I am excited
for this opportunity to get to speak before I leave on my mission. I was called to serve in the Ghana Cape Coast
Mission and I am reporting to the Ghana MTC in a week from this Friday. Ghana is located in West Africa between the
Ivory Coast and Togo and my mission covers the southwestern parts of Ghana,
mostly along the Atlantic coast. I
received my mission call this last February while I was at BYU. As a little kid growing up in primary, I
always dreamed of going on a mission to go serve the Lord, but I don’t think
that I ever really imagined that this day would actually come and I especially did
not expect to be going to Ghana. But it
is has sure come fast. I am excited for
this opportunity to go and serve the people over in Ghana. The Gospel has spread very fast over in
Africa. Many are being baptized and the
church is growing exponentially. This
last General Conference Elder John B Dickson shared a message of the missionary
work being done in this area. He said,
“As a people,
West Africans believe in God, have absolutely no shame in declaring and sharing
their belief with others, and have tremendous leadership capacity. They are
coming into the Church by the hundreds, and every week or so a couple of wards
or branches are created somewhere in the Africa West Area with, in nearly every
case, all-African priesthood and auxiliary leadership.
How I wish you
could join the Saints in the temple in Aba, Nigeria, or Accra, Ghana, where you
would sense the commitment of the Saints and come to know the all-African
temple presidencies. Or how I wish I could introduce you to the African Area
Seventies, who are assembled with us here in the Conference Center today and
are attorneys, professors, and business managers, or have you become acquainted
with the African stake and ward leaders and their families.
Across Africa, to
join a Sunday School, auxiliary, or priesthood class is a sacred experience,
where the Church curriculum is followed and there is great gospel
understanding, teaching, and learning by the Spirit.
The gospel in
Africa is going to a happy people, very unencumbered by the trappings that
affect the lives of many in the West. They are not concerned about having
endless material possessions.
It has been said
of Africans that they have very little of that which matters least and a great
deal of that which matters most. They have little interest in enormous homes
and the finest cars but great interest in knowing their Heavenly Father and His
Son, Jesus Christ, and in having eternal families. As a natural result of their
faith, the Lord is lifting them in meaningful ways.”
As I was growing
up here I played soccer competitively.
One the guys on my team, his name was Stewy. He was my first experience of meeting someone
from Ghana, although I did not know that I would be serving there. He was a friend that I respected, as he was
friendly, cool, and would stand up for
himself and his values. Since I received my mission call, I have had the
opportunity to meet a few more people from Ghana, one of which I was able to
have dinner with and talk to. His name was Holdbrook McArthur. Holdbrook’s family was one of the first
members of the Church in Ghana, they became converted when man named Billy
Johnson received a copy of the Book of Mormon.
Billy
Johnson was a Ghanan who got his hands upon a Book of Mormon. In 1969, he read it and found it to be true. He spread the Gospel among the people in
Ghana. Even though he had not yet
received priesthood authority to baptize, he started to baptize people in Ghana
forming congregations. In 1978, when
Spencer W Kimball announced the declaration that blacks could receive the
priesthood, Johnson contacted the church headquarters hopeing to officially
form the church in Ghana. The church
then sent leaders over to Ghana and the church was officially organized and
Billy Johnson then became the first patriarch in Ghana.
The people
that I have met from Ghana so far are very caring people as we all should be. They look around to serve those around them
and focus on the more important things in life.
We all
should focus on the things that matter most in life, our families, the gospel,
and put them above the material things of this world. I feel that our mindset is a big part of how
successful we can be, not just as a missionary, but as a human being. If we look towards God and Christ and have
that as our focus and mindset, it will help us become better people and better
missionaries.
In Ether 12:
27 it says,
“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness
that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for
all men that humble themselves before
me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I
make weak things become
strong unto them.”
I
love this scripture because it shows that we all have weaknesses and Christ can
help us make them our strengths, but we first have to realize what they are and
humble ourselves before him. We have
faith and try our best to make our weaknesses into our strengths, Christ will
help us and make us a stronger people.
We cannot be too proud of ourselves, but we have to humble ourselves and
look to Christ and he will help us. I
know that this scripture will give me strength because I would consider
speaking to those I don’t know and in public as one of my weaknesses. These next two years for me will not be the
easiest, but I know if I humble myself and look unto Christ that he will help
me.
Missionary
work is very important to God and it can help bring others to Christ. When we experience the blessings of gospel
living, we naturally want to share those blessings with others. The Lord spoke
of the joy that comes into our lives when we share His gospel in D&C
18:15–16. It says:
“If it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance
unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be
your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!
And now, if your
joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if
you should bring many souls unto me!”
The
goal of missionary is found in the missionary purpose which is to “Invite
others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through
faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the
gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.”
We need to strive to help others
receive this gospel. Moses 1:39 says “For behold, this
is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of
man.” We need to strive
to help to bring to pass immortality and eternal life to all. I have always viewed this verse as God’s
mission statement. We all should work
together to help everyone achieve immortality and eternal life. We can do this through missionary work. Christ says in Mark 16:15 to “Go ye into all
the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” Christ commands us to serve God by going out
and preaching his word unto all his children upon earth. Brad Wilcox said that “Heaven is not a prize
for the perfect, but the future home of all who are willing to be
perfected.” We can gain immortality and
eternal life if we strive to perfect ourselves and let our weaknesses be made
strong.
One way this
past year that I have been able to make myself stronger and see areas that I
need to improve is by studying the scriptures and I also had the opportunity to
volunteer at the MTC as an investigator.
Going to volunteer was a good experience as I could help the
missionaries prepare for their mission, and through their teaching, I could see
ways I could also improve. All the
missionaries had the spirit with them, but you could tell some had prepared
themselves throughout their life better than others. We all want to be the one who is ready for
whatever comes next. Preparation is one
of the best things that we can do for ourselves.
In D&C
121:34-36, it says, “Behold,
there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not
chosen? Because
their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world,
and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn
this one lesson— That
the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the
powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot
be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of
righteousness.”
We need to be the
ones who are the chosen. Rather than
setting our hearts upon the things of this world, we should strive to set our
hearts on the Gospel and its teachings.
If we live like unto Christ, then we may become these chosen and be able
to return to live with our Father in Heaven once again. We need to make sure not to delay and put off
these actions for another day and time.
These are the latter days. Doctrine and Covenants section 4 shows this and it is a very good
scripture for missionary work. It says,
“1 Now behold, a marvelous
work is about to come forth among the children of men.
2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of
God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength,
that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye
are called to the work;
4 For behold the field is white
already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his
might, the same layeth up in storethat he perisheth not, but bringeth
salvation to his soul;
5 And faith, hope, charity and love,
with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him
for the work.
6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance,
patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
7 Ask, and ye shall
receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
Now is the time to do
missionary work and to serve God. It
says that “the field is white, already to harvest.” There are people out there waiting for us to
share the gospel and all we have to do is to open our mouths and God will help
us share the Gospel. If we ask for his
help and humble ourselves, we will receive it.
It says that if we serve God with all our “heart, might, mind, and
strength, that we will stand blameless before God at the last day.” Missionary
work benefits both missionary and the one receiving the Gospel.
I am excited for my
opportunity to serve as a full time missionary for this church. I’m not going to lie; I am intimidated and
nervous for the upcoming experiences that lie ahead of me. I know that they won’t be easy, but I know that
they will definitely be worth it. I am
excited to be able to help others receive the restored gospel, and know that if
we all take every advantage we have, that we will be greatly blessed for it.
I would like
to close by bearing my testimony that I know that this church is true. It is as simple as that. I know that my mission will help me for the
better and I know that I am heading out there for the right reasons, because I
know that Christ suffered through the atonement for me. He suffered my pains, trials, and afflictions
and I know that he will help me through my upcoming journey. I am grateful for all the opportunities that
I have been blessed with and I am grateful for my parents and leaders that have
helped keep me on the straight and narrow. I would like to say these things in
the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
