January 29, 2013
For my first blog post I would like to give a little background on what I will be blogging about and why I chose this topic. My name is Garrett Hadley and I was born and raised in Ogden Utah and I am currently attending Utah Valley University in Orem Utah and studying Public Relations. For my Communications class I am starting a blog. This blog is titled "Saints Stories" and will focus on a variety of stories and real life experiences that people have shared with me after serving a LDS Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as The Mormon Church, has a large population for LDS members and many young men and women between the ages of 18 and 25 set out to serve "missions" to help spread the word of the church and it's teachings throughout the world. Men serve for a period of 2 years and woman for 1 year and 6 months. Living here in Utah I have had the opportunity to hear many different stories from people that have served from the Potato fields of Idaho to the Outback in Australia, from the mean streets of Compton to the rolling hills of Ireland. The missionary life consists of strict rule book that every missionary is expected to follow. The life of a missionary is not an easy one and can be very difficult to leave their family, friends, comforts of home and putting everything on hold to sometimes go to a very foreign place, sometimes even learning a language and walking the streets of those places day after day. I myself have had the opportunity to do my mission and it was without a doubt one of the hardest things I've ever had to do but at the same time the greatest thing I have ever accomplished and the proudest moment of my life. I served in the Brazil Salvador South mission from May of 2009 until May of 2011. Like all other missionaries, I spent my days walking the streets and experiencing many different things. It only makes sense, if you take a person and put them in a city or town and tell them to talk to as many people possible, adventures are definitely going to arise.
I think outside of Utah a lot of people aren't as familiar with the Mormon Church and a lot of people find it to be a strange of mysterious religion. Really it's just the opposite, we have the largest missionary program in the world because we want everyone to know about it! One of the points of this blog is to show that members of the church, especially the missionaries, aren't some weird-os taking part in a giant cult. We are all normal people who just happen to dedicate a lot of our time and lives into religious teachings we are proud of and feel can make us better people and in the end bring us happiness. I have talked to many different friends who have returned from missions to share some experiences that stick out to them that I think others people would appreciate reading. I myself will include some experiences I had in Brazil. Some of this stories are hilarious, others scary or intense, some of them very heartwarming. I hope that everyone enjoys them.
-Garrett Hadley
