Audra gave a sacrament talk- and she was simply incredible. She was very poised and incredibly well spoken. Ben had a friend ask him if he wrote her talk for her- but we didn't write her talk. She did it all herself. I helped her put her thoughts in order, but they were all her thoughts- her stories, her testimony, her finding the quotes she liked and wanted to use.
Audra really is something special. Ben and I take zero credit- she really did just come out as an old soul- she is wise beyond her years, as evidenced by her sacrament talk:
Good morning.
I am part of the guinea pig generation because I am only 11
years old and I have to give a sacrament talk. When I gave primary talks I
wasn’t so nervous because I knew that none of the children were listening. I
hope that the attention span of this audience is the same.
For those of you who have a longer attention span, today I
am going to be speaking about service. Most of my talk comes from a talk given
by Gordon B. Hinckley in 2006, long before I was born, called, “Forget Yourself
and Serve.”
In the talk, he said, “I believe in the obligation and
blessings of service. What a wonderful thing it is for a man or woman to set
aside all consideration of personal gain and reach out with strength and energy
and purpose to help the unfortunate, to improve the community, to clean up the
environment, and beautify our surroundings. How much greater would be the
suffering of the homeless and the hungry in our own communities without the
service of hundreds of volunteers who give of their time and substance to
assist them.” End quote.
I would now like to share with you a story that happened to
me a while ago. A few weeks before Christmas, I had the chance to go feed the
homeless downtown. It was a cold day, and it was a long drive. But, we decided
to brave the weather and feed the homeless anyway. We set up the food and hot
chocolate. Sadly, not many homeless people came. It must have been too cold for
some of them! Those that did come seemed happy to have warm food and drink. The
reason that I shared this story is because it was a wonderful experience for
me. Even though the homeless people will be hungry again, continue to be cold,
and they probably have forgotten this meal, it help me. I realized that
homeless people are nice and are just normal people. It also helped me to feel
grateful for a warm house and food. It makes me want to do more service
projects.
I would now like to tell you another quote from President
Hinckley. He said, “May the real meaning of the gospel distill into our hearts
that we may realize that our lives, given us by our Father, are to be used in
the service of others. If we will give such service, our days will be filled
with joy and gladness. More important, they will be consecrated to our Lord and
Savior, Jesus Christ, and to the blessings of all whose lives we touch.” End of
quote.
I now am going to talk about baptism of the dead. To begin,
I would like to share about the first time that I went to the temple. Luckily,
I got to go during school hours since I homeschool. There was nobody else doing
baptisms for the dead. It was an extremely spiritual time. I could feel the
Holy Ghost during the entire time. Every time I go back, I remember my first
time and how wonderful it was. While I was researching about service, I found
out that doing baptism for the dead is a service to our ancestors. I think that
it is amazing that we are able to serve our ancestors even if they are dead. It
is truly a blessing to be able to serve them.
Another way to serve is simply by doing our church calling.
Here is another quote: “The church may call upon you to make a sacrifice. It
may call upon you to give of the very best that you have to offer. There will
be no cost in this, because you will discover that it will become an investment
that will pay your dividends for as long as you live. The Church is the great
reservoir of eternal truth. Embrace it an hold fast to it. Let the Church be
your dear friend. Let it be your great companion. Serve wherever you are called
to serve. Do what you are asked to do. Every position you hold will add to your
capacity. I have served in many responsibilities in this great organization.
Every service brought its own reward.” End quote.
In For the Strength of Youth, it says, “As you devote
yourself to serving others, you will draw closer to Heavenly Father. Your heart
will be filled with love. You will learn that service and sacrifice are ways to
overcome selfishness.” End of quote. I would like to bear my testimony that I
know that service is extremely important. I know that serving makes us happy,
feels us with love for others, and brings us much closer to God. I close with
one more quote from President Hinckley, “My plea is if we way joy in our
hearts, if we want the spirit of the Lord in our lives, let us forget ourselves
and reach out.” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
