Mississippi Jackson: Happy Confederate Memorial Day!

Missionary Lingo:

Drop: to no longer have a person as an investigator; to "drop" them from your list of people you are teaching/want to teach

Hello, all! Did you know that that was a thing? Because I didn't! I don't have any idea what's being remembered today!

What a week it's been! Our beloved new car had to be taken to Firestone this week, so we spent an entire day on foot! Thank you, Sister Blalock, for your kindness in driving us where we needed to go. You're the best!

While we were limited on where we could travel due to our car being held hostage, Sister Barney and I did some serious evaluating to the Purvis Sisters area. This area has been worked and worked; houses have been knocked upon; people have turned us away; they've seen us before, and they have no desire to see us again even though we keep insisting on sharing our message with them.

We stared at our whiteboard full of investigators, potential investigators, less-actives, and referrals, looked at one another, and prayerfully decided to drop everyone.

Okay, well, not everyone, but most everyone.

Sometimes, you just have to do it because no one is progressing. When you've been trying the same people for a transfer and a half, the Lord impresses you to try something else, to start fresh, and begin anew.

We prayerfully selected those who we felt had the potential to progress, and kept those who were almost there. We'd decided to give a few people a couple more visits to decide if they need to be dropped or not.

Upon visiting these people, we ask our Heavenly Father to make it aware to us if we need to keep teaching them or not. And when you ask, you shall receive.

We tried one investigator, with whom we actually had an appointment. She wasn't there, and as we walked away, we tried not to let our heartbreak get to us. She'd been one of our favorite people, and sometimes, the only thing you can do to dull the pain of an investigator falling out of your hands is to walk on to another house where someone might be waiting for you to knock.

We went and saw another investigator, and the Lord also impressed us to drop them. With heavy hearts, we trudged back to our car. But, as we came closer to leaving, we felt impressed to leave a pass-along card in the former investigator's door so she knew we'd been by.

On our way to do so, she came out of her house, said hello to us, and said she'd been out of the house when we came by! She then let us in, and we proceeded to talk for about three hours.

When we left, I felt a gentle nudge of love from my Heavenly Father. He'd heard our prayers, and He led us to her exactly when He needed us to be there.

If there's one thing I've learned in Mississippi, it's to trust in the Lord's timing. There are many scriptures, talks, and devotionals on this topic, but trusting in the Lord's timing is one of the hardest things we can do as His loved children. It's hard to remember that our Heavenly Father has the grand scheme in mind; He can see past our present worries and into the bounds of eternity where our true happiness lies. He urges us to make the right decisions to better our eternal happiness -- but we have to trust that not everything will happen the way we want it to; our plans might be good to us, but our Heavenly Father has a greater plan in mind.

I had never imagined I would be sitting here, wearing a name tag, willingly restricting my contact with family and friends for eighteen months. In the years leading up to my third semester at BYU-Idaho, I'd told myself as I watched friends open mission calls to France, New Hampshire, Brazil, and the like, that a mission wasn't meant for me; it would be too hard; that's not where the Lord needs my talents.

Yet, I distinctly remember sitting in Sunday school, waiting for it to start after I'd attended sacrament meeting with my roommates. They were all chatting, and amidst the noise of college laughter and meaningless conversation, an overwhelming (and I mean overwhelming) feeling came to me, and with it, a voice said, "Pray about serving a mission."

Now, when I say a voice, I do not mean a literal voice, but it was a thought that was not my own. It sent my heart racing, my mind churning, my stomach dropping. A mission? My family hadn't planned for that. My grandpa had been diagnosed with a rare and lethal cancer. I was in counseling for depression and anxiety. I was focusing on my education. My life was not conducive to serving a mission. I wasn't ready for this. I didn't know the first thing about missionary work, and the Lord was asking me to pray about it?

I'm reminded of Joseph Smith's inquiry about which church was true when he was a teenager. He'd consulted the scriptures, and in it, he'd come across James 1:5, where we read: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that given to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

In Joseph Smith--History we read Joseph's description of the spiritual prompting that hit him after he read that verse: "Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart."

While my experience has not quite amounted to the result of Joseph's, I understand what he meant when he said that that verse entered with "great force into every feeling of [his] heart." This spiritual prompting I'd received hit me like a truck, and I could do nothing to ignore it. I tried reading my scriptures, making food, doing anything in my power to ignore praying about something I did not want to do. But, it would not go away; the thought was in the front of my mind until I found myself kneeling by my bed, surrounded by the gentle quiet of a Sunday afternoon, asking my Heavenly Father what to do, much like Joseph did in the Sacred Grove.

I remember kneeling there for quite some time, being unsure what I was supposed to do and how I was to make this decision. Nothing dark came over me like it did Joseph, and no pillar of light appeared like some part of me hoped it would. But, I was left with a phrase at the very tip of my tongue, and as I said it, peace washed over me, and I began my journey towards becoming a missionary:

"I will go and I will do what thou would have me do, Heavenly Father. I know that You will find a way for me."

I was quoting Nephi at that point, remembering the Primary song that ran through my head when we would talk about his determination to retrieve the gold plates from Laban. Suddenly, I knew where my Heavenly Father wanted me. The following talks at General Conference that weekend only confirmed the spiritual guidance I had received, and I went on my way to start my mission papers.

And here I am, in Mississippi.

I would like to testify to all of you that God has a better plan for you. No plan I had before could compare to this amazing opportunity I have to serve my Heavenly Father. You might not have the boyfriend you want, the job you desire, the house you want, or anything like that -- but the Lord has so much more in store for you. Study, pray, ponder, sacrifice, and you will see blessings that you never could have imagined.

The Lord has blessed me and my family infinitely since I made the decision to serve. I know I am supposed to be in Mississippi here and now, and there are people here for me to touch.

There are lives for you to touch, too. You are here to change yourself and your brothers and sisters. Be changed in Christ so you can help others do the same.

Remember the enabling power of the Atonement; through Christ, you can do anything.

I love y'all. Have a great week.

Godspeed.

Sincerely,

Sister Rose