I have been an elder for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a little while now and here is some of the things I have learned while serving, and I hope that if there is any investigators or future inquiries out there they can find this and have peace of mind.

He has called us by name and He has called us to preach His gospel. We have been born as Nephi of old to goodly parents who have given us this name. Our name should be very important to us. It is the name of our ancestors that we carry on in our hearts. When you are serving in the Church, people see your name and the Saviors name. The Lord has called all of us to declare His love and His Gospel, to His children. He called out to Peter and Andrew in the boat and said “come follow me and become fishers of men”. He does the same for all of us missionaries we are called to a great work indeed.

He sees what we can become. He sees where we are and he sees our true potential. He wants us to become that. But if you are going to grow, you have to stretch and you have to be uncomfortable. It hurts and it’s really hard and discouraging, but he will never leave you alone. He will comfort you and make you better then you were yesterday.

We all have moments where we fall and fail and say it’s not working. That’s when we really become dependent on Him because we put everything in His hands. And when we put all of our trust into Him, He makes us much better than we could be on our own.

Who are you? That is the question. How are you going to act now that your bishop isn’t there by your side and your elders quorum president can’t help you anymore. Who are you going to be? Are you going to be a loyal servant and share your testimony to the world? Or are you going to slack off and not put in one hundred percent of your effort into the work every day? Are you going to get up rain or shine, study every day, teach every day, and let your testimony shine? Ar you going to let your testimony get beat up but push through and strengthen it? Iron doesn’t naturally turn to steel. It has to be heated up, beaten, then heated up again. But in the end, it’s stronger and able to handle much more!

These are just a few things I have learned on my mission for the gospel so far. God’s work truly changes you for the better and makes you someone greater than before. What if you didn’t go out on your mission? If you do have a desire to go out and serve God with all of your heart, might, mind, and strength then do it. Trust in Him. Trust in Him on the bad days and on the good days. If you are uncomfortable then that means you are growing as a person. If there is anyone who thinks that they are ready to go out and serve, start your papers right away. If that is what you want to do then go and God will bless you for your diligent efforts. He will make you better and He will bless you. God bless all of you.