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
