Emmaline Riggs doesn’t remember deciding to serve a mission.
“I just always knew I would serve a mission — ever since I was a little girl,” she said.
Growing up in Ohio, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was always the center of her home. She credits her parents for instilling a deep love and understanding of Jesus Christ.
“My mom was a convert, so my upbringing was very different from the church culture in Utah," Riggs said. "My parents focused a lot more on Christ than what was probably taught at church, and so I truly felt growing up that I had a relationship with Jesus.”
In 2021, Riggs submitted her mission papers and was called to serve as a missionary for the Utah Salt Lake City Temple Square mission.
“I was not expecting to serve in Utah, but I really did feel excited to go to Temple Square," Riggs said. "I heard that it was an all-sisters mission with mostly international sisters, and to me, that was amazing.”
But soon after entering the mission, she began to feel uneasy. The environment and expectations felt different from her understanding of the Savior.
“Right away, I wanted to go home," Riggs said. "I felt like if I was to survive my mission, I had to give up my dream of serving Jesus my way and just follow the rules."
Her mission experience challenged her testimony and pushed her to embark on a new journey of faith — one that led her to reevaluate what she believed, who Jesus was and what His gospel meant to her.
“My mission shaped me and forced me to really search and figure out what I believe," she said. "Ultimately, it led me to start a life as a new follower of Jesus within a different lens of Christianity.”
She feels that being a student at BYU has given her the opportunity to find compassion for everyone, despite cultural and religious differences. She is currently pursuing a degree in applied English linguistics and Arabic.
“I have truly felt guided by my relationship with Jesus to create a connection with the Arab people and Arabic language," Riggs said. "I want to be an influence for good in the community I live and teach in, and allow Arabs or any immigrant who comes to this country to know they are valued and supported.”
After graduation, Riggs hopes to teach English to immigrants in the United States, especially children in communities with large Arab populations.
“Jesus was a refugee. He knows what it feels like to not have a home, to be oppressed and see the tragedies that come from war and occupation," she said. "As a follower of Jesus, I feel a deep call to help those who have experienced this and not allow my privileges to blind me from the realities of an imperfect world.”
Despite the difficulty of her mission, Riggs said the experience allowed her to build an even deeper love for Jesus Christ and a greater desire to serve like Him.
“I am still on my journey and don’t know where I will ultimately end up," she said. "But I am so grateful for all the hard times that caused me to question my faith and search for a new belief, because I know there is something out there that can speak to our souls and connect us with God in ways we never expected. We just have to have enough faith to go out and find it.”
She believes that with enough faith, anyone can find a spiritual path that is right for them.