After being home for almost the equivalent of another transfer, I've posted my homecoming talk. I never had a script for my talk, just notes, so it's not exactly the same, but it tried to express the same ideas. In any case, these are some of the most important things I learned while serving as a full-time missionary.
When I left on my mission I was blessed to “return safely
with an even stronger testimony.” I would like to share how my testimony of the
gospel of Jesus Christ was strengthened through experiences on my mission using
principles we can all apply.
I’ve learned that the most important thing we can ever do in
our lives is follow the Spirit, because it is through the Spirit that we can
receive individual help with the problems we face. In Preach My Gospel it
states, “You will succeed in your work as you learn to receive and follow
personal revelation,” so I really tried to understand how the Spirit works. I
felt like Elder Scott was a mentor for me on my mission. Since he speaks a lot
about the Spirit, I studied his words frequently and carefully. I was so
blessed to listen to him speak at the MTC and I tried to apply his words
throughout my mission. He said, “Spiritual guidance is direction,
enlightenment, knowledge and motivation you receive from Jesus Christ through
the Holy Spirit. It is personalized instruction adapted to your individual
needs by One who understands them perfectly. Spiritual guidance is a gift of
incomparable worth bestowed upon those who seek it, live worthy of it, and
express gratitude for it.”
The first thing I learned about personal revelation on my
mission is that prayer is more than talking to
God, it’s talking with Him. My dear
companion Sister Brownell taught me that principle through example. As we
finished companionship prayer before going to bed she would often turn to me
and say, “You know what I thought of during the prayer?...” and then go on to
say how we could help an individual, or something we needed to remember to do,
or even a nice compliment. Many times it didn’t have much to do with what we
were actually praying about, but it would always be meaningful and relevant and
many times sparked a conversation that helped us deal with particular issues at
hand. I decided to follow her example and listen
more during prayer, not just to the words, but to any feelings or thoughts that
came to mind, and write them down, no matter how irrelevant they seemed. I
never felt more like I was talking with Heavenly
Father than I did when I listened and wrote my impressions while praying.
Some of my most spiritually intense experiences were in
response to acting on those specific impressions I had received through prayer.
I remember one really hard time when I was crying on my bed at night. Sister
Brownell was so sweet and sat on my bed comforting me. I felt out of touch and
was wondering what I could do to get back in tune. Sister Brownell asked,
“Well, what are you going to do about it?” and I replied, “I don’t know.” But
then a thought popped into my mind, find
a scripture for Lu Jie Mei (one of our investigators at the time). I wrote
that down and immediately felt calm. I kept thinking about what else I could do
to help our investigators, and I received very specific instruction and felt very
peaceful. I learned from that experience that sometimes we think we’re more
lost than we actually are, and if we’ll listen to and act on even the tiniest
thought (especially when it has to do with serving someone else), we can get
right back in tune.
I soon learned the importance of putting those impressions
into action. My dad, in one of his letters to me, shared a line from President
Uchtdorf’s talk in the April 2011 Priesthood Session, which has become one of
my mottos: “Turn your DO IT switch to the NOW position.” I also love Elder
Scott’s similar words. “When you have been prompted by the Spirit to do
something, inherent in that prompting is the assurance that you will be able to
do it.” Promptings are not to be delayed. When Sister Brownell and I put all
the impressions we wrote down into action, miracles started happening almost
faster than we could take them! I literally felt my burdens being carried by
the Lord. I remember one time kneeling in prayer and thinking, this must be what “Come unto me, all ye that
labor and are heavy laden. Take my yoke upon you, ...for my yoke is easy, and
my burden is light” feels like (Matthew 11:28-30). It was the busiest and most intense part of my mission, but it
was not stressful.
Additionally I learned that when things come to and press on
your mind, you should take care of it NOW. Don’t let it weigh on your mind
anymore. So many times we have thoughts, “Oh, yeah, I’ve been wanting to call
so-and-so,” or “I’ve always been meaning to do that.” Those thoughts, though
seemingly insignificant or trivial enough to procrastinate are precisely the
impressions that answer other people’s prayers, or even your own. I know when
we write impressions down and put them into action NOW, that is when miracles happen.
I know sometimes when we feel we’re giving all we can, our
trials still seem to be overwhelming and we may feel abandoned. At our
Departing Missionary Devotional, each missionary shared their testimony and one
Sister’s testimony expressed exactly my feelings at times during my mission.
This is applicable to mothers who are weary or anyone who may not be feeling
the Lord’s love and sustaining influence at the time. “There was a time when
all I wanted was to feel the comforting power of the Atonement, to bear me up,
to bind my wounds. I was pleading for it on my knees and in my heart daily but
I wasn’t feeling it. Then I felt even more like a failure because I couldn’t
feel it! But after a period of time I came to an epiphany: Christ had been by
my side the whole way, not lifting me out of my troubles or binding my wounds,
but giving me the strength and encouragement to get through it.” I learned more
than anything that no matter what we’re feeling at the time, Christ is always
there. I learned that there really are angels on your right hand and your left
to bear you up. Trust in that, even when it seems
they’re not there.
Through these experiences and many others, I have gained an
undeniable witness of the truth of the Gospel. I know without a shadow of a
doubt that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always there, listening, and
responding through the quiet whispers of the Holy Ghost. I know that when we
put those feelings into action we can be perfectly in tune with what the Lord
would have us do and experience great joy. He loves us. He has given us the fullness
of the Gospel, restored by Joseph Smith so we can have a clear path to eternal
happiness. Let us always seek to follow the Spirit, who will help us resolve
our personal challenges and lead us to know how to give meaningful service to
those around us. I know these things are true, in the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
