Mission Farewell Talk

If you were unable to see me give my talk or one of the people who came up to me and asked me for a copy, here is my talk: Good Morning Brothers and Sisters, my name is Sister Hannah Heninger! It’s been a very long time since I have given a talk in sacrament meeting so I’m excited to be in my home ward. I was asked to give a talk on repentance and by doing so I would like to quote President Boyd K. Packer: “ I speak today to those who may be lost and are searching for the light to help guide them back… If you have made no mistakes, then you do not need the Atonement. If you have made mistakes, and all of us have, whether minor or serious, then you have an enormous need to find out how they can be erased so that you are no longer in darkness.” At Brigham Young University-Idaho, I came to really love the Prophet Alma the Younger. Alma the Younger had grown up in a Christ centered home with his father being the prophet but Alma the Younger was not making right choices. He was breaking commandments, like thou shall not steal or thou shall not commit adultery, but the big mistake he was making was leading people way from the church. One day while he and some of his friends were out walking an angel appeared to them. This angel had spoken with so much power that he shook the earth. Alma and his friends were so astonished that they fell to the earth and did not understand what the angel was saying to them. The angel had come to answer the prayers of the Church members and his father. He told Alma the Younger to stop trying to destroy the Church. Alma the Younger was so astonished to what he was told that he became too weak to talk or move his body. After 2 days and nights of being in this weak state, Alma arose. He had repented of his sins and knew that we had to be righteous to enter the kingdom of God. Alma the Younger was happy because God had forgiven him and knew that God loved him. I think it’s such a blessing to see how even someone so rebellious like Alma can go through the repentance process and become clean from all his guilt and sorrow. Unfortunately with all the choices we make, whether they be good or bad, they come with a consequences. By sinning, we feel that “yucky feeling” of guilt or sorrow. When Alma the younger was going through the repentance process during those 2 days and nights he had to experience this. In Alma 36: 17-18 it states “And it came to pass that as I was thus racked with torment, while I was harrowed up by the memory of my many sins, behold, I remembered also to have heard my father prophesy unto the people concerning the coming of one Jesus Christ, a Son of God, to atone for the sins of the world…Now, as my mind caught hold upon this thought, I cried within my heart: O Jesus, thou Son of God, have mercy on me, who am bin the gall of bitterness, and am encircled about by the everlasting chains of death.” We all know how that feels, maybe not to that degree, but still. After we make a mistake we have that little voice inside our head going “Well shoot! Why did you do that!? Was that choice really worth it?!” President Boyd K. Packer said “It was understood from the beginning that in mortality we would fall short of being perfect. It was not expected that we would live without transgressing one law or another. “For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord…From the Pearl of Great Price, we understand that “no unclean thing can dwell [in the kingdom of God],”and so a way was provided for all who sin to repent and become worthy of the presence of our Father in Heaven once more…A Mediator, a Redeemer, was chosen, one who would live His life perfectly, commit no sin, and offer “himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.” Christ is this Redeemer. He did take on our sins so that we can become like him. Brothers and Sisters, for this reason alone, I love my brother and Savior Jesus Christ. President Packer continues to say “That is the promise of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement: to take anyone who comes, anyone who will join, and put them through an experience so that at the end of their life, they can go through the veil having repented of their sins and having been washed clean through the blood of Christ.” After going through the repentance process we have the feeling of realif. Alma describes this relief in Alma 36: 19 in what I think is the most perfect way. It says “And now, behold, when I thought this, I could remember my pains no more; yea, I was harrowed up by the memory of my sins no more.” Now, some of us have experienced this through baptism. When we have all of our sins washed clean. Our burdens are lighten, our guilt and sorrow is washed away and our spirit shows of the light of Christ when we are clean. President Packer said “That is what Latter-day Saints do around the world. That is the Light we offer to those who are in darkness and have lost their way. Wherever our members and missionaries may go, our message is one of faith and hope in the Savior Jesus Christ.” Repentance comes with a price for us. We must go through the steps of repentance which are Recognize we have done wrong, covenant with the Lord that we will never repeat the sin we have committed by confessing them and forsake them, recommit ourselves to living a better life in all phases of the gospel, make restitution for the wrongs we have committed, repenting in prayer to the Lord, confessing to our bishop if the sin is a major one, apologizing to those we have offended. Devote our time to serve the lord, and completely forgive ourselves. These steps are important to our eternal salvation but I feel like I need to talk about is forgiving others who have wronged us. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said “Forgiveness for our sins comes with conditions. We must repent, and we must be willing to forgive others. Jesus taught: “Forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not … [stands] condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin” and “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” He continues to say “Our Savior has spoken so clearly on this subject that there is little room for private interpretation. “I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive,” but then He said, “… of you it is required to forgive all men.” When I was up at Brigham Young University-Idaho, I had a roommate who I didn’t see eye to eye with. She had been raised in an different environment than I was, with different family rules, traditions, and people. Now, this roommate had said some things to me which I didn’t appreciate. I was offended and very hurt to what she had said to me. By letting myself become offended, the spirit in our little apartment had weakened. I didn’t take the time to understand this roommate; I just judged her like I knew her whole situation. One night while we were having an apartment meeting we were talking about how we could better do our housework and how could we better understand one another’s life. By doing so we all said how we could comfort each other when one of us could tell that we were having a bad day. This roommate had opened up to us that she was battling depression. Brothers and Sisters, I have never felt so much like a jerk in my life. Before then, I had never thought to think to myself what she was going through. She was going through something that I know in my lifetime I could never overcome. Now, our relationship still is not perfect nor is it close to being but, she and I ended on somewhat good terms. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf once said “When the Lord requires that we forgive all men, that includes forgiving ourselves. Sometimes, of all the people in the world, the one who is the hardest to forgive—as well as perhaps the one who is most in need of our forgiveness—is the person looking back at us in the mirror. This topic of judging others could actually be taught in a two-word sermon. When it comes to hating, gossiping, ignoring, ridiculing, holding grudges, or wanting to cause harm, please apply the following: Stop it!” This is what I think is the best advice to give anyone is. This would have solved all of my problems with my roommates in college! I would have been able to not only been happier but I could have made this roommates huge burden lighter. President Uchtdorf said “In a world of accusations and unfriendliness, it is easy to gather and cast stones. But before we do so, let us remember the words of the One who is our Master and model: “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone….Remember: in the end, it is the merciful who obtain mercy.” My Brothers and Sisters, I am about to leave for an 18 month mission in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I know that I haven’t even left for the mission yet but I love the people already. I cannot wait to teach the people about the Gospel because I know of the joy it will bring to them and their families. To any of you who can feel the spirit or that amazing warmth right now, you can have that feeling all the time by being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost with you. I once heard a quote from one of my professors that I loved and that is “Church isn’t a museum for saints but, a lab for sinners.”I know my Savior died not just for me but, for all of us. He wants him to return to him again. I know that Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet today. I am so grateful to be sealed to my parents and have the privilege to live with an eternal family. I am so grateful for the people I will teach. If any of you knew me before I left for BYU-I, my mission was not plan A. Since the Lord wants me to serve, I will go and serve to the best of my abilities. I would like to end on this quote by President Uchtdorf: “Finally, the greatest of all blessings: the forgiveness of the Lord. We no longer look back with depression and hurt, but forward to the future with hope and joy and love for God, self, and all mankind” Tonight I will be set apart as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saint. My family will keep my blog and Facebook updated!