Talk Time Yet Again.

So being in this family ward, which was the ward I had been in before moving up to Salt Lake in 2008, is pretty amazing! It's funny to see the changes that have come over me in the past few years and the changes that have come over the ward. I am truly blessed to be here. New ward also meant Talk time yet again. Soon enough, my Bishop came a askin'. I spoke at the end of February.

It was a really sweet experience preparing for it. I had the chance to fast, pray, and study about my subject. Again, I love that all the subjects I have ever been asked to speak on have influenced me and been just what I needed at the time. It's the Lord seeing the big picture and what we need in our lives thing again. I love the Gospel of Jesus Christ and am so thankful for each chance I have been given to increase my testimony of it. I want to share my talk with you all, so here it be.

*Disclaimer* My Bishop told me to make it a 15-20 min talk, that is why it's long, if you read fast though... it's not that bad *wink*

Hi. I am very thankful to be speaking today and very grateful for my topic, Elder Wirthlins talk from April 2008; “Concern for the One”. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by that I have benefited more from preparing this talk than you might by listening to it.

I know that “there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” As said in John 10:16 I also know that our Heavenly Father has placed people on this earth to be Christ like examples, other “shepherds”. They are Christ like examples who will lead, guide, and protect us. They will be people who care for the Lord’s children.
I look to the story of our Saviors birth to bring perspective on being one of those shepherds… Luke 1:8-20

“…there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them… the angel said… behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy… For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger… the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem... And they came with hast, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child… And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

There are “shepherds” who are following this example in our lives today. Shepherds who keep watch over their flocks, shepherds who would head a messenger from the Lord. They will be shepherds who will go and do. They will also be those who testify of Jesus Christ, His birth and His divinity. They glory and give praise to God. Do you know anyone in your life that fits this definition of a “shepherd”? They will be followers to the admonition later given by Christ who said, “What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am”.

I want to emphasize that not all “shepherds” will look, act, think, or speak alike. I encourage you to look around you today and over the next week to see who has been placed in your life to guide and protect you. I guarantee that you will see, to quote Elder Wirthlin, that “The Lord did not people the earth with a vibrant orchestra of personalities only to value the piccolos of the world. Every instrument is precious and adds to the complex beauty of the symphony. All of Heavenly Father’s children are different in some degree, yet each has his own beautiful sound that adds depth and richness to the whole.

Are we letting those individual and beautiful sounds of the orchestra around us, those shepherds, add depth and richness to our lives?

I know that the “One Shepherd” is Jesus Christ, our Savior. He is The Good Shepherd. He is our perfect example, who we should try and emulate. He was born, He lived, and He died for us. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We can see the blessings that are promised because He is our “Good Shepherd” as we read in Ezekial 34:23-31. We should always remember that Christ is our brother and He is the reason by which we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. Always remember though that each of us has the same divine parentage. We are all God’s children.

I know that the “One Fold” is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This Gospel bears His name. I know that we are guided by a Prophet of the Lord, he who yields all of the keys of the Holy Priesthood. I know that Christ chooses His Prophets. I know As Elder Wirthlin did that President Monson “is a mighty man of Israel who was foreordained to preside over this Church.”

Elder Wirthlin further describes President Monson’s character by saying: “While it is a complement to him that many of the great and mighty of this world know and honor him, perhaps it is an even greater tribute that many of the lowly call him friend. To his core, President Monson is kind and compassionate. His words and deeds exemplify his concern for the one.” His is a character that I think we should all try to emulate because he is a shepherd of Christ’s fold.

I also know that we were each born in a time when we would be needed to do the work of the Lord. I know that the rising generation truly is “A Chosen Generation”, a generation that if we trust in the Lord, we will succeed in all that He has asked us to do, a generation that has the chance to prepare the world to receive her “Good Shepherd” once more. I love the words spoken in one of my favorite primary songs… “We have been saved for these latter days, to build His kingdom in righteous ways. We hear the words the Prophet declares, let all whose worthy go forth and share. We are as the army of Helaman, we have been taught in our youth, and we will be the Lord’s missionaries to bring the world His truth.”

Because I know all of these things, I also know that Bishop Gonzales has been called of God to preside over this ward, to be another one of our “Shepherds”. His influence and instruction can guide us to live our lives in a way that will help us gain an eternal perspective and to help us to obtain eternal life. I know that each of us can learn from listening and applying his counsel to our lives because it is he who is Our Common Judge in Israel.

Also, the leaders and teachers in the Midvale Ward have been called of God. And when they are doing His will, they will not lead us astray. They will be shepherds who will continually lead us to Christ. Our Visiting and Home Teaching assignments have been prayed about and have the same shepherding ability to bring one to Christ. We are all brothers and sisters and by knowing this it should increase our willingness to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ, always being concerned for the one.

Quoting Elder Wirthlin, “Jesus Christ is our greatest example. He was surrounded by multitudes and spoke to thousands, yet He always had concern for the one. “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost,” He said. “What man of you, having an hundred sheep if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?”
This instruction applies to all who follow Him. We are commanded to seek out those who are lost. We who are our brother’s keeper. We cannot neglect this commission given by our Savior. We must be concerned for the one.”
When Bishop extended the call to speak today, he included that I should share some of my personal experiences with “Concern for the One”. While reflecting on my past and looking for experiences that would help convey the Spirit of being “Concerned for the One”, I have humbly realized that I’ve been the lost sheep more often than I thought. So now I want to share with you some of my story…

When I was 12 and 13, I really liked going to Young Women’s and really loved being worthy to do Baptisms for The Dead. I had amazing leaders in my ward, who always gave lessons where I felt the Spirit and they taught me about service. I knew my leaders loved me and wanted to help me in whatever way they could. I was what you would call an innocent and naïve girl… and then 8th grade hit! Soon enough the world came knocking and sadly, I answered.

That year had started out fine, but within the first couple of weeks, I had made some friends who weren’t the best examples. I started watching TV shows and movies that were popular, but had no value to them, just bad examples and bad language. I had started to steal and occasionally smoke. By the time I was half way through my freshman year of high school, I was only occasionally going to church and seminary was the farthest things from my mind.

High school was where I started to make more friends. The majority of my friends were not members. Which isn’t always bad, but in this case, it was not very good. Their parents didn’t have the same values as my mom did, so I found myself spending a lot of time at their houses, away from my own home. I felt guilty whenever I was home, so it made sense to not be there.

I was missing a lot of school, signing my mom’s name to my absent/tardy notes and had started doing recreational drugs. By then I was lying to cover up the stuff I was doing, mainly because I smelled bad from my new habit of smoking every day. Not to mention, my language was horrible, and I had given myself the majority of the 15 piercings I have in my ears. The sad part looking back was that toward the end of that year I had become the friend who was the bad example, not them.

I lived life that way until we moved into a new house and new ward when I was almost 16. A little over 2 years of specialness was enough for my mom. I know she was praying for me and her prayers were answered when I said ok after she suggested I try out our new ward and see if I liked Young Women’s. Fancy that, I did like it. My leaders were yet again amazing! They were exactly what I needed at that time of my life. The ward was a little weird as a whole, but they were family and I had no doubt in my mind that they loved me and wanted the best for me!

I still wasn’t fully active, but I did however stop doing the majority of the bad things I was doing, like stealing, smoking, and drugs. I had stopped hanging out with some of my old friends and started to make new ones. I also had by then talked to my Bishop about a few things. I coasted on that train from semi active to fully active during the summer before my junior year.

It was during the beginning of my junior year when I met Peter. I truly believe that the Lord placed him in my path to help me become a better person. Peter was truly AHHHMAZING! He loved his family and was a great friend. He was strong in the Gospel. He was always kind and loving to those around him and a really good example. He was funny, really cute and had an amazing singing voice. He was two years older than me, which made him 18 ½. He was a good Mormon boy, which meant that he was preparing to go on a mission at 19 and serve the Lord.

Peter had overcome some pretty big obstacle to be able to go on that mission. He was hit by a car when he was 7. He was wheelchair bound up until his mid teens, when he had gained enough strength to move up to using crutches to get around. He still didn’t have the full use of his legs, but that never stopped him from accomplishing his dream of serving a mission. He got called to San Francisco and left toward the end of my junior year. I missed having that friendship, but I knew everything would be ok. He had helped me to increase my testimony of trying to be a good person and the influence that can come from being positive rather than negative.

I also learned from our friendship that I wanted to have a good guy like him someday, a man who was strong in the Gospel and who loved the Lord as much as me and someone who looked to God and Christ for his answers. A man who set goals and did whatever he could to accomplish them. A man who served willingly and loved openly and gave all he had to follow the counsel of the Prophets of God. I knew however that I needed make more changes in my life for that to ever be a reality. So I started to make changes.

Around this same time President Hinckley had given the commandment for women to only wear one pair of earrings. I really liked all of my piercings, I thought they were cute, but I decided to try my faith, so I took them all out except for my original pair. I noticed a difference within myself after listening to his counsel. That simple test has helped me to keep making more changes. I started to do other things the Lord has commanded us to do. I started praying more frequently, I started to read my scriptures, I paid my tithing and I had taken the opportunity to fast for the first time. I was really feeling good!

Life for the next couple of years had its ups and downs because I was trying to be in the world, but not of it. I’ve learned that I can never deny the love the Lord has had for me. He has placed pretty amazing Shepherds to look after me during these years of finding myself. It’s funny that in finding myself, I totally lost myself, but Christ was always there to redirect and guide me, helping me to find my true self. I have learned the true definition of charity; the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love, not merely affection; the pure love of Christ through those who cared for, searched for, and brought me back home when I strayed.

I am here today, because there were people in my life who were concerned for the “one”.

Heavenly Father gave me a mom who never lost hope in finding me and guiding me back to Christ. I think of the scripture; Mosiah 27:14 where we learn that because Alma the elder “prayed with much faith” that his son might be brought to the knowledge of the truth that he was blessed with an answer to that prayer. Alma the younger came back into the fold of God because of the faithful prayers of a loving parent on his behalf.

The Lord gave me leaders in my ward who didn’t judge me. They loved me. They saw and encouraged my true potential. They taught me the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He gave me good friends who were amazing examples and specifically someone who raised my view upward to the Temple.

I look back and am thankful that my life story has a better chance of having a happy ending now because I have learned and am still learning from my mistakes. The pain and the tears still come when I stray, because I am not perfect. I pray though that when I stray, the shepherds in my life will still be “concerned for the one”. When I get lost though, I know where I can look to find my way back. I hope I can always see my “shepherds”, my guides. I look to my Savior. I look to my loving family, to friends who influence me to do good. I look to my ward family who has always been willing to teach me to be more Christ like. I know that in my past, I had been losing myself in the world, letting pride guide me rather than humility.

I have learned that living the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a decision you must make every single day. We have been given a gift with this life, with mortality. We should live to have Joy. True joy comes from the knowledge of the Plan of Salvation, knowing where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going. In this life we will be tried, we will love, and we will grow. It won’t always be easy, but when we rely upon Jesus Christ, we can have the feeling of the warmth of “The Good Shepherd” carrying us rather than feeling cold and lonely from being “lost”.

I am thankful for my life and give all the credit to any success I may have to my Father in Heaven. He loves me, and has continually guided His Shepherds to find me and for that I am thankful. These shepherds were able to carry and help me through living their testimony of Jesus Christ. I pray that we may all be able to live our testimony of Jesus Christ.

I want to close with words from a well know hymn…

“The world has need of willing men who wear the workers seal.
Come, help the good work move along; Put your shoulder to the wheel.
The Church has need of helping hands, and hearts that know and feel.
The work to do is here for you; Put your shoulder to the wheel.
Then don’t stand idly looking on; The fight with sin is real.
It will be long but must go on; Put your shoulder to the wheel.
Then work and watch and fight and pray with all your might and zeal.
Push every worthy work along; Put your shoulder to the wheel.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.