Farewell Talk

I have been called to serve the Lord in the Honduras Comayaguela Mission. I am so so excited to finally get out there. It’s been a long time coming.

It’s so funny to see people’s reactions when they hear I’m going to Honduras. I think I have heard my fair share of “Oh… Good Luck” or “Honduras? No don’t worry… I’ll pray for you” or “Holy Cow. What did your mother say about that? Is she still letting you go?” As of now, yes she’s still letting me go. Well I hope. Yes we have heard every story in the book. And YES we have read the travel advisories and every warning. She has about two days left to speak up. So mom…speak now or forever hold your peace.

I decided to talk about Christ… I know its broad but it’s also the most important. Everything in our religion is centered on Christ; his atoning sacrifice, his example and his love.

Come unto Christ

Jeffery R Holland once taught, “The Prophet Joseph Smith once declared that all things “which pertain to our religion are only appendages” to the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In like manner and for the same reasons, every truth that a missionary or member teaches is only an appendage to the central message of all time—that Jesus is the Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, the Holy Messiah, the Promised One, the Savior and Redeemer of the world; that He alone burst the bands of death and triumphed over the captivity of hell; that no one of us could ever have those same blessings without His intervention in our behalf; and that there never shall be any “other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, [except] in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.” 

Our basic message and our hope for everyone that we come in contact with is to ‘come unto Christ’ and be perfected in him. Christ himself said, “I am the way, the truth and the light.”

Christ died for us. He paid the ultimate price. He atoned for each one of our sins and though his atonement and love we can return to live with our father in Heaven again.

Christ preformed many miracles. He raised Lazereth from the dead, he gave sight to the blind and he cleansed the leaper. He served the people, he taught the people and he blessed the people. He taught us to love our neighbors and to give to those who are sick and afflicted. One of the best ways to become like Christ is to loose ourselves in the work and serve others. WE may think that we don’t have the capacity or the ability to make such a huge difference but what we don’t realize is that any small act of kindness that we show to others may be just what they need. As I leave on my mission I hope that whatever small act of service or part of my testimony that I can give will be just enough and may be that small thing that that person needed. My sister Amy said it perfectly… I’m not out there to change the world… but if I can reach just one person… it can influence a generation.

One of my favorite stories is about a boy and a starfish.

Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions. 

Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching.  As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea.  The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning!  May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”

The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”

Learn of his teachings and example

The Savior was sent here for a divine cause. Heavenly Father loves us so much that he sent his only begotten son. Do we realize how powerful that phrase is? Our father sent His son here to atone for our sins so that we can return to live with Him again someday. Not only did Christ die for us but he also LIVED for us. He lived and taught though his example so that we can become more like him.

My favorite Hymn perfectly portrays Christ’s love.

1. I stand all amazed at the love Jesus offers me,
Confused at the grace that so fully he proffers me.
I tremble to know that for me he was crucified,
That for me, a sinner, he suffered, he bled and died.

2. I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine
To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,
That he should extend his great love unto such as I,
Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

3. I think of his hands pierced and bleeding to pay the debt!
Such mercy, such love and devotion can I forget?
No, no, I will praise and adore at the mercy seat,
Until at the glorified throne I kneel at his feet.

(Chorus)
Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
Enough to die for me!
Oh, it is wonderful, wonderful to me!

I’m amazed at the love Christ offers to each and every one of us. “Such mercy such love and devotion can I forget?” Christ’s atoning sacrifice is for each and every one of us. This is the only way that we can return to our Father in Heaven again. That is truly truly amazing and it is something that I am so excited to spread to the people of Honduras. This gospel is the gospel of pure happiness. True joy and happiness, to me, is having confidence and having peace. Confidence that my father in heaven loves me and the peace that comes along with that knowledge.

How we should follow that example and become more Christ-like

The gospel is not JUST about going to church. Of course we do come to take part in the sacrament. Yes it is important… and by coming to church you are able to learn more, connect with others and feel of the spirit… but you have to LIVE it first. You HAVE to be engaged!!

I was talking to an older gentleman once a few years back who decided to come to church based on one person’s actions. He saw the light in the person’s eyes and he wanted to know more about what was making this person so happy and where they found this joy. He phrased it in a way that I will never forget. He said, “I’ve been in a freezer up until now and now I have been brought to the stove. Some of you have been at the stove your whole life but …Believe me being warm is better.”

Neal A. Maxwell once said… “Don’t ever think that your light isn’t good enough to share.”  Share your light. You have been placed here to light up someone else’s life and it may be to someone whose flame is flickering.

Elder Bednar in this last conference gave an amazing talk about missionary work and coming to see for yourself. It started off with a simple question… “Why are Latter-day Saints so eager to tell me about what they believe and to invite me to learn about their church?”

 

He continued to answer this with a story.

One evening Elder Bednar and his wife were watching their two boys play outside when one got slightly injured. They watched as the boys went inside to care for the younger boys scratch on his arm. They washed his arm and began to sooth the pain by putting the whole tube of medicated ointment and lined the arm with bandages.

Now the story goes as follows…

What happened next is most important. The injured brother gathered up the remaining bandages and the almost empty tube of ointment, and he went back outside. He quickly sought out his friends and began to put ointment and bandages on their arms. Susan and I both were struck by the sincerity, enthusiasm, and rapidity of his response.

Why did that little boy do what he did? Please note that he immediately and intuitively wanted to give to his friends the very thing that had helped him when he was hurt. That little boy did not have to be urged, challenged, prompted, or goaded to act. His desire to share was the natural consequence of a most helpful and beneficial personal experience.

Sharing with other people things that are most meaningful to us or have helped us is not unusual at all.

The Atonement of Jesus Christ provides the cleanser necessary to be made pure and clean, the soothing salve to heal spiritual wounds and remove guilt, and the protection that enables us to be faithful in times both good and bad.

How the atonement gives us courage and hope

The atonement not only covers our sins but also our sorrows, grief and disappointment. It is completely infinite and intimate. The gospel is for everyone and anyone that wants to come.

The Gospel is good news. There is so much joy and happiness that goes along with each aspect it. If there was only one word that I could use it would be love – the infinite love that our father in heaven gives to us, the love of our Saviors atoning sacrifice, and love of the gospel.

Some of you have asked why I am going on a mission or why I have the desire to go. I was the kid in primary that when people would ask who wants to go on a mission my hand would shoot up. I don’t really think I knew what I was saying back then and I probably don’t really know what it is that I am getting myself into. But what I do know is that… This Gospel is such a comfort to me and it gives me hope to keep going on a day to day basis. It has gotten me through some of my hardest moments and most importantly it has given me so much joy. I was raised in the church so a lot of times going to church and saying family prayers was more a part of my family’s routine. Or that’s the way that it seemed to me. But it was not until much later when I was able to see the peace that the gospel offered me. I can still remember the day when I KNEW that I was a child of God. I think the fact that this concept was engraved into my mind at a very young age it was more just a phrase than knowledge. There is a difference between a belief and knowledge. Belief is the first step and it is definitely a start but when you have finally have the knowledge that the gospel is true then that is when a testimony is born. Not the testimony of your leaders and parents that you have relied on for so many years… but your own. Your own testimony that you will nurture and grow and hopefully in some capacity share with others.

For me gaining my own knowledge of the truthfulness in the gospel it’s not what I read or the words that have been spoken… It’s what I have felt. It’s what I have felt while reading my scriptures. It is what I have felt as I come to church. And It is what I have felt as I have prayed for a better understanding.

In D&C 50:14 it reads: “To preach my gospel by the spirit, even the comforter which was sent forth to teach the truth.”’

As missionaries we are not sent out to teach and convince the people we are going to come into contact with. We are there merely as facilitators for the spirit to work through us.

In Preach my gospel it says that your purpose is to… “ Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.”

I am so excited to be a facilitator of the spirit to teach these truths. This gospel really is so simple. Come unto Christ, LIVE the gospel and take part in the blessings of the atonement. I’m just out there to teach happiness…True happiness that can be felt by everyone. And that’s purely what this gospel is. HAPPINESS. This gospel is so sweet. So sweet. And I just want everyone to be able to feel what I feel and know what I know.

Thank you to all of my leaders bishops over the last 15 or so years we’ve been in this ward. Thanks for teaching me and putting up with me for all these years. Thank you to this ward for everything. This really is a ward family. I have so many second and third and fourth moms. All the simple “hey we’ve been thinking about you” and waves in the halls have meant the world to me.

I’m so grateful for my family. I am so grateful for the knowledge that families are eternal and that we can live together again someday. 

Dad I love you. You’ve always been there for me in all my moments big and small. You’ve been my number one fan from day one. Whether it’s coming to every. Single. One of my swim meets… which can definitely get pretty boring or leaving me a singing good night voicemail I appreciate every one of them. You’re the best.

Aim. Hey you gunna miss me? Eh probs not… But really in all seriousness you have been my role model my whole life. People probably get sick of how much I talk about you…that sounds creepy but you know what I mean. Please don’t get married while I’m gone… I have this super awesome…definitely not embarrassing wedding speech planned for you. I’d hate for you to miss it.

Lindsay and Si. I seriously I want to grow up to be just like you two. You are the most selfless people I know. Not once have I called you and you haven’t helped me with anything… that stats homework? Yeah that was all you guys. You two are truly amazing in everything you do. 

Mom. You’re my hero. I can’t even count how many times I’ve been able to vent, rant, or cry on your shoulder. You’ll probably get a lot more sleep now that I won’t keep you up til the wee hours of the morning chatting. You know what it’s true when they say moms give the best advice. Love you.

I love this gospel more than anything. I am honestly so excited to go out and serve the Lord. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend 18 months. This gospel is sweet. And it brings the ultimate joy and happiness. I’m just going to say it over and over. I love the gospel with all my heart and all I KNOW that it is true. The only way to find out is to kneel down and ask the Lord. He answers each one of our prayers. I’m so grateful for the atonement and the courage and hope it brings me every day.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.