What Thinks Christ of Me?

The title of this post is also the title of a General Conference talk I read, given by Neil L. Anderson. Without really knowing it at the time, this talk is one that I truly needed to read. I sat down after church on Sunday and looked through the table of contents of the May 2012 Ensign to find a topic that would give me needed strength to continue to climb the "mountains" coming up this week. A few titles caught my eye, but I saw the title, "What Thinks Christ of Me?"

My eyes read it and I thought about it. I really began to ponder the question itself. "What does Christ think of me, today?"

Preparing to serve a two-year full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a tremendous task. Not only are there fiscal and physical preparations, but also mental and spiritual preparations. I can also tell you that preparing to serve a mission is without a doubt the most challenging endeavor I have ever ventured to do (so far...). There has been no shortage of days when I have felt overwhelmed, discouraged, or exhausted. Yet as I have consistently done the "little things of the gospel such as daily scripture study, daily personal prayer, church attendance, etc... with a willing heart, I have felt the promise stated in section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants: "Whoso is faithful...and [magnifies] their calling, are sanctified by the Spirit unto the renewing of their bodies." Each morning I am able to get up and, despite the exertions of the previous day, I feel energized and ready to get back to work. The ancient prophet Nephi tells us "that by small means the Lord can bring about great things." Doing the "little things" of the gospel will enable and strengthen us to bring about great changes in our lives, even change our nature. Another ancient prophet, Alma, testifies to us that "it is...easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss." I know that doing these little things will strengthen us in unimaginable ways and will allow us to do the things that the Lord desires for us.

What thinks Christ of me? What thinks Christ of you?

If we do His will, we will have his supreme approval. Our love for the Savior will grow. We will be able to accept ourselves for who we are and rejoice that we must rely upon Jesus Christ every day. Our faith will grow and we will trust Him in all we experience. We will "feel his love and approval" of our efforts to become more like Him. I testify that these things are true, because I have felt them in my own life. I am humbled at the great power the gospel of Jesus Christ can have in our lives and and I am so grateful that we are offered an Atonement to be cleansed and sanctified. I challenge anyone who reads this to continue or begin to faithfully do the "little things" and I promise that you will begin to see great, joyful changes in yourself, in your life, and in your relationships with your family, Jesus Christ, and Heavenly Father.

-Jordan M. Kelley

Forgive Yourself; That You May Serve with Love

I learned that I should not have a problem getting my visa for Ukraine despite my passport timing. Jaime at the Mission Travel Office was completely reassuring and promised that it would not be a problem.

Today I learned something about forgiving yourself. Also, a good friend of mine challenged me to show everyone I interact with the love that Heavenly Father has for them. These two things are related and I will share what I have learned about their relationship.

I speak from personal experience. When we sin, we can know that the Atonement of Jesus Christ cleanses us from that sin and can give us added strength to withstand the temptation to give into sin the next time. We know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are perfect individuals that have perfect love, perfect mercy, and a perfect capacity to forgive. We believe in the prophet Moroni's words, "But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven." We can believe at times that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ will forgive us if we have real intent, but we still may not forgive ourselves. Sometimes, we carry these heavy burdens on our shoulders with the thought that, "I can't allow myself to commit this sin again. If  I do then I didn't really repent and will make a mock of the Atonement." We don't accept ourselves for where we are on the path to Heaven, instead we reject ourselves because of where we aren't! Those aren't my words, but they ring true in my ears. We don't say to ourselves "I am trying my absolute best and have progressed. I love the Lord and I know he is aware of my efforts." Instead we say, "I haven't made any progress because I made the SAME mistake AGAIN. How can I forgive myself when I know better?"

To receive the peace that Alma the younger describes in Alma 36, the "exceeding joy" and "exquiste and sweet" forgiveness, we must look at ourselves the way our Father sees us. We came to Earth to be tried and tested and sometimes we will fall. We have "mountains to climb" in this life and with every step we come closer to God. With every lesson we learn, we become stronger and better. With our weaknesses, we turn to Jesus Christ and know that we can't do anything of eternal worth without His perfect help. This isn't to say we should become complacent and comfortable to the point that we don't TRY to progress, but we should be comfortable with our absolute best efforts. If we are honest and true, we can have peace and be happy; we can move forward with faith.

How is this related with showing Heavenly Father's love through our actions? If we don't forgive ourselves, we don't believe that we have any self-worth in God's eyes. If we've no self-worth, we don't feel we have anything to offer to others and become self-absorbed with trying to make ourselves feel better. When we forgive ourselves and see our self-worth in God's eyes and His love for us, we then have the capacity to share the love that we feel from Him. We can pay it forward, if you will.

I was challenged to show love to everyone I come in contact with this next week. To make sure that when someone says "Hi" to me, or shakes my hand, they feel His love. Whether they realize that it is from God or not, they will feel loved. I can't do this without out forgiving myself for being mortal. Human. With the capacity to fail. But as soon as I grasp the vision that Heavenly Father has of me, I can do as He would do. This is my challenge.

-Jordan M. Kelley

Visa Woes...

So I applied for my passport on the 17th. This was 4 days after I received my call. I thought that that was pretty quick, but it seems that it was too quick.

2 days after I applied for my passport (the 19th), I got a letter from the Mission Travel Department (MTD) saying that they needed me to send my passport, along with other information, to them by 20 August so that I can get a visa to live in Ukraine. The problem is that I didn't expedite my passport because I was told that the process would take 4-6 weeks, which seemed pretty quick  since I don't report to the MTC until 10 October. I didn't know at the time when I applied for the passport that the MTD needed that info so quickly. The letter from the MTD told me that if they do not receive this information by 20 Aug. then my MTC report date could be delayed AT LEAST 6 weeks.

Yeah, I feel pretty sick about this now.

But I did the best I could with the information I had at the time. I'll just have to play things through. I also know that Ukraine has a 90-day visa free policy for foreigners. At least, I have read that they have this policy. My hope is that with this "time buffer" for a visa, I will still be able to report on 10 October and move along unimpeded.

-Jordan M. Kelley

Preparing for the Journey

Well, I have received my mission call to serve in Kyiv, Ukraine. I can hardly believe that this day has come. It is truly a dream come true. I know that I, Jordan Kelley, am supposed to serve in this mission. I know that the call is from God, my loving Heavenly Father. Indeed, I believe that mission calls are chosen from the pre-mortal life. I feel this belief for three reasons: my patriarchal blessing, my mission call, and my prayers. 

Now, I must prepare to leave and report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. There's alot to do. First on the list, is starting this blog. I had the idea to document my mission in three phases: Three months before reporting to the MTC, two years in the mission field, and the first three months after I come home. I love to document aspects and events in life, and then look back on those events during the years after. I begin this blog also for my posterity. In the world of technology in which we live, it is my hope that I will be able to show my children the pictures and stories of my full-time labor in the Lord's Vineyard in a way that is more interesting than physical books and letters (albeit physical books and letters will still be a part of it). So I hope that anyone who reads this blog and follows it regularly (yeah, right haha) enjoys what they read and will find touching experiences that lift them up to serve their brother's and sister's of God. 

So hear we go! Wish me luck and pray for my family as I take this "small step for [myself], one giant leap for [Christ]."

-Jordan M. Kelley