An open letter to an example.

Dear President Webb,

In August it will be ten years since I came home from my mission. Actually, it will be for you too, now that I think about it. You left a couple weeks after me. It was an unreal experience. I often flash back to moments from it that were goofy or hilarious (I mean, it's Alabama), but I also remember moments of clarity, purpose, revelation, and unencumbered joy. I want to thank you for being a guiding influence during some really vital years of my life. I had made the choice to serve the Lord before we met, but you helped me to keep making that choice every day, even when the service was really, really hard.

As a missionary I learned about the value of real friendship. I learned the value of the sweat of my face. I learned about the pure love of God. I also learned about the sadness, pain, and hopelessness, inseparable to the human condition. I learned why Christ's mission was so much about ministering to the poor, the lost, the downtrodden, the neglected, or forgotten members of society. Healing wounds, giving sight, forgiving sins, and saving souls. Those are the lessons I took it the streets of Birmingham and Wetumpka, and Columbus, Mississippi. The lessons from you were the ones that helped me shape my person into a capable pastor and ready conduit for the Spirit of God. Learning how to really use revelation is clearly the most important skill I developed on my mission and serving with you was a fantastic seminar in how to do just that.

I'm really grateful that you were willing to serve for 3 years, at helping 200 or so young men find themselves, while they clumsily helped strangers find the Lord and His gospel. Sweet home.

Love, Elder Mooney