Good
Afternoon brothers and sisters! Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve wanted to
serve a mission, and I can’t believe that this day has finally come. For those
who might not have heard, I will be serving in the Belgium/Netherlands mission
speaking Dutch. This Wednesday I will report to the Provo Missionary Training
Center for six weeks, marking the beginning of my 18-month journey. I am
excited to serve the Lord and to spread His teachings to the Dutch people.
For my
talk today, I first wanted begin with a few short paragraphs from President
Uchtdorf’s amazing talk: The Love of God. Here he explains the measure of our
Heavenly Father’s love for each of us, saying Quote “God does not look on the
outward appearance. I believe that He doesn’t care one bit if we live in a
castle or a cottage, if we are handsome or homely, if we are famous or
forgotten. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are
imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass,
God’s love encompasses us completely. He loves us because He is filled with an
infinite measure of holy, pure, and indescribable love. We are important to God
not because of our résumé but because we are His children. He loves every one
of us, even those who are flawed, rejected, awkward, sorrowful, or broken.
God’s love is so great that He loves even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant,
and the wicked. What this means is that, regardless of our current state, there
is hope for us. No matter our distress, no matter our sorrow, no matter our
mistakes, our infinitely compassionate Heavenly Father desires that we draw
near to Him so that He can draw near to us.” End quote.
I believe
that this is a beautiful illustration of Heavenly Father’s love for each and
every one of us…not just the super honest, the rich, or those who are cute, but
again, all of us, even the proud, the selfish, the arrogant and the
wicked. God showed this perfect love for us by
sending His Son Jesus Christ. to provide a way for us to live with Him again.
John 3:16 says, “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.” Imagine loving all of your children so much that you would sacrifice
your Only Begotten Son, so that all your Children would have an opportunity to
live with you again. And then imagine the love of the Only Begotten Son,
who willingly gave His life, so all of us would have the opportunity to live
with Heavenly Father again.
Later in
the same talk President Uchtdorf says, “Heavenly Father’s love for His children
is the core message of the plan of happiness, which plan is made active through
the Atonement of Jesus Christ – the greatest expression of love the world has
ever known.” End Quote.
I would
like to talk a little more about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’s love for
us, and would like to use John chapter 10 to do so. In Versus 11-15 Christ says,
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth
his life for the sheep.12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I
the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
President
Ezra Taft Benson gave us some insights to understand these versus better.
He said, Quote,
“In
Jesus’s time, the Palestinian shepherd was noted for his protection of his
sheep. Unlike modern sheepherders, the shepherd always walked ahead of his
flock. He led them. The shepherd knew each of the sheep and usually had a name
for each. The sheep knew his voice and trusted him and would not follow a
stranger. Thus, when called, the sheep would come to him. (See John
10:14, 16.)
“At night shepherds would bring their sheep to a
corral called a sheepfold. High walls surrounded the sheepfold, and thorns were
placed on top of these walls to prevent wild animals and thieves from climbing
over.“Sometimes, however, a wild animal driven by hunger would leap over the walls into the midst of the sheep, frightening them. Such a situation separated the true shepherd—one who loved his sheep—from the hireling—one who worked only for pay and duty.
“The true shepherd was willing to give his life for the sheep. He would go in amongst the sheep and fight for their welfare. The hireling, on the other hand, valued his own personal safety above the sheep and would usually flee from the danger.
“Jesus
used this common illustration of his day to declare that He was the Good
Shepherd, the True Shepherd. Because of His love for His brothers and sisters,
He would willingly and voluntarily lay down His life for them.” End Quote
After
Christ gives the analogy that he is the Good Shephard and that he giveth his
life for his sheep, he then says this in verse 16
“Other
sheep I have which are not of this fold.: them also I must bring and they shall
hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”
God and
His son love everyone. Did Christ lay down his life for only those in
Jerusalem, and were they the only ones privileged enough to hear his
voice? Of course not, so it makes sense to me that Jesus Christ would
mention to his disciples in Jerusalem that they were not his only sheep, and
that those in other parts of the world would need to hear his voice too.
Following Christ’s death and resurrection, he visited the people in ancient
America and testified to them that He was their Saviour and Redeemer.
Just as the Jews recorded Jesus Christ’s life death, and resurrection -
which is found in the bible - the people on the American continent recorded
Christ’s visit to them. This record is found in the Book of Mormon.
One of my
favorite parts of this account is found in 3 Nephi 11:14-15, when Christ told
the people quote “arise and come forth unto me, … that ye may feel the prints
of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of
Israel, and the God of the whole earth and have been slain for the sins of the
world. And it came to pass that the multitude went forth … and did feel the
prints of the nails in his hands and in his feet, and this they did do, going
forth one by one until they had all gone forth and did see with their eyes and
did feel with their hands, and did know of a surety and did bear record, that
it was he, of whom it was written by the prophets, that should come.”
Again, we see how important even one person is to him. He wished for
every single person present to come and feel the scars on his hands and feet so
each person there could know with a surety that he was the Christ. The
scriptures state that there was a large multitude gathered. I wonder how
long he stood there as he let each person feel the scars on his hands and
feet. This shows His great love for us.
While
Jesus Christ was visiting the people in ancient America, he taught the people
His doctrine just as he taught the Jews before his death. It makes sense
that he would teach them many of the same things because he wants all to learn
of Him and His teachings. Although a similar account is found in the
bible, I will read a few of my favorite teachings recorded in the Book of
Mormon.
In 3
Nephi 14:12, it says quote “Therefore, all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them”. This is better known to many of us as
the Golden Rule. Do unto others as you would have others do to you.
One of our church leaders, Russell M Nelson said, “…The Golden Rule encompasses
the moral code of the kingdom of God.” Dallin H. Oaks says, “Followers of
Christ should be examples of civility. We should love all people, be good
listeners, and show concern for their sincere beliefs. Though we may
disagree, we should not be disagreeable. Our stands and communications on
controversial topics should not be contentious.” Imagine what this world
would be like if we followed this one rule that Christ taught.
Another
teaching Christ shared with both the people in Jerusalem and to those in
Ancient America is that we not judge others, saying in 3 Nephi 14:3-4, “And why
beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the
beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: let me pull
the mote out of thine eye – and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?” A mote,
spelled m-o-t-e, in the dictionary is defined as a small particle or speck,
especially of dust, while a beam is a long piece of wood or metal. How can we
criticize another’s imperfections – or try to remove the mote – when we
have our own flaws as big as a beam? President Thomas S Monson said quote “None
of us is perfect. I know of no one who would profess to be so. And yet for some
reason, despite our own imperfections, we have a tendency to point out those of
others. We make judgments concerning their actions or inactions. There is
really no way we can know the heart, the intentions, or the circumstances of
someone who might say or do something we find reason to criticize. Thus the
commandment: “Judge not.”’ End Quote. Instead of judging, we should simply love
thy neighbor as thyself.
There are
these and many other teachings that Christ shared with the people in Ancient
America. While He was there, He not only shared His teachings, but He
also established His church among the people. Just like His church in
Jerusalem, Christ called prophets and apostles to lead it. He instituted
the sacrament, just like He did at the last supper in Jerusalem. He also gave
men the authority to baptize and to do many more things in His name. To me,
Christ appearing to these people, teaching them the same doctrines He did to
the Jews, and also establishing His church is another demonstration of His
perfect love for all His children. He wants all His children to know what
He expects of them and what they need to do to return to live with Him.
And just
as He wanted to share these things with the Jews, the people in Ancient
America, and whoever else He visited during that time, He also wants people in
our day to know His love for them and to hear of His teachings. He wants all of
us to know what we need to do to live with our Heavenly Father again. Christ’s
church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints, is on the earth today,
just like it was in ancient times. Christ leads this church today through
prophets and apostles. When we understand God’s perfect love, we can understand
why His church is a missionary church. Because God loves all His children, He
sends missionaries out to preach His Gospel. This is not new to His
church. In bible Christ told His apostles, “Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature.” As the work progressed,
He called the seventy, and sent them “two and two before his face into every
city and place, whither he himself would come.” Today, the world’s
population is so large that He needs more help spreading His Gospel so He
established a larger missionary program. Today there are over 75,000
missionaries serving in many nations of the world. For the next 18
months, I will join this group of missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints.
I, along
with other missionaries, will be bearing my testimony that God lives and that
He loves each one of us. Because He loves us He sent His Son Jesus Christ to
provide a way for us to return back to our Heavenly Father. I know that Jesus
Christ is our Savior. I know He wants all to hear His voice and to feel
of his love for them. We can learn of Christ and God the Father in the Bible.
We can also learn of them and their doctrines in the Book of Mormon. I
testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I have read and studied this
book. I know it is another testament of Jesus Christ and is a witness of God’s
love for all His Children. As I serve my mission, I hope that I can be
like our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ and recognize the value of
each person. I hope that I can help those I serve feel the love Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ and help them join Christ’s fold. I say these things in
the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
