When I turned 19, I became a volunteer missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That meant that I said goodbye to family and friends for a year and a half, with no communication except for letters and emails, and occasional Skype calls home on Christmas and Mothers Day. I was sent to volunteer in a place other than my hometown, and I received no monetary compensation. All day, every day, we lived a set schedule, studied the scriptures, and taught others who wanted to know who God was.

I had the privilege of serving as a missionary in the Japan Tokyo South Mission. I LOVED it! I would go back in a heartbeat! I have always loved Japan, and the Japanese people, so being given the opportunity to learn Japanese in such a short amount of time was a blessing to me! I was ecstatic.

To begin this blog, I want to discuss some of the principles that I taught as a missionary. Before I do though, please know that I love this gospel, I believe it, and I live it. It has helped me cope with all the challenges I’ve been through, and I know that it will continue to help me. I’ve been through a lot, as many can say. I know that this will help anyone who is willing to listen, test it, and try it in their own lives.

First, God exists. He lives in Heaven, and He loves every single one of us. That love is always there.
Not only does He love us, but He knows us, because He is our Father. Have you ever heard that we are children of God? If you’ve read the Holy Bible, you may recall that Paul said, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16).

Second, we can talk to God through prayer. We pray to Heavenly Father in Jesus’ name, and He hears and answers them. He answers them through different ways. One way is by His Spirit, the Holy Ghost. The other way is through us reading the scriptures. Another way we can find answers to our questions is through the words of living prophets. God has called prophets in this generation, the exact same way he called prophets in Bible times, because, again quoting the Holy Bible, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

 I also want to say, God created this earth. We really have no ability to comprehend all that He has done. He has a plan for us, and that plan is eternal. We lived with Him before this life, and He wants us to come home and live with Him. That’s why He wants us to keep His commandments. That’s why He gives us commandments.

Because He is all-loving, our Heavenly Father allows us to choose whether we want to go home to Him. I personally believe that this is a most important principle. And yet, it is so misunderstood! I know now, that God is there, and allows us–all of us–to make our own choices.  He will not force any of us to do anything.

That said, we need to take initiative to do what’s right.

And that’s what I hope to inspire us to do!

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