"Filling my canteen" versus adding oil to my lamp

Okay, so first of all, members of the Church have some weird terms for stuff.  I'm not talking just about our just plain cutesy expressions (like oh my heck! or holy smoke!).  I'm talking about those special phrases that sometimes come up in casual conversations with Mormons that mean something to us, but probably just sound funny to you.  I used one of them in the title of today's post.  But I'll get to that later.  For now, I just want to establish that we Mormons have our own culture, which is not directly related to our religious beliefs.

We have a couple of acronyms that are used almost exclusively by members.  For example:

• NCMO (non-committal make-out): pronounced "nic-mo" and used in pretty much the same way that the rest of America uses the term hook-up, only NCMOs are special because you've reached an agreement that you're just making out for fun, and that you're not going to take things too far (i.e. nothing below the neck).  NCMOs are sufficiently common to warrant the making of the following meme

• DTR (define the relationship): a conversation that takes place after 3-5 dates, in which the two previously non-exclusively dating people decide where the relationship is going.  Normally, if you make it that far, you're probably going to define the relationship as an exclusive one so that the two of you can trust each other enough to get to know each other better.
• CTR (choose the right): a reminder that, as Dumbledore said, one must make a conscious decision to do what is right, as opposed to what is easy.  Many members actually wear CTR rings like the one below to have a constant physical reminder of the fact that we have the power to choose.

We also have a couple of terms that are not used often enough to have an acronym.  "Filling one's canteen," the phrase that I used in the title, is one of them, and it refers to the fact that many Mormons feel like they need to fill their proverbial canteen with certain experiences in the weeks prior to their mission.  A fair amount of teenage boys spend their final weeks "filling their canteens" with NCMOs, video games, secular music (like Jack Johnson, Iron and Wine, and other non-offensive artists), movie marathons, and other worldly pleasures that we decide to give up when we serve a mission.  (The idea is that if you're going to consecrate your time and talents to God, you should really consecrate them.  I don't want to be a part-time servant of God.  And so I'm going to give up dating, swimming, dancing, listening to my favorite music, watching movies, listening to the radio, facebooking, huluing, youtubing, and other things that might distract me from the promptings of the Holy Ghost.)

I like the idea of making sure my next couple of weeks are fun.  But I have recently realized that having fun right now is just not worth giving up long-term happiness.  The choices I make today matter for tomorrow and ten years from now.  And I want to know that everything I choose is in keeping with Christ's teachings.  And our Savior would not Eskimo kiss someone just because that person was willing to be Eskimo kissed.

I sure hope these two Inuits have Defined The Relationship!

Neither would He crush-hop from one person to the next, stirring up drama and making his friends think that He had a one-track mind.  Instead, He would undoubtedly seek and find opportunities to serve, to study His Father's words, to pray for guidance, and to make memories with His family.

I have heard sad stories of boys who had to return from their mission after only a few months because they just could not quit their technology addictions.  Luckily for me, I despise computer and video games and I don't own a television, so I'm guessing my struggle is going to come in a different form.  I think it would be horrible if I became known as The Boy-Crazy Sister Missionary, Who Developed Distracting Crushes On Her Leaders and Co-Laborers.  That shall not be my legacy! 

I want to make sure that I am the sort of person who will feel at home in the MTC (Missionary Training Center, another of our acronyms) and eventually in Heaven.  That means that I have to start becoming that missionary today.  And that means that I need to worry less about "filling my canteen," and more about continuously adding drops of oil to my lamp.  As my Sunday school students instructed me last Sunday, I can add drops of oil to my lamp by studying the Scriptures, praying to my Heavenly Father, obeying the commandments, coming to church, sharing my testimony, serving others, and otherwise clinging to the Atonement so that I can see its power in my life.  I need to make sure that when "the bridegroom cometh," I am proud and ready to meet Him (Matthew 25:6).  

"Why are you giving up 18 months of your life?"

Some people ask me this question out loud.  Others just ask it silently.  Heck, I've even asked myself that question.  Why am a giving up the chance to start taking graduate-level public health classes?  Why am I halting my professional development in the field of behavioral health?  Why am I sacrificing any chance of getting married in the next year and a half?  Why am I relinquishing control of my own life and willingly abstaining from facebook, swimming, dancing, and hugging members of the opposite sex?

This photo illustrates one of the activities I will no longer do as a missionary.

The fact of the matter is that a little over four and a half years ago, two teenage boys decided to sacrifice twenty-four months of their lives to serve the Lord with all of their might, mind, and strength.  They filled out paperwork and interviewed with their religious leaders and declared themselves to be worthy to serve as ambassadors of Jesus Christ.  They were called to serve in the Arizona Tucson Mission, and they labored there for about eighteen months before they even knew I existed.  I know that I was not the only person whose life they changed for the better.  But I also know that they were called to serve in Tucson because I needed them.  When I began talking to the missionaries in March of 2009, I had a lot of baggage.  I was convinced that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints had betrayed my trust, and I was pretty skeptical that I was capable of a true and enduring relationship with religion.

Because my two missionaries were willing to consecrate their time, talent, and material means to the service of God, I realized that the feelings I experienced when I  read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ were not the sort of ephemeral feelings that one feels when experiencing a brief fling.  My missionaries were able to open my eyes to the constant, unchanging love that my Heavenly Father and Savior have for me, and reading the Book of Mormon played a big role in my increased understanding of God's character.

Wanna know what all the fuss is about?  Get a free copy - no strings attached!

Because my two missionaries were willing to put away their worldly concerns and focus only on building up His kingdom, I was able to discover a strength that I didn't know that I had.  In fact, I know that the strength that I used was not my own.  Goodness knows that when the missionaries began teaching me, I had been trying to conquer my eating disorder for about 30 months.  I testify that there are some battles in this world that can only be won by a combination of our own sincere desire and Christ's enabling power.  

I owe my current comfortable way of life to the two boys that deferred two years' worth of worldly concerns to immerse themselves in the Holy Spirit.  I hope that by consecrating eighteen months of my life to God's service, I will be able to begin to pay Him back.  Nevertheless, I know that if I "should serve him who has created [me] from the beginning, and is preserving [me] from day to day, by lending [me] breath, that [I] may live and move and do according to [my] own will, and even supporting [me] from one moment to another-I say, if [I] should serve him with all [my] whole [soul] yet [I] would be [an] unprofitable [servant]"  (Mosiah 2:21).  There is no way that I can outdo the Lord.  Even as I seek to repay Him for his mercy and love by serving a full-time mission, I know that my family and I will be blessed.

Still, I cannot let this opportunity pass by me.  I know that there are people out there who know that something is missing from their lives.  And I know that living the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will make every single one of us happier people.