Hey Everyone!
This week not a whole lot happened that is different than from any other day, but however I did give my talk in Sacrament Meeting indicating that I am at the end of my mission. All week I had been praying and pondering, searching for what to say and the Lord truly did give it to me. We didn't have personal studies for a couple of days and it was those nights where I prayed and I was literally given the words which I should speak as I was in bed I would grab my iPad and type like crazy to get all of it down into words.
It went well, many sisters really enjoyed it and said they gained a lot from it. Though it was one of the scariest moments of my mission, I'm pretty sure the Spirit was covering up my shaky voice, I realized in that moment I don't do public speaking, haha. I have never been as nervous as I was at that point, I used to be able to sing and dance as a kid in front of an audience, I'm obviously out of practice.
But I would love to share it with you and I hope that you can gain something out of it that can help and assist you in coming closer to Christ and becoming His disciple. Obviously it isn't word for word than what I actually said on the pulpit, but this is the basic jist.
My topic today is "a pioneer is someone who goes before, showing others the way to follow" are their pioneering experiences for us? Will future generations reflect with gratitude on our efforts, our examples? A pioneer stands up for what is right, dares to share the gospel in the face of opposition, and testifies of Christ through her actions. Let us all be pioneers!"
As I have sought out the Lord for what to say, I know that this comes from Him, it is my prayer that you can receive answers to questions you have in your hearts or even a greater appreciation for the pioneers and how you can apply their stories and examples into your life today and always. I hope that as you listen to the Spirit he will teach you what you need to learn from the things I will say today.
I have really been thinking about what a pioneer really is, what makes them so special, why do we look up to them? What is it that created their legacy of faith? A few things that have come to my mind are, faith and testimony in the Savior, of the Restoration of the Gospel, they knew that Book of Mormon is true, that we have a Living Prophet, they knew the blessings of the Temple, they trusted in the Priesthood, they knew that God was on their side, they trusted in His promises, and they surely testified of Christ through their actions. I have come to really see that they are a perfect example of Disciples of Jesus Christ.
And that is when our journey starts. When we become disciples of Jesus Christ, sometimes it's easy, others hard, we pray and have to really trust in the Lord A LOT. Persecutions come our way, and like the pioneers, we can surely say, "All is well" because we know how to use the atonement for strength, we serve others, we have spiritual experiences, we stand up for what we believe, even in opposition, this is our legacy, it begins now.
Along our path of discipleship, like the pioneers, like the prophets and apostles in the times of old, we will go through many hard times, these times allow us to have new access to the Atonement of Jesus Christ in a greater way than ever before, they bring us closer to our Loving Heavenly Father and Savior, they also help us become more like Them, in reading “Our Heritage” one of my favorite stories that testifies of this beautifully and is something that I personally experienced myself on my own youth trek. He said:
“I have pulled my handcart when I was so weak and weary from illness and lack of food that I could hardly put one foot ahead of the other. I have looked ahead and seen a patch of sand or a hill slope and I have said, “I can go only that far and there I must give up, for I cannot pull the load through it…” I have gone onto that sand and when I reached it the cart began pushing me. I have looked back many times to see who was pushing my cart, but my eyes saw no one. I knew then that the angels of God were there. “Was I sorry that I chose to come by handcart? No. Neither than nor any minute of my life since. The price to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay, and I am thankful that I was privilege to come in the Martin Handcart Company”
Unlike this man I did not have to pull a hand cart to get to Salt Lake City, but I am grateful that my mission has helped me become more acquainted with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I am privileged to be a missionary on Temple Square.
Like the pioneers we have to rely on the Saviors Atonement, we need to trust in Him, that is part of being His disciple, I have seen in my mission countless times, those mornings when it's too hard to get up, exercising it just too hard, those days where you are so exhausted you couldn't possibly take ANOTHER Mandarin Motor Coach, those days where you can't take one more step forward, but I know as you give him EVERYTHING that you have, he will give you the strength to carry on, the Lord promises this in Doctrine and Covenants 24:12 when he says "And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men."... He will send Angels to guide your steps, to push you along, and you will be able to catch those glimpses of heaven, those miracles and tender mercies, like the pioneers
So how do we then leave our legacy, how can we be an example, showing others the way to follow? It starts now, as missionaries we leave our own legacy by being disciples of Jesus Christ, now and for the rest of our lives! and like the pioneers we do not know what follows, but through our example, testimony and teaching, their lives are too changed, and like the pioneers we have no idea the measure of impact that takes, but one day, we will see the end of the story, I have a firm testimony that will be the case, and when we stand there in awe of the rest of those stories, as tears fill our eyes, I know that the Savior will be there with a loving embrace to say "well done, true and faithful servant"
To end my talk I would like to quite President Monson when he said "Jesus Christ, Savior of the world--even the Son of God--was and is the ultimate pioneer, for He has gone before, showing all others the way to follow. May we ever follow Him.”
I know my Savior lives and that Heavenly Father is so aware of us and His hand is in the details of our lives. The Savior will truly help us in all things as we let him, his atonement is more eternal than we realize. I am grateful for a young boy, Joseph Smith that prayed a humble prayer that changed the world. I know that this is Jesus Christ restored gospel on the earth today, I know that the Book of Mormon changes lives as it has mine and so many millions of others around the world. I know that this is His work and what a wonderful blessing it is to be part of it! Like the Apostles in acts 5:41-42 we can "Rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily on Temple Square and in every house (outbound), we cease not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."… I say these things in His name, even Jesus Christ, amen."
I was really grateful to give my talk on this topic, I gained a lot more from it while preparing that I had time to actually share (which, isn't it always the way). As everyone says "President Harman really is inspired" (greatest inside joke of Temple Square History).
I hope you enjoyed it, I actually found an awesome video that goes hand in hand with my talk topic that I would love to invite all of you to check out as well! (I Am a Pioneer)
Love, Sister Ryan xx
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