This is the Lord’s work, He is directing it, and we are a part of it Hello brothers and sisters. As way of a little introduction, I am Katelyn Hall, I’m Scott and Lorelle Hall's daughter, I’ve been down at BYU this last year, but I’ve been called to serve in the Chesapeake Virginia mission so I leave on that adventure on May 11th and COULD NOT be more excited about it! Sister Marriot of the Young Women’s general presidency, in her last talk started with the question “What shall we do?” in regards to building the kingdom of God. There are SO Many ways we can be a part of building the kingdom of God here upon the earth today. Building ourselves, building our families, building those around us and building abroad all aid in this endeavor. In the last general conference, Holland said: “sanctify yourself, for tomorrow the lord will do wonders among you” The first child of God we must build up in the restored gospel is ourselves. Having a strong relationship with Heavenly father and Jesus Christ is essential to bringing others unto Christ as well. Often our prayers are answered through other people, likewise we can be the answer to another person’s prayer if we heed the spirit. Sister Julie B. Beck taught, “the ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the single most important skill that can be acquired in this life and it requires constant effort.” So what is that constant effort sister Beck was talking about, what can you and I do to consistently qualify for the presence of the Holy Ghost. I think first we can do what Bishop and now President Saunders has been lovingly engraving into our brains the last six years. Armoring up! This entails Saying morning and evening prayers, reading your scriptures daily, partaking of the sacrament weekly and attending the temple regularly. I can promise you that if we do these things we will have the armor of God on our shoulders constantly. Next: Keeping the commandments. just as they do for so many aspects of the gospel, the stripling warriors set an example for this as well. Alma 57:21 says they kept every command with exactness. The Lord has revealed in this dispensation that our rewards in the eternities are predicated on our level of obedience. This reminds me of a phrase regarding missionary work that I’ve heard repeatedly that when you are obedient the Lord will provide many blessings, however, when you are exactly obedient, the Lord will provide miracles. Third: Ask for promptings Larry R. Lawrence shared a story last October about a girl who went to the Lord asking what is holding me back from progressing and felt like she should clean her room. He told of the blessings she received from following the prompting of the Holy ghost even when they were not what she was expecting. I decided to try it out, went to the lord in prayer and asked as elder Lawrence said: Lord, what lack I yet? I was kinda surprised because I felt like I needed to begin reciting the young women's motto to myself every night before I went to sleep. I was kinda like k As much as I wish I was I’m not even in young women's anymore so that’s sorta odd but I went ahead and wrote it on a 3x5 card and taped it on the wall right next to my bed to help me remember. After a few weeks I started realizing that now if a negative or discouraging thought entered my mind it was quickly pushed out, whereas before I hadn’t even realized it, but I had unintentionally been letting a lot of those thoughts linger. Up to that point, I didn’t even realize I was having that problem, and had it continued that could have been seriously damaging to my emotional and spiritual health, and for sure was hindering my ability to feel the spirit. I actually kept that 3x5 card taped up on my wall until the day that I moved out. The Lord is always ready and waiting to help us along the path of progression and if we ask he will help us to see what we can do to improve our ability to feel the spirit even when it’s in a way we aren’t expecting. A last thing I want to mention that can help us to increase the presence of the spirit in our lives is another thing president Saunders instilled in us as the youth of the ward and that was to recognize our tender mercies. In this last conference, there was a warning in which it was said, Be careful not to treat casually your relationship with the lord, for too often you begin to ignore it, and eventually you’ll come to forget it. I can testify to you as you make a conscious effort to recognize the hand of the Lord in your life every day and record it those instances, you will feel an increased presence of the spirit and in turn you will be able to share that spirit with others. When we begin to lift others, our first priority should be to lift our families. Happiness in the home is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps the most essential of a father’s work is to turn the hearts of his children to their Heavenly Father. I’ve never been a parent but I believe helping your children to understand that they are a part of a heavenly family with a Heavenly Father and an amazing older brother named Jesus Christ. and that they both have a love for that child so personal and individual as to surpass any kind of love here on earth, is one of the greatest things you could ever teach your children. They are the largest group of investigators in the church. Harold B. Lee said, the most important of the Lord’s work you will ever do will be within the walls of your own homes. Bradley D Foster of the 70 stated: “our Heavenly Father wants us to succeed because really, after all, they were His children before they were ours. As parents in zion, you have received the gift of the Holy Ghost. As you pray for guidance, “it will show unto you all things what ye should do” in teaching your children. As you develop processes of learning, the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children.” The family unit is sealed for eternity. If ever the Lord would help you in an effort, he will help you in this eternal endeavor! If you feel you have a ways to go, do not be discouraged, for you are doing better than you think you are. As siblings it’s crucial for us to remember that our family is a team. We all need to be actively taking part in the family: pitching in and doing our best to invite the spirit into our homes through kindness, love and respect. My brother is my best friend and he is such a good example to me of this. He constantly goes out of his way to make sure that everyone is happy, comfortable and feels included. He is a peacemaker and does his best to keep the spirit present all the time. Because of this, I am super grateful that he was asked to speak today as well, making me a lot more comfortable and literally more at peace. So thank you bishopric. We also build the kingdom when we nurture those around us Magnifying our ward callings can be one of the most effective ways of building the kingdom with those around us. Two specific women come to mind when I think about magnifying your calling. One is my last young women's president and the other is my roommate who was called to be relief society president. Both showed individual love, a Christlike charity, for each and every girl in their group. The love and dedication they showed in everything they did for those girls reflects their love for the savior. Their examples do and always have drawn others to Christ. That is not the only way to build those around us, President Uchtdorf stated, do not wait for a particular calling before you become fully engaged in building the kingdom of God. Through high school a couple friends and I would go to the temple every Friday afternoon. Every single week without fail, the dad of one of our other friends would be there baptizing. With how many kids that would go Friday afternoons, most weeks he’d be there for hours! But he was always there, with a smile and a compliment for each of us, every single week! These individuals were building the Kingdom of God every day! There are so many opportunities for building abroad.
Temple and family history work to be done and the blessings of engaging in these missionary roles are countless and beautiful!
Along with this The refugees project in the General women’s broadcast as well as some in the main sessions of General Conference.
And last but in NOY WAY least there is serving as a missionary Testimony: Elder Anderson shared a story about an experience he had with our dear prophet Thomas S. Monson and the lesson he learned from it. He said: Eighteen years ago while traveling on a train in Switzerland with President Monson, I asked him about his heavy responsibilities. His response strengthened my faith. “In the First Presidency,” he said, “we do everything we can to move this work forward. But this is the Lord’s work, and He directs it. He is at the helm. We marvel as we watch Him open doors we cannot open and perform miracles we can scarcely imagine.” Brothers and sisters, seeing and believing the Lord’s miracles in establishing His kingdom on earth can help us see and believe that the Lord’s hand is at work in our own lives as well. The Lord declared, “I am able to do mine own work.” We each try to do our part, but He is the grand architect. Under the direction of His Father, He created this world. “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” As we are spiritually awake and alert, we see His hand across the world and we see His hand in our own personal lives. End quote. Likewise with missionary service, God is able to do His own work. As a missionary, I will do everything I can to move the work forward, but it is the Lord’s work, and he directs it. He is at the helm. He will open literal doors that otherwise may remain closed and He will perform miracles scarcely imagined. I am so grateful that he allows missionaries like me to be instruments in His hands, so that we too can grow and progress as we join with God in His ultimate goal to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know Joseph Smith truly translated it and that he was the instrument to restoring the fullness of the gospel and all its pieces including the priesthood, the plan of salvation, and modern revelation.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is absolutely beautiful! I love it. It is a sacred treasure that blesses my life every single day. When one has a personally discovered testimony of Jesus Christ and His love for them as an individual, there is a hope that comes that lasts longer than a lifetime. It is an eternal peace and joy that simply cannot be found anywhere else. I am so so excited to devote the next 18 months to helping others to understand this for themselves. I know that the gospel has the power to not only change lives but also save lives. This time last year, I really really really wanted my call! It was so exciting to watch so many of my friends receiving their call, but MAN I wanted to be in their same boat SO bad!! But, standing here now, I can testify to you that where ever you’re at in life, Heavenly Father has a plan for you. And He knows exactly what he is doing. I promise if you have patience and trust him, He will make more of your life than you could ever make of it on your own. As Elder Jeffery R. Holland said in this last conference, “you can have what you want, or you can have something better” And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
“Remove from yourself the guilt feelings you have experienced when you have fallen on your spiritual behinds ...We have more patience with our failures in learning to ski than we do in learning how to recognize the Spirit. When we fall going down the slope, we get up, laugh at ourselves, and try again. When we have a failure in recognizing the Spirit we feel great guilt and are reluctant to go forward. [Remember, ] It’s natural to have spiritual setbacks. It’s OK. It’s all right. Stay with it.... We all know it takes years of practice to become a professional athlete and a price must be paid. However, [for some reason] we expect to be overnight successes in the spiritual things.”
sometimes we are asked to sacrifice things we really love... and it is so hard. But when we do, God always returns more than we can ever imagine. keep the faith:)