Trevor's Talk

The following is Trevors talk for 9th ward sacrament meeting:

“And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.”[1] In this afternoon nothing would please me more than to have your prayers with me as I give this brief talk over the effect of the gospel in our lives. And it is apparent that through the constant pleas that I have made with my Father in Heaven, I hope that this teaching spirit will be given to me.
Well, I might as well introduce myself once more. My name is Trevor Tustison and I had the privilege of serving a full time mission in Mexico City. In this time that I had to serve my Heavenly Father, I had the chance to really see the miracles that are performed by him and to realize the hand he plays in our existence.
When I left for my mission my parents asked me what scripture I would like to put on my missionary plaque and this scripture demonstrates very well the point I would like to make this afternoon. The reference is Alma 26:12.
Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.[2]
This scripture had an especially powerful significance for me before the mission but once in the mission I had the chance to see the meaning of it self-explained more in-depth. So what I'll do is take this scripture apart a little bit and explain what I have understood of these simple phrases.
The first one being: “Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak.” Lets take a moment and realize that these are the words of one of thee most successful missionaries of all time. This comes from the same person that left his home for fourteen years, fought solo against the enemies of the king he was serving, he brought thousands of people to the gospel and so much was his influence over these people that they called themselves his people. We all know that we are speaking of Ammon. After so much success that he had had, he admits to his brother Aaron, that he is nothing and that his strength is limited. What do we recognize this as…humility. Our Father in Heaven has always required at the hand of His servants this heavenly gift of humilty to bring to pass His purposes. I would just like to clear up confusion that I had had and maybe some members have that may need clearing up. The humility is sometimes mistaken as shyness, as being timid, as saying to oneself that they will never be successful in anything. That is not humility. We read from the example that Ammon put, that we must put our priorities in how we think, how we are, and how we act. His attitude in showing the power that was in him to gain the confidence of his fellow servants was key in preaching the gospel. Are we shy about sharing the gospel? Are we timid when we are asked to bear our testimony to our neighbors? Do we honestly think that our Father in Heaven wants to hear us say that we won’t be successful in the predication of the gospel? Those feelings of inadequacy are actually the opposite of humility and won’t carry us closer to share the love God has for us. There is a great quote by the prophet Ezra Taft Benson over what is humility. He says “The Lord has said that no one can assist with this work who is not humble and full of love. But humility does not mean weakness. It does not mean timidity; it does not mean fear. A man can be humble and fearless. A man can be humble and courageous. Humility is the recognition of our dependence upon a higher power, a constant need for the Lord’s support in His work.”[3] In other words we must depend on the Lord and recognize his omnipotence. Joseph Smith was fourteen year old when he received the visit from the God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. At the age of seventeen he was told about the gold plates and at the age of 21 he received them. But along with all the revelations he received, came along with it all the persecution. However, despite the persecution he received and the little education he had, he went on to translate the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. He went on to restore the true authority of the gospel and bring to pass the restoration of the church of Jesus Christ. He brought back the correct form of baptism and other important ordinances. He was a simple farm boy brought on to restore the greatest work this world has known. He was truly a person that recognized his weaknesses but did not let them interfere in the work of the Father. Joseph Smith once said “I never told you I was perfect; but there is no error in the revelations which I have taught.” But simply recognizing the presence of ones weaknesses will make your life any better. Ammon didn’t leave it at that…
“…therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things.” There was the answer I was looking for in that desperate time. And that is what I decided to do. I decided to kneel down and pray and recognize who it was that could help me. And that help came and through that personal experience I know who will help me as long as I will boast in His strength. Through other personal experiences that I have had, I know that it is not us that is in charge over a certain work. Our Father in Heaven is so concerned with our well-being in this life that all he asks of us is that we get off our own throne and start recognizing the superior being in our lives. We must recognize that simply saying “We cant do this” or “ it isn’t possible to complete this task” or even worse “He won’t accept the gospel”…these sayings won’t help us, so why do we think them? In Mexico, the people there are very receptive to the gospel. They are ready to accept the truth. But in my experience as a missionary in Mexico, the great majority of those that were baptized and confirmed members of the church were references from other members. What would happen in the true church of Jesus Christ if every member knew that with God’s strength they could find a friend, neighbor, family member that isn’t a member of the church and invite them to hear the gospel? We hear from leaders of the church that we should preach the gospel through our example, but for those of you who are here, is that really difficult? Shouldn’t all of you put the emphasis on preaching the gospel with words and invitations? One principle I learned in my mission is that without commitments an investigator will not progress. We must commit our friends to attend church, to hear the missionaries, to have family home evenings, and…and to get baptized. There was one particular instance in my mission when I understood the importance of member work. There was a couple that worked in an outside car place where they sold old car parts.

The Experience of Rogelio and Ericka
Letter
Thank you for sending your letter. You don’t know how happy we all were to receive it. I want to tell you that we miss you a lot. I hope to chat with you a lot of things. In fact, after my baptism, my sister Andrea, and my niece Mirza were baptized. Eight days later three of my nieces and nephews were baptized. And next my sister Ana will be baptized and all of this thanks to you and to our Father in Heaven. I never thought that after entering into the baptism of Rogelio, it would make all these changes in my family, but only God knows what He has destined for every one of us but those are the paths of God. I would also like to tell you Rogelio and I will complete 14 years of marriage on the 11 of October and probably when we complete 16 years of marriage, we may get sealed in the temple.
I love that family and when I received that letter, I don’t remember a time when I was happier. Sometimes out of curiosity I have asked myself, what would’ve happened had that family said, “No, don’t worry about him. He is atheist.” We must recognize that EVERY person on this planet should have the chance to accept the gospel. I promise to each of you, that if you will all pray for those missionary moments, for those times to be able to preach the gospel, and put your confidence in Him, he will give those moments to you. I know that.
About twenty-one months ago, I thought “I cant do this.” But in His strength I could do all things and will be able to do all things as will every one of you.
Well, what Ammon said next has had so much significance on me. “For behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land for which we will praise His name forever.” As I said, I had the chance to see many miracles, and I believe that to be the miracle of baptism. The chance that people have to enter into the Kingdom of God through baptism and receive the remission of their sins is a huge blessing. A miracle is defined as an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs. What do you get when you send 19 year old boys on the mission trying to help others who have had double the experience receive a baptism in the true Church of Christ? You get miracles. The biggest miracle that has happened in this earth was the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He broke the bands of physical death for everyone. Thanks to Him, death wont end our existence. He made it possible for everyone that has lived in this world, who lives in this world, and who will yet live in it to brake the chains of their own sins and return to our Father in Heaven; on the conditions that we have faith, we repent of our sins, get baptized in the true church, be confirmed members of it, and keep going on the path to eternal life. I am so grateful that our Father in Heaven has let us partake of this huge miracle of receiving a rest from the terrible load of offenses that we have made and have the chance to receive life with our Celestial Father. As it says in John, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”[4] I am so grateful for the mission and what it has done for me and for what I could do for my Father. I had the chance to see a huge miracle in my testimony. I could sense its growth in me the more involved I was in the work. In the beginning of my mission times were tough, but I received a letter from my father that helped me out a lot. He wrote this. “Dear Trevor, I am between meetings so wanted to drop you a note. This morning at High Council meeting there was a missionary returned from Russia. It was great to hear his testimony and I was thinking about the growth your testimony will have over the next while. We were reminded that testimony growth often comes after times of trial or difficulty. I know that is the cast in my life. Maybe something that will have meaning to you in the future.” That scripture was a huge boost for me to help me overcome my feelings of nostalgia and inadequacy and taught me a great principle. Thanks to this mission, I was able to receive the testimony builder I needed to stay strong in the gospel of Jesus Christ. But a testimony is never perfect. It needs to be cared for and nourished, as we read from the scriptures. I love my Father in Heaven for the help he has given me and for the miracles that he has allowed me to see and for the miracles he has planned for all of us.
Bear Testimony. Cool, yeah.
En el nombre de Jesucristo. Amen.
[1] D & C 42:14
[2] Alma 26:12
[3] Ezra Taft Benson, “Keys to Successful Member-Missionary Work,” Tambuli, Apr. 1991, 3
[4] John 3:16