Lesson 1: Figure out what's important to you and stick to it.

While I was on my mission I thought a lot about desires. The scriptures are full of the effects of our desires—whether righteous or wicked. (Alma 29:4). I guess in writing this, the lesson is to stick to the righteous desires & if the righteous things of God aren’t what’s important to you, make them important. Everything we do, say, think, or feel can be traced back to our desires—to what is important to us.

I had this quote hanging up on my wall in Muncie from the talk The Fourth Missionary: “Your world is in your head. Get your head right and your heart will follow, and you will be right.”

One of Satan’s biggest tactics is to try and mess us up at the root—at our desires, in our heads. If he can get us there—making us think watching that TV show is more important than doing family prayer, or that listening to that song is okay because it’s “not that bad.”—he can get us off track without us even realizing it. I know because I’ve experienced this. Before my mission I thought so many other things were important. But while I was on my mission I had to ask myself a lot of hard questions. Do I love God more than I love thinking about that song? Is studying the scriptures more important to me than sleeping? If God asked me to completely give up XY or Z, would I do it? Would I really do it?

This topic makes me think of one of the amazing people I was privileged to teach on my mission, Jennifer. Jennifer desired to have a closer relationship with God. She felt like her whole life she had known what was right & what was good & she wanted to do it. But so many people told her “Oh, that is such an outdated way of thinking. Nobody does that anymore.” The pressure to do things that were morally wrong and against what she knew was right was strong. So when Jennifer found the gospel & heard the truth, she let her desire to do good outweigh the social pressures of others. She broke up with her boyfriend and kicked him out. Her sights were set on the temple, which she knew was the only place her family could be sealed together for time and for eternity. Once Jennifer figured out how important that was to her, it made the rest of her decisions that much easier. She met with us three times a week despite a crazy busy schedule. Why? Jennifer wanted to be baptized as soon as possible because she knew baptism began her journey towards the temple and towards an eternal family. She read the Book of Mormon every day because she knew it would help her stay strong and resist temptation. She came to church. She changed her life because of what was important to her.

Before my mission I think I was kind of a pushover. I had a hard time doing what I knew was right, or standing up for what was important to me. I just didn’t like saying no to people or letting them down or causing contention. That’s because before my mission it was important for me to please people. I wanted to be someone that everybody liked. And that wasn’t always a bad thing and to some extent I still hold that quality. Except now, I am better able to stand up for what’s important to me. And what’s important to me is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Keeping His commandments. And doing my best to help others come closer to Christ too.

So, since I’ve gotten home, my decisions have been based on what’s most important to me. I’ve been setting goals & planning how I can incorporate these important things into my day. Something I realized the 2nd day I was home is that we have time for what we make time for. There are so many good things out there to fill up our time with, so for me unless I put those important things first—prayer, scripture study, attending the temple, etc.—they just won’t happen.

Now don’t get me wrong. It’s okay to have things besides God that are important to us. Something that’s important to me is writing. My family. Music. Hanging out with friends. Exercising. But there has to be an order. God is going to be the MOST important thing in my life. Writing, my family, music, hanging out with friends, even exercising come after Him. Always. Because Jesus Christ gave up everything for me. Before I left the mission field my mission president, President Porter, said that there is no such thing as balance. There’s priority. And now my priority is God and Jesus Christ first in everything. I’m not perfect at putting them first, but I’m doing my very best.

So I guess my question for everyone reading this post is, what is most important to you? What motivates you to keep going every day?

P.S. I hope this doesn’t sound too preachy or pushy or intense. But, you have to understand that these lessons I’m writing about are SO close to my heart and they are important to me. I know that they’re true because these lessons have been learned with a price and the change in my life as I apply them is incredible. So I write with so much passion because I don’t ever want to let myself forget these lessons. I’m not trying to chastise you. ;)

20+ Lessons I Learned from Serving a Mission

Hey there everyone! It's been a while hasn't it? Probably about, oh, I don't know . . . 18 months or so?

18 months. . . That's a pretty long time, isn't it? Lots of things have changed in my life, and I'm sure lots of things have changed in yours as well. For those of you who might not know, for the last 18 months I've been in Indiana serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. As a part of my missionary service I invited others to come unto Christ, served in the community, & taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. I saw SO many miracles while serving the wonderful people of Indiana!

Something that my mission President challenged me to do as I prepared to leave Indiana was to write down 20 lessons I learned from serving my mission. So when I first came home I sat down, went through my journals, & made my list. Right now I have 21 lessons & I expect the list will continue growing. My mission experience taught me SO much. I am forever changed because of my decision to serve a mission. I don't think it's even possible to put into words the change I've undergone.

But I thought I would share these lessons with you here on the blog. The principles contained in these lessons are true & learning them is part of what helped me change. But, it's hard to put everything into a single sentence. So as part of President Porter's challenge to me, I will expound on each lesson in its own blog post. Lucky you! You'll get to learn everything I learned in 18 months by simply reading a blog! ;)

Lessons Sister Guy Learned from Serving a Mission!

1- Figure out what's important to you & stick to it.

2- Happiness comes from the inside--it's a choice.

3- You can't convert anyone past your own conversion.

4- Christ will turn everything to our good if we are faithful.

5- People are different, but we all have an important purpose.

6- The gospel of Jesus Christ is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, & enduring to the end.

7- We have to be willing to sacrifice everything.

8- The law of the harvest--you reap what you sow.

9- The Lord is sifting the world. Expect opposition.

10- Don't expect perfection.

11- Identify your weaknesses & trust the Lord's grace to fortify them.

12- Satan's tactics never change.

13- People can change.

14- The Atonement & the gospel of Jesus Christ are meant for ME.

15- Relationships are the most important thing in this life.

16- Communication is key to happy, functional relationships.

17- Treat others the way you'd want to be treated, even if they don't do the same.

18- Some of our greatest joys come as we help others succeed.

19- God answers heartfelt prayers.

20- Growth happens outside our comfort zone.

21- True confidence, beauty, & happiness come through living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, there you have it! I'm excited to get to share these lessons with you all through this blog & hope you will find things to help you in your own life & the challenges you may be facing. My best advice & greatest lesson of all is to turn to Christ. Trust Him & do what He's asked & things will all work out. :)

Until next time . . .