Gave a talk at Church

I was asked to give a talk at Church on Sunday for the YSA ward.  It was cool, but I was so nervous.  I am still pretty new to the Anchorage scene.  I have only  been officially in Anchorage proper since the beginning of the month and I technically attend the family ward, so you can imagine my surprise when I was asked to speak in a young single's ward.  Two reasons:  one, I am not technically a young single anymore, and two, my records are somewhere else.  Just in case anyone is interested, here is basically my talk.

Enduring to the End

What does it mean to endure to the end?  This is a broad topic, and in the interest in time, I plan to focus on a small aspect.  President Ucthdorf has mentioned on a number of occasions the war filled childhood he experienced as a refugee.  He has said that during this time of despondency, his family came to learn and know of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He says “This message made all the difference; it lifted us above our daily misery. Life was still thorny and the circumstances still horrible, but the gospel brought light, hope, and joy into our lives.”

As a convert, I have dedicated time to introspection of my life as it is, as it was and as it could have been.  I recall having three “tools” for coping with life without the gospel.  I called them “my gut,” the conviction of the idea about “light at the end of the tunnel,” and the “Jordan Side.”  Quickly, the “Jordan Side” I remember telling my friend in the 7^th grade went something like this “Vince, there is the saying that there are 3 sides to every experience.  The dark side, the bright side, and the Jordan side.”  It wasn’t just the bright side, since my logic based processor needed more than just an idea to see the good.  I always had to find more than the bright side, it had to serve a greater purpose to every experience, providing it was logical.  My “gut” I now call “the spirit.”  The convictions that there would be light at the end of the tunnel even though I couldn’t see it, I now call “hope.” And that Jordan side of things I call finding “Joy” in all things.

President Ucthdorf said “The plain and simple truths of the gospel warmed our hearts and enlightened our minds. They helped us look at ourselves and the world around us with different eyes and from an elevated viewpoint.” AS he spoke of joy, light, and hope, I’d like to spend a few moments that I have to center my comments on “HOPE” and finding our own way to see the world from that “elevated viewpoint.”

I remember challenging times in my life and working hard to convince myself that there would be light at the end of the tunnel, even though I couldn’t see it.  I wanted to see it.  I hoped to see it.  The “hope” that I would inevitably see or find that light, was my driving force.  When we lose hope, we lose desire to push onward towards the destination we have been seeking.  Without that intestinal fortitude to move forward in our temporal and spiritual lives, we will cease to engage in forward progress and in a sense cease to exist as the glorious children our Heavenly Father wants us to be.  I love this quote “Hope has the power to fill our lives with happiness. Its absence—when this desire of our heart is delayed—can make “the heart sick.”

President Uchtdorf also refers to hope as part of a three-legged stool and with Hope, faith, and Charity, we can have stability in our lives regardless of what surface we find ourselves upon.  We find examples in the scriptures with The Apostle Paul that scriptures were written to the end that we “might have hope.”  We can all have hope, as it is a wonderful gift of the Spirit.  With a hope that through the Atonement of our Savior, power of His Resurrection, we will also be resurrected and through faith in our Savior.   I would like to echo President Uchtdorf's words “we have the responsibility to make it an active part of our lives and overcome the temptation to lose hope. Hope in our Heavenly Father’s merciful plan of happiness leads to peace, mercy, rejoicing, and gladness. The hope of salvation is like a protective helmet; it is the foundation of our faith and an anchor to our souls. ^{" -Amen.}

^ej