Thoughts and stories, by Pal

I found this interesting article in LDS Living, and it is a very personal story about a missionary who had to return home early because of a mental illness.  He really wanted to stay, and received an honorable release.  This article could help anyone who has had to come home early, or friends and family of a missionary with those problems.  I hope we will all be compassionate and loving.  Returned LDS missionary talks about mental illness and early release Published: Wednesday, Jan. 7 2015 5:00 a.m. MST By  Jason F. Wright ,  For the Deseret News View 2 photos » Elder Logan Groll in the Mission Training Center pointing to the Brazil Manaus Mission, the spot of his initial call, in August 2013. Provided by Logan Groll Jason F. Wright For the Deseret News Summary Logan Groll of Winchester, Virginia, is on a new kind of mission. He wants to help other LDS missionaries who've returned home early for health reasons fin...

My husband, Wayne, is a true missionary at heart!  He doesn't hesitate to "open his mouth" at all.   We have had several experiences in which he has opened his mouth, and talked to whomever -- a man he ran into in a store, a girl who cut his hair at a salon, a repairman who came to our home to repair something -- He loves to find out if they are a member, and if not, to share something positive about the Gospel.  He doesn't plan what he will say, he just starts a conversation!  Sometimes the things he says surprise me, and I wonder if he may offend people.                       Wayne's official missionary picture taken in 1950 One such incident I particularly remember is one time, (when he was a stake missionary, which he was several times) he was walking somewhere in a housing area, and saw a man putting rocks down, in place of grass.  Wayne asked him why he was doing that -- just a simple quest...

This was on LDS Living,  Dec. 19, 2014, and came from millennialmormons.com  (That is a good site to check out!)  I thought some of you may have experienced the same type of opposition when you joined the Church.  It would help missionaries to know how to support a new convert who has family opposition. How to Handle Family Opposition After Becoming Mormon BY  LAUREN HARRAHILL  · DECEMBER 17, 2014 One night when I was 17 years old I knelt beside my bed and sincerely asked Heavenly Father for my own testimony. I prayed, “Heavenly Father, if I’m going to do this I have to feel something.” After I said that I could feel something I never felt before, reassurance. I suddenly knew without a doubt not only that this was the one true church but that I had to start working to be baptized. I began to cry not just because of the answer I had received but because I knew it meant I would lose my dad. I’m from a part member family. Growing up my mom was ac...

I found this on LDS Living, and it is quite long.  But it is so interesting, I decided not to condense it.  I encourage you to read the whole thing when you have 10 or 15 minutes.  It is an amazing story!  I too love her great great grandfather, Joseph Smith, and my ancestors did also! Kimberly Jo Smith’s Journey Discovering Joseph, Emma and Herself Family Family History Dec 22, 2014 Living Descendants of Joseph Smith Visit His Birthplace Joseph Smith’s descendants visit his birthplace after joining the church Christ restored through him. In the stillness of the budding spring of Sharon, Vermont,  Kimberly Jo Smith   stood in the quiet forest for the first time, looking down on the remaining moss-covered foundation stones of the home where her great-great grandfather was born. Standing at  Joseph Smith’s birthplace  last May, she completed the circle of her family’s story. After Joseph’s death his children...