What I Want You To Know (before I leave again)

I feel very strongly that I need to share these things with you, whoever may be reading this.

I have a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ because I have prayed for myself and I know with all of my heart that it is true and that it will bless my life more so than it already has.

I'm about to give up sixteen more months of my life to serve my God and help bring others closer to Christ. I will sacrifice approximately 504 (more) days or 12,096 (more) hours of my life (in addition to the two months I have already spent as a missionary), not to mention thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours of sleep, my brother's graduation and commissioning, and countless other events.

I have the support of my wonderful parents, and my amazing siblings (a blessing I am extremely grateful for every single day), who all happen to be some of my very best friends in the whole world. (Mom, Dad, Cody & Rachelle, Carrie, Cassidy... I love you more than you can know).

I will not tear down other religions.

I will not compare other religions.

I respect your religion and your beliefs and I will do whatever it takes to defend them.

I will try and do my best to understand you.

I will support you in whatever ways I can possibly think of.

Because I love you.

But I want to make something very, very clear.

I will not apologize for my religion.

I will not hesitate to say a good word for my religion.

I will not hesitate to share my testimony with others or to answer any questions they may have.

I will not abandon my religion because it's too hard or too demanding, or because others do not support my beliefs.

I will not let my testimony be diminished because of others' words or beliefs.

I will not let my relationship with my God change because I listened to other people and not to the Spirit.

My beliefs do not change my love, respect, or admiration of family and friends. They never have, and they never will. I love you no matter what.

But I will not sacrifice my faith for anything or anyone.

If you have any questions about what I believe, about what I will be doing as a missionary, or just in general, please contact me. I'm happy to answer honest, sincere questions. But I will not argue with you. I will not quarrel, quibble, or squabble with you. That's not my purpose, and that's not my goal.

My purpose as a missionary, is to invite others to come unto Christ.

And I intend to fulfill that purpose with every fiber of my being.