Week 0 - December 30, 2020

written: 12/30/2020

Week 0

Last night I was set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by my Stake President, President Paul Schwitzer, of the Fort Herriman, Utah Stake. Today I began my training in a very different way than my two older brothers. My Missionary Training Center is actually my home. I will be training at-home and online for the next 6 weeks, and I will be learning the Spanish language as I prepare to serve in the Chile, Osorno Mission. It is still unclear when I will actually get to Chile, but I know the Lord has a plan and a purpose for my missionary service. 

Love, Elder Steele

pictures include: Home MTC Experience

Return With Honor

 

Elder Steele's Farewell Talk given on December 27, 2020

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• No, this is not a fashion statement. I unfortunately fractured my finger last weekend, of course right before I enter into the MTC. I am thankful for brotherly love, even when my brother, Kyle, completely misses the football and kicks my finger 4 hours before I went through the temple.

• I am going to start things off by discussing moving to Utah my senior year and the effect/importance it has had on my life and eventually how it had an impact on me to serve a mission. I grew up in Texas and lived there for over 17 years. I built a life there, I had friends, I had memories, and I had recently started dating my girlfriend Jenna. Then life happened, and my dad lost his job and eventually found one in Utah. At first, I was excited, I thought only one year then I’m off to college. I can make new friends, make the basketball team, and spend time with my family and my mom’s family. Well, things don’t always go as planned, and I definitely had some rough times. I did not have many friends, I was one of the final cuts for the basketball team, and was not enjoying life. Every day I just had to get through the day, and the only thing I had to look forward to was talking to Jenna. I honestly don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have my family and Jenna to get me through the move. 

• One day, almost 2 years ago around this time, I was still in a rough place. Jenna told me she had a prompting to challenge me to read my scriptures everyday for 10 minutes, no matter what. At first I thought “ok thats fine, I don’t really see how that will help me, but I will do it.” Now, that challenge has played a key role in my life. I have NEVER missed a day, whether I was on vacation, I was sick, tired, lazy, no matter what. I have grown to love the scriptures even more now, and I know that I want the scriptures to play an important role in my life forever. I have a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon now and I know it is true. I know that if we read our scriptures, we will be blessed. Wrapping up my family’s move, I think my family’s move, in the end, was a blessing. I now know the importance of family, as I was able to spend lots of time with my parents and my mom’s parents and siblings. I found the importance of reading my scriptures and staying close to the gospel. I know and testify that we can get through hard times and trials are an important part of our lives and we are meant to be tested while we are on Earth. I know things really do get better if we focus on the good things in life and focus on the gospel. 

• Ever since I was a kid, I always knew about serving a mission and I always pictured myself serving, and it never really wasn’t in my plans. I don’t know if most of y’all know the story of my mission, but I put my papers in around January up in Idaho as I was attending school. I was extremely excited and ready to serve. I got my call and was always researching Chile, I went to a Chilean restaurant with my family in Orem and I kept preparing to go and I had all intentions of going. Then COVID happened. COVID really began to cloud my mind and begin to put doubts in my head, which I also think Satan was happy I was having those doubts. In May, I decided a mission wasn’t going to be in my plans. I was going to continue going to school, get an internship, and stay busy with my newfound passion for sports cards. I didn’t really have that motivation or drive to serve and combined with COVID, it was the perfect storm. As we now see, things change, and they can change very fast. 

• Before I explain how I ended up going back to serving a mission, I want to discuss a talk by Dallin H. Oaks titled “Good, Better, Best”

• In it, two quotes stood out to me as I pondered the talk and wondered how to apply it to this talk and my life. They read

• “As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still, others are best. Even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all.”

• And the next quote reads

• “We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”

• I know that if I had not served a mission and just decided to continue in school at BYU-I and continued following my passions and hobbies and spend time with family that it was not necessarily a bad choice, but I don’t think it was my best choice

• The best choice, the one I always knew deep down, was to serve a mission. I had to make those sacrifices and although I am giving up two years of my life, I know that the benefits greatly outweigh the cost. 

• Now that I have given a good background, I can discuss my experience from October, in which I decided to serve a mission. The best way for me to discuss my experience is to read what I wrote in my journal the night of my experience

• “Today was a rollercoaster. Today was Jenna’s first p-day for her mission and we were able to talk all day. I read her email, we communicated, and just enjoyed talking to each other. At around 6 pm, we were discussing why I said I was sad, and I told her that I was sad that I didn’t try my online MTC in June and I had regrets about it. She reminded me I still had time and to pray about it. Even before any of that could happen, my throat clenched, my stomach twisted, and I had the urge to cry. I knew instantly what I needed to do, but I tried pushing it away. I got my keys and drove to the one place I knew I’d feel peace, the temple parking lot. As I got there and continued talking to Jenna, I realized it was a massive prompting and that I needed to serve and go on a mission as I had always planned. Jenna kept reassuring me with any worry I could come up with and she kept telling me I would not regret going on a mission one bit. One of the biggest things that made me cry was Jenna telling me she has prayed every single day that I would know what to do with my life and that God would speak it clearly to me. She also said she prayed that God would use her to help guide me in whatever that may be. This hit me so hard and then I knew instantly that It was time to put my papers back in. I texted my bishop in Herriman to see what my next steps were, I told my parents who were extremely supportive, and I also told the rest of my family who was extremely supportive as well. I know I have an intensely strong bond with my family and I’m so thankful for them. I was able to get a blessing from Austin to feel peace and comfort among other things and I’m thankful I got that blessing. I’m extremely nervous but ready for the next step.”

• I love that I could have such a strong impression from the spirit and I am so thankful I am giving this talk today because it means I am following my promptings and following God’s words to me. I truly know that we can receive personal revelation and that prayers do get answered. 

• Ever since I decided to serve a mission, my life has never been happier or better. I have improved so much over the last few months and I am so thankful for that. I had more motivation to improve myself, I was going to the gym a lot, improving my eating habits, and learning how to cook. I think this was the path I was supposed to be on because I have never been more motivated for my mission than I am now, and it was truly MY CHOICE to go and serve this time around and no one was pressuring me at all and it wasn’t really on anyways radar but mine. I am so thankful I am going to serve a mission, I know there are people out there that need the gospel and I know that I want to be a missionary and willingly give up two years of my life. A quote I always have heard and absolutely love is “A missionary is someone who leaves their families for a short time so that others may be with their family for eternity.” I can’t wait to bring others close to this gospel that has helped shape me into the man I am today. 

• I know that this gospel is true, I know that we have a loving Savior who guides and prompts us to choose the right and return back to Him, I know that we have trials in our lives that we can overcome with a positive attitude and if we follow the gospel, I truly believe this gospel was restored in 1820 and that it had to be 1820 and no other date in time, I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that Russell M. Nelson is a living prophet today that receives revelation specifically for all of us. I can't wait to spread this gospel and see the amazing experiences that come out of this. I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. 

pictures include: Me in my new suit; Aunt Sabina, Uncle Scott, Grammy, Grandpa, Me, Aunt Lena, Mom and Dad without masks; Aunt Sabina, Uncle Scott, Grammy, Grandpa, Me, Aunt Lena, Mom and Dad with masks; Grammy, Grandpa, and Me; Mom, Me, and Dad;  Aunt Sabina, Me, and Aunt Lena - 
two of the best aunties ever!;  Uncle Scott, Me, and Aunt Sabina; and Ammon Parks and Me