SO, I have two and a half weeks until I depart to the Provo MTC... como se dice, wut? I am so excited, nervous, anxious, happy, scared, stoked, etc, etc. My "Farewell" talk was today, and it went over pretty well. I copied and pasted it below so anyone who has the desire can read it. I believe every word I wrote and I can't wait to start teaching it to them kids in Mexico! Thank you everyone who came to support me. I love you all.
*(So I started my talk with the most awkward "HOLA" known to man. I'd say it went over well enough...)
President Eyring said
this: “With all the differences in our lives, we have at least one challenge in
common. We all must deal with adversity. There may be periods, sometimes long
ones, when our lives seem to flow with little difficulty. But it is in the nature of our being
human that comfort gives way to distress, periods of good health come to an
end, and misfortunes arrive. Particularly when the comfortable times have gone
on for a while the arrival of suffering or the loss of material security can
bring fear and sometimes even anger.” I think what President Eyring is saying,
is that this life can be hard. It
can be really hard. I have
personally seen this adversity in the lives of my loved ones. Divorces, deaths, unemployment, and
struggles with depression are just a few. Challenges like this test and try our
faith in Christ, our will to press forward, and our Spirit to stay calm. So why would we be given challenges and
adversity in our lives if it causes pain, anguish, and struggling? President Eyring also answers this
question and says, “The very opportunity for us to face adversity and
affliction is part of the evidence of Their infinite love. God gave us the gift of living in
mortality so that we could be prepared to receive the greatest of all the gifts
of God, which is eternal life. Then our spirit will be changed. We will become
able to want what God wants, to think as He thinks, and thus be prepared for
the trust of an endless posterity to teach and to lead through tests to be
raised up to qualify to live forever in eternal life.” In short, these
challenges allow us to grow and learn to perfect our imperfect selves. And these challenges can lead us to seek
after God, and his love and power, to bring us peace.
Adversity and
challenges in our lives can cause different emotions and reactions. Sometimes we get angry or become
confused, and we feel as though life is unfair. When we think this way, we have it completely wrong. It is false to think that if we do our
best or always do the right thing that nothing bad will happen to us. Life isn’t fair, and it isn’t supposed
to be. In order to receive the
most comfort and support while dealing with trails, we need to understand and
use the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. In Alma 7 we learn that Christ suffered pains, afflictions,
infirmities, sicknesses, and temptations of every kind so that we wouldn’t have
to go through it alone. This also
means that Jesus Christ knows our pains and our sorrows; He ultimately knows
everything we have dealt with and everything we will deal with. ( Author Wayne
Brickey puts it this way) “Christ absorbs the brunt of our mistakes, leaving
just enough tragedy for our growth and learning… It just gives us time to
decide to do right for the right reasons.” Christ has also supplied us with everything we need to get
through these hard times. We know
how to live healthy, happy, and righteous lives. We have tools such as the sacrament, the temple, and ward
families to love and serve so that we can overcome the trial and not let the
trial overcome us. We also have
the commandments to follow. And I
think that the Lord is testing us to see if we will follow his commandments not
only in the good times, but also in the hard times. In the hard times we are more vulnerable and Satan will be
waiting to tempt us and get in our head. This is why we need a firm testimony
of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father, as well as unshakable faith in them. With
that faith we will have the power to resist Satan’s temptations and become
better through the Atonement.
Regarding the
atonement, there is something so special about the Hebrew words kafar and
kippur. Kafar was part of ancient
tradition in the Near East. It was
a large and roomy garment or robe that was used in marriage ceremonies to
envelop both husband and wife to signify their unity. When children were added to the family this garment was used
again to signify the child becoming part of their family and becoming full heir
to all that they had. This has
beautiful symbolism to what our Savior does for us when we take on His name at
the time of baptism and then as we make further covenants in the temple. We join his “family” and become part of
the covenant House of Israel and are able to receive all blessings, rights, and
privileges of that family. In
Isaiah 61:10, it states, “He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he
hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Jesus Christ becomes our partner and he envelops us in his
robes of righteousness and offers us salvation. The Hebrew word kippur is closely related to kafar and means
to cover, protect, carry, join, combine forces with, pay for, or rescue. When the King James translators saw the
word kippur there was no English word equal to its meanings and so they coined
the word atone or at one. The
beauty of the atonement is that it allows Jesus Christ to cover us or rescue us
from all that we deal with in this life.
However, we must turn to Him and rely upon Him for it to take effect. Doing this, will allow us to overcome
all that this life will throw at us.
But in order to
accomplish this, we need to work on personal obedience. Here are four ways we can do this. 1) Feast upon the word of God. Set a personal goal to read your
scriptures each day, and keep that goal.
2) Pray anywhere, always.
This goes hand in hand with scripture study. When you study, pray to know if the words you read are true,
or ask God what he would have you act on after reading His word. In 2 Nephi 32:3, it says once you read
the scriptures, “Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” When you
receive those answers, act upon those promptings. Following this formula will only strengthen ones faith. It has been said that when you want to
talk to God – pray, but when you want God to talk to you – read the scriptures. 3) Choose to be a full tithe
payer. If we follow this
commandment, we will be blessed abundantly. We need to remember that the
blessing of keeping the law of tithing is that the windows of heaven will be
opened to us. This is a blessing
we need, especially when we are dealing with adversities. 4) Choose to repent and forsake of your
sins. Sinning has awful effects on
ones mind and happiness. The
wonderful thing is that you can always repent, but the best time to repent is
now. And each time we repent, we
have the gift of the Holy Ghost immediately. If we follow this plan to become more obedient, we will be
better prepared to face the adversity and challenges this life will throw at
us.
Challenges are
part of the plan. When the fall of
Adam occurred, misery and woe became a possibility in all of our lives. Trials make us so much stronger –
spiritually and physically. If you
think about it, we are sent to this earth to learn all that we can so that
someday in Heaven we can become Gods, like our Heavenly Father. It only makes sense that we are given
hard things that test our faith so that we can use this knowledge from
experiences to do greater things after this life. President Monson said this: “Mortality is a period of
testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our
Heavenly Father. In order for us
to be tested, we must face challenges and difficulties. These can break us, and the surface of
our souls may crack and crumble – that is, if our foundations of faith, our
testimonies of truth are not deeply embedded within us.” I have a testimony that this is
true. I know that this life is not
easy, but I also know that I have all that I need to overcome trials when they
come. I am so excited and so
blessed to live in Mexico for two years and invite my brothers and sisters to
know Jesus Christ and learn of His Gospel. This will be the most difficult, humbling, and rewarding
experience of my life thus far. I
know that this is the true and everlasting Gospel. I know the happiness it brings in my life and that is why I
am serving a mission – so that I can invite others to enjoy all that I
enjoy. I am so blessed to have a
Mother and Father that have raised me in this Gospel with such firm
testimonies. I have learned so
much from them and their example.
I love my brother and sisters and will miss them. I am grateful for a ward full of
amazing spirits that have too helped my testimony grow. I love my friends and am so thankful
for their example in my life. I
can’t wait to join so many of my friends in the field; the work is growing exponentially! Thank you everyone for coming and
listening. The Church is true. I say this in the name of Thy Beloved
Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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