Temporal and Spiritual Blessings

July 2025

ALEJANDRO ALVAREZ FLORES loves serving the Lord. When Alvarez, who grew up in Honduras, reached the age to serve a full-time mission, his family was having a hard time. He wondered if he could leave them in those circumstances and if it was a good time to serve. Seeing his older sister’s example of missionary service and having extended family members encourage him to serve made the decision easier. Alvarez felt that if he trusted God, a way would be provided, so he submitted his papers and was called to the México Chihuahua Mission. He served from 2017 to 2019.

Alvarez’s favorite part of being a missionary was learning more about the gospel. “I had a testimony when I started to serve my mission, but I didn’t know a lot of things relating to the Church,” he says. “Having the time to study the scriptures, talk with my companions, and share our thoughts was a blessing. I know that Heavenly Father is there and will be with us all the time, no matter what.” Learning more about the gospel helped strengthen his faith and helped him be a better missionary.

While serving, Alvarez learned countless lessons and had various experiences that helped him grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ. One of those lessons came while he was serving in a very wealthy area where people were not as receptive to hearing about the gospel. Alvarez and his companion were having a difficult day and had no scheduled teaching appointments. As they walked, Alvarez leaned over to his companion and said, “Don’t worry, you will see—we’re going to knock on that door, and someone is going to open the door.” When they knocked, the companionship was met by a family who was eager to learn about the gospel—and they happened to live five houses away from the missionaries! Less than two months later, they were baptized. Now, six years later, Alvarez still keeps in contact with this family, and they are still active in the Church.

While serving his mission, Alvarez had the blessing of learning English. He says, “I had around 14 companions who were from the United States, and most of them had been out for less than a year. While they were studying and learning Spanish, I was studying and learning English.” He was able to learn the basics of English, which helped him to gain employment at a call center after his mission. This strengthened his English skills. Because of this job, he was able to save enough money to attend Ensign College in Salt Lake City.

Through Alvarez’s powerful experiences as a missionary and his current role as a student, he has been blessed with numerous testimony building experiences. “I can see the hand of the Lord in my life,” he says. “I can not only see temporal blessings, but I can also see spiritual blessings from serving a mission. I think that’s the most important part. In the end, I’m still connected with the Lord and I’m still getting revelations of things I need to do. It’s been amazing seeing my testimony continue to grow stronger.”