Here's my talk:
Good morning everyone. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to you today. I figure most people know who we are, but for those who don’t, we are the Evans Family. We have lived in the neighborhood for almost six years now. Tyler and I met about 10 years ago when we were set up on a blind date by our moms, and while that is slightly embarrassing to admit that our moms set us up, it does make for really great family parties when our moms get together and gloat about how they started it all. We got married in 2009, and while we are both from here, we lived in Richfield for about 2 years for Tyler’s job when we were first married before moving back here to South Jordan to be closer to our families. We have three kids: Makayla is 6, Caden is 5, and Brynnli will be 3 in September.
Tyler and I were asked to speak on the scripture in 2 Nephi 31:20 that says, “Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the words of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.” Initially I was overwhelmed trying to figure out how I could speak for 15 minutes about a 2 sentence scripture, but as I thought about it more, I found I had quite a few ideas and had a hard time trying to narrow down what I wanted to focus on. I’m a firm believer that talk assignments are not just given on a whim. I believe talk assignments are given for the person to research and gain a better understanding of the topic and scripture and this is certainly the case for us. I know many prayers were said on our behalf, and it is not by chance that we were given this particular scripture to study at this turning point in our lives, and I am truly grateful for that. I have heard this scripture many times. In fact, this scripture was the Young Women theme last year when I was called to serve with them, and every week the young women and leaders would join arms to repeat the theme and this scripture. It was such a good reminder at the start of each week to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ” so that we can receive the promise of an eternal life.
The first words Nephi teaches us in this scripture is to press forward. In fact, these two words are so significant, they are stated twice in this one verse. Press forward implies something more than simply going forward. Press implies something is preventing your advancement, and you must push through it. Our daughter, Makayla, got a bike for Christmas last year and we spent an afternoon trying to help her figure out how to ride it without training wheels. Her inclination was to try to balance on the bike without moving the pedals, but after a few seconds, she would fall to the ground. After quite a few tries and skinned knees, she finally figured out that in order to move forward and not fall, she had to continue to pedal her feet. I like this analogy as we think of it in terms of our own life because as you press forward in life outside forces try to push you down. Satan tries everything in his power to block you from your goal, but it is only by pressing forward that we are able to reach our goal.
Not only must we press forward, but we must do it with a “steadfastness in Christ” which means having faith in Him. It means making Him the central focus of your thoughts and actions. It means you rely on him, you trust Him, and even though you do not understand the why or the timing of things, you know that He does. He knows your name, He hears your prayers, and he will help you obtain eternal life.
The last couple of years Tyler and I have been discussing our family, our goals, and our hopes for the future. One of the topics that we frequently bring up is a desire to be sealed together in the temple. About a year ago we started to take the necessary steps toward preparing to enter the temple. Specifically in this last year, we have never been so blessed by our Heavenly Father, and so challenged by the temptations and obstacles of the adversary. We knew things would be challenging and we knew it would not be an easy path, but things that I never would have thought would be a problem were suddenly taking over my life. I would find myself losing my temper more easily with the kids and Tyler, and I would question my qualifications as a parent. Tyler’s job, which up until that point was stable, suddenly became a roller coaster ride and we didn’t know if and how long he would have a job. And my parents, who have always been a source of comfort are going through heartbreaking challenges and trials that are incomprehensible. At times I would question if it was worth it because it seemed that our life was easier and trial free before we started our journey. But as I analyze the last year, even though it has been the most challenging for us as a family, we have been so blessed. As hard as things have been I have never felt so much love from my Heavenly Father, had so many personal revelations and answers to my prayers, and felt so much joy and excitement for the future. I had to have a steadfastness in Christ, push the doubt and the fear away, have faith that everything would work out, and cling to my testimony. Sometimes life feels hard. We might even feel like we’re surrounded by darkness. I have numerous experiences over the past few years that have have taught me that light is more powerful than darkness and God is more powerful than Satan. If we press forward in faith and call upon God for help, He will comfort us, strengthen us, and help us overcome any darkness.
Pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ is not always easy. I’m sure we have all had moments where we make the world the central focus of our thoughts and actions, instead of the Savior, where we accept the false teachings of the world as true. We may have even had instances where we are offended by something or someone and consider abandoning what we know to be true. While people may not be, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect, and what a great reminder Nephi gives us in this scripture to press forward with a steadfastness in Christ. If we follow him and not the world, he will guide us through the path to eternal life.
In addition to pressing forward, we must “have a perfect brightness of hope and a love of God and of all men.” What a comforting gift to know there is always hope. No matter how dismal things appear, no matter what setbacks we suffer, there is always hope. About a year ago my cousin found out she was expecting her second baby, and while they were thrilled about a new baby they found out he would be born with life threatening heart issues that would require at least three surgeries before he was 5, and eventually he would need a heart transplant. Desi was born last September and had his first open heart surgery five days later. My cousin would keep us updated almost everyday as they spent their days at Primary Children’s Hospital. There were days he seemed to be doing well, and we were hopeful about his future, but there were a lot of days he struggled and we started to realize his outcome looked bleak. Unfortunately Desi passed away on Easter morning just a few months ago. I was absolutely heartbroken for my cousin and her family as I watched her struggle with her new reality. These last few months have been especially hard for my cousin, but through talking with her the only thing that seems to get her through each day is the hope that she will be able to see and hold her baby again. She clings to that hope to get her through the depression and discouragement of each day. I think all of us have had a feeling of despair to some degree, maybe not due to the extent of losing a child, but all of us have felt doubt and fear that creeps in, but what a great gift we have been given to have a perfect brightness of hope. Hope is what keeps us going. It is a light within us that pierces the darkness of doubt and discouragement. There is always hope in him. One of Satan’s weapons is to remove hope from your life. By removing hope, he removes Christ from your life. The thing Satan cannot fight is one who is full of hope, one who is full of the Spirit of Christ. Our Savior will do everything to encourage you, lift you up, give you hope, help you in every way so that with a “steadfastness in Christ” we may have the a “perfect brightness of hope”.
The next challenge Nephi gives us is to endure to the end. Enduring to the end includes being willing and prepared to endure faithfully the trials of life. We all know that the Lord allows us to go through trials in order for us learn and grow and prove our dedication to Him. In the First Presidency Message for this month Titled, “The Reward of Enduring Well”, President Eyring, states, “So many things beat upon us in a lifetime that it may seem hard to endure well… We may wonder how long we can hold on… But a loving God has not set such tests before us simply to see if we can endure difficulty, but rather to see if we can endure them well and so become polished.” President Eyring goes on to say, “Our trial and our difficulties give us the opportunity to learn and grow, and they may even change our very nature. If we can turn to the Savior in our extremity, our souls can be polished as we endure.” Even when we are not going through a life changing trial, we need to endure the challenges of everyday life by trusting in our Father in Heaven and making wise choices, including paying our tithes and offerings, honoring our baptism and temple covenants, and serving willingly in our Church callings. We need to have integrity and honesty to Heavenly Father, our family, neighbors, coworkers and friends. And maybe most importantly, we need to make our homes strong places of refuge against the world.
More emphatically, the scripture admonishes us to “Feast upon the words of Christ.” Feasting reminds me Thanksgiving dinner. As my family prepares the meal, they must believe they are feeding an army instead of our small family. One year my aunt even made 14 pies… one for each person in our family. As we all sit down for Thanksgiving dinner, we sit down together to enjoy the feast.We eat until we are stuffed, and then we eat some more. Symbolically in this scripture we feast upon the words of Christ just as we feast on a meal. Feasting upon the word of Christ means developing a love for the scriptures and studying them. It means studying them individually and as a family, pondering and praying about what we read, and likening the scriptures to our own lives. When we make Christ the center of our lives and feast up his words He will bless us beyond measure and guide us to eternal life.
In the scriptures the Lord often gives us “If/then” promises. If we fulfill certain commandments, then we will receive certain blessings. That is definitely the case here as we know that if we pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ, have a perfect brightness of hope, have a love of God, we are promised the greatest gift of all: eternal life. In The Family: A Proclamation to the World in the first paragraph we are told that “...the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” Eternal life means to become like the Father and to live in families in happiness and joy forever. We must have the goal of eternal families not only in our minds but in our hearts. It is what we know is true and will lead to eternal happiness with God. We don’t just want an eternal family if that’s what happens to work out, nor do we want something that might seem to be only approaching eternal life. We want eternal life, whatever its cost in effort, pain and sacrifice. I look forward to the day when our little family of five will enter the temple together. I look forward to being sealed to Tyler and our kids for all eternity. I know that my eternal family and eternal life is only possible because of the atoning sacrifice of my savior Jesus Christ, and I have such a strong testimony that he lives…
Tyler's talk:
There have been a lot of first for me the past couple of years and I have to say this is another one, my first time talking in sacrament meeting. If somebody had told me I would be speaking in sacrament, I never would have believed them. Wow! How quickly life changes, in my case for the better.
For those of you who don’t know, my calling is a Primary Teacher which really is the best calling. I plan my lessons each week and try to come up with all the things I’m going to teach the kids but I consistently end up taking away so much more each week from your children that I give. So you have to understand how overwhelming it was for me when Brother Sadowski called and asked us to speak to the parents of the children I learn so much from each week. What can I possibly say that you don’t already know and haven’t heard? Although I was baptized at 8, I feel like one of the newest members of the ward and one of the most naïve people in the room from a church doctrinal standpoint.
As I began preparations for my talk, I realized the assigned scripture was assigned for me, not necessarily for you. So with that being said I would like to take this time to explain why this scripture assignment, and more specifically the timing of it, is so significant for me.
I have fantastic parents and I love them to death. We are a very close family, in fact I still talk to my mom and sister almost every day. Growing up my parents weren’t active in the church, they still aren’t. They are members, just not active. As kids, my mother would encourage my sister and I to go to church which we did through primary and into young men/womens.
During that time, as I mentioned, I was baptized at 8 and was also ordained a deacon at 12. But to some extent I did those things because that is what you’re supposed to do. I never really understood the gravity of those decisions and how truly important they were. I was not, as Verse 13 states…following the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent. Real Intent. How often do we do that in life…go through the motions because of a fear of judgement. Not with real intent and a steadfastness in Christ and a perfect brightness of hope.
My sister is a few years older than me and I was about 13 when she started going to church with her friends. As kids we lived on the boundary line for everything so my friends in school didn’t go to the same church as me. When my sister stopped going to church with me I stopped going all together. Not because I didn’t believe but because I was afraid of what others would think and I was too embarrassed to be there by myself.
So for about 20 years I was inactive. I still believed in Christ, prayed, and considered myself spiritual but I didn’t go to church. Until a few years ago when Kristen and I decided this is what we want for our kids. And I have to be honest, for those first few years I sluffed Elders Quorum every week and avoided some/several of you in this room. Not because of you or the messages that you were sending but because I felt inadequate compared to you and others. What will people think of me? Where am I supposed sit in priesthood, do I sit with the deacons or the elders? What if they ask me questions that I know I won’t know the answers to? Heaven forbid they ask me to pray.
Those feelings haven’t necessarily gone away but my attitude towards those feelings started to change one morning when I was prompted to read the scriptures. I cracked the binding of the brand new set of scriptures I received 24 years earlier when I was baptised. At first I found the stories interesting and had modern day principals. I continued to read a little each morning before work.
And what a testimony builder of the Book of Mormon when only one or two weeks went by and I was called in to talk with Bishop Leatherwood. I assumed it was for a calling but it was for so much more. He relayed a message to me that was exactly what I needed to hear. He said “This church is not about other people. It is about you and your relationship with God. The church is just here to facilitate the path?”
The specific scripture we’ve been asked to research talks about a steadfastness in Christ and a perfect brightness of hope. There is no mention in there about what others think of us. It doesn’t state that we have to keep up with others in the ward. Honestly that is what I love the most about this church. It is about you and your becoming more like Christ. It isn’t about what you look like on the outside but how you are on the inside. It is what’s in your heart that counts. Why do we go to church, is it to learn and partake of the sacrament? Do we understand why we pay tithing? Do we take our callings seriously?
It was that conversation with the bishop that gave me the confidence to overcome my pride and insecurities and do what is needed. So I started down the path to the Melkezedick Priesthood. Which I took, and continue to take, very seriously. And I repented, accepted the calling, went to church, read the scriptures, etc. But this time I was doing it for the right reasons, with a steadfastness in Christ and true intent of heart; I really wanted to learn.
And what an overwhelming and humbling experience it has been to see the people I turned a cold shoulder to become my greatest encourages through the whole process. To be ordained an Elder I had to meet with not only one bishop, but two bishops, I had a meeting with a high council member, and then I got to sit down with the stake president. Then to top it all off I had to bear my testimony with the high counsel which was a humbling experience in and of itself. Walking into the waiting room with four soon to be missionaries, I being obviously much older than them, was pretty intimitating. I’m sure they wondered who I was and what my story is. All of my previous insecurities arose again with each of these meetings and experiences. But I can honestly say that these meetings built/strengthened my testimony and brightened my hope for the future.
I was ordained an Elder during Stake Conference last month, in June, for one of the top experiences of my life. The spirit in the room was just awesome. I was fortunate enough to have my Grandfather do it and during the blessing I could feel not only the love of him but of all my ancestors and most of all my Heavenly Father. The experience was so much better this time because I did it for the right reasons with a true steadfastness in Christ.
So often we get caught up in the process of how things should go and what others will think of us if we don’t follow the standard path. We all have the same goal of eternal life and returning to live with our Father in Heaven. What I’ve come to learn through this journey is that it doesn’t matter if we don’t follow the standard path as long as we are working to get there and repent when we make mistakes.
I truly admire those people who can identify the goal and path early in life and work to go directly there. But sometimes the Lord has a detour for us that we don’t understand. We need to trust in him and his detours and trust his timing. Maybe we as parents have a child who gets in with a group of friends and makes some bad choices that we don’t understand. Or as in our case, many people questioned Kristen’s decision to marry me; not a returned missionary or somebody who was ready to go through the temple. Things are done in Gods way and I can testify that even when I was not going to church I can look back and see God’s hand in my life, just as in Kristen’s. What a blessing that we found each other and are going through this process now. All of us will go through detours in life and the challenge for us is to capitalize on these detours and figure out what we can do to make the most of these experiences.
A few months ago Kristen and I were walking through Temple Square and ran into a sister missionary who when on and on about the experience she had when her parents were sealed to their family in the Manti temple. She was only 12 or 13 at the time and was so grateful to be a part of that. I am so excited for that moment with my family when we get to enter the temple as a family. Even though our children are young I know this is something they will remember their entire lives.
Although we still have a long way to go, reaching this point is a big milestone for me. As with any goal, it is easy to slack-off when you reach a milestone. This is something I did after being ordained an Elder at Stake Conference. I became somewhat prideful and relaxed a little in my diligence to follow and become more like Christ. How cool is it that Brother Sadowski called within a few weeks of that point and asked us to speak on the exact scripture that I needed to hear.
Verse 19 states And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this straight and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Is that not fitting for the point where I was. This is a question we can all ask no matter where we are on our journey…is all done? Nephi goes on to answer this question Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save. Verse 20: Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
How fitting is that? It is exactly what I needed to hear and exactly how I need to proceed. I am so thankful that we were asked to talk about this scripture to help realign my focus on the next steps for me and for our family.
No comments:
Post a Comment