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Hello, my name is Brianne. Welcome to my Missionary Blog!

Want to learn more about me? Click Here!
Want to learn more about my beliefs? Click Here!
Want to read my farewell talk? Click Here!

Hold up, Bri. What do missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints even do? What are you doing in Brazil? 

I'm glad you asked! LDS (Mormon) missionaries, like missionaries for other church, engage in community service. This service ranges from shoveling driveways, to volunteering in shelters, to teaching English classes. We also engage in a lot of service within the church. We’ll teach Sunday lessons, play piano in meetings, and help members with a variety of needs. Members often reach out to missionaries to ask for help for themselves or non-member friends. The amount and type of service changes depending on your mission president and where you serve; service in the New York City, New York mission will be different that in the Haïti, Port-au-Prince Mission than in the Russia, St. Petersburg mission.

Although we do a lot of service, our main purpose is to be a representative of the church. We teach people who are interested in learning more about the church. They are often looking for a greater purpose in their lives, they want to find a new church, or they have a LDS (Mormon) friend, etc. We find these people in a variety of ways. People will ask questions online at Mormon.org and will be invited to talk with the missionaries. Members also will refer the missionaries to their friends or family who are interested in learning more. A lot of the time, we just meet people on the street!

Our purpose as missionaries is not to convince people to join our church for our own personal benefit or pride. We simply want to share a message of hope and love. We want to share the knowledge we have with others because we know that it can bring people so much happiness and joy. We want to help people use this knowledge to make changes in their lives, so they can become a happier person.

Common Missionary Lingo 

Sister [Last Name] – female missionary

Elder [Last Name] – male missionary

Companion – every missionary has a missionary companion with whom they will live with and spend almost all their time

“Preach My Gospel” – the teaching manual missionaries use to teach

Investigator – a person we’re teaching (someone who’s “investigating” the church)

“Golden Investigator” – someone who really wants to learn/who is prepared to learn/etc.
MTC -- Missionary Traning Center (In Brazil, it'll be CTM: Cetro de Treinamento Missionaro) I'll come here are the start of my mission for 6 weeks
Transfer -- Every 6 weeks there's a transfer. I could be transfered to a new area or get a new companion.
P-Day (Preperation Day) -- This is my one day off. I can do laundry, go shopping, see some tourist-y stuff, etc. (Usually every Monday)
Sister [Last Name]/Brother [Last Name] -- This is what we tend to call members of the church by
Ward -- Congregation
Stake -- A group of congregations

Some Basic Mission Rules

• No non-church music, movies, TV, etc.
• Only 1 hour of time for emailing per week (On P-Day)
• This is basically the only way (besides regular mail) I contact home for my mission.
• I can skype my family twice a year (On Christmas and Mother's Day)

Those are the main big, hard rules. They seem kind of strict, and of course I'll miss these things, but I chose to go on a mission. I knew these rules before I submitted my papers. It's worth it to me to leave some things behind for a short 18 months to be able to help the people in Sao Paulo with my whole heart and soul. I agreed to follow the rules because I know that it's more than worth it. 

Three Big Things I Believe (This is why I'm going on a mission!)

1. There is absolute truth. There are only two options: Obama is either the 44^th president of the United States of America or he isn’t. The moon is either made of cheese or it isn’t. With more complicated situations, there is a third option: evolution is either completely true, partially true, or not true at all. The doctrines taught by Catholicism are either completely true, partially true, or not true at all.
2. Opinions cannot change truth. No matter how much we believe in something, despise something, or argue for something, we cannot change what is truth. No matter how much I support and use evidence and reason to claim that the moon is made of cheese, I cannot change truth. In our politically polarized country, Republicans and Democrats claim they are right (they know the truth) on many different issues, but at the end of the day, no matter how much you feel, think, and believe something is right, those are just opinions. They can be opinions that agree with truth, but opinions cannot change truth. Just because you love and fight for something, does not make it right or true. Just take a look at history.
3. We can know the truth of all things. Since truth doesn’t change based on opinion, we can’t choose for ourselves whether God exist or a religion is true. We can choose whether we will believe in it or follow it, but it will be truth or not with or without our belief. Since we can’t choose whether something is true, there has to be some way for us to figure out the truth, right? It seems so unfair otherwise.
   
   Well, I can’t use logic to help prove this one, but in The Book of Mormon, the prophet Moroni writes, “And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). I really do believe that is true. I believe that the most important truths (Does God exist? What should I do with my life? Is there life after death? How can I become the best person I can possibly be? Etc.) can be made known to us. We can pray and ask God Himself these important questions. He might not answer all at once or in the way you want, but I know He can and will answer. I’ve witnessed people find these answers and completely change because of it. I want to go on a mission to invite people to find the truth. The truth can give us happiness and comfort and light and knowledge and peace that we could not otherwise obtain.
   
   I’m not going on a mission because I know the entire truth. I don’t even know most of the truth. I just believe in a lot of the things I will be teaching, but there are also many things I do truly know and experiences I’ve had that I cannot deny. I’m going on a mission, not because I know that everything is true, but I’m going because there are parts I know are true. There are parts I have experienced and felt and acted upon, and those parts have completely changed my life. I’m going on a mission to witness of those parts and bring the happiness that comes with them.

     If you are interested in knowing the truth of all things, I would invite you to study and act upon the teachings of the prophet Alma in The Book of Mormon. (Alma 32:26-43)

I'd also invite you to act on this: (I LOVE THIS SCRIPTURE!!!)

“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:4-5).