Good morning Brothers and Sisters,
I would like to just begin with how grateful I am for everyone who came today to support me. I know people may have made sacrifices to be here and I just want you to know I am truly grateful to all of you. As I begin my talk I had a story come to mind about our new bishopric. Now in order for me to tell you this story you need to know a little background. The one on the stand who is an older version of me is my brother, Weston. Weston and I have a pretty good relationship and when I was younger anything he said I believed. One night we were headed to the twenty fourth of July rodeo and Weston convinced me that he was singing the national anthem to begin the rodeo. So I went around and told all my friends that my brother was singing the national anthem. But as the rodeo began it was a girl who sang the national anthem!! So I ended up looking like the gullable little brother. So I promised myself never to listen to him again. A month or so ago Weston called me and told me that he was going to be put into the bishopric. My reply to that one, “yeah right, dude. You already got me once by saying you were singing the national anthem. No way you're in the bishopric.” Well, sure enough the next Sunday, here comes all of our family and now he sits on the stand today. Just goes to show you brothers out there, don’t mess with your little brother or they won't ever believe you.
I wasn’t given a specific topic to speak on here today and that, for me, was a struggle. I thought about what I would want to know if I were listening to my talk six months ago. An experience came to mind to me that has stuck out to me in the past several months as I have been preparing to serve a mission. About a month ago I was able to go to Lake Powell with my sister and her family and be on a houseboat for a week. Now me, not being huge on water I wasn’t really sure about going. But I love my sister's family and I wanted one last fun thing with them. So we loaded the boat and went on this trip. On the way there my brother in law told me, he said, "you’ll be a good boat driver within the first couple hours we are there." Now I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. Within the first 3 hours we were there, I was put into his brother Arnold’s boat all by myself while they tried to get the house boat beached. Now this houseboat is huge and it has big tall sides that seem to act like sails in the wind and if the wind is blowing it too hard it can be very difficult to beach this houseboat. Right as we got to our cove the wind began to pick up and Arnold seemed to be having a difficult time keeping the boat straight. I prayed and prayed that everything would go safely and go as planned. Now to be honest it probably wasn’t as nerve racking to everyone else as it was to me, but as Arnold came back to make his second run at the beach I had this calm feeling settle in on me. I knew that our Heavenly Father was watching over us. And just as Arnold got straight with the beach, the wind died. It was calm and he beached the boat easier than they said they had ever seen him beach it before. In Doctrine and Covenants 19:28 it says, "And again, I command thee that thou shalt pray vocally as well as in thy heart; yea before the world as well as in secret, in public as well as in private."
This strengthened my testimony of prayer because I knew that Heavenly Father was watching over us and even though it was a small and simple thing, He was taking care of us on that trip.
When I turned 16 my mom really wanted me to go and receive my patriarchal blessing. She said she had received hers when she was that age and she wanted me to have mine. I just lightly brushed it off because I just felt like I wasn’t ready. I felt as though I just needed to wait and I would know exactly when the time was right. Now I honestly really didn’t like that because I’m a very impatient person. And as all my friends began to receive theirs I wanted mine more than ever. Now the reason I tell this story is because this was the very first time that I had felt the spirit so strongly that I could not deny it. I knew that I was ready and I decided to set up the appointment. My bishop told me to fast twenty four hours in advance before I received my blessing, and I wanted to be exactly right so at 1 o'clock the Saturday before my blessing I stopped the tractor got on my knees in the middle of the spud field and began my fast. In D&C 82:10 the Lord tells us that He is bound when we hold our end of the deal. And I wanted to have a good experience with this blessing. Now unfortunately I can’t go into details. I wish I could but I just wanted my nieces and nephews especially to know that sometimes you don’t need to get your patriarchal blessing right when your turning a certain age. I know that if I had received my blessing at age 16, the spirit that was in that room that day would not have been there. I know that if we will do as the Lord asks us he will give us blessings more than we can imagine. I read my patriarchal blessing often and it has been a huge blessing to me as I have been preparing to serve a mission.
Now that was a turning point for me. I had already received my mission call at the time I received my blessing. And I hate to say this but I had been taking my mission lightly and boy did I ever need a wake up call. I was focused on things here. The mission was still a thing that was far away. I didn’t feel like it was ever going to come. And as soon as I received that blessing my mindset changed. I began reading the scriptures more and more everyday. I began to think mission. I noticed my prayers changed. I asked for different things and I went from dreading my mission to excitement and anxiousness. Now don’t get me wrong, I am nervous, but along with that feeling I have a feeling of excitement and joy that I get to go and share the gospel with people in Nevada that I don’t even know yet.
Bishop asked me if I would touch on just a few things that would help prepare you young men thinking of serving a mission. Now I know that I haven’t been on my mission yet but I do know that reading your scriptures and praying everyday is a huge part of preparing. Also probably one of the biggest things is becoming a worthy servant of our Heavenly Father. I believe that my greatest example of this was my Sunday school teacher and my great friend, Katie Crapo. She always wanted us to understand that no matter what, our Heavenly Father loves us and He is always there for us. One thing we must understand is that our Heavenly Father gave us the atonement because He knew that we were going to make mistakes. We are imperfect. Jesus suffered so that we would be able to return to our Heavenly Father. In Romans 3:23 it says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." But thankfully like it says in 1 John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin." With Christ we can be clean again and feel of His love. Also try to spend more time with your family. As I look back on high school and the things I learned, I am so greatful for my many friends. But my biggest regret was at times when I felt as though I was all alone, my family was standing beside me begging me to come to them. But instead of accepting their help I turned away from them and acted like I was way too cool to be with my family. I honestly didn’t like them, I thought they just wanted to run my life. But now as I have grown closer to all of my siblings and my parents, I realized that my best friends were right next to me the whole time. Our family is who we are going to be with for the rest of our lives and now as I am leaving them and wont be able to talk to them until Christmas I realize how much I really am going to miss them. Take time out of your busy schedule with your friends to get to know your siblings and your parents. It might turn out that they are actually just like you. And with your friends, be picky. Don’t hang out with people who are doing things that they shouldn’t be. Even if you aren’t doing it. It is your friends that you are your support group in school and with decisions like serving a mission. I know that without my friends I wouldn’t be standing here today.
Last year, right before my friends and I went to college there was a debate going on within our group of friends. We were all great friends and very close and we are all members, and we all have parents who have taught us well. The debate wasn’t what school do we go to, or what pickup should we get. It was should we serve missions? Now I’m sure that, the exact same debate that was going on between us might be going on in some of your heads. We all would drive around and weigh out the outcomes of serving a mission or not serving a mission. We didn’t know. We just could not come to an answer. One day we would be sure that we were going to go and then the next day it was no way. How could I ever leave here and be on my own for two years? Finally, we decided to pray. And to be honest, the answer did not just come in one big wave. It was many things that changed our hearts. Now, I know you have probably heard this story from me many times but I felt like it needed to be shared one last time. It was one night late at night and my friend and I had made a decision we weren’t going. It was a done deal. We had prayed and that was the decision. We weren’t going to go just for our families. Because if we didn’t go for us and do it for the right reasons then it just wasn’t going to happen. But then the question came to my mind…. “Austin can you tell me that the church isn’t true?” with tears in his eyes he replied, “No I can’t”. He then asked me the same question. My reply was obviously the same and we decided. If we couldn’t say it was not true, then we had no choice but to go and share that true church with our brothers and sisters. Now he has lead the way. And there are boys from Idaho serving or going to be serving in India, Fiji, Oklahoma, Georgia, New Mexico, and good old Las Vegas. And those are just a few of the places that our community is sending elders. I believe in our community more than ever because we were supposed to be the “bad class.” But the community here raised us all, so that hopefully we can pay you back and make you proud as we serve our Heavenly Father.
I can remember the day that I opened my mission call, my family and friends were there gathered around to hear the exciting news of where I was going to be serving. I just want to share with you a few paragraphs from my mission call because they have such profound words in the mission calls….
The last two sentences that I read are what really stick out to me; “Greater blessings and more happiness than you have yet experienced await you as you humbly and prayerfully serve the Lord in this labor of love among his children.” Labor of love. We are going out to serve our Heavenly Father because we love Him. That is why I am going. I love my Heavenly Father. Yes, the blessings that will come definitely will be amazing. But love is the real reason I wanted to leave. I wanted to make Him happy. And lastly when the first presidency says “We place our confidence in you and pray that the Lord will help you become an effective missionary.” That last statement gives me confidence. Because if the first presidency believes in missionary work, then I know that it is the right thing to do. I pray that I will be able to be an effective missionary just as they pray for all missionaries everyday.
As the day for my mission has come, a scripture that comes to mind always when I think of my mission is D&C 31:3,5-7. "Lift up your heart and rejoice, for the hour of your mission is come; and your tongue shall be loosed, and you shall declare glad tidings of great joy unto this generation. Therefore, thrust in your sickle with all your sould, and your sins are forgiven you, and you shall be laden with sheaves upon your back, for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Wherefore, your family shall live. Behold, verily I say unto you, go from them only for a little time, and declare my word, and I will prepare a place for them. Yea, I will open the hearts of the people, and they will receive you. And I will establish a church by your hand." Those verses have been very profound for me in the last couple months. Because we leave our families for just a short time, but in that short time we can make changes in peoples' lives that can effect them for generations to come. In Matthew 17; 20-21 it says, "And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." I really like this scripture because it feels like this next step in life is a huge mountain. But I know that through fasting and prayer it is the right thing that I am going to be doing. And that if I will be obedient then my life will be blessed and my family will be blessed. I look at how my brothers having such great faith affected me. Luckily for me, their choices to serve a mission changed me and now hopefully the ripple will continue on with their children. I have such a small testimony but through trials and opportunities to speak and grow I am able to let it grow. I am so excited to go and serve my Heavenly Father. I feel his love every day.
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