We Talk of Christ

This past month I was able to give 2 talks at church.

One was for Stake Conference and the other was for my missionary farewell the week afterward. 

Here are some highlights from those talks :) 

March 15th 2014 - Annapolis Stake Conference 

One thing I have learned is that every missionary experience, no matter the result, is still a missionary experience. Out here in Maryland you run into non-members on a daily basis whether they are your co-workers, your neighbors or your friends. Don’t be afraid to let people know who you are and what you stand for. Elder Holland spoke about our role in missionary work when he said “This is [the Lord’s] work and [you are] only the instrument. [You are] on the pencil, but [the Lord has] got to do the writing.”

It is not our responsibility to convert people. Our responsibility is to bring people to Christ so that Heavenly Father can do the rest.

At BYU there weren’t tons of missionary opportunities, at least not as much as I had in high school. I was discouraged and I was hurt and I thought that what I had shared with people was not good enough. There is, I have learned, a quick fix to this ailment: to stop thinking about ourselves. When President Gordon B. Hinkley was dispirited while serving his mission his father wrote “Forget yourself and go to work.” Like Elder Holland said, this is the Lord’s work and we are just his tools. As long as we forget our fears and our doubts, trust the Lord and open our mouths, we can truly do anything.  

Joseph Smith said: “After all that has been said, our greatest and most important duty is to preach the gospel.” 

God wants ALL OF YOU in the mission field because all around you IS the mission field. Open your mouth today, brothers and sisters, take that chance.  Pray for opportunities then take those opportunities. I know that you will all be blessed for it.  

D&C 18:15-16 15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one asoul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father! 16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the akingdom of my Father, how great will be your bjoy if you should bring many csouls unto me! 

I know that missionary work is for everyone. It’s for those who need it and those who provide it. I know that no matter how scary opening your mouth is, it will never be as great as the joy we will feel. This is God’s work and His glory. He will be with you every step of the way if you allow Him to.

Carrying on Family Tradition

When I asked my dad where he thought I would go on my mission, he immediately, without hesitation, said Seoul Korea.

I thought that was the last place I would be sent to, only because of the huge coincidence that would be......

Both my parents served in the Korea, Seoul mission in the late 1980s:

Where Sister Landsem and Elder Holdaway eventually met:

After writing back and forth for the remainder of their mission, they started dating when they both got home. Needless to say, it was a match made in heaven. On March 7th, 1991 they were married in the Salt Lake City Temple

And four years later they had a baby girl. 

19 years later, and that daughter was called to serve in the Korea Seoul South mission, just next door to where her parents had met 25 years earlier.

All this would explain this reaction when I read where I was being called to:

It turns out that my dad was right....just like he always is :)

They Called Me on a Mission!

November 5th, 2013: 

Papers were submitted 

November 13th: 

My call came in 

November 14th: 

I opened it in front of family and friends

November 17th:

I was able to meet up with more future missionaries at Temple Square and I even met a few who were going to my same mission! 

My decision to serve a mission: 

I don't think I can remember a time where I didn't want to serve a mission. From a young age I was singing songs like "I hope they call me on a mission," and "Called to Serve." I remember how badly I wanted to wear a name tag and serve the Lord for 18 months. 

When I was 9 years old I helped drop my cousin off at the MTC. In those days families were able to go into the MTC and watch a short video about missionary work.  I felt the missionary spirt so strongly inside the MTC. I turned to my mother afterwards and said "I know I'm supposed to serve a mission." 

10 years later, and it's my turn to go out into the world and preach the gospel. I have never doubted that this was what I was meant to do and I'm glad I can live out my dream and, in the process, help others to find theirs.