Farewell talk.

(here is a outline of my talk I gave today, some of it I filled in best of my memory)

I was talking with my boss the other day, and I said one of my favorite things about having Church at 11:30, you have the whole morning to write your talk..... But of course I prepared early... I wrote it last night.

I was giving a choice of topics, and I chose "Inviting all to come unto Christ" for me this is the embodiment of my goal as a missionary. In Preach My Gospel, the question is asked "What Is My Purpose as a Missionary?" it says the purpose of a Missionary 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."

That will be the focus of my talk, Inviting others to come unto Christ, I will brake this down into 4 areas, learning Who we are coming to, learning why we are coming, how we can invite others, and to what end ?

(1st) Before you can come unto Christ, you need to know Who Christ is in a talk given by President Ezra Taft Benson in 1987 titled “Come unto Christ” He states.  
The major mission of the Book of Mormon, as recorded on its title page, is “to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.”

The honest seeker after truth can gain the testimony that Jesus is the Christ as he prayerfully ponders the inspired words of the Book of Mormon.

Over one-half of all the verses in the Book of Mormon refer to our Lord. Some form of Christ’s name is mentioned more frequently per verse in the Book of Mormon than even in the New Testament.

He is given over one hundred different names in the Book of Mormon. Those names have a particular significance in describing His divine nature.

Let us consider some of the attributes of our Lord, as found in the Book of Mormon, that show that Jesus is the Christ. Then let us confirm each of those attributes about Him with a brief quote from the Book of Mormon.

He is Constant: “The same yesterday, today, and forever” (2 Ne. 27:23).

He is the Creator: “He created all things, both in heaven and in earth” (Mosiah 4:9).

He is the Exemplar: He “set the example. … He said unto the children of men: Follow thou me” (2 Ne. 31:9, 10).

He is Generous: “He commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2 Ne. 26:24).

He is Godly: He is God (see 2 Ne. 27:23).

He is the Healer: The “sick, and … afflicted with all manner of diseases … devils and unclean spirits … were healed by the power of the Lamb of God” (1 Ne. 11:31).

He is Humble: “He humbleth himself before the Father” (2 Ne. 31:7).

He is Joyful: “The Father hath given” Him a “fulness of joy” (3 Ne. 28:10).

He is our Judge: We “shall be brought to stand before the bar of God, to be judged of him” (Mosiah 16:10).

He is Just: “The judgments of God are always just” (Mosiah 29:12).

He is the Light: “The light … of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened” (Mosiah 16:9).

He is Loving: “He loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life” (2 Ne. 26:24).

He is the Mediator: “The great Mediator of all men” (2 Ne. 2:27).

He is Mighty: “Mightier than all the earth” (1 Ne. 4:1).

He is Miraculous: A “God of miracles” (2 Ne. 27:23).

He is Omnipotent: He has “all power, both in heaven and in earth” (Mosiah 4:9).

He is our Redeemer: “All mankind were in a lost and in a fallen state, and ever would be save they should rely on this Redeemer” (1 Ne. 10:6).

He is our Savior: “There is none other name given under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ … whereby man can be saved” (2 Ne. 25:20).

He is Truthful: “A God of truth, and canst not lie” (Ether 3:12).

(2nd), Now that we know what attributes Christ embodies, and who he is, we need to know why, we are to come unto him, what have the Prophets told us about coming unto Him, what has He told us about Coming unto Him?

Mormon teaches us to Come, for he stands “with open arms to receive you” (Morm. 6:17).

Jacob shared with us why he labored, "Wherefore we labored diligently among our people, that we might persuade them to come unto Christ, and partake of the goodness of God, that they might enter into his rest" (Jacob 1:7)

Nephi also taught us, "He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile." (2nd Nephi 26:33)

President Eyring shared with us, The words “come unto Christ” are an invitation. It is the most important invitation you could ever offer to another person. It is the most important invitation anyone could accept. (March 2008 Ensign)

So Christ is waiting for us, to come follow him, his arms are open, and waiting to receive us in.

(3rd) How do we invite others to come unto Christ ? we bear testimony of Him, that He is the Son of God, He is our Savoir and He is the only begotten of the Father, and only by following Him can we be saved, and by bearing our testimony, we also come closer to Christ.

(4th) Now that we know who Christ is, and what we have been commanded to do, (come unto him), and we know that we invite others to come unto him by bearing our testimony, the final thing we need to know is, what promises Christ has made, with us, if we but follow him.

Moroni said “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, … and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you” (Moro. 10:32).

Jacob taught "Come, for “he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause” (Jacob 3:1).

President Ezra Taft Benson has said: “That man is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely approaches the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ. He is the right way, the full truth, and the abundant life.” (Ensign, Dec. 1988, p. 2.)

I love what Jacob said, he will plead your cause, who would not want Jesus to be on their side ? it brings comfort to know if we but follow Him, that Christ is willing to plead our cause.

In closing I would like to share a story, that helped grow my testimony of the power of Prayer, and missionary work (the following is a rough outline of what I said), as some of you know, about 2 years ago, I did not have a job, I was looking, and searching everywhere I could not find one, and in my interviews with Bishop Smith, he said you need to find a job to save up money for your mission, I told him I was looking but I could not find a job because being home schooled meant I did not have a GED, and everyone had lots of college applicants who had GED's, many places said they would loved to hired me, but could not, he asked if I had prayed for help. I had not, I went home, and was talking with my sister, and she said, God has told you to go on a Mission, hold him to his end of the deal, ask for a job.

So I did, I prayed and basically said, I know I should serve a mission, if this is what I am to do, provide me a job to do it. A stack of applications later, I got a call, finally a call, and I was hired at Jamba Juice, I moved in with my sister in Taylorsville, and worked there for a year, when it came time for her to move, I needed to move back to Orem, I tried to get a transfer to the Orem Jamba, I could not, I was still short of funding, and knew I must start the search up again for a job, once again I knelt, and prayed and said I am trying to do Thy will, provide a way for me.

The week of the move, my boss came to me, and said I feel bad that you can't get a transfer, if you can meet me in American Fork, I can take you to work (20 minute drive), once again my prayer was answered, I want to thank all those who have helped me in life, my Family, Boss, Coworkers, Seminary teachers, and Church leaders, thank you, I want to bear my testimony that Christ listens, He cares, He is the Son of God, He will provide a way, and a Mission is where I do belong.

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.