My Farewell

My Farewell Talk                                                                                                     August 9, 2015

In the LDS church soon-to-be missionaries speak in their wards right before they leave for their missions. We've kinda nicknamed these "farewells". The missionary invites family and friends to come listen to them speak and then usually there is a party afterwards. It's great to say hi to everyone and to feel the love and support that people have for you.

My parents and I decided when I got my call that we were going to have our party the night before. I prefer having it the night before because we didn't have to stress about it on Sunday, we didn't detract from the Sabbath day spirit, and it was just easier to get it done Saturday night. My mom and I decided to do Café Rio style so we made EVERYTHING! So that also was a factor in the Saturday night party. :) It was so much fun and I'm so grateful for all those who were able to come out and I am so grateful for all the love and prayers. Thank you!!! :) That was August 8th. On August 9th I spoke in church. I was terrified! A guy in my ward was also having his farewell so there were a TON of people. Which was fine I just tried not to freak out! :) I said a little prayer and I felt better but I was still nervous. In the end I think I did a good job! I'm happy that I was able to speak and bear my testimony to the people in my ward and all my friends and family. :) Here's my talk I didn't follow it completely but this is pretty much it. Thank you

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Sarah Hicken and in two weeks I will be called Hermana Hicken. I’ve been called to serve in the Perú Lima North Mission. I will be flying straight to the Lima Peru MTC on August 25^th. I’m SO excited!!!  I was asked to speak about the Book of Mormon and its role in conversion. I decided to go a step further and talk about the role of missionary work in conversion and the Book of Mormon. First off what is the purpose of the BOM? Well, one obvious answer is that it is the keystone of our religion. It is another testament of Christ. In the title page of the BOM it states one of the many purposes, “To the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations.” This book testifies that Christ lives, that his Atonement is very real, and that he loves us. This book contains the testimonies of so many prophets. These prophets prove that Christ is our Savior and that he loves each and every one of us.

In True to the Faith the definition of Conversion is that it is a process. “Conversion includes a change in behavior, a change in our very nature.” You can choose to read the BOM, you can choose to pray about it and receive that testimony. Continuing to have the testimony by reading the BOM is the only way we can continue the process of conversion. You cannot have a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel without having read the BOM.

I read this talk in the September 2002 Ensign called, “The Book of Mormon: the Heart of Missionary Proselyting.” By Elder Joseph B. Wirthin. I loved this talk so much. The first quote that I loved was, “Conversion to this inspired book is conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ because it contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Everything we need to know about this life, the plan of salvation, is in this book. Everything about the family, about what Heavenly Father wants for us is in this book. Everything about who we should be is in this book. In the testimonies, in the stories from these people.

Another quote that I liked was, “Conversion to the BOM is conversion to the divine, prophetic calling of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” Also, “It is divine evidence of the truthfulness of Joseph Smith’s calling. “ There will always be people who judge Joseph smith, who think he’s a liar. Who think he created it himself. But I don’t think that they have read the BOM and if they have then they didn’t take Moroni’s Challenge. When I was a Beehive I was finishing up my first medallion. To get your medallion and honor bee you have to have read the BOM. I read the BOM by myself for the first time at the age of 13. I didn’t really understand all the stories and I definitely did not understand Moroni’s promise. But, I knew that if I prayed and asked if it was true. I would know for sure. So, I did. And I gained a testimony of Joseph Smith. I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Joseph Smith did not make this up. And my testimony is growing more and more each day because I read from the BOM.

“An essential part of conversion is receiving a witness from the Holy Ghost that the BOM is true.” In Moroni 10: 4-5 it states:

Let me read that quote again, “An essential part of conversion is receiving a witness from the Holy Ghost that the BOM is true.” The Holy Ghost testifies to us that the BOM is true. He testifies of the fulness of the gospel. We have to become truly converted and have a spiritual experience with the BOM.  So, I have a spiritual experience from D&C not the BOM but it’s scripture. Backstory: I was in college and my papers were in. And I was feeling kinda down. Kinda sad, like I wasn’t doing my best. I also felt like I needed to repent. And I felt so much peace when I read D&C 29: 3-5. I felt so much peace and love from just those three verses. I immediately knew that if I repented and tried my best then HF would care for me and be my advocate. 

The second part of the talk was about missionary work with conversion. “If you want to reach people, if you want to change hearts, if you want to be successful in your missionary work, testify of the divinity of the BOM.” (Talk about David O’ Mckay) I loved this quote so much that I put it on my wall. “The ultimate goal is for the book to lead the person to come unto Christ and be converted to the true church.” This book is a map of where we need to go. If we follow the counsel that is set in the BOM we will come back to HF someday. We need more missionaries and member missionaries who have a BURNING testimony of the BOM, as a missionary you must have a personal testimony that the BOM is true. We’ve all heard of Samuel Smith, Joseph Smith’s younger brother. He was the first missionary. He didn’t have a ton of training on how to be a missionary, he didn’t have a preach my gospel or an MTC. A quote about Samuel Smith is that “He was armed with a testimony of the truth and little else. But he needed little else.” He had the BOM and his faith, and that was all he needed. “He never gave up, he had faith that God was in control and would use him as HE needed.” Samuel Smith used the BOM as the missionary tool for conversion and that’s how we should use the BOM. As a tool for conversion. I want to be the kind of missionary that Samuel Smith was, I want Heavenly Father to send me where I need to go and help do what he wants me to do.

I also read Pres. Ezra Taft Benson’s talk, “Flooding the Earth with the BOM.”

Pres. Benson started out by reading Moses 7:62 which is. I like the part where HF says that he’ll sweep the earth as if with a flood. We can start to sweep the earth by sharing the BOM with others. And we can prepare for that day when we can look forward to the coming of Christ.

There were two quotes that I loved. The first, “The BOM needs to become more central in our preaching, our teaching, and our missionary work.” I know that my family is blessed because my family followed this counsel. Both my parents remember that talk. We read the BOM every night. It’s amazing to see the patterns and to learn something different from the BOM every time.  The second quote is, “We hardly fathom the power of the BOM, nor the divine role it must play, nor the extent to which it must be moved.” I really like the first part of this quote. We can hardly fathom the power of the BOM. I do believe that the BOM is powerful. I believe that through reading it daily and then taking Moroni’s challenge, we can gain a testimony and gain faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So now I’d like to talk about my choice to serve a mission and how it’s helped with my conversion process. I’ve read the BOM many times and I always learn something new from it. So in March during my Senior year, I finished the BOM again. And I started it again, but I set a goal for myself. I told myself that I would finish it before I got to college. And once I finished it I would start to pray about whether or not I should serve a mission. Summer came and went and I finished the BOM around the first week of college. So I started praying. And I got nothing. No stupor of thought, no burning in the bosom, nothing. I started to get really confused, I knew what I wanted but I wanted to know what HF wanted me to do. So I called one of my closest friend. He had just gotten his call so I asked him about his choice to serve. I told him about how I had prayed, fasted, read the Patriarchal blessing, read my scriptures and gone to the temple. And he said that maybe HF didn’t care which I chose because either choice was good for me. And at first I thought that was stupid but I decided to give it a go. So one September afternoon, all my roommates were gone, which was a blessing in and of itself. I locked my door and turned off my phone. I got down on my knees and instead of asking I said “HF I AM going on a mission.” Immediately I knew I was doing the right thing. I felt love and peace come to my heart. That day I learned how important agency is to us and HF. I learned that I have a choice in what I want to do. I learned about how valuable it is for us! After that day, I started the BOM again and I promised myself that I would finish it before I turned my papers in and before I leave. I finished the BOM 2 days before I turned my papers in and that was such a testimony to me of how amazing our church is. I love the stories of Alma the Younger and the Sons of Mosiah. I love how they keep their testimonies burning bright.

Last thing that I want to share is “Please do not take the BOM for granted.”  It is unique to our church and it is a blessing to our HF. Let us be converted to Christ, the BOM, and the gospel.

Testimony: I know this church is true. I know the BOM is true and that Joseph Smith translated it. I know that Christ died for us and atoned for our sins. I know that Pres. Monson is a true prophet. I know that we can become truly converted to Christ by reading the Book of Mormon. I know that our agency is extremely important to HF. I am so excited to serve a mission and I can’t wait to serve the people of Peru. I know that HF loves them just as much as He loves me and He will lead me to those who need me. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.