Ever wonder what those “Mormon missionaries” are so persistent about? Why they knock doors and ride bikes and do service projects and seem so cheerful and eager? It’s not for money (we’re all volunteers), praise, or adventure factor. To help you understand why we do what we do, here’s why quit my job for a year and a half, put on a nametag, learned a new language, and became a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Something special I believe in is the possibility for marriage to last to eternity and beyond, happily forever after. That fairytale ending is not just a nice story, it’s something we can all experience. Just as we don’t honor someone’s state professional license in a different state, the earthly authority of someone to marry is valid on earth, until death. However when a marriage is sealed by one acting with the power and authority of God, that marriage is binding wherever we go, even after death. That message of forever families is at the center of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That power to seal families eternally is real, it’s been given to prophets throughout history, and was given once again to a prophet named Joseph Smith in the 1830s. My treasure in life is my family. Jesus taught: “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
We’re not here to pay bills and die. We’re here to come to know God, and to know Christ, and live up to our divine heritage as children of a Heavenly Father. I remember in college I was sad because my friends kept graduating and leaving to far away places, and I was tired of loving and caring about someone only to say goodbye earlier than I wanted. Building relationships with people that will last forever— that’s what we’re made for, which is why goodbyes can feel so wrong.
The perspective I gain from knowing that what I do here on earth, what I treasure, and how I love others will last longer than til death gives me hope that grounds me and peace I wouldn’t trade for anything.
That hope for a better world gives me the power to change myself and see my life as a time to prepare for eternity as part of a forever family. With Christ, fairytales are reality, and to me, that’s something worth sharing.
If you want to learn more about anything I've written, even just out of sheer curiosity or a desire to understand, comment below or message me. If you want to read more about what I believe, you can scroll through my blog posts, or visit ComeUntoChrist.org
