mission decision

Tomorrow, I'll turn twenty-one. 

For me this age has always meant -- not drinking -- but serving a full-time mission for the church of Jesus Christ.

And as of two days ago, the age requirement for young women wishing to serve a mission has been lowered to 19.

& I'm so grateful.

I'm grateful to be here, now, preparing to serve a mission, and not earlier. When I look back at my 19- and 20-year old self (okay, I'm still technically twenty), I see a lot of naivete... which isn't to say that I'm completely grown up now, but the past two years have been years of immeasurable growth for me, and for that I'm so grateful.

I'm grateful to be going now and not then.

I'm grateful for the lessons I've learned about living on my own

& feeling alone

& finding joy

& coming closer to God

& forgiveness

& loving others

& I know that I still have many more lessons to learn, and that my mission will be a time of incredible growth for me. 

But I'm just so grateful for the time that God has given me to grow up unto Him

I'm grateful that I got to attend BYU for two years - what a growing experience that was! 

I'm grateful for the opportunities I've already had to share the gospel with people I love, & for the opportunity I had to work at efy

And I'm so eternally grateful for the people He has put in my life, who have taught me to love & trust & forgive & be happy.

I feel very confident that this is the time for me to be serving. not earlier, and not any later. 

That being said, I'm absolutely ecstatic for all of the 19- and 20- year-old girls who will now have the opportunity to serve that much sooner, who might not otherwise have had the chance to serve at all. God works through our weakness, and he'll work with these teenage boys & girls just as He will work with me. God is a God of miracles :) 

As a woman, I have never felt less than absolutely loved & respected in my church & in my faith. Full-time missionary service is a priesthood responsibility, and something that I've always felt passionate about and known I wanted to do. I'm glad I get to serve now, and I'm excited for the teenagers & young adults I will be privileged to work with in bringing about God's purposes :) 

I believe that God still speaks through prophets & apostles today.

I believe that this decision was reached by men who speak with God.

& I'm so excited to watch His purposes unfold :)

--

~ from the press conference {which i highly recommend watching if you're interested} ~

"God is hastening his work, and he needs more and more willing and worthy missionaries to spread the light, and the truth, and the hope, and the salvation of the gospel of Jesus Christ to an often dark and fearful world... This announcement... is not about you [young people]. It's about the sweet & pure message you are being asked to bear and the ever greater numbers God needs to bear it. ” –Jeffrey R. Holland

:)

10/13/12 EDIT: my friend Joyce Tran wrote this post about the same thing and it describes me perfectly so go read it, amen. :)

Humility --> Excellence? Yes!

Before reading Henry B. Eyring's speech, "A Child of God," I had never really considered the connection between humility and educational excellence.

In his speech, he posits that great learners:

1. Welcome correction,
2. Keep commitments,
3. Work hard,
4. Help other people, and
5. Expect and overcome resistance. 

He writes that knowing who we are - children of God - will lead to feelings of humility, which will in turn give us the power to become excellent learners.

Each of his suggested habits requires humility to implement into real life:

• It takes humility enough to take criticism without feeling cut down; welcoming correction takes humility and self-knowledge above and beyond what's normally expected.
• If we know that we are children of God, progressing to become more like Him, we will make it a priority to keep our commitments, since He does so perfectly. 
• If we know that we aren't perfect, but also that we are children of the most Intelligent Being in the universe, we will work hard further our education. 
• We will help other people, knowing that they are also children of our Heavenly Father. We will have the humility to realize that they have something to offer us as well. 
• We will know that we will experience difficulties, yet none we can't overcome. 

He concludes with this promise:

The way to grow in the faith that we are the children of our Heavenly Father is to act like it. The time to start is now. And if we act upon it, we will be blessed with a humility that gives us the power to learn and the power to serve and the power to rise up to the privileges that God wants to grant us. 

So, that's what I will do. :)