Talk in Sacrament meeting

So I don't know if a lot of people do this, I'm weird I know, but I thought I would post my talk I gave a couple of Sundays ago in church. The Primary presidency spoke and I thought my counselors did an amazing job. I read my talk word for word because I was just too nervous to do it any other way. I had a wonderful experience writing it....I had been mulling around in my head for weeks the topic and thinking about it but by Saturday night, I still had nothing written down. After I got the boys to bed, I sat down at the laptop and prayed, "I need help!!!!" It was amazing how the words just flowed and I was given what to say. So anyway, here it is:

November 28, 2010 Sacrament meeting talk on “Our Path of Duty” by Bishop Keith B. McMullin

Lately I have been struck by how many people I know and love are experiencing difficulties and challenges right now. It has made me reflect on my own trials and how this is a time for faith not fear. I remember a little over 10 years ago, my husband got laid off from his job. This was the first experience that I had ever had with him being unemployed. My first reaction was panic. How would we live? How would we pay the rent on the two-bedroom apartment we were in at the time? How would we support our two children? I just couldn’t see how it would be possible. I decided that I needed to turn to the Lord and have faith that He would take care of us. It was very difficult at first. I just couldn’t see a way that things would turn out okay. But as I trusted in Him and had faith that things would work out, I felt peace. I experienced what Moroni explained in Ether 12:6: “And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” We were taken care of by the Lord through loving people in our family and our ward and my husband was employed within a month after he lost his job.

Sometimes hard times can awaken us to our duty. I take most of my talk from a talk given by Bishop Keith B. McMullin in the April 2010 conference entitled, “Our Path of Duty”. What is duty? Duty is what we are expected to do and to be. It does not require perfection, but it does require diligence. For members of the Church, our path of duty is keeping our covenants in daily life. When things are going really well for me, sometimes I can get complacent and forget what really matters. I get caught up in life and slack off in my scripture reading and prayer. I’m not proud of this; it is something that I am working on-to be as close to the Savior during good times as in bad. When things are not going so well, I tend to pray more fervently and study my scriptures more. President Eyring said in a conference talk in 2001: “Dependence on God can fade quickly when prayers are answered. And when the trouble lessens, so do the prayers. The Book of Mormon repeats that sad story over and over again.”

I like what President Hinckley said about prayer: “The trouble with most of our prayers is that we give them as if we were picking up the telephone and ordering groceries-we place our order and hang up. We need to meditate, contemplate, think of what we are praying about and for and then speak to the Lord as one man speaketh to another.” I know that prayer becomes more meaningful to me when I take time to listen. I love the scripture in Alma 37:37 which says, “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.” One of my favorite primary songs is “Love is Spoken Here” and I love the beginning of the second verse that says, “Pray, He is there. Speak, he is listening. You are His child; his love now surrounds you. He hears your prayer, he loves the children. Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heaven” I can feel His love when I pray and I know He is there.

In 3 Nephi 18:18-20 we learn what Jesus taught about prayer:

“Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.”’

“Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;”

“And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you.”

Bishop McMullin says in his talk that it is as important to be guided by the Holy Spirit while praying as it is to be enlightened by that same Spirit while receiving an answer to prayer. Such prayer brings forth the blessings of heaven because our Father “knoweth what things [we] have need of, before [we] ask him.” In Matthew 7:7 it says, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and shall be open unto you.” I have a testimony of the power of prayer. I have had fervent prayers that have been answered not yet…wait…when I have so badly wanted the answer to be “yes” and “right now”! Looking back, I am so glad that Heavenly Father knows me so well and answered my prayers the way he did and not the way I wanted them answered at the time. When we pray, we must pray for “thy will be done, not mine.” The Savior was the ultimate example in Gethsemane. He bids us to “Come Follow Me.”

President Monson has counseled: “If we are to walk with head held high, we must make our contribution to life. If we are to fulfill our destiny and return to live with our Father in Heaven, we must keep His commandments and pattern our lives after the Savior. By so doing, we will not only achieve our goal of eternal life, but we will also leave the world richer and better than it would have been had we not lived and performed our duties.”

In Primary this month, our theme has been, “When we serve others, we serve God”. The kids learned the scripture Mosiah 2:17 which says, And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” We talked about the story of the Good Samaritan. We learned the answer to the question asked of Jesus, “Who is our neighbor?” In this parable, a man was robbed and injured. A Priest and Levite passed by him and did not help him but the Samaritan, who traditionally was thought to be the man’s enemy, took him to an inn and took care of him. We learned from this that we should love and serve everyone. Service to others has the added benefit of taking our minds off our own troubles and worries.

President Joseph F. Smith said, “All that we have comes from [God]…In and of ourselves we are but a lifeless lump of clay. Life, intelligence, wisdom, judgment, power to reason, all are the gifts of God to the children of men. He gives us our physical strength as well as our mental powers…We should honor God with our intelligence, with our strength, with our understanding, with our wisdom, and with all the power that we possess. We should seek to do good in the world. This is our duty.”

From the words of President Monson in his talk that Sis. Hatch and Sister McKimmey so wonderfully presented to us today that bears repeating, “Let us never despair, for the work in which we are engaged is the work of the Lord. It has been said, “The Lord shapes the back to bear the burden placed upon it.” The strength which we earnestly seek in order to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours when, with fortitude and resolute courage, we stand and declare with Joshua, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

I have a testimony of God’s love for us and I know that with faith and prayer we can accomplish anything. I know that God hears and answers our prayers. I am grateful for the gospel in my life and the joy that it brings to me. I am so grateful for my calling and the opportunity to serve and be with your incredible children. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.