I spoke in church today and wanted to share my talk here. Please let me know what you think about it.
I love fairy tales. For a
moment, I'd like you to imagine with me. Once upon a time, you were
raised an orphan. One day a noble man finds you and tells you that
he is your brother. You were kidnapped as a baby, but you are in
fact the child of a King and Queen from a faraway land. In one week
he'd like to take you home for a reunion with your parents that they
have been waiting for your whole life.
Now that you know who you
are, a child of royalty, how will you modify your behavior? How will
you spend this week preparing to meet your long, lost parents?
Will you want to improve
your appearance by getting a haircut or buying some new clothes?
Will you study about your
parents and what it's like where they live?
Will you want to increase
your knowledge of the other people that live there?
Will you open your heart
to becoming your best self to meet your new family?
Brothers and sisters, we
are of royal birth. Each of us is the beloved child of Heavenly
Parents. When we were born on Earth, the veil was placed over our
eyes and we've had to walk by faith. While we have been walking here
on Earth, we have stumbled, made mistakes, sinned, done things that
we are truly regretful for. Our older brother, Jesus Christ has paid
for those sins and when we strive to truly repent we are forgiven and
that is one of the most amazing gifts of His Atonement that every
person has been given.
Mosiah 26:30 states, “Yea,
and as often as my people repent will I forgive them their trespasses
against me.”
The atonement is infinite! EVERY time we repent, we will be forgiven. Isn't that remarkable?
I am so grateful that the
Lord forgives me from all of the things that I repent of.
Repentance can sometimes
be a scary word. It is a simple word really. It just means to
change. Whenever we find something in our behavior that is out of
harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we can correct that behavior
and change.
I believe that is the
other amazing gift of His Atonement- the power it gives us to modify
our behavior, to better ourselves every day, every moment, and
ultimately to help us prepare to return home to our Heavenly Parents
that are waiting for that precious reunion.
In no particular order,
I'm going to share some thoughts that can help us change and become
our best selves and prepare for that glorious reunion with our
Heavenly Parents and Savior, Jesus Christ.
ONE
First of all, I want to
give us all a confidence boost. In Doctrine and Covenants 58:28 it
says, “For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto
themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose
their reward.” Isn't that fabulous? The Power is in us! I'm
going to read that scripture again with the two verses before it,
“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things;
for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and
not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward. Verily I say,
men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things
of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For
the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And
inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.”
Knowing that the Lord has
confidence in me, gives me confidence in myself! For years I have
struggled with anxiety, depression, and insomnia. During those
difficult times I didn't like myself much, so I had no confidence in
myself. This past year I have been learning to like myself, and to
truly know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do know and love me
individually. They also know and love you individually, even when
you are struggling to feel that love.
TWO
The next thing I'd like to
talk about to help us become our best self is prayer.
Alma 34: 17-27 is a great
example of what we should pray for, “Therefore may God grant unto
you, my brethren, that ye may begin to exercise your faith unto
repentance, that ye begin to call upon his holy name, that he would
have mercy upon you; Yea, cry unto him for mercy; for he is mighty
to save. Yea, humble yourselves, and continue in prayer unto him.
Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea, over all your flocks.
Cry unto him in your houses, yea, over all your household, both
morning, mid-day, and evening. Yea, cry unto him against the power
of your enemies. Yea, cry unto him against the devil, who is an
enemy to all righteousness. Cry unto him over the crops of your
fields, that ye may prosper in them. Cry over the flocks of your
fields, that they may increase. But this is not all; ye must pour
out your souls in your closets, and your secret places, and in your
wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your
hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your
welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.”
Those scriptures teach us
that we should pray about everything and often! Our families, our
homes, our work, our neighbors, our enemies, for mercy, we should
pour out our souls to him. We should tell him the things we are
grateful for, and ask him for help in the things we are struggling
with.
When we always have a
prayer in our heart, I believe we also have the Spirit with us to
guide us, direct us, and protect us.
THREE
Years ago, a wise young
woman from this ward told us that prayer and scripture study go hand
in hand, just like milk and cookies. I could not think of a better
analogy! We are so lucky to have our scriptures, and to have modern
day prophets and apostles and all of their words from general
conference talks and in our church magazines.
Now, I don't know about
you, but I love cookies! I am a self-professed Cookie Monster. The
past couple of years I have been studying all of the standard works
again and the scriptures have become even more delicious to me than
cookies.
When we lived in Taiwan,
our mission president's wife shared an experience with us. She said
when she was a young mother she knew she should study the scriptures
to help her be a better mom, but every time she found a moment to
read them she would just fall asleep, she thought they were so
boring. She wasn't happy about this, so she prayed to Heavenly
Father and asked him to make the scriptures exciting to her. He
answered that prayer and she developed a life-long love of the
scriptures.
If the scriptures aren't
delicious to you yet, ask for help, and reading them will become even
better than eating cookies.
FOUR
We all know that the
greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, might,
mind, and strength. The second greatest commandment is to love our
neighbor as our self.
This implies we must also
love ourselves. Is this all? No, we are also to love our enemies,
and not just love our neighbors and enemies as ourselves, but as
Christ loves us.
Love is the definition of
being a disciple of Christ. And as we love others, we can not help
but improve our self.
We show our love by
serving. Serving our family, friends, those we minister to from
church, any and all we are able to, near or far. I read Alma 34:
17-27 about prayer, and now I'd like to read verse 28, “And now
behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you, do not suppose that this
is all; for after ye have done all these things, if ye turn away the
needy, and the naked, and visit not the sick and afflicted, and
impart of your substance, if ye have, to those who stand in need—I
say unto you, if ye do not any of these things, behold, your prayer
is vain, and availeth you nothing, and ye are as hypocrites who do
deny the faith.”
We also show our love by
being kind. It's easy to be kind to people we like. Sometimes it's
hard to be kind to those who are unkind to us, or we may not
understand. Elder Gerrit W. Gong said, “First, we come to the Inn
as we are, with the foibles and imperfections we each have. Yet we
all have something needed to contribute. Our journey to God is often
found together. We belong as united community—whether confronting
pandemics, storms, wildfires, droughts or quietly meeting daily
needs. We receive inspiration as we counsel together, listening to
each person, and the Spirit.”
Brothers and sisters, we
need each other. Oh, if I have learned anything from this pandemic
it is that we need each other!
Acts 17:25-28 reminds us
to be united as we are all his, “he giveth to all life, and breath,
and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to
dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times
before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they
should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find
him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live,
and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have
said, For we are also his offspring.”
FIVE
Temple worship
President Russell M Nelson
said, “Temples are a vital part of the Restoration of the gospel of
Jesus Christ in its fullness. Ordinances of the temple fill our lives
with power and strength available in no other way. We thank God for
those blessings.”
The temple is my favorite
place to be. I am so glad that our temple is open at phase 3.
Yesterday I had the wonderful privilege of serving in the temple with
my husband and 3 of our sons. I look forward to the day when we can
be in the temple with all of our children. I pray we can all serve
in the temple as often as possible. If you have not yet received the
ordinances of the temple, I encourage you to do whatever you can so
you may claim those blessings as soon as possible.
SIX
Our testimonies are
precious things. We are not meant to keep them inside, but to share
them. We are also to nourish them every day. When we share them we
are nourishing them and we are also being forgiven of our sins.
Doctrine and Covenants 62:3 is a beautiful scripture that says,
“Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have
borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they
rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you.”
I used to be afraid of
missionary work. Now I know the best way for me to be a missionary
is to know the gospel, to live the gospel, to love the gospel, and to
be myself with everyone around me.
I love this quote from
Ahmad S. Corbitt (First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency), “I had
just learned that I and all of humanity had lived with our Heavenly
Father as His spirit sons and daughters before our birth. Others
needed to know, as I knew, that He longed for all His children to
enjoy eternal life with Him. So, before anyone was on earth, He
presented all with His perfect plan of salvation and happiness, with
Jesus Christ as our Savior. Tragically, Satan opposed God’s plan.
According to the book of Revelation, there was war in heaven!
Satan cunningly deceived a third part of Heavenly Father’s spirit
children into letting him prevail instead of God. But not you! The
Apostle John saw that you overcame Satan by the word of your
testimony.”
Brothers and sisters, we
are here! We have already overcome Satan once, of course we can
overcome him again with the help and power from heaven!
SEVEN
In President Nelson's
talk, What We Are Learning and Will Never Forget, he shares with us 4
things he has learned from this pandemic. I made up my own list of 4
things I have learned. The first is to Trust God. The second is to
enjoy life. The third is to have hope. And the fourth is to be
humble and grateful.
Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
said, “My heart overflows with gratitude for my Heavenly Father. I
realize that He has not doomed His children to stumble through
mortality without hope for a bright and eternal future. He has
provided instructions that reveal the way back to Him. And at the
center of it all is His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice
for us...
Yes, the world is in
turmoil. And yes, we have weaknesses. But we do not need to hang our
heads in despair, because we can trust God, we can trust His Son,
Jesus Christ, and we can accept the gift of the Spirit to guide us on
this path toward a life filled with joy and divine happiness.”
EIGHT
Brothers and sisters we
are all here today, because we have faith in Jesus Christ and his
gospel.
I'd like to quote from
President Russell M. Nelson again. He said, “Faith in Jesus Christ
is the greatest power available to us in this life. All things are
possible to them that believe...
Please know this: if
everything and everyone else in the world whom you trust should fail,
Jesus Christ and His Church will never fail you. The Lord never
slumbers, nor does He sleep. He is the same yesterday, today, and
tomorrow. He will not forsake His covenants, His promises, or His
love for His people. He works miracles today, and He will work
miracles tomorrow.”
Brothers and sisters, we
have faith in Jesus Christ because he loves us! As I read Isaiah
43:1 please replace the names Jacob and Israel with your own name in
your mind, “But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob,
and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed
thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.”
There have been many times
I have attended church meetings and conferences hoping to feel
uplifted, but instead have felt overwhelmed by my inadequacies and
thought I could never measure up. I'm glad that I know now this is
false thinking. The Lord does not ask us to walk faster than we can
run. He just asks us to love him and follow him. I love Christ. I
try to serve Him by serving others. I do the best that I can. As we
strive each day to become like Christ, He gives us grace.
If each day we try to be a
little bit better than we were the day before, and as we discover our
weaknesses and imperfections, and strive to strengthen them, we will
become better and stronger, line upon line, until we are perfected in
Christ.
I believe we can have
confidence in ourselves; pray to God continually; study the
scriptures and the words of the living prophets; love one another;
worship in the temple; develop, strengthen, and share our
testimonies; be humble and grateful; and improve our faith in Jesus
Christ.
I'd like to share one more
scripture in Ephesians 4:11-13, “And he gave some, apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and
teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come
in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of
Christ:”
Brothers and sisters, we
can worry less about our haircuts and our clothing and focus more on
changing from the inside out. And luckily we don't have just a week
to prepare, we have our entire lives! One day our elder brother, Jesus Christ, will
escort us to our royal heavenly home where our Heavenly Father and
Heavenly Mother are anxious for our return. Never forget that we are
their cherished children! And that we will live happily ever after
through all eternity.
I say these things in the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.
