Serving the Lord is a Blessing

The mission is an incredibly remarkable experience. If I were a more skilled writer perhaps I could give a better description, but if you trust God enough to go out and serve you'll see what I mean. It might sound like a sacrifice to spend 18 or 24 months away from home, school, dating, and everything else going on at this time in life, but what seems to be a sacrifice today will turn out to be the greatest investment you've ever made.

I think some people dread serving a mission because they think it will be hard. It's true that the mission is hard, but life in general is hard, whether or not you're in the service of God. While on a mission, it seems that most of the time the things that are hard push you to be better, and you turn out happier and more experienced than if you never went through those things.

As you invite others to come unto Christ, you invite the Spirit to be in your life. It says it in 1 Nephi 13:37: "blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at that day, for they shall have the gift and power of the Holy Ghost". I promise you that the more the Spirit is in your life, the more fulfilling and abundant your life will be, even if the outward circumstances of it seem to get more difficult. Building your faith in Christ and exercising it is worth it.

If you're preparing to serve a mission, familiarize yourself with the scriptures and with Preach My Gospel, that will help you. If you're still not certain if you should go, pray and ask Heavenly Father for confirmation. If you have real intent and don't overwhelm the promptings of the Spirit by your own personal desires, you will be able to discern His will for you. If you are past the time of serving as a young full-time missionary, don't forget that Heavenly Father wants to work through you to bless the people you know, and becoming an instrument in His hands takes effort. He will ask you to do more and more over time, and as you yield to Him, you will grow to love Him, His children, and His work.

-Elder Hyrum Durfee is serving a mission in the Colorado Ford Collins Mission and has family in the Schenectady Ward