Failure!

Hi all. We have had a couple of incredibly busy weeks. We welcomed new missionaries and said good-bye to some returning. We had another Mission Leadership Council, which was remarkable, as always.

The failure occurred because I did not do a good job with the pictures. I am sorry! I know how important it is to parents to see their missionaries in their new environment. Please forgive me. Here are the pictures I did take. There are more on the Life with Missionaries page.

Our Mission Leaders

Our New Missionaries

Some of Our Departing Missionaries-forgot to get the whole group.

Failure is an interesting thing. We angst and worry and ultimately in the end somehow we come to grips with our shortcomings and hopefully change and grow in the process. I loved President Uchtdorf's talk in the priesthood session of the most recent General Conference. He said: "None of us likes to admit when we are drifting off the right course. Often we try to avoid looking deeply into our souls and confronting our weaknesses, limitations, and fears. Consequently, when we do examine our lives, we look through the filter of biases, excuses, and stories we tell ourselves in order to justify unworthy thoughts and actions.

But being able to see ourselves clearly is essential to our spiritual growth and well-being. If our weaknesses and shortcomings remain obscured in the shadows, then the redeeming power of the Savior cannot heal them and make them strengths. Ironically, our blindness toward our human weaknesses will also make us blind to the divine potential that our Father yearns to nurture within us."

Serving a mission strips away many of our excuses and helps us look "deeply into our souls and confront our weaknesses." It is truly a privilege to watch these young men and women wrestle through things and discover their strengths and weaknesses. I have experienced much of the same thing. We get to a certain place in our lives and think that we kind of have it all figured out. Serving here in this capacity has taught me very clearly that the Savior is never done tutoring and sanctifying us. It is humbling to realize that He continues to be busy in our lives; why would we think we are ever done growing and changing? I have experienced a greater gratitude for and power in the Atonement as my weaknesses have become clear through this experience. I know that many of our missionaries have experienced the same thing. It is a blessing to watch their progress and witness even their countenances change. 

President Uchtdorf went on to counsel, "Those who want to improve and progress, those who learn of the Savior and desire to be like Him, those who humble themselves as a little child and seek to bring their thoughts and actions into harmony with our Father in Heaven-they will experience the miracle of the Savior's Atonement. They will surely feel God's resplendent Spirit. They will taste the indescribable joy that is the fruit of a meek and humble heart. They will be blessed with the desire and discipline to become true disciples of Jesus Christ."

This mission experience for these young missionaries is meant to change them. It is meant to teach them to be good fathers and mothers and leaders. It is meant to teach them how to create eternal families. It is meant to teach them to be disciples of the Jesus Christ. It truly happens that way for the ones who are willing to look deeply into their souls.