Farewell Talk

Hi everyone, I’ve been asked to give a talk before I start my mission next week. But before I get into the subject of my talk today I thought I’d share a few things about my mission. I’ve been called to serve in the Botswana/ Namibia Africa mission. Both of these country’s lie on the northern border of south africa with Botswana being landlocked and Namibia on the west coast.

A few random facts about my mission as well as Africa as a whole are…

From 2011 to 2021, church membership in Africa grew by 121%. The next closest country was the Philippines at 28%. 

 

In Africa, the number of missions has more than doubled over the past 10 years, from 22 to 45. Among regions and countries, that is the largest proportional growth.

This past July, the church opened 6 new missions. 5 of them were in Africa.

And although the church is growing rapidly, there are still only 4000 members of the church in Botswana and and maybe ¼ of that amount in Namibia.

 

Interesting facts about Botswana.

1.    It has a population of about 2.3 million people and is one of the least densely populated countries in the world

2.    Botswana has the highest concentration of elephants in the world

3.    It is Africa’s oldest continuous democracy. 

5.    Botswana is the world’s largest diamond producer – and of ethical diamonds

6.    English is the official language but Setswana is the national language and is spoken by 80% of the country

 Interesting facts about Namibia. 

1.    It has the world’s tallest sand dune standing at 1200 feet high

2.    More cheetahs live here than anywhere else

3.    It is home to the Namib dessert which is the oldest desert in the world

4.    The weather ranges from 5 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius

5.    English is the sole official language in Namibia but only 3% speak it as a home language. Oshiwambo is the most commonly spoken language. Most of the white population speaks German or Afrikaans. 

6.    Before its independence in 1990, the area was known first as German South-West Africa.

7.    80% of Namibians are Christian.

8.    It has a population of about 2.5 million people  

Now to get into my talk.  I have been given the topic of faith to do hard things with the Lord. This is a very important topic to me as I begin my life as a full-time missionary in a week. This decision has required a lot of faith on my part to move forward with this plan. A mission is something that I have always told myself I would do. The younger version of me was even excited to be a missionary. However, after a year at BYU in Provo, meeting many new people, enjoying my classes, and having cousins returning from their missions and planning on being in Provo in the Fall, made a part of me want to return to school for another year too. Nonetheless, a mission is something that I’ve always planned on doing and something that countless family members have experienced so I put my faith into action and put my papers in and am looking forward to serving the Lord, as well as the people of Botswana and Namibia. I did this knowing that it was the right thing to do and that it would bless my life as well as others in countless ways. I have faith that this will be so.

While preparing this talk, I spent a lot of time studying Ether 12. This chapter is Moroni talking about the things that Ether taught. There are so many great examples of faith in these verses. Part way through, I like to think because he was overcome by the Spirit, Moroni interrupts his account of Ether’s teachings to share his own thoughts by saying, “And now, I, Moroni… show unto the world that faith is things that are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because you see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith”. (Ether 12:6)  Moroni then goes on to share the power of faith in the lives of various individuals. I will recount some of these faith-filled experiences with you in just a bit. 

 

Moroni’s objective in writing Ether 12 was to encourage us to have faith in Jesus Christ so that we can experience miracles in our own lives.  I have always liked the idea of faith because it gives me hope. And I feel that by expressing faith in Jesus Christ I am given strength and can see the blessings it produces in my life. But what I have learned through studying, is that faith gives us much more than hope… it gives us miracles. Miracles are something I do know something about. I have witnessed countless miracles in my family and I am very grateful for these experiences.

 

Moroni 7 says “If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.” It is by faith that miracles are wrought, and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men.”

 

Ether testified that faith produces hope and hope leads us to do good works. The people didn’t believe Ether because he couldn’t prove what he said was true but as we read in Ether 12:5-6,  “faith is things which are hoped for and not seen” and we receive evidence only “after the trial of our faith”. I believe that this truly is the reason why it is hard to act in faith especially in times of discomfort as we don't know what the outcome will be but after the fact, we are always blessed.

I can say that deciding to serve a mission truly is going to be the biggest “trial of my faith” up to this point in my life. I can relate to these scriptures as I go into my mission a little blindly. I have hope that it will be wonderful and that I will be an instrument in the Lord’s hands, but these things are not yet seen to me. I know that I will not have the evidence of this until I put my faith into action by serving a mission. I do look forward to these experiences though.

 

In some ways, I feel inadequate to act as a messenger for Heavenly Father. I’m just a teenager who doesn’t have a lot of life experience. I feel like I haven’t had many hard or difficult experiences where I’ve had to act in faith. I certainly haven’t had to lead an army like Captain Moroni. However by reading the scriptures and studying I have come to realize that feelings of inadequacy can be useful because they can lead us to humble ourselves and put our faith in God. Ether 12:27 “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble” This scripture gives me comfort. It was also comforting to realize that even Moroni felt inadequate at times.

 

Moroni knew of the faith-filled experiences he had enjoyed but was worried that he wouldn’t be able to convey this message in writing. In verses 24-25 of Ether chapter 12, he refers to the “awkwardness of our hands” and says, “When we write we behold our weakness, and stumble because of the placing of our words”.  Moroni didn't feel sufficient in his ability to convert the experiences he had from his mind into writing and wished that he would have been blessed with this gift like his father Mormon had. He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to effectively convey what he wanted to share.

As quoted earlier from Ether 12:27, The Lord teaches that he “gives unto men weakness that they may be humble”. And then to enforce the point, he uses the word humble two more times. Both times it is used as a verb, suggesting action on our part. It is through this stretching, and humbling and growth that Moroni learns a great principle. Learning this principle is something he would have missed out on had God made him an effective writer from the start. He would have missed out on this opportunity to grow. 

 

Again, I know that I am going to have to be very humble as a missionary and put my faith in God so that I can become an effective instrument for him and gain new skills through practice and learning as Moroni did. Although it can be scary, I know that it is by experiencing trials and struggles that I will be able to grow. My mission will not just help the people that I am teaching but also myself.

 

Fortunately, I don’t have to face these challenges alone as I can turn to God when experiencing times of hardship and trials. I know that Ammon, the grandson of King Benjamin, was able to lean on God in this way. When he and his brothers returned from their missionary labors, he rejoiced that they had been made “instruments in the hands of God” to bring the gospel to the laminates. Ammon was quick to give the credit of their success to God by saying, “I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom… Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things”. (Alma 26: 11-12)

 

Bishop Robertson asked me to focus specifically on Ether 12:4 and the faith-filled experiences that Moroni had so I would like to dive a little deeper into that verse.

 

 4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

 

I love this scripture because it teaches the principle that when we have hope and faith in Jesus Christ, we will receive strength to be steadfast and abound in good works.

 

By having hope, we expect or wish for a positive outcome in the future. Moroni teaches us that faith in Jesus Christ gives us that hope. If we truly believe that He has all power and that he will support us, then we can overcome the discouragement and fear associated with challenges and continue moving forward with optimism.

 

This makes me think of a story about my great-grandad Miller and the faith that he exercised to preserve his life. I would like to share this story with you. (told by my Papa - Ian Miller) 

 

In 1942, Douglas Miller was a young father of four children, being at that time 38 years of age.  For some reason, never adequately explained, he had a heart attack one day as he worked in the family enterprise as a theatre owner and operator.  Taber had few facilities and more medical care was administered out of Lethbridge.  Even at that, cardiologists were in short supply in the early years of settling in southern Alberta.  Dad told me that the doctors were of little help in recommending care and prevention of another heart attack.  They recommended daily consumption of whiskey oddly enough.  A devout Latter-day Saint, this was entirely unacceptable and Dad determined to depend on the word of wisdom and to take a short nap each afternoon.  Beyond this, he prayed that he might be preserved to raise his family.

 

One of the earliest Latter-day Saint hymns is one called “Praise to the Man”.  In that hymn is a phrase, “Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven”.  My father firmly believed in that principle, which borrows from such sources as the sixth Lecture on Faith and D&C 103:27.  He reasoned that if a person was in need of some great blessing, he might consider the promise that, if that person were to righteously sacrifice his time and convenience to serve the Lord, it might indeed open the windows of Heaven and allow the needed blessing to flow forth.  In his time and place, he had little chance of survival without such a blessing.  As a consequence, he determined to make such a sacrifice, in order to be of continued service to his family.

In 1945, after the birth of another son, he attended a stake conference in the Lethbridge Stake.  The visiting general authority explained that because of the war, now ended, there was a need to create a force of missionaries that could reopen the mission field and serve until the young men, returning from the war, could be called and assigned to occupy assignments throughout the world.  My father felt a desire to sacrifice and to serve such a mission but worried that his young family would be unable to manage the demands of the family business.  He thought that if this needed assignment was embraced, then perhaps he would be blessed to live and to provide for his family.  

 

Dad met with the visiting authority to that end and after explaining his circumstances, then as a 41-year-old father of 5, he was told to stay home and care for his family and himself.  Dad thought that was the end of it, but shortly thereafter an unexpected call arrived to serve in the North West States mission.  He responded, taking this as a sign that his offer had been accepted and he would be blessed.  The weather and the rigorous conditions of the mission were taxing for Dad and he began to have failing health.  The symptoms were clearly heart-related and he was only able to stay for 6 months before being honorably released.  He returned home to eventually take up his duties within the family and community again.  He felt disappointed that he had not been able to stay longer but felt still that his efforts and willingness to serve, against all odds, indicated honorable intentions and promised future blessings, for having gone at all.  

The question might be asked, “Was honorable service, at considerable sacrifice, a segue to much-needed blessings?”  My father always thought that it was.  He never had another heart attack, until the year that I graduated from dental school, being the sixth and final child in the family, in 1977.  This heart attack finally took his life but not until his long life of devoted service to his church, family, and community was completed.  Were he here today and he just might be, I trust, that along with others, he would say Amen!

 

This is truly the story of a faithful man. A man who did hard things with the Lord’s help. This story is something that I really appreciate and can connect with in some ways.

 

We learn from Moroni that some of the greatest events in the history of religion have occurred because of faith. He shares many examples in Ether 12.

 

Because of faith, the following things happened. 

1.    Christ appeared to the Nephites

2.    Christ became the author of salvation

3.    The ancients received the priesthood

4.    The law of Moses was given

5.    Alma and Amulek caused the prison to tumble to the earth

6.    Nephi and Lehi wrought the change upon the Lamanites 

7.    The sons of Mosiah converted thousands of Lamanites

8.    The three Nephites obtained the promise of translation

9.    The brother of Jared saw God

10. The brother of Jared was shown all things

11. The Nephite prophets received a promise that the Book of Mormon would come forth in the last days

12. The brother of Jared moved a mountain

 

I want to look for the many ways that faith blesses my life as a missionary. I am going to make a point to keep my own list of the miracles that come through my faith and I hope to share it with you when I return from my mission.

I want to try to be as faithful as Captain Moroni as I can be.

 In Alma 48: 11-13 it says…

 

11 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had asworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

 

Above all else, Moroni was a faithful covenant keeper who loved the Lord. This is who I want to be as well.

 Ether 12 ends with this verse:

 

“And now I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the Prophets and Apostles have written that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen.”

 

 If we allow ourselves to move forward in faith, to put our trust in God, knowing that he will bless our lives because of it. Then we will be able to experience miracles, faith-building experiences, and the joy of the gospel for ourselves. By seeking Jesus Christ and his gospel we will be able to have God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost abide in us forever.

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