Farewell Talk

HIIIIII!! Welp. I’M GOING ON A MISSION!!!! I will be serving a mission in Fort Worth Texas and I leave in ten days. I am SO EXCITED!!! I was ecstatic when I was told my topic was on the Holy Ghost, because without him, missionary work would be unsuccessful! Even the Holy Ghost guided me into the decision of going on a mission. I had never really thought about going on a mission….until my senior year of high school when my older sister Autumn made the choice to serve. At that time, I got more comfortable with idea of serving a mission. That is when I started studying the Preach My Gospel manual. I read a couple pages every night, but I studied it not as a future full time missionary, but just as a missionary in everyday life. I honestly never thought I would go on a mission…and I honestly didn’t want to. Missions are hard. And I didn’t want to put myself through that. Over time, I lost interest in serving a mission altogether. Then about eight months ago, I all the sudden had the greatest feeling that I needed to go on a mission. Whaaaat? I was only eighteen. But it really conflicted me at that time. I felt like I needed to serve but I didn’t know if it was right or if I should. And I was scared! I even talked to Autumn who was already on her mission, about my sudden desire to serve. She told me that I didn’t need to make that choice right then. I still had three more years to make that decision. PFFF! She was so right! So I didn’t think about it. I didn’t worry about it. I still had three more years before I could even leave…or so I thought. On October 6, 2012- President Thomas S Monson- When I heard those words… “that able, worthy young women, may be recommended for missionary service beginning at age 19” I literally went into shock. I was astonished. I just could not even comprehend what just happened!  I couldn’t tell you what occurred in the rest of general conference. I was in a daze. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am not a crier. I do not cry! (which is funny because I was crying when I said that…Heh) And I had not cried for about 18 months…until that announcement was made. But sadly, it wasn’t because of joy. I immediately felt like I should go, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to leave school, or my friends, or my family. I had a job at Disney world for this summer. I wouldn’t see my sister for probably an extra year. I had my next five years planned precisely and I didn’t want to ruin that. I also felt unprepared and inadequate to participate in something so important. I was scared. I was lost. I was confused. I was conflicted. I just wanted someone to tell me what to do. So I asked my parents. They of course told me that I had to make this decision. Thanks mom and dad. You’re a lot of help! But they were right. So we prayed. And then I read my patriarchal blessing out loud. As I read, I burst into tears.  I could barely choke out the words…Because I knew. I knew I needed to go. No I did not hear some voice saying “Lisa should go on a mission.” No.. I could feel it. In Boyd K. Packer’s words “the voice of the Spirit comes as a feeling rather than a sound. You will learn, as I have learned, to listen for that voice that is felt rather than heard.” Close quote. I felt such an overwhelming peace in my heart. And I had my answer. It was the Holy Spirit guiding me. I received my answer like it states in Doctrine and Covenants- “I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart. Behold, this is the spirit of revelation.” So here I am. J

The Holy Ghost has many roles. He bears witness of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. He is the source of personal testimony and revelation. He can guide us in our decisions and protect us from physical and spiritual danger. He is known as the Comforter, and He can calm our fears and fill us with hope. Through His power, we are sanctified as we repent, receive saving ordinances, and keep our covenants. It is through the influence of the Holy Ghost that we receive knowledge of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and feel Their power, goodness, and love.

Today, I would like to focus on the Holy Ghost’s roles as a director, a sanctifier, a comforter, and a testifier.

Let’s start with director. One of the most important things I have learned in my recent study of Preach My Gospel is to always be in tune with the spirit. Over and over again I see phrases like “as directed by the Spirit” or “prompted by the Spirit.” Sometimes those promptings are against what we have planned, but He knows better than we do. If we are in tune with Him and listen to His promptings, even if they don’t make sense to us, we can be guided, protected, and we can be instruments in the Lord’s hands. I would like to share what my sister Autumn, who is currently serving in Brazil, wrote in her most recent update. She said “One thing I have been amazed with here on the mission is how the Spirit works. Sometimes, most of the time, we do things without knowing why. Sometimes we do what the spirit tells us to do, and things don't go right. But the Lord leads us on a wild goose chase of sorts........that thing that didn't go right, but put us in a position for something else to happen. I feel like that has happened with me these past weeks. My companion hurt her ankle so I went on splits with a lady in my ward. While I was walking with her on the street, I had the strong impression to talk to a lady walking past. The spirit pretty much pushed me to do it. I didn't even have time to mentally prepare myself, so I pretty much attacked the lady and made just about the ugliest contact a missionary can make. (all with the member right there with me. How embarrassing. But the important thing is that I listened to the spirit and opened my mouth). Turns out that this lady and the member I was with, knew each other. Because of the member, I was able to make an appointment with this lady. Long story short, we weren't able to make it to the appointment when we had scheduled, so we went to her house yesterday. She was at home, but was hiding. I saw her, but she didn't come to the fence to us. So, I decided that because we were there and our appointment fell through, I would knock on the door of the house next door. We knocked and out came this man and his girlfriend. They were super interested. Thank you Heavenly Father!” The Holy Ghost guided my sister to these people that were ready to hear the gospel. The Holy Ghost will show unto you all things what you should do.

The Spirit as a sanctifier. In a talk by Boyd K. Packer, he says “Some will make critically serious mistakes, transgressing the laws of the gospel. Here it is time to remind you of the Atonement, repentance, and complete forgiveness to the point that you can become pure again. The Lord said, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”13If the adversary should take you prisoner due to misconduct, I remind you that you hold the key that will unlock the prison door from the inside. You can be washed clean through the atoning sacrifice of the Savior Jesus Christ. You may, in time of trouble, think that you are not worth saving because you have made mistakes, big or little, and you think you are now lost. That is never true! Only repentance can heal what hurts. But repentance can heal what hurts, no matter what it is.” Then Dieter Uchdorf counseled “Once we have truly repented, Christ will take away the burden of guilt for our sins. We can know for ourselves that we have been forgiven and made clean. The Holy Ghost will verify this to us; He is the Sanctifier. No other testimony of forgiveness can be greater.” Close quote. In 2 Nephi, it says that after repentance, then cometh the remission of your sins by fire AND THE HOLY GHOST. Brothers and sisters, we are not perfect. We have made mistakes and we will make more. But like President Uchdorf promises “Wherever you find yourselves on this journey through life, whatever trials you may face, there is always a point of safe return; there is always hope.” Close quote. By using the precious gift of the atonement, and through the power of the Holy Ghost, the sanctifier, we may become clean again. What a merciful God we have!

The Holy Ghost as a comforter. Elder Craig C. Christenson said about the spirit- “During times of trouble or despair or simply when we need to know that God is near, the Holy Ghost can lift our spirits, give us hope, and teach us “the peaceable things of the kingdom,”11 helping us feel “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” Close quote. I have witnessed this time and time again in my own life. There is one in particular that I will always remember- The first time I remember feeling the Holy Ghost so strongly. It was about eight years ago, so I was only eleven years old.  My oldest sister was due with her second baby in just two weeks. At one of her last check ups, they discovered that her little baby had died inside her womb. She would have to go in the next day and give birth to a lifeless, little baby girl. I was young and I hadn’t really experienced loss before. It was heartbreaking for my family. I was sad. Sad for my sister. Sad for my little niece. I remember opening up the scriptures in my daily reading. I do not remember where it was or what it said. But I remember how I felt… I wasn’t sad anymore. It’s like…it had been lifted from me. I just felt…..calm. I knew that my sister and her family would be okay. And I knew little Kirsten Anne was okay.. “The Holy Ghost can fill us with hope and perfect love and teach us the peaceable things of the kingdom.” Our trials won’t be easy, but they can be easier with the help of the Comforter.

The Holy Ghost as a testifier- Craig C Christenson says “The Holy Ghost is a teacher and a revelator.13 As we study, ponder, and pray about gospel truths, the Holy Ghost enlightens our minds and quickens our understanding.14 He causes the truth to be indelibly written in our souls and can cause a mighty change to occur in our hearts. As we share these truths with our families, with fellow members of the Church, and with friends and neighbors in our community, the Holy Ghost becomes their teacher as well, for He carries the message of the gospel “unto the hearts of the children of men.” In true to the faith- “He “witnesses of the Father and the Son” (2 Nephi 31:18) and reveals and teaches “the truth of all things” (Moroni10:5). You can receive a sure testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ only by the power of the Holy Ghost. His communication to your spirit carries far more certainty than any communication you can receive through your natural senses.” You can receive a sure testimony ONLY BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST. For the longest time, I thought it was the missionary who was doing the converting, but this is not true at all. The missionary, in Ezra Taft Benson’s words “is only a vessel through whom the Lord can transmit his Spirit.” Spencer W Kimball says “the missionary does not convert anyone; the Holy Ghost does the converting. The power of conversion is directly associated with the Holy Ghost, for no person can be truly converted and know that Jesus is the Christ save by the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Again, those words POWER OF THE HOLY GHOST. Brothers and sisters, we have been blessed with a great and powerful gift that brings so much goodness into our lives and into the lives of others. But like so many other things, it is conditional. We must remain worthy to keep it. We must keep the commandments. “As we bring our life in harmony with God’s will, we will gradually receive the Holy Ghost in great measure.” (True to the Faith) We must live our lives in a way where He will be our constant companion. His influence is a gift from God, but we must do our part to keep it. Read the Book of Mormon, we have received a promise from President Hinckley, that if we read the Book of Mormon, “there will come into your lives and into your homes an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord, a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to His commandments, and a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.”

I know that the power of the Holy Ghost is real. He has touched my life many times. He has softened my heart. He has calmed my fears. He has protected me from harm. He has guided me in times of confusion. He has shown me the truth. He has testified to me of the love of our God and Savior.

I would like to close by sharing the reasons why I am going on a mission. When one of my friends discovered I was going on a mission, he said “Oh you’re one of those girls.” That night, I really thought about what he said and why I was doing this. Was I just jumping on the bandwagon in all the sudden excitement? Was I going because most of my friends are on missions? Was I going for my own personal growth? I realized that those aren’t the reasons I am going. I am serving a mission because I want everyone to have the same happiness that the gospel gives me. I want everyone to receive the blessings of the temple. I want everyone to know and to feel of God’s abundant love for them. Each and every one of us is His child and He loves us with so much love that we cannot comprehend. One of my favorite scriptures is in Romans 8:38-39. “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the Love of God, which is Christ Jesus our Lord. He loves us. No matter who we are. No matter what we’ve done. He wants all of us to come home. He loves us so much that he sent his Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ to come to this Earth and to suffer for our sins…that we may be able to return to our Father in Heaven. He, being completely perfect…never giving into temptation or touching an unclean thing…suffered….and bled….for me…so imperfect…fpr my sins…for everyone’s sins. I know that if you or I were the only person, Christ would still do it. He knows and understands every pain, illness, adversity, and misery we have ever gone through. He is truly my Savior, my Redeemer, my brother, my confidant, and my best friend. I know that if we follow the true prophet Thomas S. Monson, we will be guided in a way that we can return to our Father. And if we read the true words of the Book of Mormon, we can become closer to Him in this life. I know that Joseph Smith translated this book and he restored the TRUE gospel to this Earth. I know these things are true and I wish for everyone to have the opportunity to know these things. That is why I am going on a mission. I say these things in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.