Therefore What?

My wife and I are no longer full-time missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We arrived home from Indiana yesterday and were officially released today. We are excited to be home, but we are missing the members and the missionaries in the Indiana Indianapolis Mission.

The decision to serve a full-time mission as senior missionaries was the best decision we have made. There is no greater experience than to represent the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church and it was a great blessing. To serve it with my eternal companion made it even better.

President Page, President of the Indiana Indianapolis Mission, always asks at the end of each training session that he does “Therefore What?” He wants the missionaries to think about what they learned and how they are going to apply the principles they were taught. As I look back on our mission and asking, “therefore what?”, what have I learned and how has it changed my life?

Last Day as a Missionary

We learned firsthand that what King Benjamin said: "when you are in the service of your fellow beings you are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17) is true. We loved serving Heavenly Father's children in Indiana. We loved serving in the mission office with the other office couples. They were the greatest examples to us in how to love each other and go the extra mile in everything they did.

We learned to love the missionaries in our mission (young and old) as if they were family and we consider them part of our eternal family. We learned how much the Lord loves His missionaries and that he directs the mission through the mission president. The decision about what area the missionaries are to service in and who their companion should be is the Lord’s decision. He understands the trials and opportunities we each have as we serve are understood by the Lord and he knows where we are needed.

The most important lesson I have gained from this experience is that my testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith and his participation in the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has increased. I am amazed that as a young boy, Joseph had a desire to know what his standing before God was and how his desire to know which of all the churches on the earth was God’s Church prompted to ask God. I know that when he went into the grove to pray 200 years ago, that he did indeed see God and Jesus Christ. I know the priesthood authority was given to him and that he established The Church of Jesus Christ under the direction of Jesus Christ himself. I know that Joseph translated the Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God and that it stands as a second witness, along with the Bible, that Jesus is The Christ and that he lives and guides His Church through living prophets today.

Therefore what? I am grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission where I grew up, in Indiana. I am grateful for all the high school friends that I have been able to become reacquainted with as well as the new friends I have made. I am grateful for the blessing to represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Although I am taking off the name tag that identifies me as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I will always represent him and his church.

Your questions and comments are welcome.