Elder Corey Harris: An Example To My Younger Brother

Monday, July 11, 2011

An Example To My Younger Brother

Not a whole lot to say or mention, but I first want to mention an experience I had yesterday at church while partaking of the sacrament. So while the sacrament was going around, I was reflecting on the life of Jesus Christ, and the example that He set for all of God's children. I am just amazed still to this day, that He truly was perfect in everything that He did, and most importantly of all, He does love each and every one of us. I thought about how all we have to do in this life is just follow His footsteps, and life won't be a crazy roller coaster, with normally the end result of vomiting. The Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that it is all simple, not complex. And then I thought of my brother Tyler, who just left to the MTC this past week. It had hit me all of a sudden that I had been an example to my younger brother, and because of my example, he too went on a mission to serve the Lord. It wasn't like I did anything spectacular either! I was a normal brother, got into some arguments once in awhile, but still loved him. Pretty simple. I had almost begun to cry thinking about my brother and how proud I was of him. I am certain that our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ are proud of us when we do what is right, and make the best decisions in our lives. God's plan for us is indeed very simple, and basic, and so easy to follow. I am grateful that I had the opportunity I had to realize this this past week, how all we need to do is follow Christ. I know that His gospel and plan for us is true. I know it with all the certainty of my soul. I am just full of love towards everything. I love being out here on a mission. I love you guys. Hope that you have an awesome week!

(Photo: Corey and Tyler in early 1993.)

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About LDS Missionaries

The Church’s missionary program is one of its most recognized characteristics. Mormon missionaries can be seen on the streets of hundreds of major cities in the world as well as in thousands of smaller communities.
The missionary effort is based on the New Testament pattern of missionaries serving in pairs, teaching the gospel and baptizing believers in the name of Jesus Christ (see, for example, the work of Peter and John in the book of Acts).
More than 50,000 missionaries are serving missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at any one time. Most are young people under the age of 25, serving in nearly 350 missions throughout the world.
Missionaries can be single men between the ages of 19 and 25, single women over the age of 21 or retired couples. Missionaries work with a companion of the same gender during their mission, with the exception of couples, who work with their spouse. Single men serve missions for two years and single women serve missions for 18 months.
Missionaries receive their assignment from Church headquarters and are sent only to countries where governments allow the Church to operate. Missionaries do not request their area of assignment and do not know beforehand whether they will be required to learn a language.
Prior to going to their assigned area, missionaries spend a short period of time at one of 17 missionary training centers throughout the world. There they learn how to teach the gospel in an orderly and clear way and, if necessary, they begin to learn the language of the people they will be teaching. The largest training center is in Provo, Utah, with additional centers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, England, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, the Philippines, Spain and South Korea.
Male missionaries are addressed with the title “Elder” and women are addressed with the title “Sister.”
A typical missionary day begins by waking at 6:30 a.m. for personal study. The day is spent proselytizing by following up on appointments, visiting homes or meeting people in the street or other public places. Missionaries end their day by 10:30 p.m.
In some parts of the world, missionaries are sent only to serve humanitarian or other specialized missions. Those missionaries do not proselytize.
Missionary work is voluntary. Missionaries fund their own missions — except for their transportation to and from their field of labor — and are not paid for their services.
Contacts with family and friends during this time of service are limited to letters and occasional phone calls to family at special times. Missionaries avoid entertainment, parties or other activities common to this age-group as long as they are on their missions, so they can focus entirely on the work of serving and of teaching others the gospel of Jesus Christ.
See http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/background-information/missionary-program