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I'm not going to edit this post

Hey everyone!

I'm back.

I'm just going to write this post straight through without looking back or editing a whole lot.

I got back from my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the 10th of August, 2016. This has been the craziest 8 weeks of my life. To answer the question you're probably wanting to ask me, yes I am adjusting, but slowly, and that's OK.

I've been really reluctant to write on this blog, for several reasons. One is, I feel like it represents a former version of myself that I don't identify with as much anymore. Another is, I have no idea where to begin. How could I possibly catch you up on the experiences I had, changes I underwent, or the people I met? How could I catch you up on any of that? So I didn't want to start writing again. But I thought I should. And so here I am.

since I don't really know what else to put, I'm going to give you an excerpt from my last letter home from the field. A little old, but you'll forgive me please...

This is what I want you to know I know for sure because of my mission.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the world, and of me.
We are children of heavenly parents. Our very composition is divine. We were meant to reach for godliness. It's in our DNA. 
Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. He received the authority of God to perform the ordinances that save our eternal lives.
Without these ordinances, performed by the proper authority of God, we CANNOT enter God's presence, we CANNOT be forgiven of our sins, we CANNOT live with our families for eternity. God's plan and only desire is that we do those things but straight is the gate, and if we want to go in, we have to be on the path.
Living the commandments of Jesus Christ, including when He commands us to perform an ordinance, is the only way back to the presence of God.
Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, and enduring to the end constitute the means by which we access the atonement of the Savior. 

It's not about me. Literally the most freeing thought ever! I don't have to worry about myself, just other people. 
I don't want what I want. I want what He wants. What He commands, I will do. Where He calls, I will go. I love to follow Him. I love it too much to ever stray too far from His side.
The Gospel changes lives. I've seen it change lives. Starting with mine.
The central purpose of our lives is for us to bring them into harmony with God's will through repentance. The central task of our lives is to build a celestial, eternal family. That's what fulfillment comes from. It's not about us. God wants us to give our lives away to someone else that's why He gave us families.
Staying close to the Lord through daily and weekly worship is not optional.
Humility increases obedience which increases faith and trust which strengthens our relationship with God which increases our humility...
We are CHILDREN OF A GOD. YOU are. I don't know if you really appreciate how significant that is. That means that God, an all-powerful being that is perfect and glorious and beautiful and good and amazing beyond description, is not just your Maker, He is your Father. That means He is in you just like your earthly father is in you. That means that your spirit resembles Him. That means you were spiritually born with--and still carry with you--the seeds of divinity and the potential for glory and perfection that came as a default by the fact that you are His child. You are an amazing, brilliant, divine being. You're just here having a mortal experience. I think it's a lot easier for all of humanity to think that they're a failure by design that way there's no expectations of success, right? But we're not failures by design. Don't mock God. Don't mock His children, including yourself. The hard-to-accept truth is that every human being who has ever breathed and walked on the face of the earth is His child and has the potential to grow up and become like Him. Stop being afraid of your potential. This is your destiny. You're God's child. Time to stand up and courageously accept it.
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Comments

  1. Dallin WardSeptember 27, 2016 at 1:35 AM

    Hi Chip, welcome home, I love you. :)
    "..Is not just your maker, He is your Father."
    This hit me today. He is my father. Father. Dad. Parent. Family. Home. Love.
    Thanks for this. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. PeggyOctober 8, 2016 at 3:06 AM

    I love this! "It's not about me..." That was what I loved the most about being a missionary!

    ReplyDelete

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