Mission Farewell Talks

Teresa’s Farewell Talk
Brothers and Sisters, for those of you who don’t know which one I am, I’m Teresa. Just to set the record straight, I’m going to Scotland and Rachel is going to England. I know it can be confusing at times. First let me start off by saying that you may hear me say “we” a lot. It’s just that our whole lives, it’s been a goal we’ve both shared. Even during my individual Stake President interview I kept saying “we” so be ready for that. We also have the same point of view on a lot of things so you may also hear some overlaps in our talks so just bare with us.

So I’m sure some of you are surprised that Rachel and I have gotten to this point. It’s just that ever since I can remember, we have always wanted to serve a mission. And ever since I can remember the response was always the same: people would lightly pat us on the shoulder and say “we’ll see, that’s a nice goal though.” And I don’t blame those of you who did this, because for most sisters a mission is a fleeting thought, a nice goal in their minds to maybe do someday. But this is where Rachel and I are very unusual and different. It was never like that for us. Literally when we were tiny kids it was clear to us that we were going to go on missions. And it wasn’t due to external pressures from our parents or the church; we’d NEVER felt pressured at all. It was just… We’re going to serve! I can’t really better explain why because it is as simple as that. So we really couldn’t understand why so many people didn’t believe us when we said we were going. Because we were going to go on missions, that was it. The only people who actually believed we were going to follow through were our parents, so I guess that’s all that matters. So in actuality, no one here should be surprised at all that we are serving because you’ve been hearing it our whole lives! But anyways, this was ALWAYS the plan and now that I’m here it is extremely exciting. After all this anticipation, thought, and preparation, it’s hard to believe that the time has come.

Elder Allen F. Packer of the Seventy said:” We need to be acquainted with the promptings of the Holy Ghost, and we need to practice and apply gospel teachings until they become natural and automatic. These promptings become the foundation of our testimonies. Then our testimonies will keep us happy and safe in troubled times.” Close quote.

This is greatly essential. My favorite part of that quote was that we need to “apply gospel teachings until they become natural and automatic”. I suppose that’s how it was so easy for us to want to serve on full time missions. We had parents and grandparents who taught us the gospel and we lived each day with the knowledge of who we were and what we were supposed to do in order to gain eternal happiness. And like Elder Packer said, “Our testimonies will keep us happy and safe in troubled times”. We took upon ourselves the responsibility to develop our own testimonies at an early stage in life. Starting with the basics and then building and building till our testimonies grew stronger and stronger. And when we did this; certain truths, standards and doctrines were ingrained in us till it became natural and automatic.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks defined a testimony this way: “A testimony of the gospel is a personal witness borne to our souls by the Holy Ghost that certain facts of eternal significance are true and that we know them to be true.”

It is a wonderful feeling to know the truth and for me the keyword is know.

One experience I had with my testimony was when my family and I went on a trip to Nauvoo, Illinois to see all the church history sites. At this time I was 15 years old. While we were there we went to the Nauvoo Temple’s Visitor’s Center and they showed us a movie on the Restoration. I remember so distinctly sitting there and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. He did see the Father and the Son and restored this Gospel to the earth today. Now my whole life, this wasn’t something I ever struggled with, I always believed in the First Vision. But right then, it suddenly became knowledge. I knew it with all of my heart and had zero doubts about it.

Elder Allen F. Packer stated:”While testimonies can come as dramatic manifestations, they usually do not. Sometimes people think they need to have an experience like Joseph Smith’s vision before they gain testimonies. If we have unrealistic expectations of how, when, or where answers come, we risk missing the answers which come as quiet, reassuring feelings and thoughts that most often come after our prayers, while we are doing something else. These answers can be equally convincing and powerful.”

President Spencer W. Kimball added to this point: “Expecting the spectacular, one may not be fully alerted to the constant flow of revealed communication.”

Like this, my personal revelation of Joseph Smith came as a quiet and reassuring feeling, nothing dramatic. And it was an experience I’ll never forget.

I know that this gospel is true and I know that it provides real and true happiness to those who live it. Throughout my life I have seen evidences of this, not just with myself, but with others. I have seen the misery and confusion that come to those who aren’t living Gospel principles. We all face trials of many different shapes and sizes in our lives and for me, how much easier that my trials seem to become a little lighter with the help of the Holy Spirit and my Savior’s redemptive power.

At another time Elder Oaks also said, “Testimony is to know and to feel, conversion is to do and to become.”

It is one thing to know but do we live like the way we feel? To me, it was normal and even obvious that the Church and its doctrines brought happiness. And to be honest, I took this knowledge for granted. It wasn’t until I enrolled in some Personal Growth classes at West Valley, that I realized that it isn’t common knowledge. There I would look around and see so many unhappy people who were looking for something. Everybody had something missing, a hole in their lives that they just couldn’t seem to fill. It was there that I realized I was lucky. I had no holes that needed filling because I had the truth. And that made me happy and content, more so than I had ever realized. I wanted to shout out to everyone “It’s the Gospel you’re missing!”

I didn’t though. But I did invite one person to come to church. And that’s all. Missionary work is very simple and much less complicated then people make it out to be. I encourage every one of you to do something whether it’s bearing your testimony, extending an invitation, smiling, or even just being an example! People notice, they really do. That’s why living the way you believe is necessary, not just for you but for those around you. And if you’re struggling with your knowledge of things, I always remember (and this may be corny) one EFY song that relates well to this. It said: ‘Live like you believe, live like you know. It’s one sure way your faith will grow”. And it’s true, your testimony will increase, and you’ll experience true conversion.

This was yet another experience that further confirmed my going on a mission. There are so many people out there who are looking for what I have. How selfish would I be if I didn’t share with others what makes me happy?

In the Book of Enos it talks about how Enos went into the wilderness and prayed all day and all night for the remission of his sins. And then the Lord answered him and forgave him. And then Enos goes on to say in verse 9 - Now, it came to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul unto God for them.

I love how after experiencing the Atoning love of his Savior, he immediately cares for his brethren and the welfare of their souls, which prompted him to go on a mission. Similarly, I too have felt my Redeemer’s love and sacrifice for me. And after feeling that change and comfort take place in my life, I have a desire to share it with those who are without the gospel.

The Apostle Paul declared to the Romans, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”

The late Elder Delbert L. Stapley added that “if we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, we should not be ashamed to teach it; and if we are not ashamed to teach it, we should not be ashamed to live it.”

Elder Bruce R. McConkie states what a missionary is and does in My Missionary Commission

“I am called of God. My authority is above that of the kings of the earth. By revelation I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him – to stand in His place, to say and do what He Himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the very people to whom He sent me. My voice is His voice, my acts are His acts, my words are His words, and my doctrine is His doctrine. My Commission is to do what He wants done; to say what He wants said; to be a living modern witness in word and in deed of the divinity of His great and marvelous Latter-day work. How great is my calling.”

I know that God has all power and is all knowing and that He is our Father in Heaven, who loves us.
I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.
I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
And that he did restore this gospel and the Priesthood keys in this Dispensation.
I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and was translated by the gift and power of God.
I am grateful for the truth of the Plan of Salvation and the comfort it gives me in my life.
I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and living Church on the earth today. President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and the Fist Presidency, Quorum of the 12 and seventy are all prophets, seers and revelators. And that they called me to where I was meant to go. I am so excited to serve as a missionary to the people of Scotland!
-I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.


Rachel’s Farewell Talk
Dear brothers and sisters, it is indeed a pleasure to be speaking to you all today and very exciting to be finally giving my farewell talk.

Now I just wanted to say first, that our decision to serve missions isn’t this long experience that we have had but rather a very simple story. See, my sister and I have waited our whole lives to serve full time missions ever since we were little. We never had a doubt in our mind that serving a mission was meant for us and something we wanted to do very much. Even when we were in Primary and when we would sing “I Hope They Call Me On A Mission” that was us, we were those future missionaries. We always knew we were going, ever since we knew what a mission was. But we never realized how unusual our decision actually was to others. So unusual that people didn’t believe us, not even our family did until we turned in our papers. The only people who did believe us were our mom and dad. They knew that we meant what we said only because we had been saying it our whole lives that we were going to serve. So it was actually kind of funny when we would hear people saying to us “Oh so I hear you are serving a mission?” well actually we have been saying it for quite some time now and this is not a new and recent development. We have actually planned our lives out around serving full time missions.

Now I have been asked a couple of times what I am going to miss most and my answer is always the same, Teresa. Now I know this may not be hard for some of you to believe but Teresa and haven’t been apart for no longer than 24 hours our entire lives. So this will be difficult and very tough but extremely necessary and we both know this. And we know our calls are received from divine revelation because our missions touch. Which is amazing but we know we were called to our specific missions for a purpose and we are excited to share the knowledge of the gospel to all those who are willing to listen.

President Joseph Fielding Smith once said, “The most important knowledge in the world is gospel knowledge. It is a knowledge of God and his laws.”

–Brother David A. Whetten said
“But knowledge about him is not enough. The knowledge that saves comes from our personal efforts to develop a close companionship with the Lord through prayer and meditation.”

John 17:3 reads ‘And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.’

Brother Whetten goes on to say, “Notice the wording. We gain eternal life by knowing God and Jesus Christ, not by knowing some things about them. It seems to me that there is a great difference between these two types of knowledge.”

Around 11 months ago Teresa and I bought our Missionary Reference Library set. Among the books was one in particular, “Jesus The Christ”. Now I know many of you have heard of this book before by Elder Talmage and I heard about it for the first time when I was talking to one of my friends who was a return missionary. He was talking about the book and he said one thing that really stuck with me. He said that it was so edifying about the Savior and the gospel that it seemed like you didn’t even have to read the scriptures. Now clearly he was over exaggerating, but it left an impression on me. I thought to myself, wow that must be some heck of a book! I need to read this! But the 747 pages seemed like an impossible task to accomplish and those who know Teresa and I, we are not into reading all that much. Even if we were to read it by ourselves, I know that there would be some history, doctrines and teachings that I would not fully understand. So with this in mind I sought out a way to accomplish this goal of reading the whole book before our missions. I went to our Institute teacher and asked if we could have a class on it. And if it wasn’t for our Jesus The Christ class and taking the time to study Christ’s ministry we would not have read it or fully understood to the best of our abilities about the life of the Savior and what he did for us.

We finished a couple weeks ago and something amazing happened. I began to not only think of Jesus Christ as my Redeemer and my Heavenly father as supreme beings but as my close friends. I know when I have felt so alone that my father in heaven has always heard my thoughts and knows my struggles. He loves me so much that he has provided a way for me to return to him again. Because of my Savior and the Atonement I am able to stand here before you today and testify of these things, which I know to be true.

President Brigham Young said, “The greatest and most important of all requirements of our Father in heaven and of his Son Jesus Christ is … to believe in Jesus Christ, acknowledge that he is our Savior, seek to become close to him, cling to him, make friends with him. Do what is necessary to open and keep open a communication with … our Savior.” Close quote

Nothing is more important than trying to achieve a personal relationship with our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ. That is why when you kneel down every morning and night to pray and to speak with Heavenly Father, keep in mind he is truly there listening. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are your rock, your foundation and your friends. Do not stray from them, but cling to them so that you can come to know them. I know this because they are my rock and my foundation and my friends and this has helped me throughout my life.

I know that without the knowledge of the truthfulness of the scriptures it is hard to have a strong and unshakable testimony. In the Introduction of the Book of Mormon it says that after we have read the book and ask of God in faith if the book is true, we will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost. “Those who gain this divine witness from the Holy Spirit will also come to know by the same power that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that Joseph Smith is his revelator and prophet in these last days, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s kingdom once again established on the earth, preparatory to the second coming of the Messiah.”

Here the Prophet Joseph Smith set forth the purpose of the Church simply when he declared: “It is the bringing of men and women to a knowledge of the eternal truth that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer and Savior of the world, and that only through belief in Him, and faith which manifests itself in good works, can men and nations enjoy peace.” close quote.

And why wouldn’t we want to share what brings us joy everyday? What gives us purpose? What brings us hope during hard trials or dark times in our lives? This gospel is truly something that saves lives. We should be as bold as to be examples and to open our mouths, to go forth and share the Gospel of Christ because it not only brings them happiness but delight to our own lives as well.

Elder David B. Haight said, “Each of us has a sacred duty to personally assist the accomplishment of the mission of the Church in proclaiming the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, perfecting the Saints to receive the ordinances of the gospel, and the teaching of the doctrines of salvation and the temple.” close quote.

Brothers and Sisters, having the knowledge of the gospel comes great responsibility to go forth and teach our fellow men! In D&C 18:14-16 it reads, “Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people. 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! And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!”

This is why it is so important to learn as much as we can now so we can go out and serve. This is the service that counts, the service to which all of us have been called: the service of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I remember one time when I was talking to someone about how I was going to serve a mission, they said, “Well did you pray about it?” I thought to myself for a second and said “No I hadn’t.” They continued on to say “Well you should really pray about it to know if it’s really right for you.” I couldn’t help but laugh to myself and think well I have already received an answer that I was meant to serve. Because my mind always thinks back to the passage in D&C 4: verse 3 “Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work.” There it is, I knew I was called ever since I could remember because of my anxious desire to serve.

I believe that God is all knowing and we are literally his spirit children.
I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the literal Son of God and who performed the Atonement.
I believe that Joseph Smith did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in the first vision. He was a prophet of God and restored the gospel in this dispensation.
I believe that the Book of Mormon is true and the other Standard Works.
I believe that all the priesthood keys are restored back in the Church today.
I believe in the Plan of Salvation, which gives all of us full blessings of the Atonement.
I believe that this Church is true and is preparing us for the Second Coming.

I hope to be effective in teaching these truths on my mission to the people in England. I say these things humbly in the name of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ, Amen.