Farewell Talk - June 11th, '04

In preparation for my mission, I've been fighting Satan and his tactics to bring me down. He realizes that I have a strong testimony and love for my Savior Jesus Christ, and he is afraid that I will be an effective instrument in the Lord's hands. However, I have not given in to him and I will not. There is a quote from a talk that I once heard at a session of Especially For Youth. It goes like this: "I want to live everyday of my life such that when I wake up by my alarm in the morning, Satan says, 'Oh no! He's awake!'" This is almost as if it came straight from my mouth. However, Satan has tried to turn this attitude into a way of bringing me down. He tries to take this quote and make me think to myself that I am the most powerful missionary alive, with a testimony so strong that even he can't shake it. If I start to believe things like this, then what is happening? I am being extremely prideful. I am starting to believe that he can't get me. I am starting to think that missionary work will be a cinch because I can easily defeat Satan. Realizing these small crafty works of Satan helps me to stay on the right path and refrain from being too prideful and falling into sin. This is what we all must do in order to avoid falling into the pride cycle, which we learn about in the Book of Mormon. There were times when both the Nephites and the Lamanites thought of themselves as so righteous that Sata could not get to them. They became obsessed with this idea, and therefore were distratcted from realizing that Satan had a grip on them. If you go into a situation that has "potential sin" written all over it, with an attitude that you can never be broken because you are so righteous, you are almost sure to give into temptation because you don't know that you need to stop something until after it is too late.

But there is a different sort of pride that we are commanded to display, and this is where missionary work comes in. In Mosiah 5:8-9, it says, "And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives. And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ." We are commanded to take upon the name of Chrsit. We should be proud to be members of His Church and we should be proud to tell people that it is our mission to bring people to know of our Savior's love. Since receiving my mission call, I've been asked many times, "So like on this mission thing... what do you do?!" I usually respond with some sort of passive sentence about how I will be preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and I will be giving a lot of service. Perhaps I should respond with what is written in Luke 4:18. "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath setn me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of the sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." That is an incredible scripture. I especially like where it says, "recovering of the sight to the blind." This is because by serving a mission, I am not introducing new information to people for the first time. In fact, everything I say on my mission will be something that the people to whom I am speaking have heard before. They have simply forgotten it by going through the veil and gaining a body to live on this earth. And so by teaching people about the Church, I am helping them to see things they've lost sight of by going through the veil. That is why the scriptures command us to remember the commandments of God. That is why the sacrament prayers command us to remember the things that our Savior has done for us. Everyone has heard the gospel. It is my job to remind them of their testimony of that gospel, and then baptize them back into this Church so that they can be able to return to live with God in his glory.

I once heard a story about a young man who was awaiting the arrival of his mission call with great anticipation. When it had finally arrived, the young man had really gotten to know the mail carrier quite well. He invited all of his friends to his house to watch him open his call. When he opened it, he found that he was going to serve in Japan. Everyone was congratulating him and shaking his hand in pure delight for his divine calling. However, there was one person at the house that did no congratulate him. In fact, he didn't even shake the young man's hand. The missionary was concerned about this individual and went to him to see if everything was okay. He said, "Hey, aren't you excited? I've just been called to serve as a missionary! I'm going to represent the Lord for two years!" The man replied, "That's great! Who did you represent before the two years? And who are you going to represent after the two yeras?" Brothers and Sister, we are all attending church right now, but what about tomorrow, when we go back to work, or to go hang out with our non-member friends? Will we still be representatives of Jesus Christ? I should hope so considering the covenant we just made a few moments ago as each of us partook of the sacrament. Lisetn to the words of the prayer again. "Oh God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this break to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them." So, the sacrament prayer not onkly reminds us of the covenant we made at baptism to live righteously, but it also commands us to partake in missionary work. it tells us that we should have His Spirit to be with us always. Can the spirit abide with you while you're at work? Can it abide with me while I'm playing hockey, or while I'm stuck in traffic? I don't see why not.

As I go to serve a mission, I'll be dedicating every moment of my time to preaching the gospel and declaring the word. I would encourage all those who are staying behind though, to preach the word as well. You don;t have to do it at every moment of the day, but you are commanded to stand as a witenss of our Savior, as I have mentioned. There is a saying that says, "Aspire to inspire before you expire." This means that you should at least allow someone to hear your testimony before it is too late. It may be your testimony that the Lord needs to speak through in order to reach a certain individual. I know that the Lord needs me to bear testimony of Him in Greece, and I also know that He will need me to bear testimony of Him after I return from my mission as well. Everyone needs the gospel, and it is our job as Latter-day Saints to make sure that they get it. Did you catch that word? I'll say it again... "Saints." What is a saint? How about a person who brings happiness and knowledge about a supreme being who loves them so much that He died for them? Brothers and Sisters, let's live up to our name. Let's be saints, and help people to know God.

The first question that the Stake President asks you in a mission worthiness interview is, "Why on earth do you want to serve a mission?" Brothers and Sisters, I've put some serious thought into this. I am going on a mission because I love Jesus Christ and I can think of no better way of showing my love for Him than by dedicating every moment of my life, every thought in my mind, every action that I perform, and every word that I speak, to Him. I want to serve Him with my whole soul, because I know that while I am serving Him, I will feel His spirit stronger than ever before. It brings me great joy to think that the Lord trusts me enough with His words, that may speak in His place, and say the things that He would say if He, himself were teaching the people to whom He has sent me. There is a quote by Bruce R. McConkie that illustrates these thoughts perfectly. It is entitled "My Commission." It says, "I am called of God. My authority is above the kings of the earth. By revelation, I have been selected as a personal representative of the Lord, Jesus Christ. He is my master and He has chosen me to represent Him; to stand in His place; to say and do what He himself would say and do if He personally were ministering to the very people to whom He has sent me. My voice is His voice and my acts are His acts; my words are His words and my doctrine is His doctrine, for I am his agent. My commission is to do what He wants done; to say what He wants said, to be a living, modern witness in word and deed of the divinity of His great and marvelous latter day work. And he that receiveth me, receiveth Him; but he that rejecteth me, rejecteth Him who has sent me. How great is my calling!"

Brothers and Sisters, I love this gospel, and I am eternally grateful for the opportunity I have to preach the gospel full time. I am anxious to return to live with Him someday, but until that time, it is my prayer that I will be His instrument in bringing other people to know Him. When the time comes that I return to be judged, it is my prayer that the Lord will cite what is to be my missionary plaque scripture. Helaman 10:4 says, "Blessed art thou, Nephi - " Let me start over and subsitute my name for Nephi's. "Blessed art thou, Aric, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments." Brothers and Sisters, I love Jesus Christ, and I am proud to be a member of His true church. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of God and it brings me great joy to know that I will be preaching this true gospel to the people of Greece for the next two years. Joseph Smith once said, "No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing." This is very true because I have great conviction when it comes to preaching the gospel. I believe that missionary work is the most important aspect of this church and nothing can stop me from declaring the word. I know that Jesus Christ atoned for my sins and that He loves me. I love this gospel of love, and I leave these things with you in the sacred name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.