Peace Out

(My friend drew this picture for me before I left)

I'm off to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Korea! 

If you would like to keep in touch (please do) here is my address at the MTC for the next two months:

Sister Megan Elizabeth Livingston

JUL30 KOR-DAE

2009 N 900 E Unit 186

Provo, UT 84602

You can also use dearelder.com to write letters easily while I am in the MTC

I am excited to have this opportunity to serve the Lord and those around me for the next 18 months. Here is a copy of my farewell talk if you would like to read it:

Good morning Brothers and Sisters. My name is Megan Livingston, for those of you who don’t know me. I just recently finished my junior year at BYU. I am working to get my BFA in Studio Arts there. I have been called to serve as a missionary in the Korea Daejeon Mission and I will enter the Provo MTC on May 29th. I’m excited and feel grateful to have this opportunity to serve the Lord and those around me for the next 18 months.

Over the past few years I have been considering going on a mission and felt that I would most likely go because that just seemed like the thing that I was supposed to do. I have seen the blessings of going on a mission from my brother, his wife and my sister. This past Summer I had more feelings of confirmation that the next Summer when I would turn 21 I would leave on a mission. Then on October 6th, 2012 President Monson delivered some very exciting news. I remember sitting on the couch in my apartment with two of my roommates and we all literally screamed when the announcement was made that young women can start serving missions when they are 19 years old rather than 21, which was the previous age requirement. We were all so shocked and excited by the news. I was already 20 at the time, so my mind was running with different thoughts of whether I should go earlier since I could or if I should stick to my original plan and wait for Summer. After much thought and prayer I decided to wait until after Winter Semester to put my availability date and now I’m going about 2 months before my 21st birthday and the timing has been great. Although the age change didn’t really affect my plans too much, I am so grateful for the opportunities and implications of it for the future. When I opened my call I was completely shocked to see that I had been called to Korea. I simultaneously burst into tears and started laughing at the same time. My family can attest to my shock as they heard me relay the news over the phone, while laughing and crying at the same time. I had been certain that I was going to be called Spanish speaking since I had studied abroad in Spain and just finished a minor in Spanish. Obviously, the Lord has different plans for me and now I just can’t wait to see all that lies ahead because I know that it is going to be a worthwhile experience. Since getting me call D&C 84:88 has kind of become my motto scripture. It says, “And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you to bear you up.” Although I don’t know the language or much about Korea, I am excited to learn and I know that the Lord will prepare the way for me to teach.

As a missionary for the church I am going to be teaching the people of Korea about Jesus Christ and His gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is really quite simple. According to the fourth Article of Faith “We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.” 

Like I said, I am a studio arts major, so my mom suggested that I try to come up with a metaphor using some experiences from art making so here it goes...

I have now taken two different classes in which I have learned to weld. The first was my freshman year and it was very limited. I only had to do it once and the teacher was there to help the whole time. The second was this past Fall semester where I had the assignment to create a sculpture using welding and forging. We learned all about safety, like don’t stand in a puddle of water while welding, and all of the protective gear that you have to wear while doing these activities. While welding, one should wear leather boots, long jeans, a heavy welding jacket, gloves, have their hair tied back, and a face mask. All of these things are meant to protect you as you weld. The most important piece of protective gear is the face mask because it shields you from the very intense light that is produced from welding. The main downside to this mask though, is that it is pitch black when you put it on. You can’t see anything until you actually start welding. That means that you have to have everything set up with your hands holding the welding tip exactly where you want it after you put down your mask and you can no longer see. But once you pull the trigger, bright light shoots out of the tip and it illuminates your work space so you can see where you are aiming. When I first started with the welding project I was pretty scared. I was nervous to pull the trigger when I couldn’t see anything in front of me, but eventually I just did it and realized that it wasn’t that bad. As I kept doing it, it became easier and I wasn’t afraid anymore. 

Now that you guys have some background on what it takes to weld, I am going to try to apply it to the first principles and ordinances of the gospel. 

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel, thus it is imperative that we have faith at our foundation in order to progress. In True to the Faith it says that “Having faith in Jesus Christ means relying completely on Him-trusting in His infinite power, intelligence, and love. It includes believing His teachings. It means believing that even though you do not understand all things, He does...He is always ready to help you as you remember His plea: ‘Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.’” There have been many times in my life where I couldn’t fully see God’s plan for me. It seemed as though I could only see a few steps into the future or that I would have to take a few steps in the dark before the rest of the path was illuminated, but with faith that’s all that we need. Even though we don’t understand all things, we can’t see all of Heavenly Father’s plan for us, if we trust in him and act in faith following His counsel and commandments then the rest of the path will eventually be illuminated for us. Just like in welding, I would set up my sculpture the way I wanted and hold my hand steady while I lowered the face mask so I could no longer see what was in front of me. If I continued on in the dark, it would eventually be illuminated I could see clearly again. That’s why we always say that faith is not just a belief, it is an action. Faith is not just about believing that Jesus Christ is the Savior, but actively using the atonement to understand Him better so we can come unto Him.

Throughout my life I have come to learn the importance of trusting in the Lord completely. It is something that I continue to work on in order to come unto Him. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “...The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. That is why we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security in our lives.” I know that this typle of faith is something that I will have to exercise in the mission field because sometimes our timing and the Lord’s timing are different. It is important to remember though that if we trust in Him and continue on we can have true security in our lives, which is something that I think we should definitely be seeking, since life is full of change and moves at a rapid pace. Having complete trust in the Lord means that we align our will to His and are willing to accept the guidance He has to offer.

I personally can’t think back to a certain time when I learned that this church is true. It seems that I never doubted it and that I had small spiritual experiences that helped me to gain faith and become more converted to the gospel throughout my life. Just like in welding, one can’t weld a sculpture with many different parts all at the same time. You have to weld one, then stop so you can lift up the mask and see the whole picture, then continue on, one by one until it is completed. A testimony of the gospel doesn’t usually come all at once. We have to gain knowledge, act in faith and more knowledge will come as we act on it. When we choose to look unto Christ in every thought and to not fear, we are progressing towards becoming more like our Savior so we can be perfected in Him. We most importantly need to learn to trust Him. It is through faith that I am able to leave my life behind for the next 18 months. I am choosing faith over fear and I know that we are blessed when we do that.

The second principle of the gospel is repentance. Repentance is a key part of the Lord’s gospel because no unclean thing can be in the presence of God. If our goal is to return to heaven then we have to repent, or be forgiven of our sins. In Doctrine and Covenants Section 58 verses 42-43 it reads, “Behold he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins-behold, he will confess them and forsake them.” In order to repent we need to confess our sins, like the scripture says, and we must choose to not do them again. We need to leave that sin behind and change our hearts and desires to become better. 

The reason that we can repent is because of the atonement. The atonement was performed by Jesus Christ and it allows us to repent; forgive; and overcome weaknesses, trials and sicknesses. Through the atonement we can be perfected and return to live with Christ in heaven again. It is through the atonement that the demands of justice and the plan of mercy can be accomplished because after we have done all that we can do, Jesus Christ will make up the rest.

During the welding process, there are times when I could not do some things on my own. I needed another hand to hold my sculpture steady while I welded. There needed to be a mediator to help to make up for what I could not do on my own. My professor and TA in the class acted as the extra hand to help me complete my project, just like Christ extends His hand to make up for what we lack. 

Christ was crucified and suffered the pains, afflictions, sins and sicknesses of every single person that has ever and will ever walk the earth. Because of this, He knows what we go through and He can extend the arm of mercy when we cannot meet the demands of justice. The atonement is truly a miracle and an incredible blessing in the lives of those that choose to take advantage of it. President Uchtdorf bore testimony that, “If we have sinned or made mistakes—if we have made choices that we now regret—there is the precious gift of Christ’s Atonement, through which we can be forgiven. We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and remove the burden of our sins. His Atonement allows us to leave the past behind and move forward with clean hands, a pure heart, and a determination to do better and especially to become better.” The atonement is so incredible because it allows us to move on from any misdeeds and to forgive others of their trespasses and to overcome difficult situations. I know that it is real and that through it we can overcome bitter experiences without becoming bitter and through it we will learn of the great love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for each one of us. Through the atonement we can live with Christ again.

The third principle of the gospel is baptism. Like most other churches we have a baptismal ceremony that initiates you to be a member of the church. In the scriptures we are taught to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. It says, “Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost” (2 Nephi 31:17). Like this scripture says, baptism is the gate by which we enter onto the path back to our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. When we are baptized, we are fully submerged in water and all of our previous sins are washed away. We are in a sense reborn. When we are baptized we make certain covenants, or promises, with the Lord to always remember Him and to keep His commandments. When we are baptized we take upon us the name of Christ. 

The saying of “taking upon Christ’s name” always reminds me of putting something physically on. The things we put on generally affect the way we act and the identity that we are presenting to the world around us. In order to weld, one must physically put on all of that protective gear in order to prepare to act as a welder would just like when we are baptized we take on Christ’s name to act as He would and be one of his disciples.  

We are reminded of these covenants that we make at baptism every Sunday as we partake of the Sacrament. The Sacrament is an opportunity for us to symbolically partake of the flesh and blood of Christ and remember the atoning sacrifice that is offered to each one of us so that we can repent and come a little closer to being like Christ. I have such a strong belief that The Lord wants to bless us and help us to become better. When we choose to take on His name and always remember Him and to keep His commandments we are so blessed and we can feel His love for us.

The fourth principle of the gospel is the gift of the Holy Ghost. After being baptized, one is blessed with the gift of the Holy Ghost, who will be our constant companion as long as we are living worthily. The Holy Ghost is also known as the comforter because he can bring us peace and comfort during difficult situations. He will help us to make decisions and feel inspired as to how to live according to the will of the Lord. In 2 Nephi 32:5 it reads “For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all things what ye should do.” The Holy Ghost is also a protector as he guides us to make good decisions and avoid dangers. 

Just like all of the gear I put on to weld protects my body from being burned, the Holy Ghost protects me from spiritual dangers. Also, when I pull the trigger a bright light comes out of the tip and illuminates the path in front of me, just like the Holy ghost can help me to see the path ahead of me and reveal promptings in how to serve others. The gift of the Holy Ghost is such an awesome blessing because he really will show you all things that you should do. I have had many instances in my life where I have been guided by the Holy Ghost or have been the recipient of someone following the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Just a quick story that may seem insignificant, but it really meant a lot to me at the time. Last year I was having a particularly hard month where I was super stressed and depressed. I was experiencing some disappointments and felt very alone. Randomly one evening right after I got home from classes, a friend texted me asking if I was home. I responded that I was and then she promptly came over with a box of some of my favorite cookies. I hadn’t talked to her in a couple of months, so she had no idea that I had been feeling lonely and stressed. That night I remember offering a prayer of gratitude that the Lord is truly aware of each of us individually and what we are going through. I am so grateful that my friend followed through with the promptings of the Holy Ghost to pay me a visit. The Holy Ghost is truly a blessing to us individually and to those around us when we choose to listen. 

I am so thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I know it is true. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to share it with people around the world. It has been sweet to me ever since I received my call to think of those people that I am going to teach and how their lives will be so blessed by the knowledge that they have a Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves them. That they are children of God who loves them and has a plan for them. That they can overcome their weaknesses and become perfect eventually through Christ and His atonement. That the priesthood has been restored to the Earth and what is bound on Earth can be bound in heaven. That families are eternal and they can be sealed to their families for forever. That this life is not the only one, but it is a time to exercise faith, follow God’s commandments and prepare to return to Him. That there is modern-day revelation through the Prophet Thomas S. Monson. That the Book of Mormon can help to guide their lives and answer their questions. I can already say that I am starting to feel like Ammon did in the scriptures when he exclaimed his feelings about missionary work saying, “I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God. Yea I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever” (Alma 26:11-12). I know all of these things to be true and I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.