Farewell Talk

Good morning everyone! I have been called to serve in the Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission. I start home MTC in two weeks from tomorrow. And let me tell ya I could not be more excited. 

My entire life I have been looking forward to serving a mission, yet until only a couple days ago did I know what I wanted to talk about for my farewell. 

A few days ago my Papa and I decided to go on a last minute drive to Denver. We had a few good long talks, gave a hitchhiker a ride and most of our food, and drove through the night. Running on just a few hours of sleep, we met my Grandpop in Denver, dropped off our vehicle to be shipped to Italy, and took the scenic route home, stopping by Saratoga, Wyoming. 

The past couple of weeks have been full of lots of different feelings and emotions, mostly the excitement and anxiety of serving a mission, my family moving to another continent, and not knowing what I was going to talk about. Yet, in this tiny town, I had a sense of serenity and clarification that I was exactly where I needed to be, and doing exactly what I needed to do with my life. 

We found our way to some hot springs, and soon enough we met an older couple. Now if you know the legendary Heath Jenni you know that he has absolutely no problem keeping to himself. But once you get him talking, he can carry a conversation for literally forever.

I started talking to the man’s wife, and eventually the topic came to me serving a mission. She asked me about what missionaries do, and why on Earth I wasn’t moving with my family to the country that easily has the best food. 

I took a second to think about it, and I told her that after everything that Jesus Christ has done for me, it’s only fair that I take a little bit out of my life to help others in need and to invite others to come to Christ. She then asked me, “Who is Jesus Christ in your eyes, and what has he done for you?” Through the remainder of my talk, I will be answering Nancy from the hot springs question. 

Jesus has changed my life significantly in so many ways, but today I’ll only address three. 

The first is through my friends, as well as strangers. I have to say that moving around so much has given me the opportunity to make lifelong friends. Some of my best friends are either currently serving missions, or like me, counting down the days until they get set apart. My entire life, I have had amazing friends, who have helped me to be the person I am now. 

But I would like to focus more on the strangers in my life.

Just two weeks into college, life was going great. I had just mastered how to make dino nugs in an air fryer and was living with my best friends. One day I was in my last class of the day and about halfway through I saw a text from my mom telling me that my great grandma had passed away. The rest of the lecture was a blur, and as soon as we were excused I beelined out of the building. I was walking home, but was stopped by a girl a couple years older than me. She told me that she only sat a couple of seats away from me, and had followed me from class. She said that she heard a voice in her head to follow me, and to give me a hug. I love hugs, so of course I didn’t say no. I started to cry and told her what happened, and she was there to just listen. She had a class soon after but she gave me her number and told me to let her know how I was doing. She hurried off, and I was left alone in the middle of campus. Not even two minutes later, another one of my friends found me and walked with me the rest of the way home. She didn’t usually go that way, but felt prompted to go the long way from one of her classes when she ran into me. Through small and simple ways, my Father in Heaven sent His children to help me feel comforted and loved, when I felt so small and insignificant. 

The second is my family, with an emphasis on my parents.

My Papa has shown the example of putting others' needs before your own since I was born. Ever since I was a little girl, he was the one chopping wood for neighbors, mowing the elderly people in the ward's lawn, and shoveling the driveway for friends out of town. I could stop at that, I wouldn’t feel right without mentioning His sacrifice and service to our country. There are so many out there who have given their abilities, freedoms, and even their lives so that we could have ours. I’ve seen it firsthand in my family, and it has given me the willingness to serve others, in any way that I am able. And I am forever thankful for that. 

My mom is nothing short of an angel. In my nineteen years of life she has pushed through 4 deployments, many moves across the country, and years of being the mother of the most accident prone children to ever walk the earth. She never gets a break! Most farewell talks that I've been to thank their mom for teaching them how to keep their room clean, and not a lot of words other than that. My mother has taught me everything, except for how to clean my room. I’ve really lucked out with the best mom in the world because I could talk for hours about the things that I’ve learned from her Christlike example. 

Having 5 sisters is an absolute roller coaster. Being the oldest of them is another story, even though it’s hard to believe I’m the oldest when I’m followed by Savannah who is taller, stronger, and easily more mature than I will ever be. God knew I needed someone like her to keep me in line, and humbled every so often.

Brooklynne has certainly brought humor and ease into the hardest situations in my life, and probably the most down to earth fifteen year old I’ve ever met. Summer knows how to live life to the fullest and do what makes her and others happy. Halley will forever be the sweetest one of all of us, and can make me laugh without even meaning to. Roo is my partner in crime, and is my favorite person to give marshmallows to right before bedtime. 

The third is through music and words. My entire life, I have been involved with music. I’ve sang since I was a little girl, and still enjoy it now. It didn’t matter what language the song was in, or where I was singing it, I could always feel God’s love when I sang words about Him. Those who know me know that I love words. I keep every birthday card, sticky note, or written words of affirmation that people give me. If you’ve written me a graduation, birthday, or just because card, you better believe that it is somewhere among our storage since I can’t just keep my stuff in my room while I’m on my mission. In high school it would make my day when someone would leave a note on my windshield, and I would cry happy tears in class if someone sent me a nice text. A sticky note may mean 10 seconds of thinking for some of you, but it made an entire week for me. God has given this gift to me as a way to feel love from Him, others, and myself. And even though I lose a little bit of respect for someone when they use the wrong “your” or “their”, every word of kindness has reflected how much love this world has to give.

Because of this gift, I cling to my patriarchal blessing, the scriptures, and music that will make me the best version of myself. 

Now for the first part of the question, who is Jesus Christ in my eyes. Before General Conference I prayed that I could learn something new about my Savior. I got my answer in The Sunday afternoon session when Elder Johathan S. Schmitt of the Seventy’s talk “That They Might Know Thee”. Earlier in this meeting, we were given the opportunity to take the sacrament. We get to “take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ” in all that we do. 

Throughout the week, how many of us can really say that we try to take upon His holy name in the ways that the Spirit prompts us? President Nelson said regarding Jesus’s many names, quote “Study everything Jesus Christ is by prayerfully and vigorously seeking to understand what each of His various titles and names means personally for you.” endquote Elder Schmitt also invited us to find our Savior’s name in the scriptures and find personally what they mean to us. Even though I don’t have 300 like him, pondering this has already brought me closer to Christ.

My first name is Redeemer. To Redeem is to “compensate for the faults or bad aspects of something”. I am more than aware of my many faults, and I am excited to discover more as I enter the mission field. I know that as long as I do my part in this life, I can be made whole through Christ. 

My Second and favorite is Strengthener. A lot of you don’t know, but a great part of my childhood I have dealt with bullies. Whether it was teasing me for how I looked, my standards, or rumors made about me by others, almost every year I had something to be anxious about, and it made my self esteem really low until about 6 months ago. I was in singles ward up in college, that Sunday had followed a pretty hard week regarding self worth. For a hymn we sang “How firm a foundation.” In the third verse we sing “Fear not, I am with thee; oh be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand. Upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.” As we were singing that, I was brought back to my eight year old self, being told that I couldn’t play with girls at recess again. I wondered what was wrong with me, and what made it so I wasn’t cool enough to play with the other girls. On a Sunday following that experience, my family went on a drive through Missouri’s beautiful countryside as we often did. We would usually play a primary songs disc, back when those things still existed. That verse came on, and I asked what the word dismayed meant.

My parents simply told me that dismayed meant to be scared, sad, or worried about something. And that we shouldn’t be dismayed because as long as we are trying our best, we have absolutely nothing to be dismayed about. For our God will give us aid. 

Brothers and Sisters, I have learned not to be dismayed because I have a Savior who walked alone at his worst moments so that I wouldn’t have to walk alone during mine. I have a Strengthener who knows my pains, my thoughts, and everything that I have and will go through for eternity. The scripture on my mission plaque is Isaiah 41:10 which reads, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” 

My final one is Foundation. Just like how Nancy from the hot springs said, my family will be moving their physical foundation to a place that hands down has the best food, most beautiful views, and the most amazing adventures waiting for them. It’s an understatement to say that I am used to having my physical foundation not be very foundational, as the longest I’ve lived in a house is less than five years. This has forced me to realize that the only foundation I can truly rely on is Jesus Christ’s perfect gospel. I know that as we draw nearer to Him, our foundation can be firm no matter what this life dares to throw at us.

Along with our Beloved Prophet and Elder Schmitt, I also invite you to find and personalize names of what Jesus Christ means to you. The Living Christ is a great place to start. 

I know without a doubt that my mission will be hard. I will have doors in my face, companions that I don’t click with, and many other challenges. I was talking to one of my older cousins about the mission, and she said that the best thing you can do for yourself is to find your “why”. Why am I serving a mission? 

I know what it’s like to feel like there is absolutely no way out of cycles of depression. I know what it’s like to think that maybe there isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel, and that maybe this life is all for nothing. I know what it’s like to feel unwanted, worthless, and invisible. Yet, through all of that, my Savior has never left my side. He chose to suffer in the garden of gethsemane so that he could feel my pain, walk with me, and even carry me through my trials. He chose to die on the cross, and overcome death three days later so that I can live again. He has sent guardian angels to help me, protect me, and comfort me. He has NEVER given up on me, even when I gave up on Him, and gave up on myself. After everything that He has done for me, the least I can do is bring a little bit of light into someone else’s life. That’s my “why”.

I invite all of you to find your “why”. Why do you get up every morning, go to work, school, tend to children, participate in sports, or whatever you do during your day. Why do you get back up when life knocks you down? Think about it, and then think about what you want to achieve because of your “why”. For me right now, it’s serving a mission. Everyone’s path is different and unique, just like us. 

I’d like to close with my Testimony. I know that this Gospel is perfect and true. I know that I have a loving Father in Heaven, and a Redeemer Jesus Christ. I know that Russel M. Nelson is a Prophet of God. I am so excited to go out and serve! I am so thankful for the examples in my life- my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. I’m so thankful for this ward family that I have had the opportunity to worship and grow with, and thankful for the ward families that have helped me and my family along the way. I’m thankful for seminary teachers, primary teachers, and young women leaders who have helped me grow into the person I am today. I know that the scriptures are the word of God, and that they have the answer to every challenge that we may go through in this life. 

I say these things in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.