Elder Gabriel Armstrong (Kellybrook Ward) has recently returned with honor after having served in the Utah Ogden Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“It has been a life-changing experience,” Elder Armstrong said. “There were so many things I learned and experiences I had that I can’t really process them all.”

Elder Armstrong said that he learned a lot of God from his companions.

“The mission was an opportunity for me to grow every day. I learned to always look for God’s hand in your life every single day. A companion of mine taught me that. He kept a daily journal about the way he saw the hand of God in his life. That was a small and simple thing, but it inspired me. I started doing the same thing, and as I practiced that, it really helped me know that God was really there for me.”

Before his mission, Elder Armstrong shared that he had a lot of questions about the gospel and worried that he didn’t have all the answers.

“A companion taught me that it’s okay to have questions. This church actually started because a boy had questions. It’s what you do with those questions that matters. Instead of leaving the church and leaving everything, search for the answers, take your questions to the Lord.”

Elder Armstrong shared his thoughts on what young people should do to prepare for serving a mission.

“Allow yourself to learn. I was a stubborn kid when it came to school work. If I didn’t want to do something, I didn’t. You can’t really do that with your companion [as a missionary]. You have to learn to do things you don’t want to do sometimes, and allow yourself to grow. Our Father in Heaven is there for me and if I turn myself to Jesus Christ I can grow and do the impossible. If he did the impossible, I can too.“