I just wanted to let all of you on DeviantArt know that I have decided to go on a mission for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I will be going to the Birmingham Alabama Mission and will be gone approximately 1 ½ years.  

Because of this I will not have access to DeviantArt and won't be answering comments, notes, or doing anything else on DA.  You are welcome to leave them, but be aware they won't be seen until I get home.

Now, since I won't have access to DA, I figure many of you will have questions about why I am going and what I will be doing, so here are some Q&As:


What is a missionary?
According to dictionary.com a missionary is "a person sent by a church into an area to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as educational or hospital work"
A missionary is someone who serves the Lord by serving others on behalf of himself and his church.

What does a missionary do?
As a missionary I will have two goals: 1. to proselyte and teach people about my religious beliefs and 2. to provide humanitarian aid and service where necessary.

Why 1 1/2 years?
I know that the Lord has provided a lot of support for me in my 21 years of life and will continue to bless and support me for the rest of it.  A year and a half is a small price to pay for the dedication He shows me.  Also, that is the length of time church leaders have asked female missionaries to serve.  (In case you were wondering, couple missionaries also serve 1 ½ years and male missionaries serve 2 years.)

Where can you learn more about my religion?
Here's a few useful links:
Mormon.org
- learn about our basic beliefs and the questions our religion answers, as well as ask your own questions.
Scriptures.LDS.org
- a complete online compilation of all our scriptures and many reference sources.  If you would like to read the Book of Mormon to find more about my religion you can read it online here.  More languages are available if you would like to read it in a different language.  Just click the where it says "English" at the top with the world icon next to it, pick which language you would like, click on the 'Scriptures' menu, then 'Book of Mormon'.
FairLDS.org
- written defense of LDS beliefs – it explains a lot of things about my faith.


Why won't I be on deviantART during my mission?
As a missionary, my focus will be on spreading the Gospel of Christ and helping those around me.  Being on the internet regularly would be detrimental to this focus (a distraction) and so we are not allowed to use the internet except for church purposes and writing emails home.  I'm sure every human being who has used the internet can understand how much of a distraction it can be.

When will I be returning?
Probably sometime in June 2014, when I hope to jump right back into doing art.