I love my family so much! My heart is just full right now! It has been so fun having everyone here ALL TOGETHER—even if it is just for a few days! It doesn’t get much better than this! I am so grateful for Brooke and her sweet example. She is such a great example to me of kindness, meekness, gentleness and love. She has such a beautiful spirit about her! She makes me want to be a better person! I am so glad that she got to have the experience of serving a mission. I know and feel how much she loves the Karen people and the people of Minnesota! She bore a beautiful testimony of our Savior today in her talk—she knows Him because she is LIKE Him! She also bore her testimony in Karen—which was so beautiful, even though I didn’t understand it. I felt the Spirit confirm to me that what she was saying was true and good. I love Brooke so much! I know Heavenly Father has been able to use her for so much GOOD! What a blessing she is to me in my life!
Here is a copy of her talk:
Good morning!
I am so happy to be here and to talk today about Our Savior Jesus Christ!
I have just returned from an 18 month mission serving in the Minnesota and working with the Karen refugees there! I loved that experience and loved teaching them about Jesus Christ and the Good news of His gospel and I have learned so much from my time there!
I have learned that Jesus Christ loves us. He loves every single person in the whole world. All over the world!
I have learned that He KNOWS us. He knows our strengths and He knows our weaknesses AND He knows our potential.
I have learned that all though we can hardly ever see Jesus Christ with our physical eyes, when we tune in with our spiritual eyes or (as a mission leader liked to say) our "miracle glasses", we can see that He is EVERYWHERE in our life, He has a plan, and that He excels in the details. And His tender mercies are real and all around us.
I have learned more about the life that Jesus Christ lived and the person He was and how important that really is.
One of the biggest personal lessons that I have learned is most accurately described in a story. This is a story that my parents read to me many times when I was younger but I don't think I ever truly understood the message. One day towards the middle of my mission I came across this story again at a time I really needed it and at first it hit me with familiarity like "Where have I heard this before?" And "How did the story end?" and then as I read on, the story it just hit me with a lot of power. It is the story of The Three Trees...
There were three trees on top of a mountain. The first tree wanted to become a beautiful treasure chest to hold gold and the greatest treasures.
The second tree wanted to become a strong ship to carry kings across oceans.
The third tree wanted to grow to be the tallest tree so that when people looked heavenward, they thought of God.
One day woodcutters came and cut the three trees down.
The first two trees were excited—they thought their dreams would now come true.
The first tree, however, was not made into a treasure chest but instead a feed box for animals.
The second tree became a small fishing boat, carrying stinky fish all day.
The third tree was made into lumber and put in a pile.
“What happened?” they thought.
Time passed on, and the trees nearly forgot about their dreams.
But then one night a new star appeared in the sky and a newborn babe was placed in the feedbox (or manger). That tree suddenly realized he was holding the greatest treasure in the world. It was better than he could have imagined.
A few years later the second tree, which was made into a boat, had a traveler fall asleep in it when a storm arose on the water. The man awoke, stood, and stretched his hand and said, “Peace.” The storm stopped, and the second tree realized he was carrying the King of Kings.
Then, one Friday morning the third tree was taken and fashioned into a cross upon which this same man was crucified. The tree felt ugly. But on Sunday the sun arose and the tree realized that God’s love changed everything.
It made the first tree beautiful.
It made the second tree strong.
And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God, which was better than being the tallest tree.
Each tree had dreams, but the Lord saw their full potential, which brought a much greater reality.
I love this story and how perfectly it shows that Christ and His birth and his life changes everything and makes dreams come true.
He is the Prince of Peace, the anchor of our hope, our Savior and redeemer, the creator, the healer, the Living Christ, the Good shepherd, the King of Kings, the Morning star, the Living water, and so many other things!
This story teaches so perfectly the value of finding and seeking that eternal perspective and to Let God Prevail in our lives. He can and will make our lives greater than we even think is possible if we will let Him.
This story also reminds me of a talk that was given in this last General Conference by Michelle D. Craig called "Eyes to see" and she talks about how the savior sees people. Talking about the Savior, she said, "Where others saw fishermen, sinners, or publicans, Jesus saw disciples; where others saw a man possessed by devils, Jesus looked past the outward distress, acknowledged the man, and healed him."
Sometimes the world seems dark and maybe confusing or hard, and sometimes we may feel like we too are just fishermen drowning in a weary world, but when Jesus Christ came to earth, He changed all that. He finds the good in all of us and empathizes it. In fact he calls disciples of people from all walks of life and strengthens them to be able to do what He asks. I know that He strengthens us today and is with us.
One of my favorite New Testament stories is the story where Peter walks on water. The story goes that the apostles were in their boat and a fierce storm beat upon them and they were consumed by fear. Then Peter catches sight of Jesus Christ and at first is afraid until he hears Christ say "Be not afraid. It is I." It is amazing what seeing and focusing and listening to the Savior changed within Peters heart and mind. Fear was displaced by confidence in God and a desire to come unto Christ. So much so, that Peter feels like He can do a miracle and walk on water. And He does! The situation Peter was in didn't change. The storm was still raging around Him but focusing and trusting in Christ gave Him the strength to move forward.
We are all like Peter. We are surrounded by darkness and often chaos encircles us, especially this year. But I know that as we focus on Christ He can change something within us too to be able to overcome all that life throws at us. That is the miracle of Christ.
I have seen that miracle work within myself as well as those I have taught over the last 18 months.
I remember distinctly, the first time we met one of our friends. He was sitting in the corner of a dark room with his hoodie up and his hair hanging down in his eyes, staring at his phone screen. When we talked to him that very first time I remember just seeing a glimmer light up in His eyes. Since then I have seen that light grow in him as he has learned who Jesus Christ is and how important the message we carry is! He has grown so much in a years worth of time and is a completely different person! Someone who once didn't know who God was and didn't have a ton of Joy in his life, now bears one of the humblest but strongest testimonies of Christ and shares light and joy when he talks about God.
I saw that miracle work within so many of the people i came in contact with and taught and it not only changed their life but it changed my life too in the process and it continues to change my life!
I don't think I can say enough how grateful I am for our Savior Jesus Christ and for the amazing experiences I had on my mission of learning of Christ and bringing others closer to Him.
I want to read another poem that Elder Holland read in the Christmas devotional this year that really touched my heart. It too talks about how Jesus Christ came to earth and made what were once only dreams and hopes, a reality.
The Miracle Dreams or the Dreams of Bethlehem
"That night when in [the] Judean skies
The mystic Star dispensed its light,
A blind man [groped] in his sleep,
And dreamed [that] he had sight.
That night when shepherds heard the song
Of hosts angelic choiring near,
A deaf man stirred in slumber’s spell,
And dreamed [that] he could hear.
That night when in the cattle-stall
Slept Child and Mother [without talk],
A cripple[d] [man] turned his twisted limbs,
And dreamed [that] he [could walk].
That night when o’er the new-born Babe
The tender Mary rose to lean,
A loathsome leper smiled in sleep,
And dreamed [that] he was clean.
That night when to his Mother’s chest
The little King was held secure,
A harlot slept a happy sleep,
And dreamed [that] she was pure.
That night when in the manger lay
The Sanctified, who came to save,
A man moved in the sleep of death,
And dreamed there was no grave."
Through Christ, all of these dreams were made a reality! The message and reality of Jesus Christ really is GOOD NEWS! It is news full of hope!
Words can't describe the magnitude of what Christ did and what He means to me but I will bear my witness that He lives and He is working in our lives. He loves us. He will help us become all that we are meant to become.
I would also like to finish by bearing a quick testimony in Karen.
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