(it's been a month since my
talk so I thought I should share it. I actually didn't write it...just some
bullet points so it's not written very well because I wrote down what I said on
the recording my sister sent me. I'm glad this talk is over though! enjoy!)
So I have actually had a hard time preparing for this talk
because I don’t know how to put in words my thoughts on my mission because it
has meant to much for me. So I am going to try to express the feelings of my
heart. But yeah it’s kind of weird being back, I noticed when I was in Seattle
with my family this week I kept saying hi to everyone I saw. And I keep
thinking I need to back my mom out in the car and have her approve my text
messages. So a little bit about my mission, it was the Scottsdale Arizona
mission. I had never heard of Scottsdale before I went there. It took parts of
Mesa & Phoenix and the white mountains. I had no idea that Arizona had
mountains and that it snows in Arizona but it actually does and I froze a lot. But
luckily I never had to endure the Arizona heat in the summer. I don’t know how
I got so blessed. So I did serve most of
my mission in the White Mountains. It’s pretty much the place where everyone
wears camo & go hunting & you see deer heads all over their house. It’s
a culture shock. But now I come here and it’s a shock. But it is awesome being
home.
So as you probably know I left on my mission kind of later,
I was 21 so deciding to come on a mission was very hard for me. I had a lot of
fears about going on a mission but I had a lot of promptings to go on a mission
and that scared me. But I finally had this huge leap of faith & decided to
come out on a mission. And I can say that it was the best decision ever. And so
I was asked to speak on the doctrine of Christ and how I have seen people on
mission apply Christ’s gospel to their life. The doctrine of Christ is 5
elements. First is to have Faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repent,
baptism, the gift of the holy ghost and enduring to the end. So that is our
purpose as missionarie and as latter day saints.
So to start off I was to talk about a challenge that my
mission was given. We were challenged by our mission president and his wife to
read the book of Mormon highlighting the doctrine of Christ. And we had 65 days
to read it, which is about 9 pages a day. And this experience changed the rest
of my mission. I got to fully emerge myself in the doctrine of Christ, in the
Book of Mormon. I learned that the book of Mormon is filled with the gospel of Jesus
Christ and that the principles and ordinances are related and intertwined. All
things are gathered together in one. The gospel of Jesus Christ is how we
access the Atonement of Jesus Christ into our lives. It is how we can change,
be converted and ultimately live again with our Heavenly Father.
So to prepare I was actually asked to read John 21 and I
love this chapter. So it is when after Christ died, some of the disciples went
back to fishing but they weren’t catching anything. And Christ comes on the
shore but they don’t recognize him and told them to cast their net on the right
side. They caught many. They finally recognized him as Christ as the risen Lord
and went to shore. And I love what Christ is telling Peter as they are eating
the fish. John 21:15-17 reads, “Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that
I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea,
Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my
sheep. He
saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time,
Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou
knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
I think this story has become very personal to me because throughout my mission
I have evolved my why behind being on a mission. I came on a mission for lots
of reasons. I loved the gospel and I wanted to share it with others and it
brought me so much happiness. But ultimately I realized that I came on a
mission and was still on a mission because I loved Jesus Christ and Heavenly
Father. And that love led to serving them. And when I realized that, I realized
that I wasn’t there for me. I was there for Heavenly Father and His children.
And I think that’s when my mission changed me and that’s when I got lost in the
work. When we have a love for Heavenly Father, it motivates us to do hard
things, like live the gospel.
And so I have thought about a lot of people I have met
throughout my mission and thought about how much they loved the Lord & how
that motivated them to live the gospel. So what I want to do is to share some
experiences of how people I have taught embraced an element of the gospel of
Jesus Christ into their lives. So I want to start with Faith in Jesus Christ
which is to have a belief in Him & it is more than a belief, it leads us to
action. When I think of someone who has a lot of faith I think of this women
named Deanna. We found Deanna through members, side note missionary work is
nothing without the members! I loved working with the members. Deanna was of
another religion and had a great knowledge of the bible. So she had a lot of
faith but I could see her faith increase as we taught her. The Spirit in the
lessons was so strong. When you feel the Spirit and feel the love for the
people you are teaching you can be bold with them. Deanna knew the book of
Mormon was true. She had gotten so far in it and understood it so well. I had
never seen an investigator embrace the book of Mormon so well. She was on date
to be baptized so we were working with her with not drinking coffee. She drank
many cups a day. When we taught her the word of wisdom, she did not drink
another cup of coffee again, she had so much faith. But sadly the adversary
knew how amazing Deanna is and things led her to not want to meet with us
anymore. And that taught me that no matter how much faith I had, it can’t
change the agency of others. I do know that Deanna was changed by the gospel
because we still talked to her and she was still reading the book of Mormon and
not drinking coffee even after we stopped meeting with her.
The next principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ is repentance.
Repentance is change, that change of heart and not just changing the big things
but the little things to become more like our Savior. When I think about
repentance I think about this boy named Noah. He was actually the last person I
got to see go through the waters of baptism. He is a very special person. Noah
is 12 and his mother passed away when he was young so he went to many foster
homes. A family in our ward decided to adopt him so we started teaching him.
The biggest change I saw in Noah was his happiness grew. When we told him that
God loved him, there was such a light in his eyes. I loved telling people that
God loved them especially if they never knew that in their life. Noah really
embraced the gospel, I have never seen anyone love the gospel more than him. I
remember when we first taught noah repentance, we told him that everyone made
mistakes, even us as missionaries. He said “really?”. He was so surprised
because he thought we were perfect. Noah thought we lived at the church, every
ending prayer he asked to help us drive safely back home to church. Noah really
worked hard on repentance. He wasn’t a back kid or anything. But every night he
said he went to the tree house to read his book of Mormon and to repent. Noah
is such a good example to me. We went to the temple with him for the first time
and he said he just wished he lived at the temple. Some quotes that I love from
him “after I get done with my homework, I am going to go read the whole book of
Mormon”. And when we were teaching about the temple, we showed him the
baptismal font picture and he said “that looks like a royal bath!”. And then my
favorite quote “when I feel the Spirit I feel like I can do anything”. I know that
to be true, that we can do anything when we have the Spirit with us. But what I
learned from Noah is that it’s the little changes that we need to be repenting
of, its not only the big things. But it’s that daily continual communication
with our Heavenly Father.
And then baptism is the first ordinance of the gospel. It is an
outward expression of our inward commitment to follow Jesus Christ. When I
think of a baptism on my mission I first think of Molly’s. She was so prepared
for the gospel. I had never seen anyone so prepared for baptism. She grew up
religious and her parents were not for our church at all. She had so much faith
to go for baptism even though her parents didn’t approve. She feared God over
man. So on her baptism day we were walking to the font with her before everyone
else and she was just so giddy and literally jumping and skipping with joy. She
was so excited for this huge step in her life. Sadly she did have a lot of
trials after baptism like a lot of converts do. I think that was one of the
hardest things to see on a mission was to see your recent converts struggle. I
definitely learned from her that partaking of the sacrament each week is a
sacrament opportunity that we all have. And each week we can act like we are
preparing for our baptism, because essentially that is what taking the
sacrament is. When we are partaking of the sacrament we are renewing our
baptismal covenants with our Heavenly Father.
And after we are baptized we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
The gift of the Holy Ghost is what completes baptism and is what cleanses us
and purifies us. And every time we partake of the sacrament we are promised the
Holy Ghost as our constant guide. When I think of someone that receive
the Gift of the Holy Ghost, I think of Gaylon. Gaylon is someone I wouldn’t
think would be prepared for the gospel by just looking at him on the street. He
has a bikers bandana, big beard, tattoos everywhere, & smells of smoke. But
Gaylon has the biggest heart. He has had a rough past with prison and whatnot.
He is the most humble person I know. At every lesson he cried almost the whole
time. At his baptism he cried the whole time. He wanted this so much and wanted
to be closer to His Heavenly Father. He had to overcome some things, like
coffee and smoking. He had been smoking since he was eight. With a lot of faith
and help from our God he was able to stop. But funny story at his baptismal
interview a week before we drive up and he is sitting outside with a cigarette
and a cup of coffee. And we were so mad! But we got closer and it was a rolled
up piece of paper and hot chocolate….He loved pulling pranks on us. He had been
through a lot and had depression. But I know that the Holy Ghost helped him to
be happy and that the Holy Ghost helps all of us to be happy. After he received
the gift of the holy ghost he texted us later that day saying that he had never
felt like this before.
And then we need to endure to the end, which is so
continual. It can be so hard to stay on the path when we have trials and so
much going on around us. Keeping our covenants is enduring to the end. When I
think of enduring to the end I think of Dave. He has also had a rough past but
he totally changed his life around when he got baptized. He is married to a
member and they are actually going to the temple to be sealed very soon! I am
so very excited and happy for them. That to me is enduring to the end. We want
to see all of the converts of the church to go to the temple. In the temple is
where you can really feel God’s love for you & know that you have a
purpose.
And so I was looking in the bible dictionary under
conversion and it says “denotes changing one’s views, in a conscious acceptance
of the will of God. If followed by continued
faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism in water for the remission
of sins, and the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands,
conversion will become complete and will change a natural man into a
sanctified, born again, purified person, a new creature in Christ Jesus.
Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing.” I know that the
gospel of Jesus Christ changes people.
My mission has changed me
and how I see things, my perspective on life. I really am my biggest convert. I
came on a mission to serve others to see this change in people like I have
described. But I realized that this mission was really for me, I needed this
mission. Heavenly Father is so aware of all of us. I know He has a plan for
each and everyone of us. I had never planned to go on a mission but I know that
His plan is always better than the plan we have for ourselves. When we have
faith in Jesus Christ we can do anything. Anything is possible through him. I
know that Jesus Christ is our Savior, the Redeemer of the world and He loves us
very much. I am very grateful for Him and His sacrifice. Ultimately it was the
atonement of Jesus Christ that changed me. My mission was a very sacred
opportunity and experience in my life. I am so grateful for it. I can’t imagine
my life without it. I know that Heavenly Father sees our full potential in each
of us. That’s something that I have definitely learned on my mission. Heavenly
Father knows us personally. I have gained a love for people in Arizona in words
that I can’t even describe. I know you always here missionaries say that they
love the people they serve but it is so true. That love is something that I
didn’t really even know was possible. I know that there is so much power in the
book of Mormon. This book has shaped the way I see things and has brought more
light into my life. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet who restored the
gospel of Jesus Christ and that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ did appear to
him. And that is a fact. I am very grateful to stand here today and for all of
your support. On a mission you feel very humbled. On my mission at times I felt
down or I felt like I wasn’t good enough. But I know that we all have divine
worth. Everyone deserves the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no one that
doesn’t deserve God’s love. His love is infinite. I’m grateful that we can keep
going and serving. I’m excited to keep serving my Heavenly Father. This mission
has been a springboard and I am grateful that I have been able to be converted
to the gospel of Jesus Christ and that I can continue to become more converted.
And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
