The Waiting Game

So I said last time this one would be shorter but it's not. I appreciate your patience and I hope you enjoy my thoughts.

I waited to submit my papers to be a missionary for about a year, I waited over a week to get my call, I waited 4 months to get set apart as a missionary, I waited a week to enter the mtc in person, I waited 2 weeks to finish the mtc, I waited another 3 hours at the airport for my flight, now im waiting till tomorrow to see who my trainer is. I think there's a lesson in here somewhere, just don't ask me to write a talk about it yet haha.

I plan on sharing some experiences from my week prior while still being at the mtc, and I wrote this at the airport at 6am and throughout the day till 10pm.

My Companions Bday!

Tuesday, November 4th was my companion's birthday! She turned 20! Sister Anderton had a friend who packed a banner and some balloons for a girl in her district so she asked to use that stuff and we were able to surprise her with some decorations.

We didn't really do anything to celebrate her birthday after that though haha. But we ended up going to an H.O.A. (Helping Others Appointment), these are when actors pretend to be investigators of our church so us missionaries can practice and safely make mistakes. We had 4 all in one week I believe and it definitely allowed me to make mistakes. I unknowingly ended up being a jerk on my last H.O.A. to my companion but she's very kind and forgiving so I'm very grateful I didn't have to dwell on it too much.

Another thing that happened on her birthday was a general authority devotional! A “higher up” in our church arrives at the mtc every tuesday and they give a talk just for us missionaries, its saved for future missionaries potentially but not available to the public's ears. The general authority that arrived was David A. Bednar!! He's a member of the quorum of the 12 so hes the equivalent to someone like Peter, James, or John in our modern day. It's normally a seventy which is right under an apostle in terms of 'power', so an apostle is rare and super cool.

His talk was about the priesthood, I thought I did my research about the priesthood but apparently not enough. He asked us to not write things down and focus on the spirit and I did my best but I just wrote what spoke out to me or impressions I received. He spit out a lot of information regarding the priesthood and i wish I could give you guys bullet points or something but what I do remember is he wanted to tell us kind of how the next prophet is chosen and it was cool hearing how in tune they are with the spirit because they all agreed in unison who the prophet would be and set Dallin H Oaks apart very quickly. Same with Jeffery R Holland as the president of the quorum of the 12. 

Elder Bednar added that the quorum of the 12 circled President Oaks and laid their hands on his head with the other hand on the shoulder of the man next to them. Then later when we discussed the devotional as a district, Elder Compton said it was cool that he is able to do similar when participating in priesthood blessings and other priesthood related things. I agree with Elded Compton, I love seeing how God organizes his work and that its the same or very similar on every level, on a ward level or at an apostolic level.

Temple Sealings!!

Let me explain what a temple sealing is first.

A proxy sealing is when you help a couple who is passed on become sealed to each other for eternity and not just till death do they part (so cool). This is done by reciting a sort of prayer by a temple sealer while two people on behalf of this passed on couple, complete a sacred ritual so the marriage can be bound in heaven as well as on earth.

Well so that's a proxy couple sealing but there's also sealings of parents to children! This is very similar, the parents kneel on the altar on the long side of the altar (it's in a rectangular shape) then the child kneels on the altar on the short side. In this version, the child also participates in the ritual. I think its so cool.

So we ended up doing parents to children and it was so cool but took sooooo looooong. There were old married couples who took turns acting as proxy for the parents, then each of us were sealed on behalf of 3 people in an hour, took a 15 minute break, then did 3 more names per person within an hour (theres 14 people in my district total, so we did 42 names in an hour). I liked hearing the words recited the first hour but the second hour I was too tired to care. I actually ended up falling asleep and Elder Reidhead tapped the edge of my knee multiple times before I woke up. I thought it was once but apparently I was so knocked out. I'm not embarrassed, but I wish I wasn't so tired. Also it was so hard to not fall asleep during the second hour. The sealer had the hardest to pronounce Hispanic names like the kind with 3 last names that all sound super similar so it took even longer than last time bcuz he wanted to pronounce the names properly which meant it went slower lol.

The best parts about the sealing session though was when sister young and I were proxy for sisters being sealed to their parents! With sealing multiple children, the parents kneel on both short sides of the altar then the children kneel on the long side and they all complete the ritual. I found it interesting though because depending on if the deceased person is endowed or not, the way the ritual is performed is different!

I felt the spirit very strongly. It wasn't the kind that made me cry but gave me the biggest smile on my face. It felt like such an honor and a privilege to be a part of that family's sealing.

At the end of each hour, the married couples ended up doing sealings to spouses and I thought that was very interesting too. The words spoken to complete the ordinance mentions the new and everlasting covenant and then goes on about the blessings the couple can and will receive if they keep their marriage promises to God and each other. I asked the sealer after the first hour what the new and everlasting covenant was and he refused to tell me but it was a righteous reason because he wanted me to find out for myself so I can remember and tell others when given the chance. He told me to look at doctrine and covenants section 132. So I did during the 15 minute break but it was so confusing. I hope I will find something during or after my mission that will explain the new and everlasting covenant to me in simple terms or bite sized bits I can chew on and swallow before learning more.

Here's a picture of my district after the temple

I got another email for my email list

Sister Howell (my morning teacher)  wasn't in class so Sister Farrish(a lady who subbed for sister Howell's class via zoom during home mtc) subbed again. Idk why but I had all these questions for her and I felt extra inquisitive and she had a lot of good answers and tips for me. I asked why the inititories and endowment aren't referenced in the scriptures like baptism are but they are there if you look for them! Learning about being cleansed and the atonement are not just related for baptism, they have heavy symbolism in the other covenants and ordinances. So I think I now have to shift my brain into thinking about scriptures like poetry with many layers. The first is about baptism and then the second is initiatories and the endowment. Another thing I'm curious about is sealings too. I think I heard from my mom that we belive Jesus married Mary Magdeline but I didn't really see evidence of that in the gospels (books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the new testament). So I wonder where I can find that and also where I can find bits and pieces about sealings in the scriptures.

So yea I asked about that stuff to sister Farrish and some other things too during break and she seemed to appreciate it enough that after class she said she is excited to see how I do on my mission so I offered for her to join my email list and she did! I also showed her my blog and she said she'd read my post about last week so Sister Farrish if you're reading this, id love to hear your thoughts!

Speaking of my blog

My mom said she enjoyed it and others who talked to her on Sunday said they did too! Some feedback she got was that I should add links to things I reference,  like spiritual things, and also add pictures of things I mention. I think these are very helpful and will be more engaging because adding pictures are awesome and also the links can be educational to members and non members alike.

I can't add links just yet though because I don't have access to the internet. Sorry.

Women and the priesthood

One day in class we had to write down a question and then randomly pick someone else's question so we could answer it for them using the book of Mormon. I got “why can't women wield the priesthood?” At first I was nervous because I just wasn't expecting it but as I did my best to define the differences between men and women and the importance of them working together I came up with this (I don't know if this is doctrine, this could be my opinion but its what has brought me peace so far):

Men and women are different. They hold unique roles within a family and within the plan of salvation. While men have the priesthood, women have the ability to bear children. This isn't given post birth through faith, it is given to women from the get-go. This ability allows women to participate in the plan of salvation by allowing spirits into bodies and into the world. Men have to have the priesthood conferred upon them only if they are worthy to have it. With this ability, they are able to participate in the plan of salvation by saving souls on earth and pointing them back to heaven from where they came. Without one or the other, the plan of salvation would not be possible. I consider it an honor to be able to participate in the plan of salvation. I think it shows God's trust in us and his desire to teach us. It kind of reminds me of my dad and how he lets us participate in the family business. Within my dad's business, our specific job of placing signs, its a small but very important task that lowkey defines the success of the business. It makes me grateful, hopeful, happy and all manner of positive emotions that God loves me enough to let me help out and be a part of the great plan he has for us.

Elder Brown

Omg it was so cool. So the hour before elder brown came into the classroom, we were told to watch replays of our H.O.A.s. So all the companions left the classroom to watch their replays. I'm strategically lazy so I asked my companion if we could just stay in the room and sister Hughes is super chill and normally goes along with whatever so she said yes. As we're watching this replay, I'm getting so self conscious cuz I just hate watching myself on video but then I see my teacher sister Howell like gasp or show shock while looking at her phone and I ask what's up and said said that the supervisor of all the mtc teachers and Elder Brown was coming! She seemed to get nervous but I didn't know if it was because of her boss or the potential seventy (a seventy is another “higher up”. Like Elder Bednar, their full time job is being a witness of the name of Jesus Christ) arriving. I thought maybe it was just another guy named Elder Brown coming bcuz its a common last name but he did actually arrive!! 

He came to observe our class because apparently some kids aren't learning enough about pointing thing to Jesus or something like that.

During the second hour of class we practiced reading the scriptures basically. The point was to practice the way we want to read chapters with investigators and also so we can read chapters on our own and grasp them better by pausing and discussing/pondering. Before that we had some questions to discuss with our companion and Elder Brown sat in the back by me! I tried not to be weird about it but it was super cool and he seemed to like the thoughts I was sharing with my companion.

Before we practiced reading the scriptures as a class, there was a question on the board we had to answer using preach my gospel then we had to go up and write it on the board so we could identify what habits we wanted to practice during the practice lol. After I went up and wrote down my answer there were people getting up still and writing down answers so I asked Elder Brown if he remembers teaching at fsy in Florida and he recognized me! He said me and Joseph look very similar so I looked familiar to him. I thought it was so cool and I asked if we could get a picture together after class and he said yes.

Okay so now we're in a circle reading Alma 17. It's about Ammon and the sons of Mosiah coming back together 14 years later, rejoicing and talking about their experiences as missionaries. Our class was quieter than usual because Elder Brown was there but definitely participated more which was cool to witness. Elder Brown was trying really hard to just observe but couldn't help himself and added a bunch of cool thoughts and questions for us to think about and/or answer. I'll try to recount to the best of my abilities what he said:

Based off of alma 17:2 he asked (I can't quote him exactly) ‘how can you all ensure you are all still “brethren in the lord” after your missions?’. Basically he wanted us to think about how we can stay spiritually strong and then unite post mission with the same or increased love of Christ because that's what brought us all together in the first place.

I forgot why he lead us to this scripture but he even asked us to stop reading Alma 17, and go to Job 42:5 because he found a scripture he really liked in his own personal study. The context is that Job lost his kids, his house and I think some other things but he still chose to rejoice in the lord. The devil even says like ‘oh let me at him I bet I can make him curse you’ so God or Jesus (not sure which) lets the devil do so by taking Jobs health and he nearly dies but after all of that Job says “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee”. This stuck out to Elder Brown because after the hardest trial of Jobs' life he says he now can see the lord when before the trial he could not. He told us that trials are good because they can bring us closer to the savior. Then he asked us to commit to ourselves that we will not waste a hard day, that it will point us and others to the savior. I felt like our class got our own general conference talk! I have promised God since that morning that I will do so. And after looking at my trials, it definitely has brought me closer to my savior. So I would advise all readers of this to do the same: don't let your hard days go to waste, use them to point yourself and others to the savior.

After class btw(by the way), he reminded me about taking a photo and we did! It's in my Google photos album and I'll show you here too. He also shook everyone's hand in the class and thanked them for their participation along with taking selfies with those who asked for them. Oh also! He took a selfie of our class on his phone. Sister Howell said she would ask her supervisor to ask Elder Brown for it but she never updated us on it so it might not happen. Who knows tho (though), my face might show up at the next general conference😁

Elder Amos

It was so cool seeing Elder Brown because I actually know him. AND THEN AT LUNCH THE SAME DAY I SAW ELDER AMOS!! He literally lives in my stake and became a seventy recently and gave a talk at the most recent general conference. I told my companion I wanted to take a picture with him and she was so nervous because people at the mtc literally counseled us to not go up to general authorities because everyone wants to. Thankfully, my companion agreed to go while being nervous about it and it worked out great! I shook his hand and I think I asked if he knew who I was or something about Florida and he recognized me! He excitedly pointed out that I'm a Moghimi and he knows my parents. He even asked ME for a photo and sent it to my parents! He also reminded me and informed my companion that he was at a stake leadership Christmas party at my house last year! It was so cool and it was so crazy that the two members of the seventy that I knew were at the mtc and I got pictures with them.

My dad sent me a voice recording that I listened to and he got emotional because he pointed out that God is so kind to have sent people I know to me as a reminder that He sees me.

I know God is looking out for me and my family and that I'm right where God wants me.

I got sick on Saturday lol (laughing out loud)

I think it was a mix of exhaustion, sickness going around, and being in a new dry af (as flip) climate. I ended up skipping my Saturday morning class but went to the afternoon one cuz I felt 60% better and I've been at that level since so far.

Leaving the mtc

It's so crazy I'm literally gone now. I felt like I made friends with my district just as fast as I had to leave them. They are truly the first batch of people I would have a reunion with. Particularly the sisters. They are all so loving, so funny, and so Christlike. It's also been a really long time for me personally since I have had a group of friends that are in my same boat going through the same experiences so it just felt really nice to be understood in that way.

I will miss my companion, she was the perfect first companion for me. She's chill, funny, beautiful, and had a strong desire to develop her testimony. I looked at past photos from last week and it honestly made me emotional even simply after hours of leaving her that I won't be able to see her again for a minimum of 18 months.

Finally in Denver

Im sad for what I left at the mtc but on the bright side, I'm finally in my mission field!

Here's the bullet points of today from 11am to 9pm:

Got to the airport

Waited around forever for pres clawson (my mission president, the guy in charge of the denver co missionaries) and the Mexico mtc missionaries 

Went to the chapel that acts as home base for the missionaries

Went to Pearl Street (a busy touristy street) to pass out a Book of Mormon (I gave out two in 20 minutes then invited people to church for the remaining time)

Went to the clawsons house for dinner

Now we're at the hotel

When we went to Pearl Street, we were given an experienced missionary to go with us to hand out a Book of Mormon with, within 30 minutes. I feel quite proud of myself because I not only gave out one, but two! And the remaining time we tried to invite people to church with us on Sunday. We almost got one guy but he ended up saying no. I think what gave me the crazy confidence though was an experience I had the night before leaving the mtc.

Here's a picture of us new missionaries and the experienced ones on pearl street with president clawson taking the photo

Sister Lee, a former senior missionary from my ward, sent me a box of donuts for me and my district along with a book to read and a sweet card. I read the book and card and enjoyed them thoroughly. However, I was feeling anxious about the day ahead so I couldn't bear to eat any donuts. Knowing I couldn't store them for later, I decided to pass them out to my district and the missionaries around me in the cafeteria. I had the box open showing the variety of donuts and offering to senior missionaries initially first because I obviously respect my elders. One or two said yes and the others said they were full or weren't interested. I then went to the other missionaries and offered the same; same response. Eventually after asking enough people, I got rid of them. 

After they were gone I immediately thought that it related to the gospel. Some people aren't interested in the gospel or have their own religion that fills them. Or like a jelly donut, they refuse because they don't know what is inside so they reject it out of the fear of the unknown. I believe that God gave me that specific experience for today so I can remember it for the rest of my mission and my life. All I'm doing is handing out donuts (the book of Mormon / the gospel) and I just need to ask enough people. There's more to it once someone says yes but I think that's probably the scariest part and I'm basically over it!

Again, sorry this is so long but I just had so many cool parts of my week I wanted to share!

With love a mile high,

Sister Moghimi