Sacrament Meeting Talks

Sunday July 31st was the day that Nathan, his friend Shawn, Shawn's mom, and I spoke in sacrament meeting - the last talks before their missions.  It was hard to hold it together, but I didn't cry as much as I thought... Nathan and Shawn did really well speaking; they were calm, collected, and shared some great wisdom.  They're well prepared and ready for their missions!  Nathan made some parallels to basketball in his talk and shared some thoughts on the Book of Mormon.  Julie and I gave 3-5 minute talks, in which we shared how they have prepared for their missions and strengthened our faith.  

The youth sang the musical number "I'll Go Where You Want me to Go", which was really touching.  These youth ARE willing to go anywhere the Lord wants them to go.  Here's a picture of some of the young men - this is a great group of guys who have supported and strengthened each other.  

Here are the thoughts I gave for my talk:  

President Nelson has counseled us to keep on the covenant path, the path that leads us back to God.  He says, "Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and then keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual blessing and privilege available."  Our main commitment is to be obedient to God in all things.  By keeping on the covenant path, we can access God's power in our lives.  

I've seen Nathan, Shawn, Devan, and many of our youth make choices to stay on the path, and their examples have strengthened my own faith in the Savior and His power to help us in our lives.  It's been a joy to watch Nathan prepare for his mission.  He's been preparing for a long time.  He's had an enthusiasm for the gospel ever since he was little.  When he was about 3 years old, we made some friends at the library.  The first time we had them over to our house, Nathan pointed out a picture of the temple to his friend, wanted to sing "I am a Child of God", wanted to read "Helaman's Stripling Warriors" and pointed out Jesus in a picture book of the "Savior in America".  He was just excited to share things that were important to him.  

Nathan continued to show his commitment to the gospel by being baptized.  He sang a solo at his baptism - "I Will Follow God's Plan for Me".  We've watched his commitment to the gospel many other times - with notable times where he quickly turned to prayer - to find a camping spot, to get his homework done, or get his Senior Night basketball game moved from Sunday to another day.

We've seen him access the power of God through scripture study, family home evening, seminary, church, and temple attendance.  One of our family's "secrets to success" has been our commitment to monthly temple attendance.  When our kids were too young to go inside the temple, we took all of the kids with us, and Alex and I traded off doing temple work.  The kids benefited from seeing how important the temple is to us.  Nathan has visited about 27 different temple grounds.  We know the covenant path leads straight through the temple.  It hasn't been easy to keep our temple commitment.  We've had to make sacrifices.  We've faced opposition, with even recently getting Nathan to the temple for his endowment.  

We've watched Nathan make sacrifices too this summer.  Nathan and Jared decided to get up at 6:00am to do scripture study and work out.  We know that anything worth doing requires sacrifice but brings access to God's power, which moves us to do things we otherwise wouldn't do.  

The words to a Kenneth Cope song have been on my mind:  "I've never been the kind to testify.  I don't have the words His truth deserves.  But it's a simple thing He asks - a worthy heart and willing hands.  He says if I make the choice, He'll help me find my voice.  He calls me to serve and I cannot fail Him, the one who has given me all that I have.  How can I keep this gift to myself when I can lift somebody else?  I'll be a witness of His miracles and His mercy.  When I put my faith in Him, the truth begins to speak.  His power is real.  It moves me until I will not be still."  

This power allows us to do hard things and moves us to share this light with others.  I know that Jesus is our light and gives us power to return back to God.  We can do all things through Christ which strengthens us.  I'm grateful for Nathan and his willingness to serve.  He's a light to those around him and will be to the people in Ecuador.  I'm grateful to be on the covenant path alongside him for these last 18 years.  I know the Lord will be by his side as he willingly goes to serve.