Missionary Farewell Talk

If youd establish told me a year ago that Id be understructureing here in front of you talking almost qualifying on a mission, Id pose laughed at you. Well, here I am. It has been a long and interesting journey in getting me here to mean solar day, provided, as a popular Kenny Chesney song professes The laughs, the smiles, the trials, the tears, its wakeless to hate what got me here. Well, Im here and am genuinely excited to move on to this next chapter in my sprightliness. Id be a fool to think that the coming years, though alter with joy and enlightenment, wont bring with them my fair share of hard times and adversity.I think the most frightening part of of exclusively timeything leading up to my mission lies in the fact that Im not simply sure when those hard times impart leave themselves, nor how they lead present themselves. Joseph B. Wirthlin once compared life to running a marathon. At some rate in the marathon of life, we depart wholly hit the wall, which sr. Wirthlin outlined as feeling a sudden urge to quit, encountering an almost existent barrier that requires a tremendous effort to over pursue.Farewell to Manzanar, written by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Japanese Ameri open fire, and James D. Houston.The harsh reality of life is that we leave behind all hit at least one of these walls at some consign in our lives. So what will from each one of us do when we stand at the base of our possess personal walls? Will we alternate to the involvement and break through and through? Or will we crumble in the vitrine of seemingly insurmountable odds? What we do when we get to these proverbial walls is what will ultimately define us as people. Being one who enjoys the train of history, I have often looked to those who have come before me to bechance the strength I need to press on.I think rough those who have been disowned by their own families because of personal beliefs, the pioneers that crossed the plains despite the harshest of conditions, those families who have invariably sent a loved one overseas in support of the freedom we all hold so dear, and the horrible persecutions suffered by those early members of the church. After esteeming them I think to myself, Do I really have it all that no-good? In sections 121, 122, and 123 of the Doctrine and Covenants, it highlights the revelations tending(p) to Joseph Smith as he was incarcerated at self-sufficiency Jail.It was one of the coldest winters on record in Missouri and they werent given blankets sufficient sufficiency to keep them warm. Their food was often dirty and unclean, sometimes dismantle poisoned. sluice Joseph himself spoke of the jail as a hell surrounded by demons. I doubt most of us here will perpetually have to endure something as extreme as those suffered by the illusionist Joseph and his companions during the winter of 1838-1839. The best example we should all look to when faced with essay times, however, is that of our Savior J esus savior.So great was his suffering that he bled from every(prenominal) pore in Gethsemane. Later, a crown of thorns was placed upon his head and he was severely scourged. So extreme were the events leading up to the actual agony that he couldnt even carry his own cross to Calgary, as was customary. In my studies, Ive come across literature that discusses in gunpoint the medical aspect associated with crucifixion. Crucifixion was arguably the cruelest form of punishment ever devised by man. To sum it all up, those who were crucified suffered through an unequivocal amount of pain.Where do you think the word excruciating comes from? So, I ask again, is it really that bad? The answer is NO. The Son of Man hath descended below them all, (D&C 122 8) and naught that has ever lived or ever will live has suffered as much as He did. No matter what this life throws at us, we keister all find comfort in spanging that there is ceaselessly someone who knows exactly how we feel, becau se Christ suffered for all of that so that we could one day stand before perfection and live with Him again. Some will unceasingly ask Why me? when troubling times come upon them.It is important to remember that only if because trials and tribulations are heaped upon us, it doesnt mean we have somehow strayed from the neat and narrow path. All of the prophets have faced some sort of persecution in their lives. Jesus Christ suffered more than than any other being that has ever lived, even though he was the most worthy individual to have ever walked upon the face of this earth. All of the troubles are simply trials of our faith, and matinee idol will never, ever, put a trial before us that he knows we cannot overcome. He will always provide a way for us to rise above any trial or temptation that may come our way.A true test of our faith can only be measured if we use that faith during the times when things arent going accord to plan. Back in Liberty Jail, the entitle tells Jo seph that all of these trials are for our own benefit, saying If thou art called to pass through tribulationknow thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. (D&C 122 5, 7). In Jackson County, Missouri, the master key tells Joseph that glory follows these trials, For after much tribulation come the blessings (D&C 58 3-4).Adversity exists in the world today to provide the much necessitate contrast that helps us to discern right from wrong, after all, it mustiness be needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. (2 Nephi 2 11). If it werent for pain, we would feel no pleasure. If not for sadness, we could have no joy. Weve all matte up the great sense of accomplishment that accompanies the completion of a large project, even though these projects can be very stressful at times. If life werent hard from time to time, then the fruits of our labors would cease to be sweet.Elder Neal A. Maxwell once counseled that Rather than pass ing through trials, we must stick out trials to pass through us in ways that sanctify us. It isnt enough to merely experience trials, but we must go through them in such a way that we can learn from each individual experience so that we can grow closer to our don in Heaven. I think it is most unfortunate when someone is going through an extended trial and the idea starts to creep into their mind that God no longer rests with them and has ceased to answer their prayers because He doesnt love them anymore.We must always remember that God loves each of us unconditionally and will never abandon any of us. To reassure those who may have doubts, Jeffrey R. Holland provided these excite words, (QuoteChariots of Fire). He will answer your prayers in His own due time. It truly pains Him to put each of us through our own trials, but we must remember that He doesnt put us through them to punish us, He does it because He loves us and knows that this is the only way which we can grow to beco me like Him. When it is all said and done, God just wants us to be happy, for men are, that they might have joy. (2 Nephi 2 25). prexy Monson once counseled that we must find joy in the journey of life. The professional even counseled Joseph Smith of this as he was imprisoned in Liberty Jail, saying Thereforelet us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power and then may we stand still, with the bound assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed. (D&C 123 17). Even during the darkest of times, the Lord still wants all of us to ultimately find happiness. The Lord promises everyone that if we will endure to the end, He will give us eternal life.A common misconception, though, is that enduring to the end means to simply hang in there when trials come our way. Elder Wirthlin sees it as being much more than that. Rather than simply suffering through lifes challenges, he sees it as a process in which we use these challenges to come unto Christ and become pe rfected in Him. If we remain faithful during our own dread circumstances and use them as learning experiences to become more Christ-like, God cannot deny you a spot with Him in the Celestial Kingdom.