Day 39.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I had the task of finishing the Book of Mormon by early January. Well that didn't exactly happen although, I did make it to Alma 30 which is good progress. I'm now halfway through the Book of Mormon. As I was reading in Alma 28 I came across a section that I liked. Alma 28:12-14 says, "While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness. And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men. And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life." Upon deciding to go on a mission I knew I would have to leave my family and being a pioneer in my family I knew they might not fully understand my decision. Verse 12 says that while many people mourned for the loss of their family that they also rejoiced and had hope because they were with the Lord. I hope that while I'm away and my family may mourn the loss of my presence that they also rejoice because I am doing God's work. Heavenly Father blesses families that stick together and families of missionaries. I have been promised that I will be blessed for going on my mission and not only will I be blessed but my family will be too and will also be taken care of. This makes me so happy! I rejoice in the Lord for this. I love my family very much and I would worry about them so much if I didn't know that the Lord would take care of them in my absence. Verse 13 goes on to say that we're inequal because of sin and the devil has a plan for us (just like the Lord). Without missionary work, I'm sure the devil could easily ensnare the hearts of men. The devil has a plan for all of us. He hates the work of the Lord but we also know that he cannot contend against the Lord's work like he couldn't use Zeezrom earlier in Alma to bring down the church. Finally verse 14 says, in response to verse 13 that because the devil has the plan to ensnare the hearts of men that the Lord has called for men to labor in His vineyards. Like in Jacob 5, the Lord needs us, as His missionaries, to work in His vineyard and help people come to Him. He doesn't want to see destruction among men but He wants to see the light of Christ unto them. I take my prompting to become a missionary seriously. I love the Lord, I love His church and I want to help people come to it because I know in the end they will be happy, they will rejoice in Heavenly Father's light and they will experience the joy that I have being a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.