Commitment Issues

One of my favorite things about going to institute, is when the teachers tell stories. 
I love to hear what other people are up to.
(This can apply to other classes in school...if the teacher tells stories.)
Anyway, today in my Teachings of the Living Prophets class...
We were going over Elder Holland's Priesthood talk from the October 2011 General Conference.
The main premise of his talk was about getting more of the guys to go on missions. To answer the call to battle.
And my teacher told this story: (paraphrased in my words)
A student knocked on his door one day 
Positively shaking. Literally trembling.
And asked if she could come in.

She was debating about whether or not she gave the right answer....to something that had happened that morning.
So, my teacher finally got her calmed down enough to have her tell the story.

Apparently, there was this missionary.
Who due to some medical problem, had to come home for three months from his mission, then he went back again.
Well...that day (the day the girl came to my institute teacher.), the missionary...showed up on her doorstep having left the mission (before he was supposed to.)
And basically said. "I fell in love with you while I was home for three months, and while I was back on my mission, the Lord told me to come back home and marry you. So (name here) will you marry me?

Yes. He proposed to her.

Half of my class was leaning forward in their seats to hear the answer the girl gave. (I was expecting her to say yes, though I was silently screaming for her to say no.)
The other half (from what I could see...the girls) were shaking their heads as they heard what the missionary said.

My first reaction was this...if I had been proposed to by a guy who had left his mission to see me...I would to say something along the lines of "Boy. Turn around right now and get your butt back to that mission."
Yah, I would not have been sympathetic at all to this missionary. I wasn't very friendly in my thoughts. "Idiot, you're listening to Satan. What would make you think that leaving a mission God called you to to marry a girl you don't really even know... is a good idea?" (I have no idea how well they knew each other, I'm assuming.) They probably knew each other...idk...but..still I would have said "No."
-I could tell that other girls agreed with me by muttered conversations and shaking of heads as this story was being told.

So...what was the girls response?
After an agonizing wait. The teacher told us that she responded like so, she drew herself up. (raised chin and all...as I picture it) and said:

"Young man, if you can't keep your commitment to the Lord for 2 years, what makes you think I would want anything to do with you?"

Oh man....that was a good response. 
She hit the nail on the head.
(I felt like applauding! Woot! way to go girl! Way to go! Awesome response!)

This goes back to my dedication post a while back ago.

If a man can't be dedicated to the Lord and commit himself for two years to him and serve a mission preaching his gospel....Can you truly trust that they will remain dedicated to their wife and children for time and eternity? No. I don't think you can. Because having a family is waaay harder then anything that will happen in the mission field. And if you can't take the heat of the mission....I don't think you can take the heat of raising a family either.

Now...this doesn't mean I'm bashing on those individuals who come back early from missions or don't go on missions at all. Elder Holland said in his talk:
 "To those of you who have served or are now serving, we thank you for the good you have done and for the lives you have touched. Bless you! We also recognize that there are some who have hoped all their lives to serve missions, but for health reasons or other impediments beyond their control, they cannot do so. We publicly and proudly salute this group. We know of your desires, and we applaud your devotion. You have our love and our admiration. You are "on the team" and you always will be, even as you are honorably excused from full-time service. But we need the rest of you!"

We talked over the concept of girls wanting the guy to be a Returned Missionary in class and how the guys who had to return early from missions are feeling...jipped because they couldn't control the circumstances that prevented them from going, or from having to come home early.

My teacher said that this was 'silly' because...President Monson never served a mission.
So if a girl says "I can't marry a non RM" its basically them saying "I can't marry President Monson. He didn't serve a mission."
It sounded really silly when he said that.
So while a mission is important...
I think another girl in my class hit another nail on the head. (those poor nails, they were hit alot today)

She said "It comes down to where the young man's heart is, not if they're an RM or not."

Is this young man striving to follow god's will? To live the commandments? To have a pure heart a contrite spirit, to be humble?
It's not a question of did this guy serve a mission or not.
Its a question of where is his heart? What is his heart set upon?
That really matters in the end.

Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi

The Dream



-My dad was getting off a plane returning from a mission. He was wearing a green army uniform with his left arm was in a sling. But I was excited to see him come off the plane, so I ran around the corner and down the hallway to jump into his arms.

-I came upon a hollow. It was a hill...with a bunch of leaves, red and brown and orange in color with some thin trees. And...there was a body. Two of them. They were mummified, almost like they were in hunter clothes...or camping. It seemed like an old crime. But Beckett and I were investigating. I went through the leaves and came up with some poker cards....

-I headed back to my car...it was one of those car cars..long hood...white in color. I noticed that Kikay had left the passenger door ajar. I didn't know how long it had been ajar, but I checked inside to make sure everything was still there. Especially my brown purse. It was there on the passenger seat. I crawled over the seat to check to make sure everything was still there.and I ended up dozing off...after laying down over my purse. I woke....to find two robbers in the car. I basically yelled at them to get, out, threatened to call the police and hit them alot. They finally left and I went to pull out of the parking lot...but my car wasn't working right. I had the idea that the robbers had put..sawdust or something in the engine. I managed to pull into a different parking stall and got of the car to investigate.

-There were a  group of super heroes...in chibby cartoonized video game like Mario form. Three of them were standing together, Then batman shows up and goes upside down and stands on the ceiling like its nothing while all the other chibby heroes look up at him in a "of course, you're batman you can do that" sort of way.

-Then I was in a field by my car looking up into the sky as the plane that....red skull flies went over my head. Flying in circles after him was the same plane, flown by Captain America but it was in...inviso mode. I could see it because it was see through, but it was the same plane that Red Skull was flying...just invisible..it was weird. But it was playing out the same way the Captain American movie played out when Captain America is in the torpedo plane and crashes into Red Skull's plane. I watched Red Skulls plane crash to the ground and go up in a ball of flames.

And then the unholy tones of daylight pulled me away...
and I became myself again. :)

-S.N.D