Changed Through Christ: What My Mission Taught Me About Becoming More

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters! Before I begin, I want to emphasize a promise found in 2 Nephi 32. As Nephi is preaching about why Jesus Christ needed to be baptized, he starts to talk about the Holy Ghost and its role in our life. In verse three, he says,” Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.” Here we learn that the words of Christ will tell us all things that we should do. It tells us what we need to do in our lives. With that in mind, we read in verse five,” that if [we] will enter in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto [us] all things what [we] should do.” We are shown, by the Holy Ghost, how we can apply the words of Christ that we hear and read. Having that as a backdrop, I hope that each of you will listen to the Holy Ghost, as I speak, so that you will be shown all things that you should do.

My focus today will be on how the Gospel has changed two people I have met and how the Gospel has changed me. But first, what is the Gospel? At least for today, I will be defining the Gospel as the principles and experiences that people have been taught and then applied into their lives. I hope that this view will help steer clear of story time and will rather show you principles that, when applied, can change your life too.

The first person I saw the Gospel change was a person who I will call Josh. Josh is a police officer who has helped many people experience change in their life. His life was full of a lot of good and great things, but one of the first times we met, He said,” I don’t have a direction.” Relating this to us, have you ever felt like you don’t have a direction to go? Or that you are mindlessly and aimlessly walking through your daily routine? If you have, what do you do? Where do you find your direction? For Josh, he decided to reach out to us and listen to what we had to share. As he listened to what our purpose here on earth was, he felt the spirit in his heart and was hooked on deepening the relationship that he wanted with Jesus Christ. What Josh recognized was not only his direction for life, but that someone was there who cared and understood him. He understood that with Christ he can become something more.

The second person was, who I will call Alice, is a mentor for people who are trying to find balance in their life. Repeatedly she helped people to develop a lifestyle that was more than what they had. Like Josh, she had a great life, did plenty of great things for others, and was a good person. But in her mentoring balance wheel, she recognized that one thing was missing and that was balance of spirituality. Acting upon it, Alice walked into church and started to have lessons, but there wasn’t a connection in her life until the second lesson. In the second lesson, we teach about the plan of salvation. But in this lesson we show the plan of salvation written out on a piece of paper and it spells out the word LOVE. At the end of this lesson, Alice was in tears. She told us that this plan felt familiar to her. It felt like she knew it. She knew God’s plan of love. She recognized that He loved her. This single experience of having a desire to learn more about God changed how she acted. My companion and I saw this through how she started to share more about what she was learning with her family. She started to pray and study with as much diligence as she could. She started to become more. She knows that through Christ she can find lasting love in this life.

Lastly I want to show you how the Gospel has changed me. Firstly I don’t know why I decided to serve a mission. I didn’t know why God wanted me to be his missionary. In the MTC I decided to ask him why. Why me? At that moment, he told me how proud he was of me. He showed me how I have already helped him, and then He told me to be patient. After that experience, I went into the missionary field. In my first few transfers, I felt alone. I didn’t feel like my mission president cared about me. I didn’t feel like my companions cared about me. And I didn’t feel like anyone knew or understood me. On top of all of that, it seemed like every week my parents had news of another person passing away. I wanted to give up, but that voice came back and said,” Be patient. Keep going. Don’t give in. You are strong.” Again, God saw me. He understood me. He knew me. That pattern repeated over and over and over again, to the point where I can say that because of Christ I can be known and so can you.

I leave you with my testimony that I know God knows you. I know that he sees your individual difficulties. I know that he doesn't give up on you. I know that you are his child and he will give anything for you to feel an ounce of joy in this life. You are more than you think you are and that is because of Him. He is with you! In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen