An Introduction by a Dead Missionary

In the mission field, it's said that when a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints begins his ministry, he is "born" to a father (or trainer). Likewise, when he reaches the end of his two year mission it's said that he "dies". I always thought it was a morbid way of looking at it, personally, but hey - missionaries gotta make life interesting sometimes!

When a missionary dies, to say that he or she ceases to be a missionary is untrue; even in the real world, when we die (for real), do we cease our work? Absolutely not! We continue our work on the other side! In similitude of reality, when a missionary dies, they continue their work even without their name tag. We're not always the best at being on top of that, but hopefully we all try, right?

As you've probably surmised by now, I am indeed, a dead missionary. I served the Lord for two years in the wild tundras of Minnesota, officially known as the Minnesota, Minneapolis Mission - or as we endearingly refer to it, the MMM. M&Ms are a favorite treat around those parts. :)

At any rate, I've since died and gone the way of all the earth (as Mormon would abridge it), but I can't quite put away my name tag. Ever since I got home, I've wanted to publish a blog concerning my thoughts and feelings about the gospel, but it wasn't until the most recent General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that I really felt that the Lord was pushing me in that direction. So here I am!

There is meaning in the title I've chosen, "Cries From the Dust." The first time it appears in the Book of Mormon is actually in The Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith, almost immediately in the front cover. At the very end, it states:

"The ancient record thus brought forth from the earth as the voice of a people speaking from the dust, ... was first published to the world in 1830 as the Book of Mormon."

While not explicitly using the same language (i.e. cry from the dust), it is referring directly to the words of multiple prophets who do use those words, including Joseph of Egypt, Nephi, Isaiah, and Mormon, all of whom are speaking of themselves as well as those before them, who have sealed their testimonies in writing, never to be erased; though each of them are long since passed away, their immortal words continue to bear testimony to the world of the divinity and mission of Jesus Christ! You see, even though they are dead, their testimony continues to "cry from the dust."

That's the purpose of this blog. Though Elder Yorgason is now dead, the testimony of Taylor Yorgason will continue to, as they say, cry from the dust. Because I love the gospel! I love to understand it, I love to live it, and I love to teach it. Do I always understand it? No, but I try. Do I always live it? I'm sad to say that no, I don't - but I sure wish I did. Am I always good at teaching it? Absolutely not, but my words become at least a little bit more coherent when I write them.

I don't intend this blog to always be right, and I certainly can't promise that it will always be edifying - I simply wish to share with you (whoever you may be) my thoughts and testimony from time to time! Maybe I'll even share some stories from my mission now and again. I sincerely hope that what I have to say will have a positive impact on at least some of you, and should you have any questions or comments, feel free to message me!

For now, I'll conclude with my simple testimony of Jesus Christ! I know that He lives. I know that He knows both me and you, perfectly. The way that He can know us better than we even know ourselves is through His Atonement! Because He paid for our sins as well as our weaknesses and trials, I testify that none of us are beyond being happy. Through faith and repentance, we can gain access to the Atonement, and be free of our burdens of sin and heartache because He's already paid for them. It's only through following Christ that we are ever able to be truly happy, and truly free from our chains - I know that for a fact!

I know that the Book of Mormon is truly the voice of many crying from the dust, for they all testified of Christ - that book will bring us closer to Him than any other (Book of Mormon, Introduction)! I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Thank you for reading today, I hope to be addressing you again soon! God be with you til we meet again!

Sincerely,
Taylor, a dead missionary