Week 68: I Love My American Mission

Dear Loved Ones,

 This will be the quickest email of my life because I want to hurry and go hang out at Jesse James's hometown with missionary friends before hanging out gets banned. We will be under quarantine until May 15th, making my total captivity about eight weeks. 

 I am grateful to have been called to an American mission. At first I thought that would be the ultimate form of validation, if i got sent abroad after being told that i couldn't serve for so long. Officially classed outside of the ranks of "too weak to serve foreign." But I love it here. I loved singing the national anthem at a Royals game last year, browsing Kansas City's World War I Museum, the pioneer heritage in random statues of oxen and second street signs below the normal one telling me I'm driving down what used to be the Santa Fe Trail. And most of all, I love Zion.

 Towards the beginning of my mission, I kept getting asked why we needed the Book of Mormon. Nobody cares that it's a second witness. If you believe the first, you don't need a second. Nobody cares that it teaches the doctrine of Christ. That's redundant. They asked what the Book of Mormon could teach them that the Bible didn't.

 We know from 3 Nephi 16 that there are many other people who were visited by Jesus Christ in addition to the Nephites and the Jews. "And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about whither I have been to minister." Where are their scriptures?

 The Earth may someday yield up her treasures and we'll study books from Samoa or Japan or Nigeria. Somewhere out there, we may find new writings on new things. A more cohesive layout of the plan of salvation than what we've been able to cobble together from the Bible and Book of Mormon. More references to our Mother in Heaven. More information on the degrees of glory within the celestial kingdom.

 And new writings about old things. More chapters drilling us on the importance of faith or baptism or prophets. 

 So why did the Book of Mormon come to light first?

 Any literate people in any corner of the world with knowledge of Jesus Christ could have written about generic doctrines. But only an American book of scripture can bear record that the Americas is the promised land. 

 Love you and I love Zion!

 Sincerely,

 Sister Smith


Pictures: Me with Susan B. Anthony, Mark Twain, and Jesse James

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