" Why are you wasting your time? "

I think it's interesting that I've had multiple people ask me this question since I've been serving as a missionary, " Why are you wasting your time?  " I have tried to understand exactly why some people might call what I do as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a waste of time. 

First and formost, I think it has to do with the misconceptions surrounding The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints itself. Many people know us as the " Mormons, " a nickname given us because of a title to a book of scripture that we use with the Holy Bible called the Book of Mormon. Very few people I ever talk to are actually aware of what the Book of Mormon is, so to put it as simply as possible, I will qoute some paragraphs from the books Introduction page :

 1. " The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scripture comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with the ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fulness of the everlasting gospel. "

 2. " The book was written by many ancient prophets by the spirit of prophecy and revelation. Their words, written on gold plates, were quoted and abridged by a prophet-historian named Mormon. The record gives an account of two great civilizations. One came from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., and afterward separated into two nations, known as the Nephites and the Lamanites. The other came much earlier when the Lord confounded the tongues at the Tower of Babel. This group is known as the Jaredites. After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians. "

3. " We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. (See Moroni 10:3–5.)

4. " Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah.

These are just 4 of the paragraphs from the page which contains 5 other paragraphs of explination with just as much importance.

The thing to realize about missionary work is the importance of what we share. Why do I believe that what I'm doing right now is not a waste of time. It's because I know that I'm sharing the truth with people who are lacking it in their lives.

Think about, if you would, all the unanswered questions life has thrown at you over the years. Would you like to know the answers to these questions. Are some of them maybe questions like: What is the purpose for life? What actually happens when we die? If there is a heaven, who actually gets to go there? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is religion so important to some people? What do I have to do to feel love from God? Who is God? Why is Jesus Christ so important?, the list could go on for longer then I could type, and probably longer then anyones attention span could handle.

The reason that I'm " wasting my time " as some people put it, is because the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ has answered questions like this for me throughout my life. You may think that I'm naive, or that I have a lack of experience being only in my 20's. I've thought about this to on several occasions. You might say that I do not have a " ton " of life experience, but I can tell you that I do have experience in truth.

I know answers to questions like these because I have studied scripture, history, life, and most importantly, I've asked my Heavenly Father for myself. I know that I'm not waisting my time as a missionary. I know that the message and invitation that I've been commissioned to present, that of a Loving Heavenly Father, An atoning and loving Savior Jesus Christ, and a modern Prophet of God, is true. My heart jumps for joy when I think about the truth in that statement. I have felt and learned my answers through study in my life. I would like to extend the same challenge to people that the Book of Mormon extends. That is one of reading the Book of Mormon, praying to know of its truthfulness, and even going another step forward of listening to some missionaries for yourself. I promise if nothing else, you will learn the answer to the question, " why are they wasting their time? "