Mission Stories
Get insights on having a powerful and successful full-time LDS mission. This podcast shares inspiring stories and practical principles for embracing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, overcoming challenges, and building a strong foundation for lifelong discipleship. Faith-promoting stories and lessons from real full-time LDS mission experiences to inspire and teach. Based on The Mission Prep Series by Shawn Record.
Mission Stories
From Sandy Foundation to Sure Rock: Elder Burrop's Conversion & Mission Prep Story
In this episode, we feature Elder Carter Burrop, who shares his powerful journey of repentance, conversion and preparation for his mission, highlighting crucial scriptural and spiritual principles that apply to all.
Key Scriptural and Spiritual Principles:
The Choice to Follow God: The episode emphasizes the critical decision to actively choose God's path, referencing Elijah's challenge: "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, then follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). It also draws on Revelation, where the Lord desires us to be "hot or cold," not "lukewarm," because being in between "tears us apart". Carter's personal crossroads story exemplifies this decision, where he told his sister, "I'm either going to be really, really good or really, really bad".
A Desire to Know for Oneself: Inspired by his parents' faithful example, Carter began his journey by desiring to "find out for myself" if the gospel was true. This parallels Nephi's desire to "see and hear and know of these things by the power of the Holy Ghost for myself" (1 Nephi 10), and Enos's soul hunger that led him to pray. This personal quest for truth is essential for genuine conversion.
Feasting Upon the Words of Christ: The podcast stresses that the only way to "come to Christ" is by learning of Him, primarily by "feasting upon his words". The promise from Moroni 10 is highlighted: reading with real intent and a sincere heart will bring revelation through the Holy Ghost, enabling one to "know the truth of all things". Carter's intense scripture study (six to eight hours a day) resulted in a "love for learning more" and a profound "change of heart".
Revelation and the Holy Ghost Lead to Joy: When one truly feasts on the words of Christ, the Holy Ghost becomes "abundant in your soul," leading to "pure joy". This joy is described as a "fruit of the Holy Ghost" and the "absolute result of faith, repentance, and covenants". Carter's experience of profound happiness, even when losing friends and enduring external hardships, illustrates that inner peace and joy are gifts of the Spirit.
Repentance as Consistency and a Broken Heart: Repentance is taught not as a one-time event, but as "consistency" and "sincerity," which "takes time". It involves developing a "broken heart and a contrite spirit," a condition of soul that God requires instead of ancient animal sacrifices. Carter's own extended period of repentance allowed him to become "on the same wavelength" and a better missionary.
Building on the Rock of Christ: Drawing from Helaman 5:12, the discussion emphasizes building one's "foundation" upon "the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ," so that "when the devil shall send forth his mighty whirlwinds... it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless woe". Revelation, obtained through consistent spiritual practices, is the "rock".
Conversion as a Lifelong Process: The episode clarifies that the goal of missionary work is not just baptism, but helping individuals become "lifelong converts" and "disciples". Baptism is an entry gate to a "lifelong commitment to keep working towards". The ultimate "biggest convert" on a mission, though it sounds "cheesy," is often oneself.
The Call to Act Now: Carter passionately urges listeners, particularly those in high school, to "decide right now. Like stop. You can't procrastinate your repentance any longer. It's just it's literally going to kill you". He testifies that acting now, even at the "hardest moment," will lead to "pure joy" and be "worth it 100%".
This episode powerfully testifies that true preparation for a mission and for life involves deeply understanding our divine identity, embracing Christ's Atonement, consistently feasting on His words, and en
Like the kids are listening to this in high school, like you have to decide right now. Like stop, you can't procrastinate your repentance any longer. It's literally going to kill you. I mean, you have to choose right now because think about if God is real and God is true, how happy he will be that you do that. I mean, you just got to decide, like stop, stop waiting.
SPEAKER_00:Alright, we're back. Another episode of Mission Prep Series Podcast. So, we've got some great guests today. Lauren is back with us. Hey, Lauren.
SPEAKER_02:Hello. How
SPEAKER_00:goes it? Okay, once again, your mic is pointing the wrong direction. There you go.
SPEAKER_02:Guy said it could be that way.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, well, Guy, the producer, he gave a little bit of different instructions. We got it now, though. We're good. Speak. Hello. See? Perfect. Alright, good. So, we're joined by Lauren, who's, gosh, man, now what is it, 12 days back from your mission? Yeah. Nine days. Four days. Nine? Yeah. You still feeling the fire, or is it just weird?
SPEAKER_03:It's sad.
SPEAKER_00:It's sad. It's sad to be back. We'll get into that. That's interesting. Okay, we'll get into that. All right, and then our guest today, Lauren and I will co-host this one. Introduce yourself, Carter.
SPEAKER_04:I'm Carter Burrup, and now I'm Elder Burrup. About to go on my mesh.
SPEAKER_00:Elder Burrup as of how long ago?
SPEAKER_04:As of since last Sunday.
SPEAKER_00:Gosh, so you've gone through the whole...
SPEAKER_04:Week of MTC,
SPEAKER_00:yeah. The home MTC. Yep. And then you go into the field literally tomorrow.
SPEAKER_04:Wednesday.
SPEAKER_00:Wednesday, so two days from now. Yeah. You ready?
SPEAKER_04:Honestly, I've been ready.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, what's fun today is we get to get into your story. And if there ever was someone ready, I'd love it, man. I love talking to people who do it right and who prepare right. And you've got a great story, which is going to be fun to go through. But just a reminder of what this is. So... you guys know my attitude. It's pretty annoying, but it is such an incredible, like once in a lifetime opportunity to, to do the work of the Lord full time, whether it's a year and a half, two years, whatever amount of time there's like, no one gets that opportunity. Like it is so humbling and so powerful to be able to get to do this. And when you do it right, because clearly the scriptures say there's a right way to do this. And we'll go over that in future podcasts. It's life-changing. It's like what we talked about last time, Lauren. It's a marvelous work and a wonder. Like you will have such crazy, wonderful, magic, spiritual, crazy experiences if you do it right. And those experiences are life-changing, right? Change your life, right, Lauren? So what we're going to do today is kind of focus on a couple of the principles. We always talk about these ideas that you applied, Carter. in your life and that hopefully he'll continue to apply on the mission. But we're excited to hear your story, dude. So, well, I'll ask you the question. A year ago, were you ready and prepared or were you committed to go on a mission?
SPEAKER_04:I wouldn't say I was committed to go on a mission, but a year ago I did definitely start making changes. But two years ago, that's a different story.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, two years ago, no way. Yeah, no way. No way. Two years ago, were you here in California yet or are you still in Utah?
SPEAKER_04:No, I was in California now.
SPEAKER_00:Because before you came to California, your family's from Arizona. They moved to California, but at the same time, you are like a semi-pro soccer player at the age of 12? 14. 14.
SPEAKER_04:16,
SPEAKER_00:yeah. And you got an offer from an academy in Utah to go and live there with a bunch of 16, 17, 18-year-olds and be on this, like, what was it called?
SPEAKER_04:Real Salt Lake.
SPEAKER_00:Real Salt Lake. Yeah. Yeah. And the idea is there that that preps you for a career in soccer.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. That's pretty much what it is. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And you were good enough at 14 to be invited to this thing.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. And we were good. I mean, when I was 15, we were national champions. So we were a good team. Can't lie.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. That is good. Okay. So that was like two years ago. And then a year or a year, wherever the timeline is, at some point you made a decision. I'm leaving this. So you went through COVID and then you said, I'm leaving this. I got to go back to my family.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. I came back at 16.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. 16 years old to Southern California. Never lived here before. Jump into high school. Don't know anyone. Right.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I knew a few kids from Utah that lived here in Southern California. So I already kind of had an end there. Oh, but you know, It was just rocky from there.
SPEAKER_00:A good influence? Those kids were good influences or bad influences? I
SPEAKER_04:love them, but they probably weren't the best influences in my eyes now.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so this is a really fascinating part of your story because where you are today is night and day different from where you were back then, which is common story. Common for many of us, right? So I'll ask you this. What? Well, actually, let's start with the scripture, Ephesians 4.14. Lauren, can you find that while I'm talking?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I got you.
UNKNOWN:Thanks.
SPEAKER_00:So when you were 14 and in that group, some rough influences, you told me earlier that now looking back, you considered it a Sandy Foundation. For sure, yeah. And what was missing that took away from that firm foundation that we're supposed to be on?
SPEAKER_04:Well, it was during COVID. So I couldn't go to church. I couldn't see my family. Couldn't go to seminary. And I'm 14. I don't have a strong testimony of... of the church yet. So, I mean, it was, it was literally like I was a baby at 14 and just, I just learned the wrong things.
SPEAKER_00:All right. So baby face Carter during COVID, which was a weird time, but the bigger things are you weren't, you didn't have your, you have an amazing family and you were away from them, which I'm sure was a really hard decision for all you guys to make, but you didn't have that. And then you didn't have church at all. No influence, no seminary, no church, no nothing. Right.
SPEAKER_04:That's because of COVID.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Cause of COVID, which now relates, Lauren, you have it.
SPEAKER_03:You said 414, right?
SPEAKER_00:414, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slate of men and cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
SPEAKER_00:So I love the visuals in scriptures that talk about building your house on the firm foundation, the rock of Christ, versus the sandy foundation. Because what happens when the winds come and the waters come to the house that's on the sandy foundation? Crumbles, right? Yeah. And what happens on the rock? You're firm on there. So truly you're in a situation where that was a pretty sandy foundation.
SPEAKER_04:Super sandy.
SPEAKER_00:And those are, that's a really critical, like formative time, a 14 year old. So super sandy. So you took that sandy foundation, came back to Southern California and stayed on that sandy foundation?
SPEAKER_04:It got a lot sandier. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:It got really sandy. And then, yeah, I mean, you can't, at some point I had to build the rock.
SPEAKER_00:But I want to ask you why, like a lot, many of us who get on that Sandy foundation seek some pleasure. We experienced some pleasure. And oftentimes that pleasure is what we decide to run with as opposed to deeper happiness. But you always talk about how, I don't know. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but sometimes you'd say like there's an emptiness or there was something missing or something that caused you to start to go, wait a minute, I gotta, I gotta consider some changes here.
SPEAKER_04:Well, yeah, I'll, I was talking to my friends about this other day. It's like, for what? Like, that was my question. Like, for what? Like, why am I doing this? Like, what is this going to profit me? It's not going to profit me anything. And I just saw like the damage I was doing to not only me, but to my family and especially to God. And I was just like, I just felt extreme guilt. I knew what I was doing was wrong. And I knew that what I was doing is not going to be even worth it in the years to come, especially for eternity.
SPEAKER_00:So how big of a role did, remember in the first words of Nephi, Nephi being born of goodly parents, how big of a role did having these goodly parents, these good parents play in you identifying that maybe some of my behaviors, I feel guilty. I'm not happy. How much of a role did that influence from your family have?
SPEAKER_04:Well, being born of goodly parents was like definitely essential because I I would look at my dad as like a respectable guy. Like I respect this guy. Why is this guy believe so much in this particular thing?
SPEAKER_00:Not only believe, but you often talk about how you, when you're here, you'd wake up early and you can't tell me about that.
SPEAKER_04:So I would, I would never go to seminary my senior year and I would barely drag through like 20 minutes, 30 minutes late my junior year. And I remember I would wake up late for seminary obviously. And I would go out and my dad would, Walks in the room and he's just drenched in sweat. He already hit like a hard workout that morning. And then I get in the shower and I come out and he's already out on the table reading his scriptures. I'm like, dude, this guy's a machine. I'm like, I'm like, I'm just not like to that level yet. And I was almost inspired by that. And obviously, you know, staying out late every night, probably like three to four a.m. Like in just my mom would stay up all night for me waiting. On
SPEAKER_00:the couch. And probably tears when you got home, right? Yeah,
SPEAKER_04:and tears. So like it definitely, my family definitely was one of the biggest impacts. Why?
SPEAKER_00:So it's interesting you talk about how you started to feel guilt and unhappiness. And sometimes I think people feel that and don't think twice about it. They brush it off. They use the slight of men, the doctrines of men to justify, it's fine. Whereas because you had this strong foundation of really faithful, good examples and parents, you knew you had a deep down feeling that it's not right. I'm doing wrong here. Absolutely. Yeah. Was it just the parents or was there any, at that point belief in God and like, okay, I'm not doing, I'm not being obedient. I'm not being faithful. Or was there not that, that did that not exist yet? That's an important question.
SPEAKER_04:I definitely believed in God. And even when I was not being my best self and people would make fun of Mormons, I would always stick up for them. Like it was never like a, to a point where I was making fun of like quote unquote Mormons church, Jesus Christ, lighter saints, obviously. But, Like, it never got to that point. I definitely did believe in God. Like, I just didn't know how true it really was. And I took it for granted. Like I said in my talk earlier, I took that all for granted.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so awesome. So you are at a stage in your life where you're unhappy, you feel guilty, you're participating in the secular world, and you look at the example of your parents, the love they give you, your mom's up all night, your dad is up just disciplined and reading scriptures, and you've said... I looked at him and I loved him and I was like, man, it means something to him that he's sacrificing to do this. And he told me something that you're like, I don't know if this was the, I don't, maybe there isn't one thing that was the pivotal change that made you go, okay, I'm going to choose something different here or I'm going to at least try it. But you talked about, you respected your dad so much and you were like, if he believes in this, then maybe it's worth looking to looking at. Like what?
SPEAKER_04:Oh yeah. Like I looked, like I said earlier, like I respect my dad a lot. And I would wonder, like, okay, why does he believe in this so much? And I had to find out for myself.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so that reminds me of a scripture. Lauren, can you think of any scriptures where someone in the Book of Mormon was like, what? My dad just did or said something. I'm not going to just take his word. I've got to see if that's true. Do you remember Lehi was talking about this crazy dream? It came to pass that I, Nephi, having heard all the words of my father considering the things which he saw in the vision— And also the things which he spake by the power of the Holy Ghost, which power he received by faith on the Son of God. The Son of God was the Messiah who should come. Then he says this, I, Nephi, was desirous also that I might see and hear and know of these things by the power of the Holy Ghost for myself. So you kind of started to go, same thing. I respect my dad enough. I see that he's very faithful. There's something there, but I'm not going to take... Clearly at this point, you weren't taking anyone's word for it. No. But you did have a desire to... To find out for yourself?
SPEAKER_04:Well, because I often thought like, if this is true and I just push it away, then I'm just, that's just not going to be, how am I going to get like the eternal reward that's promised? If it is true, I want to be fully faithful because then I can get the eternal rewards and temporarily I'll be happy and eternally I'll be happy.
SPEAKER_00:So remember Enos talked about how he listened to the words of his father, who was a prophet. And one day he was in the forest hunting or something. And he said two things really profound. He said, my soul hungered and I wanted to know for myself and therefore I knelt down and I prayed. So would you say there was a point where you're, I don't know, is that an accurate word to say? Did your soul hunger? Definitely.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I often thought too, like if I know the difference between good and evil, why not choose good continually or at least try to? Especially because everyone in the world knows to a certain degree what's good and what's evil. So why... Why not choose good? That's kind of what I was thinking. Nice.
SPEAKER_00:Why not? You've tried it one way, right? Yeah. You tried the other way.
SPEAKER_04:Sometimes you've got to touch the stove, though.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, which goes to principle one, right? We talked today about those two scriptures in the first class that we teach, this concept of choosing and owning your decisions in the gospel and in your mission. And we often refer to 1 Kings 18.21 where Elijah, the prophet, went to the children of Israel who were sinning and said the following. He said, how long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, then follow him. But if Baal, the false God, if Baal be God, then follow him.
SPEAKER_01:And
SPEAKER_00:then in Revelation where it talks about the Lord saying, look, I know your works that they're neither hot nor cold. He says, I would that you were hot or cold because if you're lukewarm, I will spew thee out of my mouth. you got to a point where you started to make decisions. Yeah. So do you remember that point where you're like, Oh, okay. Like what was the moment where you're like, I'm going to start making some change. Well, like how did that all come about?
SPEAKER_04:There's this, okay. You want me to tell you the snowboard story? Sure. I don't know that story. This is like my last, uh, like terrible thing I would say I did.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. Confess some sins here,
SPEAKER_04:huh? It's actually kind of funny looking back on it, but so my dad had just got this brand new snowboard set. Brand new board, brand new jacket, pants, boots, goggles, helmet, like super nice stuff. Like this is like not just some like average like snowboarding gear. This is like super nice stuff. And I remember it was a Tuesday morning and I told him, hey, I'm just going to go to the gym real quick this morning before school, which I was like, okay, normal. And then I remember I grabbed the snowboard bag, threw it in my car, drove up to Big Bear. Yeah. I was snowboarding all day. They didn't even know until 4.30 p.m. I'm 30 minutes away from the house, and my mom checks her light 360. And then I'm just– they got me. And I came back, and this is what really hit me. It was like– of course my mom was, like, crying mad. She cries a lot, but I love her. My dad was just, like, so– he wasn't even mad. He was just so, like, disappointed, and I was just like– It's time. I'm
SPEAKER_00:done. What was it about that? It hurt your soul to see the disappointment?
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. I think just seeing the disappointment and the fact that he wasn't even angry with me.
SPEAKER_00:Wow.
SPEAKER_04:It was just like, wow. That's kind of how I feel about God, too. Like, why was God so merciful on me when I was so terrible? It's like he didn't strike me down. I
SPEAKER_00:mean, we'll get into the message of the gospel later, right? The mercy that God gives us through Christ. But, okay, so at that moment... In that experience, you made a decision. What was the decision you made?
SPEAKER_04:The decision was that, okay, I'm going to start reading the Book of Mormon with my dad because I'll just try it out now. And then if it goes good, then I'm going to go talk to the bishop, obviously, because for me it was never, it was either, because I, okay, I'll go deeper into this. I told my sister a few mornings earlier prior to that, I told her, because I was at a confliction. I was like, because I know what's good, but I don't really know it. I'm already doing evil things. So I told my sister one morning, this is probably kind of scary for her. I said, listen, I'm either going to be really, really good or really, really bad. I don't know yet.
SPEAKER_00:Like in life, you're like telling her, look, I got to, I love this dude. So you're at the crossroads and you're getting mature enough to go, I've got a decision before me. And you even like these two scriptures we just read, you even said to her, look, if the Lord be God, I'm going to follow him and I'm going to be really good. But if bail or the religion of the world is what I choose, I'm going down a path, man. I'm going to go engage.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, because I couldn't keep going back and forth anymore because it was tearing me apart.
SPEAKER_00:Which is this principle of being lukewarm. The Lord says, I would that you were hot or cold. Not lukewarm because it does. It tears us apart. He gives us agency. And he says to us, practice the agency. And sometimes he says, I want you to own that instead of floating where things can push you forward. Because sometimes when we choose, what does the scripture say? Sometimes we need to taste the bitter in order to prize the sweet.
UNKNOWN:Yep.
SPEAKER_04:And I think even tasting the bitter brings you closer to Jesus Christ. Sometimes some people need to touch the stove and some people can just see others touch the stove. But honestly, everyone touches the stove to a certain degree.
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. We're all sinners. Absolutely. Okay, so you told your sister that and you were sincere. I
SPEAKER_04:was 100% sincere.
UNKNOWN:Wow.
SPEAKER_00:And then somehow you made this decision. And the first decision you made was, I see my dad, who I respect and love, and he's reading the Book of Mormon every day, decision one, I'm going to start reading the Book of Mormon every day. That's what you decided? I
SPEAKER_04:was like, let me find out, because I was interested.
SPEAKER_00:I look at Lauren, who just got off her mission. I'm like, this is why I love his story so much. This is what we sought on our mission every day. We wanted to find someone who was humbled enough and starting just that seed of faith to move towards the path of keeping certain commitments, which in our case was what? What were we committing everyone to do that if they would just do it, we knew that they would get on the path of faith, repentance, baptism? Reading scriptures and praying. I'm asking you, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I mean, it's like the big three, like having a testimony in the Book of Mormon of Joseph Smith and making an effort to come to church, but doing it consistently. I used to tell our friends all the time, because, you know, as a missionary, maybe you're in an area that's a little slower, and so you want to keep holding on to these people that you just love so much, but they got to be consistently keeping these commitments, because ultimately... you're not going to be there forever, right? And so you've got to help them develop habits that are going to help them become lifelong converts. It wasn't like Carter woke up one morning, read the Book of Mormon once, and was converted. It's small habits, and that's why we're helping our friends develop. 99% of the people that I taught had never even heard of the Book of Mormon before. So without the consistent reminder like, okay, read this. I'll make you a calendar. I'll make you a plan. Just follow it. Just do it. Promising the blessings that follow, and then as they do that, they learn how to become disciples. It's not just prepare them to be baptized. We're prepared to be lifelong disciples. So after you're baptized, when you have the gift of the Holy Ghost to help you continue learning, you already have these good habits in place for you to keep moving forward, endure to the end, if you can say that.
SPEAKER_00:And you know what I found, Lauren, was when we would work with these people, like at first I just thought, oh yeah, makes sense. If we can help someone make a commitment, that discipline will help them move towards God. But I was so dead wrong. It had nothing to do with them being disciplined to keep a commitment and change their life. We were committing them to do the things that would bring the Holy ghost into their life, touch their hearts and change them, right? That's why come to church. Cause you'll feel the spirit. When you see the sacrament, this Holy ordinance, this ancient Holy ordinance by the priesthood, you'll feel the spirit when you're surrounded by loved ones or people who will go out of their way to love you at church. We always crossed our fingers that they would, right? You'll feel the spirit, right? we would commit them to read the Book of Mormon, the Bible, anything. Not because, like you said, one time they opened the book and done. No, but when they would read consistently with a sincere heart. What's the promise in Moroni 10? If you get the gift of these scriptures, if you have a desire, go ahead, what?
SPEAKER_03:By the gift of the Holy Ghost, you may know the truth of all things.
SPEAKER_00:Second Nephi, yeah, that's right.
SPEAKER_03:Hello.
SPEAKER_00:No, that is, yeah, you're right. It's Moroni 10 too. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, right? So what's so powerful, Carter, about the decision you made was there's no better, like if you were on this path of like, okay, I've got cold or hot, I've got left or right, the best decision you could possibly made and this beautiful example your dad gave you was go feast upon the words of Christ in order to find out for yourself because that commitment, which on a mission, that's your only goal. Get your investigators and your friends involved to read the scriptures because when they do that, they will feel the spirit themselves and they will find out for themselves. So let's go back to your story. So unless you have a scripture, Lauren.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I just had something that reminded me just of the scriptures that you've been sharing. My mission president gave an invitation to read through the gospels to know Jesus Christ better.
SPEAKER_00:New Testament.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Sorry. Yes. And I was reading through Mark today and Jesus Christ was giving the parable of the sower and he's talking about just the different places where seeds can be planted. And it says, And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time. Afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And it makes me think of people on those sandy foundations. They're there for a time, and then a wave hits them or the wind hits them or anything, and they're just gone like that. because they don't have that, in this case, the soil that they're able to grow and to flourish in.
SPEAKER_00:Which is such a perfect scripture to bring in for your story, Carter, because if you would have started, you made this decision, I'm going to start reading the Book of Mormon like my dad, but if you would have done it two or three times and been like, all right, I'm feeling good, and then stopped, that scripture applies, right? So tell us, when you made that decision, how long ago was that?
SPEAKER_04:Midway through my senior year, so over a year.
SPEAKER_00:Over a year ago. So when you made that decision, how committed were you to the decision? Where are you at now as far as what have you read? What scriptures have you read? Just tell us that.
SPEAKER_04:What scriptures have I read? Well, I'm just going to say I wasn't immediately like so invested right after I read. I remember I read a few chapters with my dad and then I just started to stop. But then, obviously, I'm still, like, breaking away, like, slowly from, like, the life I was living. Yeah. But I did cut everything cold turkey. Oh. In that sense, I won't go too deep in all that. Yeah, you don't need to. But over time, just, like, socially, like, I slowly, like, just, like, declined from everything. And then that summer, after just high school was completely done, that's when I dove into scripture. And I remember I read, obviously, the full Book of Mormon. But, like, for me, reading the scriptures, like, I didn't want to just read it. Just to say I read it, just like for my ego, I'd be like, yeah, I read all the scriptures before I went on my mission. But I wanted it to be like, not only did I read the scriptures, but I studied them every chapter, line upon line, precept upon precept, all that stuff. Because at that point I was like, this is too true. It's too good and too true not to be true. So why not be the best I could possibly be before my mission?
SPEAKER_00:What do you think of that, Lauren?
SPEAKER_04:You're so, that's crazy.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome, right? Like I can't tell you how many missionaries go out on their mission and Never have even read the Book of Mormon.
SPEAKER_04:Which I think is fine.
SPEAKER_00:It is. It is fine.
SPEAKER_04:Because everyone's on their own pace. But just for me in that time, I had already experienced so much. I'm like, okay.
SPEAKER_00:You're going in.
SPEAKER_04:My mission almost starts right now.
SPEAKER_00:And you're right. Let me preface. Let me qualify. Everyone should go on a mission no matter what stage you're in. It is life-changing. It is amazing. And yes, there's different levels. Part of the reason for this podcast and these principles is because Man, I want everyone to have that spiritual, powerful converting experience that I had, that Lauren, you had. And so we're trying to encourage people to do it in better ways. But there's a good, better, best way to do it. And sure, you're right. The kids that go out who never have read the Book of Mormon, yeah, I didn't mean for that to sound too judgmental, a little bit, but thank you for being humble and bringing it back. Go as well, because you'll hit a point on your mission where you do start to feast upon the book, you know, in the scriptures. And then it all changed. But the fact that you did it a year before you even... That's awesome. That is so amazing.
SPEAKER_04:And the blessings that came from that were... Obviously, I started to become more, like, you know, like, cleaned so I could go get my patriarchal blessing. And that is great. I suggest everyone do that. But don't do it until, like, your late 17s. Don't get it too early. Until you're ready. You got to experience a little bit. But... just the blessings of scripture study and like stuff like that. And then obviously meeting with the Bishop over time and just like fixing things, talking about things and just, just overcoming stuff. That's really all it was.
SPEAKER_00:So Lauren, could you find Helaman 512? Yeah. So, so Carter, you started to read the book of Mormon, dive in with, with true intent. I mean, again, back to, to Moroni 10, the promise. If you read with real intent, then something will happen. The promise will happen. And I love your story. Part of it is because you, principle number one, choose. You truly chose, right? So many, and again, I'm not discouraging this, but so many of us go on our mission for good reasons, but there are better and best reasons. And one of the common reasons people go on a mission is, oh, it's time, right? Right? I'm supposed to do this. Another reason is, well, all my friends have gone, so I guess I'll go. Another reason is, well, my parents are kind of like expecting me to go, so I guess I'll go. Now, good reasons. There's a better reason and there's the best reason, right? Those are kind of lukewarm reasons, right? Those are halted reasons. And what I've seen is those who go out with the better choice, which is I own my choice. I am fully committed to this. You're further along in the process that D&C 4 promises, which says, if you have a desire to serve, then you're called to the work, but see that you serve with all your heart, mind, and strength. And if you do this, there's this whole slew of promises. So I think most kids who don't have that strong commitment, they do go out on a mission and eventually find it. But man, how much more beneficial it is for you to have made that decision beforehand.
SPEAKER_04:Well, I feel like if you're going to choose to do something, like do 100%.
SPEAKER_00:Me too. Which is interesting coming from this athlete, right? And Lauren, you're the same way. You're a hardworking athlete throughout your time. And when you decided to go on a mission, you were in. I mean, last time you gave us a good story about how you chose and made that decision.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Can you read Helium 512?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Yeah. And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that you must build your foundation, that when the devil shall send forth his mighty whirlwinds, yea, even his shafts on the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall be upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless woe, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build, they cannot fall.
SPEAKER_00:So this...
SPEAKER_04:The rock is revelation, right?
SPEAKER_00:So this is the second principle we teach. I talk about how revelation leads to conversion. It's the only way to do it. Because as a missionary, you have one goal. Your one goal is to lead souls to Christ. And so the question is, well, how? How does one come to Christ? Well, the answer is really abundant and clear throughout all of scripture. Christ even said himself, this is my doctrine. There shall be no other doctrine. Don't speak more or less of this doctrine because there's only one doctrine. And that doctrine is teaching us how do we come to Christ. And that doctrine is this, faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. That is the gospel. That is the good news. That's the only way to come unto Christ. So if your goal and purpose as a missionary is to lead souls to do those things, It starts with faith. So how do we help someone have faith? Well, the way we help someone have faith is we help them to do the things that will give them revelation. Because faith will only grow in the truest sense and get us on that foundation when we feel and recognize the Holy Ghost.
SPEAKER_04:I agree. Another thing on top of that is feeling that revelation will especially come through like I feel like a lot of people want to be the best versions of themselves. They have that epiphany in their life, like, oh, I want to be the best I can possibly be. It's like, who better to learn than the perfect man, than Jesus Christ? Who else will you listen to? Some podcaster, some YouTuber. I mean, who else besides Jesus Christ will you follow? He's the perfect man.
SPEAKER_00:And the only way to know and follow Christ is to Again, in 2 Nephi, feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ will tell you and show you all things what you should do. And if you have questions about it, it says, then pray and pray and pray, and then the Holy Ghost will show you all things what you should do. Yeah, so there's only one way. So you started down that path. You decided, and it's funny because your decision to follow your dad's example and read the Book of Mormon, you probably at that moment didn't know that what you were really deciding to do was to go learn of Christ.
SPEAKER_04:I didn't, like I've said before, like I didn't, And that time, like, I knew I was making a good decision, but I didn't realize how great of a decision I was making.
SPEAKER_00:So what happened? So what happened? So you started a feast and feast and feast. What changed in your life? Like, what did you, like, what happened?
SPEAKER_04:Honestly, well.
SPEAKER_00:I mean, I watched it. I watched you week to week. I watched your face change, your excitement change, your countenance change. But you tell me, what happened?
SPEAKER_04:Well, when I decided to make all those changes, I definitely got a lot of hate.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_04:Listen, a lot of my friends were really angry with me. Wow. They're like, how could you do this to us? Why would you do this? And honestly, that just solidified it more for me that what I was doing was right. And really, like, it really is literally like the devil is trying to, like, hold you back. What was your question
SPEAKER_00:again? The question is, when you started to feast upon the words of Christ in a real studying way, in a real way, what started to happen? Was it like, wow, these stories are really cool. This must be right.
SPEAKER_04:It was literally like a love for learning more. I literally could not stop reading. I'm not even joking. I literally read for six to eight hours a day. Like, I'm not joking.
SPEAKER_00:Lauren, did I tell you this would be the most amazing story?
SPEAKER_04:Listen, ask my parents. I'm not joking. There's literally evidence. Okay. I'm not just saying
SPEAKER_00:that. I believe you. I saw you. I watched you.
SPEAKER_04:And it was just, it was too good.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Now, so that's what I want to get to the heart of a little bit, because again, the principle that I want kids to learn is if you want to be prepared for your mission, you have to understand this concept that in order to come to Christ, the only way to do it is you have to believe in him and then you have to repent. And then you have to enter into covenants through baptism and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. But to get to that first step of faith, you have to learn of Christ. You have to feast upon his words. So I want to ask you, because you did that, what about feasting upon the words of Christ in the scriptures made you happy, made you so excited? Was it the stories are cool? Was it, wow, this is a cool history lesson? Or did something change here, deep in your soul, And in your heart, what was happening? A change of
SPEAKER_01:heart.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, but why? How? What were you experiencing? Was it sadness? Was it scariness? Was it joy, perhaps?
SPEAKER_04:It was true joy, for sure. No more disposition to do evil. I mean, I no longer wanted to do the evil things I was doing. And honestly, just looking around and seeing how it was affecting me, well, obviously, I didn't really think, okay, there was times, am I really changing? I still feel like I'm the same guy. But... I said this in my farewell talk, but I knew I was really changing when I started sharing the gospel with everyone. Everyone. Everyone I worked with. Everyone that I used to be friends with that did not know me in the best way. Okay,
SPEAKER_00:so watch this. Do
SPEAKER_04:you know about the Book of Mormon?
SPEAKER_00:So watch this. So when we feast upon the words of Christ and we really dive in.
SPEAKER_04:It's joy.
SPEAKER_00:It is joy. It's a pure joy. And what's a synonym for joy? What's another word for joy? The Holy Spirit. Right? Yeah. Because when you look in the Bible again for the definition, what are the fruits of the Holy Ghost? Joy is part of that. And so when you started feasting upon the words of Christ, the Holy Ghost became abundant in your soul. And the result of that is joy. Joy, forgiveness, all of that, right? Remember when Lehi in the dream finally got to the tree and partook of the fruit and he ate it? What did he say? He's like, holy crap, this is so good. And what did he want at that point?
SPEAKER_04:You want everyone to take it. And then he looks over to the right. He sees the great spacious building.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. Which is your story, right? Yeah. Like you're looking over here. These guys mocking you. You just said your friends were mocking you. But then this other party was like, this is so good. I am so happy. I just want to share it with everyone. Yeah. And this is the process. Lauren, this is what we did every day, all day long, nonstop until our feet were bleeding and we were exhausted. We wanted so badly. Yeah. for others to taste of that fruit, which is the love of God through the atonement of Christ. And the way to do that is to get people to study the scriptures and to pray about it. And if they would keep those commitments, we could see in them what happened to Carter, which is conversion, because their faith would grow. And then they'd have a desire to repent. And when they would repent and feel that forgiveness, man, the heart changed. Yeah. Share a little bit about that. You're doing all the right things. You're studying the scriptures eight hours a day. You're praying. Tell us a little bit about, without detail, repentance. Where did repentance fall into that process?
SPEAKER_04:I feel like repentance is just consistency. That's something that when I was talking with the bishop, he would always tell me the Lord loves consistency. And that really is the truth. I mean, if I'm consistently, because repentance is not going to be one day. Like the day I went and talked to the bishop, I'm not just like...
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's it, I'm done.
SPEAKER_04:Maybe God does just forgive me right then, but I have to prove something. I have to prove I'm really sorry.
SPEAKER_00:Sincerity.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, and I think sincerity takes time. I think everything takes at least a good amount of time to really mean something.
SPEAKER_00:So these changes you've made in your life of feasting on the words, not only every day, but a lot every day, and this broken heart, right? So it's interesting because throughout all the Old Testament, the covenant from Adam up until the coming of Christ was... Part of the religion, our religion, was you build an altar and you bring an animal and you sacrifice it. That's the shedding of blood. And then remember when Christ came and he says, no longer will I accept your sacrifices and the shedding of blood, but instead I require of you, do you remember what it said, Carter? I require of you a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And that's the big thing I saw in you as you read scriptures. You humbled up.
SPEAKER_04:Definitely. I was definitely not very humble.
SPEAKER_00:And feasting upon the words of Christ was... giving you that feeling of love and joy. And you were, you were becoming humble, brokenhearted, contrite, which is a spirit of repentance. That's the spirit and the, yeah, that's the condition of soul that is repentant. I like that. That's good.
SPEAKER_04:Those are actually really good explanation.
SPEAKER_00:Lauren, you got any thoughts?
SPEAKER_03:Carter, I love that you said that, just talking about like consistency and, I think I didn't really, well, not I didn't really, I didn't understand at all repentance when I went out on my mission. And so then I'd read through DNC and I had, you know, read through my missionary purpose. It's like, oh, preach repentance for people. I'm like, how am I supposed to do that? I'm literally just a 19-year-old girl. Like, how am I supposed to go tell people, oh, what you're doing is wrong. You need to change. And then as I started doing Growing my faith, I had faith that I could change through the Lord. And I think repentance truly is just committing to becoming, committing to changing. And so one thing that I've just been looking at, and Preach My Gospel chapter 11 is one of the most useful chapters in the entire book, in my opinion, because it really... defines the necessity of helping friends keep commitments. In the very first section, it says, You know, we don't invite people to keep commitments because we want to look good as missionaries. We want to be like, oh, well, our friend's doing this and our friend's doing this. But that's how people are converted, right? Just how Carter made the decision to start reading the Book of Mormon every day. Actively and consistently doing these things is what leads to conversion. And I think a lot of people, a lot of missionaries get this idea that, okay, I'm going to help someone get baptized and then the ward will take care of it, things like that. But truly, baptism, if you can say, as their first covenant they make, it's not a one-time covenant, but it's a lifelong commitment to keep working towards. And so these habits that we help people make as missionaries is what helps them to continue to be converted spiritually. And they enter into that first covenant and covenants are designed to justify the individual that enters and keeps it. So as missionaries, we invite people to keep commitments because then afterwards they're more willing to keep their covenant and that's how they become converted. I think a really essential part of conversion is the Holy Ghost. And so a lot of times I'd be teaching people and they'd have this fear that after they're baptized, they couldn't mess up. And when they messed up, it'd be over for them and God would be angry. God would punish them, things like that. But we really tried to get it into their heads and into their hearts that they need the gift of the Holy Ghost to be able to become converted. And that truly, once you enter that gate through baptism, that's when the conversion process starts. Of course, you start reading and you receive a confirmation of these things, but then you get baptized and you get the gift of the Holy Ghost and then you keep going. with those good habits and you receive more and more confirmation because you have the literal spirit of God with you.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and the beautiful thing about that is like, for example, Carter, you've gone through this beautiful process that is a sacred and ancient process, which is coming to the Lord and through doing all the right things that he asked, which is feast upon his words, pray for revelation and change your behavior, strive to be obedient, but most of all, repent. It brings the spirit into your life. Now you know the pattern. You know the routine. So at any moment in your life, 30, 40 years from now, when you're unhappy in your soul, you know the pattern of how to get happy. Where
SPEAKER_04:to go.
SPEAKER_00:You know where to go. You know to whom to turn. Yep. And the way to turn to him is you feast upon his words, you pray, pray, pray, and you repent. And that pattern is a lifelong pattern. That's where joy comes from.
SPEAKER_04:Daily repentance.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. Okay, so Carter, so... You feast upon his words. You're feeling the Spirit. You're receiving revelation because you're feeling the Holy Ghost. You have a desire to share it with others, and you do a great job, and you're inviting others. And you go about a year doing this.
SPEAKER_04:Best year of my life.
SPEAKER_00:Even though
SPEAKER_04:it could, like, from a different perspective, outside perspective, like, you look at it, like, it looked like it really sucked because I was working full-time with my dad.
SPEAKER_00:Away from your friends.
SPEAKER_04:I had no friends. I only had this guy back here, Hudson and Lucas.
SPEAKER_00:Our producer today.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, our producer. I mean, I literally lost all my friends. Like, yes, I'll still talk to them, but like...
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you weren't a part of their life.
SPEAKER_04:I just wasn't a part of their life that much anymore. And when they would come back, obviously I'm not with them anymore because I'm just not that same person anymore.
SPEAKER_00:And from an outsider, it's like, wow, your life is not good, dude. It's like, wow, it looks like you just
SPEAKER_04:fell off, bro.
SPEAKER_00:But for you... For
SPEAKER_04:me, I didn't fall. I literally found my purpose.
SPEAKER_00:This is great, Lauren. I told you. The story of Carter is so exciting, and he hasn't even gone on his mission yet. And I love, Carter, that you will go out prepared to lead people to Christ because you went through a very dramatic coming to Christ yourself. You know what it is to turn away from sin, apply faith unto repentance, unto real covenants.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, and onto faith, it's like, where will you go? Let's say God is real. And let's say he's not real. But if God's real and you serve him fully, you get eternal life. And if God is real and you don't serve him, you don't get to be with God. And obviously we can go into specifics on that, but you don't get to be with him. And if God isn't real and you serve God like he's there, then your life will benefit you. the people around you. You'd be a better father, brother, friend, everything. And if there's no God and you didn't believe in God and you just die, you just die. There's nothing. Why not take the chance to believe in God?
SPEAKER_00:So one day on my mission, I was sent to the city of Dnepropetrovsk. Let me try that again. Dnepropetrovsk. And we got our visas taken away so we couldn't preach, which was the hardest time on my mission. I literally couldn't talk to people. for like a month and a half, which was like the worst thing he could possibly do to me, like literally knives. It was so hard.
SPEAKER_04:Because you were on fire then, right?
SPEAKER_00:The whole mission, we were on fire, talking to everyone. So I really, this was the lowest point of my mission, but then they, my mission president called and says, you're back, go. We just ran. But during that time, I was just doing our best to find inactive members. And I remember knocking on this door of Mikhail Aginko. And this cool looking dude opens the door and I'm like, Are you Michael Gilgenko? He's like, ah, the missionaries. He's like, yeah, I was like the first baptism in Nepper. Like the first one. I was like, you were the first member of the church here? He's like, yeah, come on in. And I'll never forget because we went in his cool house. And back then, I'd never seen a computer with graphics on it. He was a graphic designer, which led me down the career I'm in. And I was just so impressed with this dude. And we just became good friends when we were talking. One day... because we kept meeting with him and we really hit it off. One day we knock on the door and he says, come in guys, come in. And he had a friend at the table. We get into this deep religious conversation and this friend goes, hey, okay, you guys. He's like, I'm a communist. Like I'm a post-communist, but I'm a communist. I have a question for you. And here's his question. And he says, depending on if you answer this question right or wrong, we'll determine whether or not I will take the discussions from you. You answer it right and I'll take the discussions. We're like, oh, you know, that's like this guy's soul is on the line for us. All right, go for it. And we're praying. So he answers this. He says, if you live your religion, your faith and repentance and all that, the commandments, your whole life, and at the end of your life, you look back and go, you know what? It wasn't happiness. It wasn't joy. It was kind of miserable. But, you know, I did it because it was right. He says, if you live it your whole life and then look back and go, it didn't bring you joy, he said, would you do it again? If you had the chance to do it again, would you do it again?
SPEAKER_04:That's what he asked you? That's what he asked us.
SPEAKER_00:Okay, so interesting question, right? Like in my mind, I was like, okay, does he want me to say, of course I would sacrifice for the truth even if it made me unhappy? Or does he want me to say, no, like without the joy, it maybe wouldn't be true. You know, like we were questioning, how does he want us to answer? How would you guys answer?
SPEAKER_04:So he's saying if you live your whole life following the commandments and it doesn't bring you joy, you look back, will you be happy?
SPEAKER_00:He says when you look back and let's say you had a chance to do it over again, would you do it over again? Or would you be like, well, it didn't bring me happiness, so forget it? Or was he looking for you to say, I don't care that it didn't bring me happiness. I know it's true and I'm true to what my convictions are.
SPEAKER_04:Well, you could also just say the commandments and following the right brought me happiness.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, what do you think, Lauren? What would you say?
SPEAKER_03:Well, if those were like the only two options, I'd... I'd say, yeah, I'd do it again. I mean, you read through the Bible and you read all these stories of people that were just persecuted and mocked and like beheaded, killed, whatever. You do all these things and they still did everything that God asked them to. I mean, look at the savior. He did like the one thing that nobody else could do because he knew that he had to do it. He just followed the will of the father.
SPEAKER_00:So that's the line of thinking I started to go with. But then I asked one question to myself, but those who made the sacrifice, were they happy inside? Yes. Like to me, they were. Christ, the only time that I think Christ was really truly unhappy was in the garden when he took upon your sins and my sins and your sins, and for the first time in his existence was removed from the presence of the Father. There was true misery and unhappiness because of our sins. But other than that, everything that he went through because of the love that he had, he was happy. He had joy. So that's what I said to the guy. I'm like, well, look, the absolute result of faith, repentance, and covenants is a joy. Like, it's joy. It is. There's no way around it. You could be kicking me in the face, taking my business, my money, my clothes, and my inner peace and joy can still be there if I have faith in Jesus Christ. So I was like, yeah, if there was no joy, I wouldn't live it again because joy is the fruit of the gospel of Jesus Christ. All right, you know what he said? He looked at me and he goes... Correct answer. That's a good answer. And then guess what? He didn't take the discussions from us.
SPEAKER_04:The way he worded that question to you was actually so messed up. That was like such a trap question.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, it kind of was, yeah. Yeah, his intention was really to try and like out logic these dumb 18-year-olds. But I like it because it did force me to ask that question because I'm just riffing off of what you said, which was this whole past year, Was the best year of your life. 100%. Even though all the things that you thought were going to make you happy through high school, being popular, being cool, partying, doing all these things, you didn't have any of that.
SPEAKER_04:Waste of time.
SPEAKER_00:It's amazing, right?
SPEAKER_04:That's the question. For what? Do all this for what? There you go.
SPEAKER_00:So now the past year, you're just happy. And I love your story because you decide, I'm going on a mission. You put your papers in. You get your call to Philly. He's going to get beat up. Just look at his face.
SPEAKER_02:Why would you say
SPEAKER_00:that? Because Philly's a rough place. And look at his face. He's going to get beat up a lot. It's cool. That's a good story. I'm just kidding. You're not going to get beat up.
SPEAKER_04:We'll see about that. I don't know if they'll beat me up.
SPEAKER_00:Carter's pretty... Yeah, he's like a bodybuilder. He's pretty buff. I'm just saying, it's a rough place. We got beat up a lot in Ukraine because they were rough people.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, you actually did?
SPEAKER_00:I mean, they... I mean, we had a knife put on us three or four times. Oh, wow. Probably... Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:I feel like that happens to a majority of missionaries, though. Really? I'm going to have to be anticipating this, getting ready for this? I got a couple of guns pulled on me.
UNKNOWN:Wow.
SPEAKER_00:Listen, but how great are these stories? Because when you're doing this mission right, you're protected.
SPEAKER_04:You really are. Why would they pull a gun on you? You're preaching about Jesus. You'd be
SPEAKER_03:surprised.
SPEAKER_00:Just wait. It's great, dude.
SPEAKER_03:It's so funny. My mom was talking to me the other day, and she's like, well, how many doors do you think got slammed in your face? I was like, thank you about it. I was like, well over 500. Yeah. Like well over 500. And she was like, what? Because she had seen a video of this lady like yelling at me and my companion just at the door and she like slammed the door right in her face. And she was like, that made me kind of sad. I'm like, no, like you don't get it. Like that's, I was like, that's because you're one step closer to another person that's like going to accept
SPEAKER_00:it. I love your attitude about that. I saw that in your emails that you'd write home. You're like, bring it on. I have five emails. Spit on me. I have five. Yeah, you have five emails. I was very
SPEAKER_01:inconsistent. Yeah,
SPEAKER_00:no, it's... But all those are glorious, amazing experiences, and you're protected. You're doing the work of the Lord, and you're doing it with your whole heart, might, mind, and strength, which is what D&C 4 says. And then you will reap. You will sow. It is the... It is the requirement that if you keep going with the passion and the faith that you have now, you will have a glorious experience of whatever hardships come in your face. You'll love it because you'll have joy through it.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. And I think back to DNC, like DNC is so good. I mean, my favorite verses in there, it's like seek to obtain my word before you declare it. And that whole thing. Then you have the power of God to like, what is it? To persuade men. I don't really know exactly how it goes. Yeah. That one's good.
SPEAKER_00:That one's really good. Dude, we're excited, man. Anything else you want to add before we get to the whole world says goodbye to you for two years and you go and just... I'm jealous, man. Like, we are so blessed to live in a time where we get to go and do the work of the Lord and that's it. Like, this is an ancient, ancient tradition, I'm assuming, right? Adam and Eve would send their kids out to those who'd gone astray and go, we need you to commit your life to go and do the work of the Lord. We get to be a part of that ancient tradition. And it's just... So special. And we're so blessed. It's
SPEAKER_04:easier for us. Like, you can look at the story of Ammon. If he didn't defend those sheep, King Lamoni was about to just slay him. So, I mean, there's a lot less pressure on us.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, it's easier. Well, we'll see what kind of guns and knives get pulled on you. We'll see. You're going to Philly. You'll be good. Good. Well, dude, we can't wait to hear all the stories. And we know you'll be great. And just... Hold tight to the principles you've learned in the last year, which is feast upon the words of Christ. That grows your faith. Keep repenting and teach others to do it. Help them recognize the Holy Ghost. And, man, it's going to be awesome, dude. You're going to love it.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. I think the last thing I'll leave with is just, for me, for the two years ahead, is just, like, the kids are listening to this in high school. Like, you have to decide right now. Like, stop. You can't procrastinate your repentance any longer. It's literally going to kill you. I mean... You have to choose right now because think about if God is real and God is true, how happy he will be that you do that. I mean, you just got to decide. Stop waiting. It's annoying to think about right now just waiting and the fact that I waited even so long. Don't wait. Do it right now. Do it at the hardest moment. The hardest moment is going to be right now in your life when you think you have everything figured out. You got your friends. You got whatever it is. Just do it right now. It's going to be worth it. 100%.
SPEAKER_00:What a beautiful message to end on. That's so perfect. All right. Thanks for joining, Carter. We'll see you in two years. It
SPEAKER_04:was a pleasure.
SPEAKER_00:Lauren, anything else to add?
SPEAKER_03:You know, people say the mission is a lot of different things. It's exciting. It's rewarding. It's the hardest year and a half, two years of life. But truly, for me personally, the mission set the foundation for my discipleship. And so... Carter, like that's awesome that you already have like a really strong foundation. So you're going to be able to like hit the ground running. You're just going to go. And I feel like I had that mindset, but I didn't have all the like tools to build that foundation. But now I have it. And, you know, our stake president is like, oh, it's like a boot camp. Your mission is like the boot camp for the rest of your life. I feel like you just got to go. And so really like DNC Forges, you made the choice. And, you know, there's promised blessings with that. Like when you choose to serve and you do it with all that you have, you know, like law of consecration, you promise the Lord that you do whatever he asked of you. And this is why he's asking you to do right now. So as you do with like 110%, you're like, you go out with the intention that you're going to help other people come unto Christ. But really like the biggest convert, it sounds like kind of cheesy, but like the biggest mission or the biggest convert on your mission is yourself. And that's something that was 110% true on my mission. Me too. Can I say one more thing?
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely.
SPEAKER_04:Back to the repentance process. I feel like I didn't really answer enough on that. The repentance process is time. I would not have been the same. When I was halfway through my senior year, I decided, okay, I want to go on a mission. I thought I was going to go on. Everyone would ask me, when are you going on your mission? When are you going on your mission? Oh, two to three months. Two to three months. Two to three months will go by. When are you going on your mission? Oh, two to three months. It just kept going. And then it was like a year, almost a year and a half. You need time to repent. That was the beauty of it all. I had so much time to repent. I knew I would have never been in the same missionary that I know I'm going to be now than I would have been if I would have left right out of high school.
SPEAKER_01:Wow.
SPEAKER_04:Because I'm not on the same wavelength that I'm on right now. And I know even if the Lord pushed me back even two years from now, I would be an even better missionary.
SPEAKER_00:So you're saying that, I remember at the time, you were a little frustrated. You're like, come on, I've made the decision. Let's go. Oh, I was so frustrated. Your leaders were like, no, let's just keep going through this process. Let's keep talking. More time. You keep feasting. You keep praying. And now you look back and go, there's nothing better and more important than faith to repentance. There's nothing better than the time that I took to repent because that is what humbled you. That is what... brought forgiveness and the spirit in. And now you're so converted.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. And I wish I had more time. I wish I wasn't leaving until a little later.
SPEAKER_00:No, you're good. You're good. You're good. Cause you can continue to repent and have faith and grow on your mission.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah. It really is beautiful. The whole process. That's why I want other people to feel like it's never too late. Do it now. You'll look back a year and you'll be so happy with your decision. I mean, literally it's pure joy. Like you said.
UNKNOWN:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:You're literally about to go be like living proof that the atonement works to so many people. I was there. I'm going to tell them I
SPEAKER_04:was there.
SPEAKER_00:And that is so powerful. They will feel of that spirit and they will. You're a good leader. Lauren, you're a great leader. I love that you guys are the idea that you guys are the ones out there doing the work of the Lord because you're both so powerful, such good leaders, so strong. And you're successful. And that's what it's all about, right? How great will be the joy if you work and labor your entire life and bring it, say, be one soul? How great will be your joy? And that's what it's all about. So, good job, you guys. Can't wait to hear more about your stories. You better email so we can pass along to our listeners.
SPEAKER_04:I still need to make the email list. I haven't
SPEAKER_00:done that yet. Oh, slacker.
