{Faith in His Power}

I had the privilege of serving a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This meant that for 18 months, I left my family and taught the gospel to the people of the Texas Lubbock mission, which includes west Texas and eastern New Mexico. It was an absolute privilege and some of the best times of my life. Every morning, my companion and I had time planned out to study the scriptures and prepare for the day. It was often a time of reflection. We were encouraged to seek the Lord's guidance, set worthy goals, and exercise faith in His power to help us achieve them. 

The day I realized half of my mission was over left me feeling very emotional. After praying and thinking about what I wanted to be able to say I'd done when the last day came, I wrote this mission statement. I realize that these aspirations didn't end last November when I came home, but they last forever. 

"I want to say I did my all to bring other souls to COME UNTO CHRIST. I want to say that I served every day with all my strength and energy so that I came in every night exhausted, nothing left to give. I want to be able to say that the Savior and Heavenly Father know that They can TRUST ME TO DO AND GIVE MY ALL in Their work. I want to have served in a way that shows the depth of my love for my Heavenly Father and His gospel. I want to be like a  boulder in a river, steadfast and immovable in keeping the commandments of God. Even when my world crumbles, I will STAND FOR TRUTH AND RIGHTEOUSNESS. I want my mission, which at times is a refiner's fire, to make the gospel as precious to me as gold, make my testimony my most treasured possession. I want others to notice in me a more refined Christlike character. I want them to know that I will not be swayed and I will not be moved because I AM THE LORD'S."

Just like the surreal day when my full time mission ended, the day will come when we return to our heavenly home. And when that time comes, how will we feel to stand before Jesus Christ? This life is "the time for men to prepare to meet God." I testify that no matter what sins we have committed, we can be forgiven, changed, and cleansed so that reunion can be a joyous one. In a talk called Approaching the Throne of God with Confidence, Elder Jorg Klebingat taught, "Acknowledge and face your weaknesses, but don’t be immobilized by them, because some of them will be your companions until you depart this earth life. No matter what your current status, the very moment you voluntarily choose honest, joyful, daily repentance by striving to simply do and be your very best, the Savior’s Atonement envelops and follows you, as it were, wherever you go. Living in this manner, you can truly “always retain a remission of your sins” (Mosiah 4:12) every hour of every day, every second of every minute, and thus be fully clean and acceptable before God all the time."

When we are striving to be faithful, to choose the right, we have nothing to fear. We can be blessed to fulfill all that we were sent to earth to do and like Paul say with confidence, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)

Sister Sheri Dew, a former counselor in the General Relief Society presidency in one of my favorite talks taught, "So today I ask, “Will you increase your faith? Will you repent and obey? Will you diligently seek? Will you learn to access the power of God so that you can live up to the heavenly recommendation that placed you here now? Will you do what you were born to do?”

My dear young friends, I repeat that these are the days in which a true leader wants to live. These are days when opportunities to change lives and even destinies are nearly endless. You are running the anchor leg of the relay because you were born to lead. You were born for glory.

In conclusion, in the words of Moroni, “I would commend you to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written” (Ether 12:41) so that you experience for yourself the power in Jesus Christ to strengthen you, to sanctify you, and to help you run this leg of the relay. Don’t ever underestimate the power of Jesus Christ to help you. Isaiah said it this way:

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? . . .

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. . . .

. . . They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. [Isaiah 40:28–31]

I have learned for myself that this is true—that because of our Father and His Son, we don’t have to run this last strenuous leg of the relay alone. We have access to the greatest and grandest of all power. And when we have the power of God with us, we truly can do all things—including everything we were born to do. And we were born to lead. We were born for glory." (You Were Born To Lead, You Were Born For Glory, Sheri Dew, 2003)

I know that this is true. We can become like our Heavenly Father because He has the power to mold and change us into the beings we were destined to become. Jesus Christ makes that power available to us. I know They live. I know They love all of us. You are a child of God and so am I. There are wonderful things in store if only we will "believe, obey, and endure." So maybe today, take some time to ponder what you want to be, what you want to have accomplished when your life mission is over. If you ask God what those things should be, He will open your eyes to grander possibilities than any of us can ever imagine. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God  hath prepared for them that love him." (2 Corinthians 2:9) In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen. 

{CTR Always, ETTE}