Embracing Faith: My Journey to the Spain Madrid Mission

Ever since I was a little boy, I have always wanted to serve a mission for my church. Every day I would think about that future date when I would receive my call and go serve the lord for two years. About two months ago, the day that I was waiting for had arrived. As much as I had been looking forward to that day, I was so nervous to open my call and find out exactly where I was going. I was filled with joy when I found that I would be serving in the Spain Madrid mission!

After receiving my call, I did some research about the people in Spain. I was anxious to find out what the culture was like, the main religions, and what the food was going to be like in Spain. As I would be teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, I was especially curious about

the main religions. Freedom of religion is promised in Spain, although the majority of the population is catholic. Other religions include Islam, Judaism, and Protestantism.
This semester, I was able to learn some more about the catholic faith, and one Sunday, I attended catholic mass. The first things that caught my eyes as I walked into their church were the statues of saints that lined the whole outer wall. There was a large painting of Jesus on the cross at the front of the chapel. Before walking to their seats, the members of the congregation would pass by the fountain of Holy Water, get there hand wet, and then cross themselves in a form of sanctification. When they crossed themselves, they would say it in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit. Catholics believe that crossing themselves with this holy water protects them from evil.
When the priest walked in, everyone in the congregation stood up. One man in front of him was holding a big cross, and another was holding a bible. After the bible was placed on the altar, the priest stood up and the congregation joined him in saying the penitential act prayer. In this prayer, the people confessed that they had sinned greatly and then the priest asked the almighty God to have mercy on us and forgive us of our sins. I remember thinking, what if forgiveness was this easy? What if all we had to do was come to church and we were forgiven of our sins? I thought it was crazy that anyone could believe it could be that easy. One must have a sincere heart, and ask Heavenly Father in prayer for forgiveness of sins. My view on this was effected because I had grown up knowing that this is the way you have to repent.
After our confession, we sang a song of praise to the Lord Jesus Christ. I was mesmerized at the way that everyone was singing. I thought it strange that there was a lead singer who was playing the guitar and that the song was a lot more upbeat than anything I had ever sang in sacrament meeting at my church.
Following the song, the Father preached to the congregation. He spoke about the different temptations that Satan tried to get Christ to do while he was on the earth. Afterwards, the congregation stood and recited the profession of faith. In this, they basically said that I believe in the son of God, Jesus Christ, and that he suffered death for our sake. They then said, “Lord hear our prayer.” Throughout this whole experience, I felt as though I were being hypnotized because of the memorized and repeated prayers, as well as the songs. Offertory came next, people came around with small buckets collecting money. They were nice and said thank you to everyone that contributed.
One of the strangest things that I witnessed was when everyone in the congregation got up to greet each other with the sign of peace. In this, you would shake hands with anyone nearby and sat, “the peace of Christ.” This is a form of worship by which the church shows peace and unity between the whole human family.
In preparation for the sacrament, we sang a song and then kneeled down as the priest blessed the bread and the wine.

During the communion, the Catholics assembled into a line to partake of the bread and wine, which the priest gave to each member. Those who are not of the Catholic faith are strictly not permitted to partake of the sacrament, therefore, when I got to the front of the line, I crossed my arms over my chest to signal that I was not catholic and the priest gave me a blessing. I was confused why I was not allowed to partake the sacrament. After asking a member of the faith, I was told that communion is where you physically receive Christ into your body. The act of communion shows that Catholics are united together in believing all that the Catholic church believes and teaches. I appreciate that in the Church of Jesus Christ, all are allowed to partake of the sacrament. The sacrament is part of a sacred covenant which we made at baptism, saying that we will always remember Jesus Christ as our savior. In exchange for this, he promises us the gift of the Holy

Ghost.
Following the sacrament, offertory was taken up again. Afterwards, the priest called all of the little children to gather in the center of the room so that he could bless each of them. I thought this was very interesting because it was very symbolic of the time that Christ had all of the little ones come to him.
At the conclusion of mass, I asked a couple questions to some members of the congregation. One was, what is lent? A young lady told me that it was something that someone gives up in order to come close to the Lord. I also learned from her that Catholics baptize their young children to save them from the fall of Adam and Eve.
I thought the whole worship service was very strange because I had never been to another worship service. This made me realize that Catholics would probably feel very similar when they are investigating the Church of Jesus Christ. With this in mind, I understand that it is important to make any investigator feel welcome and loved at church because they are probably very unfamiliar with the routines.
Even though I thought that Catholic mass was so much different than the Latter-Day Saints views, there are many similarities between the two religions.

One example is that of a leader for both churches. In our religion, we have a prophet, whereas Catholics have a pope. Both believe in Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. Another example is that both bless and partake the sacrament. The difference is that the church of Jesus Christ contains the power of the priesthood and can bless the sacrament with proper authority. Another similarity is between tithing and offertory. In offertory, you offer as much money as you want. As a latter-day saint, one must pay 10 percent of his or her income in order to be a full tithe

payer.
These similarities are helpful when teaching someone of this faith. We can compare the prophet to the pope, and our sacrament with theirs. We can also compare tithing with offertory. This common ground between the two religions is helpful because it makes it easier for the Catholics to understand the principles, ordinances, and commandments of the Church of Jesus Christ. These positive elements of Catholicism can help the investigator grow in faith and knowledge about the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ because they already know what some of the ordinances are.
President Hinckley said, “To these we say in a spirit of love, bring with you all that you have of good and truth which you have received from whatever source, and come and let us see if we may add to it.” President Hinckley states this in such a way that he is not criticizing any other religion, but simply saying that we have more truths. Religions around the world have different key practices that are also practiced in the church, but only in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints can one find the fulness of the Gospel. This Gospel can add to the good truths and practices that they already have.
I am very excited to go and serve the Lord in Spain. I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to go and study Catholicism to better prepare me for what to expect on my mission because I will not get the same opportunity while I am serving my mission. I know that the Lord is preparing people right now for me to teach and I cannot wait until I get to teach them the restored Gospel.