Farewell Talk

Good Morning Brothers and sisters. I am so happy to speak to you today. I know I haven’t been in this ward very long, about 7 months, But I Love you all so much! There are so many wonderful members in this ward, so many valiant soldiers of the lord. For those of you who do not know I was called to serve in the Temple square Salt Lake City Utah mission. I report to the missionary training center on the 18th. I am so blessed to have been given this opportunity to serve. What a glorious place as Temple Square to teach and touch the lives of others with the sweet spirit. So I was asked to speak to you today on James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. My talk will be focused upon the word Doer. The verses continue… For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straight way forgetheth what manner of man he was. But who so looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth there in, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. In the footnotes it describes a doer with the words – commitment, duty, and good works. Now what makes a good missionary? Commitment, duty, and good works. As we are missionaries in the field or in everyday life we are doers of the word. L Tom Perry spoke on this very topic in 1977. He had some wonderful words of wisdom how to become a doer • Determine to be the best in your chosen field. o For me right now, or in the future what it may be… o Missionary o Wife o Mother o Daughter o Sister o Visiting teacher… ect.. In our life roles and our callings we must strive to be the best doers we can be. Next. • Each day make a full effort to be more productive then you were the day before. Now I don’t know about you, but is there a never ending list? Do not be discouraged as long as there is productive progress each day. A couple days ago I wrote myself an actual list. I was like ok today I’m going to do this then that then those then these, and all I was able to do was clean out the garage that day. As long as we do things correctly there is improvement. Sometimes things take hours when we think they will be done in no time at all. The lord always does things the right way. It is more important that things are done correctly instead of being rushed through. The next point Elder L Tom Perry made that to me seemed the most important was • We have accepted the obligation to build the kingdom of god on here earth. ( We have already accepted this great work. And we are reminded of it through our scriptures, and prophets. Missionary work must be done. We told our father we would, so we must. While reading James 1:22-25 I thought of a little child asked by their parent to go get something from the pantry and them hearing it but not doing it, and then forgetting what it was in the first place they went down stairs to the pantry to get. If we do not mind our father we will forget our divine purpose here. We will not reach our full potential. I also though of the natural man with in us as we do not obey. A while ago I was thinking WHO AM I? As in who was I before I came to this earth? Who is my spirit? What was I like? How can I become that way again? I then came to the conclusion I have not changed. We do not change; we are the same spirit children now in these bodies as we were in the pre mortal existence. We only forget. As we sin, as we ignore the promptings of the spirit, and as we stray from the word of the father. There are so many other ways that we can become doers. In service. Mosiah 2:17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn awisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the bservice of your cfellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. President Thomas S Monson shared a story in a priesthood session about when he served as a priest corm advisor and he was helping some less active priests strengthen their testimony, and find what happiness the blessings of the gospel bring to life. Unfortunately these young men later again fell away in the busyness of school, and occupation. However President Monson said every time he sees them he says, “I am still your corm president and I wont let you go! You mean so much to me. I want you to have blessings that come with activity in the church. They know I love them. And that I’ll never give up on them. WE MUST NEVER GIVE UP! While serving and wanting so much for someone it takes never ending patience. I have had some similar experiences through out high school. That have followed me to this day, that will follow me forever. They have helped me love to serve, no matter the hard ship it may bring at times. The blessings far out weigh the sacrifice. I always did the school plays, and my senior year I had noticed a young man in the drama room who I had never met before. This was kind of strange because there was kind of a drama clique. Not that anyone else wasn’t invited, just that us drama nerds can be fairly crazy in our own way, and most of the other student body wasn’t very interested. But this guy was sitting alone, trying to mingle, and getting rejected. So I thought id see why no one wanted to talk to him. I got to know Rigo very well. And though we are so different we are wonderful friends. There was something about Rigo. Although he was lost, and didn’t even believe that God existed, there was curiosity, and hope in his eyes. He wanted to hang out with me outside of school. I wanted to put him under my wing and be his best pal. But I didn’t want him getting the wrong idea. So I invited Rigo to mutual. Although Rigo didn’t enjoy the activity, he enjoyed the conversations I had with him in the car ride to and from. As did I! I told him about the plan of salvation, and the restoration. I told him about the savior and the atonement. These were just brief summaries and Rigo says “I think I want to try your church out. I think I’m gonna get baptized.” I laughed and thought to myself well that’s not exactly how it works, we don’t just try it out haha but I said “WOW! Great!” and we met with the elders. Now I could tell you Rigos whole story along his path of trial and triumph as he has joined the church, but I am not here to tell Rigos story. But The point is that Rigo struggles just like all of us, but we all suffer in a different way, and when we forget to have faith our load becomes to heavy to bear. At this time Rigo is inactive. It saddens me, but I hope that he will have the strength to rise above his opposition through the atonement. I converse with this friend very often, and plan to on my mission, by mail every once in a while, and through out the rest of my life. He has become my duty to help lead home. I will never give up. Another way we are doers of the word is by faith. James 2:20 But wilt thou know oh vain man that faith without works is dead? Being a doer and acting upon our faith will bless our lives in so many wonderful ways. As we act upon our faith it does not make our troubles disappear, yet makes our loads easier to bear. Since I didn’t grow up in this ward I guess you most of you don’t really know very much about me. But all there really is to know is that I am an extremely blessed young woman. I have had so many super heros in my life, so many stripling warriors. One of those graces was my gramma. As a child I thought my burdens were unbearable and that they drug me down to the depths of despair. She would always remind me who I am, why I am here, and that my father in heaven is aware of my every need. That comfort was given every time. I always told myself that all hope would be gone if Gramma ever left me. Her health was really bad for a long while. I even made her promise to stay until I had children that she could hold, love, and counsel. Father had a different plan. He must have needed her more than I do. In March my hero left this earth and was reunited with her husband after 34 years of being widowed. To my surprise my gratitude out weighed my sorrow. My faith gave me strength. My grammas legacy lies forever within me. I know that I will see her again. I acted upon my faith as I leaned upon the atonement of my savior to heal my heart. The atonement will heal every pain in this life if we have faith in the remarkable power it holds. I also act upon my faith as I remember what a Christ like woman she was, and as I follow in the saviors foot prints as she did. Only the standard of excellence is the goal we should be attempting to achieve in the assignment we have been given. Now this may be cheesy but in the story of superman, superman leaves his home planet as a baby and never knew his father. Later in the story his father gets to speak to him and says, “You've grown stronger here than I ever could've imagined. The only way to know how strong is to keep testing your limits.” The difference is our father in heaven knows our potential, and he wants us to know that we will be so strong if we test our limits. I want to hear him say to me, “You’ve grown the strongest you can be here. Just as strong as I know you could become. You did this by testing your limits, and enduring to the end.” We will become excellent if we strive to test our earthly comfort and become like him. For so much pressure on a piece of coal creates a beautiful diamond. This past year there has been so much trial, so much opposition, and it has been continual. I have felt like Satan has been attacking our family and wants to destroy us, in well being, and in corral. Then again, this has been a year of beautiful blessings, of new and everlasting friendships, of self-discovery, and of eternal commitment to build this kingdom on earth. I know that if I did not see the evil, I would not appreciate the good. I have grown stronger then I have ever been with each lesson I have learned through the darkness and the light each day. I am so thankful for the temple. I am so awed by the power of that the temple can bless our lives with. I know that the work that is done in the Lords house builds his kingdom on high here on the earth. I am so thankful for the priesthood. I know that it is so real, and will poor out miracles. If it be the fathers will, and if we have faith in the power. I know that it makes a difference in the home. I will someday marry a worthy holder of the Lords power. I will follow his counsel, as he follows the father. I am so blessed. I Love all of you so much! I am so excited to go and Do the things which the lord has commanded. For I know that there is a way for me. There is a way prepared, and I know the spirit will always be with me if I follow his plan for me. A great scripture to help us do is Proverbs 3:1-5. Quote.. It is my favorite! We cannot possibly do, if we do not trust and have faith that the Lord handles everything. I know I become a better missionary, as I trust in his power. Testimony… In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.