Farewell Talk

 Meredith's farewell talk- joy of sharing the gospel and serving others

Hi my name is Sister Jones and I have been called to serve in the Salt Lake City Temple Square Mission. This is kinda funny because for the last semester I have been taking classes at BYUs Salt Lake Center and although I can see the temple through the window in some of my classes, the salt lake center is not within my mission boundaries.

Temple Square is easily the most unique mission. So here are some fun facts; I get an extra week of training at the missionary training center in Provo, it is a Sisters only mission, about 4 million people visit temple square each year, it is the smallest mission geographically (about 1 square mile), I will be living right by the conference center, we have 1 hour church every Sunday at 7:30am before all the visitors get there, i will be the fourth sister jones in the mission at once, my preparation day switches every transfer and i get to go to the temple once every 6 weeks. My mom also told me that only pretty sisters go to temple square so do what you will with that information. All jokes aside I am so pumped to be able to serve the Lord with my whole heart for the next 18 months.  

Now I realize that to some of you this sounds like a foreign language so hopefully I can better break it down. Most missions are proselyting missions meaning missionaries go knocking door to door hoping somebody will answer and want to hear a message about Christ. I however will be in Salt Lake at a church site greeting visitors and giving tours. Then if the people I am teaching are interested in learning more I will send their information to missionaries serving where they are from. So yes it is a little different but is still the same doctrine and principles.

Choosing to serve a mission was not always in my plan. Here is some important backstory and Bishop Doezie can testify to this. I got a recommend to get my Patriarchal blessing at least four times before I called the Patriarch and actually set up an appointment. I remember having a conversation with one of my young women's leaders and they asked why I was so nervous to get my blessing and my response was, “What if it says I am going to serve a mission?” Seems ironic now because I am so excited to serve the Lord for the next 18 months but for a while I was going off my plan and not aligning my will with the Lords. The summer before my senior year I went on a Humanitarian trip to the Dominican Republic, this is when the thought of me serving a mission first came to my mind. I was there with 20 strangers building a school for the local children. Leaving behind all worldly possessions and serving the people felt so right. But serving a mission wasn’t part of my plan so I pushed that feeling aside and kept living my normal life. Fast forward to half way through my senior year when I did not get accepted into my #1 college. Although I was disappointed, I decided to look at it with a glass half full mindset. I thought ok if this didn’t work out then there has to be a different plan for me. Once again a mission came to my mind but it wasn’t in my plan so I pushed it away. A few weeks later we did mini MTC as a stake and while me and my companions taught the restoration to a non member I couldn’t help but imagine devoting my life for a year and a half to teaching about Christ's gospel. At this point serving a mission was a recurring thought in the back of my mind. It got to a point where I messaged my brother on his P day and said “ok if I go on a mission you better not be married by the time I get home” After almost two years of pushing my patriarchal blessing off it finally came and I got my answer clearer than any answer I ever have before. Now this could be because my blessing straight up tells me I will have the opportunity to serve a mission or it could be because for once I was actually fully on board with serving.

I have experienced so much Joy these past months while preparing to serve and especially this past week as a set apart disciple of Christ. For the last week I have been doing at home missionary training. This consists of waking up at 6:30, studying my scriptures, participating in about 8 hours of church classes on zoom, and being absolutely exhausted by 9pm. Learning on zoom is not always the most fun but it has confirmed to me that the joy we feel has very little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. Christ is Joy! This is why missionaries, like me, leave their homes to preach his gospel. The goal is not to baptize as many people as possible, it is to bring joy to as many people as possible throughout the World.

We have access to this joy through looking to Christ in every thought. We can give thanks for him in our prayers and keep the covenants we have made with him and our Heavenly Father. As our savior becomes more and more real to us and we plead for his joy to be given to us, our joy will increase.

This however does not mean that we will not experience hardship and trials. I never knew the power satan had over me until  the week before I got my mission call. I was overwhelmed with classes, just broke up with a serious boyfriend and couldn’t help but feel so inadequate in everything I was doing. I second guessed my decision to serve even though I knew it was in God's plan for me. Instead of tearing myself down I decided to turn to the scriptures. and during my scripture study that day I read Philippians chapter 4 verse 13 which reads “i can do all things through christ who strengtheneth me” this was a confirmation to me. Christ was there, I would be ok and I am never alone because Christ knows me by name while Satan knows me by sin. I have repeated those words over and over again in my head for the past 4 months when I felt Satan control my thoughts and I know I will be repeating them a whole lot more over the next year and a half. 

This has allowed me to learn how to suffer with joy. No matter how difficult the circumstances got I still was able to stay joyful. Our Savior suffered and died for us so that we may be able to have joy. In 2 Nephi chapter 2 it says, “Adam fell that men might be, and men are, that they might have joy.” Think about how cool that is! In a world that is always changing and imperfect we are here to experience joy. However, agency allows us to be able to make our own decisions. This is nice but also causes us to make the wrong decisions and sin. But because of the atonement we can be pure and free from sin through repentance. Think about the joy of being free from guilt and shame. Christ died so we can be able to live with him again and I am forever grateful for that. 

Near the beginning of the Book of Mormon, the prophet Lehi tells his family about a spiritual dream he has experienced. The central symbol in this dream was “a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy” (1 Nephi 8:10). Lehi’s focus for the rest of the dream was on inviting his family to eat the fruit and on learning why so many people were failing to appreciate and enjoy the fruit.

Nephi, one of Lehi’s sons, sees an explanatory vision in which he learns that the tree represents the love of God, which is “the most desirable above all other things” and “the most joyous to the soul” (1 Nephi 11:22-23).

This turns out to be a fundamental theme of the Book of Mormon: God wants us to be happy. He loves us and knows how to help us achieve happiness. But we spend significant time and energy seeking happiness through activities which will only bring us misery. 

In October 2016 President Nelson said, “If we look to the world and follow its formulas for happiness, we will never know joy. The unrighteous may experience any number of emotions and sensations, but they will never experience joy! Joy is a gift for the faithful. It is the gift that comes from intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.” This does not mean that we need to have a perfect testimony or knowledge because there is no such thing. We learn in Alma 32 faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things, it is to hope for things we can not see but are true. 

I know that Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. His Atonement is infinite and perfect and has helped me endure my greatest trials and has enabled me to feel my greatest joys. I am filled with so much joy knowing that I get to go serve the Lord and the people of Salt Lake. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord knows each of us and longs for us to come unto Him. Throughout my life, I have felt that I am not alone and that I am loved perfectly by my Father in Heaven. The knowledge of my divine identity as a daughter of God is so sacred to me. All my confidence, light, hope, optimism, and strength comes from that knowledge and from Christ's infinite Atonement. 

I just love this gospel! There is no way for me to fully and properly express my testimony here but I hope to more fully bear it through my missionary service and throughout my whole life. I am giving it all to Him even though it will not be easy. I am so grateful for the opportunity to glorify God through my mission. I know the joy that comes from the gospel and I hope to share it with all who will listen. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen