Dear Elder Elijah Taylor, the letter began. You have been called to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You have been called to serve in the Manchester, England mission.
The joy Elijah felt could not be put into words. For the next two years, he worked hard and happily shared the gospel. Little did he know, however, that upon his return he would face one of the greatest trials he would ever encounter: the passing of his father.
Elijah soon found himself wondering what to do next. His new responsibilities were now compounded by those his father had left behind. Elijah needed a miracle.
Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms-to choose one's attitude in any given circumstances, said Viktor E. Frankl in his acclaimed book Man's Search for Meaning, to choose one's own way. Elijah sought the Lord's way, praying mightily and often. Soon the Lord opened doors Elijah had never considered.
First was an unexpected bit of cherished advice from his seminary/institute teacher. Elijah was interested in a similar career path, and the teacher told Elijah to first go and study business. This seemed an odd bit of advice for an aspiring teacher, but Elijah listened and found himself attending LDS Business College to his surprise.
I considered the College a place Mormons went only when they could not get the schooling they wanted elsewhere, he said, but I was wrong. When I first walked into the school I felt a spirit of focus. I felt a spirit of determination, one that was plainly going to help me become who I was meant to be.
As Elijah now attends classes and works as the Director of Student Involvement at LDSBC, he sees how the school has greatly influenced who he is and aspires to be. In my business survey class, I learned how to manage change and help people transition through it, he said. If I become a seminary/institute instructor, I can use similar principles to help people live well and succeed.
Life continues to get better for Elijah. the Every returned missionary goes through a trial of their faith, he said, and the same can be said for other people as well. I discovered that at certain points we may feel life is falling apart when in reality it is just falling into place. For Elijah, LDSBC was where the broken parts of his life fell into the Lord's hands to be molded into what Elijah was meant to be.
I am where I am because of the gospel, said Elijah.I try to never forget that because, without it, I am weak. While it can be hard at times to see the good in life, Elijah knows we can always find happiness even in the darkest of times through the gospel and the atonement of Jesus Christ. Our paths will work out if we choose the right attitude and let life fall into place.