Spiritual Gifts and Choosing a Career

I did not get good grades in high school. While I was growing up, my parents always emphasized the power an education has to change our lives for the better, but I just didn’t take it on board.

I come from a big family with five children: two boys and three girls. We were all taught to make education a priority. I attended a few different schools in Hamilton and Auckland but could not catch the vision.

I went on a full-time mission with a plan to study when I got home. I wanted to follow the counsel the prophets gave on education and self-reliance, but I had no plan as to what I should study and had no real passion for any profession.

My mission changed my life. There is not a day that goes by where I don’t think about my mission and the impact it has had on my life. It wasn’t until I felt the incredible joy of spending every day serving so many of God’s children that I realized how much I needed it, and I discovered spiritual gifts I had not before recognized in myself. People told me I had the gift of connecting with people. My outgoing personality made getting along with people easy. I tried to embrace these spiritual gifts and use them to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

On my mission, I saw many sad living situations, including broken families, individuals suffering with depression and people struggling with the effects of drug addictions. As a missionary, I was able to counsel with them using the scriptures, and I saw the gospel bless their lives as they tried their best to apply what they learned. Although I loved sharing the gospel with them, I wanted to do so much more.

The more people I served, the more I saw them through Heavenly Father’s eyes. Eventually, I gained an unconditional love and empathy for them. I realized that what made me happy was service, was people. This was what I wanted to do with my life.

There is a strong parallel between being a missionary and being a social worker. The object of both is to change lives for the better. Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I am blessed with an understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I truly believe that people can change, and to be able to make a career out of helping people change is such a blessing to me.

Now I love my studies. I am currently working on a bachelor of social work degree at Brigham Young University. I am passionate about what I’m learning and work as hard as I can. Many of my siblings have gone on to higher education, and as we follow our parents’ counsel, we have all seen those blessings that our parents taught us would come.

As I study for my degree, the doctrines of the gospel are right there with me, adding depth to my secular understanding of the world and enhancing my abilities to become a social worker.

When I was young, I didn’t see the importance of having a purpose or a mission in life. The Lord has a purpose for me, and I discovered it while on my mission. I did not go on a mission to find myself. I went to share the gospel with as many people as I could, but in losing myself in the work of the Lord, I found myself and my purpose.