Very Much My Choice

My decision to serve a mission was an important one, but not something that was drastic.  I didn’t hear a voice from heaven or have an overwhelming feeling to go.  My decision to serve was very much my choice, but one that I couldn’t have made without my Father in Heaven.

I prayed for a long time about whether or not to go.  There were several different directions my life could take, and they were all good, so I didn’t know which one to go with.  I was praying that He would tell me which was the right path, and I was praying in that manner for about one month.  I listed out all the pros and cons to each scenario, but still didn’t have a clear answer.  One night, I was praying yet again, when the story of the brother of Jared (found in Ether 2:18-25 through Ether 3:1-5) literally popped into my head.  It was so random- I had been reading in a very different part of the Book of Mormon at that point.  I reviewed the story again in my head.  I remembered how the brother of Jared asked three different questions to the Lord and the Lord answered them in three different ways: He gave him a way; He was the way; and He let the brother of Jared figure it out himself. 

That last point would not leave my head and it left a very strong impression on me.  At that point, I knew that I had been going about my decision all wrong.  I had just been expecting that God would tell me when I had taken “no thought save it was to ask [Him].” (D&C 9:7)  In that moment, my prayer changed from “Tell me what to do” to “Here is what I’ve decided- can you let me know if it’s wrong?”  And what I decided to do was to go on a mission.  From then on, all I felt was peace.  I knew that I had made the right choice, because God “[spoke] peace to [my] mind concerning the matter.” (D&C 6:23)

I learned from this experience that we often need to make a decision and then ask the Lord if it is right.  He will rarely just give us the answer- we need to study it out and then seek for confirmation.  My decision to serve a mission was completely my choice.  God was happy with any of the paths that I had, and He will support me in any good thing that I do. 

               

Sister Jessica Hendry

Argentina Resistencia Mission