This statement from Preach My Gospel (the training manual for missionaries) was one that haunted me in the early stages of my mission.
I can remember a conference we had in which another missionary who was in the final weeks of his mission shared his testimony. He said something like, "A lot of people say that serving a mission is a sacrifice. Serving a mission IS NOT a sacrifice."
I thought a lot about that. How could it not be a sacrifice? How could hitting the pause button on my life not be a sacrifice? How could leaving some of the best friends I'd ever had, with the knowledge that I'd never see some of them again, not be a sacrifice? How could leaving the life I absolutely loved, in exchange for doing things I hate doing everyday, not be a sacrifice?
At the beginning of my experience, I was more sad than I could ever remember being. I had been used to skipping through my days of sunshine, fun, and friends. And now I dragged myself through the rain, drudgery, and emotional pain. There's nothing like spending your days trying to talk to a bunch of people who don't want to talk to you, in a city where you don't know anybody, and in a situation where you don't have your normal methods of coping available.
On the other side, I can fully agree that serving a mission is not a sacrifice. Helping people find the way to find the most satisfying and lasting form of happiness is the best way to find it for yourself.
I'm not going to pretend that it wasn't really hard to get to work every single day. I'm not going to pretend that there weren't disappointments everyday.
But I do know that there must be sorrow to really understand joy. And I do know that that joy is worth the greatest price. And I do know that as we strive to be more obedient--as we strive sacrifice more for the sake of righteousness--that there will be even greater joy.
When we watched General Conference (when the prophet and apostles speak) I had the question in mind: "What do I need to sacrifice to have greater success in my calling as a missionary?" The question was answered clearly. Multiple times, they talked about the rich young ruler that came to Christ to ask what he needed to do to better follow Him. He responded that he needed to give up everything he had to follow him. And the young man wouldn't do it.
Earlier in my mission, I felt like I had given everything. But I hadn't yet. I clung to my understandings. I clung to my pride. I clung to my comfort zone. He asks us to give up everything and I was still clinging to these treasured possessions.
I won't say that I completely got rid of my pride, or the other things that held me back, but I sure tried. I set specific goals and held myself accountable to those goals geared to help me overcome my weaknesses. And I saw miracles.
And that is the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Faith in Christ: Belief in Christ motivates us to act accordingly. Don't just believe in Christ, but believe Christ. If we truly believe Him, we'll do our absolute best to keep His commandments
Repentance: Changing ourselves to be more in line with His commandments.
Baptism/Sacrament: Making/keeping a promise with God to 1)follow Him 2) keep His commandments. In return we are cleansed from our sins and are promised His spirit to be with us all the time. We take the sacrament as often as possible to renew that promise we made when we were baptized and be cleansed again.
Gift of the Holy Ghost: The spirit is often equivalent to happiness. It's a feeling of peace. It brings clarity to our lives. It can be a voice of warning. It inspires us for what we need to do (what we need to give up) to be more like our Heavenly Father) In essence, everything the spirit does leads us to make this whole thing a process in our lives.
On my mission, I learned the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I experienced it. I know it is real, and is the only thing that gives our life meaning. For every sacrifice we make for this cause, He will make the reward worth it. From this side, I cannot say my mission was a sacrifice. What I have gained is better than anything I could ever give.
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