"Sister Cardinal"

On June 20, 2007, I enterred the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. It was my 21st birthday. My mom and I both forgot until we went to the bank to get her name on my account. "Happy Birthday, Michelle!" The teller said. My mom turned to me with her mouth wide in surprise, "I'm SOOOO sorry! I forgot!" I just laughed and replied, "I FORGOT TOOO!" It was the most exciting day of my life, up until that point. It didn't matter that the rest of the world looked forward to that birthday for their entire lives. To me, it was the best birthday present ever to enter the MTC.

It's impossible to sum up my entire mission in a brief blog posting. But, I just wanted to address the everlasting change that has taken place in my soul. From each companion, I learned more about who I should be; who I wanted to become. It became quickly apparent that LOVE is ALL the world needs. Every problem, on a person to person level, can be fixed with love. If my love doesn't work, Christ's love always will. Thus, LOVE is literally ALL we need.As soon as I figured that out, rather quickly I might add, my view of life and service completely changed. I started to realize that Jesus Christ served us all out of love. He commanded me to love as He loves. That required humble, selfless service.

"I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God" (Mosiah 2:17).

It became a part of my heart that service is how one may truly come to understand the love of God. God IS love.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us" (1 John 4:7-12).

Every day I prayed to be filled with the love of God, like Moroni tells us to do:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart that ye may be filled with this love which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his son, Jesus Christ, that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, that we may see him as he is, that we may have this hope that we may be purified even as He is pure, amen" (Moroni 7:48).

I asked God with all the energy of my heart to see the potential in His children that he sees in them. I asked to recognize the potential He saw in ME. I asked Him to remove the judgement from my eyes and allow me to see His children, my brothers and sisters all around me, dressed in white; pure, clean, and holy. It was amazing how the Lord removed the blinds from my eyes. I was filled with such a great love for every one I saw. I cherish that love. It was the love of Christ. That love, that perfect, unchanging love, changed me. Thanks to my mission, I know that all I need is love.