Farewell

Good morning brothers and sisters! I have so much joy to finally be up here giving my farewell talk! I have watched many Elders and Sisters over the years give their talks and leave. And I have waited patiently for this day! I am so excited! After a bike crash last week, I am just so happy to make it to this point safe and sound both physically and spiritually! I want to express my gratitude to all my family and friends and ward members here in attendance today! Your love and support has meant so much to me! I have enjoyed spending time and getting to know each one of you! Thank you for shaping me into the person I am today! For those of you who may have forgotten I have been called to serve in the Adelaide Australia mission. And I will be preaching in Mandarin Chinese! And I will start home MTC tomorrow! Well enough about me! This mission is not about me! It is about Jesus Christ! I hope that the spirit can be in attendance today as I discuss how preparing for a mission has helped me draw closer to Jesus Christ! 

I first want to start out with a little story that has always touched me…A man was walking on a beach with Christ right by his side. The beach represented the man’s life. He turned around and looked back to see experiences he had gone through. In most places he saw two sets of footprints, but in some places there was only one. He turned to Christ and said “Why did you let me walk through those difficult times alone?” Christ said to him, “I never let you walk alone. Those are the places I carried you.” I know that Jesus Christ will always walk with you. He has carried me many times! And when you feel like He’s not there, just remember that He is carrying you! Trust in Him!! Don't ever give up on Jesus because he will never give up on you no matter where you are or what you have done!

One thing that has helped me draw closer to the Savior these past couple months is the temple! The temple is incredible! I have felt and learned of its power time and time again! I had the opportunity to be endowed and that was such a sacred experience! I am grateful for the covenants I made in the temple that day! I can see why our prophet has put such an emphasis on going to the temple. The temple truly helps point our minds and hearts to Jesus Christ! But more importantly， I feel the spirit each and every time I go there! It's astonishing! I walk in and my mind and heart is at peace and I can feel the spirit instantly! I have received much insight and revelation inside those walls already! I also have had the opportunity to work in the temple for a short period of time. It was such a neat experience to spend hours in the temple with the sweet temple workers.

 

Another thing that has helped me draw closer to Jesus Christ, has been gaining a testimony of doing the small and simple things. I had written this whole talk but needed 2 more minutes of time. As I was sitting in the temple and thinking, I was inspired to discuss how doing the small and simple have impacted my life in a positive way. The small and simple things are well very small and simple. It is reading your scriptures daily and saying passionate heartfelt prayers. The gospel is simple but the Lord loves and requires effort. Even though saying prayers and reading scriptures are “easy” it still requires effort. I have found that when I am actually pondering and studying my scriptures not just reading them and when I am actually focused while saying prayers, I draw closer to Christ in exponential ways. However, when I slack off or not give my full effort then I feel myself slipping away from Jesus Christ. I can testify that we need daily nourishment from spiritual things. Once a week just doesn't work. It's like eating. We may have a big meal for dinner and think we may never eat again but like clockwork we get up the next morning and are hungry no matter how much we ate the night before. Our spirit is just the same! I invite each of you to make a renewed effort to do the small and simple things! President Brigham Young was reported as saying: “Our lives are made up of little, simple circumstances that amount to a great deal when they are brought together, and sum up the whole life of the man or woman”. Like the scriptures say “by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”  Why are missionaries so close to Jesus Christ and the spirit….well among other things it's because they are diligently doing the small and simple things each morning and night! I believe we need to do better and be better about giving more effort toward the small and simple things. 

Another thing that has helped me draw closer to Jesus Christ has been reading the Book of Mormon in Chinese! A couple years ago, I got a Chinese Book of Mormon as a gift and I have been reading it off and on ever since! The insights from that book are always very profound. But reading it in another language is a whole new experience. The words have new meaning and insight that makes me slow down and actually ponder and think about what is being said. I gave a talk a couple years ago in which I explained how the word repentance in Chinese is hui gai. And those two words when they are split up and examined by themselves mean to change and come back. When you stop and think about repentance it is in essence changing and coming back to Christ. The Chinese language is based on characters and each character has multiple parts. So as I am studying I receive insights into words like repentance, faith, prophets, priesthood, spirit, and so many others. It has really strengthened and deepened my testimony of Jesus Christ. And I know some people in attendance today know chinese. So I would like to bare a quick testimony of Jesus Christ in Chinese. 我要fenxiangwode见证：我知道耶稣基督是天父的儿子。我知道耶稣基督爱我们！我们透過每天用他的赎罪牺牲来悔改，就可以收到神的宽恕。透过耶稣基督的赎罪牺牲我们可以永远在他的身边。我知道救恩计划让家庭能永远住在一起。我的父亲去世了，可是我知道透过我们亲爱的天父的救恩计划我有一天可以再看到他。我知道我们的先知luósù nàěrxùn huìzhǎng是神真命的。我也知道约瑟斯密看到神而且复兴耶稣基督的福音。我知道读摩尔门经可以帮助我们变得更像耶稣基督一样。我再一次要见证耶稣基督爱我们！奉耶稣基督的名阿门。

Now I will continue in English! Many of you know my life story. Some of you do not. However a simple fact is that in life there has to be challenges. They will either bring you closer to God and therefore make you stronger or they can destroy you, but you make the decision on which road you take. I have fought tooth and nail to make sure my life story is about Christ. I want him to be my central eternal story. He is the only way I have gotten through my life! I am very sad at the times I may have neglected him. If you choose, he can be at your side constantly! Helping you and guiding you in all ways of life. You can choose to shake your fist at God for challenges that come your way or bow your head and turn to him! And I plead that you turn to him! It helps to keep in mind that if the Lord is not blessing you with what you want it's because he has something better in mind!

A couple days ago I was lying on the floor by my computer after a mtc zoom call that was teaching me Chinese. As I layed there, I was praying and asking God to help me draw closer to him but then I fell asleep. I woke up thinking about how crazy some of the things I will be teaching are. Like who would believe me when I told them a 14 year old boy saw God. Who would believe that God talks to us through prayers, or that the scriptures are true. I tried to think how I would teach these things and who would actually listen to me and receive the great news of the gospel for themselves. Then a scripture came to mind. In  2 Nephi 33:1 it states- For when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men. And I realized it would be the Holy Ghost teaching and bringing it unto the hearts of the people I am teaching. And a key distinction to make is the key word “unto” not into the hearts. This shows how each of us has to let the spirit in! And I feel honored that I get to be the person or tool that the Lord uses to bring the spirit unto his children and they just have to let him in and believe. Many people will ask: how do you know God is real or how do you believe in all this? I can respond and explain that the spirit has borne witness to me that it is all true. They might say well that doesn't prove anything…I haven't felt the spirit so how can that prove anything to me. Then the analogy of salt came into my mind. I want everyone to think about how you would describe the taste of salt to someone who doesn't know what it tastes like. You might say it's not sweet or sour…but that's what it is not. They want to know what it is. You just can't explain the taste. 

This is the same thing with the gospel or the spirit. How do I know this is all true? Well its hard to explain to someone who hasn’t tasted of the spirit. The spirit is the ultimate testifier…time and time again prophets or people have seen angels but that wasn't what converted them to Jesus Christ. It was the spirit. So I invite everyone in this congregation today to taste the salt so to speak,  if you haven't already. Pray and ask. This, among many other things, is what sets us apart from other religions. You can pray and have the spirit literally testify to you that it is true and you can not only believe but know it's true. I testify that I have tasted of the salt. I have tasted the goodness that only Jesus Christ can bring into my life. If I hadn't tasted it, I would not be leaving all my family and friends to go share this message of joy with complete strangers in a land where I may be bit by a spider, eaten by a crocodile, or kicked by a kangaroo. 

I hope you can hear and see my sincerity as I beg each of you to gain a knowledge or continue to receive more light and knowledge for yourself whether you are the bishop or someone who doesn't even know much about this church or maybe haven't tasted or felt of the spirit in a long time. Nothing should stand in your way of finding out if this gospel is true and that Jesus is the Christ and that he did die for you personally and took upon himself all your pains and sorrows so you may repent and be happy and most of all live with him and our father in Heaven again. 

I pray that those who hear my words today and for the next 2 years will accept my invitation to pray and taste of the salt. Let the spirit into your hearts! My grandma once said “Eternity is the wrong thing to be wrong about!” Eternity is a long time so choose wisely how you want to spend it!  I testify and know that if you pray and ask with real intent you will receive an answer! Then you will know you must do something about it!

I am excited to have the opportunity to serve the people of Australia. I am going on a mission for one and only reason. It is my Love of the Lord. This is my “why”. I am going to serve because I love my Savior Jesus Christ and all that he has done for me! I know that he will be there to support me throughout my mission and my life. I also know without a shadow of a doubt that my father will be there as my guardian angel. But more importantly, I promise and testify that as you draw closer to Jesus Christ he can become your best friend and will help you overcome things you never thought were possible to overcome. I testify that the Book of Mormon is true and that by reading that book you can draw nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book. I know that President Nelson is a Prophet of God and that he receives inspiration from Heaven to help us! I know that the Prophet Joseph Smith saw God and restored the Church on earth today. But most of all I testify that Jesus Christ lives, and that he is the Son of God. If we build upon the foundation of Christ, we may never be shaken! Jesus loves us so much that he performed the ultimate atoning sacrifice! I know that if we use Christ atoning sacrifice we may become clean and perfected like he is! Christ loves you more than you could ever possibly imagine! So I invite everyone to draw closer to him and feel his eternal love for you! In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.