Throughout my life there have been many
experiences that have strengthened my testimony, and helped prepare me to be a
full-time missionary. During almost
every strong testimony building experience, my family was involved in some
way. At a young age my testimony was not
my own. My testimony was a combination
of what my parents whispered into my ear, and anything I could remember
learning in primary. Although I did not
have my own testimony, I had knowledge of the truths of the gospel, and how to
gain my own testimony. The Family
Proclamation to the World states, “Parents have a sacred duty to rear their
children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual
needs, and to teach them to love and to serve one another, observe the
commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.” My immediate and extended families have
taught me many principles that have helped prepare me to serve a full-time
mission.
While
I was preparing for this talk I thought very hard about stories or instances
when I have learned how to be a full-time missionary from my family. I prayed to know what to write, but my mind
was blank. I was searching for long
stories or strong testimony building experiences, when in reality my family has
always been preparing me to serve a full time mission. Similar to a testimony,
over time the lessons my family taught me helped me to become strong and to
grow. My Aunt Sarah loves to call my
family and ask us who our favorite Aunt is.
When I was in fifth grade, my aunt Sarah called and pretended to be my
writing teacher. I was oblivious and too
excited to think that my writing teacher wanted to talk to me, to realize that
I was not speaking to my writing teacher at all. I was asked by my “writing teacher” who
didn’t even know her own name, who my favorite aunt was. She began to explain how she wanted me and
nobody else in the class to write an essay about my favorite aunt, but wanted
to know who it was first. I felt so
important that my writing teacher wanted me to write an essay and nobody else
in the class so I began to tell her who my favorite aunt was. I told her my favorite aunt was my aunt
Claire because she always teaches me to do what is right and sets a great
example for me. It became very uncomfortable
after Sarah decided to tell me that I was not actually speaking to my writing
teacher. This became a funny experience
to look back on, but has also taught me how much I have learned from my family
by the examples they have set.
Every
year my family goes to Lake Powell during the Fourth of July week for a family
reunion. During this week there is a lot
work that needs to be done so that we can play. Whenever there is an
opportunity to help another, my Aunt Linda is always there to serve. She has been the greatest example of service
to me. In a talk given by President
Gordon B. Hinckley he shares a story where he received a letter from his
father, which said, “Forget yourself and go to work.” Through the example my Aunt Linda has set, I
have learned how I need forget myself and go to work.
Every
missionary needs to be a hard worker. Currently
my house is being remodeled, which requires a lot of work. I would return home from work, and
immediately start working again. During
the remodeling process there were many times when I wanted to be able to just
sit down and relax, but I was not able.
There was always work to be done.
Although my family may not have intended for remodeling the house to
serve as a learning experience for what missionary work will be like, I have
learned how much energy missionary work will require, and how heavily I will
depend on the spirit to help me. Genesis 3:19 says, “By the sweat of thy face
thou shalt eat bread.” This means that all the work I do on my mission will
allow me to receive strength and experience joy. It would be impossible for me
to serve a mission if I was lazy, or did not know how to work hard. My family is definitely not lazy and has done
a great job on teaching me how to be active and work hard.
(Julies
Story)
-Swim
meet when mom came in and told me what happened to Julie
-Family
traveled to Colorado to be with Julie, Brought them together
-Found
out we were going to run the marathon for Julie
-We
have our families to support us, but our progress is individual
-Being
surrounded by family, running alone then being surrounded by family.
-Working
hard for a good cause
Not
only is it important to be a hard worker as a missionary, but missionaries must
also be obedient. We know that the
missionaries must go to be early and rise early, study the gospel and in my
case a new language. In the Hymn “How
Great the Wisdom and the Love” the first line of the third verse says, “By
strict obedience, Jesus won.” Most of us
like to win. I have been blessed or
cursed with the extreme competitive gene, which makes my desire for winning
very intense. So obviously I want to win
on my mission. Just as Jesus won, I will
be obedient and return home with honor and can say that I won.
Alma
57:21 says, “Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of
command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto
them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers
had taught them.” My family has taught
me many times about obedience. After I
was baptized I worked so hard to be obedient and to stay perfect. I thought that if I never made a mistake for
the rest of my life, I would have my golden ticket to heaven. Every little mistake I made felt like the
world was going to end. I was obeying
everything that I was told, but when I made a mistake, I felt like my mistakes
would just keep adding up on this giant list of mistakes that I had made
throughout my life. This is when my mom
taught me about the importance repentance and the atonement. She reminded me that I could pray to Heavenly
Father and ask for forgiveness. She taught
me how I can give my pains and sorrows to Christ and say I am sorry for what I
have done. When I went through the
temple I was reminded about the atonement. My grandma Mecham said that yes
baptism, repentance and the atonement are very important to teach on my
mission; also teaching that families can be together forever is important. The ultimate goal of this life is to return
up to Heaven to live with Heavenly Father, Christ, and our families forever. I was able to perform sealing’s with my
parents and grandparents, which reminded me the importance of my family. The
gospel teaches us that there must be opposition in all things.
There
was a time in my life where deaths in my family and funerals almost became a
routine. My dad was struggling with
unemployment, and my mom was working her hardest to support my family. My family did not lose our crazy energy, but
the energy in our house was controlled.
Whenever the news that a family member passed away, it always seemed to
be while my siblings and I were all together downstairs. I remember sitting downstairs on the couch,
almost waiting for my mom to come upstairs and tell us who had just passed
away. The first funeral was a shock for
me. Not because a family member had
passed away, but because I saw all of immediate and extended family suffering
together. I wanted to help everyone feel comforted, but I didn’t know how. Soon after my cousin, Aunt, Great-grandpa and
Great-grandma passed away. I had many
doubts about whether or not I would see my family members again. I became nervous that someone in my immediate
family would pass away. Throughout those funerals, my family worked together to
help comfort each other. I would listen
to the stories they told and the way they talked about the family members. They would testify that they would see them
again, and the spirit confirmed to me that I would see my family again. These
trails helped to strengthen my testimony and taught me an important principle
that missionaries use to help convert others to the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
that families can be together forever.
Yesterday
I had the opportunity to go skiing with my family one last time. When we first
arrived it was very foggy and hard to see anything around us. As the day went on the fog began to clear and
the sun came out. I am sure there will
be many foggy days while I am on my mission where I will want to just fall down
in the snow and lay there, but through the lessons and principles my family
taught me, I will be able to make it through those foggy days. Just like my Grandma Mecham taught me the
importance of sealing families so they can be together forever, I will be able
to teach the people of Japan that they can be with their family forever, and be
led out of the fog.
My
family has always been the greatest blessing in my life. One Sunday my family and I were at my Grandma
Mecham’s with my extended family, talking and sharing stories. My cousin Lindy began to share how much she
loves and is grateful for her family.
She said that every day in her prayers she thanks Heavenly Father for
the family she has. I knew how much I
love my family, but I was reminded to always express my gratitude to my family
and my Heavenly Father.
My
family has prepared me to be the best missionary I could ever be. They have taught me so much and made me the
person I am today. I have so many great
examples of cousins, aunts and uncles who have served missions, and cousins who
are currently on missions.
