May 29, 2022
Good morning brothers and sisters. I’m speaking to you today because tomorrow I start home MTC for my mission to Leeds, England. I have 8 days at home and then on June 7th, I will go to either the Provo MTC or England MTC depending on if I get my visa. I could not be more excited to teach the people of England about the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to start by introducing myself a little because I have been in college for the past year and haven’t been able to meet a lot of people in the ward. I’m the middle child with three older siblings and three younger siblings and so far, it looks like I'll be the shortest in the family, and they don't let me forget that. I just finished my freshman year at BYU. It was fantastic. After taking a few introductory business courses, I believe I will pursue something in the business field. But I’ve got 18 months to think about it. I absolutely love the outdoors and any activity you can do outside. I grew up running cross country and track and one of my favorite things to do is rock climbing.
Now I consider myself many things, a rock climber, a runner, a student, a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend, and, tomorrow, a missionary. But the title that I love the very most is the title of daughter of God. In a recent devotional to the YSA, President Nelson, our dear prophet, said this, “No identifiers or labels should replace or take priority of these three: Child of God, Child of the Covenant, and Disciple of Christ.” This really stood out to me, and personally, I believe it is critical that we all understand and remember that. I'm so excited to be able to teach people that they too are sons and daughters of loving Heavenly Parents.
As we remember that we are all children of God we can more easily show kindness to others. We can stop judging and labeling others as this or that and recognize that as God’s children our job is to love and support each other. We can become united as children of God.
Studying at BYU was an entirely new experience for me. I went to a high school in Northern California and there were only 25 others in my grade that were members, as compared to almost everyone at BYU. I have never been surrounded by that many members. It was so uplifting. The thing that stuck out to me the most was the unity of my ward. I had the most amazing bishopric and they showed so much love for each of us. I also had an amazing ward. Everyone was always reaching out to each other, always looking for ways to include others. I remember one fast Sunday, during testimony meeting, the Spirit testified to me of the strength there is in numbers. As person after person bore their testimony, the message was the same. Life is hard, we are all struggling, but God is aware of us and is here for us. You could feel the Spirit and recognize the love everyone had for each other. It is my experience that as you seek to uplift others and help each other keep the commandments and stay strong in the gospel you will be blessed and know the truth that you are a daughter or son of God.
As children of the covenant, we have been taught the gospel and chose to make covenant and ordinances with God, such as being baptized into the church and participating in the ordinances of the sacrament. As we remember this, we can focus on keeping the commandments and living true to that. It’s not always easy, believe me, but it’s so worth it.
Keeping the commandments is a choice. It’s a choice that we get to make every single day because of the gift of agency. I know it’s hard. I went through high school and understood peer pressure, temptations, social media influence, and worldly pressure. But there were a few things that helped me stay on the path and keep the commandments. Attending seminary, keeping the For the Strength of Youth standards, following the prophet, and reading my scriptures made all the difference.
There is such power in attending seminary every day and being able to learn in depth about the scriptures. I had amazing teachers who taught me the doctrines of Christ found in the scriptures. It was the best way to start my day.
Keeping the For the Strength of Youth standards sometimes seemed hard, especially when it came to finding a modest prom dress, swimsuit or as it got hot during the summer, but as I was modest, I was able to more clearly see that my body is a temple and should be respected as such. The prophet and First Presidency of the church promised in the For the Strength of Youth, “that as you keep the covenants you have made and these standards, you will be blessed with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, your faith and testimony will grow stronger, and you will enjoy increasing happiness”.
The last thing that truly helped me was reading the Book of Mormon. I read it every day and have noticed the countless times I have found answers to my prayers in the scriptures and felt the Holy Ghost as I read them. I truly know that the Book of Mormon is true. There is no doubt in my mind. It’s the basis of my testimony. It’s why I am going on a mission. Because I know that it’s true, everything else falls into place. Christ is my Savior, He died for me and for all of us so that we can return to Him. Joseph Smith is a prophet who restored the gospel to the Earth and translated the Book of Mormon. President Nelson is the true prophet on our Earth today who leads and guides the church through personal revelation. These are some of the important truths I hope to teach to the people of England.
That leads me to the last thing President Nelson wants us to remember. That we are disciples of Christ. As disciples of Christ, we have been baptized and we take upon us the name of Christ as we follow Him. I will literally be taking upon me His name as I get set apart as a missionary and wear a nametag with His name on it for 18 months.
I loved this past general conference where we got to hear from the prophet and apostles and leaders of our church. A common theme I recognized through it all was missionary work.
The very first talk was given by our prophet, President Nelson, and he said this, “Brothers and sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ has never been needed more than it is today. Contention violates everything the Savior stood for and taught. I love the Lord Jesus Christ and testify that His gospel is the only enduring solution for peace. His gospel is a gospel of peace. His gospel is the only answer when many in the world are stunned with fear. This underscores the urgent need for us to follow the Lord’s instruction to His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” (end quote). We are in the gathering of Israel. President Nelson then went on to say, “Today I reaffirm strongly that the Lord has asked every worthy, able young man to prepare for and serve a mission.” [and] “For you young and able sisters, a mission is also a powerful, but optional, opportunity” (end quote).
I encourage everyone that’s thinking about serving a mission to read this talk, and pray to know what they should do. There have been key moments and experiences in my life that have let me know that I am supposed to serve a mission. I would like to share one with you.
In December of 2019, Elder Cook, one of the 12 apostles, came and gave a fireside to the youth in the Sacramento area. He talked about missionary work and said that if we know these three things than we should feel confident to go on a mission: 1. Jesus Christ is divine, 2. Joseph Smith is a prophet, and 3. the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Elder Cook in his April general conference talk also related these same three questions. After the meeting, Elder Cook was shaking everyone’s hands and when he got to me, he shook my hand and I said thank you. Then I moved out of the way to let another girl step in front of me. He then shook her hand and was going to continue greeting others. But then, before moving on, Elder Cook came back to me and shook my hand again, looked at me in the eye and added “Go on a mission”. That’s it. I came home and told my parents and wrote it in my journal that night and said, “I will never forget that”. And I never have. Then fast forward through the next couple of years, I had many experiences reading my scriptures or listening to my siblings talk about their missions and I knew that a mission was right for me.
I turned my papers in on January 12. On January 18, I woke up and went about my day as usual, not expecting to get my call because it usually took about 2 or 3 weeks and it had only been 6 days. That morning, Elder Holland gave a devotional to BYU. I was feeling nervous waiting for my call, and fears and doubts came into my mind about serving a mission. But then during his talk, I felt such peace and knew that wherever I was going was perfect for me and where the Lord needed me to be. Then that afternoon I got a text saying, “your mission call is ready to be viewed” and opened it that night with family and friends. I was overjoyed to be called to the Leeds, England mission. It felt perfect for me.
Later, I found out that both Elder Cook and Elder Holland served their missions in England where they were companions. I knew then that God truly knows me, and that Leeds England is exactly where I am supposed to be serving for the next 18 months.
Spiritual experiences can help us receive answers to our prayers. You too can have spiritual experiences that shape your life. Something I try to do is write in my journal each day about how I have seen God’s hand in my life. Sometimes I have bad days and it’s hard for me to recognize His hand, but as I do, I more easily recognize Him and feel His love for me.
In Elder Cook’s recent talk, “Conversion to the Will of God”, he said this, “quote, over a lifetime of service and spiritual experiences, I have come to understand that true conversion is the result of the conscious acceptance of the will of God and that we can be guided in our actions by the Holy Ghost.” (end quote).
I want to talk a little bit about conversion and the role faith has in it. I think one of the most important things to have in this life is faith. As we have faith in Christ, we can rely wholly on Him and trust in Him. As we strive to learn more about the gospel we can be converted and have a change of heart.
Brother Mark L. Pace, in his recent talk, said, “quote, the aim of all gospel learning and teaching is to deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ… the kind of gospel learning that strengthens our faith and leads to the miracle of conversion doesn’t happen all at once. It extends beyond a classroom into our hearts and homes. It requires consistent, daily efforts to understand and live the gospel. Gospel learning that leads to true conversion requires the influence of the Holy Ghost.” End quote.
I want to emphasize what he said about “consistent, daily efforts”. He didn’t say that the efforts had to be huge gestures of our faith and devotion to God. He just said consistent efforts, no matter how small that is. Efforts can include saying your prayers, reading the scriptures, going to youth activities, attending seminary, keeping the standards of the church, being kind to others and serving. It’s the small and simple things that can lead to an increase in faith as we draw closer to Him. I testify that these seemingly small choices have made all the difference in my life.
Elder Larry Kacher said this in his recent talk, “quote, part of life’s purpose is to allow these potential stumbling blocks to become stepping-stones as we climb what I call the ladder of faith- a ladder because it suggests that faith is not static. It can go up or down according to the choices we make” end quote. There will be many stumbling blocks in our lives. Something as small as failing a test, or bigger things like losing a job, financial problems, sickness, health problems, or losing a loved one. Even though all these things can be really hard, and feel like too much at times, our job is to not let them decrease our faith in Christ. In my life, I have found that when hard times come, as I turn to the Lord, my faith builds, and I can trust whatever happens is supposed to happen for a reason.
We have to “let God prevail in our lives”, as our dear prophet told us. President Nelson continued and said, “the Lord is gathering those who will choose to let God be the most important influence in their lives.” My parents are great examples to me of people that have let God be the most important influence in their lives. I remember when my parents told my family we were moving to Utah, and I was devastated. Even though I was coming here for college, I wanted to be able to go home to my home in California, the one I was born and raised in. my parents told us how they felt it was right and that they were putting their full trust in God. They were letting God be the most important influence in their lives. And it turned out to be a huge blessing for me. I had a hard first semester of college and it was such a blessing to be able to go to Sunday dinner with my family and get away from stressful college life.
My family are also my very best friends. It has been a blessing to continue making countless memories with them while attending college. I know that God placed me in this family for a reason and I am so grateful and lucky to go through life with them by my side.
The last thing I want to touch on is how you don’t have to have a missionary tag to serve a mission. Recognizing that you are all serving a mission now, by loving and serving others, bringing them closer to Christ.
I want to end with this quote by President Nelson, “All missionaries teach and testify of the Savior. The spiritual darkness in the world makes the light of Jesus Christ needed more than ever. Everyone deserves the chance to know about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Every person deserves to know where they can find hope and peace that “pass all understanding”.
I testify that we all can be lights in the world. I testify that the most important thing to do right now is help gather scattered Israel. I testify that as youth our job is to enlist in the Lord’s battalion and help gather Israel on both sides of the veil by sharing the gospel and temple work. I testify of the choices that we make in keeping of the Lord’s standards that lead us to the temple that we will be blessed and find peace and happiness. I’m so grateful and excited for this opportunity I have to serve a mission. I understand that it may be really hard, but I am prepared to rely on and trust in Him. I love this gospel. It is true. There is nothing in this life that has brought me more happiness than the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why I want to serve a mission. I want to be able to give other people the opportunity to find happiness in Christ. I am so grateful for my family, and I love them so much. I am going to miss them so much, but I know that serving a mission is what I am supposed to be doing.
Bear testimony on:
-parents
-families are forever
-book of Mormon
-priesthood keys on the Earth today
-Jesus Christ died for us
-atonement
-plan of salvation
No comments:
Post a Comment