Reasons Why I Want to Serve
By: Kaitlin Hansen
1: I want to bring others unto Christ. I know that our Savior has an infinite amount of love for every human on this Earth. His love is unchanging and unconditional. I want to share the love that I know Christ has for each of us with others, so that they too can feel His love for them.
2: The Gospel blesses my life. The Gospel has given me standards to live by. I’m grateful for the strictness of the Gospel, because I never have to wonder what is expected of me. I know what is expected of me. I can’t imagine going through life confused as to what I’m even doing or what I am to accomplish in life. The Gospel gives my life purpose and direction. I have never lived without the Gospel, but I know that when I’m doing what is right and keeping the commandments, my life is so much less complicated. I want others to feel that sense of direction and confidence in where they’re going that only the Gospel can bring.
3: I love my Savior. I have come to gain such a strong relationship with my Savior through learning of Him and following His example. I know He loves me because of the many blessings He’s given to me. I want to be able to show my love to Him by dedicating a meager 18 months of my life to His service and bringing others unto Him.
4: I want to serve. When we serve others we forget about our own problems. Service has brought me so much happiness and I’m grateful that my parents have taught me the value of service numerous times. Service is a way I can communicate to God that I love Him and that I want to give back to Him for the blessings I’ve received. I can give back to Him by helping others on the path back to our Heavenly Father.
5: I want to do hard things. In order to become better, we have to push ourselves to do things that may seem hard. We have to aim above and beyond what we think we can do. I know that when I rely on the Savior to guide and direct me, I can accomplish hard things. I can become a better person each day.
6: To find myself. When I study the scriptures, I can find so much about myself. I have a testimony that the Gospel is true, and I know that going on a mission will just solidify further my testimony and help me to grow more than I could imagine. The things I will learn will create a solid foundation.
7: To receive more spiritual experiences. I know I’ll experience things on a mission that I won’t be able to accomplish anywhere else. I will have experiences that will help me to teach my future children. I will have experiences to draw from throughout my life.
8: I don’t want to regret anything. The confirmations I’ve had that going on a mission is part of God’s plan for me have been so strong. I can’t help but think that when I’m standing with the Savior on judgment day, if I didn’t follow through with those prompting that I would feel at least a little ashamed. I know that the Spirit testifies to us of God’s will for us. I know so many blessings will come to me and my family and future family by me serving a mission. I know that looking back on my mission, in the future, I won’t regret a single day of serving a mission.
9: I want to develop lifelong habits. I want to develop habits of reading scriptures, writing in my journal, saying my prayers, dressing modestly, speaking politely, teaching with the spirit. I want to develop habits that will not only affect me, but also my posterity and anyone I come in contact with. I want to let others know that by living righteously, we receive so many blessings. I want to develop habits that will bring me closer to my Heavenly Father and my Savior and help me become more like Christ.
10: I want to be an example. An example to my siblings, my friends, my cousins, my
future children. I want to be an example to anyone who crosses my path. I want to be a force for good in the world. I want my light to shine because of the love I have for the Savior and the ways I manifest that in my everyday life. I want to be an example to others of the blessings that living the gospel and serving a mission can bring. I want to show others that where there’s a will, there’s a way. If we have a desire to serve God (in whatever capacity that may be) God will provide a way; we just have to put forth the effort and ask for guidance, and we’ll receive it!
11: I want to share and develop my talents. I want to use the talents I’ve been blessed with to improve my work as a missionary and further God’s work and build up His kingdom. I know I’ve been blessed with many physical and spiritual talents that can hopefully help me to draw others unto Christ and relate more easily to them.
12: I want to give back for what I’ve been given. I was fortunate enough to be born into a family strong in the Gospel. I have been placed around so many individuals who have helped me to become all that I am today. They have helped me to stay clean, worthy, and happy. I can’t imagine life without the support system I have. I know there are others who live without the comradery that comes with being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I have received so many blessings through being a faithful member of this Church. I want to show my gratitude to my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ, for the blessings that I’ve received throughout my life. I want to show gratitude to Joseph Smith and so many others who have helped to restore the Gospel, which has brought so many blessings into my life. I feel like I owe a lot of my happiness and blessings to them, because I wouldn’t be who I am today if I didn’t have the Gospel.
I would highly recommend this to anyone planning on serving a mission! I already knew some of the reasons why I wanted to serve, but just contemplating them and actually TYPING THEM OUT helped more than I could have imagined. I know it strengthened my testimony of the divinity of missionary work and helped me learn more about myself.