Below are pictures of all the decor that Brooke and I planned for the Open House! I enjoyed doing the flowers and putting everything together to make it special for her! Sweet Anna Maskovich did all the chalkboard lettering as a gift to Brooke! I thought that was so kind of her!
We enjoyed a nice family dinner and then the guests started to arrive and we had quite the crowd that wanted to wish Brooke well on her mission...many came from our ward and other friends! It was so much fun to visit with everyone under such happy circumstances! It was a beautiful day!
Below is Brooke's talk:
I wanted to start my talk by asking all
of you to ponder the same question I was asked to prepare my talk from: What does it mean to take upon myself
the name of Jesus Christ? I found this to be a very powerful question to ask
myself as I will soon physically bear Christ’s name next to my own on my
missionary nametag.
As I pondered this question for myself, I thought about other things that
physically bear His name and their characteristics. The list that I came up
with was: church buildings, scriptures, temples, and donations from the church.
All of these things physically bear Christ’s name in some way whether printed,
engraved, or stamped and they all share characteristics that can help us see
what it might mean to bear the name of Jesus Christ. Church buildings are clean
and organized. They are filled with the Spirit. They help us learn about and
come closer to Christ. They are full of service, love, and joy. Temples have
many similar characteristics: They are clean, organized, beautiful and unique.
They too are filled with the Spirit and help us learn about and come closer to
Christ. They help us feel peace and refuge from the storms of life. The
scriptures also contain teachings to help us learn, grow, and come unto Christ.
Donations from the church are also clean and in good condition and they are
made and donated with love. My family and I recently toured the Humanitarian
Center. And at one point in the tour, we came into the sorting room and the
missionaries told us that the workers and volunteers sort out any items that
are damaged, broken or stained and these items aren’t donated. They explained
that they aren’t donated because, when they are sent out, they will bear
Christ’s name, and He would only give the best to His people.
As I thought about how all of these
things might relate to how I will bear Christ’s name as a missionary, I
realized that missionaries too are expected to be clean and organized. They go
out to teach others and bring people closer to Christ by teaching with the
Spirit. They serve others. And they are full of love for God, for life, and for
Christ’s gospel. I then thought about what the missionaries said about how
Christ would only give His best and how wearing His name is a huge responsibility.
For a little while, I felt very inadequate. Am I good enough to bear His name
as a missionary?
That question was answered as I watched
a series of videos made for missionaries preparing to serve. Elder Bednar
addressed the missionaries and said, “I just want you to know that the Lord,
and the Lord’s servants, trust you” and he gave them his blessing “that you may
know that the Lord has confidence in you and that you have the capacity to
honor that confidence.” This brought me so much peace. I know that we are given
the opportunity to take Christ’s name upon ourselves as a blessing and never as
a burden. During the sacrament, we all covenant to be willing to take upon
ourselves the name of Christ, always remember Him, and keep His commandments
and we are blessed to always have His spirit with us. And what a beautiful
blessing that is!
Elder Robert C.
Gay recently wrote a talk called, “Taking upon ourselves the name of Jesus
Christ.” “May we faithfully take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ— by
seeing as He sees, by serving as He served, and by trusting that His grace is
sufficient.” Seeing as God sees means that we see that every soul has infinite
worth. It means that we don’t judge based off of what we see. It means that we
love everyone. Going along with that, serving as he served means that when we
see the lepers, the lame, the dumb, and any of God’s children struggling, we quickly
act. “[We minister] to all regardless of where or how they stand— lives are
saved as we do so.” Trusting that His grace is sufficient means that we trust
in His Atonement. We trust that He did descend below all things and we trust
that because He did so, He can and will walk with us through the challenges of
our lives until we overcome and return to Him and to our Father in Heaven.
To summarize what it means to take Christ’s name upon ourselves,
I’d say it means to strive to be like Him in all things. “Preach My Gospel,” describes
10 attributes of Christ and encourages missionaries to become Christlike by
developing these attributes. They are: Faith in Jesus Christ, Hope, Charity,
Love, Virtue, Knowledge, Patience, Humility, Diligence, and Obedience.
Missionaries physically take upon themselves the name of
Christ and act as His servants but we are all invited to write His name on our
hearts. We are called to come unto Christ and become like Him by following His
incredible example as best as we can and by living and serving as He did.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf told a story in General Conference
about a statue of Christ severely damaged during a bombing in World War 2.
“Experts were able to repair most of the statue, but its hands had been damaged
so severely that they could not be restored. Some suggested that they hire a
sculptor to make new hands, but others wanted to leave it as it was— a permanent
reminder of the tragedy of war. Ultimately, the statue remained without hands.
However, the people of the city added on the base of the statue of Jesus Christ
a sign with these words: “You are my hands.” As His disciples, we can follow
the example He gave in His mortal ministry and continue to be His hands today.
In a BYU devotional in 2012, D. Gordon Smith talked about
“what’s in a name.” In His adult life he took his incredible father’s name upon
himself and He felt like a new person when he did so but he also said, “When I
took upon myself the name of my
father,
I was not using his name as a description of my character. I was not saying, “I
am my father.” Rather, I was using the name to honor him and to
inspire myself to develop
attributes like him. Similarly, taking upon ourselves the name of Christ is not
a recognition of an achievement but rather a nudge
toward improved behavior.”
Taking upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ means we are willing to become
like Him and are working to develop Christlike attributes.
I just want to finish by reading a poem
written by missionaries that I heard in a relief society lesson up at college.
It really struck me when I first heard it and it continues to do so each time I
read it and I hope it will do the same for you. It explains better than I can
put into words what it means to me to take upon myself the name of Jesus Christ
and why I want to serve a mission.
Holes, by Scott Lewis and Elders from his
mission:
I had been in that hole for a very long
time
In the dark and the damp, in the cold and
the slime.
The shaft was above me; I could see it
quite clear
But there's no way I ever could reach it
from here.
Nor could I remember the world way up there
So I lost all my hope and gave in to
despair.
I knew nothing but darkness, the floor, and
the walls
Then off in the distance I heard someone
call:
"Get up! Get ready! There's nothing
the matter.
Take rocks and old sticks and build up a
fine ladder."
This had never occurred to me-- had not
crossed my mind.
But I started to stack all the stones I
could find.
When I ran out of stones, then old sticks
were my goal,
For one way or another I'd get out of that
hole.
So I soon had a ladder that was sturdy and
tall
And I thought, "I'll soon leave this
place once and for all."
I climbed up my ladder. It was no easy
chore,
For from lifting those boulders, my
shoulders were sore.
I climbed up the ladder, but soon had to
stop
For my ladder stopped short-- some ten feet
from the top.
I climbed back down my ladder and started
to cry
I'd done all I could do. I gave my best
try.
And in spite of my work, in this hole I
must die.
And all I could do was to sit and think,
"Why?"
Was my ladder too short? Or my hole much
too deep
Then from way upon high came a voice,
"Do not weep."
And then faith, hope, and love entered into
my chest
As the voice said to me that I'd done my
best.
He said, "You've worked very hard, and
your labor's been rough,
But the ladder you've built is at last tall
enough.
Do not despair. You have reason to hope.
Just climb up your ladder; I'll throw down
my rope."
I climbed up the ladder, then climbed up
the cord.
When I got to the top, there stood the
Lord.
I couldn't be happier; my struggle was
done.
I blinked in the brightness that came from
the Son.
I fell to the ground, His feet did I kiss
I cried, "What can I do to repay thee
for this?"
Then He looked all about Him. There were
holes in the ground
They had people inside, and were seen all
around
There were thousands of holes that were
damp, dark, and deep
The Lord turned to me and said, "Feed
my sheep."
Then He went on His way to help other lost
souls,
And I got right to work, calling down to
the holes:
"Get up! Get ready! There's nothing
the matter.
Take rocks and old sticks and build up a
fine ladder."
It now was my turn to spread the good word.
The most glorious message that man ever
heard.
That there's one who is willing to save one
and all
And we've got to be ready when He gives the
call.
He'll pull us all out of the hole that
we're in
And save all our souls from death and from
sin.
So do not lose faith; there is reason to
hope
Just build up your ladder; He'll throw down
His rope.
When I first heard this poem, I mostly saw
myself as the one in the hole, struggling with my tunnel vision perspective of
life. But this poem doesn’t just talk about the minor holes that we fall in
throughout life. It also talks about how Christ has saved everyone from the
holes of death and sin through His Atonement and that is a glorious message. I
still feel like I fall in holes and need help getting out of them, but I now
see myself in this poem as the one who wants to share the joy, love, peace, and
“Good News” of this gospel. As a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day saints, I will have the opportunity to take Christ’s name upon
myself and do His work calling down to the holes. Like the poem said, “It now
is my turn to spread the good word” and I am so excited to do so by serving a
mission.
I know that Christ is at the head of this
church and has been since it was restored by His prophet Joseph Smith. He has
called President Nelson to be the Prophet of His Church on the earth today. He
has trusted the Prophet and apostles and other leaders throughout the church to
preside over and direct His people.
I know that I have been called to the
Minnesota Minneapolis Mission for a reason and that they need to hear this
glorious message. I know that the Lord trusts us to be His hands and that God
has a plan for us and for all of His children. He is a loving Heavenly Father
and wants to talk to us if we will just pray and ask.
I know the Bible and Book of Mormon to be
true and that they work together to testify of Christ. I know that we can receive
inspiration and answers to prayer by reading them.
The teachings of this church are true, and
they bring joy into the lives of those who will listen and act.
I say these things in the name of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
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