We had a really amazing speaker on the Tuesday night devotional. It was Elder Joseph Sitati. In his talk, he said "Your success in life depends on whether or not you have a clear vision of where you're going." I don't know what the future holds right now. I have an idea, and I know where I want to go, and where I to end up, and who I want to be. I may only serve a mission for eighteen months, but I DO know that I can be a missionary for the rest of my life. It's my OBLIGATION, my RESPONSIBILITY to be a missionary throughout the rest of my life, formal missionary or not. That's why I- and you too- have been saved for the last days. Because we proved ourselves in premortal existence, and Heavenly Father knew that He could use our strengths and abilities in THIS day.
I know I am meant to be here right now. So many things in my life have led up to this. So many people, so many little things that have guided me in the right direction. Heavenly Father has been with me all along, and He will not lead me astray because I have seen and recognized His hand in my life, and I know that all He wants is for me to be happy. I'll say again that I do not know what the future holds for me.
This week has been our final week in the MTC, and while it's been exciting, it's also been nerve-wracking. I've learned a lot in the MTC about the ability and capability that we have to love those around us- whether it be our companion, our investigators, ward members, people on the street... I've always know that one of my strengths is my ability to love deeply those that I associate with. Other people make me happy- other people being happy is what makes me happiest. That's one of the reasons I knew it would be a good idea to serve a mission, and that I would be able to succeed as a missionary. Because other people are my joy.
We've met a lot of people in the MTC. Some difficult investigators, some difficult members of our district, some difficult people in general. We're going to meet a lot of people in our time in the field, and the important thing to remember is that we are expected to have a Christlike love for everyone. It's easy to teach the sweet, kind people that feed you normal food for dinner. But the real test is finding a love for those that shut the door in your face, or throw something at you as you walk by, or yell vulgar things at you in the grocery store. If we can find a love for someone that has such obvious disdain for you... that's when you begin to understand how Christ feels and what it means to have Christlike love. If you can honestly find love for every person on the street, and you can see their divine potential without even knowing their name- that's when you'll be able to be the best missionary, because you'll genuinely want to help them reach that potential. A similar, yet more potent love, exists between parent and child, but the love between a missionary and their investigator is as close as we can get in this time in our lives. Understanding that love and how to grow that love will help you as a missionary bring your investigators closer to Christ... and it will help bring us closer to Christ.
I love you all so much. I want you to know that, and I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will always be here for you. I'm here to help you and support you in whatever way you need me to. Please always remember that.
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