Farewell 8/29/2021

 

Good afternoon brothers and sisters, I think most of you probably know me but for those who don’t I’m Sam Roberts. I’ve been called to serve in the Indiana Indianapolis mission, and I report to the home MTC tomorrow and then I’ll be going to the Provo MTC on September eighth. So you’ll still see me around for the next week or so. I’ve been asked to give a talk on remembering our baptismal covenant, which I think is a very good topic for a missionary because that’s one of the main goals of missionary work is to bring people unto Christ through baptism.

Now before we can remember our baptismal covenant, we first need to know what the baptismal covenant is. A good place to start is with the baptismal interview questions, especially question six which says “when you are baptized, you covenant with God that you are willing to take upon yourself the name of Christ and keep his commandments throughout your life.” So when we are baptized we covenant to take Christ’s name upon us but what does that actually mean.

Well to take Christ’s name upon us means multiple things, in Elder Robert D. Hales talk from October 2000 general conference called the covenant of Baptism: To be in the kingdom and of the Kingdom, he says “our baptism is a covenant to ‘stand as witnesses of God [and His kingdom] at all times and in all things, and in all places.” If our baptismal covenant is to stand as a witness and it is also to take Christ’s name upon us, that means to take Christ’s name upon us means to stand as a witness of him at all times and in all things and in all places. What does it mean to be a witness though, well we can witness of Christ in many ways. Sometimes it takes words and a strong testimony born to those who will hear it, but more often it is by our daily actions. One of my friends shared this quote with me awhile back but I think it’s a very strong example of this principle “Share the gospel in everything you do and use words when you have to.” To stand as a witness of Christ is as Paul said, to be “an example of the believers.”

To take Christ’s name upon us also means to be like Christ. a saying that has been around for a long time is “what would Jesus do?” and even though it is sometimes used in a very casual manner this is a very profound and important question to ask ourselves. How many stupid actions could be avoided by simply asking ourselves this simple four worded question? The answer may shock some but believe it or not probably a lot of our stupid actions could be completely avoided. I invite everyone within the sound of my voice to ask themselves are my actions in line with what my savior Jesus Christ would do, if not, then I invite you to apply elder Uchtdorf’s two-word sermon “Stop It!”

Lastly to take Christ name upon us means to be “willing to bear another’s burdens, that they may be light; yea, mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort.” This seems very self-explanatory, and I think could be summed up very easily in four words be a loving person. This is Christ’s true and living church and when we’re baptized, we become members of it and Christ is the perfect example of love so if we are to take his name upon us you better believe that means showing love to all. Elder Holland said it very wonderfully when he said “…Do not gleefully shout, ‘look at him! … There he is crawling into a bog!’ No, do not gloat but give … your help [to anyone trying to walk the road back to God.]” I would add to anyone not quite ready to walk the road back to God as well. Show love and compassion to all, like Christ would.

In mission prep we’re taught that after inviting people to do something you then promise blessings so here are just a few of the many blessings that come by taking Christ name upon us and keeping his commandments. To begin by taking Christ’s name upon us is to also “take his yoke upon us” now some of you might be thinking wait you said these were the blessings not what taking Christ’s name upon us is, but taking Christ’s yoke upon us is a great blessing if you continue the verse from Matthew 11 verse 29 “take my yoke upon you… and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Now if that isn’t an amazing promise and blessing then I don’t know what is, because when the savior promises us rest unto our souls it means the true joy that comes from the Gospel.

Another blessing that comes from taking Christ’s name upon us is pure joy in all circumstances. To take Christ’s name upon us is to have him be the focus of our lives and President Nelson has said “the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.” When our focus is on Christ no matter what we’re going through we can find Joy! Like the early saints coming to the Utah valley who faced so many trials and tribulations and yet were still able to find Joy in every circumstance, from the harsh and bitter cold winters to the blistering hot summers.

Another blessing we can find from taking Christ name upon us and keeping and remembering our baptismal covenant can be found from the Sacrament prayer which we heard earlier in the meeting but it says “That they may always have his spirit to be with them.” To always have the spirit to be with us is to always have his guidance, which in such a chaotic world can be so very important to have. The spirit can also provide help in hard times, as a missionary I expect some very hard times and trials such as difficult companions, discouragement because of lack of baptisms, or even lack of interest in people in my areas, but I know that with the Holy Ghost I can make it through these difficult times.

The last blessing is help during trials. When we take Christ’s name upon us, we become his people and as such he will help us through our trials, that isn’t to say he’ll take them away or we won’t have any but he’ll help us get through them and as he told Joseph Smith in liberty jail they will be “for our good.” Elder Holland put this principle so well when he said “his divine love and unfailing help will be with us even when we struggle-no, will be with us especially when we struggle.” God and our Savior are always there to help us no matter what, all we have to do is turn to them and let them help. Christ is always standing ready to say as Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings did “I can’t carry it for you but I can carry you!”

There is a beautiful poem entitled “Footprints in the Sand” and it says:

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testing.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”

This poem is so incredible and helps paint the picture of how our Savior is always with us even when it appears there are only one set of footprints. Christ is always with us! Especially when were at our lowest, “when other helpers fail, and comforts flee” Christ will never leave us nor forsake us. He will always abide with us. I add my testimony to Paul when he declared to the Philippians “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me”

In conclusion I want to thank everyone who has helped me get to this point both friends and family, but especially my mom who if not for her I would not be here today sharing this talk with you all, thank you mom! I end with my testimony that I know that this church is the only church with all the truth, I know that Joseph Smith saw our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, I know that through their power and guidance he translated the Book of Mormon from the golden plates, lastly, I know that President Nelson is the true and living prophet on the earth today! I love this gospel and I’m so honored to get this opportunity to serve my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in this manner. I leave all these things with you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ amen.