Elder DeGraw's Farewell Talk:
Good afternoon. I am nervous to speak to you this morning,
but I am also grateful for the opportunity to share some thoughts with you. I
need to take a minute to thank those of you who came today to support me. I
have the greatest family and friends. I
want to thank my ward family, as well. In the past 4 years, since my family
moved into our neighborhood, you have made a huge impact on me and who I am. I
have watched you and learned from your examples. I have had great leaders and
great friends in this ward. Your examples help me to know who I want to become.
Thank you for the positive impact you’ve had. It is going to be hard to leave,
but I am eager to meet and learn from the people in Scottsdale Arizona. I am
excited to serve a mission.
I was surprised to be called to Scottsdale Arizona. However, in the moment I opened my call, I
had the Holy Ghost confirm to me that that is exactly where I am supposed to be.
As I have studied and talked to people about my mission, I have felt that
confirmation again and again. I feel like there are individuals in Arizona
waiting specifically for me to come serve there. They need me. I have also felt
the prompting that I need them, and that this experience will bless me in ways
that I can’t imagine. I have felt a love for the people and area where I will
be serving grow stronger every day, and feel grateful for this call.
It is probably because of these very feelings that I was
drawn to an article that was recently published in the Deseret News titled,
“Elder Holland shares 'the missionary speech of all time' at Seminar for New
Mission Presidents”. At this Mission President training, Elder Holland told a
story of a young man from Idaho who “one night stormed out of the house and set
off to join an infamous motorcycle gang. He succeeded in that resolve and for
20 years became immersed in a culture “of temptations yielded to and
degradations explored,” never contacting his parents, who feared that he was
dead.
Eventually ending up in Southern California, he one day was
sitting on the porch of a rented home when he saw two LDS missionaries making
their way up the street.
“With a rush of memory and guilt, regret and rage, he
despised the very sight of them,” Elder Holland recounted. “But he was safe,
because he kept all visitors at bay by employing two Doberman Pinschers who
viciously charged the gate every moment that anyone came near.”
The dogs startled the missionaries as they passed by and
continued on, “our man on the porch laughing at the lovely little drama he had
just witnessed, wishing only that the gate hadn’t restrained his two dogs.”
Then, the two elders stopped, looked at each other, conversed
a little, “likely said a silent prayer,” then turned around and approached the
gate.
“The Dobermans on cue charged the gate again, hit it,
snarling, frothing, and then stopped in their tracks,” Elder Holland said.
“They looked at the missionaries, dropped their heads, ambled back to the front
steps and lay down.”
The man on the porch was speechless as they missionaries
opened the gate, walked up the path and greeted him. “One of the elders said, ‘Are you from this
part of California?’
“The man said, ‘No. If you want to know, I’m from Pocatello,
Idaho.’
“There was a pause. ‘That’s interesting,’ the elder said. ‘Do
you know the [such-and-such] family in Pocatello?’
“With a stunned look, our biker paused, and then, in very
measured words, said, ‘Yeah, I know them. They are my parents.’
“‘Well, they’re my parents too,’ the missionary said. ‘God
has sent me to invite you to come home.’ ”
The younger brother had been born after the older boy had
left home. The elder brother did not even know of him.
“Mom and Dad have been praying for you every morning and
night for 20 years,” the younger brother said. “They were not sure you were
alive, but they knew if you were, that someday you would come back to us.”
The wayward son invited the two in, and they talked for the
rest of the day and some of the night. He did return home, returned to Church
activity and, in March 2015, was married and sealed in the Boise Idaho Temple.
Commenting on the account, Elder Holland said, “This is a
story of the role of Almighty God, the Savior of the World, and the Holy Ghost
involved in the work of the ministry to which we’ve been called.
“The Holy Ghost
prompted those parents to keep praying, to keep believing, to keep trusting. …
The Holy Ghost inspired that
rebellious boy to come to himself like the prodigal he was and to head for
California. … The Holy Ghost
influenced that younger son to serve a mission and be willing to accept a call
to Southern California. … The Holy Ghost
inspired one of my brethren in the Twelve, who was on the assignment desk that
Friday, to trust his impression and assign that young man for service not a
great distance from his native-born state. The Holy Ghost inspired that mission president to assign that young
missionary to that district and that member unit. The Holy Ghost led those missionaries to that street, that day, that
hour, with big brother sitting on the porch waiting, and, with Doberman
Pinschers notwithstanding, the Holy
Ghost prompted those two elders to stop, talk and in spite of their fear,
to go back and present their message. …
“And, through the elders, the Holy Ghost taught repentance and brought true conversion to one
coming back into the fold.”
Elder Holland said the young elder, without realizing it,
gave the missionary speech of all time, when he said to his brother, “God has
sent me here to invite you to come home.”
Elder Holland concluded by saying, “We are sent by God to
invite His children home.”
I particularly like, as Elder Holland points out, that this
story exemplifies Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost working
together to forward the work here on earth. I’ve been studying a lot about the
first vision, and restoration recently, and have been comforted and amazed by
the number of times that I have noticed the Godhead working in harmony to
further the progression of the gospel of Jesus Christ here on earth. It was the
Holy Ghost that impressed deep
questions on the boy Joseph’s mind. It was the Holy Ghost who urged him to seek answers in the bible, and lead him
to the Epistle of James, first chapter and fifth verse, which reads: “If any of
you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
It was the Holy Ghost who was
also present in the Sacred Grove, where God the eternal Father, and Jesus
Christ appeared to Joseph Smith.
Elder Jeffrey R Holland said, “The greatest event and the
most important accomplishment in the course of all human history is the atoning
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and the eternal triumph that provided over
physical and spiritual death for everyone who has lived, now lives, or ever
will live upon the earth. The greatest event since that divine sacrifice and
the next greatest accomplishment in making that Atonement fully efficacious in
the great plan of salvation was the appearance of the Father and the Son to the
boy prophet Joseph Smith in the New York springtime of 1820. Had we never had
what we have come to call “the Restoration,” the great plan of salvation would
have been forever thwarted, and the full blessings of the Atonement would not
have reached most of God’s children, past, present, and future.”
What happened on that spring morning in the Sacred Grove is
the most important event that’s ever happened, only second to the Atonement of
Christ. And what was it that lead to that sacred event? A young farm boy
seeking revelation to his hearts deepest questions.
When speaking of James 1:5, Joseph Smith said, “Never did any
passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at
this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my
heart. I reflected on it again and again, knowing that if any person needed
wisdom from God, I did; for how to act I did not know.”
Joseph Smith didn’t know what he should do. Remember, he was
just 14 years old when he wanted to know what church to join. His honest
seeking had amazing results: the First Vision, the Restoration of the gospel,
and so much more.
His experience was quite extraordinary, but the way he sought
answers teaches some great patterns for how we can receive revelation
ourselves. There are so many valuable lessons we can learn about personal
revelation from the first vision. I
would like to talk about five questions we can ask ourselves that can help us
in our quest to hear, understand, and respond to heaven’s voice.
Question 1:
Have I “studied it out” (see D&C 9:8)? Have I done my homework?
When young Joseph wanted to know which church was true, he
did more than simply ask. He put significant effort into seeking an answer. He
speaks of “serious reflection,” of attending “several meetings” of various
churches “as often as an occasion would permit,” and of “laboring under the
extreme difficulties” of his dilemma (Joseph Smith—History 1:8, 11).
So many times we want revelation on important questions
without putting much effort into the revelatory process. Someone might ask, “Which college should I go
to?” without researching the school or visiting the campus. A single adult
might ask if he or she should marry a certain person after—or even during—the
first date. Heavenly Father wants us to gather adequate information in our
decision making.
In most cases, the Lord wants us to make decisions based on
righteous principles and then ask Him if our decision is right. Elder Dallin H.
Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles put it this way: “Persons who try to
shift all decision making to
the Lord and plead for revelation in every
choice will soon find circumstances in which they pray for guidance and don’t
receive it” (“Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall,” Ensign, Oct. 1994, 13).
Sometimes Heavenly Father trusts His righteous children to make good choices on
their own—trusting that He will protect and guide them as necessary.
2. Have I
looked to see if the Lord already provided the answer?
As part of “studying it out,” Joseph did his best to find out
if there was clear counsel from the Lord on what Church he should join. There
just wasn’t a whole lot available, and after exhausting all his resources, he
realized “it was impossible” for him “to come to any certain conclusion” on his
own (Joseph Smith—History 1:8). It was after these efforts that Joseph went to
pray in the Sacred Grove.
When we’re seeking guidance, we too can look for what the
Lord has revealed on the matter. All too often, we ask to receive revelation on
things the Lord has already made clear. We’re blessed today to have so much
that Joseph didn’t have in his time—for instance, modern-day scripture,
prophets’ teachings, general conference, priesthood blessings, and guidelines
in Church resources such as For the Strength of Youth.
When we have questions, we can always pray. But it just may
be that the Lord has already placed an answer out there for us to find—we just
have to be open to receive it.
3. Have I
searched the scriptures?
Many answers to life’s greatest questions come as we are
searching the scriptures. “One day” Joseph was “reading the Epistle of James,”
It was in this sacred, private moment, with the scriptures open, that the words
entered his heart “with great force” and he received the guidance he was
seeking.
President Henry B Eyring has said, “We will find answers in
the scriptures. The Lord seemed to anticipate all of our problems and all of
our needs, and he put help in the scriptures for us—if only we seek it.”
Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
has taught: “When we want to speak to God, we pray. And when we want Him to
speak to us, we search the scriptures; for His words are spoken through His
prophets” (Oct. 2006 general conference).
4. Have I
sought the Lord’s answer in a humble, reverent way?
When Joseph finally decided to ask of God, he did so in a way
that showed his humility and reverence for the sacred experience he wanted to
have. He went to the woods, to a place he had planned in advance, where he
could be alone. There he “kneeled down” , prayed vocally, and offered up “the
desires of [his] heart” (Joseph Smith—History 1:14–15).
We don’t need to be alone in a grove of trees, but we can do
simple things to show how important the prayer is to us. Kneeling, pondering
before and after our prayer, and expressing gratitude all help.
5. Am I
willing to act upon the revelation I receive—even if it is not the answer I was
expecting?
The answer that Joseph received surprised him—“it had never
entered into [his] heart” that all of the churches could be wrong (Joseph
Smith—History 1:18). However, he accepted that answer and lived by it, even
when opposition and persecution arose—almost from the moment he stepped out of
the Sacred Grove—and did not cease until his death.
In some cases, learning the will of God is the easy
part—following it can be more challenging. President Henry B Eyring said, “If
you have had trouble getting answers to your prayers, try asking today, “What
is there that you would have me do?” That prayer will be answered if you are
sincere and if you listen like a little child with REAL INTENT TO ACT.”
Answers Will
Come
As a result of Joseph’s experience, he was able to say, “I
have learned for myself” (Joseph Smith—History 1:20). This can be our goal too.
Through the Holy Ghost, we can learn for ourselves. Revelation may not always come easily, and
sometimes God may require us to make a decision and act before the answers
come. But we can be assured that He will guide us when we need it, just as he
guided Joseph Smith.
Share testimony of…
Joseph Smith,
restoration
President Monson
Jesus Christ
Heavenly Father
I truly believe the Book of Mormon is written
for our day. I know it is true and that Joseph Smith translated it by the Power
of God. This book is a huge blessing and it pulls me closer to our Savior. I am
grateful for His sacrifice and His love for all of us. In the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.
