By Dani Dussan, Canyon View Ward
When I was 18, I realized I hadn’t thought about whether or not I’d serve a mission. I didn’t think long, then decided that if I received some big spiritual prompting that I should go, I would. Otherwise, I was already enrolled to go to college.
I grew up in Rexburg, ID, surrounded by the Church, then chose a random art and design college in Denver, CO. It goes without saying, the culture was completely different than what I was used to. Which was great. I learned so much and became friends with all kinds of people. I would often think to myself that growing up in Rexburg, I learned HOW to follow the gospel, and living in Denver, I learned WHY I follow Christ’s teachings.
Amongst all my personal growth, I adopted the attitude that “this was my mission.” I had “taught” people, been an example, worked a little with the missionaries, and even had someone come to church once.
I really never thought about serving a mission. My last semester of college, I took my classes online and got an internship in Salt Lake City, doing interior design work on temples, and I was told that they’d hire me full time after I graduated. It was my dream job right out of the gate!
One day at work in April, about three weeks before graduation, I was called in and told that the temple project they thought I would be able to work on full time was being moved to the local architects in Peru. So I couldn’t continue working there once I graduated.
Naturally, I was shocked. It was hard to keep working that day, so I left early and headed toward the temple to sort out my head and figure out what to do next. As I was walking through Temple Square, I saw a couple of sisters starting a tour and joined them. We went through the Tabernacle, then the Assembly Hall. Inside the Assembly Hall, the moment I sat down, the words, “Or you could go on a mission,” came to me clear as day.
I was again in shock. A mission wasn’t in my plans whatsoever. I was 22 at that point, and it felt like the time to go had come and gone. But I remembered my promise four years earlier: that if I received a big spiritual prompting, I’d go. And here it was.
After I got up, one of the sisters asked if I’d served a mission. I laughed and told her what had just happened.
My new purpose for going to an endowment session that day wasn’t figuring out what I’d do after graduating. It was now, “How do I organize myself and prepare for a mission?”
My faith in Christ has grown as I have practiced following the Spirit. My life is more amazing than I could have planned, and that is because I strive to follow God’s plan for me rather than think that I know better.