Spurts of Thought

Good morning brothers and sisters, my name is Matthew Frederickson and in about a week and a half, I will be shipping out to begin my service as a full-time missionary in the England London South mission. I have been assigned to speak about the Christ-like attributes of faith and charity, how I used them to prepare for my mission, and how I will continue to use them on my mission to be the most effective missionary that I can be.

            Having faith can and should be a cornerstone principle of both our gospel and how we preach it. If you possess full and proper faith, the rest will eventually fall into place. On the other hand, it is impossible for someone without faith to grasp the rest of the gospel’s principles and why we must follow them. In the Preach My Gospel manual, which I have found to be one of the best missionary preparation tools out there, it says that “faith leads to action, including repentance, obedience, and dedicated service. When you have faith in Jesus Christ, you trust the Lord enough to follow His commandments- even when you do not completely understand the reasons for them. You accomplish what the Lord wants you to accomplish. You help bring about good in your own life and the lives of others. You are able to do miracles according to the Lord’s will. Your faith will be manifest through diligence and work.” As such, it becomes apparent that having Christ-like faith can make or break your mission. We make our faith manifest to others so that they too can savor the sweet fruits of the gospel by gaining faith of their own.

            What can we do to obtain a more complete faith in Christ, our savior? The Book of Mormon has several ways that I have found effective in gaining faith. In 2^nd Nephi 25:29, it says that if we “bow down before him, and worship him with all our might, mind, and strength, and our whole soul,” then we will not be cast out, but accepted into His kingdom. This is simply saying that we need to put our best foot forward at ALL times and give our all to the church.

            It has become something of a cliché within the church to compare faith to a little seed. Though oft-used, it is a valid comparison. Like a seed, the more we put into our faith, the more it will grow. My seed of faith was planted back in 2008 at Youth Conference in Palmyra. Over the weekend, we saw many historic church sites including the Sacred Grove and the home in which Joseph Smith was visited by the angel Moroni. While we were there, we stayed in cabins with about twelve other guys from the stake. On our last day in Palmyra, I still vividly remember several of the older boys who I looked up to, two of whom who are here today, calling together everyone in the cabin for a more intimate testimony meeting than the stake-wide one we would be participating in later that day. We then went around the entire cabin and everyone bore their testimony. I don’t think there was a single person in that room who did not shed a tear. It was the first time that the spirit testified to me that all the events I had learned more about that weekend were real. They had actually happened. They weren’t just tall tales that someone in an office cooked up. These events transpired and were crucial to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

            Over the next two years, I will have the opportunity to bear this testimony over and over and over again to people from all around the world. Each time I bear that testimony, I will look back to that experience and be able to testify without any doubt because the spirit planted that seed and testified to me that these things are true. Hopefully, through my missionary service, someone else will be able to have a similar seed planted in them.

            It is through this faith that we are able to have miracles happen in our lives. I’d like to share a story that President Monson told in the most recent General Conference about the power of faith and its ability to bring miracles to pass.

During World War II, in the early part of 1944, an experience involving the priesthood took place as United States marines were taking Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Marshall Islands and located in the Pacific Ocean about midway between Australia and Hawaii. What took place in this regard was related by a correspondent—not a member of the Church who worked for a newspaper in Hawaii. In the 1944 newspaper article he wrote following the experience, he explained that he and other correspondents were in the second wave behind the marines at Kwajalein Atoll. As they advanced, they noticed a young marine floating facedown in the water, obviously badly wounded. The shallow water around him was red with his blood. And then they noticed another marine moving toward his wounded comrade. The second marine was also wounded, with his left arm hanging helplessly by his side. He lifted up the head of the one who was floating in the water in order to keep him from drowning. In a panicky voice he called for help. The correspondents looked again at the boy he was supporting and called back, “Son, there is nothing we can do for this boy.”

“Then,” wrote the correspondent, “I saw something that I had never seen before.” This boy, badly wounded himself, made his way to the shore with the seemingly lifeless body of his fellow marine. He “put the head of his companion on his knee. … What a picture that was—these two mortally wounded boys—both … clean, wonderful-looking young men, even in their distressing situation. And the one boy bowed his head over the other and said, ‘I command you, in the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of the priesthood, to remain alive until I can get medical help.’” The correspondent concluded his article: “The three of us [the two marines and I are here in the hospital. The doctors don’t know how they made it alive, but I know.”

President Monson than says that miracles are everywhere to be found when the priesthood is understood, its power is honored and used properly, and faith is exerted. When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes.

            What a bold, powerful example of faith. I hope that I can be able to exemplify faith such as that throughout my life, especially over the next two years.

            I’d like to take a moment to bear my testimony about faith. Faith has played a crucial role in my life thus far. If you don’t exhibit faith, you aren’t going to get very far with anything you’re trying to accomplish. But if you go out there and believe in the Lord, He can help you accomplish more than you know possible. I find myself humbled each and every day by what a simple act of faith can do.

            The second Christ-like attribute that I have been asked to speak on is charity. Paul describes charity in 1 Corinthians 13 like this:

 ^aCharity ^bsuffereth long, and is ^ckind; charity ^denvieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself ^aunseemly, seeketh not her ^bown, is not easily ^cprovoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in ^ainiquity, but rejoiceth in the ^btruth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Charity never ^afaileth:

 Elder Marvin J. Ashton – a former member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles describes Charity in this way:

Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again.

Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other.

Charity is the pure love of Christ. It is the love that Christ has for the children of men and that the children of men should have for one another. It is the highest, noblest, and strongest kind of love and the most joyous to the soul.

Jesus Christ is the perfect example of charity. His crowning expression of charity was His infinite Atonement. This single event was the greatest act of long-suffering, kindness, and selflessness that we will ever know. 

As a missionary – I will have the opportunity to share this love with the people of England.  Through my service and unconditional love – they will be able to feel a part of the love the Savior has for them.

It is our goal as missionaries and as members of the church to become more like Christ – to develop these Christ like characteristics and to have them become part of who we are. 

There are several ways in which we as members and as missionaries can develop more charity in our lives.  

1.  The first is to study the life of Christ more fully. In order to become like Christ – we need to do as he did.  Christ spent his mortal ministry – teaching, preaching, and serving His Father and all those around him.  We need to understand what he did and why he did it.  We need to develop a personal relationship with him.  This can only happen as we study his teachings and follow his example.  We need to devote our time to teaching and preaching – we need to set a good example for those who surround us.  Be prepared to answer questions and testify of the truths that have been given to us.  We need to take advantage of the teaching moments that pop up in our every day lives.  As we dedicate our time doing as Christ did – we will become more like him and begin to have the love and charity he as asked us to have.

2. Second we need to pray.  In order to have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus – we need to kneel each day and pray.  It is through these sacred experiences that we come to know them.  We can also use those moments to pray for more charity and love in our hearts.  WE can pray for more understanding and more compassion.  We can ask for softer hearts and more ablitity to forgive.  We can also pray for opportunities to serve.  This leads me to the third way to develop charity –

3. Serve.  Christ showed his love for us by serving us.  We can also show our love for him by serving those who surround us.  It is through us – that the Lord will bless his children.  It is also through service that we develop love for others.  I have seen the love that my mom has for the people of Spain and that my dad has for the people of Argentina.  I know this is because they spent their missions serving. The Preach My Gospel manual emphasizes the link between charity, service, and faith… it says “Charity, like faith, leads to action. You will develop charity as you look for opportunities to serve others and give of yourself.” As we more fully serve others and give ourselves, we can gain a more full knowledge of the gospel and come closer to Christ.

I’d like to bear my testimony of the importance and value of charity. I learned at a fairly young age that, in the words of Paul, “Charity never faileth.” No ill can be done by administering service and being kind to others, no harm will come of letting someone know that you care. Not only will it bring others happiness, but it will bring yourself greater happiness than anything else can.

*thank people*

*bear testimony*

FIN

#BadLuckMatthew