Talk from Tyler

A few weeks ago the Bishop asked Tyler to send a letter to be read to the ward about being a missionary and his thoughts & testimony.  I (his mom) got to read it in church along with other missionary moms.  It was a really good sacrament meeting and we got a lot of positive feedback about what Tyler had written.  I wanted to just share a little bit about what he wrote:

I'm supposed to write something I'm learning or experiences I'm having.This is hard because there are so many things I could choose from.  My mind kept going back to some verses in the Book of Mormon.  Mosiah 4:6-12.  My mission pres. changed these verses up a little bit and gave it to all the missionaries and said, "This is what I want you to become as a missionary"  This is what he gave us:  I say unto you, I have come to a knowledge of the goodness of God, and his wisdom, and his patience, and his long-suffering toward the children of men, and also, the atonement which has been prepared from the foundation of the world, that thereby salvation might come unto me who puts my trust in the Lord, and I am diligent in keeping his commandments, and I will continue in the faith even unto the end of my life.....I humble myself even in the depths of humility calling on the name of the Lord daily, standing steadfastly in the faith of that which is to come....And I say that:  I will be diligent in doing these things, I will always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of my sins; and I will grow in the knowledge and of the glory of him that created me, or a knowledge of that which is just and true.   This explains what things I have come to learn on my mission.  I have come to know God.  I know of his goodness,.  I know of his patience.  I have come to know of the atonement.  I know that salvation cannot come through any other way only through Jesus Christ and His Atonement, which makes it possible for all of God's children to return to Him.  I know that I can't do this work alone.  I need Heavenly Father's help.  My favorite part of that scriptures is the part which reads:  "I will continue in the faith even unto the end of my life."  From coming to know and learn these things it has changed my life.  I know the truth and I know the love that God has for me,.  I will continue to serve him throughout my life.  Another thing I have learned on my mission is where true happiness comes from.  Before my mission I thought I knew how to be happy.  I thought hanging out with friends made me happy.  I definitely thought playing sports made me happy.  Even though that did make me happy it is nothing compared to the lasting happiness I get from seeing the gospel of Jesus Christ touch someone's life.  I find happiness in bearing my testimony to a complete srranger about the Book of Mormon.  Knowing that I let them know of the truth...letting that person know that it's a Book from God.  True happiness comes from the Gospel,   Now I guess I could give some advice to those that want to serve missions.  I think Elder Holland can do that for me.  This is a talk he gave to missionaries in the Brazil MTC mission in 2000. (My favorite talk of all time!!) He says:
"Plan right now!  Plan right now for the stories you will tell your children about your mission.  Live right now in every way to look them in the eye and put them on your knee and rock them on your lap and tell them as I am telling you, that you loved every day of your mission.  That you worked your head off!  That you've never worked so hard in your life....And I promise you that your children will remember and never forget it, and they will cherish it and hold it dear for their mission and so the generations go....Live now for those generations.  Live now for the deacons and beehive girls who will one day have you return and sit up and watch you in Sacrament Meeting, who don't have a blessed idea what a mission is, and have no idea what it means to to to (Louisiana).  And then you look them in the eye and say that they too can serve, that they've got to go take their turn in the relay race of eternity.  They've got to step up and pace out their two years or eighteen months.  You live right now in a way that you can pierce their hearts and touch their lives.    I wish I was there to look at everyone that wants to serve a mission right in the eye and tell them that they need to take their turn in the relay race of eternity.  They need to plan right now to serve a mission because they will affect generations.  It will change your life forever.  The gospel is true!  The Book of Mormon is the word of God.  I know it.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

To read his e-mail from this past week look at the next post!