RWH

If you're of the LDS faith, RWH is an oft seen acronym. It stands for "Return with Honor." It is usually associated with missionaries because it's a good reminder to them of the reasons they are serving and what blessings await them when they return should they return with honor.

For those not of the LDS faith, missionaries are expected to live high standards of appearnace and conduct. As a missionary, I will be expected to live these high standards as well. I will be an official representative of the Lord and, as such, need to conduct my life the way that He would. In the letter I received from the First Presidency (consisting of the Prophet and his two counselors) that stated that I would be serving in Moscow, it also says, "You have been recommended as one worthy to represent the Lord as a minister of the restored gospel. You will be an official representative of the Church. As such, you will be expected to maintain the highest standards of conduct and appearance by keeping the commandments, living mission rules, and following the counsel of your mission president. You will also be expected to devote all your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs. As you do these things, the Lord will bless you and you will become an effective advocate and messanger of the truth."

Here are some of the high standards and mission rules I will be expected to live (straight from the Missionary Handbook):

-"Outfits should consist of suits, skirt-and-blouse combinations, skirt-and-jacket combinations, dresses, or jumpers. They should be tailored to fit well and be conservative in style and color. Skirts should reach mid-calf or longer;* if there is a slit, it should not reach above the knee. T-shirts, sweatshirts, golf-style shirts, or other casual shirts, pants, and pantsuits are inappropriate."

*I have been told that they raised the length of the skirts to high-calf or longer and that they now encourage more color and variety in shirts, but still professional-looking in style.

-"Jewelry and other accessories should be simple and should not attract attention. Do not wear more than one earring in each ear. Tatoos, nose rings, other body piercings, or toe rings are not acceptable."

-There is one day each week when missionaries can take care of personal needs (writing to family, washing clothes, getting a haircut, cleaning the apartment, shopping, washing the car). This day is called Preparation Day or P-Day. I will be expected to wear regular missionary clothes in public. However, I am allowed to wear modest recreation clothes for activities we participate in throughout the day (I used to go play frisbee and soccer with the missionaries back home).

-"You may communicate with your family...by e-mail, according to approved guidelines....You should communicate with family and friends only on preparation day." I only communicate with my family via email or written letters once a week and I get to call twice a year (Mother's Day and Christmas).

-"Do not watch television, go to movies, listen to the radio, or use the Internet (except to communicate with your family...).

-"Never be alone....Stay with your companion at all times. Staying together means staying within sight and hearing of each other....Arise and retire at the same time as your companion. Do not stay up late or get up early to be alone." If you know me at all, getting up early to be alone won't be a concern at all. :]

Missionaries are also expected to keep to a specific schedule. We are on the Lord's errand and therefore, the Lord's time. Here's what my daily life as a missionary will look like:

-6:30 a.m. pray, exercise, and prepare for the day

-7:30 a.m. breakfast

-8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. gospel study (1 hour of personal study and 1 hour of study with my companion)

-10:00 a.m. language study

-11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. proselyting, teaching lessons (1 hour is given for lunch and another hour for dinner)

-9:00 p.m.-10:30 p.m. take 30 minutes to plan the next day's work, write in my journal, prepare for bed, and pray

People have been asking me if the reality of this whole mission thing has hit me yet. Honestly, it hasn't entirely. It probably won't until I'm packing to leave or maybe even when I'm walking into the MTC (Missionary Training Center). The only reality of this situation that has hit me is how much Satan does not want me to go. Girls are not required to serve missions as boys are. It is a choice they make. As a result, I think Satan tries very hard to discourage girls from going. I've experienced that. He has tried to challenge my beliefs and the things that I know to be true and has done other things that are too personal for me to write. It has been a very difficult struggle. It gets exhausting battling the Adversary day in and day out. There have been times where it has driven me to my knees to seek reassurance from the Lord. While I was doing homework for my Missionary Prep. class, I read this quote by Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles:

"One of the most exhilarating moments of your life--when you were filled with anticipation, excitement, and gratitude--you are not able to remember. That experience occurred in the premortal life when you were informed that finally your time had come to leave the spirit world to dwell on earth with a mortal body....You understood that there would be challenges, for you would live in an environment of both righteous and evil influences. Yet surely you resolved that no matter what the cost, no matter what the effort, suffering, and testing, you would return victorious."

In our church, we believe that before we came to Earth, we lived with our Father in Heaven and our Brother, Jesus Christ. We anxiously waited for the time when we would come to Earth and receive a body thus entering into mortality. We believe that after this life, the righteous will be received into a "kingdom of glory more wonderful than any of us can comprehend." (Elder

Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles)

I thought what Elder Scott described was very similar to how I've been feeling. One of the most "exhilarating moments of my life" was when I opened my mission call. I read that I was going somewhere that no one, including myself, had anticipated. Yet, I was filled with "anticipation, excitement, and gratitude" for the opportunity I was going to have to teach the Russian people about the restored gospel in their native language. Now, going back to when I decided to serve a mission, I knew "there would be challenges." I was giving myself to the Lord. I was allowing Him to form me and shape me into the kind of missionary I need to be. Meanwhile, Satan was doing everything he could to hinder my progress. I knew all of this would happen. "Yet surely [I] resolved that no matter what the cost, no matter what the effort, suffering, and testing, [I] would return victorious."

I know that there will be plenty more challenges to come especially as I prepare to participate in sacred ordinances in the temple and make everlasting covenants with my Father in Heaven.* I know that the challenges I am facing now are only the beginning. I also know that "these things shall give [me] experience, and shall be for [my] good." (Doctrine and Covenants 122:7) I'm ready to tackle these obstacles. One thing that makes the temptations of the Adversary so worth it is the testimony I receive. Satan wouldn't try so hard to get me to not serve a mission if The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wasn't the true and everlasting gospel on the earth. He wouldn't try so hard if the Book of Mormon wasn't the word of God. He wouldn't try so hard if Joseph Smith wasn't a prophet called of God. He wouldn't try so hard if every single doctrine taught in our church wasn't true. I know that God lives. I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, came to Earth and lived a perfect life. He atoned for the sins and sufferings of all mankind. I know that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Him. I know that through the power of God, Joseph Smith restored the same church that was on the earth in the days of Christ.

*Contrary to popular belief, anyone is welcome inside the temple as long as proper preparation has taken place. There are certain parts of the temple that require special preparation. Typically, that preparation doesn't begin unless someone is preparing to serve a mission or preparing to get married. The ordinances performed and the covenants made are not necessary until later in life when these big decisions are being made.