My Farewell Talk
Good morning everyone! For
those of you who don’t know me, my name is Megan Williams. I left for Snow
College right before the ward boundaries changed so I’ve only been back in this
ward for this past month. I’ll start off by telling you all a bit about the
mission I’m going to. The North Dakota Bismarck Mission is the largest mission,
land-wise, in the continental US. It includes all of North and South
Dakota, and parts of Montana, Nebraska, and Minnesota. Most of the areas are
very rural, and the only temple in my mission boundaries is the Bismarck, North
Dakota temple which was dedicated the same year that I was born. Another fact
about my mission that is probably more commonly known is that it is one of the
coldest places in the United States… which should be interesting since I’m not
a huge fan of the cold. My hope is that by the time I get back I will be more
accustomed to it.
I couldn’t be more excited to serve this mission in North
Dakota despite the cold. I’ve been planning on going on a mission for a long
time and the more I’ve learned about it the more excited I am to go. I’m so
grateful for this opportunity I have to speak before I leave. All of my family
and friends who came today to hear my talk it means so much to me that you are here,
I’m truly grateful for all of you.
The
topic that I have been given to speak on today is in Mathew 6:33 it says “Seek
ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall
be added unto you.” What this scripture means to me is if we are just willing
to seek God out in our lives we will feel the blessings that come from it. An
example of someone who did this in the scriptures is Enos. His experience is
not unlike what many of us in the church have experienced ourselves. Enos said
in verse 2-6: “I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I
received a remission of my sins. Behold,
I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my
father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into
my heart. And my soul hungered;
and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication
for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high
that it reached the heavens. And there
came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed. And I, Enos,
knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.”
When I read that scripture I think I
know how Enos felt. There are times in life where you either make a mistake and
feel terrible about it or maybe something really hard is happening in your life
like the death of a loved one. There are a great many things that happen in
life that make us feel hopeless or sad. Like Enos put it there are times when
your soul hungers… it hungers for joy and peace and love. Like Enos when I’ve
felt that way in my life I prayed too. I can bare my personal witness that when
you pray to Heavenly Father with a sincere heart he will listen to you and he
will help you with whatever it is you may be going through. It isn’t always in
the way you want or expect, but he loves us and he wants to help us. All we
have to do is let him.
The
Lord answered Enos’s prayer by giving him peace and comfort. The very first
thing Enos said after hearing the voice of the Lord is: “Now, it came to pass
that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of
my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for
them.” This is a common thing in the scriptures and today. Often times when
someone has this feeling of joy and peace that comes from God they have the
strong desire to share it with others. It reminds me of a story that Elder
Bednar shared in General conference. I will read it to you.
“One
evening Susan and I stood near a window in our home and watched two of our
little boys playing outside. During the course of their adventures, the younger
of the two boys fell and scratched his arm. We quickly recognized that he was
not seriously hurt, and we decided not to provide immediate assistance. We
wanted to observe and see if any of our family discussions about brotherly
kindness had sunk in. What happened next was both interesting and instructive.
The older brother consoled and carefully helped
the younger brother back into the house. The older brother dragged a chair to
the kitchen sink. He climbed up and turned on the water, and then poured and
scrubbed soap onto the scratched arm of his little brother. After the scrubbing
was finished, the arm was carefully dried with a towel. Eventually his crying
and screaming stopped. The older brother next climbed up onto the kitchen
counter, opened a cabinet, and found a new tube of medicated ointment. Though
the scratches on his little brother were not large or extensive, the older
brother applied almost all of the ointment in the tube to the entire injured
arm. The screaming did not resume, as the little brother clearly liked the
soothing effect of the ointment much more than he appreciated the cleansing
effect of the dishwashing soap.
The older brother returned again to the cabinet
in which he had found the ointment and located a new box of sterile bandages.
He then unwrapped and put bandages all up and down his brother’s arm—from the
wrist to the elbow. With the emergency resolved, and with soap bubbles,
ointment, and wrappers all over the kitchen, the two little boys hopped down
from the chair with bright smiles and happy faces.
What happened next is most important. The
injured brother gathered up the remaining bandages and the almost empty tube of
ointment, and he went back outside. He quickly sought out his friends and began
to put ointment and bandages on their arms. Susan and I both were struck by the
sincerity and enthusiasm of his response.
Why did that little boy do what he did? Please
note that he immediately and intuitively wanted to give to his friends the very
thing that had helped him when he was hurt. That little boy did not have to be
urged, challenged, prompted, or goaded to act. His desire to share was the
natural consequence of a most helpful and beneficial personal experience.”
It’s
human nature to want to share with others what has helped us or brought us
happiness. The time in my life when I decided that I was going to serve a
mission was when I was about 13 years old. I had decided to read the Book of
Mormon all the way through for myself. I had read bits and pieces before, but I
wanted to know for myself that it was true. The point when I knew that I wanted
to serve a mission was when I was reading in Mosiah chapter 28 The sons of
Mosiah went to their father the king and asked him if they could leave and teach
the people in all the lands surrounding them about the Lord and his goodness.
In verse three it says “Now they were desirous that salvation
should be declared to every creature, for they could
not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that
any soul should endure endless torment
did cause them to quake and tremble.” When I read that verse I thought
about how I could make a difference in someone’s life of whether they feel
happiness or sorrow, not just in this life, but in the life to come. When I
think about the difference the church has made in my life it has brought me
more joy and happiness than I can express with words. Knowing that I have the
ability to bring that same joy into someone else’s life made me quake and
tremble down to my core. I felt that same desire that Elder Bednar’s little
boy’s, and Enos, and countless others have felt to share what has brought me
joy and peace to anyone and everyone that I am able to.
I
have an experience that I would like to share that also helped me decide that I
want to go on a mission. I was 14 years old and it was the summer before 10th
grade. My mom and my stepdad mike and I were on a trip to hike around Bryce
Canyon for a few days. On one particular hike I saw a couple who were about in
their 40’s or so and I had this thought pop into my head that I should go talk
to them. Then I thought no that sounds weird and awkward what would I even talk
to them about? So I dismissed the thought and kept going. A few hours later we
left that trail and drove to a different part of the canyon. On a different
hike I saw the same couple and had the same strong impression come to my mind
that I should talk to them. I kept wanting to put it aside, but I couldn’t stop
thinking I should try talking to them. So finally I got up my nerve, and went
up to them and just said hi. They said hello and we talked for a second and
then they hiked ahead of us. After they left I thought well that was weird why
did I feel so strongly that I needed to talk to them when nothing happened.
Later that day I saw them hiking a third time! And got the same thought to go
talk to them. So I did even though I didn’t know why. This time I started
hiking alongside them as we talked. We just talked about casual things like
where we were from and our families. After a while when I said that I was from
Utah it came up that I am a Mormon. They were from Missouri and they started
asking me questions about the church, and I answered them. I kept having things
pop into my mind of what I should talk to them about. It seemed like everything
I talked about were related to things they had wondered about in their own
religion. We ended up talking for hours. When we got to the top of the hike
where our cars were we sat on a bench and continued to talk. After a while some
tourists started to sit in and listen to what I was teaching about the gospel.
After talking to them for a long while the man and his wife told me that they
felt like God had inspired them to go on those hikes so that they would meet me
and be able to talk with me about the church. I don’t know for sure what
happened with them after that day I don’t know if they were baptized into this
church or not. However I do know that that day I felt happier than I ever had
before. I was so happy that I had one of those smiles that you can’t stop even
if you try to and it starts to hurt your face a little bit. I felt so much joy
because I saw in those people the same joy that I had experienced from the
gospel in my own life. Seeing that joy in them made me happier than I had ever
felt before.
The
reason I am going on this mission is so that I can give to others the same
peace and happiness that the gospel has brought to my life. I want to share my
testimony with you that I have felt the divine love of Heavenly Father many
times I know that he loves me and I cannot deny it. He will always be there for
us to lift up our burdens and comfort us. If we put our trust in God He will
support us in our trials, troubles, and afflictions. We are sons and daughters
of the Almighty God. There is quote by Jeffrey R Holland that says “However
late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however
many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or
however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify
that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible
for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” I
know that this is true. I have felt it in my life. I believe with all my heart
that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the restored Gospel on
the earth today. I believe that Joseph smith was a true prophet who was called
of God. And the Book of Mormon is the true word of the Lord. I am so grateful
for this opportunity that I have to go serve a mission and share what I have learned
with others. I love you all so much and I leave this testimony with you today in
the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
