"The Day of this Life..."

I am completely packed and prepared to report to the Provo MTC, except for being set apart.  I will be set apart as a full-time missionary tomorrow morning around 9 am, then at 5:30 I fly to Salt Lake City to travel to Provo.  These are the last few hours I have in my home and with my family.

On Friday, I went to the temple and it was amazing.  I loved my visit! It was so special and personal.  I am now an endowed member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It feels amazing! I am now armed with the Spirit of the Lord because I am worthy of it.  I have made covenants that I will not break and the Lord has blessed me with warmth, strength, and courage.  I feel like the best version of myself!


I was able to be in the temple with my mom and my brother.  Being there with them made the experience so much more special.  This Gospel is for families and I am so glad that it is.  I get to be with my family for all eternity based on covenants my parents made in the temple!  It is a place of love and hope for the future.  That is such a blessing.

This is before the temple!
Tanner (my brother), me, and my mommy!

This is after the temple!
My mommy and I right after my endowment session

Another special thing that happened was my opportunity to give a Farewell talk in church on Sunday.  I was able to share my testimony about what being a missionary means to me.  It was emotional because this is the right thing for me.  Our opening hymn was I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go, and we started singing it and got to the chorus, and I broke down crying.  The Holy Spirit had filled me up and I was reminded again that I am following the Lord's plan for me and I am willing to do what the Lord asks.  Because the song is now so special to me, I'll place the lyrics below:

It may not be on the mountain’s height, or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle’s front my Lord will have need of me;
But if by a still, small voice He calls to paths I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Yours, I’ll go where You want me to go.

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.

Perhaps today there are loving words which Jesus would have me speak;
There may be now, in the paths of sin, some wand’rer whom I should seek.
O Savior, if You will be my Guide, though dark and rugged the way,
My voice shall echo the message sweet,I’ll say what You want me to say.

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.

There’s surely somewhere a lowly place in earth’s harvest fields so wide,
Where I may labor through life’s short day for Jesus, the Crucified.
So, trusting my all unto Your care, I know You always love me!
I’ll do Your will with a heart sincere, I’ll be what You want me to be.

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord, 
I’ll be what You want me to be.

This song is a perfect explanation of how I feel about serving a mission.  The Lord has asked this of me and I must do all that I am asked.

I know that there is a God, and He is Our Loving, Eternal Father.  He loves us so much that He sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus the Christ, to this earth to atone for our sins so that we all would have the chance to return to Him after this life.  The Book of Mormon testifies of Christ and is the word of the prophets of the Lord.  It was brought forth by the prophet, Joseph Smith, Jr.  He was commanded by the Lord to do this so that the people of this age could again have Christ's church on the earth.  Thomas S. Monson now leads the true and correct church as our prophet, and we follow Him because He guides our way back to Christ.  We are all trying to find our way in this life, and the Lord gives us so many opportunities to receive truth.  Missionaries are one of those opportunities and I am so glad to be able to teach those who are searching.  This is more of a blessing to me than those who I will meet.

So it is goodbye for now!  This will be my last post until I return home.  My mom will now update this blog so whomever reads this (if there is anyone) will be able to know about all of my adventures as a missionary.  Thank you for being a part of my service and for supporting me.  I love you, dear friends.  

See you later!

from left to right: 

Michelle, Eva (my sister), me, Tanner (my brother), and Roni on my final Sunday at home.

So Close!

In a little more than 24 hours, I will be arriving at the Manhattan Temple to enter in and receive my endowments.  Tomorrow, everything changes.  There is a Primary song that is constantly in my head now; it is called I Love to See the Temple.  Here are the lyrics:

I love to see the temple

I'm going there someday

To feel the Holy Spirit,

To listen and to pray.

For the temple is a house of God,

A place of love and beauty.

I'll prepare myself while I am young;

This is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple.

I'll go inside someday.

I'll covenant with my Father;

I'll promise to obey.

For the temple is a holy place

Where we are sealed together.

As a child of God, I've learned this truth:

A family is forever.

This song is so special, because at a young age I was taught that the temple is so important, and that I need to live in a way that I will be worthy of entering it someday.  Tomorrow is that day for me.  It is finally my turn.  There are not great enough words to explain how happy I am and how wonderful I feel.  I now have the opportunity to covenant with my Heavenly Father to follow Jesus Christ forever.

This is the first step of the final steps I must take to become a full-time missionary.  On Sunday, I will speak about becoming a missionary and preaching the Gospel, then I will be set apart as a missionary that evening.  On Tuesday, I will travel to Provo.  On Wednesday, I will report to the Provo Missionary Training Center and begin my service.  It's happening.  This is real.  It's not really sinking in, but I'm sure it will.

I'm just at the start of my path back to Christ, but I know that I don't need to travel alone because He is with me when I am worthy of Him.  By drawing nearer to Him, He will draw near to me.  After this life, I hope He will be able to call me His friend.  I hope that I will earn that title of honor.  I love my Saviour.  I want to serve Him, and serve as a representative of Him.  I am so excited to start this work, and I thank God for this privilege.

The Last Days

Since my last post, I have finished the semester at LDSBC, and traveled home.  I've been home for 1 1/2 weeks.  It's been so great to be home.  I love my house, my mom and sister, being in New Jersey, and waking up in my own room.  It's nice because I feel refreshed and renewed.

I guess I should be honest about something, though.  I haven't been completely productive while I've been here so far.  I've definitely done more than I normally do when I'm at home, but there is always room for improvement.

• In 4 1/2 days, I will be an endowed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  
• In 6 1/2 days, I will be set apart as a full-time missionary for a period of 18 months to serve the people living in the Italy Milan mission area.  
• In 8 1/2 days, I will be leaving New Jersey to travel to the Provo Missionary Training Center.  
• In 9 1/2 days, May 1st, I will officially start my missionary training in the MTC.

My time as Zoë Carlock is almost at an end.  I don't feel sad or anything.  I feel anxious and afraid.  I'm afraid that I won't be good enough, or I'll want to come home, or (even worse) I'll just be an awful missionary.  I do know that if I work hard enough, I will be the missionary I am supposed to be.  Through Jesus Christ, I can be all that I need to be.  That thought helps me feel less afraid.

I will not have to travel alone.  I have Christ with me every step of the way, and that puts this journey into perspective.  I can see that the right way is full of light and love because it is the path of Christ.  

Those who know and feel of this light are blessed beyond their knowledge.  I am glad to be one of them.  I am so privileged to be able to call myself a representative of Christ.  I will teach and serve and love in His stead.  I will be an instrument which the Lord can use to save the souls of others.  

This work is a work of love, and I am so ready to love these people.  This is the best accomplishment I can have, and I thank God every day for allowing me to accomplish this task.

Again I'll say, as I have probably said before, if you have any desires to serve a mission, pray.  Heavenly Father wants us to let Him guide us through life.  He listens when we pray; He will answer your prayers, just as He did mine.  Let Him be your Father.  Place your trust in Him.

General Conference Re-cap

This past Saturday and Sunday, the LDS Church had General Conference.  This is a 4 session conference over the 2 days of the weekend where we can listen to modern-day prophets and receive spiritual insight.  It happens twice a year, every year.  Each session is 2 hours and it is filled with speakers serving in different positions of the church, songs, and prayer.  This is a powerful 2-day experience.  I love Conference!

I would like to share a few quotes that really stuck out to me.

As I have been preparing to be a missionary, I have been trying to figure out what I need to do to change myself into the missionary that Jesus wants me to be.  Being a missionary was His task first and I would like to live up to His example.  Sister Elaine S. Dalton spoke of an experience she had that struck deep for me.  She discussed the idea of fulfilling our potential as she quoted the words carved in a stone wall.

When we decide to "act well our part", we are deciding that what we do matters.  In the grand scheme of things, each individual piece of the puzzle matters.  As I spoke about the tiles of a mosaic in an earlier post, each piece is necessary to get a fuller and greater picture.  We all have our place.  We are all essential.  With that being said, we need to make sure we are doing all that we can to be the best version of ourselves.

Also discussed in Conference was the idea of "Catching the Wave" of missionary service.  Russell M. Nelson spoke to all members saying that we all need to catch the missionary wave.  We all must seek to do service for others and stand in a place where the world can see the light of this Gospel shining through us.

I really loved something that Jeffrey R. Holland discussed, and that is strengthening our faith by"fanning its flame".  He told a Bible story of a man with a possessed son.  The man cried unto Jesus saying, "Lord, I believe.  Help, Thou, mine unbelief".  We don't need to have perfect faith, but when we hold fast to the faith we have, we can bring our unbelief to the Lord and ask for His help.  Holland also reminded us that we must "Be not afraid, only believe."  We do not need to be afraid of what is ahead.  We can trust in the Lord and believe we will find peace in Him.

There are so many wonderful talks that I would like to share with you.  It would be silly to try to re-give all the talk, but if any of you who did not see General Conference are interested, please visit this website and watch/read/listen to some of the words of our prophets: 

LDS General Conference

If you feel the need, or desire, please partake of this truth.  I know this church is true and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to share it with those who will listen.

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I have 23 days left until I enter the Provo MTC.  I'm pretty sure I am going to have a panic attack.  It is so close.  I have to pack and get home, buy all my toiletries and a few more clothing items, get some shots, go through the temple, visit with friends, speak in church, get set apart as a full-time missionary, eat delicious food!, practice the missionary lessons some more, re-pack once I get home, and head back out to Utah.  

I have 20 days at home.  20 days at home, then 580 days (approximately) as a missionary.  I've never gone that long without seeing or speaking to my family.  It'll be worth it though.  I am sacrificing a little time without them so that I can teach truth to those who have not heard or accepted it yet.  This is a powerful work.  I am so nervous, excited, anxious, etc.  I want to do this.  I will miss my family and miss being with them, but I am supposed to be in Italy.  I am so grateful for this opportunity.

It is going to be amazing.

THIS IS WHAT I AM A PART OF!!!

I am one of the 20,000.

What could be better than this?

29 Days & A Mission Plaque

29 days until I report to the Provo Missionary Training Center.  

9 days until I fly back to New Jersey.

0 days until my head explodes!! Ha ha.

The picture to the left is going to be the picture that goes on my mission plaque.  Along with this picture, the things going on my plaque will be my mission boundaries, my mission dates, and a scripture that I chose to best represent myself as a missionary and my service.  The scripture I chose is found in the Book of Alma in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

Alma 34: 32 - For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yeah, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

To me, this scripture is a reminder that I need to not procrastinate and wait until tomorrow to do all of the things that I need to do.  The Lord wants us to be working towards perfection, so that we can earn our place with Him after this life.  If we do not do all that we can to become like Jesus Christ, then we will have no way to know God when we meet Him again.  

By serving others, perfecting ourselves, and trusting in the Lord, we will find our place in Heaven.  We will also come to know Christ more fully.  I want Christ to number me among those he calls "friends".  I have chosen to do what I can to be a friend to Christ.


Let's actually think about this, though: How would you feel if, at the end of this life, Christ looked you in the eyes and said, "Welcome Home, Friend"?  What would that mean to you?  How differently would you live?  How would you think of yourself?  I know the answers to those questions for myself, but take some time to think about this for yourself.

I hope that this thought gives you hope for the future.  Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are waiting for us all to return to Them.  They watch over us, protect us, and guide us to the paths we each need to be on, so that we have the opportunity to see Them again.

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With that thought, let's change the subject to something a little less serious.  I'm going home soon!  I get to see my family and sleep in my own bed.  I'm that much closer to entering the temple to receive my endowments.  I'm that much closer to being set apart as a full-time missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Woo! This is all so exciting, and scary!!  It's a good kind of "scary", though.  It's kind of like an adrenaline rush, I love it!

If any of you who haven't served missions would like to, I highly recommend it.  So far my experience has been AMAZING!  And technically, I haven't even begun yet.  It's only going to get better.  That I know for sure.