The Farewell Talk

Chances are most of you weren't at church today to hear my farewell talk (although there was a great turn-out!). For those of you who weren't there, here is a copy. It won't be nearly as good without my voice inflections, of course. But this will just have to do.

Given on November 16, 2008

Good afternoon brothers and sisters! I can’t believe this day has come! First of all I’d like to say hello and welcome to all my friends and family that came to support me today! I hope this talk touches all of you in some way or another.

To begin, I would like to relate a story, which will lead into the main topic of my talk. As I have explained before, the road that has led me to this point has not been an easy one. I was in the midst of a year of teaching when I felt the first inklings that Heavenly Father might want to lead me somewhere I hadn’t planned to go. Eventually, these whisperings led to a more obvious discomfort with the plans I had, to remain teaching at the school at which I currently worked. Soon, it became clear that while being a teacher wasn’t a bad idea, Heavenly Father had a better idea for me. Thus, I quit my job, packed up my apartment, and moved home this summer.

Still, I had never had sure plans to serve a mission, so even when the papers were in, a part of me still complained at the thought of leaving my blue jeans, and cell phone alone for eighteen months.

Now, this is where all of you come in.

Throughout my preparations, many of you offered your services to me. Some offered simple gifts of service they probably didn’t even know they were giving, such as a listening ear, or a word of encouragement, and others offered larger services such as monetary help or teaching aids, among many other things. Slowly, because of the services you performed for me, my desire to serve increased. I feel confident in saying that it is partially through the many small acts of kindness you offered to me, that I have been further converted to the gospel, and to serving a mission. It is through this experience that I realize how large a part service can play in conversion. This is the topic that I will be addressing today: service and missionary work.

While considering how I should present my topic so that all of you would best understand it, I thought of several different options. At first, because I am a teacher, I kept thinking that I would need visual aids, and pictures, a chalkboard, etc. But I quickly realized that wasn’t really an option for a sacrament meeting talk. Then, for all you math buffs out there, I thought of a mathematical equation having to do with the commutative property. It went something like, service brings the spirit, the spirit bears testimony, and through testimony people are converted. Thus, service=conversion. Then I realized that if I used that, I would have nothing else to say, and since I’m supposed to speak for longer than a few seconds, I had to trash that idea. Finally, I decided that offering up stories and examples from my life or lives of others would probably be the best way to help you understand what I will be discussing, and keep to the standards of a talk in sacrament meeting.

So, let’s move on to a story.

During my freshman year of college, I was living in the dorms at Brigham Young University. On each floor of the building lived a resident assistant (or R.A.) to help the incoming freshman get acquainted with the way things run at BYU, and help with any roommate problems, etc., that might occur. My roommate and I were already acquainted having been on the same ballroom dance team here in Washington. We were both beyond excited to be there, and we showed it in our actions. We wanted to be friends with everyone. We set to work immediately memorizing everyone’s names, and practiced on a regular basis by calling anyone we saw by their name and saying hi. We were pretty sure some of the girls thought our exuberance to be a little odd, but hey, we were having fun, and what better way to make people feel comfortable than to call them by name. A week or two passed, and our R.A. called us to her room. She asked us if we would like to be the “SWAT” team for our floor. “SWAT” stood for “Service Without A Trace”. Of course we were happy and excited to participate in this secret operation, and readily agreed. We immediately began brainstorming what we could do to make each girl feel welcome and special on our floor, and quickly decided on leaving a note on the door of one girl each week, highlighting her special talents and positive characteristics. Then over the course of the week, we would leave little treats from the vending machine in the lobby, usually attached to a note with some sort of pun, such as “You make us Snicker” attached to a Snickers bar. Throughout the year we wrote the note every Sunday evening, and then, after everyone was asleep, we’d tip-toe down the hall as silently as we could, and tape the note to the girl’s door, hopefully without being seen. That week, if one of us happened to see the girl we were spotlighting sometime during our school day, we would always be sure to let the other roommate know if the girl looked happier, or more confident. This challenge of being the SWAT team was a great source of joy for my roommate and I, and over the course of the year we developed a great love for all the girls on our floor, and recognized the impact we were having on the girls to whom we left notes.

There is a story in Preach My Gospel that does a great job of illustrating how service can lead to a greater ability to reach the heart of anyone who may be investigating the gospel. It’s called Pablo’s Story (page 168 of PMG)….

Because the missionaries in this story were willing to be patient, and continue offering their service to Pablo, they were able to build up a trusting relationship with him. Then because Pablo knew he could trust the missionaries, he knew he could trust the things that they taught him. Through trusting hearts, the gospel can be shared.

Preach my gospel says, “When we are baptized, we covenant to give [loving] service [to others]. We are to become aware of others’ physical and spiritual needs. We then give of our time, talents, and means to help meet those needs. We follow the example of the Savior, who came to serve others. We are to do what Jesus did and become like Him.”
I went through a particularly rough patch at the beginning of this year. I was teaching school, and as much as I loved my fourth graders, dealing with twenty-five 9 and 10 year olds and all their problems everyday is just exhausting. I was also dealing with a few other personal problems. I began feeling trapped, as if there was no way to make things better. So I decided to go to a friend for advice. He reminded me of a story President Hinckley told regarding his youth that I’m sure many of you have heard before: (Way to Be pg. 91). I had heard this story, and when I realized that this was the advice he was giving me, I had to be completely honest, and tell him that that thought just stressed me out further! I don’t know how many of you have felt this before, but I always feel like, “How can I possibly worry about helping out other people, when I can hardly take care of myself!” Then, he gave me some advice that was magic to me: He told me that we are given this piece of advice because it is in the act of focusing outward, that we will find peace. “Forgetting ourselves” as Pres. Hinckley put it is not just another thing we need to add to our to-do list. It is the antidote for our aching souls. It will bring relief to anyone suffering from a troubled heart. Service is the medicine that our Father in Heaven prescribes.

Pres. Hinckley also said it another way: “Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause. Lend your efforts to helping people… Stand higher, lift those with feeble knees, hold up the arms of those that hang down. Live the gospel of Jesus Christ”.

Sometimes, however, even if we have gone out of our way to perform many acts of service and kindness, some people may never come around. At a moment such as this, it is important to remember as PMG puts it, that “No Effort is Wasted”. At times it can be easy to think that what you’ve done or the efforts you make don’t result in anything worthwhile. Nevertheless, our Heavenly Father would have us remember that everything that we put in to helping others will not be forgotten. The person who received the service will not soon forget it, and it is a surety that our Heavenly Father will not forget it. Preach My Gospel says, “When people choose not to investigate the restored gospel, your work is not wasted. Your consistent efforts in serving as many people as you can is one way God prepares His children to eventually receive His servants. He often reaches out to His children through you”.

Now, while keeping all of this in mind, I want to point out one important fact. While all service is worthwhile, I believe that the greatest service missionaries perform for investigators is the act of teaching them the truths of the universe, and bringing all saving ordinances within their reach. It is this flame of hope that missionaries all over the world willingly sacrifice 18 months, 2 years, or sometimes more, to the cause of heaven. I myself have felt this flame, and it is this flame that has allowed me the opportunity to respond to the call that Heavenly Father has extended to me. It is this flame that has led me to stand before you today.

I would like to close with one final story. About forty years ago, in Anchorage, Alaska, two sister missionaries knocked on the door of a small mobile home. A woman with short dark hair answered. A ribbon of steam rose from the woman’s coffee cup, and the sisters could smell cigarette smoke. Still, the sisters introduced themselves, and asked if the woman at the door would be interested in hearing a brief message about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Normally the woman at the door wouldn’t have let strangers in, but because the people on her doorstep were female, and because the woman thought she would enjoy some company, she let the sisters in. The three women got to know each other, and the missionaries shared their message. The sisters were invited back, and the woman in the mobile home found that the messages the two missionaries shared struck her as truth. The woman learned of the restored gospel. She learned of our Savior Jesus Christ. She learned of God’s love for all of his children, and she learned of eternal families. All three women continued to visit, teach, learn, and be edified and uplifted together. Eventually the investigating woman was baptized, and began bringing her two-and-a-half year old daughter to church. The woman’s young daughter grew. She attended primary, young womens, and then began attending relief society. This daughter soon had a daughter of her own. Throughout the years, she did her best through many struggles and hardships to make sure her daughter and other children knew how important it was, and is, to keep themselves clean and to be worthy of the Lord’s spirit. Now, what does this have to do with today you ask? Well, the woman in the mobile home was and is my grandmother, and her daughter is of course, my mother. Because these sisters decided to knock on the door of a young mother, in Anchorage, Alaska my grandmother was able to join the church, her daughter was raised up in the church, and I have the privilege of standing before you today, about to embark on one of the great adventures of my life.

I am so grateful to my mother and grandmother as well as all my other teachers, for teaching me to stay close to the spirit… with allowed me to hear his prompting to leave the things that I love behind for the greater cause of spreading the gospel.