The Farewell

      Well I guess everything is finally becoming real! I spoke in church December 14. Finals were still coming up the next week and I was so focused on studying that I wrote my talk at 4:00 Sunday morning. But that is the best talk I have ever given! It helped that I was able to speak on Jesus Christ and how he is our example. What better topic for a soon-to-be missionary than that?!

      "God the Father has given Jesus Christ a name above all others, so that eventually every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. He is the way, the truth, and the light, and no one can come back into the presence of our Father in heaven except through him. Christ is God the Son and possesses every virtue in its perfection. Therefore, the only measure of true greatness is how close a man can become like Jesus. That man is greatest who is most like Christ, and those who love him most will be most like him."

      Like it says, if we love him we will be more like him. So how can we do that? We can follow in His example. We can put Heavenly Father first, serve others, practice Charity-the PURE LOVE of CHRIST, and remember Jesus Christ and all he has done for us. The Atonement was the greatest act of love ever given on this earth.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland discussed a relationship between facing the difficulties of missionary work and remembering the Savior’s Atonement:
“Anyone who does any kind of missionary work will have occasion to ask, Why is this so hard? Why doesn’t it go better? Why can’t our success be more rapid? Why aren’t there more people joining the Church? It is the truth. We believe in angels. We trust in miracles. Why don’t people just flock to the font? Why isn’t the only risk in missionary work that of pneumonia from being soaking wet all day and all night in the baptismal font?
“You will have occasion to ask those questions. I have thought about this a great deal. I offer this as my personal feeling. I am convinced that missionary work is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation never was easy. We are The Church of Jesus Christ, this is the truth, and He is our Great Eternal Head. How could we believe it would be easy for us when it was never, ever easy for Him? …
“… When you struggle, when you are rejected, when you are spit upon and cast out and made a hiss and a byword, you are standing with the best life this world has ever known, the only pure and perfect life ever lived. You have reason to stand tall and be grateful that the Living Son of the Living God knows all about your sorrows and afflictions”