Hello Brothers and Sisters. I have been
called to serve in the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo East Mission. The DR
is on the same island as Haiti in the Caribbean, south east of Florida. I will
be speaking Spanish. 95% of the DR is
Roman Catholic and the people are very loving. The weather is tropical and
sunny, averaging 77 degrees F year round. In my mission some challenges (especially
for myself) include that I may have more than one companion at a time- my
companion sister and 100 insect companions as well. It is also in the middle of
the hurricane belt and is a lot more humid than UT. My good friend, Elder Tate,
is currently serving in my mission and said he was, “workin in the sauna”. However,
I’ve looked at these challenges as an opportunity to literally break a sweat in
the work of the lord and conquer my bug-phobia. I will be reporting to the
Dominican Republic MTC on September 24th.
My topic today is,
“How I can be a light to others”. Sometimes in the simplest places we can
find lessons for real life. For example, I found an important life lesson in
the Disney movie “tangled”. In this movie a young princess named Rapunzel is born. When she is born, she has magical
healing powers within her that not only heal injuries, but can keep others
young forever. Mother Gothel, a woman
crazed by the want to stay young, recognizes that the baby has these powers within
her. Because of her obsession, she steals Rapunzel. Gothel raises Rapunzel and
locks her in a high tower in an isolated area. She tells Rapunzel that she is a
“nobody”. Far away, to symbolize their love and motivation to keep seeking for
Rapunzel, The King and the Queen celebrate the birthday of their lost daughter
every year by releasing lanterns to the sky. Rapunzel dreams of leaving the
tower to see these floating lanterns up close. Mother Gothel forbids it. Rapunzel’s
curiosity leads her to run away and eventually she makes it to the castle to
see these lights. These lights help her discover that she is a lost princess,
who is loved by her real parents who never gave up on her, and ultimately is
able to leave the tower behind and return to her real home, the castle.
Like in this movie, and from my
own personal experiences, I have concluded that to be a light to others is to
help them see Heavenly Father’s love for them, to help them recognize that they
are children of God, and to help lead them to their future “castle” or the
Celestial Kingdom. I believe that as we
strive to become lights in other’s lives, we will find lasting joy as the Lord
can express to us, as peter did to the saints in Ephesians, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the
Lord: walk as children of light:”
There are three
distinct ways I thought of for us to be lights to those around us. The first is
by being a good example, the second is through service, and the third is
through missionary work.
Just by being a good
example we can be a light to those around us. The Lord explains this in 3 Nephi
as he says, “The light of the body is the eye; if, therefore, thine eye be
single, thy whole body shall be full of light.”
One of the more
obvious ways to be an example is through the way we act. Elder Uchtdorf stated, quote “If we live
according to our beliefs, people will notice. If the countenance of Jesus
Christ shines in our lives…people will want to know why.” Close quote. Elder
Holland also powerfully declared, quote, “Above
all else we can live the gospel. Surely there is no more powerful…message we
can send to this world than the example of a loving and happy Latter-day Saint
life. The smile and kindness of a faithful member of the Church brings a warmth
and an outreach which no missionary tract or videotape can convey” close quote.
If you are being a
good example by the way you act, you really can influence those around you.
Through the past year I’ve had a lot of little trials in regards to my decision
to serve- and a lot of times I felt totally inadequate. However, from some
prominent examples from my family I was able to act enthusiastically and
respond to the prompting to serve a mission. In my family, my sister Caroline has
been through very difficult times and has shown me that you can pull through
even the darkest of times by holding onto hope through the gospel. My mother
who was a convert and has been so strong since she was in her 20’s, and also my
older sister Lara, who have shown me what it means to be converted and never
waiver in your faith. And perhaps the most important examples to me this past
year were my Dad, my sister sarah, and my brother Dave, who all answered their
own promptings to serve a mission and shared with me advice and stories about
their missions. Because of their example and the way they acted in regards to
their own promptings, in my moments of doubt or inadequacy, I was able to hold
strong to the prompting I got to serve a mission. As many of you know I have many siblings, so that
could have been my whole talk just talking about them, but I have also been
blessed that all of my brother and sister in-laws and younger siblings have all
been positive examples in my life of living their faith.
Another less obvious
way of being a good example, is to endure well in our trials. The Lord can use
those who endure well in their trials as examples to others facing trials. This
principle reminds me of the mission call of the sons of Mosiah in Alma 17: “And
the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and
establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions,
that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an
instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.”
I found hope through
an example of endurance from one of my best friends, Elder Tohi Heimuli. I was
having an extremely hard time at BYU. School was stressing me out, specifically
American Heritage tests, and I was in the process of doing my mission papers so
you can imagine the amount of pressure I was feeling from the Adversary. My
good friend, Elder Heimuli, called me from his mission and after assuring me he
was allowed to call whoever he wanted, started discussing with me about his
older brother passing away just days before. I was amazed at the strength Elder
Heimuli had in this difficult time. In one of his first emails back home after
he heard the news of his brother he said, quote: As to what I feel
right now I cannot describe, but what I do know is that through the atonement I
can be healed… I felt as though I should go home at first, but I realize that
in these tender moments Satan will try his best to place within us feelings of
hatred and bitterness. He
can't touch me because I am on the Lords side.” Close
Quote.
Tohi
was a light and example in my life. Because of his strength he had during his
trial, I found my own strength with my own trials with school. I’m also sure
that at hard times in my mission, I will reflect on his words and be able to
find strength and light through them.
I
also had the opportunity to attend a baptism with sister missionaries about 2
months ago. A little boy was being baptized who couldn’t walk. He had a little
walker and his feet would drag behind him. Although he was the slowest in the
line of kids waiting to be baptized, to me he seemed to be smiling the most.
This child was an example to me that we can smile and keep coming unto Christ
no matter how difficult circumstances may become. As I’ve thought back to this
experience over the last couple of months, it has given me strength in my own
trials. From his example, I have been able to smile even in the midst of a hard
time.
Perhaps
some of you might not be so lucky to have examples of endurance around you.
Maybe those around you weigh you down, or choose to resort to darker escapes
for their sorrows rather than turning to God and you don’t know who to turn to
for an example. No matter your own personal case, we all have a perfect
exemplar who endured every trial
known to mankind. Jesus Christ, our Savior, chose to suffer more than necessary
by choosing to feel every pain you would ever feel. He literally has stepped
where you have stepped, and came out a champion. When you feel swallowed in
life and feel no one understands you or could give you hope, remember that
somebody already has endured what you are going through, and he will help you
endure it as well. And that little bit of knowledge can give you enough
strength to keep stepping when you feel completely depleted. I know that Christ
suffered all of the pains in our lives so that He could succor us, and bring us
hope when we feel there’s never going to be a sunny outcome after an oncoming
storm. I know that is true.
------------
Service is the second
way that we can bring light to other’s lives. Spencer W.
Kimball said, quote, “God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is
usually through another person that he meets our needs.” Close quote. Doing
service doesn’t always need to be super expensive or time consuming, it can be
just trying to make someone else’s day a little better.
Back in October I tutored
little kids at the South Franklin Community Center. Some children really
enjoyed us tutors as we taught them, others just enjoyed our company so they
could throw pencils at us and run around, forcing us to sprint after them. There
was a girl that I would hope I wasn’t put in charge of her. She would sit there
and put her head up and down for 2 hours while I tried 100 different techniques
to get her to focus and do homework. Feeling overwhelmed one day as I tried
teaching her, I asked her if she wanted to go outside and play. It was the
first time I had seen her smile, and she nodded in approval. I said, “Okay! But
we have to do school work when we are done!” She hesitated but agreed. After
playing outside I told her it was time to go inside and do work. She sat down
discouraged and looked at me and said, “I’m not smart. Everyone in my class
tells me I’m stupid so I’m stupid.” I told her that I believed that she was
smart, and with time she would be able to understand all that the teacher was
teaching the class. I asked her if she would be willing to let me really try
and help her with her school work. Beaming, she accepted. I could see light in
her eyes and her confidence building because of the school lessons I was
teaching her. Through that experience, I learned that service can be as simple
as telling someone you think they are smart, or helping them with schoolwork.
The
book, The Continuous Atonement gave me a new perspective on service. Brad
Wilcox says, quote, “What motivated Jesus was the greatest motivation of all-
pure, perfect, infinite love. I often think love is what made the Lord’s
sacrifice somehow bearable.” Close quote. Love is what will make our sacrifices
to serve others bearable as well. I like to think that every sacrifice I ever
make to help others, is symbolic of the sacrifice Jesus did for me. And
although mine is more than miniscule in comparison, I can show my appreciation for
his sacrifice by happily sacrificing for others as well.
------------
Choosing to be a
member missionary is the third way we can be a light to others.
You don’t need an
official mission call to participate as a missionary in the last days. From the
hymn, we are all enlisted we read, “Hark! The sound of battle sounding loudly
and clear, come join the ranks! Come join the ranks! We are waiting now for
soldiers, who’ll volunteer? Glad to join the army, we will sing as we go, we
shall gain the victory by and by. We are all enlisted tell the conflict is
over! Happy are we, happy are we.” The battle is raging in the last days, and
the Lord is asking us all to participate in hastening his work. When we choose
to participate in the work we are choosing to also follow our Heavenly Father’s
will, as D. Todd Christofferson said in this month’s ensign, quote “Sharing the
gospel is not a program; it is a cause-the cause of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit.” Close quote.
Member missionary work has
also been crucial for me and my family. Before my parents were married, my mom
worked in the same company as my dad. My mom asked my dad about the church, and
he referred her to missionaries to help her with her questions. Without my dad
doing this little bit of member missionary work by referring her to the
missionaries, my mom might not have joined the church and later married my
father to later be sealed in the temple. I might not have grown up learning the
gospel, and maybe wouldn’t be now serving a mission- to teach others the
gospel.
Because of my mission
prep courses with the Lindley’s, I felt inspired to give more time in my life
towards member missionary work. In the past year, I have been able to see
miracles happen as I have prayed for missionary opportunities in my life.
Perhaps one of the biggest miracles I was able to witness, was in the life of
one of my best friends Leda.
I went to Marine
Biology camp in San Diego 2 years ago and met Leda. Leda was a member of the
Catholic Church. I had told her a little bit about our church, especially as
she questioned why in the world I wouldn’t accept the coffee she had so kindly offered
me. About 6 months later, in mission prep with the Lindleys, we were challenged
to pray for missionary opportunities. I had stayed connected with Leda and knew
she was going through extremely hard times in her life. Right there in class I
knew that Heavenly Father wanted me to share the Book of Mormon with Leda. Conveniently
my friends and I would be going on a senior trip to California a couple of
months later, close to where Leda lived. After sharing my prompting in mission prep
with my friends, we decided that we would invite Leda to church. That Sunday in
California many challenges happened, the hardest being that Leda had pulled an
all-nighter at work and was very exhausted. After talking with her she, by some
miracle, hesitantly agreed to go, but only if we left after the first hour.
After the first hour she turned to me and said, “Well, maybe we can stay for
the next hour too!” The bishop of the ward talked to us right after that and
told her, “You are more than welcome to come to our ward anytime!” And she
said, “Oh, I’m catholic.” The Bishop said, “I don’t care! You could be a monkey
and I’d still invite you!” We stayed for second hour, and after that hour she
said, “Let’s stay for third hour!!” I was mind-blown. This was not the same
hesitant Leda I had seen enter our car only 2 hours earlier. As we dropped her
off after church, I handed her a Book of Mormon and told her it was for her,
and promised that if she read it, it would bless her life. In a little under
the next two months she did read it, connected with missionaries, and committed
to baptism on my birthday, August 31st. Exactly one year ago today I
got to see Leda covenant to take upon herself the Name of Christ in the waters
of baptism. Since then, Leda has been through intense trials because of her
decision to join the church, especially with her family. Although life was
brutal for her, Leda, as a new member, made a bold move and filmed a video on Facebook
about being LDS and what she believed in. I can’t adequately explain how I felt
when I watched that video, all I can say is that it was one of the happiest
moments of my entire life. Now she is sitting in front of me today and preparing
to enter the temple in the next year! I believe God could have reached Leda
without me, because she was ready to hear and accept the truth, but I feel
privileged that God allowed me to assist her in coming to know the truth. Devin
Lindley discussed in his homecoming talk that he knows that God could do his own
work, but he allows us the special privilege in participating in it instead. I
would like to add my testimony to that, that he was right and that is true. And
that is how I feel about all of us sharing the gospel as members, it is always
a privilege. Alma 30:9 states quote: Now if a man desired
to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his
privilege to serve him. Close Quote.
I know there
are people out there being prepared to hear YOU teach them the gospel, or YOU
to refer them to the missionaries. As Elder Holland stated, quote, “the
missionary opportunity you want is already being prepared in the heart of
someone who longs for and looks for what you have. “ Close quote. The difference members
can make, reminds me of Alma and Amulek- Alma, a missionary, was cast
out and ignored when he was alone. But when he joined forces with Amulek, a
member in town, the "people began to be
astonished, seeing there was more than one witness who testified of the
things... And many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and
to search the scriptures."
In conclusion, every time that we find
ways to help others, through our examples, service, and missionary work, I know
that we can find lasting joy and give others lasting light. D&C 18:15-16 And if it so be that you should
labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it
be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my
Father! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought
unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should
bring many souls unto me.
Now I would like to
challenge everyone here to either find ways you can be a better example, find
small ways to serve more often, or pray for missionary opportunities. I promise
that if you really do so, you will find true and lasting joy in the work of
Salvation.
As Albus Dumbledore put it in Harry
Potter, quote “Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one remembers
to turn on the light.” Close quote. Happiness can be found in this difficult
life, if you remember to turn on your light.
We were all born to be a light.
Jenni Johnson shared a beautiful quote last week in her homecoming talk. One
part of that quote says, “We are children of God…We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of
us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.” Close quote.
I can’t wait to serve
my mission and help bring souls unto Heavenly Father in the Dominican Republic.
My mission goal isn’t to baptize every single person I talk to, although that
would be amazing but most likely impossible. However, my goal is to let every
single person know that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them, and a
Savior who can change and help them.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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