Good Afternoon Brothers and Sisters! Although I have previously moved out of the ward, I was asked if I would come back and give a farewell considering this is where I have spent the past 4 years, but more importantly where I started my mission papers and received my mission call. I have been called to serve in the Norway Oslo Mission and I report to the Provo MTC July 6th. That's only 23 days from now but who's counting! I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to preach the gospel to the people of Norway and tell them about all the happiness that lies in it!
I have been asked to speak on Elder Quentin L. Cook's most recent general conference talk titled, "See Yourself in the Temple." So to begin my talk, I want you to start thinking of everything that you believe that the temple stands for or symbolizes. Some words or phrases that you may be thinking of is a beacon of light, safehaven, hope, love of God, etc. So how do we begin to exemplify these truths and attributes and do as Elder Cook quoted in his talk, "Establish the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of our membership." As I pondered this, I came up with three simple words that would not only lead us to the temple, but would continually bring us back. See, Seek, and Serve.
First, See Yourself in the Temple. When I was 13 years old, I had the opportunity to visit the Young Women General President at the time, Sister Elaine S. Dalton, with my family and a close friend. After settling in her office for a little while, she pointed out a sculpture that stood on her desk whose name is Kristina. This sculpture was a replica of the original sculpture that stands on a pier in Copenhagen, Denmark. The sculpture is positioned so that she is looking out over the sea towards Zion. She had made the decision to join the church and travel with her family to Utah. While on the journey, Kristina's only brother passed away along with a few others. Kristina now stands to represent the 20,000 Danish Latter-Day Saints that traveled to America. Although it certainly wasn't an easy path, she didn't waiver in her choice to stand for what was right. Because she kept her eyes towards Zion, she was able to pass through the roadblocks that she had standing in her way. Soon after Sister Dalton had told us this story, she took me to a large window overlooking the Salt Lake Temple. She let me look at it in silence for a minute and then she said, "Promise me that you won't let anyone or anything stop you from getting there." So what does it mean to see yourself in the temple? It means to live like you would as if you've already been within its walls. It means to make the commitment that you will be at the temple, in the temple and of the temple. Likewise with Kristina and Zion, she lived as if she had already been to Zion. She didn't need to get there before she realized what she needed to do and who she needed to become. Neither do we, our Heavenly Father will prepare and shape us if only we give our best effort. As Elder Gary E. Stevenson said, "You are never lost when you can see the temple." But along with that, you are never lost if you can see yourself in the temple.
Next, Seek for the Temple. When I was a Mia Maid in Young Women's we had planned for all of us and our moms to walk from Saratoga Springs to the Mount Tiimpanogos Temple. The distance between these two points is 12.8 miles and it is estimated to take 25 to get there in a car. So, we were prepared for it to take a while. My mom and I had good running shoes, water, and granola bars and then we were off. We began walking. We had a pretty good pace and before we knew it we were down on Lehi Main Street. By this time we were getting a little tired and started snacking on our granola bars, but we kept up our pace and kept on walking. After a little bit more walking we passed into American Fork and were soon in a neighborhood. We thought we knew where we were going, but quickly discovered that we were lost and had turned down the wrong road. We would walk to the end of the road and look for the Angel Moroni. We would then walk to what we thought would get us closer, and the looked for the Angel Moroni once again. We repeated these steps until we found ourselves at the bottom of a large hill. We began walking up the hill and the blisters I didn't know were there earlier were making their presence known. I wasn't sure I would be finishing the temple walk with both shoes on, but sure enough we kept on trudging along and finally made it. Now, the reason I tell you this is because we need to be prepared to make our trek to the temple. We may not need water and granola bars to get there, but we need to live as directed in Ephesians 6: 11-18
"11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done it all, to stand
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints."
We live in the middle of a battle field and we're going to get our blisters and wounds. But we can't afford to sit down and take a break, or to simply slow down. We need to seek. But we need to seek with diligence, with perseverance, and with faith. Seek to get to the temple, seek to visit often. President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "I know your lives are busy. I know you have much to do. But I make a promise that if you will go to the house of the Lord, you will be blessed. Life will be better for you."
Last, we need to Serve in the Temple. Quentin L. Cook exhorts us to continually strive to become Saviors on Mount Zion. Now, what does that exactly mean? In D&C 86:11 it reads,
"11 Therefore, blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people Israel."
Now we may be asking ourselves whom we are to be Saviors to? In D&C 125;15 it states,
"15 And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers-that they without us cannot be made perfect-neither can we without our dead be made perfect."
About 2 years ago, my family took a vacation to Southern California which is where my dad is originally from. Adding to that, my dad is a convert to the church so finding genealogy records from my dad's side of the family can be difficult at times, so as part of our family vacation we were going to go to a cemetery down in Englewood where my great grandparents had been buried in order to find birth dates, locations, etc. When we arrived at the cemetery we found information that we had been looking for for years plus a couple of other family members that we didn't know were buried in the same cemetery. We had finally added another piece to the puzzle but now we were stuck on the next generation. We had not the slightest clue of birth dates, locations, death dates, or anything else that might've been able to help us find my great great grandparents. Time went on and I didn't think much of it until I had been reading a talk by Richard G. Scott about family history work. I had the impression that I should work on my family history, I brushed it off at first thinking about all the papers and the binder I would have to pull out and kep on reading instead. I then received the impression again so I got up and started looking. I tried searching for my great great grandparents even though I had no information that could possibly be a starting point. I starting adding and subtracting death years and simply trying to find a number I could start with. After a little while of searching with what information I could come up with, I finally found him. I had found my great great grandpa. I was very excited to say the least but after a lit bit of clicking, I found my great great grandma and all their children, which led to their children's children and son on. We had been looking for this information for years, and because of a simple prompting I was led to more family member that I ever thought I would be able to find. So serve in the temple and serve for the temple. Whether it be performing ordinances for family names you have found or indexing names or following a small prompting, do them! You will be blessed beyond measure as you bring our brothers and sisters who have passed on, to Christ. Elder Cook said, "Occasionally in the temple the veil between us and those on the other side becomes very thin. We get additional assistance in our efforts to be saviors on Mount Zion." How could we possibly push aside this great call when we have our ancestors not only cheering for us on the other side but offering all the help they can give? We have a responsibility to not only complete the ordinances for ourselves, but to complete those ordinances for anyone and everyone who has passed on. We are the Lord's hands here on earth and just like M. Russell Ballard said, "It is impossible to fail when you do your best when you are on the Lord's errand."
I want to close my talk with a poem that has been read in two farewells of my close friends.
I had been in that hole for a very long time-
In the dark and the damp, in the cold and the slime.
The shaft was above me, I saw it quite clear,
But there's no way I could reach it from here.
I could not remember the world way up there,
So I lost every hope and gave in to despair.
I knew nothing but darkness, the floor, and the wall.
Then from off in the distance, I heard someone call
"Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter!
Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder!"
This was a thought that had not crossed my mind,
But I started to stack all the stones I could find.
When I ran out of stones, then old sticks were my goal.
I soon had a ladder that stood very tall,
And I thought, "I'll soon leave this place once and for all!"
I climbed up the ladder, but soon had to stop,
For my ladder stopped short, some ten feet from the top.
I went back down the ladder and felt all around,
But there were no more boulders nor sticks to be found
I sat down in the darkness and started to cry
I'd done all that I could do and I gave my best try
But in spite of my work, in this hole I must die.
And all I could do was to sit and think, "Why?"
Was my ladder too short? Was my hole much too deep?
Then from way up on high came a voice, "Do not weep."
And then faith, hope, and love entered into my chest
As the voice calmly told me that I'd done my best.
He said, " You have worked very hard, and your labor's been rough,
But the ladder you've built is at last all enough.
So do not despair, there is reason to hope,
Just climb up on your ladder, "I'll throw down my rope."
I climbed up the ladder, then climbed up the cord
When I got to the top of it there stood the Lord
I'd never been happier, my struggle was done
I blinked in the brightness that came from the Son.
I fell to the ground as His feet I did kiss
I cried, "Lord, can I ever repay Thee for this?"
He looked all about. There were holes in the ground.
They and people inside were seen all around.
There were thousands of holes that were damp, dark, and deep
Then the Lord looked at me and He said, "Feed my sheep."
And He went on His way to save other lost souls.
So I got right to work, calling down to the holes,
"Get up! Get ready! There's nothing the matter!
Take rocks and take sticks and build up a fine ladder!"
It was now my calling to spread the good word,
The most glorious message that man ever heard,
That there is one who is coming to save one and all,
And we need to be ready when He gives the call.
He'll put us all out of the holes that we're in
And save all our souls from the cold death and from sin
So do not lose faith, there is reason to hope.
Just climb up the ladder; He'll throw down His rope.
It is our turn to spread this gospel-through temple work. Spread this gospel to all of those around you, but do not forget about those who went before you. Many of them are stuck in a deep hole in the ground and they're waiting for you to rescue them. Do not let them stay in darkness, show them the light.
It is now my turn to go and spread this glorious message to the people of Norway. A piece of my heart already lies there and with the people. This gospel has blessed my life in more ways than I can count and I'm incredibly grateful that I have a chance to be a missionary and to be on the Lord's errand. The people of Norway need me and I'm ready to rescue.
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