Farewell Talk May 19, 2013

Good morning. By way of introduction, I’m Tressa Bussio, and this is the last talk I’ll be giving in English for about a year and a half. If you made it here to see that, I congratulate you for making the arduous trek, and not ending up at the chapel next door. The rest of you, I suppose, are along for the ride. 

My friend, Jessica, when she heard about my topic, which happens to be Elder Russell M. Nelson’s 2012 general conference talk, Ask the Missionaries, They Can Help You, she initially laughed. Then, because she is a nice human being, she suggested I field questions from the pews, really proving that “Asking the Missionaries” works, because we just know everything. Calculus? Not a problem. Song titles and artists? Got it covered. Unfortunately, I remain rusty at 80’s trivia, and I’ve managed to avoid statistics, so fielding questions didn’t seem quite feasible. Continuing on my quest to a hopefully coherent talk, I did what any college student would—I asked google what to do. Google, because it wasn’t going to write my talk for me, gave me only Ask the Missionaries memes, several of which were actually clever. My favorite was a picture of Waldo, with the caption, “Where’s Waldo? Ask the Missionaries!” I had the sneaking suspicion that being a missionary involved a little more than just finding Waldo, but I at least I could do that. Resigned to writing my own talk, I delved deeper into Elder Nelson’s.  

Elder Nelson describes the missionaries as “a heaven-sent resource to you…they are blessed with gifts—such as the power of the Holy Spirit, the love of God, and testimonies of the truth—that make them powerful ambassadors of the Lord. They share the good news of the gospel that will bring true joy and everlasting happiness to all who heed their message.” I appreciate being called a heaven-sent resource. If anyone needs a new compliment, I suggest you borrow this one. I feel like missionaries are equivalent to Superman, but instead of beating Lex Luthor, we just make things better instead—which is the second half of this talks title—They can help you.  Elder Nelson notes eight situations where missionaries can help.

            First, he states, “for example, some of you might want to know more about your ancestors. You may know the names of your parents and your four grandparents, but what about your eight great-grandparents? Do you know their names? Would you like to know more about them? Ask the missionaries! They can help you! They have ready access to the vast family history records of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” If you were to type “family history work” into lds.org, missionary work and family history work are essentially equated, which makes sense Family history is just missionary work for dead people. Now, we know that family history work isn’t solely the responsibility of missionaries. That’s why there are family history Sunday school classes, and people like my mother, who stay up ridiculously late, and trace lineages through various time periods. I have never seen anyone be as happy over released census records as she has been, or as angry when an individual drops off the paper trail. To her credit, she usually gets her man.

The second situation concerns less active members. Elder Nelson states, “some of you are members but not presently participating. You love the Lord and often think of returning to His fold. But you don’t know how to start. I suggest that you ask the missionaries! They can help you! They can also help by teaching your loved ones. We and the missionaries love you and desire to bring joy and the light of the gospel back into your lives.” Because I have no mission stories yet, I’ll share one of my brothers. When he in Gigharbor, the missionaries had no one to teach, so they decided to look at the ward directory, pick two names they didn’t know, and call them. They called a man, said that they were the new missionaries who had transferred in, and that they’d like to meet with him. He said he couldn’t meet with them that day or the next day, because he was going through a divorce, but he could meet with them the following Friday. They proceeded to meet with him, went into his house, met his girlfriend, talked to them for a while. He had left the church because he and a couple of members had gotten into an argument about his divorce. They asked him why he joined the church and this man bore his testimony that this church was true. They taught them, and suggested that if they had any questions, they should pray, and that they should come to sacrament meeting—they would find their answers. They showed up to 1:00 church, and reminded them of a few technicalities. As it turned out, his girlfriend had prayed to know whether God existed. She felt the spirit there, and so did he. They both strove to become more active in the church, and got married. Missionaries can help reactivate members, but ultimately missionaries transfer to another area, or go home. The members are important because they help provide an infrastructure for less actives and new members. President Hinkley compared the faith of investigators and new members to green wood. He stated, “The faith of an investigator or new member is like a piece of green wood, thrown on a blazing fire. Warmed by the flames, it dries and begins to burn. But if it is pulled away, it cannot sustain itself. Its flickering flame dies. But if left with the fire, it gradually begins to burn with brightness. Soon it is part of the flaming fire and will light other, greener wood.”

Thirdly, Elder Nelson states, “some of you may want to know how to conquer an addiction or live longer and enjoy better health. Ask the missionaries! They can help you!” The Church provides an addiction recovery program. The missionaries provide extra support and comfort to those who need it, just like Christ did in the New Testament. We overcome our addictions and become better through Him. Luanne, a member who was going through this recovery program for drug abuse states, “I have found peace and hope in this program and a resolve to overcome my addictions through Christ that I never thought was possible for someone like me.” Missionaries and members can help those struggling with addiction.

The fourth situation is described by Elder Nelson as this, “some of you may feel that life is busy and frenetic, yet down deep in your heart you feel a gnawing emptiness, without direction or purpose. Ask the missionaries! They can help you! They can help you to learn more about the true purpose of life—why you are here on earth and where you are going after death.” For those of you who have had the pleasure of taking Mission Prep, or reading Preach My Gospel, the first missionary lesson is titled the Restoration, or as I like to think of it, why you need Christ and the Church. The gospel provides direction in our lives. One of my favorite novels has special Yetis. The yetis are unique because they are able to save their time at a certain point, and then venture forth knowing that if they die, they can just resume their lives from the point they saved at with the knowledge they acquired before death, much like how people use the save game feature.  We have all the knowledge we need without even having to “save.” As missionaries, our goal is to share this knowledge with everyone we can. Members, too, are encouraged to show others the gospel light. 

Elder Nelson’s fifth situation is this. “If you have concerns about your family, ask the missionaries! They can help you! Strengthening marriages and families is of utmost importance to Latter-day Saints. Families can be together forever. Ask the missionaries to teach you how this is possible for your family.”  To paraphrase President Gordon B. Hinkley, we’re trying to make the world better by strengthening families. If you can’t tell by now, I’m very fond of support structures. I like that I can come home and get a hug no matter what, and feel better. The idea that I can do that for forever, because my family is sealed, is comforting. I want that for everyone. Think of how much nicer the world would be if everyone could go home and get a hug. We, as missionaries, and members, can give that to others.

The sixth situation involves knowing doctrine. Elder Nelson states, “if you want to understand the Bible better, to understand the Book of Mormon better, and gain a broader comprehension of the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God, ask the missionaries! They can help you!” We have knowledge of the scriptures that others do not have, and we should share it with them. Now, I did take mission prep in college, so I am very familiar with the four missionary taught lessons. I am also familiar with accosting poor students trying to run through the JSB to the testing center, and asking, “can we share a brief message with you?” Even if you have no students to trap, we can all share scriptures and gospel doctrines in our homes.

The seventh situation is service oriented. Elder Nelson states, “many of you have a deep desire to help people in need. Because we follow Jesus Christ, Latter-day Saints are also compelled by that insatiable urge. Anyone may join with us to help the needy and provide relief to victims of disaster anywhere in the world. If you want to participate, ask the missionaries! They can help you!” Apparently, it’s called “missionary service” and “missionary work” for a reason. Missions are not easy. However, President Hinkley promised that “you will grow as you have never grown in a similar period during your entire lives. I can promise you a happiness that will be unique and wonderful and lasting. I can promise you that you will reevaluate your lives, that you will establish new priorities, that you will live closer to the Lord, that prayer will become a real and wonderful experience, that you will walk with faith in the outcome of the good things you do." Even “ordinary” service will bring these blessings.

Finally, the last situation described is, “if you want to know more about life after death, about heaven, about God’s plan for you; if you want to know more about the Lord Jesus Christ, His Atonement, and the Restoration of His Church as it was originally established, ask the missionaries! They can help you!” This is what I think of as traditional missionary work—bringing people to Christ through teaching. There is nothing stopping members from helping with this. It was drilled into me in mission prep that the best way to teach investigators is to have members present. If any of you have the opportunity to help with investigators, I would suggest you take advantage; from what I’ve heard, it’s very appreciated.

I’d like to take a few brief moments to bear my testimony: I know church is true, President Monson is prophet, Joseph Smith was one, and that my call was inspired. I’ll be back soon.  I say these things in the name of JC amen.