I Will Walk With Jesus

Yesterday was our congregation's annual primary program! The kids spent all year learning songs to share with the ward, plus each child wrote their own speaking part based on a prompt I gave them. They all did a great job! A lot of work goes into making this Sunday happen and I'm so glad the kids were happy with it.

Here are the songs the kids sang for the program:

I Will Walk with Jesus
Kindness Begins with Me/I Will Follow God’s Plan
Holy Places
He Cares for Me
Close as a Quiet Prayer
I Have Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ
Gethsemane
Because
This Little Light of Mine
Choose to Serve the Lord

Topher was the first speaker. I'll share the prompt he was given and what he wrote (and then delivered from the pulpit) in response.

Prompt: This year in primary we sang the song I Will Follow God’s Plan. Who is your favorite old testament hero who followed God’s plan? Why? In under one minute, tell us about a time you followed God’s plan.

Topher: My favorite Old Testament hero is David. He killed Goliath when no one else even dared to do it. He was just a young shepherd boy and he had a lot of faith in the Lord. He followed God’s plan by trusting the Lord and having faith. One time I followed God’s plan was when I got baptized and confirmed. I’ll never forget that time, even when I’m an old man. And I also read the scriptures and I pray and I always follow God’s plan. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sawubona

Topher gave his first real (as in, not during testimony meeting or the primary program) talk in sacrament meeting yesterday. He took notes during General Conference, which provided the outline for his remarks. On Saturday afternoon I typed while he dictated, then I asked follow-up questions and typed his responses. This talk is 95% him and 5% me.

And, even though he was very nervous, he did a great job delivering it.

Sawubona is a phrase from southern Africa that means “I see you.” I know this phrase from a talk in General Conference. The person who said it is the new General Primary President named Rosemary K. Chibota. She said, “This greeting is much more than a simple “hello.” It is an acknowledgement of another person’s worth and humanity. It communicates “I recognize you, I respect you. You matter.”” Close quote. Jesus was really good at this. He saw the woman at the well and He told her that He was the Messiah. He saw the blind man and healed him. Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan who saw a child of God instead of an enemy. Someone who saw me as a child of God was Brother W. because he let me give this talk and I’ve always wanted to give a talk in sacrament meeting. He saw I really wanted to do this even though I’m little. My testimony is that you can see others for who they really are, children of God. You can practice by saying “I recognize you, I respect you, and you matter“ just like Jesus did. We are all children of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Fear Not

On Sunday these three sang a beautiful version of How Firm a Foundation called Fear Not. I wished I'd recorded it. Cooper found the song and was the one that convinced his sisters to join him. I took this picture while they practiced before church. I'm so glad they got to sing this before Cooper leaves.

The Two Great Commandments

Peter spoke in his ward this past Sunday. We knew he was preparing, he mentioned it when we spoke last week. He'd been asked to speak on service, a topic he's had a lot of experience with over the last year. With his permission, here's his talk:

About two thousand years ago, a Pharisee approached Jesus Christ and asked him a question. Being a lawyer, and a Pharisee, the question wasn't asked with the intent to learn, but asked with the intent to tempt Jesus, entangling him in his words so that his teachings would lose their credibility. This was the intent of the question. The result, however, was far more profound than anyone had expected.

The question was as follows. “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Knowing the intent behind the question, the lawyer perhaps knew that there are many great and important commandments, and surely nobody could truly name one above the others. One could present an argument that any commandment could be above the other.

Jesus knew the intent of the question, and answered perfectly. He said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Instead of picking out one commandment and portraying it above the others he instead chose to summarize all other commandments in two simple commandments. Love God, and love thy neighbor. This answer, and a few questions asked by the Savior shocked the Pharisees, and they asked no more questions.

Later, Jesus is telling his followers about how the great nations will be divided in the last day. To those that follow him he will say: 

“I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

By this parable we learn that as we fulfill the second commandment, we also start to fulfill the first. Or, in other words, we can not fulfill the commandment to love our God without also following the commandment to love our neighbor.

This of course is taught by King Benjamin, the righteous king in the Book of Mormon, when he teaches us of service, and serving our fellow man. And he tells us these things, that [we] may learn wisdom; that [we] may learn that when [we] are in the service of [our] fellow beings [we] are only in the service of [our] God.

Towards the end of his New Testament ministry, Jesus is speaking again to his apostles. He tells them “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

If we truly are to be disciples of Jesus Christ we must learn to love one another, to love our neighbor.

When we are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, we make a covenant with God to take Jesus's name upon us. By doing so, as the prophet Alma states, we are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort,

When we take the name of Jesus on us we are asked to serve others. To make their burdens light. 

We can all serve those around us in many ways! Service can be teaching someone about the gospel, or helping a loved one with a long and dreaded task. Service can be a child helping a parent prepare dinner, or watching their younger siblings. Service can even be as small as a kind word and thoughtful smile that will brighten someone's day.

Service means a lot to me. Before coming here to P4, I was what was called a service missionary, for 9 months in the Lehigh Valley. A service missionary is a missionary who focuses on serving the community instead of teaching. Every day I would go out and serve in donation centers and food banks. This was a wonderful opportunity to serve, but we don't all have to be set apart missionaries in order to do so. 

We can help those that need help everyday. In doing so we exercise our love for our fellow man. In a sense this serves us, because it will increase our capacity to love our neighbor. 

God has blessed each and every one of us with unique and individual talents. These talents can be things like connecting with people, or music, art, intelligence, any number of things. We can use all of these talents to help serve those around us, to help uplift those as the savior would.

Jesus teaches us this when he says “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

We have a lot of light in us, gifted to us by our glorious Father in Heaven. There is no reason to not use that light to light the path of others, and the lives of others. By doing so we are doing a great work and inviting others to glorify God!

One of the greatest Christ-like attributes of which we seek to attain in this life is charity. Part of charity is patience, kindness, selflessness. Serving others can even be something as simple as showing a little bit more patience and kindness as someone goes through a hard time.

One of the best sources of guidance on how to serve our fellow man in our everyday life are the four simple words “what would Jesus do?”

By relying on the Savior as our guide through life we will never miss an opportunity to serve. You will be pillars of light in the darkness, brightening the world for all to see and glorify God.

I leave this invitation with you all to remember to follow the example in Jesus Christ, to ask yourselves what would Jesus do?

I say all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Finding Joy - UPDATED

I was told that my initial posting of Cooper's talk had formatting that made it impossible to properly read. I think it's now fixed.

Original Post: Cooper gave his mission farewell talk a week ago. He did a great job and the Spirit was strong while he spoke. Here's the talk he gave:

God loves us, so He sent His son, Jesus Christ to suffer for our sins and pains, die for us as, and be resurrected so that we can all be resurrected. It is through him exclusively that we can experience the greatest amount of joy possible.

In a 2024 General Conference address, Elder Patrick Kearon spoke on how our church is a church of joy, saying:

“We are members of the Church of Jesus Christ. We are members of the church of joy! And nowhere should our joy as a people be more apparent than when we gather together each Sabbath in our sacrament meetings to worship the source of all joy! Here we assemble with our ward and branch families to celebrate the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, our deliverance from sin and death, and the Saviour’s powerful grace! Here we come to experience the joy, refuge, forgiveness, thanksgiving, and belonging found through Jesus Christ!”

I feel like we always talk about the hardships of life, about how it’s difficult and it’s meant to be a test. Yes, we can and should grow and reform ourselves through our trials, however, our ultimate focus should be seeking the infinite feeling of joy found only through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I like to reflect on my life and the experiences that have caused me to feel the most joy. Some of the most profound examples are times when I am actively involved in something that brings the Spirit. I would like to discuss some ways that we can increase the joy in our lives.

The first is showing up. One highly impactful experience in my life is the For the Strength of Youth conferences I attended as a youth. What was so special about these experiences, and how did they change my life? Every day at FSY, we did daily scripture study in the morning. We focused on likening the scriptures unto ourselves.

As Jeremiah 5:16 says,

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.”

Scripture study is not limited to that week though. As we actively choose to read the scriptures and apply them to our lives, we are more able to receive promptings of guidance from the Holy Ghost, have clarity and protection in life, and ultimately feel a fulfilling sense of joy.

I spent the week feeling a unique sense of peace. The classes taught were more engaging, and the messages from our teachers spoke to me. Some of the classes didn’t seem to have much of an impact, but others did. I think the key for me was showing up. Having the faith to show up to church, to read the scriptures, to do things that are so often talked about is crucial to feeling joy. And it is not only about showing up to attend, but to give praise and thanksgiving to our Father in Heaven for the blessings we have received, and for the joy found through His mercy and Christ’s Atonement.

Simply studying the scriptures every day and listening to the messages being taught helped me to feel joy. I felt more energized, more invigorated and ready for each day. And in my friends and the other youth, I could also see a light shine. Not everyone took FSY seriously but those who did, who committed to studying the gospel daily seemed to thrive.

I’ve had 4 FSY experiences and not all of them have been the same. I have had some where I have focused so much on the people around me, on only trying to be socially engaged that I actually overlooked the gospel principles that I was there to learn. But in my most recent and final FSY this past summer, I decided to focus on the classes, on going where the Lord wanted me to go and not where the people I wanted to be with wanted to go, and honestly, it was infinitely better. Not only did I feel the Spirit more, but I was still able to meet and talk to more people.

Another thing I think of that brings true joy is service. Thomas S. Monson said, “To find real happiness, we must seek it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy.” Service is something that can look very different for different people. I know myself and others here have served in the Bethlehem Emergency Shelter, where we prepared and served food for the shelter guests. Caring for God’s children and trying to love them as much as Heavenly Father does is one of our greatest purposes here on Earth. As the second great commandment says, “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Some people may choose to donate to charities or show up to large community events. Serving can also be small. Carrying groceries, opening a door, sitting for someone for comfort, or even a simple smile. Ultimately, it’s not about what we actually do or how big or small our acts of service are, but rather where our hearts are. We as people find joy when doing things that we love or being with friends and family that we love. When we put aside our differences and don’t always try to win or be correct, we can learn to love all of God’s children even more. M Russell Ballard, in an April 2011 General Conference talk, said,

“Our small and simple acts of kindness and service will accumulate into a life filled with love for Heavenly Father, devotion to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a sense of peace and joy each time we reach out to one another.”

This is the reason I am going on a mission, to serve others, to be a friend, to do my part to show people the love that God has for them.

The final reason I want to speak on how I have felt joy is through bearing my testimony. Serving a mission will allow me to do this on a daily basis, which I am very excited for. But I’ve already had experiences like this in my life. Even when going out with the missionaries before, I have been able to share my testimony and feel joy and fulfilment. Brothers and sisters, a testimony does not have to be long or fancy or complex at all. In fact, sometimes a testimony as simply as that of a child can allow the Spirit to pierce the heart and bring a fullness of joy felt nowhere else. In terms of sharing my testimony, at times it has seemed difficult. When is the right moment, how can we know? Anytime can be the right moment. A testimony is never something we should be ashamed of, or something we should try to hide.

As Matthew 5:16 says, “15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

In a little over a week, I begin my mission, starting with at home training before I travel to the Missionary Training Center, and then leave for the Juiz de Fora, Brazil mission. Recently, I’ve had to tell many people about my mission who may not understand it. While I don’t always go into full detail, being open and willing to talk about it has made me feel so much better than if I were to try and hide it or move past it when it gets brought up. Some people wonder why I’m leaving, some people think 2 years is a crazy long time to devote my life to something like a mission. But I know the plan that God has for me. I know the joy that I can feel through bearing my testimony, through going and teaching others, and devoting my mission and the remainder of my life to service, by studying the gospel of Jesus Christ directly from the scriptures, by doing it daily and intentionally.

For an additional, personal way I find joy, I think of music. It’s so cool to me to think of the power of music, especially when bearing testimony. Another FSY experience I’ve had multiple times is singing the Youth Medley, which combines Daughters of Zion with We’ll Bring the World his Truth, into this beautiful, powerful medley. The young women sing first followed by the young men, and then we all sing together in unity, singing praises to Christ and of sharing his gospel! Of doing missionary work! The last few lines of the song literally say,

“We are as the army of Helaman.

We have been taught in our youth.

And we will be the Lord's missionaries To bring the world his truth.

To bring the world his truth.”

After I sing these words, I feel a rush of the Spirit, an overwhelmiing sensation that I am on the right path. After singing this medley, I walked for the rest of the evening with a smile on my face. I couldn’t hide my joy! We were blessed to have a testimony meeting that night where I was able to bear my testimony, and share the things I knew to be true.

Other experiences I’ve had feeling joy through music have been singing in the ward choir. We are asked to sing praises to God, and what better way than through literal music. The hymns we sing each sacrament meeting are also a reminder of what the focus of our lives should be, which is on Jesus Christ.

D&C 5:15 says, 15 And 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!”

This is all we need to do. Be a witness of Him. Bear testimony of Him.

Through these things, I will feel joy. You will feel joy. It’s not just for missionaries, it’s not just for members of the church, but for every single one of God’s children. Yes, life is hard, it is difficult and it is supposed to be. But let us focus on finding joy. The scripture that I chose to include on my missionary plaque, hanging outside, down the hall right now, is Alma 33:11. It reads like this:

“11 And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments away from me, because of thy Son.”

We have a loving Father in Heaven. He loves me and he loves you. I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know that this church is true. And I know that in Him, is all of our joy. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Peter: Week 9 in Pictures

Peter: Week 8 in Pictures

Friday Night Lights

On Friday night Phoebe, Sophie, and I had the opportunity to hear the Young Men General President for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Timothy Farnes, his wife Sister Linsey Farnes, and Area Seventy Elder Michael Brady give a devotional for the youth. The talks were all uplifting and spiritual and I'm so glad we made the hour and a half drive to attend. When it was over, the speakers graciously invited everyone in attendance to come greet them in person and take some pictures. So we did.

Making Faces

I subbed for our ward choir director yesterday after church. While Cooper and I were in choir, Bryan counted tithing in the clerk's office and the girls were in a leadership meeting. Where, you may ask, was Topher?

He was entertaining himself in the nursery with the playdoh.

Cake Masters

We hosted the Youth activity last week. They were planning a bake-off and we have two ovens, which turned out to be pretty important since they split into two teams. We worked hard and got our house company-ready. The evening was loud and fun and chaotic. Two of the leaders brought their kids, one leader had driven his son, plus another young man and his little brother who is Topher's age. That meant instead of going to bed, Topher also got to stay up and play host. It's a good thing I haven't given away the toys our kids have outgrown, because all those kids sure had fun exploring our playroom.

First the teams mixed up their cake mixes (not from scratch, no, we didn't have that kind of time), one gluten-free and one gluten-full. When those went into the ovens, we pulled the already-baked-and-cooled cakes (using the same brand and flavor box mixes the youth had just prepared) out from the panty for them to decorate. We had frosting and sprinkles and one of the leaders brought two secret ingredients that had to be used: raspberries and mint leaves. These are their final creations:

The leaders announced a tie, so Sophie arm wrestled the other team leader and came out victorious. Cooper, who doesn't attend these activities anymore, came and helped since his friend who moved away a few months ago surprised us all by showing up to the activity. Phoebe and Sophie were on the other team. I'll give you a hint about which cake they made: Phoebe really loves Spider-man.

When we bought this house I could envision the Young Women, who I was serving in church at the time, gathering for activities around our kitchen island. I'm glad a version of this was able to come to pass.

Serve Those Around You

The service activity on Saturday was a success! This is a combination of pictures from me and Phoebe. She was much more thorough in her recording of the event than I was.

Here's the food area:

And the service area, we added another service table after this was taken:

These were the dining tables, each associated with a different holiday or pair of holidays.

Here we have Memorial/Veteran's Day:

Day of the Dead, from a few angles:

Spring Equinox:

Thanksgiving:

Valentine's Day:

Christmas:

Breast Cancer Awareness Month:

These are the wall decorations, I'm sure you can tell which holiday each one goes with:

And the service projects themselves, starting with our wall of options:

The girls added some chalk art:

And here's the activity in full swing, plus a few finished ornaments to send to families who don't have any, the first done by Phoebe, the second by one of Topher's friends:

It was well attended and a lot of service was accomplished!

Creative Distractions

On Sunday I was the first adult to primary, but not the first person. The room already held several children. We have a two-deep leadership policy, which for me means, in part, not being the only adult in the room. While I waited for another grownup to come in, I leaned against the doorway and asked who wanted to draw a picture of a temple on the chalkboard. Several hands went up and I encouraged them to go for it.

This temple has a mustache instead of an Angel Moroni. I didn't realize this until one of the kids pointed it out during singing time. I thought it was a propeller.

Topher drew the temple on the right. He said he patterned it after the Washington D.C. temple.

The kids were all pleased with their art and none of them seemed to realize it was a diversionary tactic.