Missionary Messages

October 2025

Hello Brothers and Sisters!

For those of you who may not know me, my name is Elder Ayden Kofoed and I’m currently serving in the Korea Seoul South Mission. I’ve been serving my mission for about 14 months now, and I’ve learned so much through serving my Lord and Savior by helping others learn about and receive the blessings of His gospel.

Through this experience, I’ve also gained a deeper testimony of the gospel and a more certain witness of its truth. I’ve had the opportunity to study the scriptures, pray, and think about my Savior more in the past two years than I probably did in the combined 18 years before my mission. It truly has been an amazing experience. To any of you who may be debating whether or not to serve a mission, I want you to know that Heavenly Father has a specific mission prepared just for you, one that will help you grow into the person He needs you to become, and even into someone you never imagined you could become.

One of the greatest blessings on my mission has been the inspired words of our latter-day prophets and apostles, especially  President Russell M. Nelson. Each time I listened to one of his talks, it felt as though the Spirit was guiding me to hear counsel that was prepared just for me. I’ve been able to learn from many prophets in my lifetime, but the recent passing of President Nelson touched me in a deeply personal way. It felt as though I had met him and spoken with him one-on-one.

President Nelson has been the prophet during some of the most crucial years of my life and has helped me overcome many of my hardest challenges. When I was struggling with making poor decisions and feeling the Spirit in my life, he invited us to read the Book of Mormon every day, promising that as we did, we would gain the power to overcome temptation and feel the Spirit more fully in our lives. When the world became increasingly divided and filled with hate, he encouraged us to be peacemakers. Now, as the world continues in violence, confusion, and distancing itself from truth, President Nelson’s final General Conference message continues to inspire and guide me. He said,  “Brothers and sisters, as the world grows more wicked, we need to grow increasingly pure. Our thoughts, words, and actions need to be unfailingly virtuous and filled with the pure love of Jesus Christ toward all men. The great opportunity before us is to become the people God needs us to be.”

We live in a world that no longer allows for casual discipleship. The wheat and the tares are being separated and now is the time to choose which side we are on. Choosing the Lord's side is a simple choice but it requires us to daily do things that bring us closer to him, invite the spirit into our lives, and protect us from temptation. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means making an effort every day of our lives to become more like him. In the same talk President Nelson said this, “As we diligently seek to have charity and virtue fill our lives, our confidence in approaching God will increase. I invite you to take intentional steps to grow in your confidence before the Lord. Then, as we go to our Heavenly Father with increasing confidence, we will be filled with more joy, and your faith in Jesus Christ will increase. We will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes.”  

Being able to really think about how I can come closer to Christ every day has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. We all have things in our life that we could stop doing, start doing, or be more diligent in doing, that could help us “gain confidence before the Lord.” Sometimes we know what these things are and sometimes we don't. I would challenge you all to pray to our Heavenly Father and ask him what you can do or stop doing in your life to more fully follow the example of Jesus Christ. Pray with the intent that you will act on the answer you receive! It is a lot harder for us to receive answers when we aren't sure if we're willing to act on the answers we get. If you do this I know that God will tell you what you need to change and help you in the process of changing as well. When we, like the Brother of Jared, bring our hopes to the Lord with a plan to accomplish them, he will reward us with miracles and a way to accomplish our plans.

This Gospel is a gospel of joy. His church is the church of joy. And the reason that they are full of so much joy is because they help people to become the best version of themselves. The joy comes from looking back on what the Savior has done for us and who he has helped us become. I know this church is true and I'm so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice. He is my light, my guide, and my rock. 

I say these things in his Holy name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

Elder Ayden Kofoed