Yesterday I gave my farewell talk and said goodbye to some dear friends! But it's not goodbye! Its just see ya later:)
My mom put together a big Open House yesterday with yummy food and friendly faces.
It was wonderful.
I am so thankful for all of the wonderful people who have supported me in my decision to serve the Lord in Russia.
here is a copy of my talk for some of my friends who wanted to hear but couldnt make it.
In April I was called to serve in the Russia
Moscow Mission and I report this Wednesday.
I was asked to speak on two topics today: How I decided to serve a
mission, and Elder Eyring’s talk: “Mountains to Climb.”
I wasn’t one of the first women who called their student
ward bishops during general conference to make appointments to start their mission
papers like a lot of the girls in my ward and stake did when they heard they
could go at 19, but I was influenced
by the new age change announcement. When
I heard that sisters could now serve younger I thought of a few of my friends
who have planned on serving a mission at 21 ever since they were beehives and I
was so excited for them! My initial
thought was “That’s
wonderful for those that want to, but I don’t think a mission is for me.” And
that was that. I didn’t think about it
again for probably another month and a half. Then thoughts about going on a
mission started creeping in, and being the analyzer that I am, I started making
pro con lists. The pro side overflowed immediately
and the few things that were on the con side were so worldly and minuscule that
they really didn’t even matter.
I remember sitting in my dorm one night and I
received a prompting to just pray about it.
When I did, I felt so much peace about it. I wanted to really make sure it was right so
I fasted about it and once again I felt that peace and I knew I was going to go
on a mission. Doctrine and Covenants 4:3
states that if ye have desires to serve God, ye are called to the work. I didn’t know that I had a desire until I
asked my Heavenly Father if it was part of the plan for me. And once I felt that it was, my desire to
serve has continued to grow. Since then
I have had so many reminders and confirmations that I was making the right
decision.
Right before I got my call I thought please don’t let me
go somewhere too crazy. Please don’t be Japan because that language is so
intimidating! As soon as I opened my call and saw “Russia,” an overwhelming
peace wrapped around me and I knew that even though it was be incredibly hard,
just like Japan would have been, it is the place I need to be. There may be only one person in the Moscow
area that I talk to who will be touched by the Spirit only because of the way
that I invited it. Even that is enough
comfort and confirmation of God’s plan for me.
Ammon testifies of the Father’s plan and love for all of His children in
Alma 26:37: “Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever
land they may be in; yea He numbereth His people, and His bowels of mercy are
over all of the Earth.”
Henry B. Eyring shared a story in his talk: “Mountains to Climb,” that stood out to me, and
he followed by giving his inspired counsel on building sufficient faith to
endure our hardships or mountains:
“I
have visited with a woman who received the miracle of sufficient strength to
endure unimaginable losses with just the simple capacity to repeat endlessly
the words “I know that my Redeemer lives.”9 That faith and those words of
testimony were still there in the mist that obscured but did not erase memories
of her childhood.”
“I
was stunned to learn that another woman had forgiven a person who had wronged
her for years. I was surprised and asked her why she had chosen to forgive and
forget so many years of spiteful abuse.
She
said quietly, “It was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I just knew I had
to do it. So I did.” Her faith that the Savior would forgive her if she forgave
others prepared her with a feeling of peace and hope as she faced death just
months after she had forgiven her unrepentant adversary.
She
asked me, “When I get there, how will it be in heaven?”
And
I said, “I know just from what I have seen of your capacity to exercise faith
and to forgive that it will be a wonderful homecoming for you.”
I
have another encouragement to those who now wonder if their faith in Jesus
Christ will be sufficient for them to endure well to the end. I was blessed to
have known others of you who are listening now when you were younger, vibrant,
gifted beyond most of those around you, yet you chose to do what the Savior
would have done. Out of your abundance you found ways to help and care for
those you might have ignored or looked down upon from your place in life.
When
hard trials come, the faith to endure them well will be there, built as you may
now notice but may have not at the time that you acted on the pure love of
Christ, serving and forgiving others as the Savior would have done. You built a
foundation of faith from loving as the Savior loved and serving for Him. Your
faith in Him led to acts of charity that will bring you hope.
It
is never too late to strengthen the foundation of faith. There is always time.
With faith in the Savior, you can repent and plead for forgiveness. There is someone you can forgive. There is someone you can thank. There
is someone you can serve and lift. You can do it wherever you are and however
alone and deserted you may feel.
Elder Erying emphasized how we can build our faith while climbing
those figurative mountains. It is not
enough to just have faith—to just believe.
But we have to act on our faith in order to progress and build more. He
counsels us to serve others, forgive others, have a more grateful attitude,
lift up those around you, and be aware of the spirit in your life—seek and act
on prompting from the Spirit.
I gave a short lesson on faith for Family Home Evening
last week. I shared with them Ether 12:6
“I would
show unto you that faith is things hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute
not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your
faith.” We can’t receive signs to
gain faith, we have to gain faith to
receive signs, or witnesses. Because of
this, it can be extremely hard to put all of our trust in God and truly believe
that all will be okay. I got some teabags, emptied one out and ripped it in
half and asked one of the kids to hold out their hand as I stood up the teabag
on their hand. I then pulled out a
lighter and told them to have faith and trust that if they don’t move their
hand—if they endure to the end—all would be okay. They questioned me and
doubted and I reminded them to apply it to the lesson. Have faith. Know that I would not have you do
anything that you couldn’t handle. Dispute not because you don’t understand why
I would do this. I lit the top of the bag on fire and the flame moved down the
bag closer to the hand. Their eyes widened as they felt the warmth from the
flame. Right before the flame touched
their hand, the flame went out and the ash outline of the bag floated up to the
ceiling and they were not hurt.
It is crucial that we continue to build a strong,
unshakable foundation of faith so that when hard things come, we will be able
to endure them, and not fall. Helaman
5:12 is a common scripture on trials, and one of my favorites: “And now my
sons, Remember, remember, that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is
Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation, that when the devil
shall send forth his mighty winds, yea his shafts in the whirlwind, yea when
all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power
over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the
rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon
if men build, they cannot fall.” When the devil shall send his winds, and hail,
and they beat on you. NOT IF. WHEN.
Because time of trial will come, but I testify that as we continue to
build our foundations of faith in Jesus Christ we will be able to stand firm,
and the devil will have no power over us to cause us to doubt, deny, or
murmur. If our foundations are sure, we
will show the devil that we cannot be shaken.
And we will show our Father our great love for Him by choosing to build
such a foundation.
When I was in Young Womens I was taught that trials have
3 sources. 1. We can obviously bring
them upon ourselves by the mistakes and sins we have committed. 2. They can
come from our loving Heavenly Father to test our faith, and 3. The scriptures
like Helaman 5:12 say that they can come from Satan. Throughout my teenage years, while going
through hard times I would find myself asking, “Where is this trial coming
from? Why is this bad thing happening to me?” Sometimes I could rule out one
thing or another, but a burning question that I’ve had is “How can I know if a
trial is from God or Satan?” I’m not sure that the question was that important
but It wasn’t until very recently that I received an answer to my question.
This past month
while being home between school and leaving for the mission I have grown more
and more anxious and nervous and fighting to stay motivated and productive. I thought to myself, “This language is too hard. What if I
haven’t prepared enough for the MTC? What if I can’t seem to grasp the language
as quickly as the rest of my district?” and so on. I soon began to ask myself and the Lord, “Is this trial of
nervousness, stress, and lack of motivation from thee? Or the adversary?” I knew that fear comes from the devil,
not from God. But I wasn’t scared. I was
just being eaten up by my own nerves. “Was it Heavenly
Father testing my faith to make me stronger? Or was it Satan trying to
discourage me and make me stay?”
When I received my answer I was at peace. There was no reason for me to be nervous
anymore. The Spirit whispered to me, “Emily, does it
really matter where this trial is coming from? Just endure to the end. Push
through it. Embrace it and work your
very hardest to be the best you can be.
Then, you will show the adversary that you aren’t giving up. You will show him that nothing he can do will
stop you from serving and that he isn’t going to win. And, you will prove to
your Heavenly Father that you have the faith and the courage to press on.” Whether
they come from Satan or the Father, it does not matter. Just as long as you keep the faith required
to stay on the path. Challenges and
trials come to us for good—to guide the plans our Heavenly Father has for each
of us individually, to make us stronger, and to prepare us for entering the
presence of God. Elder Eyring’s mother
battled cancer for 10 years. After her
passing, president Kimball spoke at her funeral saying: “Some of you may
have thought that Mildred suffered so long and so much because of something she
had done wrong that required the trials. No, it was that God just wanted her to
be polished a little more.” Elder Erying thought: “If a woman that
good needed that much polishing, what is ahead for me?” We all need
“just a little more polishing. Some of us, like myself may need a lot more
polishing and refining. “He refines us. He
chooses us in the furnace of our afflictions and refines and polishes us.”
I love the scriptures
because we can relate to them so well.
They were written for our time and Heavenly Father knew we would need
them, not only to be educated in them, but also to help us in our times of
need. Alma 36:3 says: “And now, O my
son Helaman, behold thou art in thy youth, and therefore I beseech of thee that
thou wilt here my words and learn of me; for I do know that whosoever shall put
their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and
their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day.” At the end
of the chapter, in verse 27, we see that that Lord keeps his promises. “And I have
been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner
of afflictions; yea, God has delivered me from prison, and from bonds, and from
death; yea, and I do put my trust in Him, and He will still deliver me.” He was supported in his trials just as He was
promised He would be. We too will be
supported in our trials and this will build our faith in Christ.
Dr. Seuss has written many very profound and inspiring things such as: “Dum ditty. Dum ditty. Dum, Dum,
Dum. Hand in hand, more monkeys come.” And, “A yawning yellow yak. Young Yolanda
Yorgenson is yelling on his back.”
But of the MORE profound he wrote this: “You’re off to great places, today
is your day. Your mountain is waiting,
so get on your way.” I know that while we are suffering in a trial it
feels like, “How could this be the plan!?” But I know that it is. Heavenly Father’s plan for us is to learn,
and grow and experience joys and happiness.
But how can we learn and grow and experience happiness unless we know
what the opposites feel like. Doctrine
and Covenants 29:39 says about opposition: “And it must needs be that the devil should tempt
the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they
never should have the bitter, they could not know the sweet.” Heavenly
Father knows what mountains we will have to climb, as small as a hill and as
large as Mt. Everest. But something he
assures us is that he will never give us something too hard for us to overcome
and He will never forsake us. When you
are struggling, scaling Hardship Peak, or hiking through Tribulation Mountain
Range, as long as you keep going, keep enduring, keep pushing forward with
faith in Christ, you will reach the top and your burdens will become
light.
Your Mountain is Waiting so Get on Your Way
I know these
things to be true. I know that God is mindful of all of
His children and though He
hates to see us suffering He knows that trials and challenges are
necessary for our growth. I know that we
can overcome our hardships through the atonement of Jesus Christ. He not only suffered for the sins of the world but He suffered our
sorrows, pains, heartaches and breaks, and afflictions. I know that my Redeemer lives and I am so grateful for the sacrifice
he made for me. I know that Joseph Smith was a
prophet of God and that through Christ was able to restore the true church back
to the Earth. I am so thankful for the
courage he had to stand up for Jesus Christ and I am thankful for the many sacrifices that
he made so that this church could continue.
I love my family
so much and I am so thankful for their support to serve a mission. I’m so excited to serve. I love the people in Moscow already and I can’t wait to share
the wonderful message with them! I know this church is true and I am so
privileged and blessed to know the truth. I leave these things with you in the name of
Jesus Christ, Amen.
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| Tenesia flew from Idaho to come see me!!! I am so thankful she did that! We had a great time together and Im going to miss her a lot! She is going to be a great missionary! |
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| Friends from Sahuarita! |
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| Grandma and Papa Downing came from Utah! Thanks so much for being there:) Love you |
This is it! It is the beginning of a new
adventure. I get set apart as a missionary Tuesday at 8:30. That's
tomorrow!!!! Then I leave Wednesday morning.
I love you all! Thank you so much for all of your support:)
Take care
