I will never forget that day. On Wednesday October 21, 2009, I slowly paced
down the length of Parley Street, Nauvoo. With me were my father, mother and
little sister. We were nearing the end
of a week my parents had long planned and looked forward to. They had wanted me
to experience the spirit that is so abundant in Nauvoo before I set out to
preach the gospel in whatever part of the world to which I would be called to
serve my mission. Just a week before we
left home, I had sent in my mission papers.
The days we spent visiting the church history sites were very touching
for me, as I was able to witness so many places in which so many sacrifices
were made for the gospel’s sake. I
remember walking along the street, reading the plaques depicting those that had
unshakeable testimonies of the true church of Jesus Christ and of the prophet
Joseph Smith. It was at that moment that
my phone rang. Answering it, I was
greeted by the happy, yet emotional voice of my older brother. “Remember today, David,” he counseled
me. He then told me of a letter he
currently held in his hand. A letter
signed by a prophet of God. A letter
addressed to me. The most calming and
peaceful feeling I had ever experienced until that time washed over me; the
Lord had called me to serve him, and I was only days away from finding out
where. That feeling and that day have
since been burned into my memory, and I can’t wait to stand on Parley Street
again.
I was called to serve in Brazil. For two years I devoted myself to my Father’s
service, teaching his people. For two
years I was taught what it truly means to love unconditionally, and to have
charity for someone that I barely knew.
For two years I witnessed the joy that the gospel brings into the lives
of those that have wandered for so long in darkness. For two years I testified of the veracity of
the Book of Mormon, and that there is a living prophet on the earth today, who
guides the one and only true church of Jesus Christ. For two years I learned lessons that I would
carry with me for much, much longer than two years. My mission meant everything to me, and I will
never forget how special it was to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
to bear his name on my chest.
I returned from my mission in February of 2012. I had the next few years of my life all
planned out in finite details. But sometimes
the Lord plans things a little bit differently for us than the way we see them
for ourselves; and the influence of a friend that is living the way they should
can and does make all the difference in the world.
I sing in a choir at the institute on the campus of Utah
State University. Every day, the music
we sing has a perfect ability to bring the spirit sufficiently to flood my
heart and make my days better. One day
before class, a friend and fellow choir member asked me if I wanted to audition
for something that he was helping another student with that he thought I might
be interested in. I said no thank you, I
didn’t want to. Several more times he
asked me, to all of which I responded that I wasn’t interested. Over the course of the entire rehearsal
period he told me that I needed to make an audition tape, and that he would
help (make) me do it. At the end of an
hour of denying, I finally conceded. He
filmed as I completed the necessary steps to make an appropriate video. After the video was complete and he explained
how to send it in, I asked the simple question of what it was that I was
auditioning for. My friend’s jaw dropped
slightly as he realized that he had neglected to tell me exactly what it was
that he wanted me to participate in. He
quickly told me that I would be performing during the summer in Nauvoo. He told me that I would have the opportunity
to be a missionary again, if selected.
In that moment, all of the love, peace, and happiness that I
had experienced as a missionary in Brazil flooded into my heart. I recalled in that instant the day I had been
standing on Parley Street over three years prior, and the elation that the
simple knowledge of having a mission call had brought. The Spirit whispered peace to my heart, and
as my eyes brimmed with tears of joyful remembrance I knew that my plans didn’t
matter, and that I was to set my sights on Nauvoo.
I look forward to serving my Master again as a full-time
missionary. I relish the thought of
praising his name through music in such a special place as Nauvoo. I am thrilled to stand again in the very spot
that I first felt like a missionary on a crisp day in October, long ago.
I can’t wait to feel the Spirit that I know will accompany
me as I walk Parley Street once more.
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