Digital Only: Young Adults
Could I Still Live a Consecrated Life after My Mission?
I thought the only time I could be consecrated to God was as a full-time missionary. When I returned home, I realized I was wrong.
On my mission, I heard phrases like these from missionaries and members:
“You can’t be as spiritual after your mission as you were on the mission.”
“Take advantage of this time, because you’ll never get spiritual experiences like this ever again.”
“This is the one time in your life where you can truly consecrate your life to the Lord.”
With only a transfer left of my mission, I was afraid to come home after hearing messages like these. I was scared of who I would be after my mission. Could I have the same wonderful experiences I’d had as a missionary? What was I supposed to do if I couldn’t fully consecrate my life to Heavenly Father anymore?
I used to believe that I couldn’t be as spiritual after my mission—until I learned what it actually means to consecrate your life.
What Does Consecration Mean?
One day, after I returned home from my mission, I was sitting in an endowment session and listening to the covenants I was making. As I listened, the truth finally sank in that one of the covenants we make in the temple is, in fact, to keep the law of consecration.
I was stunned. Why would one of our covenants with Heavenly Father be to keep the law of consecration if, like I’d worried when I was ending my missionary service, it wasn’t something we could live up to?
It was then that I realized I’d misunderstood—we are all, as disciples of Jesus Christ, striving to live the law of consecration. The law of consecration is part of our covenants because God intended for us to live a consecrated life!
“The law of consecration is a principle the Lord gives to His covenant people. To live this principle, men and women dedicate themselves completely to building up God’s kingdom and ensuring there are ‘no poor among them’ (Moses 7:18). They give their time, talents, and material resources to serve the Lord, His Church, and His children.”
This simple explanation helped me realize what it means to live a consecrated life after my mission and for the rest of my life.
Consecration, I’ve realized, doesn’t mean sitting and reading my scriptures all day. Consecration means following God’s commandments and using my time and talents to create a life that glorifies Him.
Even though I wasn’t a full-time missionary anymore, I was living a dedicated and consecrated life—I was doing it by making God part of my personal decisions. Whether it was about work, school, or developing my personal talents, involving Heavenly Father in my choices brought joy into my life. As I continued to involve Him in my life, I realized that His plan for me didn’t mean having me be a full-time missionary for the rest of my life. Instead, He needed me to build His kingdom in other ways. And these ways are just as important to Him as full-time missionary service.
As Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:
“When we look at our lives and see a hundred things to do, we feel overwhelmed. When we see one thing—loving and serving God and His children, in a hundred different ways—then we can work on those things with joy.
“This is how we offer our whole souls—by sacrificing anything that’s holding us back and consecrating the rest to the Lord and His purposes.”
I didn’t lose value as a daughter of God when I was no longer a full-time missionary. God valued me the same before, during, and after my mission. But now, because of my mission experiences, I have the spiritual maturity I need to continue my life in the direction God wants me to. Now I can confidently share my spiritual experiences with others.
Greater Spiritual Experiences
Keeping your testimony strong after the mission can be tough work. But I truly believe that as I have put in the effort to continue to read my scriptures every day, attend the temple frequently, stay engaged in my ward, and keep Heavenly Father close to me through my decisions, I have been just as blessed with miracles and spiritual experiences as I was as a missionary.
I loved my mission, but I have found even greater joy being home and being part of God’s work in ways I couldn’t have anticipated. I feel like I am a better disciple of Christ than I’ve ever been as I have made God my priority. And this goal is possible for everyone!
That has been the true miracle—that there is growth and a wonderful future for all of God’s missionaries when they come home. God blesses our work as missionaries and returned missionaries as we put in the work to stay on His covenant path.