Gramps,
I have had sex before marriage, and broke the word of wisdom. I am scared to tell my bishop, because everyone in my ward is pressuring me to go on a mission. What is going to happen when I tell him? Thanks
Anon.
Dear Anon.
Well, you’ve broken the law of chastity. If you decide to go on a mission without confessing to your bishop-believe me, he will ask you about your moral purity-then you will add being a liar to being a fornicator. What kind of a missionary do you think that you would be with a load like that on your shoulders? If, in addition to all that, you went on a mission because of pressure from the members of your Ward, rather than from your desire to serve the Lord, it seem to me that you would make a farce of the whole thing. Missionary work can only be successful if the missionary is guided by the Holy Spirit. The first thing you must do is to become worthy to be guided by the Spirit. In order to qualify for that guidance you must have repented from all serious infractions of the laws of God. We read in D&C 58:43 that “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins–behold, he will confess them and forsake them.”
Confession is an essential part of repentance. Although the bishop is a judge, he is also a counselor and the Lord’s representative to you. There is not the slightest shadow of a doubt that the Lord wants you to put you life in order and to help prepare the earth for his coming by sharing the gospel as a missionary with as many of his children as possible. So I would suggest that you swallow a little of that pride that makes you want to appear before people as something that you are not, and RUN to your bishop, confessing all that you have done, and seek his help in preparing you to serve the Lord with honor and integrity.
Gramps
