Light and Truth

As is quite common in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, some of the most memorable events of my life come from the two years of serving as a full-time missionary. Yes, the time I spent in New York serving the Lord full-time in spreading the restored gospel is among the things I look back on with absolute joy. Near the end I came to learn, as most missionaries do, that these two years were densely packed with important spiritual lessons that the Lord saw absolutely necessary to teach me. Among the many lessons I learned was the high importance of trying to see things from other people's point of view. Serving in New York included countless days of going door to door around the town of Middletown and near West Point, talking with everyone who would answer and asking them if we could share the restored gospel with them. It also included contacting strangers on the streets of The Bronx and Manhattan for many hours straight. Due to the long history of Christianity in th...

Sooner than later, most of us find out that life has overwhelming challenges that are seemingly beyond our capacity to endure. As a young teenager with epilepsy, this was the situation I faced for many years. There were many reasons of why this challenge felt unbearable at times. Among the smallest of these challenges was the mere presence of seizures in my life. While it certainly was not fun to have unpredictable seizures, I was at least unconscious during them and therefore didn't remember them as well as my family members. Challenges of greater magnitude included not being allowed to drive, get a job, or participate in various other activities that could trigger a seizure. Perhaps the greatest challenges I faced, though, were the side-effects of my medication. These side-effects did not involve obvious reactions such as a rash, sneezing, or any feeling that might be considered "medical". Rather, the effect was deep inside my brain; my personality shifted towards pes...