On Sunday May 19, 2013 I spoke in my ward sacrament meeting and gave the following talk! Feel free to read...
It was an
average day for most people in the world on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at around
10 o’clock in the morning. Whether it was sleeping in, working in the
yard, or playing in a soccer game, however it definitely was not an average day
for me. Little did I know that going over to my friend’s sister’s house
would be the location that my whole life would change. I remember waiting
at my friend’s car who was running late and then hurrying over to her sister’s
house to watch the Saturday morning session of General Conference. For
those who may not know what General Conference is, it is a live internationally
broadcasted church meeting with the leaders of our church. I was excited with my notebook and pen in hand to eat
some eggs and bacon and listen to the prophet’s voice.
As we walked into the house a couple minutes late we sat down as our
prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, walked up to the podium and made the
following statement, “we have given consideration to the age at which a young
woman might serve [a mission]. Today I am pleased to announce that able, worthy
young women who have the desire to serve may be recommended for missionary
service beginning at age 19, instead of age 21.” As he was speaking those
words, my jaw dropped and my eyes watered. The church had changed the age
of missionary service from 21 to 19 for women. I turned to my friend and
we both said at the same time, “I am going.” The spirit had immediately
confirmed in our hearts that this is what we were to do at this point in our
lives. In that moment we knew we should
go and now each of us both have our calls.
As the first 19 year old sister missionary from the Mountain View ward
to leave, with many more to come, I have been asked to speak on missionary work
today. For those who may not be aware, missions are a significant part of
the LDS faith. The Apostle Paul taught in Second Thessalonians 2 that the
second coming of Christ would not come until there was “a falling away first”
(v3). In the book of Acts it speaks of a “Restoration of all things”
(3:19-21), this Restoration took place in 1830 and the Gospel was restored to
the earth through the Prophet Joseph Smith. Ever since the time of Joseph
Smith we have been known as a missionary Church and we send out missionaries across
the world as unpaid volunteers to teach the message of the Christ and his atonement
for either a year and a half for women or two years for men. After
Christ’s Resurrection, the Lord commanded His disciples to “go … and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost,” as stated in Matthew 28:19. In fulfillment of this command, able
young men and women are called to prepare spiritually, physically, and
emotionally to serve as full-time missionaries. Their purpose is to
invite all people unto Christ. We knock on doors, talk to people on the
street, and find people who desire to hear the message of the gospel and the
joy it will bring to them. It is prophecy from Christ that His gospel is
to reach every corner of the World, and as missionaries, it is our responsibility
to make that happen. Members of the church who desire to serve a mission
must go through a detailed application process, which includes interviews with
the Bishop and Stake President. Part of the application process is also
receiving a medical clearance that you are fit to serve a mission.
Missionary work is both spiritually and physically demanding. It is
important to meet with the Bishop and Stake President as they interview the
applicant to make sure they are worthy to become a representative of Christ and
take upon the calling of being a missionary. Once that is completed, the
application is sent to the church headquarters, where an apostle will assign
the missionary to their mission. Elder Rasband of the Quorum of the Seventy
told his experience in the priesthood session of General Conference when he
observed President Eyring assign mission calls. He explained how before
assigning any mission calls, they began with a prayer “to know “perfectly”
where the missionaries should be assigned.” When the leaders of the
church make these assignments, they do not send people based on where they
think they should go or where they need more missionaries, but they are in tune
with the spirit and direction from the Lord and assign calls based on where the
Lord wants them to go. A mission call is a divine blessing and a
personalized letter stating your mission and it’s details is mailed to every
newly called missionary. Since being called to the Philippines San Pablo mission,
I have been called to learn the Tagalog language. I will report to the
Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah this Wednesday to study and learn the
language for 6 weeks. Following that I will go to the Philippines and begin
working as a missionary to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive
the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ. Mission calls are so
special and I am so grateful for my mission call, and I know without a doubt
that this mission is the exact place where the Lord wants me to serve His
children. I am also very grateful to be apart of this new influx of
missionaries. As I mentioned before, in October, the church changed
the age standards for missionary service from age 21 to 19 for women and 19 to
18 for men. I am grateful for this opportunity because in my own personal
life, it could not be better timing to serve a mission. I have one year
of college under my belt, experience living on my own, and have not begun any
serious life ventures. I am at a perfect point where I am ready to devote
my time and energy to serving my Savior and sharing His message of his life,
the plan of salvation, and how families can be together forever with those who
have not heard it yet. With this new inflow of missionaries, there will
be many more in each mission. The number of missionaries has substantially
increased. In the Arizona missions alone, there were 3000 serving and
soon there will be nearly 5000. With this many missionaries in our area,
it is important that the ward members help them to find people who may desire
to learn more about the church. The job
of missionaries have grown more difficult because they are expected to teach
more people in a smaller area; with the help of the ward members giving them
referrals, their abundance will be lighter.
It is our responsibility to help the missionaries serving in our ward to
know anyone and everyone who wants to hear the message of the church. I
am so excited about my calling to be a sister missionary to perform my sacred
duty as Joseph Smith said, “After all that has been said, the greatest and most
important duty is to preach the Gospel.”
Missionary work is so important to me because I want to share the joy
this gospel brings me. The Church of Jesus Christ has brought me comfort,
insight, and answers. It has taught me that I can pray to a Heavenly Father
for my needs and concerns and I have a Savior who I can thank for the opportunity
to repent of my sins and be forgiven of them. I have received
confirmation of what the purpose of life is and why I am here on this earth.
I have received answers to my questions and concerns about the many
questions all of us have about the world. The gospel of Jesus Christ is
true! One of my favorite aspects of the gospel that ties into missionary
work is the atonement. Missionary work is so special because we are
sharing how His atonement has given the world the opportunity to have eternal
life. Jeffrey R. Holland made the great
point by saying, “Missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap
experience. Salvation was never easy. We are the Church of Jesus Christ, this is
the truth, He is our eternal head. Why would we believe, why would we think
that it would be easy for us when it was never ever easy for Him?” Christ’s atonement should be a very
meaningful reason as to why one would serve a mission. Because of the atonement, every single person
on this earth has the opportunity to be able to have eternal life. But to have this privilege, it will not be an
easy path. This past semester while in
my New Testament class at BYU, my professor explained more details of Christ’s
crucifixion than many may comprehend.
Just sitting in that class while he explained the gruesome details that
I had never understood made tears come to every student’s eyes. Missionary work is allowing the atonement to
be used. We cannot let such a special
gift to the world go to waste. I want to
show my respect for the Savior by sharing His message after all the pain and agony
he suffered for God’s children.
Throughout all the rejection, confusion, and pain I may experience while
serving, I know that looking to Christ and having the knowledge that he has
experienced everything I have been through is a blessing to help me
continue. Elder Holland also said, “As
missionaries we are proud to say we are Disciples of Christ, and we are, but…
that means you must prepare to walk something of the path he walked. To feel something of the pain he felt.” Missions are not necessarily all fun and
games, they are a time to work hard to teach people of a different culture what
you know to be true no matter if they accept it or not. I also desire to
serve a mission because I have been personally
converted to the gospel. Understanding
the gospel does require formal education, it merely
requires faith. It does not matter how learned or prestigious a person is, it takes their willingness to understand and
desire to obey gospel principles thus
allowing them to be converted. Brigham Young,
the second prophet of church, has an amazing story of how came to learn of the
LDS faith. He was attending a meeting where testimonies of the gospel
were being shared, and the testimony that impressed him so strongly came from a
simple and unimpressive man with a very humble, yet strong, testimony of how he
knew the gospel was true. Brigham Young said this of his experience, “when
I saw a man without eloquence or talents for
public speaking, who could only say, ‘I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph
Smith is a Prophet of the Lord,’ the Holy
Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated
my understanding, and a light, glory, and immortality were before me. I was encircled by them, filled with them, and
I knew for myself that the testimony of the
man was true.” I am grateful that the
people I will teach in the Philippines will learn to love the message of Christ’s gospel on their own with the guidance
and the sweetness of the Holy Ghost and will
come to love it on their own. Missionaries are simply the liaison in the relationship
of the person and the Christ. We are
simply the messengers to share with them the glad
message that the Savior lives and wants us to return to live with Him. I know that missionary work is called of God.
I am prepared to be His servant as
stated in 1 Nephi 3:7 in the Book of Mormon, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded.”
Similarly, I decided to have a quote
that will help guide me these next 18 months abroad,
“Do not work for God, but work with Him,” as stated by Brad Wilcox. I know that each of us, if we humble
ourselves to hear the promptings of the
spirit and pray to our Heavenly Father, can come to the knowledge for yourself if this gospel is true.
I have prayed and fasted to receive an
answer of if was the true church, and it is. I, like Joseph Smith, have seen truthfulness in other
churches, but what sets our church apart is
we have another Testament of Christ, called the
Book of Mormon, which is a true and additional book of scripture from Ancient prophets of Christ. I am tremendously
grateful to become a representative of
Christ to share his message with the Filipino people. {end with testimony}
