Alma 5:6-7
In December 2013, I returned home after serving full-time as a missionary in New York for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for nearly two years. Having served to the best of my ability, I stepped off the plane flight with many new lessons learned through experiences that were (at least to me) clearly orchestrated by the Lord. One of these lessons was, of course, the priceless value of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Prior to missionary service, the continual presence of the Gospel led me to deem it as normal and ordinary rather than of value beyond description. But by seeing, as a missionary, first hand accounts of so many individuals finding joy and purpose in life by coming to a true knowledge of their Savior, all of that permanently changed. Another big take-home lesson for me was that there is no such thing as a convenient conversion. I learned this through seeing the life-changing experiences of so many people, which were always accompanied with great sacrifices and c...