Missionary Work in Utah

I have shared that I have made some friends recently who are not members of the church. This seems easy for me to do, lately. Sometimes, I feel like I’m surrounded by more non-members than I am members. But, like I’ve said before, I’ll take a friend no matter which way they come, LDS or not. My husband recently went to a stake priesthood leadership meeting. In that meeting, they were told that there are roughly 10,000 members of the church living in our stake. Of that 10,000 there are roughly 3,000 on the rolls, and only about 1,700 that … Continue reading →

Preparing for a Mission

I went to a missionary farewell this past Sunday. This future missionary just happened to be my husband’s cousin. We don’t see them too often, so it was nice to be able to go hear him speak. I was very impressed by his poise and his ability to give such a great talk pre-mission. He hardly had any notes he was following either. I don’t think I was that well spoken before serving a mission. But, he did a fabulous job, and sounded like a young man that was ready to do what the Lord expected. I went up to … Continue reading →

Would You Give Up Millions to Serve God?

Would you give up millions to serve God? One 19 year old did just that. His name is Will Hopoate. Watch his video here. He is a professional rugby player in Australia, and has decided to postpone his career to go on a mission. While this isn’t the first time this has happened in the history of the church, it is still just as admirable. There have been others that I have heard of that have done the same, however, sharing the same faith that they do, I can’t help but ask myself, would I have done the same? While … Continue reading →

Two LDS Missionaries Die While Serving

Living in Utah, we are fortunate to hear about LDS news that others across the country may not be able to hear about. However, there is a news story that surfaced this week that is so tragic and sad that I can’t stop thinking about it. Three LDS missionaries were biking in their area and were hit by a car. Two were killed, and one survived. The driver took off on foot immediately after the accident, and later surrendered. This all happened in Texas. You can read the news story here. We don’t often hear of missionaries dying on their … Continue reading →

Speaking Spanish 11 Years Later

This past Saturday, I went to a birthday party for a family that just moved into our ward a couple of months ago. Their daughter was turning 1 year old, and they invited us over to celebrate. I had a great time, and spent about 3 hours of that time next to a cute middle-aged couple from Bolivia who spoke little English. It was a chance to use my Spanish. I served a Spanish speaking mission and returned home about 11 years ago. It’s gone by fast. Immediately after my mission, I got jobs that were Spanish speaking positions for … Continue reading →

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission

I served a full-time mission from 1998-2000. It was a wonderful 18 months of my life. Some days it seems so long ago, and other days, I wish I was back there with nothing to worry about except whether or not I was doing what the Lord wanted, good enough to please Him. For anyone that does not understand why Mormons go on missions, it’s hard to explain. But, I can try and explain why I did. In fact, I’m speaking to the Young Women tonight at church regarding this very topic. In our church, mormon missionaries are not paid. … Continue reading →

Loving Your Returned Missionary

I was sitting in sacrament meeting this past Sunday and heard a father talking about his son who had recently returned home from his mission just two weeks before. He talked about how difficult the transition was for his son because he felt that everything he heard or watched offended the spirit. This father went on to explain how it was almost like living with The Holy Ghost in his home. This young man is someone that I do not know, but from everything I have heard, he was probably an excellent missionary. He gave a wonderful homecoming talk that … Continue reading →

Primary Time: Missionary Work

Sharing the gospel with others is an important part of the teachings of the church. As we do this we are not force our beliefs on others, but rather open the door for them to ask questions and to learn as much as they feel comfortable learning. Primary children can also participate in inviting friends and loved ones to learn more about the church. You can have your children invite friends to participate in family home evenings and family activity nights. One great way to do this is to invite the entire family to participate not just the friend. This … Continue reading →

Avoiding Internet Contention

Elder Ballard encouraged us to use the Internet as a way to spread the gospel. Many of us have started blogs that share our testimony of Jesus Christ and our feelings about the Atonement, and it’s wonderful to see so many active and faithful Latter-day Saints taking this call seriously and using the tools they’ve been given to share their beliefs. At the same time, many of those who have chosen to leave the Church or perhaps were never members are also using the Internet to share their feelings of negativity about the Church. The Internet is open to all, … Continue reading →

Senior Missionary Series: How Will My Time Be Spent at the Missionary Training Center?

Once you enter the MTC, you will be put on a pretty tight schedule. You’ve got a lot to learn and only a short time in which to do it, so you’ll be busy the whole time you’re there. Breakfast is served between 7:00 and 8:00. You’ll have a wide assortment of delicious foods to choose from, as we discussed the other day. But you don’t want to linger too long—your first class will begin at 8:30. You’ll be in classes until around 11:00. Lunch is served in shifts between 11:00-1:00 to accommodate the huge numbers of missionaries that must … Continue reading →