From Sandy Foundation to Sure Rock: Elder Burrop's Conversion & Mission Prep Story

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In this episode, we feature Elder Carter Burrop, who shares his powerful journey of repentance, conversion and preparation for his mission, highlighting crucial scriptural and spiritual principles that apply to all.

Key Scriptural and Spiritual Principles:

The Choice to Follow God: The episode emphasizes the critical decision to actively choose God's path, referencing Elijah's challenge: "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, then follow him" (1 Kings 18:21). It also draws on Revelation, where the Lord desires us to be "hot or cold," not "lukewarm," because being in between "tears us apart". Carter's personal crossroads story exemplifies this decision, where he told his sister, "I'm either going to be really, really good or really, really bad".

A Desire to Know for Oneself: Inspired by his parents' faithful example, Carter began his journey by desiring to "find out for myself" if the gospel was true. This parallels Nephi's desire to "see and hear and know of these things by the power of the Holy Ghost for myself" (1 Nephi 10), and Enos's soul hunger that led him to pray. This personal quest for truth is essential for genuine conversion.

Feasting Upon the Words of Christ: The podcast stresses that the only way to "come to Christ" is by learning of Him, primarily by "feasting upon his words". The promise from Moroni 10 is highlighted: reading with real intent and a sincere heart will bring revelation through the Holy Ghost, enabling one to "know the truth of all things". Carter's intense scripture study (six to eight hours a day) resulted in a "love for learning more" and a profound "change of heart".

Revelation and the Holy Ghost Lead to Joy: When one truly feasts on the words of Christ, the Holy Ghost becomes "abundant in your soul," leading to "pure joy". This joy is described as a "fruit of the Holy Ghost" and the "absolute result of faith, repentance, and covenants". Carter's experience of profound happiness, even when losing friends and enduring external hardships, illustrates that inner peace and joy are gifts of the Spirit.

Repentance as Consistency and a Broken Heart: Repentance is taught not as a one-time event, but as "consistency" and "sincerity," which "takes time". It involves developing a "broken heart and a contrite spirit," a condition of soul that God requires instead of ancient animal sacrifices. Carter's own extended period of repentance allowed him to become "on the same wavelength" and a better missionary.

Building on the Rock of Christ: Drawing from Helaman 5:12, the discussion emphasizes building one's "foundation" upon "the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ," so that "when the devil shall send forth his mighty whirlwinds... it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless woe". Revelation, obtained through consistent spiritual practices, is the "rock".

Conversion as a Lifelong Process: The episode clarifies that the goal of missionary work is not just baptism, but helping individuals become "lifelong converts" and "disciples". Baptism is an entry gate to a "lifelong commitment to keep working towards". The ultimate "biggest convert" on a mission, though it sounds "cheesy," is often oneself.

The Call to Act Now: Carter passionately urges listeners, particularly those in high school, to "decide right now. Like stop. You can't procrastinate your repentance any longer. It's just it's literally going to kill you". He testifies that acting now, even at the "hardest moment," will lead to "pure joy" and be "worth it 100%".

This episode powerfully testifies that true preparation for a mission and for life involves deeply understanding our divine identity, embracing Christ's Atonement, consistently feasting on His words, and en

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_04 (00:00):
Like the kids are listening to this in high
school, like you have to decideright now.
Like stop, you can'tprocrastinate your repentance
any longer.
It's literally going to killyou.
I mean, you have to choose rightnow because think about if God
is real and God is true, howhappy he will be that you do
that.
I mean, you just got to decide,like stop, stop waiting.

SPEAKER_00 (00:30):
Alright, we're back.
Another episode of Mission PrepSeries Podcast.
So, we've got some great gueststoday.
Lauren is back with us.
Hey, Lauren.

SPEAKER_02 (00:38):
Hello.
How

SPEAKER_00 (00:39):
goes it?
Okay, once again, your mic ispointing the wrong direction.
There you go.

SPEAKER_02 (00:44):
Guy said it could be that way.

SPEAKER_00 (00:46):
Oh, well, Guy, the producer, he gave a little bit
of different instructions.
We got it now, though.
We're good.
Speak.
Hello.
See?
Perfect.
Alright, good.
So, we're joined by Lauren,who's, gosh, man, now what is
it, 12 days back from yourmission?
Yeah.
Nine days.
Four days.
Nine?
Yeah.
You still feeling the fire, oris it just weird?

SPEAKER_03 (01:07):
It's sad.

SPEAKER_00 (01:08):
It's sad.
It's sad to be back.
We'll get into that.
That's interesting.
Okay, we'll get into that.
All right, and then our guesttoday, Lauren and I will co-host
this one.
Introduce yourself, Carter.

SPEAKER_04 (01:18):
I'm Carter Burrup, and now I'm Elder Burrup.
About to go on my mesh.

SPEAKER_00 (01:22):
Elder Burrup as of how long ago?

SPEAKER_04 (01:23):
As of since last Sunday.

SPEAKER_00 (01:27):
Gosh, so you've gone through the whole...

SPEAKER_04 (01:29):
Week of MTC,

SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
yeah.
The home MTC.
Yep.
And then you go into the fieldliterally tomorrow.

SPEAKER_04 (01:35):
Wednesday.

SPEAKER_00 (01:36):
Wednesday, so two days from now.
Yeah.
You ready?

SPEAKER_04 (01:38):
Honestly, I've been ready.

SPEAKER_00 (01:40):
I mean, what's fun today is we get to get into your
story.
And if there ever was someoneready, I'd love it, man.
I love talking to people who doit right and who prepare right.
And you've got a great story,which is going to be fun to go
through.
But just a reminder of what thisis.
So...
you guys know my attitude.
It's pretty annoying, but it issuch an incredible, like once in

(02:05):
a lifetime opportunity to, to dothe work of the Lord full time,
whether it's a year and a half,two years, whatever amount of
time there's like, no one getsthat opportunity.
Like it is so humbling and sopowerful to be able to get to do
this.
And when you do it right,because clearly the scriptures
say there's a right way to dothis.

(02:26):
And we'll go over that in futurepodcasts.
It's life-changing.
It's like what we talked aboutlast time, Lauren.
It's a marvelous work and awonder.
Like you will have such crazy,wonderful, magic, spiritual,
crazy experiences if you do itright.
And those experiences arelife-changing, right?
Change your life, right, Lauren?

(02:48):
So what we're going to do todayis kind of focus on a couple of
the principles.
We always talk about these ideasthat you applied, Carter.
in your life and that hopefullyhe'll continue to apply on the
mission.
But we're excited to hear yourstory, dude.
So, well, I'll ask you thequestion.
A year ago, were you ready andprepared or were you committed

(03:08):
to go on a mission?

SPEAKER_04 (03:11):
I wouldn't say I was committed to go on a mission,
but a year ago I did definitelystart making changes.
But two years ago, that's adifferent story.

SPEAKER_00 (03:17):
Okay, two years ago, no way.
Yeah, no way.
No way.
Two years ago, were you here inCalifornia yet or are you still
in Utah?

SPEAKER_04 (03:25):
No, I was in California now.

SPEAKER_00 (03:27):
Because before you came to California, your
family's from Arizona.
They moved to California, but atthe same time, you are like a
semi-pro soccer player at theage of 12?
14.
14.

SPEAKER_04 (03:37):
16,

SPEAKER_00 (03:38):
yeah.
And you got an offer from anacademy in Utah to go and live
there with a bunch of 16, 17,18-year-olds and be on this,
like, what was it called?

SPEAKER_04 (03:49):
Real Salt Lake.

SPEAKER_00 (03:50):
Real Salt Lake.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And the idea is there that thatpreps you for a career in
soccer.

SPEAKER_04 (03:56):
Yeah.
That's pretty much what it is.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (03:58):
And you were good enough at 14 to be invited to
this thing.

SPEAKER_04 (04:01):
Yeah.
And we were good.
I mean, when I was 15, we werenational champions.
So we were a good team.
Can't lie.

SPEAKER_00 (04:07):
Yeah.
That is good.
Okay.
So that was like two years ago.
And then a year or a year,wherever the timeline is, at
some point you made a decision.
I'm leaving this.
So you went through COVID andthen you said, I'm leaving this.
I got to go back to my family.

SPEAKER_04 (04:21):
Yeah.
I came back at 16.

SPEAKER_00 (04:22):
Okay.
16 years old to SouthernCalifornia.
Never lived here before.
Jump into high school.
Don't know anyone.
Right.

SPEAKER_04 (04:30):
Well, I knew a few kids from Utah that lived here
in Southern California.
So I already kind of had an endthere.
Oh, but you know, It was justrocky from there.

SPEAKER_00 (04:41):
A good influence?
Those kids were good influencesor bad influences?
I

SPEAKER_04 (04:43):
love them, but they probably weren't the best
influences in my eyes now.

SPEAKER_00 (04:47):
Okay, so this is a really fascinating part of your
story because where you aretoday is night and day different
from where you were back then,which is common story.
Common for many of us, right?
So I'll ask you this.
What?
Well, actually, let's start withthe scripture, Ephesians 4.14.
Lauren, can you find that whileI'm talking?

SPEAKER_01 (05:08):
Yeah, I got you.

UNKNOWN (05:09):
Thanks.

SPEAKER_00 (05:10):
So when you were 14 and in that group, some rough
influences, you told me earlierthat now looking back, you
considered it a SandyFoundation.
For sure, yeah.
And what was missing that tookaway from that firm foundation
that we're supposed to be on?

SPEAKER_04 (05:29):
Well, it was during COVID.
So I couldn't go to church.
I couldn't see my family.
Couldn't go to seminary.
And I'm 14.
I don't have a strong testimonyof...
of the church yet.
So, I mean, it was, it wasliterally like I was a baby at
14 and just, I just learned thewrong things.

SPEAKER_00 (05:47):
All right.
So baby face Carter duringCOVID, which was a weird time,
but the bigger things are youweren't, you didn't have your,
you have an amazing family andyou were away from them, which
I'm sure was a really harddecision for all you guys to
make, but you didn't have that.
And then you didn't have churchat all.
No influence, no seminary, nochurch, no nothing.
Right.

SPEAKER_04 (06:04):
That's because of COVID.

SPEAKER_00 (06:05):
Yeah.
Cause of COVID, which nowrelates, Lauren, you have it.

SPEAKER_03 (06:09):
You said 414, right?

SPEAKER_00 (06:10):
414, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (06:11):
Yeah.
That we henceforth be no morechildren tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind ofdoctrine by the slate of men and
cunning craftiness whereby theylie in wait to deceive.

SPEAKER_00 (06:22):
So I love the visuals in scriptures that talk
about building your house on thefirm foundation, the rock of
Christ, versus the sandyfoundation.
Because what happens when thewinds come and the waters come
to the house that's on the sandyfoundation?
Crumbles, right?
Yeah.
And what happens on the rock?
You're firm on there.
So truly you're in a situationwhere that was a pretty sandy

(06:44):
foundation.

SPEAKER_04 (06:45):
Super sandy.

SPEAKER_00 (06:46):
And those are, that's a really critical, like
formative time, a 14 year old.
So super sandy.
So you took that sandyfoundation, came back to
Southern California and stayedon that sandy foundation?

SPEAKER_04 (06:57):
It got a lot sandier.
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (06:59):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (06:59):
It got really sandy.
And then, yeah, I mean, youcan't, at some point I had to
build the rock.

SPEAKER_00 (07:06):
But I want to ask you why, like a lot, many of us
who get on that Sandy foundationseek some pleasure.
We experienced some pleasure.
And oftentimes that pleasure iswhat we decide to run with as
opposed to deeper happiness.
But you always talk about how, Idon't know.
I don't want to put words inyour mouth, but sometimes you'd
say like there's an emptiness orthere was something missing or

(07:28):
something that caused you tostart to go, wait a minute, I
gotta, I gotta consider somechanges here.

SPEAKER_04 (07:34):
Well, yeah, I'll, I was talking to my friends about
this other day.
It's like, for what?
Like, that was my question.
Like, for what?
Like, why am I doing this?
Like, what is this going toprofit me?
It's not going to profit meanything.
And I just saw like the damage Iwas doing to not only me, but to
my family and especially to God.

(07:54):
And I was just like, I just feltextreme guilt.
I knew what I was doing waswrong.
And I knew that what I was doingis not going to be even worth it
in the years to come, especiallyfor eternity.

SPEAKER_00 (08:04):
So how big of a role did, remember in the first words
of Nephi, Nephi being born ofgoodly parents, how big of a
role did having these goodlyparents, these good parents play
in you identifying that maybesome of my behaviors, I feel
guilty.
I'm not happy.
How much of a role did thatinfluence from your family have?

SPEAKER_04 (08:24):
Well, being born of goodly parents was like
definitely essential because I Iwould look at my dad as like a
respectable guy.
Like I respect this guy.
Why is this guy believe so muchin this particular thing?

SPEAKER_00 (08:36):
Not only believe, but you often talk about how
you, when you're here, you'dwake up early and you can't tell
me about that.

SPEAKER_04 (08:43):
So I would, I would never go to seminary my senior
year and I would barely dragthrough like 20 minutes, 30
minutes late my junior year.
And I remember I would wake uplate for seminary obviously.
And I would go out and my dadwould, Walks in the room and
he's just drenched in sweat.
He already hit like a hardworkout that morning.
And then I get in the shower andI come out and he's already out

(09:04):
on the table reading hisscriptures.
I'm like, dude, this guy's amachine.
I'm like, I'm like, I'm just notlike to that level yet.
And I was almost inspired bythat.
And obviously, you know, stayingout late every night, probably
like three to four a.m.
Like in just my mom would stayup all night for me waiting.

(09:25):
On

SPEAKER_00 (09:25):
the couch.
And probably tears when you gothome, right?
Yeah,

SPEAKER_04 (09:28):
and tears.
So like it definitely, my familydefinitely was one of the
biggest impacts.
Why?

SPEAKER_00 (09:32):
So it's interesting you talk about how you started
to feel guilt and unhappiness.
And sometimes I think peoplefeel that and don't think twice
about it.
They brush it off.
They use the slight of men, thedoctrines of men to justify,
it's fine.
Whereas because you had thisstrong foundation of really
faithful, good examples andparents, you knew you had a deep

(09:52):
down feeling that it's notright.
I'm doing wrong here.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Was it just the parents or wasthere any, at that point belief
in God and like, okay, I'm notdoing, I'm not being obedient.
I'm not being faithful.
Or was there not that, that didthat not exist yet?
That's an important question.

SPEAKER_04 (10:07):
I definitely believed in God.
And even when I was not being mybest self and people would make
fun of Mormons, I would alwaysstick up for them.
Like it was never like a, to apoint where I was making fun of
like quote unquote Mormonschurch, Jesus Christ, lighter
saints, obviously.
But, Like, it never got to thatpoint.
I definitely did believe in God.
Like, I just didn't know howtrue it really was.

(10:29):
And I took it for granted.
Like I said in my talk earlier,I took that all for granted.

SPEAKER_00 (10:32):
Okay, so awesome.
So you are at a stage in yourlife where you're unhappy, you
feel guilty, you'reparticipating in the secular
world, and you look at theexample of your parents, the
love they give you, your mom'sup all night, your dad is up
just disciplined and readingscriptures, and you've said...
I looked at him and I loved himand I was like, man, it means

(10:54):
something to him that he'ssacrificing to do this.
And he told me something thatyou're like, I don't know if
this was the, I don't, maybethere isn't one thing that was
the pivotal change that made yougo, okay, I'm going to choose
something different here or I'mgoing to at least try it.
But you talked about, yourespected your dad so much and
you were like, if he believes inthis, then maybe it's worth
looking to looking at.
Like what?

SPEAKER_04 (11:15):
Oh yeah.
Like I looked, like I saidearlier, like I respect my dad a
lot.
And I would wonder, like, okay,why does he believe in this so
much?
And I had to find out formyself.

SPEAKER_00 (11:26):
Okay, so that reminds me of a scripture.
Lauren, can you think of anyscriptures where someone in the
Book of Mormon was like, what?
My dad just did or saidsomething.
I'm not going to just take hisword.
I've got to see if that's true.
Do you remember Lehi was talkingabout this crazy dream?
It came to pass that I, Nephi,having heard all the words of my
father considering the thingswhich he saw in the vision— And

(11:48):
also the things which he spakeby the power of the Holy Ghost,
which power he received by faithon the Son of God.
The Son of God was the Messiahwho should come.
Then he says this, I, Nephi, wasdesirous also that I might see
and hear and know of thesethings by the power of the Holy
Ghost for myself.
So you kind of started to go,same thing.
I respect my dad enough.
I see that he's very faithful.
There's something there, but I'mnot going to take...

(12:10):
Clearly at this point, youweren't taking anyone's word for
it.
No.
But you did have a desire to...
To find out for yourself?

SPEAKER_04 (12:17):
Well, because I often thought like, if this is
true and I just push it away,then I'm just, that's just not
going to be, how am I going toget like the eternal reward
that's promised?
If it is true, I want to befully faithful because then I
can get the eternal rewards andtemporarily I'll be happy and
eternally I'll be happy.

SPEAKER_00 (12:36):
So remember Enos talked about how he listened to
the words of his father, who wasa prophet.
And one day he was in the foresthunting or something.
And he said two things reallyprofound.
He said, my soul hungered and Iwanted to know for myself and
therefore I knelt down and Iprayed.
So would you say there was apoint where you're, I don't

(12:58):
know, is that an accurate wordto say?
Did your soul hunger?
Definitely.

SPEAKER_04 (13:02):
Well, I often thought too, like if I know the
difference between good andevil, why not choose good
continually or at least try to?
Especially because everyone inthe world knows to a certain
degree what's good and what'sevil.
So why...
Why not choose good?
That's kind of what I wasthinking.
Nice.

SPEAKER_00 (13:19):
Why not?
You've tried it one way, right?
Yeah.
You tried the other way.

SPEAKER_04 (13:24):
Sometimes you've got to touch the stove, though.

SPEAKER_00 (13:26):
Okay, which goes to principle one, right?
We talked today about those twoscriptures in the first class
that we teach, this concept ofchoosing and owning your
decisions in the gospel and inyour mission.
And we often refer to 1 Kings18.21 where Elijah, the prophet,
went to the children of Israelwho were sinning and said the
following.

(13:46):
He said, how long halt yebetween two opinions?
If the Lord be God, then followhim.
But if Baal, the false God, ifBaal be God, then follow him.

SPEAKER_01 (13:54):
And

SPEAKER_00 (13:55):
then in Revelation where it talks about the Lord
saying, look, I know your worksthat they're neither hot nor
cold.
He says, I would that you werehot or cold because if you're
lukewarm, I will spew thee outof my mouth.
you got to a point where youstarted to make decisions.
Yeah.
So do you remember that pointwhere you're like, Oh, okay.
Like what was the moment whereyou're like, I'm going to start

(14:16):
making some change.
Well, like how did that all comeabout?

SPEAKER_04 (14:20):
There's this, okay.
You want me to tell you thesnowboard story?
Sure.
I don't know that story.
This is like my last, uh, liketerrible thing I would say I
did.

SPEAKER_00 (14:28):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Confess some sins here,

SPEAKER_04 (14:31):
huh?
It's actually kind of funnylooking back on it, but so my
dad had just got this brand newsnowboard set.
Brand new board, brand newjacket, pants, boots, goggles,
helmet, like super nice stuff.
Like this is like not just somelike average like snowboarding
gear.
This is like super nice stuff.
And I remember it was a Tuesdaymorning and I told him, hey, I'm

(14:54):
just going to go to the gym realquick this morning before
school, which I was like, okay,normal.
And then I remember I grabbedthe snowboard bag, threw it in
my car, drove up to Big Bear.
Yeah.
I was snowboarding all day.
They didn't even know until 4.30p.m.
I'm 30 minutes away from thehouse, and my mom checks her
light 360.

(15:15):
And then I'm just– they got me.
And I came back, and this iswhat really hit me.
It was like– of course my momwas, like, crying mad.
She cries a lot, but I love her.
My dad was just, like, so– hewasn't even mad.
He was just so, like,disappointed, and I was just
like– It's time.

(15:37):
I'm

SPEAKER_00 (15:37):
done.
What was it about that?
It hurt your soul to see thedisappointment?

SPEAKER_04 (15:42):
Yeah.
I think just seeing thedisappointment and the fact that
he wasn't even angry with me.

SPEAKER_00 (15:47):
Wow.

SPEAKER_04 (15:47):
It was just like, wow.
That's kind of how I feel aboutGod, too.
Like, why was God so merciful onme when I was so terrible?
It's like he didn't strike medown.
I

SPEAKER_00 (15:59):
mean, we'll get into the message of the gospel later,
right?
The mercy that God gives usthrough Christ.
But, okay, so at that moment...
In that experience, you made adecision.
What was the decision you made?

SPEAKER_04 (16:10):
The decision was that, okay, I'm going to start
reading the Book of Mormon withmy dad because I'll just try it
out now.
And then if it goes good, thenI'm going to go talk to the
bishop, obviously, because forme it was never, it was either,
because I, okay, I'll go deeperinto this.
I told my sister a few morningsearlier prior to that, I told
her, because I was at aconfliction.

(16:30):
I was like, because I knowwhat's good, but I don't really
know it.
I'm already doing evil things.
So I told my sister one morning,this is probably kind of scary
for her.
I said, listen, I'm either goingto be really, really good or
really, really bad.
I don't know yet.

SPEAKER_00 (16:46):
Like in life, you're like telling her, look, I got
to, I love this dude.
So you're at the crossroads andyou're getting mature enough to
go, I've got a decision beforeme.
And you even like these twoscriptures we just read, you
even said to her, look, if theLord be God, I'm going to follow
him and I'm going to be reallygood.
But if bail or the religion ofthe world is what I choose, I'm
going down a path, man.

(17:06):
I'm going to go engage.

SPEAKER_04 (17:08):
Yeah, because I couldn't keep going back and
forth anymore because it wastearing me apart.

SPEAKER_00 (17:12):
Which is this principle of being lukewarm.
The Lord says, I would that youwere hot or cold.
Not lukewarm because it does.
It tears us apart.
He gives us agency.
And he says to us, practice theagency.
And sometimes he says, I wantyou to own that instead of
floating where things can pushyou forward.
Because sometimes when wechoose, what does the scripture
say?
Sometimes we need to taste thebitter in order to prize the

(17:33):
sweet.

UNKNOWN (17:34):
Yep.

SPEAKER_04 (17:35):
And I think even tasting the bitter brings you
closer to Jesus Christ.
Sometimes some people need totouch the stove and some people
can just see others touch thestove.
But honestly, everyone touchesthe stove to a certain degree.

SPEAKER_00 (17:49):
Absolutely.
We're all sinners.
Absolutely.
Okay, so you told your sisterthat and you were sincere.
I

SPEAKER_04 (17:55):
was 100% sincere.

UNKNOWN (17:57):
Wow.

SPEAKER_00 (17:58):
And then somehow you made this decision.
And the first decision you madewas, I see my dad, who I respect
and love, and he's reading theBook of Mormon every day,
decision one, I'm going to startreading the Book of Mormon every
day.
That's what you decided?
I

SPEAKER_04 (18:12):
was like, let me find out, because I was
interested.

SPEAKER_00 (18:17):
I look at Lauren, who just got off her mission.
I'm like, this is why I love hisstory so much.
This is what we sought on ourmission every day.
We wanted to find someone whowas humbled enough and starting
just that seed of faith to movetowards the path of keeping
certain commitments, which inour case was what?
What were we committing everyoneto do that if they would just do

(18:39):
it, we knew that they would geton the path of faith,
repentance, baptism?
Reading scriptures and praying.
I'm asking you, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (18:46):
Yeah, I mean, it's like the big three, like having
a testimony in the Book ofMormon of Joseph Smith and
making an effort to come tochurch, but doing it
consistently.
I used to tell our friends allthe time, because, you know, as
a missionary, maybe you're in anarea that's a little slower, and
so you want to keep holding onto these people that you just
love so much, but they got to beconsistently keeping these
commitments, becauseultimately...

(19:06):
you're not going to be thereforever, right?
And so you've got to help themdevelop habits that are going to
help them become lifelongconverts.
It wasn't like Carter woke upone morning, read the Book of
Mormon once, and was converted.
It's small habits, and that'swhy we're helping our friends
develop.
99% of the people that I taughthad never even heard of the Book
of Mormon before.
So without the consistentreminder like, okay, read this.

(19:28):
I'll make you a calendar.
I'll make you a plan.
Just follow it.
Just do it.
Promising the blessings thatfollow, and then as they do
that, they learn how to becomedisciples.
It's not just prepare them to bebaptized.
We're prepared to be lifelongdisciples.
So after you're baptized, whenyou have the gift of the Holy
Ghost to help you continuelearning, you already have these
good habits in place for you tokeep moving forward, endure to

(19:50):
the end, if you can say that.

SPEAKER_00 (19:51):
And you know what I found, Lauren, was when we would
work with these people, like atfirst I just thought, oh yeah,
makes sense.
If we can help someone make acommitment, that discipline will
help them move towards God.
But I was so dead wrong.
It had nothing to do with thembeing disciplined to keep a
commitment and change theirlife.
We were committing them to dothe things that would bring the
Holy ghost into their life,touch their hearts and change

(20:14):
them, right?
That's why come to church.
Cause you'll feel the spirit.
When you see the sacrament, thisHoly ordinance, this ancient
Holy ordinance by thepriesthood, you'll feel the
spirit when you're surrounded byloved ones or people who will go
out of their way to love you atchurch.
We always crossed our fingersthat they would, right?
You'll feel the spirit, right?
we would commit them to read theBook of Mormon, the Bible,

(20:35):
anything.
Not because, like you said, onetime they opened the book and
done.
No, but when they would readconsistently with a sincere
heart.
What's the promise in Moroni 10?
If you get the gift of thesescriptures, if you have a
desire, go ahead, what?

SPEAKER_03 (20:51):
By the gift of the Holy Ghost, you may know the
truth of all things.

SPEAKER_00 (20:54):
Second Nephi, yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_03 (20:57):
Hello.

SPEAKER_00 (20:59):
No, that is, yeah, you're right.
It's Moroni 10 too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, right?
So what's so powerful, Carter,about the decision you made was
there's no better, like if youwere on this path of like, okay,
I've got cold or hot, I've gotleft or right, the best decision
you could possibly made and thisbeautiful example your dad gave

(21:19):
you was go feast upon the wordsof Christ in order to find out
for yourself because thatcommitment, which on a mission,
that's your only goal.
Get your investigators and yourfriends involved to read the
scriptures because when they dothat, they will feel the spirit
themselves and they will findout for themselves.
So let's go back to your story.
So unless you have a scripture,Lauren.

SPEAKER_03 (21:38):
Well, I just had something that reminded me just
of the scriptures that you'vebeen sharing.
My mission president gave aninvitation to read through the
gospels to know Jesus Christbetter.

SPEAKER_00 (21:47):
New Testament.

SPEAKER_03 (21:48):
Yeah.
Sorry.
Yes.
And I was reading through Marktoday and Jesus Christ was
giving the parable of the sowerand he's talking about just the
different places where seeds canbe planted.
And it says, And have no root inthemselves, and so endure but
for a time.
Afterward, when affliction orpersecution ariseth for the
word's sake, immediately theyare offended.

(22:10):
And it makes me think of peopleon those sandy foundations.
They're there for a time, andthen a wave hits them or the
wind hits them or anything, andthey're just gone like that.
because they don't have that, inthis case, the soil that they're
able to grow and to flourish in.

SPEAKER_00 (22:28):
Which is such a perfect scripture to bring in
for your story, Carter, becauseif you would have started, you
made this decision, I'm going tostart reading the Book of Mormon
like my dad, but if you wouldhave done it two or three times
and been like, all right, I'mfeeling good, and then stopped,
that scripture applies, right?
So tell us, when you made thatdecision, how long ago was that?

SPEAKER_04 (22:48):
Midway through my senior year, so over a year.

SPEAKER_00 (22:52):
Over a year ago.
So when you made that decision,how committed were you to the
decision?
Where are you at now as far aswhat have you read?
What scriptures have you read?
Just tell us that.

SPEAKER_04 (23:02):
What scriptures have I read?
Well, I'm just going to say Iwasn't immediately like so
invested right after I read.
I remember I read a few chapterswith my dad and then I just
started to stop.
But then, obviously, I'm still,like, breaking away, like,
slowly from, like, the life Iwas living.
Yeah.
But I did cut everything coldturkey.
Oh.
In that sense, I won't go toodeep in all that.

(23:24):
Yeah, you don't need to.
But over time, just, like,socially, like, I slowly, like,
just, like, declined fromeverything.
And then that summer, after justhigh school was completely done,
that's when I dove intoscripture.
And I remember I read,obviously, the full Book of
Mormon.
But, like, for me, reading thescriptures, like, I didn't want
to just read it.
Just to say I read it, just likefor my ego, I'd be like, yeah, I

(23:45):
read all the scriptures before Iwent on my mission.
But I wanted it to be like, notonly did I read the scriptures,
but I studied them everychapter, line upon line, precept
upon precept, all that stuff.
Because at that point I waslike, this is too true.
It's too good and too true notto be true.
So why not be the best I couldpossibly be before my mission?

SPEAKER_00 (24:03):
What do you think of that, Lauren?

SPEAKER_04 (24:05):
You're so, that's crazy.

SPEAKER_00 (24:07):
Awesome, right?
Like I can't tell you how manymissionaries go out on their
mission and Never have even readthe Book of Mormon.

SPEAKER_04 (24:15):
Which I think is fine.

SPEAKER_00 (24:16):
It is.
It is fine.

SPEAKER_04 (24:19):
Because everyone's on their own pace.
But just for me in that time, Ihad already experienced so much.
I'm like, okay.

SPEAKER_00 (24:24):
You're going in.

SPEAKER_04 (24:24):
My mission almost starts right now.

SPEAKER_00 (24:26):
And you're right.
Let me preface.
Let me qualify.
Everyone should go on a missionno matter what stage you're in.
It is life-changing.
It is amazing.
And yes, there's differentlevels.
Part of the reason for thispodcast and these principles is
because Man, I want everyone tohave that spiritual, powerful
converting experience that Ihad, that Lauren, you had.
And so we're trying to encouragepeople to do it in better ways.

(24:50):
But there's a good, better, bestway to do it.
And sure, you're right.
The kids that go out who neverhave read the Book of Mormon,
yeah, I didn't mean for that tosound too judgmental, a little
bit, but thank you for beinghumble and bringing it back.
Go as well, because you'll hit apoint on your mission where you
do start to feast upon the book,you know, in the scriptures.
And then it all changed.
But the fact that you did it ayear before you even...

(25:13):
That's awesome.
That is so amazing.

SPEAKER_04 (25:16):
And the blessings that came from that were...
Obviously, I started to becomemore, like, you know, like,
cleaned so I could go get mypatriarchal blessing.
And that is great.
I suggest everyone do that.
But don't do it until, like,your late 17s.
Don't get it too early.
Until you're ready.
You got to experience a littlebit.
But...
just the blessings of scripturestudy and like stuff like that.

(25:38):
And then obviously meeting withthe Bishop over time and just
like fixing things, talkingabout things and just, just
overcoming stuff.
That's really all it was.

SPEAKER_00 (25:48):
So Lauren, could you find Helaman 512?
Yeah.
So, so Carter, you started toread the book of Mormon, dive in
with, with true intent.
I mean, again, back to, toMoroni 10, the promise.
If you read with real intent,then something will happen.
The promise will happen.
And I love your story.
Part of it is because you,principle number one, choose.

(26:10):
You truly chose, right?
So many, and again, I'm notdiscouraging this, but so many
of us go on our mission for goodreasons, but there are better
and best reasons.
And one of the common reasonspeople go on a mission is, oh,
it's time, right?
Right?
I'm supposed to do this.
Another reason is, well, all myfriends have gone, so I guess

(26:32):
I'll go.
Another reason is, well, myparents are kind of like
expecting me to go, so I guessI'll go.
Now, good reasons.
There's a better reason andthere's the best reason, right?
Those are kind of lukewarmreasons, right?
Those are halted reasons.
And what I've seen is those whogo out with the better choice,

(26:52):
which is I own my choice.
I am fully committed to this.
You're further along in theprocess that D&C 4 promises,
which says, if you have a desireto serve, then you're called to
the work, but see that you servewith all your heart, mind, and
strength.
And if you do this, there's thiswhole slew of promises.
So I think most kids who don'thave that strong commitment,

(27:13):
they do go out on a mission andeventually find it.
But man, how much morebeneficial it is for you to have
made that decision beforehand.

SPEAKER_04 (27:24):
Well, I feel like if you're going to choose to do
something, like do 100%.

SPEAKER_00 (27:27):
Me too.
Which is interesting coming fromthis athlete, right?
And Lauren, you're the same way.
You're a hardworking athletethroughout your time.
And when you decided to go on amission, you were in.
I mean, last time you gave us agood story about how you chose
and made that decision.

SPEAKER_03 (27:42):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 (27:44):
Can you read Helium 512?

SPEAKER_03 (27:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And now, my sons, remember,remember that it is upon the
rock of our Redeemer, who isChrist, the Son of God, that you
must build your foundation, thatwhen the devil shall send forth
his mighty whirlwinds, yea, evenhis shafts on the whirlwind,
yea, when all his hail and hismighty storm shall be upon you,
it shall have no power over youto drag you down to the gulf of
misery and endless woe, becauseof the rock upon which ye are

(28:08):
built, which is a surefoundation, a foundation whereon
if men build, they cannot fall.

SPEAKER_00 (28:13):
So this...

SPEAKER_04 (28:13):
The rock is revelation, right?

SPEAKER_00 (28:16):
So this is the second principle we teach.
I talk about how revelationleads to conversion.
It's the only way to do it.
Because as a missionary, youhave one goal.
Your one goal is to lead soulsto Christ.
And so the question is, well,how?
How does one come to Christ?
Well, the answer is reallyabundant and clear throughout
all of scripture.
Christ even said himself, thisis my doctrine.
There shall be no otherdoctrine.

(28:36):
Don't speak more or less of thisdoctrine because there's only
one doctrine.
And that doctrine is teaching ushow do we come to Christ.
And that doctrine is this, faithin Jesus Christ, repentance,
baptism, and the gift of theHoly Ghost.
That is the gospel.
That is the good news.
That's the only way to come untoChrist.
So if your goal and purpose as amissionary is to lead souls to

(28:57):
do those things, It starts withfaith.
So how do we help someone havefaith?
Well, the way we help someonehave faith is we help them to do
the things that will give themrevelation.
Because faith will only grow inthe truest sense and get us on
that foundation when we feel andrecognize the Holy Ghost.

SPEAKER_04 (29:16):
I agree.
Another thing on top of that isfeeling that revelation will
especially come through like Ifeel like a lot of people want
to be the best versions ofthemselves.
They have that epiphany in theirlife, like, oh, I want to be the
best I can possibly be.
It's like, who better to learnthan the perfect man, than Jesus
Christ?
Who else will you listen to?
Some podcaster, some YouTuber.

(29:41):
I mean, who else besides JesusChrist will you follow?
He's the perfect man.

SPEAKER_00 (29:45):
And the only way to know and follow Christ is to
Again, in 2 Nephi, feast uponthe words of Christ, for the
words of Christ will tell youand show you all things what you
should do.
And if you have questions aboutit, it says, then pray and pray
and pray, and then the HolyGhost will show you all things
what you should do.
Yeah, so there's only one way.
So you started down that path.
You decided, and it's funnybecause your decision to follow

(30:05):
your dad's example and read theBook of Mormon, you probably at
that moment didn't know thatwhat you were really deciding to
do was to go learn of Christ.

SPEAKER_04 (30:14):
I didn't, like I've said before, like I didn't, And
that time, like, I knew I wasmaking a good decision, but I
didn't realize how great of adecision I was making.

SPEAKER_00 (30:22):
So what happened?
So what happened?
So you started a feast and feastand feast.
What changed in your life?
Like, what did you, like, whathappened?

SPEAKER_04 (30:29):
Honestly, well.

SPEAKER_00 (30:31):
I mean, I watched it.
I watched you week to week.
I watched your face change, yourexcitement change, your
countenance change.
But you tell me, what happened?

SPEAKER_04 (30:41):
Well, when I decided to make all those changes, I
definitely got a lot of hate.

SPEAKER_01 (30:44):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 (30:46):
Listen, a lot of my friends were really angry with
me.
Wow.
They're like, how could you dothis to us?
Why would you do this?
And honestly, that justsolidified it more for me that
what I was doing was right.
And really, like, it really isliterally like the devil is
trying to, like, hold you back.
What was your question

SPEAKER_00 (31:06):
again?
The question is, when youstarted to feast upon the words
of Christ in a real studyingway, in a real way, what started
to happen?
Was it like, wow, these storiesare really cool.
This must be right.

SPEAKER_04 (31:19):
It was literally like a love for learning more.
I literally could not stopreading.
I'm not even joking.
I literally read for six toeight hours a day.
Like, I'm not joking.

SPEAKER_00 (31:29):
Lauren, did I tell you this would be the most
amazing story?

SPEAKER_04 (31:31):
Listen, ask my parents.
I'm not joking.
There's literally evidence.
Okay.
I'm not just saying

SPEAKER_00 (31:36):
that.
I believe you.
I saw you.
I watched you.

SPEAKER_04 (31:37):
And it was just, it was too good.

SPEAKER_00 (31:41):
Okay.
Now, so that's what I want toget to the heart of a little
bit, because again, theprinciple that I want kids to
learn is if you want to beprepared for your mission, you
have to understand this conceptthat in order to come to Christ,
the only way to do it is youhave to believe in him and then
you have to repent.
And then you have to enter intocovenants through baptism and
receive the gift of the HolyGhost.
But to get to that first step offaith, you have to learn of

(32:05):
Christ.
You have to feast upon hiswords.
So I want to ask you, becauseyou did that, what about
feasting upon the words ofChrist in the scriptures made
you happy, made you so excited?
Was it the stories are cool?
Was it, wow, this is a coolhistory lesson?
Or did something change here,deep in your soul, And in your

(32:26):
heart, what was happening?
A change of

SPEAKER_01 (32:28):
heart.

SPEAKER_00 (32:29):
Yeah, but why?
How?
What were you experiencing?
Was it sadness?
Was it scariness?
Was it joy, perhaps?

SPEAKER_04 (32:38):
It was true joy, for sure.
No more disposition to do evil.
I mean, I no longer wanted to dothe evil things I was doing.
And honestly, just lookingaround and seeing how it was
affecting me, well, obviously, Ididn't really think, okay, there
was times, am I really changing?
I still feel like I'm the sameguy.
But...
I said this in my farewell talk,but I knew I was really changing

(33:00):
when I started sharing thegospel with everyone.
Everyone.
Everyone I worked with.
Everyone that I used to befriends with that did not know
me in the best way.
Okay,

SPEAKER_00 (33:11):
so watch this.
Do

SPEAKER_04 (33:12):
you know about the Book of Mormon?

SPEAKER_00 (33:13):
So watch this.
So when we feast upon the wordsof Christ and we really dive in.

SPEAKER_04 (33:19):
It's joy.

SPEAKER_00 (33:19):
It is joy.
It's a pure joy.
And what's a synonym for joy?
What's another word for joy?
The Holy Spirit.
Right?
Yeah.
Because when you look in theBible again for the definition,
what are the fruits of the HolyGhost?
Joy is part of that.
And so when you started feastingupon the words of Christ, the
Holy Ghost became abundant inyour soul.

(33:40):
And the result of that is joy.
Joy, forgiveness, all of that,right?
Remember when Lehi in the dreamfinally got to the tree and
partook of the fruit and he ateit?
What did he say?
He's like, holy crap, this is sogood.
And what did he want at thatpoint?

SPEAKER_04 (33:55):
You want everyone to take it.
And then he looks over to theright.
He sees the great spaciousbuilding.

SPEAKER_00 (33:58):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Which is your story, right?
Yeah.
Like you're looking over here.
These guys mocking you.
You just said your friends weremocking you.
But then this other party waslike, this is so good.
I am so happy.
I just want to share it witheveryone.
Yeah.
And this is the process.
Lauren, this is what we didevery day, all day long, nonstop
until our feet were bleeding andwe were exhausted.

(34:21):
We wanted so badly.
Yeah.
for others to taste of thatfruit, which is the love of God
through the atonement of Christ.
And the way to do that is to getpeople to study the scriptures
and to pray about it.
And if they would keep thosecommitments, we could see in
them what happened to Carter,which is conversion, because

(34:41):
their faith would grow.
And then they'd have a desire torepent.
And when they would repent andfeel that forgiveness, man, the
heart changed.
Yeah.
Share a little bit about that.
You're doing all the rightthings.
You're studying the scriptureseight hours a day.
You're praying.
Tell us a little bit about,without detail, repentance.

(35:02):
Where did repentance fall intothat process?

SPEAKER_04 (35:08):
I feel like repentance is just consistency.
That's something that when I wastalking with the bishop, he
would always tell me the Lordloves consistency.
And that really is the truth.
I mean, if I'm consistently,because repentance is not going
to be one day.
Like the day I went and talkedto the bishop, I'm not just
like...

SPEAKER_00 (35:24):
Yeah, that's it, I'm done.

SPEAKER_04 (35:25):
Maybe God does just forgive me right then, but I
have to prove something.
I have to prove I'm reallysorry.

SPEAKER_00 (35:32):
Sincerity.

SPEAKER_04 (35:32):
Yeah, and I think sincerity takes time.
I think everything takes atleast a good amount of time to
really mean something.

SPEAKER_00 (35:38):
So these changes you've made in your life of
feasting on the words, not onlyevery day, but a lot every day,
and this broken heart, right?
So it's interesting becausethroughout all the Old
Testament, the covenant fromAdam up until the coming of
Christ was...
Part of the religion, ourreligion, was you build an altar
and you bring an animal and yousacrifice it.
That's the shedding of blood.

(35:59):
And then remember when Christcame and he says, no longer will
I accept your sacrifices and theshedding of blood, but instead I
require of you, do you rememberwhat it said, Carter?
I require of you a broken heartand a contrite spirit.
And that's the big thing I sawin you as you read scriptures.
You humbled up.

SPEAKER_04 (36:17):
Definitely.
I was definitely not veryhumble.

SPEAKER_00 (36:20):
And feasting upon the words of Christ was...
giving you that feeling of loveand joy.
And you were, you were becominghumble, brokenhearted, contrite,
which is a spirit of repentance.
That's the spirit and the, yeah,that's the condition of soul
that is repentant.
I like that.
That's good.

SPEAKER_04 (36:38):
Those are actually really good explanation.

SPEAKER_00 (36:42):
Lauren, you got any thoughts?

SPEAKER_03 (36:44):
Carter, I love that you said that, just talking
about like consistency and, Ithink I didn't really, well, not
I didn't really, I didn'tunderstand at all repentance
when I went out on my mission.
And so then I'd read through DNCand I had, you know, read
through my missionary purpose.
It's like, oh, preach repentancefor people.
I'm like, how am I supposed todo that?
I'm literally just a 19-year-oldgirl.

(37:04):
Like, how am I supposed to gotell people, oh, what you're
doing is wrong.
You need to change.
And then as I started doingGrowing my faith, I had faith
that I could change through theLord.
And I think repentance truly isjust committing to becoming,
committing to changing.
And so one thing that I've justbeen looking at, and Preach My
Gospel chapter 11 is one of themost useful chapters in the

(37:27):
entire book, in my opinion,because it really...
defines the necessity of helpingfriends keep commitments.
In the very first section, itsays, You know, we don't invite
people to keep commitmentsbecause we want to look good as

(37:48):
missionaries.
We want to be like, oh, well,our friend's doing this and our
friend's doing this.
But that's how people areconverted, right?
Just how Carter made thedecision to start reading the
Book of Mormon every day.
Actively and consistently doingthese things is what leads to
conversion.
And I think a lot of people, alot of missionaries get this
idea that, okay, I'm going tohelp someone get baptized and
then the ward will take care ofit, things like that.

(38:10):
But truly, baptism, if you cansay, as their first covenant
they make, it's not a one-timecovenant, but it's a lifelong
commitment to keep workingtowards.
And so these habits that we helppeople make as missionaries is
what helps them to continue tobe converted spiritually.
And they enter into that firstcovenant and covenants are

(38:31):
designed to justify theindividual that enters and keeps
it.
So as missionaries, we invitepeople to keep commitments
because then afterwards they'remore willing to keep their
covenant and that's how theybecome converted.
I think a really essential partof conversion is the Holy Ghost.
And so a lot of times I'd beteaching people and they'd have

(38:51):
this fear that after they'rebaptized, they couldn't mess up.
And when they messed up, it'd beover for them and God would be
angry.
God would punish them, thingslike that.
But we really tried to get itinto their heads and into their
hearts that they need the giftof the Holy Ghost to be able to
become converted.
And that truly, once you enterthat gate through baptism,
that's when the conversionprocess starts.

(39:12):
Of course, you start reading andyou receive a confirmation of
these things, but then you getbaptized and you get the gift of
the Holy Ghost and then you keepgoing.
with those good habits and youreceive more and more
confirmation because you havethe literal spirit of God with
you.

SPEAKER_00 (39:24):
Well, and the beautiful thing about that is
like, for example, Carter,you've gone through this
beautiful process that is asacred and ancient process,
which is coming to the Lord andthrough doing all the right
things that he asked, which isfeast upon his words, pray for
revelation and change yourbehavior, strive to be obedient,
but most of all, repent.

(39:45):
It brings the spirit into yourlife.
Now you know the pattern.
You know the routine.
So at any moment in your life,30, 40 years from now, when
you're unhappy in your soul, youknow the pattern of how to get
happy.
Where

SPEAKER_04 (39:58):
to go.

SPEAKER_00 (39:59):
You know where to go.
You know to whom to turn.
Yep.
And the way to turn to him isyou feast upon his words, you
pray, pray, pray, and yourepent.
And that pattern is a lifelongpattern.
That's where joy comes from.

SPEAKER_04 (40:12):
Daily repentance.

SPEAKER_00 (40:13):
Yeah, yeah.
Okay, so Carter, so...
You feast upon his words.
You're feeling the Spirit.
You're receiving revelationbecause you're feeling the Holy
Ghost.
You have a desire to share itwith others, and you do a great
job, and you're inviting others.
And you go about a year doingthis.

SPEAKER_04 (40:32):
Best year of my life.

SPEAKER_00 (40:33):
Even though

SPEAKER_04 (40:36):
it could, like, from a different perspective, outside
perspective, like, you look atit, like, it looked like it
really sucked because I wasworking full-time with my dad.

SPEAKER_00 (40:44):
Away from your friends.

SPEAKER_04 (40:45):
I had no friends.
I only had this guy back here,Hudson and Lucas.

SPEAKER_00 (40:49):
Our producer today.

SPEAKER_04 (40:50):
Yeah, our producer.
I mean, I literally lost all myfriends.
Like, yes, I'll still talk tothem, but like...

SPEAKER_00 (40:56):
Yeah, you weren't a part of their life.

SPEAKER_04 (40:57):
I just wasn't a part of their life that much anymore.
And when they would come back,obviously I'm not with them
anymore because I'm just notthat same person anymore.

SPEAKER_00 (41:04):
And from an outsider, it's like, wow, your
life is not good, dude.
It's like, wow, it looks likeyou just

SPEAKER_04 (41:08):
fell off, bro.

SPEAKER_00 (41:09):
But for you...
For

SPEAKER_04 (41:11):
me, I didn't fall.
I literally found my purpose.

SPEAKER_00 (41:15):
This is great, Lauren.
I told you.
The story of Carter is soexciting, and he hasn't even
gone on his mission yet.
And I love, Carter, that youwill go out prepared to lead
people to Christ because youwent through a very dramatic
coming to Christ yourself.
You know what it is to turn awayfrom sin, apply faith unto

(41:35):
repentance, unto real covenants.

SPEAKER_04 (41:38):
Yeah, and onto faith, it's like, where will you
go?
Let's say God is real.
And let's say he's not real.
But if God's real and you servehim fully, you get eternal life.
And if God is real and you don'tserve him, you don't get to be
with God.
And obviously we can go intospecifics on that, but you don't
get to be with him.
And if God isn't real and youserve God like he's there, then

(41:59):
your life will benefit you.
the people around you.
You'd be a better father,brother, friend, everything.
And if there's no God and youdidn't believe in God and you
just die, you just die.
There's nothing.
Why not take the chance tobelieve in God?

SPEAKER_00 (42:11):
So one day on my mission, I was sent to the city
of Dnepropetrovsk.
Let me try that again.
Dnepropetrovsk.
And we got our visas taken awayso we couldn't preach, which was
the hardest time on my mission.
I literally couldn't talk topeople.
for like a month and a half,which was like the worst thing
he could possibly do to me, likeliterally knives.
It was so hard.

SPEAKER_04 (42:30):
Because you were on fire then, right?

SPEAKER_00 (42:31):
The whole mission, we were on fire, talking to
everyone.
So I really, this was the lowestpoint of my mission, but then
they, my mission presidentcalled and says, you're back,
go.
We just ran.
But during that time, I was justdoing our best to find inactive
members.
And I remember knocking on thisdoor of Mikhail Aginko.
And this cool looking dude opensthe door and I'm like, Are you

(42:51):
Michael Gilgenko?
He's like, ah, the missionaries.
He's like, yeah, I was like thefirst baptism in Nepper.
Like the first one.
I was like, you were the firstmember of the church here?
He's like, yeah, come on in.
And I'll never forget because wewent in his cool house.
And back then, I'd never seen acomputer with graphics on it.
He was a graphic designer, whichled me down the career I'm in.

(43:12):
And I was just so impressed withthis dude.
And we just became good friendswhen we were talking.
One day...
because we kept meeting with himand we really hit it off.
One day we knock on the door andhe says, come in guys, come in.
And he had a friend at thetable.
We get into this deep religiousconversation and this friend
goes, hey, okay, you guys.
He's like, I'm a communist.
Like I'm a post-communist, butI'm a communist.
I have a question for you.

(43:32):
And here's his question.
And he says, depending on if youanswer this question right or
wrong, we'll determine whetheror not I will take the
discussions from you.
You answer it right and I'lltake the discussions.
We're like, oh, you know, that'slike this guy's soul is on the
line for us.
All right, go for it.
And we're praying.
So he answers this.
He says, if you live yourreligion, your faith and

(43:52):
repentance and all that, thecommandments, your whole life,
and at the end of your life, youlook back and go, you know what?
It wasn't happiness.
It wasn't joy.
It was kind of miserable.
But, you know, I did it becauseit was right.
He says, if you live it yourwhole life and then look back
and go, it didn't bring you joy,he said, would you do it again?

(44:13):
If you had the chance to do itagain, would you do it again?

SPEAKER_04 (44:15):
That's what he asked you?
That's what he asked us.

SPEAKER_00 (44:18):
Okay, so interesting question, right?
Like in my mind, I was like,okay, does he want me to say, of
course I would sacrifice for thetruth even if it made me
unhappy?
Or does he want me to say, no,like without the joy, it maybe
wouldn't be true.
You know, like we werequestioning, how does he want us
to answer?
How would you guys answer?

SPEAKER_04 (44:38):
So he's saying if you live your whole life
following the commandments andit doesn't bring you joy, you
look back, will you be happy?

SPEAKER_00 (44:43):
He says when you look back and let's say you had
a chance to do it over again,would you do it over again?
Or would you be like, well, itdidn't bring me happiness, so
forget it?
Or was he looking for you tosay, I don't care that it didn't
bring me happiness.
I know it's true and I'm true towhat my convictions are.

SPEAKER_04 (44:56):
Well, you could also just say the commandments and
following the right brought mehappiness.

SPEAKER_00 (45:01):
Yeah, what do you think, Lauren?
What would you say?

SPEAKER_03 (45:03):
Well, if those were like the only two options,
I'd...
I'd say, yeah, I'd do it again.
I mean, you read through theBible and you read all these
stories of people that were justpersecuted and mocked and like
beheaded, killed, whatever.
You do all these things and theystill did everything that God
asked them to.
I mean, look at the savior.
He did like the one thing thatnobody else could do because he
knew that he had to do it.

(45:24):
He just followed the will of thefather.

SPEAKER_00 (45:25):
So that's the line of thinking I started to go
with.
But then I asked one question tomyself, but those who made the
sacrifice, were they happyinside?
Yes.
Like to me, they were.
Christ, the only time that Ithink Christ was really truly
unhappy was in the garden whenhe took upon your sins and my
sins and your sins, and for thefirst time in his existence was

(45:47):
removed from the presence of theFather.
There was true misery andunhappiness because of our sins.
But other than that, everythingthat he went through because of
the love that he had, he washappy.
He had joy.
So that's what I said to theguy.
I'm like, well, look, theabsolute result of faith,
repentance, and covenants is ajoy.
Like, it's joy.

(46:07):
It is.
There's no way around it.
You could be kicking me in theface, taking my business, my
money, my clothes, and my innerpeace and joy can still be there
if I have faith in Jesus Christ.
So I was like, yeah, if therewas no joy, I wouldn't live it
again because joy is the fruitof the gospel of Jesus Christ.

(46:28):
All right, you know what hesaid?
He looked at me and he goes...
Correct answer.
That's a good answer.
And then guess what?
He didn't take the discussionsfrom us.

SPEAKER_04 (46:36):
The way he worded that question to you was
actually so messed up.
That was like such a trapquestion.

SPEAKER_00 (46:40):
Yeah, it kind of was, yeah.
Yeah, his intention was reallyto try and like out logic these
dumb 18-year-olds.
But I like it because it didforce me to ask that question
because I'm just riffing off ofwhat you said, which was this
whole past year, Was the bestyear of your life.
100%.
Even though all the things thatyou thought were going to make
you happy through high school,being popular, being cool,

(47:03):
partying, doing all thesethings, you didn't have any of
that.

SPEAKER_04 (47:05):
Waste of time.

SPEAKER_00 (47:07):
It's amazing, right?

SPEAKER_04 (47:08):
That's the question.
For what?
Do all this for what?
There you go.

SPEAKER_00 (47:11):
So now the past year, you're just happy.
And I love your story becauseyou decide, I'm going on a
mission.
You put your papers in.
You get your call to Philly.
He's going to get beat up.
Just look at his face.

SPEAKER_02 (47:25):
Why would you say

SPEAKER_00 (47:25):
that?
Because Philly's a rough place.
And look at his face.
He's going to get beat up a lot.
It's cool.
That's a good story.
I'm just kidding.
You're not going to get beat up.

SPEAKER_04 (47:34):
We'll see about that.
I don't know if they'll beat meup.

SPEAKER_00 (47:36):
Carter's pretty...
Yeah, he's like a bodybuilder.
He's pretty buff.
I'm just saying, it's a roughplace.
We got beat up a lot in Ukrainebecause they were rough people.

SPEAKER_04 (47:44):
Oh, you actually did?

SPEAKER_00 (47:45):
I mean, they...
I mean, we had a knife put on usthree or four times.
Oh, wow.
Probably...
Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (47:53):
I feel like that happens to a majority of
missionaries, though.
Really?
I'm going to have to beanticipating this, getting ready
for this?
I got a couple of guns pulled onme.

UNKNOWN (48:01):
Wow.

SPEAKER_00 (48:02):
Listen, but how great are these stories?
Because when you're doing thismission right, you're protected.

SPEAKER_04 (48:09):
You really are.
Why would they pull a gun onyou?
You're preaching about Jesus.
You'd be

SPEAKER_03 (48:13):
surprised.

SPEAKER_00 (48:14):
Just wait.
It's great, dude.

SPEAKER_03 (48:16):
It's so funny.
My mom was talking to me theother day, and she's like, well,
how many doors do you think gotslammed in your face?
I was like, thank you about it.
I was like, well over 500.
Yeah.
Like well over 500.
And she was like, what?
Because she had seen a video ofthis lady like yelling at me and
my companion just at the doorand she like slammed the door
right in her face.
And she was like, that made mekind of sad.
I'm like, no, like you don't getit.

(48:36):
Like that's, I was like, that'sbecause you're one step closer
to another person that's likegoing to accept

SPEAKER_00 (48:42):
it.
I love your attitude about that.
I saw that in your emails thatyou'd write home.
You're like, bring it on.
I have five emails.
Spit on me.
I have five.
Yeah, you have five emails.
I was very

SPEAKER_01 (48:51):
inconsistent.
Yeah,

SPEAKER_00 (48:54):
no, it's...
But all those are glorious,amazing experiences, and you're
protected.
You're doing the work of theLord, and you're doing it with
your whole heart, might, mind,and strength, which is what D&C
4 says.
And then you will reap.
You will sow.
It is the...
It is the requirement that ifyou keep going with the passion

(49:14):
and the faith that you have now,you will have a glorious
experience of whatever hardshipscome in your face.
You'll love it because you'llhave joy through it.

SPEAKER_04 (49:21):
Yeah.
And I think back to DNC, likeDNC is so good.
I mean, my favorite verses inthere, it's like seek to obtain
my word before you declare it.
And that whole thing.
Then you have the power of Godto like, what is it?
To persuade men.
I don't really know exactly howit goes.
Yeah.
That one's good.

SPEAKER_00 (49:38):
That one's really good.
Dude, we're excited, man.
Anything else you want to addbefore we get to the whole world
says goodbye to you for twoyears and you go and just...
I'm jealous, man.
Like, we are so blessed to livein a time where we get to go and
do the work of the Lord andthat's it.
Like, this is an ancient,ancient tradition, I'm assuming,
right?

(49:59):
Adam and Eve would send theirkids out to those who'd gone
astray and go, we need you tocommit your life to go and do
the work of the Lord.
We get to be a part of thatancient tradition.
And it's just...
So special.
And we're so blessed.
It's

SPEAKER_04 (50:10):
easier for us.
Like, you can look at the storyof Ammon.
If he didn't defend those sheep,King Lamoni was about to just
slay him.
So, I mean, there's a lot lesspressure on us.

SPEAKER_00 (50:20):
Oh, it's easier.
Well, we'll see what kind ofguns and knives get pulled on
you.
We'll see.
You're going to Philly.
You'll be good.
Good.
Well, dude, we can't wait tohear all the stories.
And we know you'll be great.
And just...
Hold tight to the principlesyou've learned in the last year,
which is feast upon the words ofChrist.

(50:41):
That grows your faith.
Keep repenting and teach othersto do it.
Help them recognize the HolyGhost.
And, man, it's going to beawesome, dude.
You're going to love it.

SPEAKER_04 (50:48):
Yeah.
I think the last thing I'llleave with is just, for me, for
the two years ahead, is just,like, the kids are listening to
this in high school.
Like, you have to decide rightnow.
Like, stop.
You can't procrastinate yourrepentance any longer.
It's literally going to killyou.
I mean...
You have to choose right nowbecause think about if God is

(51:09):
real and God is true, how happyhe will be that you do that.
I mean, you just got to decide.
Stop waiting.
It's annoying to think aboutright now just waiting and the
fact that I waited even so long.
Don't wait.
Do it right now.
Do it at the hardest moment.
The hardest moment is going tobe right now in your life when
you think you have everythingfigured out.
You got your friends.

(51:30):
You got whatever it is.
Just do it right now.
It's going to be worth it.
100%.

SPEAKER_00 (51:38):
What a beautiful message to end on.
That's so perfect.
All right.
Thanks for joining, Carter.
We'll see you in two years.
It

SPEAKER_04 (51:44):
was a pleasure.

SPEAKER_00 (51:46):
Lauren, anything else to add?

SPEAKER_03 (51:49):
You know, people say the mission is a lot of
different things.
It's exciting.
It's rewarding.
It's the hardest year and ahalf, two years of life.
But truly, for me personally,the mission set the foundation
for my discipleship.
And so...
Carter, like that's awesome thatyou already have like a really
strong foundation.
So you're going to be able tolike hit the ground running.
You're just going to go.

(52:11):
And I feel like I had thatmindset, but I didn't have all
the like tools to build thatfoundation.
But now I have it.
And, you know, our stakepresident is like, oh, it's like
a boot camp.
Your mission is like the bootcamp for the rest of your life.
I feel like you just got to go.
And so really like DNC Forges,you made the choice.
And, you know, there's promisedblessings with that.
Like when you choose to serveand you do it with all that you

(52:33):
have, you know, like law ofconsecration, you promise the
Lord that you do whatever heasked of you.
And this is why he's asking youto do right now.
So as you do with like 110%,you're like, you go out with the
intention that you're going tohelp other people come unto
Christ.
But really like the biggestconvert, it sounds like kind of
cheesy, but like the biggestmission or the biggest convert
on your mission is yourself.

(52:54):
And that's something that was110% true on my mission.
Me too.
Can I say one more thing?

SPEAKER_00 (52:59):
Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04 (53:00):
Back to the repentance process.
I feel like I didn't reallyanswer enough on that.
The repentance process is time.
I would not have been the same.
When I was halfway through mysenior year, I decided, okay, I
want to go on a mission.
I thought I was going to go on.
Everyone would ask me, when areyou going on your mission?
When are you going on yourmission?
Oh, two to three months.
Two to three months.
Two to three months will go by.
When are you going on yourmission?

(53:21):
Oh, two to three months.
It just kept going.
And then it was like a year,almost a year and a half.
You need time to repent.
That was the beauty of it all.
I had so much time to repent.
I knew I would have never beenin the same missionary that I
know I'm going to be now than Iwould have been if I would have
left right out of high school.

SPEAKER_01 (53:38):
Wow.

SPEAKER_04 (53:39):
Because I'm not on the same wavelength that I'm on
right now.
And I know even if the Lordpushed me back even two years
from now, I would be an evenbetter missionary.

SPEAKER_00 (53:48):
So you're saying that, I remember at the time,
you were a little frustrated.
You're like, come on, I've madethe decision.
Let's go.
Oh, I was so frustrated.
Your leaders were like, no,let's just keep going through
this process.
Let's keep talking.
More time.
You keep feasting.
You keep praying.
And now you look back and go,there's nothing better and more
important than faith torepentance.
There's nothing better than thetime that I took to repent

(54:11):
because that is what humbledyou.
That is what...
brought forgiveness and thespirit in.
And now you're so converted.

SPEAKER_04 (54:17):
Yeah.
And I wish I had more time.
I wish I wasn't leaving until alittle later.

SPEAKER_00 (54:21):
No, you're good.
You're good.
You're good.
Cause you can continue to repentand have faith and grow on your
mission.

SPEAKER_04 (54:28):
Yeah.
It really is beautiful.
The whole process.
That's why I want other peopleto feel like it's never too
late.
Do it now.
You'll look back a year andyou'll be so happy with your
decision.
I mean, literally it's pure joy.
Like you said.

UNKNOWN (54:43):
Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 (54:43):
You're literally about to go be like living proof
that the atonement works to somany people.
I was there.
I'm going to tell them I

SPEAKER_04 (54:51):
was there.

SPEAKER_00 (54:51):
And that is so powerful.
They will feel of that spiritand they will.
You're a good leader.
Lauren, you're a great leader.
I love that you guys are theidea that you guys are the ones
out there doing the work of theLord because you're both so
powerful, such good leaders, sostrong.
And you're successful.
And that's what it's all about,right?
How great will be the joy if youwork and labor your entire life

(55:13):
and bring it, say, be one soul?
How great will be your joy?
And that's what it's all about.
So, good job, you guys.
Can't wait to hear more aboutyour stories.
You better email so we can passalong to our listeners.

SPEAKER_04 (55:25):
I still need to make the email list.
I haven't

SPEAKER_00 (55:27):
done that yet.
Oh, slacker.