One of many special experiences has to be My LDS Mission, I am currently serving in The California Modesto Mission as a Spanish Missionary from December 03, 2015 to December 06, 2017. My Mission experience is one of the most unique experiences i have ever encountered. I knew the language but my knowledge to the Restored gospel was not too convening. There were many times i felt worthless and no need for my stay in the Mission field as i knew there was many who can replace my position. This experience has to be one of my most valuable teachings i am learning during my stay in my Mission. As a convert to the Church i felt prompted to serve a Mission, Having no clue what a Mission was or what to prepare for was a great lesson i learned to love.
One grand adventure that I went on this summer was a missions trip to the Dominican Republic. It was probably the best two weeks of my life and not a day goes by that I don’t think about it and want so badly to go back. I didn’t always have those feelings though… The first couple days were pretty rough from lack of sleep, being in a totally new environment in a country I have never been before, being way out of comfort zone and being slightly home sick. The first full day at our site I nearly had a panic attack because I just couldn't get over the language barrier and that was the first time I have ever worked with kids. I just felt so helpless and that I was’t showing these kids God’s love. But I was because just being there for them showed them God’s love.
For many years, I have worked in ministry as a support ministry member. In 1993-1997, I served as Administrator at Beacon Light Full Gospel Baptist Church under the leadership of Bishop Darryl S. Bister. I was responsible for all of his appointments, drafting of documents, and overseer of additional staff members and responsible for the day to day operations. In 1997, I was called to Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church with my husband under Bishop Paul S. Morton, Sr. I served in many capacities in this ministry from worship leader to Administrator to the Registrar for Greater St. Stephens School of Ministry. My husband along with our 3 children was then called to Denver, Colorado to serve at Heritage Christian Center under Bishop Dennis Leonard. We serve in that ministry
I peeked through my facemask and I could see the quarterback lining up to take the snap. I glanced back at my coach who swung his arm across his body indicating the “slash”. My body shook with excitement as I inched up to the line. At the sound of a distant “hike” I exploded from my stance off the tackle into the endzone. I found myself one on one with the quarterback in the backfield, an outcome I had prepared for hundreds of times. I dove at his legs colliding with his shins. After a push and pull struggle he went down and I stood victorious in the middle of the endzone, my teammates immediately raised their hands above their heads signaling a safety. The excitement in the stadium grew and the student section erupted chanting “STORMIN MORMON...STORMIN MORMON”
I knew one thing for certain: Tennessee was a very stupid state filled with stupid people and I would never drink their stupid sweet tea. Thus was my twelve year old opinion.
Church, temple, sanctuary, or the Lords’s house, these are just a few names that your average person might call the place you come to worship God, I have always called it home. The Church I have been attending, Memorial Baptist Church, which is also where I attend high school, I have been attending since I was the age of three years old. Moving to the area that my family lives in now, I do not believe is any accident. At the age of two years old, my father was stationed in Tennessee for the military. After passing away from brain cancer, my Mother moved my two older sisters and me to Killeen Texas, to be closer to her family. Memorial Baptist Church was the only church we have ever been members of since moving to Texas, it has always felt like
People and religion are a part of everyday life. The world is sure to be empty without the existence of God’s creation. When people and religion are viewed as different, the history, beliefs, and practice are formed unrealistically by outsider, more so than an insider. In an interview with a LDS, the author attempts to write and summarize a Mormon‘s journey through life with God and others.
The Mormon Church teaches that technology is a necessary evil. They teach that, while vital for communication and occupations, cell phones and the internet posses a massive destructive capability and, thus, their use should be limited. Mormons view the destruction as ethical or religious: stumbling onto pornography or an "anti-Mormon" website. I have somewhat adopted the overarching viewpoint, but with different justifications. I went a week without screens over my freshman year, and realized a sense of clarity comparable to when I first got contacts; in both instances I gained an appreciation for previously overlooked details. Crisp breezes, real conversations, environmental exploration, these treasures were previously muddled down by constant
With renewed devotion to the miracle of the gospel and a desire to meet with my fellow saints, I searched for the church in the phone book. I called the bishop and organized a ride to church the following Sunday for Reggie and me. Reggie decided not to attend anymore. I waited for my ride that never came. I was unaware, but I lived in a very dangerous neighborhood. Once the person at the other end of the phone found out where I lived, it must have deterred them. It was a blessing in disguise. What I did not know was there existed another latter-day Church, The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, now called the Community of Christ. I had called a splinter group that had nothing to do with the church I had joined. If someone
I live in Independence, MO, literally a stone's throw from where the Mormons go to get super married, or sacrifice their young to some guy named Joe or whatever they do there. So as you can imagine I get the occasional pair of guys on a ten speed regurgitating their propaganda all over my front porch. So when I saw this sticker, I knew exactly what I had to do with it.
I’m a Mormon. I Believe in marriage in the LDS Temple. I Believe I pay 10 percent of my earnings to the church also known as tithing. I Believe in being that I must get baptized at the age of 8, but if you were converted to the church, you can be older. I Believe that I am a Latter day saint of the church of Jesus Christ, but there is a lot of history to us, to make us form who we are today. For example, Brigham Young. He is one of the most important people to us. He helped make “The Book of Mormon.” He was also a apostle, he was also a prophet, a dad, a husband, and a bishop. But most importantly, he traveled from Salt Lake City, Utah, to all over NM, to Nauvoo, Illinois. He brought many Mormons, to basically make the city of Nauvoo, they
Following a two year mission trip in Brazil, I applied for a prestigious service scholarship available at Mesa Community College. At the time, I was living in the Northwest, over 1,000 miles away. My pursuit and dedication to earn the scholarship drew the attention of Duane Oakes, the college’s Director for the Center of Community & Civic Engagement. Impressed with my initiative and follow through, Mr. Oakes took it upon himself to mentor me as a student leader. His valuable support furthered my political science education by introducing varied student leadership opportunities, resulting in becoming the President of the Latter-Day Saint Student Association (LDSSA). I learned to manage LDSSA with order, delegating responsibilities and engaging
No matter what church we went to, I was always heavily involved. Newspring was a breath of fresh air, because there were so many people, I could just do what i was gifted in. One day, I showed up to clean after a baptism sunday. They had already finished as I was just arriving. I asked if i could help with anything else and they gave me some care cards to enter in. I became an intern. Then I got an opportunity to come on staff and assist several men, and now
This summer I went on a mission trip to Minnesota, and it changed my life. I got to strengthen my relationship with God and my friends, all the while serving a community. While I was there, I was tested a few times, but my view of life was permanently affected. If I was asked to leave tomorrow for another trip, I wouldn’t even hesitate to go.
It was the spring of my freshman year in high school. Through the means of various archeological facts, and others personal accounts I had changed from an orthodox Mormon to an agnostic in a matter of hours. I grew up in a family, the youngest of three, of devout Mormon faith. I had always been quite odd as a child, always asking the “why?” and the “how?” of everything Mormon. My intellectual concerns were placed atop of a shelf in my mind and were regarded as “unnecessary,” and “dangerous” by my church leaders and parents. By the end of my freshman year my mental shelf of faith had strained all it could and collapsed. Through my new mindset, I have gained more independence than at any other point in my life. To me, my ability to be independent has been my key to success in learning.
In tenth grade I was enrolled in conformation class at my parish church. This was the first time I had really started getting involved with my Church parish. The big event everyone was talking about for the upcoming summer was the mission trip to Jamaica. My first thoughts about this trip were to stay away from it. I found myself not wanting to get involved with a huge event like this. Leaving the United States is something that I have never done before. A whole week away from home is something that scared me at the time. I kept it in the back of my head throughout the year and the time came to make my decision. The decision I made would, without me realizing it, change my life forever. My trip to Jamaica would teach me just how blessed I am.