promise they can know for themselves, to know without a doubt. I know that God loves me and He wants me to be happy. I know what it feels like to be cleansed through the power of Christ’s atonement. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, called because God loves us and wants us to have all the truth. I know the Book of Mormon is true and brings the Spirit into my life. I know it. It has brought me the greatest happiness.

And I want everyone else to know it, too.

Once Upon a Time

“Dad, tell us a story.”

“Which story do you want tonight?”

“I want the Three Little Pigs.”

“Alright. Once upon a time there were three little pigs. They were born, they lived, and they died. The End.”

We usually didn’t care for that version of the story, but sometimes that does seem like the full story. We are born, we live, then we die. As little girls, we never let Dad get away with that: “No, the whole story,” we would beg. The important part of the story.

Once upon a time there were three little pigs and they left home to seek their fortune. . . .

Leaving Home

Before the pigs could have a story, they had to leave home. They left to learn, to have their own home. Mother Pig taught all of them to do their best so they would succeed, then sent them on their way. Parents today still expect their young adults to move out and lead their own lives, writing their own stories.

Likewise, we had to leave our Heavenly home and a loving Father to come to earth. Leaving those Heavenly realms above gives us the chance to grow. Our Heavenly Father wants us to grow and learn, but we had to leave to continue. We are not cut off; we can pray to our Heavenly Father for guidance. He is the best parent. He will answer.

The Big Bad Wolf

Little pig! Little pig! You let me in. . . . Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!

Life was not the brightest and best for our three porky friends. Though they built homes, they faced severe trials in the wind-bag of a wolf. Funny as the wolf may be to us (blowing houses in, that is), he was their ultimate predator: hungry, cunning, cruel, bent on their destruction. He attacked without mercy, his storms attacking all defenses and devouring those whose defenses could not stand.

We too are beset by such a villain, surrounded by his storms. Our ultimate enemy, our personal Big Bad Wolf, called Lucifer or Satan, desires to destroy our lives. He attacks on all fronts and if our defenses are not built upon the Rock, he will succeed. Those who rely on the firm Foundation and do their very best in life will triumph over those storms of life and in the end, just as the little pig in the brick house, live happily ever after.

Happily Ever After

Then, just as the wolf was coming down the chimney, the little piggy off with the lid, and plump! in fell the wolf into the scalding water.

The story really doesn’t end with the end of the wolf. Our wise little piggy lived in peace without the wolf, just as we can. Living faithful in this life, while facing opposition ensures a happy ending for us. After the “and they died” part will, for us, bring another story. This story depends on how we lived here. We return to our loving Father in Heaven to live forever in happiness.

The next day the little pig invited his mother over . She said “You see it is just as I told you. The way to get along in the world is to do things as well as you can.” Fortunately for that little pig, he learned that lesson.

And he just lived happily ever after!

The End

Your Happily Ever After

The Trouble with Life

Life in the Eyes of Little Girls

Growing up with several sisters was interesting. I love them all, but we couldn’t help comparing everything: food, clothes, friends, play time. Too often, someone would complain the famous phrase, “But it’s not fair!” My dad, in his wisdom and to our annoyance would respond, “Nothing in life is fair.”  Obviously, something must have been unfair.

My choices, or those of my sisters, made play time unfair. When we all did what we were supposed to, we all had fun and life was fair. That didn’t happen very often.

Agency: the Fair Part of Life

Life is hard, but there is a purpose behind it. Before any of us were even born we were given a gift, never to be taken away: agency. We became free to choose for ourselves. We decide many things each day and we face the consequences. Every choice has its consequences whether we see them immediately or not.

The Consequences Follow

As we make the right choices, we qualify for the greater happiness. However, our choices are not the only ones that affect our lives.   And others’ choices may change our lives, for the better or for the worse, but consequences will follow. While life may not seem fair here, we cannot escape the consequences of our actions. While “Bad things happen to good people,” the Lord will reward the good and bless them for their diligence. Though most things aren’t fair now, the Lord’s atonement covers the differences. So, sorry Dad, life is fair.