From Pastor to Elder
This article has been translated and shared here by permission of the author. The original article can be found at MormonSud.org.
My name is Carlos Gilberto Hernandez Elvir, and nine months ago I started to serve my full-time mission in the Korea Daejeon Mission.
I would like to share with you a little about me. I have been a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years, and my conversion story is very simple, yet complicated at the same time.
From infancy I attended another Christian church, and I was raised with Christian principles and good moral values like “I am a child of God.” I also understood that family was the most important part of life.
When I was 14 years old, my parents had differences in their relationship which led to a divorce. My mom has always been a hard worker. Like every Latina woman, she fought with everything she had to give us the basic necessities of life. She has been a woman of faith. She also had to put up with my rebellious nature; even as the oldest child I never helped my mom like I should have done.
The neighbors in my neighborhood affected me positively, and they wanted me to change my life and follow Heavenly Father’s path. Even though they weren’t members, they encouraged me to listen to the missionaries. At this time of my life, I left to study with a grant to the other side of my country. My mother met the missionaries and after listening and accepting the gospel, my mother and siblings were baptized.
I returned home with my mom, my brother and my sister all members of an unknown church. I watched my brother register for seminary, and at that time I didn’t understand why he should wake up so early. Also, my mom and my little sister would always sing hymns, creating a contagious atmosphere of serving God. This is when I started to attend my church. In this church everything seemed to be alright until May 12, 2013, Mother’s Day in Honduras. I was in my church and I felt like I should participate in something special. I had been thinking of serving as a Pastor someday. When the church service ended, I looked at the families and the children with the mothers,and they looked very happy. I wanted the same happiness and luxury of sitting with my mother at church, but my family was Mormon.
In that moment, I remembered that the Christian church always told me: “Father, if Thou permitest me to go to church with my family, I promise Thee that I will serve Thee all of my life as a Pastor, Amen.”
This thought penetrated my heart. One Sunday I was at home with my mother, and she was feeling a little sick. I asked her if she was going to her church, because she was already 20 minutes late. She explained to me that they were remodeling her chapel, and for that reason they were going to church at a later time to the Stake Center. An hour later, right before she left for church, I said, “Wait, would you like me to accompany you to church?” At first she thought that I was kidding, but I told her that I wanted to go if she could just wait a couple of minutes for me to put on a white shirt. I didn’t want to stand out in her church.
We arrived 47 minutes late at the chapel. I remember hearing, “In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.” I remember saying to myself, “This is really boring, the Mormons are weird.” As the closing prayer ended I remember my mom quickly introducing me to all of the members. I remember her smile and how happy she was to see her three children in the same church. The thought that I always remembered from my church came to my mind, “This is what I want in my life, to be with my family.”
It wasn’t the talk that impacted me, or the hymns, not even the prayer, what impacted me the most was my mom’s happiness and joy. To see her happy, I knew that this gospel was true, because it brought my family together.
After listening to the missionaries for two weeks (Elder Martinez and Elder Oveson are my two angels) we set a baptismal date for Saturday July 6, 2013.
From that day on I have progressed, and I have had different callings and assignments. Sometimes I remember the desire that I had to be a Pastor, and in a way the Lord has permitted me to take care of some of His sheep by serving a full time mission. Since I started my mission on October 14, 2014, I have found joy in serving those around me and preaching this gospel, which is true. The same gospel that changed the life of my mother, my siblings and myself. Every time that I teach with the same love that the missionaries who taught me showed to me and my family, and every time that I smile, I smile so that people can see the joy that the restored gospel produces.
I decided to dedicate two years of my life to the Savior, and I even believe that this time is insufficient when the people critique the church and call it a “sect” or false doctrine. I know that I am 110% ready to give my all to my Heavenly Father, because even when I am weak and easily give up, I know that our Heavenly Father never gives up on me. He loves us, and I testify that He lives and loves families because he restored my family, my home.
I know that missionary work is the work of our Heavenly Father. He loves us and wants us to remember that when we are ready to give our 110%, He will make it so the people around us recognize the thing we have in our lives called: “THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST” and if we decide to never give up, the Lord will give to us the strength we need to face adversity.
Of this I testify with love and humility in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Elder Hernandez
Korea Daejeon Mission 2014-2016
에르난데스 장로
한국 대전 선교부
Republished from: MormonSud.org.