Homesick for Heaven: Finding the Echo of Celestial Joy in Our Daily Discipleship

There are moments when the feeling washes over you—a deep, profound ache in the spirit that isn't sadness, but an intense, beautiful *missing*. It’s the feeling of being homesick for a place you’ve never physically been, but know with absolute certainty you belong. For us who are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, that feeling has a name: homesickness for heaven.

I was listening to Phil Wickham recently, and the line, “There's a lake in my heart. I'm homesick for heaven,” really stopped me in my tracks. It resonated with the deepest part of my own heart. As returned missionaries, we talk a lot about the joy of the gospel, the power of the Spirit in the field, and the sweetness of making covenants. But sometimes, the *longing* for the destination—the return to the presence of the Savior—is what speaks loudest.

It’s easy to get caught up in the *doing*—the lesson plans, the call to scripture study, the perfecting of our testimony. And while the effort is vital, sometimes we need to pause and remember the *why*. The 'why' is that eternal longing. That ache is actually a gift, brothers and sisters. It’s the Spirit whispering reminders of what awaits us!

The Power of Longing: A Mission Prep Skill

If you are currently in mission prep, or if you’re feeling the weight of the work right now, treat that feeling of longing like a sacred resource. It’s not just sentimentality; it’s divine direction. It’s the Spirit guiding your focus back to the eternal perspective.

When you feel that homesickness, I encourage you to do two things. First, pause your preparation for a moment and simply *feel* it. Don't analyze it away. Let the ache sit there. Second, use that feeling as fuel for your study. Ask yourself: What does this longing teach me about the Atonement? What does it teach me about the Restoration? What does it teach me about the covenants I am making *now* that will bring me *there*?

This is where the power of the Internet Missionary shines. We are called to be disciples *anywhere*, all the time. If you’re struggling to focus on a specific doctrine, maybe spend some time in the Social Scripture Study layer in LivingBook, focusing on scriptures about the celestial kingdom. Or, if you need to talk through the *why* with someone, I highly recommend scheduling a session with Davee. He’s excellent at walking you through the hard, existential questions an investigator might ask when they are wrestling with the ultimate purpose of life.

Living in the Anticipation

The beautiful thing about being Latter-day Saints is that our entire lives are built around anticipation—anticipation of the Second Coming, anticipation of the temple covenants, and yes, anticipation of that eternal homecoming. We are already living in the echo of heaven.

When we treat our daily discipleship—our Book Club discussions, our commitment to reading the Iron Rod authors, even just sitting quietly with the scriptures—as acts of *preparation* for that glorious day, everything changes. It becomes less about checking boxes and more about participating in the grand, eternal drama of redemption.

If you want to deepen this conversation, I’m inviting everyone to join our next virtual gathering this Thursday. We’ll be discussing how to keep that sacred, persistent longing alive in our hearts. It’s a chance to lift our spirits together and share what the Spirit has been whispering to us lately.

Remember, the work is eternal, and the longing is the purest evidence that we are on the right path. Keep that ache sacred. Keep that focus fixed on the Savior.