Mission or music career?
Question
Hello Gramps,
I hope you’re doing well. I’m a young man of 18, just out of high school. I now have my entire life ahead of me with several possible life paths to choose from. I have a solid testimony of this gospel, and I’m fully aware of the importance of intellectual, philosophical, and spiritual progression versus material gain and secular praise and “success.” Unfortunately, I struggle on and off with marijuana and alcohol consumption, but that’s not what I’m getting at. I’m in a band, and extremely serious about music. It’s the most effective conduit for The Spirit in my life. I plan on touring extensively, and to be a career musician. I also have a burning desire to serve a mission however, and I just don’t know when I should do it. Everyone’s plan is different, you know? I’m very committed to my band right now, so I was thinking of waiting a few years or longer. How should I seek The Lord’s guidance in directing my own life? I wish to serve and please Him, and I want to follow his plan for me. Thank you for all that you do. I trust your wisdom.
Anonymous
Answer
Anonymous,
I can relate to facing two options and the difficulty in choosing between them. At the same time, there are some points I’d like to bring up to you.
First of all, let’s just go over the Word of Wisdom matter, as you have brought it up. It relates to serving a mission in an important way. One of the most important ways to prepare for a mission is to strengthen your testimony as much as you can. A relevant question in your case would be: How strong is your testimony about the Word of Wisdom? Any testimony can be strengthened, but could you picture yourself testifying about the principle as you are today?
The problem with both marijuana and alcohol is quite simple. Using either one of them makes it more difficult to feel the Spirit. The effect is quick, and difficult to get past once it begins. This is part of why we are commanded to avoid such substances. Any time something interferes with the Spirit, we risk missing important revelations and guidance that Heavenly Father wants us to receive. Imagine trying to talk on a phone through a pillow. It is all but impossible. If your musical goals are contributing to your Word of Wisdom concerns, there’s reason to examine just how strongly the Spirit is operating in your life. I know it would be stronger without those chemicals in your body. If you are serious about feeling the Spirit direct you to serve a mission, this is something that you need to resolve right away. The sooner you remove those addictive habits from your life, the easier it will be to let them go. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be. This brings me to the other point I want to discuss with you.
Both serving a mission and pursuing a musical career are noble desires. However, you won’t always be able to serve a mission, even if you are ready and worthy. There is a cut-off age where the church would rather see you find a wife, get sealed in the temple and begin raising your family. If you wait too long to decide, the option will pass you by.
On the other hand, a musical career doesn’t really have a cut-off date. It does require regular practice, determination, and focus. I have a feeling that if you chose to serve a mission first, the Lord would not only help you prepare for two years of serving Him, but I am confident He would help you in your efforts to improve your talents in music once you had completed an honorable mission.
This is just how I see it, and you are certainly free to choose, as you will. However I can promise you that the blessings that come from serving an honorable mission will follow you for the rest of your life as you continue in faith. Such blessings, in my experience, far outweigh whatever the world has to offer.
I pray you will seek the Lord’s guidance in reaching your decision. Pray and listen to the answers you receive. I promise you’ll be much happier as you do so.
Very well put! I struggled with both marijuana and alcohol in the past. I can say now with strong testimony that they both pushed the spirit away, and I am so much closer to him now that I have that out of my life. Be strong and be determined and it will be easier than you think to clean up that area of life. Also, I’d like to say that I really wished i had served a mission. I wanted to as a child, and I always thought I would. But because of my choices as a teenager, my life took a dramatic turn in the other direction. Now that I am older and raising a family, that option is long gone. I often think back on the choices I made and wished that I could change that. But my life is where it should be now and I am glad for that. Good luck with your choice! It is not an easy one, even when the member is ready and worthy. 🙂
I can strongly testify that responding to the prophets call to serve a mission vastly expanded and intensifies your musical talents. I was just a lyricist before my mission, now that i have returned with honor, i am learning and becoming better and better like crazy in lyrics, composition, production, theory, sight singing and ear training, the whole works. The mission truly does help you become even better than you thought you ever could be.
I have something to say on this one as I have been down this road when I was younger. I chose to go the music route. You cannot imagine how challenging it is. It is presented with promise of success, however so very few actually succeed.
I was in a band that went on smaller tours, we were played on radio stations all over the country, played bigger shows in large cities and we hardly ever made a penny!
Instead we ended up spending a fortune on gear, gas, practice spaces, recording, etc. We even had a song in an oscar winning film and barely made a cent. No, it’s not that we had a bad agent – that’s just how the music business is, especially the rock music business.
I look back at it now as I’ve gotten a little older (though no one is calling me gramps yet 😉 and recognize the very very strong influence of the adversary that led me in that direction and regrettably I listened. I have regretted my decision not to go on a mission and that opportunity has pasted.
The scriptures are pretty clear on how to proceed, see:
See Jacob 2: 18-19
18 But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
19 And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.
Personally, I wish the person I am now could go back and shake some sense into the adolescent I was then and tell him to choose the right! Go on that mission! Serve the Lord! It will grow you in ways that you have never imagined and in ways that the World doesn’t have the ability to do.
Christopher,
There are many in the church like you, I was one of them too. I took the music route and had little success, a small recording contract, and I still have many friends who are in the business. It was a blessing for me that I wasn’t successful. While I had the talent to be successful, the music industry is not a loving forgiving industry. The deals you make physically and spiritually to become successful are not worth it. The mainstream music industry is one of the most filthy destructive businesses you can be in and it’s just not worth it. I too missed out on the opportunity to serve a mission and its regretful. I chose a path of destruction. Like you Christopher i began smoking weed and drinking, and eventually moved onto cocaine and other drugs. I eventually gravitated towards pornography and found myself in the grip of the adversary to the point of suicide. There are not many good clean stories in the music business, in fact if you don’t conform, you don’t make it. It’s really that simple. As much as I love music and still play it today, I would never encourage my children to participate in it, as the odds of survival are very low.
Christopher, walk away and serve the Lord, treasure up those things you love in heaven where they cannot rust, or be taken away by a thief. Jesus Christ gave up all things for you, for me and billions of people. He showed us the way little brother.
Tuff question, I trust that the Lord will direct an honest seeker of the best path.