Why a Mission?

     As a missionary, many people ask you a very difficult question to answer, "Why did you decide to serve a mission?" Now keep in mind that we serve for 2 years as missionaries, and that covers a good amount of time for someone of my age. When you are like me and have been out for almost 22 months of your mission, the reason you decided to serve a mission is not able to change, but the reason you are still out may have. So, as important of a question as it may seem to be to find out why a missionary decided to serve, the answer you will get may not be as up-to-date as it could be. One of my past missionary companions, Elder Webb, always liked to present this question in contrast, as he felt it would get a more up-to-date answer to virtually the same question, "Why are you still on a mission?"
     Let me share with you how they are different. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to serve a mission. I was never forced into it, I wasn't bribed, I really had no agenda at all, other than I just really wanted to serve a mission, and be a missionary. I always liked it when the missionaries came over to our house for dinner, because they were so cool to me. I wanted to be just like them. That is a good reason to go on a mission and it got me to go on one, but it isn't the only reason to go, nor is it necessarily the best reason.
     Although my desire to be a missionary has not changed, my list of reasons for still being on my mission have gotten longer. Seeing a family become more united with the knowledge that THEY CAN BE A FAMILY FOR ALL ETERNITY, and being able to carry THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST WITH MINE are just 2 of the many reasons that have been tacked on my list. My most recent reason to stay on my mission was strengthened just last night, when we gathered together in Pulaski, TN at our Family Home Evening (FHE) activity in the park. We had a pretty slim group last night, but as we started to talk about who else could be there that was not, the Spirit under that pavilion changed and excitement filled every person in attendance. These people in Giles County are very desirous to have their own branch (congregation) in Pulaski and you can see it in their countenance as we meet every Monday at 6pm in the park. So right now you could say I am still on a mission, because I AM HERE TO ORGANIZE A BRANCH IN PULASKI!
     Just remember, it doesn't matter why someone decided to serve a mission, what matters is why they are still out. I love being a missionary and love being able to serve my God in His work! There is nowhere else I'd rather be. I write this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

One-Year Mark

     So, a few days ago I hit a pretty big milestone in my mission, the one-year mark. So now, as everyone likes to point out, I am on the downward slope. A tradition that we have as missionaries is that when we hit our one-year mark we burn a shirt. I was able to do that and it was a very fulfilling experience.

     The weird thing was that I didn't feel any different still. Much like when I have a birthday, it felt like nothing was different. It is fact that one more year had passed by, but it still didn't feel any different than the day before. As a matter of fact, I even forgot it was my year mark until about half way through the day when I saw it written in my daily planner. All of this reminds me of a talk I just read titled "Always in the Middle." The part that I would like to focus on is this:
     "When I speak to our young missionaries, I often tell them they are in the middle of their missions. Whether they just arrived the day before or are to depart for home the day after, I ask them to think of themselves as always being in the middle.
     New missionaries may feel they are too inexperienced to be effective, and so they delay speaking or acting with confidence and boldness. Seasoned missionaries who are close to completing their missions may feel sad their missions are coming to a close, or they may slow down as they contemplate what they will do after their missions.
     Whatever the circumstances and wherever they serve, the truth is that the Lord’s missionaries are daily sowing countless seeds of good tidings. Thinking of themselves as always being in the middle of their missions will embolden and energize these faithful representatives of the Lord. As it is with full-time missionaries, so it is with all of us."

     I guess that means I have always felt that I have been at my year mark because really don't feel too different. I really like how he tells us that we are in the middle so that it gives us the ability to be bold and have energy. I am so grateful to be out here in Tennessee on my mission because it gives me that opportunity to spend my time serving the Lord on a full-time, day-to-day basis. 

20th Birthday!!!

     I had the great opportunity of getting out of my teens just a few days ago! Yes this post is gonna be a little random and may seem off topic but to me it is very important! I turned 20 on August 5th 2012. It was kind of a weird feeling to have a birthday out on my mission. It's not even that I usually have my birthday at home, because I don't. As a matter of fact I can't even remember the last time I had a birthday at home. I think the biggest thing that was weird was that I just really didn't know too many people. I mean don't get me wrong I had an awesome birthday but it was just not the same, it was weird...haha. Okay, I think you get the picture.
     To start off my day some of the other missionaries came by my apartment and showered my apartment with balloons! That was an awesome surprise. They hung up a banner, blew some air horns, and gave me cupcakes. It was the best way to start this roller coaster of a day. After our normal morning routine of study and getting ourselves ready for the day we went out to go talk to people before church. We started riding our bikes and as soon as we left it started to rain...yes here is where the roller coaster begins. We got to where we were going and they were only gonna be able to be home for like 20 minutes so we got cut super short. We went to church with some great members. At church a few people said happy birthday to me. We had dinner at one of the members houses and we had a great time there. They had brownies and ice cream for dessert. We went to another member's house and they gave me some cake. We tried to visit some other people and nobody else was home or available at the time. When we got home, I went to open the cards and other things I had for my birthday and didn't get anything from my family which was kind of a bummer. That pretty much wraps up my day.

     Ok so here is the reason I wrote all of this: "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life." (2 Nephi 31:20). This was an easy way I could get this message across. The way we deal with things entirely depends on the way we look at it. The way I described may day made it seem like a roller coaster of a day that was a not so great birthday. In reality, It was amazing! I had a couple of other missionaries come over to my apartment in the early hours of the morning to be with me for a little bit. I was able to share the Lord's message with some people on my birthday, even if it did mean I got a little wet. People at church that really don't even know me too well thought it was important to wish me a happy birthday. A couple members thought it was important for me to have a proper birthday celebration by having me over for dinner, having brownies (with a candle) and birthday cake ice cream, and then cake (with a candle). I was able to spend time with people who like to just love people and that is awesome! I got letters and other goodies from a whole bunch of people from back home that cared enough about me to wish me a happy birthday from all the way across the country. I matter to people! Sure I may not have had anything from my family on my actual birthday but a few days later I got WAY more than I could have asked for. When we have an outlook like the second one it just makes everything better. My invitation is to look for the positive things in your life!




When you look back on your day with a positive attitude how do you see your day change?

The Carmichaels

     On my mission I have come to be very close to many of the members of the church that I have served around. There was one family in particular that I grew very close to. At the meeting where I found out I would start my mission off in Hopkinsville, KY, Sister Carmichael gave me and 3 other missionaries a ride all the way to our new home in Hop-Town. Not only did she drive us that 2 hours, but she also took us out to lunch on the way home. That same day, after we had gotten all settled in our apartment and went out to see a few people, they had us over for dinner. These are definitely not the only reasons I love them so much, but these first few experiences on my mission truly made a huge impact. Brother Carmichael was assigned to be in charge of us missionaries in Hop-Town so that meant we spent a lot of time with him. Whenever we needed anything they were always ready and willing to help. Lets just say we never went without anything we needed. Because of this awesome family, I have truly learned what charity means. They made me want to be a more selfless person, just by being around them. Whenever we tried to return the favor to this family they would turn right back around and do for us double of what we had just done for them. I will forever be indebted to this family.

Arriving in Nashville

     Leaving the MTC was a rather interesting experience. I woke up at about 3 AM to pack up our last minute things and get dressed. The bus that was taking us to the airport was supposed to leave at 4:30 AM so we could get to the airport on time and not miss our flight. That was a little stressful because some of the other missionaries that were traveling with me were a little late due to faulty alarm clocks. Needless to say, we made it on time and actually had a little extra time before we had to board the plane, so we were allowed to call home. It was great to be able to talk to my family for that short little bit and see how they were all doing. Even though I hadn't even been gone for 3 weeks it still felt like so much had already changed. We had a layover in Atlanta, GA, which was about 2 hours long and then got on the next flight and finally, after hours of travel, arrived in Nashville, TN. We were immediately greeted by our mission president, President McKee, and his wife and a couple other missionaries. As we waited for our luggage at the baggage claim we were told to go talk to the people around us and that is exactly what I did. I handed out my first copy of the Book of Mormon to a man in the Army who was just getting home for his R and R. It was a very cool experience and afterward we got our luggage and headed to the mission home. The minute I stepped outside it felt like I walked into a swimming pool because it was just so hot and humid. We got to the mission home, ate dinner, and then were given a bunch of papers to fill out. Presdient McKee gave us some instruction on what our mission was gonna be like and then we heard a great musical number by his 5 daughters that still live with him, he has 10 kids, and saw a great presentation by some of the missionaries about the area. We wrapped up the night and went to bed. It was good because I was so exhausted and ready for some sleep. I was also super happy to finally be in Nashville and ready to start my mission for real!

MTC

     So I have decided I am going to continue this chain by talking about some of the many experiences I have had on my mission. I will start off with the very first thing, the Missionary Training Center. The 3 weeks I spent in the MTC were very interesting and a great experience as well. It was great because there were hundreds of missionaries just like me being taught and prepared to go out all around the world to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. It was so great to be able to have this experience, so I could get the real preparation I needed to be doing this full-time. We were blessed to have some of the Apostles of the church come and talk to us while we were there and give us the encouragement that we all needed and sought after. Unfortunately, it was not all a cake walk. Don't get me wrong I loved my MTC experience, but sitting in those small classrooms and being taught for 3 hours in a row, twice a day made it feel just like I was back in school. I am grateful now for it, because I am definitely a lot better of a teacher than I was before going there.

Entering the MTC

     My last experience leading up to my mission was going into the MTC, Missionary Training Center, on August 17, 2011. This was a very bitter-sweet day. My entire family traveled all the way to Utah with me so they could be with me up until the very last second. We had to take a bunch of pictures before they dropped me off at the MTC. That was not my favorite but whatever makes mom happy right? We walked around the Temple grounds there and then headed to the MTC.

     When we got to the drop-off spot at the MTC we didn't really get much time to say goodbye, but I did get to hug everyone. It was a little hard but I was ready to go. I walked away with all my luggage and that was the last time I saw my family since I started my mission. Since a mission is only two short years, I will be able to hug them again in no time at all. I am grateful to have a family that I love so much. I can't wait to be with them again, but at the same time I don't want this time to go by too fast, as I love what I am doing here and know it is very important.

Setting Apart

     That same Sunday that I gave my farewell talk at church I was set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Getting set apart basically means that I was given permission to be a minister for the Lord in preaching the Gospel to all the world, well technically just the Nashville Tennessee area. Anyway, this was an awesome experience because my dad and a few of my leaders that I respect so very much were able to be a part of it. My dad was able to give me the blessing which sealed the deal. I guess that is not very common, but I thought was pretty cool. After the actual setting apart, which consisted of the blessing, everyone in the room was asked to give me some advice for how to be the best missionary I could be. Some were silly like not forgetting to email my mom every week, which I may have done once already, but they were all very helpful, that is another story. The room was filled with all sorts of emotions and tears, but overall very happy feelings. I am happy to say that at that moment I was officially a full-time servant of the Lord and that was very exciting for me.

Farewell Talk

     On August 14, 2011 I had to get up in front of all the members of the congregation of my church and a bunch of my friends and family and give a talk the Sunday before I left on my mission. They have everyone do this who is going to be leaving on their mission. I was asked to speak about 15 minutes on whatever topic I wanted. That is not always a good thing for me because not only do I have to prepare a talk but I have to find out what I want to talk about, and then give it. I had a bunch of friends from out of town that I have met at various times in my life come to hear me speak, wish me luck and say goodbye. This was definitely a hard but great day and really put things into perspective for me once again; I was going on a mission.

Farewell Party

     The Saturday before I left on my mission, August 13, 2011, I had a huge group of friends come over and just chill one last time before I left for 2 years. This really had nothing to do with preparing for my mission but it did show me a lot of the support I have from my friends. Quite a few of those people were people that I worked with as well as other friends from the more distant past. I think the biggest reason I wanted to write about this is because a few of my friends that are not members of the LDS faith came and were dressed as what they thought a missionary was.

     When they knocked on the door and I saw them standing there I could not help but just laugh. I had to get my mom and show her who showed up. She couldn't help but laugh and of course had to take a picture. I am glad she did. I know I have some great friends because they care enough about me to dress up like a "missionary" to my party. It was quite funny. I am so grateful to know that there are people back home that truly do care about me. It was pretty hard to say goodbye to all my great friends.

Mission Prep. Class

     Every second and fourth Sunday after church we had what was called a missionary prep. class for all of us guys who were preparing to serve a mission. I went every once in a while when I turned 17 and pretty religiously the summer before I came out on my mission. I remember always getting an assignment to teach a specific principle the next time we met and I always dreaded it. It is funny now to think about how hard it was for me to teach about a simple principle such as faith back then, and how easy it is to teach something like that now. I am very grateful to have such great leaders and teachers who have taught me so much and helped me be able to teach like I do now. I know that this has helped me a lot in being able to share what brings such great joy and happiness into my life with all those I come in contact with.

Exchanges

     When I was back home I loved to go out with the missionaries and watch them teach and help them in any way I could. Looking back on it, it was probably one of my favorite things I did during that summer. I really enjoyed seeing them bare their testimonies to all those they came in contact with. I even enjoyed the time that we spent knocking on doors and the few times they had me do the talking. It was a very fun experience and I would not trade it for anything. It also helped me a ton to understand what being a missionary is really like; some of the best preparation I did while still being at home. Elders Anderson and Castillo were the greatest missionaries I was able to work with that summer and I learned a lot from them.
     Now that I myself am a missionary I think I understand how much they appreciated me, or at least I would like to think they did. I know that I love it when members come out with me and help me with the work so I can only assume it is the same for all missionaries. I know that when I get back home I will continue to help the missionaries with all that I can.

Packing

     Everyone loves packing! Let me be the first to tell you that packing for a mission is just as stressful as packing for anything else, if not worse. I had to make sure I had everything that I would need for the next 2 years in 2 suit cases and a backpack. Oh, and they both had to be less than 50 pounds. You know, in all seriousness the packing wasn't too bad because my dad did most of it for me and let me just say, if anyone knows how to organize it is him. It also might have been a little less stressful if I wouldn't have waited till about a week before I left to really start worrying about it.

     This was also one of those moments where I had to stop and think about how close I was and really make sure I was ready to go. It was definitely too late to start preparing so luckily I didn't wait to do that. All my stuff was packed up and ready to leave, but was I? I don't think I was ever completely ready, nor do I think I could have done anything to be completely ready. Needless to say, I was so excited to finally be packed and can honestly say I was so excited to be going. 

Sacramento Temple

     A few weeks before I left on my mission I was able to go to the Sacramento California Temple and see the beauty of the house of the Lord there a few times. In the temple we make sacred covenants (promises) with God and I was able to go do that for the first time on July 13, 2011. It was a great feeling to go there because it really feels like you are removed from the world for a bit and you can just focus all of your thoughts on our Heavenly Father. It is a blessing to have such a beautiful place to worship God and have the Spirit with you without any distractions. I was also very happy to be able to go with a bunch of friends and family that I look up to very much. I love the temple and can't wait to go again when I get home!

Wisdom Teeth

     In order to go on a mission, you need to make sure you get all your shots done as well as any other medical procedures needed to be taken care of. Yes, that includes getting your wisdom teeth pulled if it was necessary for you. I was one of those people that had to do it. My dad is my dentist so he was able to do it for me and because of that I was also able to plan it on the my least busy day that summer. It was the Tuesday right after my last swim season ended, August 2, 2011. I had to pray that all would go well because I would be going into the MTC 2 weeks later and didn't want to have any problems. All went well and surprisingly enough there was actually no pain...well, at least until the next day, which lasted for about 2-3 days. I don't remember it very well and I have no real funny stories, unless my family is hiding them from me and laughing at me behind my back...very possible.

     Anyway, the reason I wanted to include this is because this was technically the day that I really had nothing left to do until my mission. I was off work for the whole week, swim team was over, and I really had nothing much left planned for the summer. I was coming down to the wire. I really had to cram now. It felt exactly like waiting for the last few weeks of the school year to study for your final exams. The worst part about it all was, I was stuck on this stupid couch and couldn't even enjoy some of my last few days at home in fear I would get a dreaded dry socket. Oh well, It makes for a great picture...haha.

Spencer's Call

     My best friend Spencer received his nice big white envelope on August 8th 2011. He was just as excited to get his call as I was. He had a much bigger group of people come over to his house to watch him open his call. He was lucky, unlike me, and got to open his the same day he got it. The hype was just as big and when he opened the envelope and read the letter and said South Dakota Rapid City Mission the cheers were just as crazy if not more so than when I read mine. He is also going to be speaking English and he went into the MTC on December 28th 2011.

     Being there for this was so awesome because I was able to support my best friend in getting his mission call just like he did for me. I was also going to be leaving for my mission in just a few weeks after that so it reminded me of how much I still need to prepare to be completely ready to go (the funny thing is I was never completely ready to go). I am so grateful to have friends out around the world serving missions and for the examples they are to me which also gives me the added strength to continue mine and work my hardest till the end.

Mr. Mac

     Something I had to do to prepare for my mission was get clothes. I don't know many teen guys that have enough white shirts and ties to last them every day for at least a week, and since I am not one of them I had to go get some stuff. It's also one of those things that helped me to know that I was really doing this. My mom, dad, friend and I went to Mr. Mac to get my suit, and other things. My friend's aunt works there so she helped us out quite a bit and gave us a good deal, so we got all of the clothes I needed. Suits, nice shoes, ties, and shirts are not cheap so knowing someone helped us out a lot. The guy that helped us out with all the sizing and what not told me that I was going to go to Boston Massachusettes. He told me if he was right I had to buy him lunch but he was wrong so his loss. Getting my clothes was a huge step that made me realize I was a lot closer than I thought. Tennessee here I come!

Swim Team

     Another thing I did over the summer to keep me occupied was swim team. This helped me stay busy quite a bit. I rode my bike to practice most of the mornings which required me to get up around 6:30 A.M., great preparation for my mission, and in the evening when I wasn't working. Unfortunately I am not able to swim while being on a mission, so this did not condition me for anything really, but it did help make the summer go by faster so I could start my adventure as a missionary. I included this in my series of experiences because like work this was a great experience in which I was able to answer a bunch of questions people had and what not.
     I was also able to live my beliefs like I do every year by not participating in the Sunday events of our end of the season Championship meet. Every year Championships lands on a Saturday and Sunday and every year my family and I do our best on Saturday to help our team but we never show up for the Sunday events. Without fail we will lose to the team that got the next place up by 2 or 3 points, which is hardly any for championships. This and the fact that my favorite and best race, breaststroke, is on Sunday makes it very difficult for me to live this principle each year because I know that my team is going to tell us at the awards ceremony the next day that if we were there we would have gotten the few points needed to go up a place. With all of that we still miss it anyway and find that it is never as important to us as we thought it would have been. It was great to be able to be that example of living out my beliefs to all of my friends.

Lifeguard

     After I got my call, and since missions don't pay for themselves, my need and desire to go to work every day increased. Well, maybe not so much my desire, but it did get me to work every day and even pick up a lot of shifts that I probably normally wouldn't have under any other circumstance. I worked as a lifeguard for one of the pools in the city. I know, I know; working as a lifeguard is sooo hard. All you do is sit in the sun with your shirt off and tan and watch people swim. I have heard it all, but you have to think it is still a job and it is still not the most exciting thing. Well, it gets pretty exciting when you have to get in and save some little kid from going into a spot that you told them 3 minutes earlier not to go in, and when you do save them the parent comes running over at you yelling at you that their kid was fine and didn't need help. That gets old fast. Plus, where I worked the exciting stuff only happens once in a blue moon.
     I bet you all are wondering why the heck I included this in my experiences. Well there were a couple reasons. First, like I already said, because of the money so that I could afford to go. The second reason is that I rode my bike to work almost every day. As many people know and have seen, us missionaries ride our bikes quite a bit so I had to get some practice to make sure I was in shape enough to be able to do it on my mission. As good of a reason as that might have sounded that in shapeness that I might have had when I left is all gone now so all that work was in vain. The real reason I included this is actually because this is where I technically started my mission. Every day at work I would be overwhelmed with hundreds of questions about what I can and can't do as a missionary and what I believed and all sorts of other questions. As annoying as they got some days, I look back now and realize how fun it was and how much I was able to help those people I worked with understand a little better about what it was that I was going to be doing. Let me tell you, some of those questions were pretty dang out there, but I am glad that I was able to experience all of that back home before I came here to the good ol' Bible Belt.

Called to Serve

     So I have decided that for this month I am going try something new. I am going to share some of the experiences that I had while preparing to go on my mission. I am going to start of with getting my call to serve in the Tennessee Nashville Mission.
     As many of you know, young men in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, at the age of 19, generally go on a 2 year full-time mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who will listen. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to serve my mission. At a very young age, so young I couldn't tell you how young I was, I decided that I wanted to be one of these cool guys that were called "Elders," and what do you know, here I am in the good ol' Bible Belt. Sometimes I as myself, "How did I get here?" Well, about one year ago exactly at BYU, I was approaching the time where I needed to send in my papers, a bunch of forms that you need to complete and send into the Church Headquarters so they can know a little bit about you, in order to get my call to go on a mission. (For further detail about this process read this link.) Well, I got my papers finished and got all the interviews I needed and my papers were sent off.

     Most people get there call letters withing 2-3 weeks of sending their papers in. The few weeks before I got my call letter, my mom made this big map and had everyone and their dog guess where I was going to go. Well, I was one of those many people who got their calls 2 weeks later on a Thursday afternoon and I was so happy, but then it hit me... My parents were on a field-trip to Yosemite with my little brother, Blake, and they would not be home till Friday evening and I promised my mom I would not open it without her. That large white envelope sat on my counter all day and all night and all day the next day and the only thing I could do was read "Elder Blair Vernal Moser III" on the front. There were times where it was just too tempting so I had to just walk over the my best friends, the Smiths, and hang out with them, but still all I could do was think about those few words on the front address and where I could possibly be going.
     My parents finally got home but I still had to wait even longer. The Smiths came over and we used just about every phone and cell phone we had in order to get a hold of all the different family members and what not that were not close enough to come. This is probably just as exciting of an event for us members of the church as is the last minute of the world's greatest super bowl game. I finally got to open it. I pulled out the many papers and other such things in the envelope and found the letter. I guess it is tradition that you have to read the whole thing you can't just skip to the place you are going to serve. I started reading and my hands were shaking, even my voice was shaking, and I don't even know what I read until I said the words "Tennessee Nashville Mission." After that all I can remember is screams from everyone all around me. After about 5 minutes of straight cheers I finally got to continue. I was going to speak English and I would report into the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on August 17th 2011.
     I am going to be honest, at first I was a little bit bummed because I wanted to serve in Australia or in South America and learn a new language, but the more time went on, the more excited I got. I also came to realize that I am serving in Southern America and I have to learn how to speak Southern English so God did give me what I wanted...haha.