Homecoming Talk

Bonjour mes chers frères et sœurs! Or in other words, good morning Brothers and Sisters! I am so grateful for this opportunity that I have to speak to you all today. It is wonderful to see so many familiar faces, and I appreciate each of you coming to renew your covenants with the Lord by partaking of the sacrament and for reminding me and Josh of your loving support. As I look around the chapel I recognize many people who have played a large role in helping me reach this point in my life  and become the person I am today. The decision to serve a mission isn’t typically one that can be made overnight, and I want to thank each of you for your examples of faith and love and for the many lessons that you have taught me through both word and deed. 

As you pretty much all know, two days ago I returned home from my full time mission serving in the California, Fresno and the Canada, Montreal missions. I had a total of six areas, three in California and three in Canada, and 12 companions. I know that it was no mistake that I was assigned to each of these missions, in each of these areas, with each of my companions.  With the Covid-19 pandemic and my unexpected call to learn French, my mission was unlike anything I could have ever imagined or anticipated, but I know that it was exactly what I needed and I am eternally grateful for modern prophets and continuing revelation that provided me with this incredible experience. I wouldn’t change anything about my mission.

Like my brother Josh, today I have been asked to speak on how the Atonement of Jesus Christ changes lives, and I honestly can’t think of a more fitting topic. As Preach My Gospel clearly states, the purpose of every missionary is to invite others to come unto Christ so that they can do just that. 

I learned during my mission that Christ’s Atonement isn’t just meant to be an abstract concept.  Rather it is a priceless gift from our Savior that we are to use each and every day so that we may receive all of the blessings our Heavenly Father is eager to grant us. I love how simply D&C 88:33 explains this truth.

For what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift.

This obviously begs the question, how exactly can we use the Atonement in our lives? How can we learn to receive and rejoice in this incredible gift? Thankfully, the answer to this question is simple: we must live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

As we exercise faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repent, make and keep covenants, and strive to qualify for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, our lives are changed as we gradually become converted to Jesus Christ and Gospel. As Josh so clearly and powerfully taught, this conversion changes not only our behavior but the deepest desires of our hearts and leads us to do good continually and avoid all evil. 

While these blessings are tangible and profound, the day to day effects of the Atonement are in fact gradual and subtle. They require faith to both receive and recognize. When we are baptized, partake of the sacrament, go through the temple, or participate in any other ordinance the effects are rarely immediate or easily discernible. I have come to learn that this is by divine design and that this lack of seemingly apparent evidence is truly part of God’s great plan of happiness. 

This life is a time of testing. In Abraham 3:25 the Lord declared that “we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;”

As Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 5 “whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:).” This separation from God is what allows  us to truly learn for ourselves as we act in faith, leaning upon the Lord  rather than our own understanding.

Knowing that this process of testing and refining would be too difficult for us to endure on our own, our loving Heavenly Father has mercifully provided us a Savior.

John 3:16, the verse I chose for my missionary plaque, explains that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

We must never forget that the ultimate motive for the Atonement was love. Pure, infinite love. Because Christ and our Heavenly Father love us they will give us the experiences and trials that they know are essential to our eternal progression, but they will give us the tools that are necessary for us to succeed. Christ is the author and the finisher of our faith, and if we trust in Him and follow His Spirit He will enable us to realize our divine potential and become even as He is.

I love how King Benjamin teaches this truth in Mosiah 3:19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

For the rest of my talk I want to share some of the experiences from my mission through which the Lord helped me become more converted and continue to put off the natural man.

From my very first day in the mission field, the Lord made it clear that he knew me and my weaknesses and that he was going to help me overcome them.  

Story of learning how to ride a bike in Visalia

I came to learn for myself the truthfulness of Paul’s words in  2 Timothy 1:7 that “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 

In the end, I spent roughly 8 months of my mission biking, and looking back I consider that to be a very personal and meaningful blessing.  

During my entire time in California and in Canada as well, I had the privilege to meet and teach some truly wonderful people whom the Lord helped me to love with all of my heart. I don’t have time today to share many details about those I taught, but I wanted to share an important lesson I learned early on in my mission about the disappointment that often comes when those we love are prevented in one way or another from accepting the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. During these difficult moments I gained my own testimony of Christ's ability to console us through His Spirit. 

The story of Ida being dropped, people 

(There was a lady in my first area that I taught almost my entire time in my first area… 

2 Nephi 4:26,34

26 O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?

34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever.

I remember vividly one day reading 2 Nephi 31:20 which says “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” and being struck by the phrase “a perfect brightness of hope.”

This hope was once again essential when I finally received the long awaited news that I would be going to Canada. Before I even got on the plane for Canada I received an email from my new mission informing me who my companion was and where I would be serving. 

(Making it to Canada, going to New Brunswick. Not speaking French, not being able to visit people in their homes for more than six weeks. Why am I here? Meeting Harold and many others that the Lord was preparing to receive the Gospel.)

I learned the truthfulness of Moroni’s words in Ether 12:6 that ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

Another difficult transition came when I was suddenly transferred from New Brunswick to Quebec City. Because of Christmas, our mission president decided to have a mini-transfer two weeks earlier than planned…

(Being doubled in to Quebec city with no notes, taking the bus, and learning French. Going to branch council on our first night and not understanding anything.)

I was feeling super overwhelmed, and I knew that there was only one place I could turn to for help. I poured out my heart each morning to Heavenly Father as we did our daily planning, and I had an experience similar to that of Alma and his people and in Mosiah 24:13-15

And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord.

Little by little, things got easier. Day after day, the Lord helped me to open my mouth and both speak and understand French. Even when the work was slow and was tempting to feel discouraged, He showed me again and again that He was aware of me in small and simple ways through spiritual experiences and tender mercies. 

Helaman and the 2,000 warriors had a similar experience as described in Alma 58:11

Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him.

As I have reflected on my mission in preparation for today, I have been reminded that the joy and satisfaction felt during my mission did not come from any single event or person. It came over time one small experience at a time. 

I have often reflected on this story shared by President Ballard in the April 2011 session General Conference as I have contemplated what it truly means to be a successful missionary.

Oftentimes we are like the young merchant from Boston, who in 1849, as the story goes, was caught up in the fervor of the California gold rush. He sold all of his possessions to seek his fortune in the California rivers, which he was told were filled with gold nuggets so big that one could hardly carry them.

Day after endless day, the young man dipped his pan into the river and came up empty. His only reward was a growing pile of rocks. Discouraged and broke, he was ready to quit until one day an old, experienced prospector said to him, “That’s quite a pile of rocks you are getting there, my boy.”

The young man replied, “There’s no gold here. I’m going back home.”

Walking over to the pile of rocks, the old prospector said, “Oh, there is gold all right. You just have to know where to find it.” He picked two rocks up in his hands and crashed them together. One of the rocks split open, revealing several flecks of gold sparkling in the sunlight.

Noticing a bulging leather pouch fastened to the prospector’s waist, the young man said, “I’m looking for nuggets like the ones in your pouch, not just tiny flecks.”

The old prospector extended his pouch toward the young man, who looked inside, expecting to see several large nuggets. He was stunned to see that the pouch was filled with thousands of flecks of gold.

The old prospector said, “Son, it seems to me you are so busy looking for large nuggets that you’re missing filling your pouch with these precious flecks of gold. The patient accumulation of these little flecks has brought me great wealth.”

I have been immensely blessed over the past two years with countless experiences listening to and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and these many experiences have brought me a far greater testimony of God’s love for His children and of the truth that He truly does speak to us today. As I begin this next exciting chapter in my life, I am reminded of a verse in Helaman that teaches what I must continue to do if I wish to continue experiencing the same type of joy I discovered during my mission.

Helaman 3:35 Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God.

Testimony

The Gospel is more true than any of us will ever realize, 

Unexpectedly Challenges and setbacks

God has a plan, and it usually different from what we would write

Why do we do the right things

- love for the Lord and His Children

We shall in no wise lose our reward for doing good

You can count the number of seeds in a watermelon but you can't count the number of watermelons in a single seed

President Ballard's story of the miner with flakes of gold

The joy of hard work/duty - joy/fun

My testimony of the priesthood. The reality of its power and the way that it refines us