Hello Friends and Family!
I feel so honored that you wanted to be on my email list! In my emails I will be talking about what I'm doing, things that I'm learning, and hopefully I will have some funny stories to share. This being my first email, it acts as a premise for everything else that I will be sending you, so it will be longer than most!
I am currently in the MTC! MTC stands for mission training center. In the MTC you learn about the Church and how to teach about it. Normally, I would be doing the MTC in Provo, Utah, but because of covid, I am currently participating via zoom! Once I arrive in Jacksonville on August 4th, my main calling will be to invite others to learn and teach them about the church. Right now, I am trying to learn as much as possible, so I have something to teach people! While I am at home, I am trying to get as authentic of an experience as possible, so I am avoiding technology that I wouldn't otherwise have access to! My apologies if texts have been left unanswered! I have decided to only use email at the moment!
Also, you will see that I now sign my emails Elder Garff! In my church Elder is a title that designates someone as a missionary! Feel free to call me whatever you want though!
I am currently learning in the MTC with two companions: Elder Brown and Elder Toolson. Elder Brown is going to be serving a mission in Birmingham, Alabama, and Elder Toolson will be arriving with me in Jacksonville. They are amazing guys, and we have a blast joking around and zooming with each other.
Please email me often! I want to hear from you! Feel free to ask questions, or just tell me how your day was, or anything in between. You all mean more to me than you know :) ❤ I will be able to respond one day a week, so it may take a few days for me to get back to you.
I wanted to explain a little bit about my purpose for serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
For those of you who don't know, I was born into a "mormon household". By this I mean I was born to parents who were devout members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As I have grown up, I have learned to love the community that this church provides. When you walk into a church, you are automatically greeted by a building full of people who truly care for you and love you. When you are sick and church members find out, your doorstep is overflowing with food, and you automatically have free homemade meals lined up for a week. I have been fortunate to find myself in many wonderful communities: my highschool friend groups, UCLA (especially within the school of music), and others, but none seem to compare to that of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
As a member of the church you are expected to try to follow certain rules. These rules are designed to help you live a happier life and grow closer to God.
I want to emphasize that you are expected to try to follow the rules: it's not like people are out to catch you if you break them, and of course it is understood that no one is perfect. If you do break them (even if you were trying to break them), you are always forgiven quickly. I will be the first to admit that I have not kept all of the church's rules perfectly, but I am trying to be better!
These rules include being honest, loving of all people (no matter their race, gender, sexuality, religion, if they are mean to you, etc.), not drinking alcohol, not doing drugs, obeying the law of chastity, amongst others - a google search of "church of jesus christ rules" brings up a more comprehensive list if you're interested. While my parents were devout church members and I had been going to church my entire life, in high school I was interested in breaking some of the church's rules. I didn't want to follow rules if they had no meaning behind them. I realized that I had to find out if this church was right for me. This began a period of me questioning the church. I hope (and believe) that this period of questioning will be something that I do until I die.
For me, questioning the church means me attending early morning classes about the church's teachings in high school and attending "religious institute class" in college, discussing questions I have with friends, and seeking guidance from church leaders. It also means learning as much as I can about secular things! Currently, it looks like learning about the church through serving a mission for the church! While this has been my experience with questioning, I believe that questioning looks different for all people! We all have our own ways of seeking knowledge, and as long as we are making the best decisions we can, off of the knowledge that we have gained through questioning our beliefs, who is to say we are making wrong decisions?!
As I have been questioning the church's teachings, practices, and history, I have realized a pattern. Questions get answered, and in my experience, generally these answers support the church! For the sake of clarity, I will use percentages to try and explain my experience clearer. Of course, these numbers aren't specific: I haven't tallied up columns with the church's teachings, facts about its history, and its practices - that would pose a litany of problems in how you would weigh things. Rather these percentages are general ways that I feel.
In highschool I began this period of questioning with the idea that about 80% of the church's teachings, practices, and history were true and righteous. As I learned more that number grew to 90%. Sometimes, this number falls and I find myself questioning things that I had previously thought to be true, or sometimes I learn something about the church or its history that I previously didn't know and don't agree with! Generally though, the trend has seemed to show that the Church is overwhelmingly righteous and true. As I learn more and grow as a person, I find myself believing and understanding more of the church. Lately, it seems that about 98% of the Church's teachings really resonate with me. This 98% includes teachings following the example of love that Christ set, the importance of families, serving others, and many other similar teachings.
The hanging question is "What about the other 2%?"! I want to be totally open and say that there are aspects of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its history and culture that I still do not understand. These aspects don't resonate with me and sometimes even are grating to me. I am hopeful that I will find answers to these outstanding questions, but even if I never find answers to my outstanding questions and concerns (as I see and understand them now) because the 98% is so overwhelmingly good, I feel confident saying that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the most perfect organization that I know of.
Even though right now 2% of the Church's teachings and history seem a little weird to me (or in some cases incorrect), I feel comfortable following the rules set forth by the church, serving a mission, and inviting others to join this church because the trend shows that generally when I find answers to my questions they support The Church of Jesus Christ!
Love you all!
Elder Harrison Garff
PS If you haven't already noticed, these emails will expose my relationship with God. For many of my friends, you will see a somewhat new side of me! If you are uncomfortable and no longer want to receive these emails or if they weren't what you expected, let me know! I'm happy to tailor them to you! There will be no hard feelings! Also I think this goes without saying, but just to be clear, if your relationship with God looks different than mine that is totally awesome! I want to hear from you and learn from you! Also, I attached some photos from the MTC at home! Those are my parents and my dog George!
