I gave a talk. For a ward that I had visited while investigating the Church. For High Council Sunday.
It was one of the most nerve-racking, yet one of the coolest experiences I've had. I loved it!!!
So I have attached it here.
Original text has been modified to not name specific people or places.
Happy reading!
Topic: "Come, Follow Me – How You Came to Follow the Lord, Jesus Christ"
How were you invited to meet with the missionaries and start to study the Gospel?
How were your friends member-missionaries, and how did they help you gain a testimony?
What challenges have you had to overcome to become a member?
Describe your desire to do baptisms in the temple and what you are doing to prepare.
Anything else that has helped strengthen your testimony.
Share the Gospel!
Talk Date: Sunday, May 19, 2013
Good morning, brothers and sisters. Some of you may recognize me, but for those of you who don’t know me, I am Sister Alexis Milam of the YSA Ward. I was recently asked by our high councilor if I would speak with him about my testimony and how I came to join this Church. When he mentioned which ward I would be speaking for, I was surprised and excited; after all, part of my conversion story took place in this ward last year, so this place and all of you, brothers and sisters, hold a place in my heart.
As I prayed and pondered the subject, I felt compelled to share my thoughts on how we can be member-missionaries. As a convert, I will share a bit of background and my testimony, and I will tie that into how we can be ready to share with others.
I would like to begin with a quote from the missionary handbook Preach My Gospel:
"You are surrounded by people. You pass them in the street, visit them in their homes, and travel among them. All of them are children of God, your brothers and sisters. God loves them just as He loves you. Many of these people are searching for purpose in life. They are concerned for their families. They need the sense of belonging that comes from the knowledge that they are children of God, members of His eternal family. They want to feel secure in a world of changing values. They want ‘peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come’ (D&C 59:23), but they are ‘kept from the truth because they know not where to find it’ (D&C 123:12)."
I was born and raised in a great Christian home. I have not one doubt that my family is genuine in what they believe, but I couldn’t help but feel like there wasn’t something quite right. It felt like something was missing, but I didn’t know what it was—after all, I had the Bible. I felt like there were unanswered questions, or questions that weren’t ever answered directly, and in hindsight, I can see how that prevented me from being 100% confident in what I believed. I believed in God, I knew that the Bible held truth, I believed that I could be saved because of the Atonement, I knew that I wanted to live with Him forever, and I also had a few other "ideas" but no real strong evidence to back them up. As I got older, I discovered that when we act upon our belief, our faith becomes stronger, and as our faith becomes stronger, it becomes easier to share our beliefs with others. Because of this, I wanted to find the right church for me; I wanted to know where I fit in, where others believe as I do, and to join their church.
I spent most of my school days in private school. For my last two years of high school, though, my parents allowed me to make the switch to public school. It intimidated me a bit at first, but I grew to love my high school and prayed for help in finding positive influences there. The Lord answered my prayers and, by allowing major switches in my class schedule to take place, led me to some incredible people who were friendly, open, and genuine. There was a clear difference between them and others that I had met. This was my first exposure to Mormonism.
Just last month at General Conference, Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles talked about how we should always "Be ready to give an answer to those who ask why you live as you do." He also said to "Be ready to give a reason for the hope and joy that they see in you." They may have not realized it, but my new friends were ready to give those answers. I have been so blessed to have had those friends there to answer my questions, and to direct me to others to answer my questions. What began as using a religion compare/contrast project as an excuse to satisfy my curiosity about the Church led to me visiting for a couple of church services, reading through the entire Book of Mormon, and then came the best part of all.
For quite a while, I had really felt that the Church was true, but I still hadn’t received a witness of the Church from the Holy Ghost. I was finishing my read-through of the Book of Mormon and came across verses 4 & 5 of the final chapter of Moroni: "And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things" (Moroni 10:4-5).
The next day I visited this ward for a close friend's mission farewell talk. I cannot remember what any of the speakers said, but I remember sitting there, listening attentively, when I received my witness. It wasn’t even like a whisper telling me that the Church is true, but it was a sense of homecoming that made me realize it.
My friends, well, they like to talk, so to this day I’m still not sure why I was so surprised that one missionary told me "I’ve heard all about you!" upon seeing me. It was awesome, though, to have them approach me about going through the discussions. I was blessed to be taught by four different missionaries. The first pair taught my first lesson; soon after that, my parents kept me from going to any LDS Church-related activities, and so that meant no more seeing the missionaries. A transfer happened before I was able to meet with the missionaries again in March, and then another transfer happened in the eight days between my last pre-baptism lesson and my baptism day. The current companionship in my ward taught me the new member lessons. The friends who have supported me through this journey from the beginning—and a few new friends, too—came to whichever discussions they could.
Telling my parents of my decision was one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do. I was confident, passionate, and excited about my choice, but at the same time I knew that my choice would break my parents’ hearts. But I told them, through a 4-page letter written from the heart. It was about seven months before they finally allowed me to make my own decision regarding the Church—from my announcement last August until my baptism two months ago—but it was worth waiting every minute. My parents and family still don’t support my decision, but I pray for them daily, that they will come to know what I have come to know. I still get asked by some family and friends sometimes to read this book or check out that article that speaks against the Church; I know that they care and they "want what’s best" for me, but those books drive away the Spirit just by merely looking at them. Things like following the Word of Wisdom and daily Scripture study have been pretty easy; it’s seeing my family’s discomfort with my decision that has been the biggest challenge in becoming a member.
I love this Church. I am so glad that I made this decision. I look forward to being able to help others in regards to the Church. The Apostle John wrote that "we ought to lay down our lives for our brethren" (1 John 3:16); I can’t wait to go to the temple and stand proxy so that someone who has passed on to the other side of the veil can receive eternal life if they choose that path. The Apostle Matthew also recorded these words of Jesus Christ: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). Of my five friends that I would consider to have been most instrumental in my conversion, four of them are now on their missions, and the remaining one is preparing for his. (I am so proud of them.) I may or may not be able to serve a mission someday, but in the meanwhile, there is something that I can do, something that we can all do: we can be member-missionaries.
President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "As members of the Church, having pledged ourselves to the advancement of the gospel of Jesus Christ we become missionaries." We are so blessed to live in these days when we have the Gospel fully restored to us; it means that we don’t necessarily have to speculate as much as other people do. I received a reminder of this recently. Last weekend my dad’s side of the family was having a family gathering, but in order to make it to the planned gathering, I would have to go to church with my family. I was not comfortable with the idea of going to church with them, but I really didn’t have much of a choice, so I went. In the middle of their discussion of the Holy Ghost, one of the girls in the class asked what the Holy Ghost looks like. The discussion lasted at least 15 minutes, and the group never completely reached a conclusion. Meanwhile, I was sitting in the group, almost literally biting my tongue so that I wouldn’t say anything that contradicted their beliefs. Seeing this discussion made me realize how blessed we are to live when we do. We have the restored Gospel, and if we do find ourselves asking questions about Scripture or other Church matters, we know that we can discuss those questions with family members, the Bishop, missionaries, other Church members…We can also turn in prayer and "ask of God…n faith" (James 1:5-6), and if we do this, "doubting nothing" (Mormon 9:25), we will receive answers. So, what can we do as member-missionaries?
We can pray for opportunities to share with our fellow man. There’s an area on my college campus that people at school like to call the Diversity Center. It’s an extra classroom that has been set aside for students to engage in conversation that might not be possible in other areas of campus, especially discussions regarding politics or religion; the Center is a safe haven where these discussions can take place. A couple of weeks ago while I was in the Center, I met an inactive Mormon, and we have had some very interesting conversations since. Even as an inactive member, he has a passion for the Gospel. I have been encouraging him to consider going back to church, and he has encouraged me to continue sharing my faith. As we pray for the opportunities, we will find ways to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ "at all times, and in all places" (D&C 24:12).
We can live in a way that pleases our Heavenly Father. As we follow His commandments and serve Him in complete submission and humility, people will see something different in us. They may not know what it is, but it may make them curious or make them realize that desire to also have that peace with them, the peace that comes from knowing of Heavenly Father’s love and a hope of better things to come. We should "do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).
We can build our foundation on Jesus Christ. Helaman exhorted his sons, "Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yeah, his shafts in the whirlwind, yeah, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall" (Helaman 5:12). When we do this, the other pieces will fall into place.
I can testify to you that building our foundation on Jesus Christ, as well as prayer and living out our faith, helps us to be member-missionaries. I know with everything in me that this Church is true and that the Church of Jesus Christ has been fully restored to the earth. The "word of our God shall stand for ever" (Isaiah 40:8) in these latter days, and I testify that blessings will come from sharing the Gospel.
