Hello, my name is Cameron Burt, and I am leaving on a mission to Everett Washington. When I was thinking about where I wanted to leave on a mission, I was thinking about all the wonderful places I could go. I thought about all the people I would meet and all the different and new experiences I would have. The weeks leading up to my call, my mother would wake me up every morning with “is it here yet?”. I would kindly remind her that it is important to be patient, and I wondered why she wanted me out of the house so badly. Of course, my mother is in a hard position, she wants me to stay, and to leave, which is an emotion im sure every missionary mom experiences. The day I got my call was exciting and hilarious. We got it in the mail right after lunch, my mother was very excited, and I calmly told her we cant open it, and we have to wait for my dad to get home. That night, I had bishop, my grandparents, and my family with me. I opened the call, and read, Everett Washington. I was so happy. This mission was tailor made to me. I don't have to learn a new language, it never gets hotter then 80 degrees, never gets colder then 30, there are mountains everywhere, fresh air, and I probably get a car. I was so happy that the lord choose this mission for me. In order to prepare, I decided to work in the temple every week. At first I was hesitant to serve in the the temple, considering my shift was 5 am to 9 am. And for someone who graduated high school and slept in till 9 on most days. That was a radical change to say the least. However, when I got there, I was both awake, aware, and at peace. Working at the temple completely changed my perspective on the temple. I never felt a stronger sense of spiritual oneness, and peacefulness in my whole life. It was probably the single greatest thing to help me prepare for a mission. I learned a lot about myself and who I need to be as a person. I hope that everyone has an opportunity to work there. Whenever you can go, no matter how early or late, it is a great service, and a benefit to your life.
While I was there, a lot of times I had large breaks up to an hour, where I could pray and ponder. I was running through my mind what I was doing with my life. Is it a life of someone who would get married to a wonderful girl, is it the life of a future father, is it the life of a follower of Christ. I tried my best to not be idle, although I struggled with this to say the least. It was hard leading up to this moment, and now that I am here ready to leave, I am proud to say that all the struggle has been worth it. I haven't met someone who has been on a mission and regretted it. All I know, is that the kind of person I would want to spend the rest of my life with, is someone who would want to marry someone who has served a full time mission. My dad is a wonderful man and I couldn't have asked for a better father, and serving a mission was a huge part of him becoming who he is. My mom made the right choice of marrying someone who served a full time mission. I can't wait to go out, and become a more full person.
A huge part of getting to this point was repentance. No one goes through a whole life without needing it. We will all make huge mistakes, and the biggest lie we will tell ourselves is that there is no coming back from it. That what we did was so wrong, and so horrible, that we don't deserve Heavenly Father’s love, that we don't deserve help from our families, but that is all a lie. As long as we are pushing to fix the problems, not dwell on them, as long as we are facing our sins head on, not shying away from them, we are wonderful in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. This is an extremely valuable lesson, that can really only be taught by failure. Don't ever be afraid to ask Heavenly Father for help, don't ever be afraid to ask for guidance, and don't ever ever be afraid to ask for forgiveness. Nothing makes me happier than knowing I am loved by Heavenly Father, nothing pushes me more then that.
In Romans 3:23 it says:
“For we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God”
In John 1:7-8 it says:
“The same came for a witness to beat witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light”
In Alma 34:8-17 it speaks of repentance saying:
8 And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it.
9 For it is expedient that an atonement should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish; yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.
10 For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.
11 Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone for the sins of another. Now, if a man murdereth, behold will our law, which is just, take the life of his brother? I say unto you, Nay.
12 But the law requireth the life of him who hath murdered; therefore there can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice for the sins of the world.
13 Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice, and then shall there be, or it is expedient there should be, a stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the law of Moses be fulfilled; yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have passed away.
14 And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.
15 And thus he shall bring salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which overpowered justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have faith unto repentance.
16 And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal plan of redemption.
17 Therefore may God grant unto you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would have mercy upon you:
This scripture speaks of the eternal sins of man. There is no power other then the savior that can forgive mankind of all its sins. Again, no matter how bad you messed up, no matter how large the sin, the only way forward is repentance, and it is an incredibly educational one. We know that we learn far more from our mistakes than from our victories, and sins are no exception. Sometimes we look at our church leaders and think they are perfect beings, that they can do no wrong. And all though we look at them and they are beaming with happiness and purity, they are human too. They need the power of the atonement as much as anyone else. They have struggles, challenges, and many flaws, just like all of us.
There is nothing wrong with being flawed, it is part of what makes us human, in fact learning from our trials and mistakes is one of the most human things we can do. It brings us closer to our father in heaven. It makes us better, it makes us complete. Repentance is also about a lot more than forgiveness, it helps us reform, and remake, and perfect our relationship with God, ourselves and the world. We can return to Christ and our father in heaven at the mercy of Christ, and he will only let us return on the condition of repentance.
I often think of our time to enter heaven and return to our father as a scary one. I think questions like “Will he let me in? Am I worthy? Did I do enough?” This scene also brings images of being cast out of heaven, because we are not worthy. This image is not realistic, or even close to reality. When we step up to the gates of heaven to enter, Christ will be welcoming us in open arms, for we are all his brothers and sisters, and he died and suffered for our sins. He will not willingly reject us from heaven, it is our choice as beings with agency whether we want to become one with him, whether we want to do our best and be the best we can be. As John said, we will all fall short of the glory of God, but that does not mean God won't reach out and help us into his light.
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