O That I Were an Angel

“O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

“Yea, I would declare unto every soul…the plan of redemption…that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth” (Alma29:1-2).

For the past year I have been serving a part-time FamilySearch Support mission in the Family History Department.  Most people have no idea what that means.  For me it means helping people do their family history.  Every day 15 hours a week, I sit at a computer taking phone calls, chats, and emails from people with questions about their family trees.  I wear a little missionary nametag to church every week and teach lots of family history lessons.  Sometimes I am really good at what I do.  Sometimes I am really bad at what I do, but it’s a work in progress.  In addition to my service mission I go to school, take tests, do homework, spend time with my friends and family, watch movies, read books, and participate in lots of other incredibly normal activities. 

Since there aren’t very many 21-year-old family history service missionaries attending Brigham Young University, I get lots of questions.  Why are you a service missionary?  Because I came home early from my full-time mission.  Where did you serve? In Chile. What happened?  I got sick.  With what?  I had some spinal problems.  Are you better?  Yes.  Do you like being a service missionary? Yes.  Can you date?  Yes.  Do people ask you out a lot? And that’s about where I call it quits with answering questions!

My service in family history is often received with enthusiasm and I always appreciate the support.  Most people don’t know what I went through to earn my little missionary nametag.  The men and women I work with now are not the spry young missionaries I worked with a year and half ago. Most of them are over 60; lots of them have physical challenges both personally and in their family life; and sometimes their service needs to end so they can take care of themselves or their families.  I am so deeply touched by their faith and devotion.  Their examples are my favorite part about my mission.

Ever since my time in Chile there have been moments when I felt like Alma: “O that I were an angel…that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God.”   Lying on the floor twitching uncontrollably; watching my mother watch me cry; limping to the bed after surgery just weren’t the things I wanted to be doing with my time.  I thought, O that I had the strength to be a more productive servant of the Lord.  But, as Alma says, “behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.”  I love his humble heart and am reminded of the many things I have been given by the Lord.

We don’t need to be discouraged by what we can’t do, but we should do what we can!  I am learning that the Lord knows where and what He wants us to be, and it's okay when things don't go the way we wanted or planned.  Elder David A. Bednar says that “Ordinary people who faithfully, diligently, and consistently do simple things that are right before God will bring forth extraordinary results.”  I have been blessed to see some extraordinary things. I might not quite be an angel, but I am so grateful for the angels God sent me!