Farewell Talk

Hello brothers and sisters, I don’t know if most of you know this, but I was for the last month and a half, in Maryland, I was staying with my grandfather and was employed as a welder.  

I must say that I enjoyed the experience, well, most of the experience.  I wasn’t so fond of the wether.  It was always cold and wet.  The good news is that my job was indoors, unfortunately, because of the hazardous gasses generated by the painting and welding process, we had to keep the garage doors open all the time.  Needless to say, it was cold all the time.

My coworkers were always nice, but I didn’t end up talking to them much, not because I was nervous or because they were quite a bit older than me, it was because the majority of them didn’t speak English.  That wasn’t a huge problem when it came to the work because all the measurements and requirements were written down on blueprints, which made them easy to understand.  That just left the lunch breaks where I ate and listened to the others chat away in a language I didn’t understand.

It took me about a month of these awkward lunch breaks and the back breaking labor for me to realize that the Lord had been preparing this environment before I got there.  Some of my coworkers spoke English and eventually, we struck up the occasional conversation.  After I had told a few of them I was going on a mission, they asked how long I’d be gone?  When I told them, a few of them thought I was crazy.  I was surprised, however, when most of them were somewhat familiar with this sort of service.  One of them even asked me if I was a Mormon.  I chuckled a little when I answered, “Not any more.” 

I told my curious coworkers that the church had made a correction to our collective name.  That we preferred to refer to ourselves as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, to better focus on the Savior, who is the foundation of our faith.

As these good men and I began to form the kind of camaraderie and even friendships that grow from working together, one of them confessed to being the brother of Keith N. Hamilton.  Keith was the first black man to graduate from BYU Law-school, and his brother, Kenny, was ecstatic to share these details with me when he found out I was from Utah.  As our conversations grew frequent, I learned that for some reason, Kenny had drifted away from the church.  

In addition to Kenny, there were others among my new friends who had also been touched by the Spirit, many in subtle and profound ways.  A few of them had even been invited to regular church services and even baptisms by our employer who was himself a member.

As a result of this exposure to the church and the gospel, it wasn’t long before my friends began asking questions. One of the first was, “Why do we baptize at age 8 instead of earlier?” I was especially excited to get this question.  That very morning, during my scripture study, I had been reading in the eighth chapter of Moroni, where Mormon answers this question in plain and unambiguous terms.

I explained that through modern revelation we have been told that baptism must be done by immersion and by someone with priesthood authority. Also, the person being baptized must be above the age of accountability, which means that he or she is old enough to understand right from wrong.  I felt good about my explanation but my friends weren’t so easily convinced.  “Why is immersion required?” They asked.

I must confess I was not so readily prepared to answer that.  During my lunch break, I searched for an answer and soon found a quote from the Gospel of John, chapter 3, versus 3-5; “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?  Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”  I later explained to him that baptism by immersion is like dying and being buried under the ground and then being resurrected, being changed into a new person, cleansed of all our sins.

On another occasion one of my coworkers told me that he did not understand why there were three heavens instead of one?  He also asked if we believed in hell, and if so what we should do to avoid it. Unfortunately, this time our lunch break was over, so I told him that I would have an answer at our next lunch break the following Monday.  As a lifelong member of the Church, I understood these concepts, but I wanted to attempt to explain them in way that my friend could understand.  I spent the weekend searching the scriptures and the Church resources.  When we met again, I showed him a passage from a talk given by Dallen H. Oaks in the April 1995 conference.  

President Oaks said, “One thing that must be understood that through the atonement of Jesus Christ all people will be resurrected.  After the resurrection we will stand before the Lord and be judged according to our desirous and actions.  In John 5:28-29  it says, Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice, and Shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation”

I would like to tell you that the interactions I had with these good men changed their lives and opened their minds to the depth and beauty of the Gospel.  Unfortunately, all I can claim is that I did my duty as a follower of Christ, that I relayed His truths in a way that I hope He would be proud of.  It may be that these little moments are paving stones on paths that will lead my friends toward life and salvation, but I have no way to know that.  I hope and pray that it is true, nonetheless.

Brothers and Sisters, we often find ourselves in situations and environments that can be awkward, where it is hard to connect with others.  At these times I like to reflect on the words of Robert C. Gay, who said, “Am I taking upon myself the Savior’s name as He would have me do so?”  It reminds me to think less of my little concerns and more about what I should do.

Taking upon us the name of the Savior can be easy if we look upon others as Christ would.  If I had been embarrassed or too shy to speak with my coworkers about my faith I would have missed out on a perfect start to my mission.  We must always remember the words of Christ found in John 4:14 where He says, “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”  It means that if we partake of the Lord’s word, we must also participate in His work and spread that which we have learned.  If we don’t, then what is the point of ministering or serving a mission, or even taking upon the name of Christ in the first place?

This trip is what made me want to go on a mission, not because I made friends or enjoyed not plowing the driveway every morning back here in Utah.  I enjoyed this because, now, looking back, I can see all the ways that I have been prepared to serve in the Washington Spokane Mission.  I was searching for a scripture to put on my missionary plaque, I had been searching for a couple weeks, for the perfect verse that would be memorable to both me and those who would happen to see It as they pass by it in the hallways.

After many texts saying I am not procrastinating my missionary plaque scripture to my mom, I found it, the perfect scripture in D&C 66:3-5 where it says, “Verily I say unto you, my servant William (I really liked this part because my middle name is Brendan which is the name I go by, but my fist name is William.), “Verily I say unto you, my servant William, that you are clean, but not all; repent, therefore, of those things which are not pleasing in my sight, saith the Lord, for the Lord will show them unto you.  And now, verily, I, the Lord, will show unto you what I will concerning you, or what is my will concerning you.  Behold, verily I say unto you, that it is my will that you should proclaim my gospel from land to land, and from city to city, yea, those regions round about where it has not been proclaimed.”  When I first read it, I knew that it was meant for me specifically and not just because it had my name in it.  I liked it because it shows how the Lord wants me to take on His name and serve Him.

Payson Temple with WA State Flag

Testimony

I would like to bear my testimony that I know that the Lord prepares us all in ways that we don’t expect, be it when things go wrong or right, it is for your personal growth, either physically, emotionally or spiritually.  I know that I was called to Spokane for a reason that I may not yet know, but what I do know is that somebody needs me there, and I will be there when I am needed.  

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

(Photos taken by Kayla's Photo Adventures)