"Hermana" Simmons

So, if you are Mormon {or have lots of Mormon friends} you've probably seen a few pictures like this. A super excited girl --or guy-- holding a fancy white paper with some important information and a cool signature. Well, for those of you who don't know... I thought I should explain.

I am holding a letter from the President of our church that is in response to my submitted application to become a full-time missionary. In the body of the letter, each prospective missionary discovers which part of the world they will be serving. It also includes the date of departure, length of time to be spent serving, and which language will be learned to preach the gospel in the native tongue of the people. Once a missionary is set apart from their previous commitments, desires, and lives, they accept a new calling to be a representative of Jesus Christ. They wear the title of Elder {for the boys} or Sister, with the name of Jesus Christ and His church directly below it.
(Hermana is pronounced "air-mawn-uh" and is Spanish for sister. case ya were curious.)

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. aka I'm a Mormon. I have grown up in the church, and when it came time for me to "leave the nest" and move on to bigger and better things, I decided it would be a good idea (actually, a necessity) to figure out what I truly believed. There's a lot of ways one could go about doing that... but the only way to get pure, unaltered information is to study the Word of God and then test out its teachings. The Book of Mormon testifies of Jesus Christ and his ministry, and directly supports and sustains the Bible. Reading these books specifically and directly, with an open heart to potentially learning something will bring you to a reverence for God and a deeper understanding of His ways. Through reading both of these books, as well as praying for a confirmation of truth, my knowledge of a Creator and my purpose and role in this life have become clear. I aimed to strengthen my relationship with God and discover what role He should play in my life. What I found was greater than I could have imagined.

Okay, hold up. I 100% understand that there are lotsss of people who view this blog that have very different belief systems than me. SO, if that's you... relax. I'm not trying to convince you of anything, or brainwash you into thinking the way I do. I just want you to know {a teensy bit} of what I believe, and why I believe it.

I really love God, and I want to learn to love people as God sees them. I have a strong desire to share His love with other people. I will get the chance to do so as a full-time LDS missionary in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The next year and a half will be spent proclaiming truth and growing in love. It wasn't easy giving up my plans, my goals, and my focus for my life right now... but...I am unashamed of the greatness and glory of God. And I want other people to see His glory too.

"Behold my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord;
and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard."
2 Nephi 4:16