"I am not a member of the LDS faith but for some reason I found myself listening to Mr. Holland speaking about this young LDS member who had to come home early from his mission due to a mental health issue," Missy Ruth posted on Elder Holland's Facebook page.
The video Missy is referring to is a candid, very personal one Elder Holland created and posted to his Facebook page in response to one member's questions about returning from his mission early. In the video, Elder Holland explained that every member has a different mission. Some might serve for two years, others just four months, but all of their service is significant and valuable to the Lord.
Elder Holland praised the missionary who asked the question for serving, telling him to be proud. "Commendation to you and the love of the Lord to you and the blessings of the Lord to you for trying to go, for wanting to go."
"When someone asks you if you served a mission, you say 'Yes!'" he added.
After viewing this video, Missy Ruth said, "I was SO impressed. Wow. What a great testimony to the kind of wisdom and leadership the members of your faith enjoy. It warmed my heart. Blessings to all of you."
What a sweet reminder of how blessed we all are to be a member of this Church and to have inspired leaders who share the unique joy of the gospel with millions around the world and through Facebook. And, by following Elder Holland's example and sharing our beliefs on Facebook, we too can inspire those not of our faith.
Elder Holland's video was the first of many answers he gave during and after his Face to Face event with the young single adults of the Church. Elder Donald L. Hallstrom and Carole M. Stephens joined Elder Holland for the event and even helped him respond to member's questions after the event.
In response to Missy's comment, Elder Hallstrom thanked Missy, adding, "We love all of God's children, those who are members of our Church and those who are not. We welcome you to learn more about our Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Blessing to you!"
Another online missionary posted a link to Mormon.org to help answer any questions Missy might have about the Church and our faith.
See below to watch the video that sparked this exciting conversation:
First Face to Face Question I have been reading the questions you are asking for the #LDSFace2Face event tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. MST. I encourage you to keep asking them in the comments below. We will continue to watch the questions as they come in. In the meantime, I’d like to go ahead and answer one of the questions that I saw from a young man who asked about how he should feel after returning home early from his mission due to mental health problems. Posted by Jeffrey R Holland on Monday, March 7, 2016