Dear Bishop Stucki

I was lucky/unlucky/mostly lucky enough to have my father serving as my bishop. So he keeps pretty close tabs on me & my life, like any father should. I was somewhat concerned that he wouldn't take me seriously when I told him I wanted to start my mission papers to serve a full time mission for the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 

So like any determined & stubborn young eighteen year old independent woman would do.... I wrote a list form essay. :) 

So I started my papers & next came the meeting with the stake president. That was quite nerve wrecking to me, considering this was the first interview I had ever had with a higher authority than my bishop! & to my astonishment, when I walked into his office he flipped open a file with my medical records & etc. & low & behold... My essay was stapled right in the front. MAN WAS THAT COOL. My stake president got to read all my reasons & intentions & true desires of my heart. He even made the comment that he should start requiring this of every young member seeking to serve a mission. (Your welcome guys;)

So here is the charm that admitted me into this whole mission experience- I hope that if you have ever considered serving a mission, you will ponder some of these insights & pray about the decision to serve. It has been the best decision in my life this far. I love you all! 

Dear Bishop Stucki (& Dad)

Reasons I Want To Serve

By: Madison Paige

1. To serve The Lord. I was fortunate enough to have been born & raised in the gospel, 18 months of my life is the least of which I can devote to The Lord by giving service & helping others find happiness & become close to the savior. I want people to have the opportunities that I have had in my life & to have a knowledge of the only true church & the comfort it can bring.

2. To find myself. I have faith & believe the the gospel is true, but I want to know for a sure fact & I believe a mission will double & triple the growth of my testimony & create an even more solid foundation on which I want to build the standards of my life & my future families lives as well.

3. I want to accomplish hard things. I want to prove I can do anything I set my mind to, & I want to do something useful with my time, as stated in my patriarchal blessing, about calls & responsibilities I will hold. I want to prove it right & I want to be able to look back & be proud of my accomplishments as a sister missionary.

4. I want to make a difference. I've always wanted to make a difference, even if its just to one person, I want to change their life. I want to be in the right place at the right time & say exactly what one person needs to hear. I can't imagine the feeling I would get knowing that I changed somebody's life around.

5. I want to be an example. I want to be a role model & a leader. I want my younger brothers, cousins, sister, friends & relatives to see that doing the right thing brings happiness. And that a mission isn't just something that is talked about, it is doable. I want them all to see that.

6. I want the experience. I want to be able to tell people what I did, how I felt, & why it is important. I want to be able to say I've experienced serving a mission, & I want to be living proof it can change your life.

7. I don't want to waste time. I want to be busy doing meaningful service for The Lord & for others & become a better person.

8. I want to develop lifelong habits. Habits such as reading, writing, patience, endurance, prayer, leadership, speaking, politeness, modesty, spiritual strength, etc. habits that will help me personally.

9. I want to have the opportunity to serve. I want to give service & I want to help others find happiness & security in the gospel & have the opportunity to learn bout Jesus Christ, the Plan of Happiness, & the temple.

10. I want to learn. I want to know more about the gospel & it's teachings & others way of life. I want to have spiritual experiences that will help me & others as well. I want to make new friends, meet new people & learn about different cultures & ways of life.

11. I don't want to look back & regret not going.

12. I want to be able to look back on my life & be proud of the things I have accomplished. I want to be able to stand before God & tell him that I gave it my all, & that I used all of my talents & blessings that he gave me to further improve his work & his kingdom & that I tried my very hardest. I feel if I didn't go on a mission, I wouldn't be able to honestly say that I truly used my full capacity to be an example, & faithful follower of Jesus Christ. & more than anything, that is what I want to be. Because that is what is most important, & that is what will ultimately matter in the long run. I know that Jesus Christ is my savior & that through him I can accomplish anything. I know that Joseph Smith restored this gospel to the earth because no man could derive such things without the inspiration of the Holy Ghost & our Heavenly Father. I know that the standards & the teachings of the church have played an effective role in my life & kept me clean & worthy & happy & pure. I'm so fortunate to have been born into such a family & amazing city with inspirational people all around me who have kept me on the right paths of where I need to be so that I can have the opportunity to serve others so that they might find the happiness & peace & comfort that I find in the gospel. & that is why I want to serve.

Now go read D&C 4 ASAP & be spiritually uplifted be Shae missionary work is awesome! Have a fantastic evening readers!

Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence

"With any major decision there are cautions and considerations to make, but once there has been illumination, beware the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don’t give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. Face your doubts. Master your fears. “Cast not away therefore your confidence.” Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you."

I find it particularly interesting, the way Elder Holland explains through this article, our relationship with God, but also the adversary. I know that God knows me. He knows my strengths, he knows my weaknesses. He knows the intents of my heart. He knows my doubts and my fears. And frankly, the adversary knows as well.

This is frustrating, and at times completely.. UNFAIR. That God can provide me (or you) with this profound spiritual experience, where you just KNOW, you know who you are, what you want, where you're going. You feel absolutely sure, and so at peace with your life and your decisions. But nearly EVERYTIME, not long after these experiences, you walk right back into the everyday 'routine' of your life and the adversary begins to take his toll. He taunts you, places doubts in the back of your mind. You begin to feel like your at battle with your own self. Should I do this? Should I not? Is this really what I want? Your confidence wavers. And why? It felt so right before-


"There is a lesson in the Prophet Joseph Smith’s account of the First Vision which virtually every Latter-day Saint has had occasion to experience, or one day soon will. It is the plain and very sobering truth that before great moments, certainly before great spiritual moments, there can come adversity, opposition, and darkness. Life has some of those moments for us, and occasionally they come just as we are approaching an important decision or a significant step in our lives.

In that marvelous account which we read too seldom, Joseph said he had scarcely begun his prayer when he felt a power of astonishing influence come over him. “Thick darkness,” as he described it, gathered around him and seemed bent on his utter destruction. But he exerted all his powers to call upon God to deliver him out of the power of this enemy, and as he did so a pillar of light brighter than the noonday sun descended gradually until it rested upon him. At the very moment of the light’s appearance, he found himself delivered from the destructive power which had held him bound. What then followed is the greatest epiphany since the events surrounding the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ in the meridian of time. The Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith, and the dispensation of the fullness of times had begun." (Holland)

I remember a few years back, I had the opportunity to listen to my bishop, who I am fortunate enough to call my dad, teach a discussion on this very thing. He began by talking about our Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ.. How they know us and love us. Then continuing to teach something that had never before occurred to me, he said "I believe it is just as important to realize the influence of the adversary, who wants to discourage us, and whose soul purpose is to make us miserable like unto himself." I think that was the first time I had ever really realized that, or put two and two together. That all thoughts of discouragement, fear, doubt and inadequacy came from him, the one figure who wants us all to be as miserable as he is.

Yeah I’ll be the first to admit, that freaks me the heck out. So there I said it.

And I’ll admit I was stunned when this all occurred to me like.. WHAT? But why? Why would a loving Heavenly Father LET this happen? If he has all power and control, if he can move mountains… why would he leave us here to be brought down and diminished by the adversary who is in opposition to everything good? And while we’re on the subject, why is there war? Why is there famine? Why do the innocent die young? Why are people unhappy? Why is there divorce? Why is there murder? Why is there pride and theft? Why is there people taking their own life’s because they believe this world is not meant for them? Why do we feel alone? There are a lot of whys, and a lot of people who believe these questions are unanswered, or simply do not believe there is a loving and caring God.

And that’s where we can apply everything, literally everything that the gospel teaches. 
Agency
The Atonement
The Plan of Happiness
Baptism
Eternal Families, Eternal Marriage
Temple Work
Covenants & Standards
Scriptures & Revelation

Our loving Heavenly Father, our God, sent us to this earth, as we AGREED before we came to be tested and to be tried. To learn and to grow, but only with the use of our AGENCY could this ever be accomplished. He set up a plan, of salvation a plan of happiness for US to return to him through the use of the Atonement, when Christ was sent to suffer for the sins of the world. We can follow his example through repentance and baptism, and by enduring to the end. By keeping and following all covenants and standards to the best of our abilities and being sealed through temple work, so we can live with our families and spouses because of the promises given to us, when we return home to that heavenly father who created us.

So there, is the gospel in a nut shell, it is a lot to take in. And that all hit me at once. But what touched me the most was the simple fact that we can all hold onto, that we are not alone. We are never alone.

“God will provide the means and power to achieve his purpose. Trust in that eternal truth. If God has told you something is right, if something is indeed true for you, He will provide the way for you to accomplish it. That is true of joining the Church or raising a family, of going on a mission, or any one of a hundred other worthy tasks in life. God’s grace is sufficient! The Lord would tell Joseph again and again that just as in days of old the children of Israel would be “led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm. … Therefore, let not your hearts faint. … Mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land.”

What goodly land? Well, your goodly land. Your promised land. Your new Jerusalem. Your own little acre flowing with milk and honey. Your future. Your dreams. Your destiny. I believe that in our own individual ways, God takes us to the grove or the mountain or the temple and there shows us the wonder of what His plan is for us. We may not see it as fully as Moses or Nephi or the brother of Jared did, but we see as much as we need to see in order to know the Lord’s will for us and to know that He loves us beyond mortal comprehension. I also believe that the adversary and his pinched, calculating little minions try to oppose such experiences and then try to darken them after they happen. But that is not the way of the gospel. That is not the way of a Latter-day Saint who claims as the fundamental fact of the Restoration the spirit of revelation. Fighting through darkness and despair and pleading for the light is what opened this dispensation. It is what keeps it going, and it is what will keep you going. With Paul, I say to all of you:

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

“For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” 

“Fear ye not.” And when the second and third and fourth blows come, “fear ye not. … The Lord shall fight for you.” 16 Cast not away therefore your confidence.” (Holland)

(full article in link)
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2000/03/cast-not-away-therefore-your-confidence?lang=eng

Before I end this post, I just want to share my complete agreement with Elder Holland, and all of his insight shared in this article/talk. I know, now more than ever, and without a doubt that The Church of Jesus Christ is absolutely true. We are human, we have our faults and we are most definitely NOT perfect. But the gospel is perfect, and through it we may become perfect, and it is completely our choice. I am so grateful and blessed for the people in my life. The examples i have. From my parents, church leaders and friends. To the example of before prophets and leaders such as Joseph Smith. I know he restored the gospel to this earth, and i know that like him i can overcome anything that is thrown my way! And what a miracle that is in itself! I love the simplicity of the church and its teachings. It brings so much peace to my heart. I cannot wait to share it with anyone and everyone who is willing to listen and take in the happiness the gospel brings. I hope and pray that the Lord is preparing the hearts of the people that i will meet, and whether it be by fate or coincidence or an accidental occurrence, i hope the lord brings people out of their way to find missionaries who can help them along there way with the power of the spirit, and that they will find everything they are searching for.

"He whose name this church bears has promised that He will be in our midst, lead us along, go before us, and even fight our battles. He has further counseled, 'be not afraid of your enemies, for i have decreed in my heart... that i will prove hou in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy." (d&c 98:14) -Elder Neal A. Maxwell

The church is true. Love you all. I can't wait to be a full time missionary, I know, anything is possible with the lord on my side.

Called to Serve Part III

Sister Stucki, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. You have been assigned to labor in the Washington DC South Mission!!!

I cannot describe to you in words, how thrilled I am about my call. This was never in my plans but I can honestly say, I have never felt so at peace and more positive about any decision I have ever made in my eighteen (almost nineteen) years of making decisions. This mission truly is the perfect mission for me, I can already tell you. Our prophet and church leaders are inspired men, and my heavenly father knows me so well.

So this past week has been the most stressful of my life. With Elder Rhoton leaving and waiting for my call I've been driving myself crazy. I have had a strong feeling for so long that i needed to go to the temple, but I kept putting it aside, putting it aside. Wednesday I was positive I would receive my call in the mail. And i didn't. After work, I felt like i really should go attend the temple. And of course i kept putting it off, telling myself i was too busy. It wasn't even five minutes later, a good friend of mine, Miss Devin, texted me and BOOM! Invited me to go to the temple that evening at six o'clock with some other sweet girls. So we went, and it was a terrific experience. I got to visit my favorite place before i recieved my call, and it was just another huge THANKFUL MOMENT, that God knows my needs. And he has put so many people in my life, and in my path to help me along the way and be a good example to me. It truly made me beam, after the conversations we got to have that night about missionary work and the gospel. People are amazing.

The next morning, i got to wake up bright and early for the wisdom teeth withdrawal. I say withdrawal because its kind of contradicting. "Like hey we are just gonna withdraw your teeth real quick no big deal!" well.. SIKE. They all but tore my bone apart in my face to get those babies out, and yes all four of them. However i was totally drugged unconscious and do not remember a single thing until I plopped my body on my couch and home and low and behold..... THE MISSION CALL WAS THERE.

Now i hate to tell you this but I'm going to be completely honest with you.... I had friends and family coming over at four for the classic 'Surprise Opening' but I couldn't wait. I couldn't do it! I mean granted I was on every dental pain killer on earth but I HAD to know where I was going to spend the next eighteen months of my life! So i just stole it right out of my dads hands, ripped it open, and there it was, in all its glory.

'You are called to labor in the Washington DC South mission..."

Thats all it took and i was BEAMING. BEAMING I TELL YOU. You know, I told everyone i didn't want to be in the 'states' and technically... i mean its not a state... but i still get to speak english, shop at my local walmart, and ship packages to my family without it taking five years! And in the comfort of my very own red white and blue country! Now I'm not saying i couldn't have HANDLED any other mission, because I would have accepted any call willingly, gladly, and without fear. But THIS, this call is for ME. It has my name written all over it. It is to me from the Lord. And he knows me so well.

So of course my dad did his best glue job to make it look like it had never been tattered with and we had the family come over. I have the most amazing support system. My family is awesome. And I am so excited to be the first grandkid on both sides of my parents family to serve a mission. I hope and pray with all my heart I can be an example to not only my younger siblings but also all of my cousins. I hope that as they grow and strive to become better people, they will realize the blessings that they have in their life and the joy the gospel can bring to them. I hope they all seriously consider serving a mission. I realize, a mission is not for everyone. But I urge everyone reading this, to truly pray about it. You might be surprised with your answer. I know I was. And I know I will never be the same because of it.

The rest is history. we opened the call, everyone cheered. Ate food. Well they ate food i sipped soup from Mr Felter considering i'll be down for a while.... But I have never been happier. I report to the Provo MTC in the beginning of December. I can't wait to continue preparing to make this the best eighteen months of my life, and to have the most amazing adventure. Along with Elder Rhoton and his adventure two states away, in Indiana. It is going to be life changing, and I am just so so grateful for the chance i get to serve the lord on my mission.

Well kids, todays been a long one and unfortunately I am still on Percocet for the next week, so I'm gonna hit the hay. But check out the link and some pics and God be with you all. Thanks for reading! & Check the link!

https://vimeo.com/72942816