Yem Long! Jao! Sabaai-dii! Mao zhong! Namasté! Sat siri akaal! Hola! Talofa! Malo e lelei! Buh-la! Nee-how! Yawk-way! Sa-wat dee! Chum ree-uhp soo-uh! Zdravst-vwee-tye! (Sign it!) Hello!
I just wanted to start off with the greetings I used on my mission. I never really got down the right tones… but most people would understand me… or just appreciate the fact that I tried. The hardest part was remembering which one went with which culture.
As you might have noticed I’m back a little early from my mission. As announced, I am back on a medical release due to an ongoing headache. I got a headache while sitting in church the first week in California and it hasn’t stopped. I went to multiple doctors in the field but as my headache progressed, my Mission President and I came to a mutual conclusion that coming home would be better for my headache and we wouldn’t have to cut through as much red tape to get treatment. Since I’ve been back I’ve been to multiple specialists and we’re working on it.
Well, today, I have been asked to speak about the first part of my mission.
I absolutely love California! Everyone asks me what I liked about California and probably the first thing that comes to mind is the diversity! We had people from everywhere! I met people from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Burma, China, Nigeria, Mexico, Russia, Tonga, Samoa, and many, many others… as you can probably tell from those greetings.
And not only were the people diverse, the missionaries were diverse as well! We had missionaries from all over the place! Some were from Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Kiwanis, Japan, South Korea, Mainland China(!), Australia, France, and even Canada! It was awesome to be able to interact with all these people from different places and learn a little bit about their cultures.
Now, I wanted to talk a little bit about Preach My Gospel. Preach My Gospel is an amazing resource for not only missionaries, but for members as well! It is filled with inspired content.
Elder Richard G. Scott said of Preach my Gospel: “Intensive effort on the part of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve, other General Authorities, and most capable teams of devoted, experienced staff members produced Preach My Gospel and its planning tools. Those who participated in its development are witnesses of the inspired direction of the Lord through the Holy Ghost in the conception, framing, and finalization of the materials in Preach My Gospel.”
Obviously there was some major thought put into this resource. And if we take advantage of it, we will be blessed.
I use Preach My Gospel everyday while studying. Throughout the book, it has little boxes that interject between small sections or at the end of chapters. These boxes have little commentaries about what you just read, have a few scriptures that go along with the material you’re studying, or little activities that help relate the principles to you. At first, I skipped these boxes and continued reading, thinking these boxes would only slow me down or get me wandering off on something I had no intention of studying that day. As I entered the mission field, my MTC teachers emphasized the importance of these boxes. So I began reading and following the little boxes council. It has helped me gain a better understanding of the principles of the gospel and feel like I was studying not what was planned necessarily, but what I was supposed to be studying in order to help me in my life and calling.
Now, probably my favorite chapter of Preach My Gospel is chapter six. Chapter six highlights Christlike Attributes and how we can develop them. I’d like to go through these and how my mission has helped me come closer to developing these.
First one I’d like to talk about is hope. Hope is an abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promises to you. It is through hope that we can have confidence, optimism, enthusiasm, and perseverance. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said lf hope: “Being blessed with hope, let us, as disciples, reach out to all who, for whatever reason, have ‘moved away from the hope of the gospel’ (Col. 1:23). Let us reach to lift hands which hang hopelessly down.” Hope is definitely required for a mission, but I think it’s equally important to have hope in everyday life. James E. Faust taught that, “Hope is the anchor of our souls.” On my mission we learned to hope for everything. We knew, as it says in Luke 1:37, “For with God, nothing shall be impossible.”
Next is knowledge. In Doctrine and Covenants 88 the Lord commanded, “Seek learning, even by study and also by faith.” And he also warned that, “It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance.” I took that to heart and studied! I started my studying habit before my mission and it made it easier to study once I was out in the field. I kind of already talked about studying, however, I truly believe daily study is very important. There were many times that I would be asked questions about the very topic I had studied that day or experiences that had been challenging but my daily study gave me a bank of knowledge that I was able to draw upon to get me through certain things.
Next I want to cover is patience. I’ve always been taught that “patience is a virtue.” But I’ve really been tested on this principle with my headache, so it’s good that they put this principle in here so I could continue to work on it. President Thomas S. Monson said, “Life is full of difficulties, some minor and others of a more serious nature. There seems to be an unending supply of challenges for one and all. Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required.” And while it’s important to have patience for others, you need to have patience with yourself. My companion kept drilling into my head that missionaries don’t come out to the field perfect with everything we need to convert people. So don’t expect that out of yourself. You have to have patience, do your best, and rely on the spirit for the rest.
I guess that leads me into faith. Faith is definitely important as a missionary, particularly faith in Jesus Christ. Having faith means we believe that he is the Son of God and we accept him as our Savior and Redeemer and that through him our sins may be forgiven. That we trust him and are confident he loves us. Faith leads us to action, including repentance, obedience, and dedicated service.
While in California I lived with two other missionaries. They were called to speak Lao but once they arrived in Sacramento, they learned that they would be speaking Mienh instead. They are the only Mienh speaking missionaries in the world. They have no pamphlets and no pass-along cards in Mienh. Even the Book of Mormon has not been translated into Mienh yet. Which means the Mienh members of the Florin ward have joined solely on faith. Faith in the missionaries that have taught them and faith that what the spirit has witnessed to them is true. That would be very difficult! I can’t imagine doing what they are doing. One of the members bore their testimony, while an Elder translated, of the truthfulness of the gospel including the Book of Mormon. She admitted she had never read it, for obvious reasons, but she talked about how if Joseph Smith was a true prophet, as she believes then surely the Book of Mormon is true. How amazing is their faith!
On another occasion a Lao woman from Utah was tracting with the Mienh Elders. They came to one house that had a fence around their property. The Elders began to hop the fence. This startled the Lao woman and she asked, “What are you doing?!” They explained how they didn’t like skipping any houses and she was very thoughtful for a moment. Finally she said, “Let’s pray.” Right there she folded her arms and bowed her head. After a moment she looked up and said… “Let’s go.” The faith of that woman was amazing!
Faith is a principle of power. God works by power, but His power is usually exercised in response to faith. Our faith grows as we become better acquainted with Him and His teachings. As we explore the scriptures and search them, we learn of His ways, His love for all people, and His commandments.
Now for diligence. Diligence is steady, consistent, earnest, and energetic effort in doing the Lord’s work.
In Sacramento we had received a media referral for this woman. We called her and set up an appointment to teach her. She didn’t show. We called again. She apologized and so we tried again. She didn’t show a second time. Well we tried a third time and she didn’t show. Finally on the fourth time we were able to meet her and teach her. We continued to teach her and she seems really promising. I’m really glad we were diligent and stuck with it.
In Preach My Gospel it advises: “Do many good things of your own free will. Don’t wait for your leaders to tell you what to do. Continue until you have done all you can, even when you are tired.”
Obedience. I probably should have covered this one sooner. Many times it’s been said that, “obedience is the first law of heaven.” Elder L. Tom Perry said, “The discipline contained in daily obedience and clean living and wholesome lives builds an armor around you of protection and safety from the temptations that beset you and you proceed through mortality.” President Ezra Taft Benson said, “When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.” Obedience is an act of faith. There are times you don’t fully understand why you’re being asked to do something, but obedience will help build faith.
One of my favorite stories from the Book of Mormon is the stripling warriors. They are prime examples of obedience. In Alma 57:21 it states: “Yea, and they did obey and observe to perform every word of command with exactness; yea, and even according to their faith it was done unto them; and I did remember the words which they said unto me that their mothers had taught them.”
Humility is next. Humility can be tough. Many people have said, “If you think you have it, you don’t!” It’s been defined as the “willingness to submit to the will of the Lord and to give the Lord the honor for what is accomplished.” We need to turn to the Lord in everything. He is the reason we can do anything and we should acknowledge him in what we do and be grateful for it. With humility we have trust in his chosen servants and we’ll follow their counsel.
One of my absolute favorite scriptures concerns humility. In Ether chapter 12 verse 27 it starts off saying: “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weaknesses. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble…”
As I’ve been on my mission I’ve noticed more of my weaknesses, which can definitely be a sad and humbling experience. But as it says in that verse, it’s the reason we have those weaknesses, to make us humble. But all is not lost! We are not doomed to forever have our weaknesses! The scripture continues saying: “And my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me (which we talked about earlier) then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”
If we humble ourselves and turn to the Lord, not only will we be free of that weakness, it will be a strength! What an amazing promise!
And last is Charity and Love. All growing up, I heard that charity is “the pure love of Christ.” But what does that mean, exactly? Well, I turned to my handy “True to the Faith” reference book. In it, it described charity as “the pure love of Christ.” But then it went on to quote Moroni 7:45.
“And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”
Charity entails a lot of things but to put it simply it is love. A man once asked Jesus, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus replied, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
If we seek to do just that, what a world of difference it could make. When we are filled with charity we obey God’s commandments and do all we can to serve others. Charity is vitally important to us in Alma 7:24 it reads: “And see that ye have faith, hope, and charity, and then ye will always abound in good works.”
If we do these things we will always abound in good works! Which means we will obey all other commandments! In Ether 12:28 it reads: “Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness.”
So if we have faith, hope, and charity everything else kind of falls into place. If we have charity towards everyone we could only do good things. I noticed on my mission I was blessed to have in increased love towards others. Even people I had just barely met. It was easy to see that they were my brothers and sisters who were put down here to be tested. I hope to be able maintain that while I’m here at home. I encourage all to do as the prophet Moroni advised and “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that [we] may be filled with his love.”
While we have many examples of charitable people around us, the best example of charity is Christ.
In his mortal ministry, he always “went about doing good,” teaching the gospel and showing tender compassion for the poor, afflicted, and distressed. The ultimate example of his charity is the Atonement.
Christ paid and suffered for everyone’s sins in the Garden of Gethsemane. He did it for all of us. It’s up to us to choose and accept it by repenting.
Then, after suffering for our sins, he continued to show his charity. In John 15:13 it states: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
He died for us. The Atonement was the greatest act of longsuffering, kindness, and selflessness that we will ever know.
I know this church is the same church that Christ established 2000 years ago and that Joseph Smith has restored it to the Earth. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know that we have a living prophet on the Earth today. I know that Christ suffered and died for our sins. And I am grateful for this knowledge. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
