Tahquitz Farewell Talk

Aaaaaaaaaaaand now we have a week until I report! On Sunday I gave my final farewell talk in the YSA ward. Brother Leavitt asked me to speak on a talk given by President Monson in October 2012, entitled "See Others as They May Become" (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/10/see-others-as-they-may-become?lang=eng). It really is a great talk.

I started off telling about How the Leopard Got His Spots, a short story by Rudyard Kipling (which can be found here). In this story the Ethiopian and the Leopard have to change their skins in order to blend in and eat. Kipling got the idea from Jeremiah 13:23. Jeremiah is expressing his disbelief that Israel can ever change as an Ethiopian can change his skin or a Leopard his spots. President Monson brought all this to my mind with this:

"During the 1940s and 1950s, an American prison warden, Clinton Duffy, was well known for his efforts to rehabilitate the men in his prison. Said one critic, 'You should know that leopards don’t change their spots!'

Replied Warden Duffy, 'You should know I don’t work with leopards. I work with men, and men change every day.'"

People can change. How? Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

When a person has become inactive, smokes, drinks, etc., we shouldn't write them off as a hopeless case. You never know when a person will make it. Sometimes all it takes is a push in the right direction: a kind word, a call for service.

How can we see others as they may become? Start with yourself (patriarchal blessing). Pray for love, read the scriptures, serve, don't judge. What would Jesus do?

I've seen what trusting in Christ can do in myself, as well as other people. If we can learn to see others as they may become, we will realize what the purpose of this life is---because becoming like our Heavenly Father can only be accomplished through change.

San Jacinto Farewell Talk

I gave my farewell talk in my home ward last Sunday, even though I don't leave for a month. It's starting to feel very real. The topic that Bishop Holmes gave me was 2 Nephi 25:26: "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins." For the first time, I decided not to write my talk out word-for-word; I just had a 3x5 card with notes, and a few quotes. As you can probably imagine, I pray A LOT beforehand, trying to get the Spirit for help. I'm not much of a public speaker, so I knew that if I just tried to do it without help it wouldn't turn out well. Heavenly Father really came through. It wasn't easy, but I found the words coming in moments when I thought I was going to stall. I felt like He was really helping me. It was so awesome :)
Basic outline: I spoke about how the scriptures really testify of Christ a lot. There are many types and shadows of Him: the brass serpent, the Passover, Isaac's almost-sacrifice. It's because He is the source of the remission of sins, because of His Atonement. We are saved by His grace (2 Nep. 25:23). Faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost bring the remission of sins. "My purpose is to invite others to come to Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel though faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end." This is why missionaries are so relentless in sharing the gospel: it brings the remission of sins. We want to not only be WITH God again, but also to be LIKE God, and that comes through trial and experience. We need to talk to Christ more: He is the foundation of our religion. He is everything. "No matter how large the organization of the Church becomes or how many millions of members join our ranks, no matter how many continents and countries our missionaries enter or how many different languages we speak, the true success of the gospel of Jesus Christ will be measured by the spiritual strength of its individual members. We need the strength of conviction that is found in the heart of every loyal disciple of Christ" (Boyd K. Packer, Oct. 2014 Conf). Talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, preach of  Christ, prophecy of Christ: He is the foundation of our religion. Bring YOURSELF closer to Christ: pray more, read more, love more, serve more.
This Church is God's Church. I know it through my own experience. Heavenly Father loves us. He restored the gospel onto the Earth through Joseph Smith. Come unto Christ and you can know this truth for yourself.