Light and Truth

After returning home from serving two years as a full-time missionary in New York for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I was a very new 21-year old. It was December 2013 and my life had just been changed through 24-7 service in spreading the news of the restored gospel since December 2011. Of course, stepping off the plane in Salt Lake City was an obvious transition point from one chapter of life to another. But what was the next chapter of life going to entail? What did the future have in store for me? While I didn't know the specifics of what would occur in the upcoming years as my early-20s unfolded, I at least knew some of the things that should be part of the answer to these questions. I would be going to college at the University of Utah as a double-major in mathematics and physics. I needed to find a way to utilize what I'd learned on my mission to make missionary work an everyday lifestyle. And most importantly, I needed to work towards an eternal marria...

In the early parts of 2014, one of the strongest desires of my life began to swell within me. Although I was only 21 years of age and single, a yearning to be a father one day took root in my heart and mind. Even though I cannot pinpoint the initiation of this desire to a specific event, I am quite confident that it was the cumulative effect of multiple heaven-designed experiences: seeing the light in the eyes of young children, learning of God's commandment to multiply and replenish the earth, and the Holy Ghost prompting me towards a more complete understanding of my duties in life. While it certainly did not occur overnight, I gradually came to desire the opportunity to raise children. After about two years, I was privileged to find and marry my beautiful wife Bethany in the early months of 2016, bringing my hope for being a father much closer towards reality. Knowing that all people are children of God, I knew from the beginning that if I so desired to raise children I needed...

At the beginning of my full-time mission while at the MTC (Missionary Training Center), I nearly got sent home for medical reasons beyond my control. Fortunately, I was not sent home. But I was also not allowed to go out to New York as I had been called to, at least not immediately. This was obviously quite a trial for my faith and hope. (Further details can be found in the two prior blog posts:  1st  ,  2nd  .) Instead of getting sent home, a minor exception was made for me to stay at the MTC and work as an online missionary in the Referral Center. Here I would stay until I got doctoral permission to serve in New York. This was not exactly what I wanted to happen, but by this time I had accepted the fact that my plans of going to New York in January 2012 were not to be. But at least I didn't get sent home completely from serving a mission. While serving in the Referral Center, teaching people via skype and chatting with people who came on to  mormon.org ...

While at the Provo MTC (Missionary Training Center), preparing to go and serve in New York as a full-time missionary, I was informed that due to my past epileptic condition I would not be allowed to serve as called and would be sent home. This of course challenged my faith and, from my perspective, diminished it (on a scale of 0 to 20) from 19 to 1 in every aspect of the gospel. But thankfully, due to inspired missionaries guiding me to the scriptures, I was able to put a halt on the evaporation of my faith. (See  previous blog post  for a more detailed story.) At the time of being informed of the cancellation of my mission call, I was able to summon enough courage to be persistent with them of having any possible exception made for me. Their response to this was that they would look into it, but that the probability of obtaining such an exception was extremely minimal. In the mean time they would have me wait at the MTC with another district of missionaries. The day of gett...