This is a copy of the talk I gave at my missionary farewell, I hope you like it!
6/20/10 Nathan’s Missionary Farewell Talk
Good Morning Brothers and Sisters, I feel honored and privileged to speak to you today. As many of you know this is my last Sunday, here with you. I leave for the MTC early Tuesday, morning. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the Lord in this calling. I thank all of you who have taught me, and helped me grow. I feel it a blessing to have known you.
I am grateful for my friends who have sacrificed their time to come and be here for me and to share this time with me. I want them to know that I am truly grateful and deeply touched.
The First Presidency has called for a discontinue of traditional missionary farewells. They still encourage the missionaries, and their families to speak in Sacrament, but ask that the meeting remain centered on Christ. As I embark on my mission, I can’t think of a better topic to speak on. It will be His work I will be doing, it will be His name I am representing, and it will be Him that I strive to be like.
In Moses Ch:1: V: 39 it says: “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man”
Christ’s mission was to atone for the sins of this world; my mission is to help bring souls unto Christ so they can be redeemed of their sins.
Russell M. Nelson gave the following address at a devotional delivered at Brigham Young University on August 18, 1998.
“During His relatively brief sojourn in mortality, the Savior accomplished two overarching objectives: One was His “work and [His] glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39). The other He stated simply: “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done” (John 13:15).
His first objective we know as the Atonement. This was His magnificent mission in mortality. To the people of ancient America, the resurrected Lord gave His mission statement: “I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me. And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me” (3 Ne. 27:13–14).
After reading this, I came to realize Christ’s mission was to atone for the sins of this world. My mission is to bring souls unto Christ so they can be redeemed of their sins.
Doctrine and Convents, chapter 18 gives some very important insights to this principle.
Verse 10 says; Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;
13 And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth!
Remember what His work and his Glory is? “To bring pass the immorality and eternal life of man”
15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
So, everyone is important to the Lord. Every soul has worth in His eyes! His joy is great when we repent and come unto Him. He also promises us joy when we help others come unto Him.
Did you know that there is an advertisement for a job in the scriptures? There really is! Turn with me to Doctrine and Convents chapter 4.
1 NOW behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.
WOW! A “marvelous” work is about to come forth. Think about that for a minute, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men. What is this work?
2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye bserve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand cblameless before God at the last day.
Okay, I know I want to stand blameless before God at the last day, so how can I be called to the work? Verse 3 gives us the answer.
3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are acalled to the work;
So, if we have desires to serve God, we are called to the work! It is as simple as that! This sounds like a job I might be interested in! All you have to do is have a desire and the job is yours!
4 For behold the afield is white already to bharvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in cstore that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;
So if we try with all our might, we can bring salvation to our soul! Heavenly Father is saying “I have gotten everything ready, all I need you to do is to try your hardest, and you will succeed!”
That is what I would consider good benefits! Who needs dental when you can have salvation to your soul!
Now there are some job qualifications to being the Lord’s servant, pay attention, there are some very important principles in here.
5 And afaith, bhope, ccharity and dlove, with an eeye single to the fglory of God, gqualify him for the work.
Okay, let us break this down a bit. Just so we can understand what we need to do to qualify.
The first qualification is faith.
Why do we need faith?
Please turn to 2 Nephi 26:13
13 And that he amanifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the bHoly Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty cmiracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their dfaith.
So, in order to have His Spirit manifests unto us, we need to have faith in the Lord. When we have faith, we then can truly testify, when we have faith, we can be effective servants of the Lord.
Okay, the next qualification is hope.
Why is hope important?
Hope is the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness. The scriptures often speak of hope as anticipation of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.
Notice how faith and hope work together?
The third qualification is Charity.
What is charity?
Charity is the pure love of Christ. It is the love that Christ has for the children of men and that the children of men should have for one another. It is the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love and the most joyous to the soul
The forth qualification is Love.
The greatest example of God's love for His children is found in the infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ. Love for God and fellow men is a characteristic of disciples of Jesus Christ.
Notice again how charity and love work together? If you have love, you have charity, if you have faith, you have hope.
As missionaries teach of Christ’s infinite Atonement, they are showing their love for their fellow men.
And lastly, one must have an “eye single to the Glory of God”. This means that while on a mission, we should not strive or aspire glory or position in the eyes of man; rather we should be continually seeking to give glory to God.
Okay, now that we know the qualifications, the Lord has a few things he wants us to remember.
6 Remember faith, avirtue, knowledge, btemperance, cpatience, dbrotherly ekindness, fgodliness, charity, ghumility, hdiligence.
Any person who applies these attributes to their lives will find true happiness.
And finally, the Lord gives a very wonderful promise to all of us.
7 aAsk, and ye shall receive; bknock, and it shall be opened unto you…
So what He is saying here is that whatever qualifications you are lacking, or struggling with, ask Him for help, and He will! He is offering on the job training!
Okay, you may be thinking that this is “Not for me”, or “There are 50,000 missionaries out there, why should I give up my scholarship when I wouldn’t be that good anyway?” You may also think that you don’t know enough, aren’t smart enough, or why does God need me. ?
All these questions and doubts are tools by which the adversary attempts to keep you from going on a mission. Remember how the Lord said the worth of souls is great? The worth of your soul is great, and He has even promised you on the job training!
Okay, let’s hear what Gordon B. Hinckley has said about this topic…
The world is our responsibility. We cannot evade it. I think of the words of Jacob in the Book of Mormon, who with his brother Joseph had been consecrated a priest and teacher unto the people:
“And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence.” (Jacob 1:19.)
I have found a verse in Doctrine and Covenants 88 that speaks on the importance of sharing the gospel.
Doctrine and Covenants 88:81 says Behold, I sent you out to atestify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been warned to bwarn his neighbor.
Think about that, every man that has been warned, needs to warn his neighbor. Because we have been blessed with knowledge of the gospel, whether we have always been a member, or if we have joined the Church later in our life, it is our responsibility to share the gospel to others. For young people, the best way is to serve a mission.
However if certain circumstances prevent you from serving a full time mission, do everything in you power to help the missionaries. Give them referrals; go with them when they teach lessons. Have them over for dinner, because if you do, the Lord will bless you. You feed them physically, and they will feed you spiritually. They need your support.
Okay, the missionaries cannot find everyone. Just think, 50,000 missionaries may sound like a lot, but in order for them to reach everyone on the planet; they would have to each have to teach 15 people an hour every day for their entire mission. That is a total of 140,000 people per missionary
However, if every member of the Church reached out and shared the gospel, it would only be 524 people for each member. If you live to be 75 years old, that is only 6 people a year!
The missionaries need your love and support. They are here to help you.
Elder M. Russell Ballard said
Remember, brothers and sisters, we’re not marketing a product. We’re not selling anything. We’re not trying to impress anyone with our numbers or our growth. We are members of the restored Church of Jesus Christ, empowered and sent forth by the Lord Himself to find, nourish, and bring safely into His Church those who are seeking to know the truth.
Viewed from that eternal perspective, what we are to do seems so simple and clear, but I know that member missionary work can be challenging and sometimes frightening. Please allow me to suggest three simple things that we can do to assist in this divinely commissioned responsibility.
First, we should exercise our faith and pray individually and as families, asking for help in finding ways to share the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Ask the Lord to open the way. Prayerfully set a date with your family to have someone in your home for the missionaries to teach. Remember, brothers and sisters, this is the Lord’s Church. Let Him guide you through constant prayer. With a prayer in your heart, talk to everyone you can. Don’t prejudge. Don’t withhold the good news from anyone. Talk to everyone, and trust in the promised power of the Spirit to give you the words you should say. Let them make the decision to accept or reject your invitation. Over time, the Lord will put into your path those who are seeking the truth. He is the Good Shepherd. He knows His sheep, and they will know His voice, spoken through you, and they will follow Him (see John 10).
President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “It will be a great day when our people not only pray for the missionaries throughout the world, but ask the Lord to help them to assist the missionaries who are laboring in their own ward” (“Missionary Service,” First Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, Jan. 2003, 19).
Second, leaders must lead by example. The Spirit will prompt and guide you in finding those interested in our message. Your personal worthiness will give you the courage and the spiritual power to inspire you to actively help the missionaries.
Third, member missionary work does not require the development of strategies or gimmicks. It does require faith—real faith and trust in the Lord. It also requires genuine love. The first great commandment is to “love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. … The second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matt. 22:37, 39).
So let the power of love guide us in sharing the gospel with family members, friends, neighbors, business associates, and any other people we encounter as we go through life. Most everyone wants to enjoy peace and happiness. That is a natural human desire. People want to find answers to the problems they face. This is increasingly true in the world we now live in.”
Henry B.Eyering said
“Love is the motivating principle by which the Lord leads us along the way towards becoming like Him, our perfect example. Our way of life, hour by hour, must be filled with the love of God and love for others. There is no surprise in that, since the Lord proclaimed those as the first and great commandments. It is love of God that will lead us to keep His commandments. And love of others is at the heart of our capacity to obey Him.”
3 Nephi 27 21 Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and ye know the things that ye must bdo in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do; for that which ye have seen me do even that shall ye do;
M. Russell Ballard also said
“Our love for the Lord and appreciation for the Restoration of the gospel are all the motivation we need to share what gives us much joy and happiness. It is the most natural thing in the world for us to do, and yet far too many of us are hesitant to share our testimonies with others.”
Brothers and Sisters, if we continue to be diligent in sharing the gospel with others, we will be blessed. We will stand blameless before God in the last day.
To the youth of this ward, I have only one thing to say to you, “GO!” If you go on a mission, the Lord will truly bless you. You will learn things you would never have had the opportunity to otherwise. You will grow in countless ways. It is true, and it is the right thing to do. The Lord has blessed me so much, with a wonderful family, with knowledge of the Gospel, and the freedom to worship as I choose. This is why I am going on a mission. I pray that you will all develop a desire to go on a mission. Now is the time for you to prepare. Learn all you can from seminary, Sunday school, your others classes, and continue to study the scriptures, and strengthen your testimony.
In closing, I would like to bear you my testimony of the truth of the Restored Gospel. I know it brings happiness. It is the reason I am going on a my mission. I want others to enjoy the blessings I enjoy.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
