Homecoming Talk

Good morning brothers and sisters. It is so good to be back in this amazing ward that I have grown up in my entire life. I am so excited to be able to share some experiences I had on my mission that have changed my life forever. I got back from my mission in Curitiba, Brazil a little over a week ago. My mission passed by in about a blink of an eye. I am so grateful for the challenges and trials I overcame and for all the great people I was able to meet. I know my mission made me a better follower of Christ and my love for the gospel has grown so much. If I could do it again, I would go in a heartbeat. I am glad I had the chance to serve the lord for 18 months to give back a small part of what I could to my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

During my mission I was able to grow closer to my savior and it really changed the person I am and I had the opportunity to see the lives of others change through Christ.

The beginning of my mission was not easy and I know I felt the Savior’s love through every step I took--trusting in him and knowing he was by my side, learning a new language, trying to relate to people and doing the Lord’s will and not mine. I struggled, but it helped me become the person I am today. My mission president told me that it might seem completely dark at the beginning but he promised me that everything would clear up and I would experience the joy. It took awhile for things to become clear but eventually it did through focusing on the people I was teaching and helping those around me follow the example of Christ. I know the atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ wasn’t easy for him, so neither will it be for us.

I remember one of my first days in the field when I was going to appointments with my companion. We were talking to everyone and I was feeling completely lost. We went to part of my area that was not as wealthy and we clapped at the door. A lady came out and she invited us into her small house. Her house was very dirty. There was trash in every corner, dirty dishes, and spiders hanging above us. We started chatting with this lady and my companion was doing like all the talking. I could feel the sadness of the lady and I knew she was not happy but I had no way to express myself to her and I wanted to say something. I remember getting an overwhelming feeling that Heavenly Father loved her so much. We left the house and I was a frustrated that I didn’t say anything. I remember feeling like I just wanted to quit that night and just go back to our home. We then decided to stop at a member’s house and I thought to myself “I don’t think I can do this.” We walked there and my companion got a phone call. The member walked out of her house and invited us in. I was nervous because my companion was on the phone and I would have to talk to the member alone in Portuguese. The member started talking to me and eventually asked where I was from. I told her I was American and was from Utah. To my surprise she started speaking in English. She told me she had lived in the United States for 14 years. At that moment I had never felt a greater relief and so much happiness to just chat in English. I knew at that moment that I couldn’t give up, that I had to keep going and that the Lord was aware of me and was by my side.

I gained a relationship with my Savior Jesus Christ through participating in the sacrament weekly. I realized on my mission how important the sacrament is in my live. Partaking of the sacred sacrament and remembering the covenants that I made with my Heavenly Father and having that specific moment with the Savior was so precious--to look to the front of the chapel and picture the savior’s body resting there and remember everything He did for my investigators and me—Knowing that when he suffered he thought of me. I looked forward every Sunday to have that moment with the Savior. I knew in those times that he knew my name and he knew what I was passing through and he knew what my investigators were experiencing.

I decided to ask a recent convert from one of the areas I served in to share how he grew closer to the Christ. I was so excited to see his change and the love he has for the Savior. Some background on Jimmy is that he was one of the best and one of the hardest investigators I had on the mission. He was well invested in his church and was very curious about our church. We started teaching him, answering all the questions and doubts that he had. Every Sunday he would come to sacrament and then leave to go to his church. He read the book of Mormon every day and we could tell he was really interested in the church of Jesus Christ. He struggled with opening his heart and mind. He was going back and forth between churches. Satan was a big influence in his life telling him it wasn’t for him. It’s amazing to me to see the growth that happened in this young man and how the gospel changed is life. I will share what he wrote to me.

“Having a relationship with Christ is something very incredible that is when we realize that there is something wonderful beyond what we knew.

Sister Erickson and Sister Flora, will always be my first examples of people who showed their spirit to be close and only achieve this relationship with Christ. I always wanted to have what you had and I only reached it when I opened my heart to what you had for my life and sought it with all my heart, but having a relationship takes time and is not easy, but when we seek Christ through prayer and reading the scriptures without realizing our life begins to change and the fruits of the spirit enter our life.

Through Sister Erickson, Sister Flora, Sister Johnson, and Sister Pinheiro’s example I saw that I could have a relationship with Christ and that changed my life completely. There are no words that describe what I feel inside me, but when we have a relationship with Christ we become more like him and this is the desire of Heavenly Father.” Jimmy is now preparing so he can serve a full time mission and help others have a closer relationship with Christ.

One day My companion Sister Tuttle and I had a marked appointment with a potential investigator who we had contacted in the road a couple of days earlier. This girl was in her 20s and she accepted our visits. We had marked for a Tuesday afternoon and Sister Tuttle and I were really looking forward to have a new investigator. The Tuesday came around and we went to her house. She invited us in and we sat down and began to ask her some questions about her life and about her religion. She began telling us that her family is Catholic and that she wasn’t really active in her church and hadn’t been in a while but that her parents were very active. We began teaching her and when we began teaching, her parents walked in. We asked her if it was okay for us to be there and she said it was. Her mom came in the room and asked us who we were and we told her we were missionaries of the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints. We told them we could come back another time and the mom looked at her daughter and asked “Do you want them to come back?’ and she said she yes, but her mom was not having it. She looked at us and said, “I’m sorry but we don’t want you guys to come back.” She gave us this look as if we were complete trash. In this moment my companion and I were really saddened. In this moment I imagined the savior Jesus Christ and the many times that he got rejected and how he must have felt. I immediately thought of Alma and his mission to Ammonihah. When Alma went to preach and everyone rejected him and didn’t want to hear the gospel because they were hard in their hearts. Alma did everything he could to have these people listen. He prayed unto the lord and poured out his spirit. They spit upon him and I want to read chapter 8 : 14-16, 18. Alma was courageous and he went back to the city. Alma is a great example of the trust he has in the lord. If someone told me that I need to return back to that lady’s house and try to preach again let me tell you it would be hard. Alma went back and he did not hesitate, he went back immediately. That day my love for the savior truly grew and I really felt closer to him and knew a little of what he felt. Every time a person rejects the gospel you feel a sorrow so deeply and when someone accepts you feel a happiness that is indescribable.

I had an experience with helping a mom and her daughter come to the waters of baptism. They were struggling and were investigating the church for a while. They had been through all types of things like death of husband and father. Dealing with drugs and with a struggle to support the family. We did all we could to help them through these situations by teaching the principles of the gospel. We worked long and hard to help them see the joy of the gospel and the blessings that come from it. Many times they wanted to give up and just not do it anymore but we did not let that happen. We kept trying and trying and never gave up.

They were reading the book of Mormon everyday and they really knew it was the word of God. We finally were able to mark a date of baptism. It was such a special moment as the spirit filled the room and we knew it was their time. At the day of the baptism, I will never forget when the mom went up to bear her testimony--testifying of the truthfulness of the gospel. She thanked us for not giving up on her and expressed how she was so grateful. She talked about how the book of Mormon changed her life and how she wanted to share it will everyone at her work. Later after I was transferred her husband was baptized. What a joy it is to help a family come unto Christ. I know they truly felt so close to the Savior and I know that they passed through things I couldn’t even have imagined. They changed their lives completely. With the help of the wonderful ward where I served and with the support of all the members they were able to feel the love of the Lord and became members of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day-saints. Seeing things like this on my mission made me love the gospel so much and to know how true it really is. Serving people and helping them make the necessary changes in their lives is a beautiful thing.

My mission president challenged us to find the jewels of the book of Mormon. Which means we had to find truths about the Savior in the book of Mormon and write down phrases. This experience really helped me learn so much about the Savior and the love I have for the book of Mormon--to really know it is the word of God and that it was written by true prophets and that the revelation is key and we continue to receive revelation today. How important it is to find the jewels about the Savior. Every page contains so many jewels about him. I know the book of Mormon testifies of him. I learned to know my Savior very well on my mission. I had to put my complete faith in him and that he was always there to help me through the ups and the downs. I learned that he really did die for our sins but that he also understands me. He knows me by name and that he never gave up.

All these experiences I will cherish forever. I know every single day I will continue to get to know the savior even more. Experiences like this don’t happen every day. Through all my mission I believe I was my biggest

convert. Every day we can grow closer to our savior by reading the scriptures and praying daily can help bring personal revelation.

I would like to bear my testimony that I know this gospel is true. I know that everyone of us needs to gain a relationship with Jesus Christ to really understand the atoning sacrifice. I know that through my mission I was able to help people change their lives through the savior Jesus Christ. I know our savior understands us and knows what we are going through at all times. I know through the sacrament that we can come closer to him and remember our covenants that we made at baptism and that every week we can start over. What a joy it is to be a part of this amazing gospel and to have the chance I had on my mission to learn more about myself and to strengthen my testimony of the gospel. I know the book of Mormon is the word of god because of a simple question that a young boy had. We have the restored gospel upon the earth with a living prophet who guides us. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ amen.