Farewell #2

I'm getting set apart to be a missionary today in one hour! Crazyness. So there's no time to explain my second farewell. Other than it was in Chicago. And I'm glad it's over. Really I just wouldn't post it, but I think I am a little OCD and since I posted the first one now I have to post the second.

Good morning Brothers and Sisters. I’ll start off by introducing myself. My name is Haylie Jensen, and I am Craig and Sheila Jensen’s daughter. Our family moved here from Utah last summer, and I have been attending BYU this past school year. I moved back here for the summer, but the past month I have been visiting family and friends in Utah because I am leaving to serve a mission in the New York Rochester Mission in a couple weeks. I am excited for the opportunity I have to give this talk, for it has given me the opportunity to do a little research on the events in early church history—many of which took place within the boundaries of my mission.
The sixth article of faith says, “We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.” During Christ’s ministry on earth, he organized his church. In Ephesians 4:11-14, the Apostle Paul taught that Christ “gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
“For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ;
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ:
“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”
Elder Eyring said, “The Apostles, after the Ascension of Christ, continued to exercise the keys He left with them. But because of disobedience and loss of faith by the members, the Apostles died without the keys being passed on to successors. We call that tragic episode the Apostasy.” In Amos 8:11, it says, the Apostasy would be a time of “famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” Without priesthood authority and revelation, false ideas were taught as truth. Eventually many different churches emerged, and the fullness of the gospel was lost.
Centuries passed in darkness, until many people began protesting against how far the church had strayed from that taught by Christ. They recognized many doctrines and ordinances had been changed or completely lost. Many spoke out for a religious reformation. In 1517, Martin Luther was a catholic priest living in Germany. He was distraught with many of the things being taught by the Catholic Church at the time. He publically called for a reformation of the Church when he nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church, in Wittenberg. The 95 Theses were a list of items and issues that he felt needed to be debated and reformed in the church. This was the first of the reformation of the church, which eventually opened the way for the final restoration.
Because of the effects of the Apostasy, the priesthood and authority to act in God’s name needed to be restored again unto the earth. This is why there needed to be a restoration of the gospel, and not just a reformation. When the conditions were right, the Lord reached out to his children once again. Through Joseph Smith, he restored the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ again to the earth.
In the year 1820, Joseph Smith was just a boy, only 14 years old. His Mother and 3 siblings belonged to the Presbyterian Church. His Father and oldest brother preferred the Methodist. Joseph, however, had not yet decided which church to be baptized into. He listened to all of the ministers of different faiths, but was still deeply troubled and confused as to which church to join. In Joseph Smith—History 1:8 and 10 he says, “During this time of great excitement my mind was called up to serious reflection and great uneasiness; so great were the confusion and strife among the different denominations that it was impossible for a person young as I was, and so unacquainted with men and things, to come to any certain conclusion who was right and who was wrong. In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any on of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?”
Then one day, Joseph was reading in the bible for guidance and came upon James 1:5. It said, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
In Joseph Smith—History 1:12, Joseph wrote concerning this verse, “Never did any passage of scripture come with more power to the heart of man than this did at this time to mine. It seemed to enter with great force into every feeling of my heart.” With his simple faith, Joseph decided to go out into a grove of trees near his home, and ask God.
In Joseph Smith—History 1:16-17, he described his experience, “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me….when the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”
Joseph then proceeded to ask which of the religious sects was right, and which he should join. He was told to join none of the churches, for even though many of the people were good and believed in Christ and tried to live his gospel, none had the fullness of truth or the priesthood authority to perform baptisms and other ordinances. He called Joseph Smith to be his modern day, living prophet, whom through the fullness of the gospel would be restored.
In 1823, the Angel Moroni showed Joseph the gold plates, which were buried on the Hill Cumorah. 4 years later, Moroni gave him the plates and told him to begin the work of translation. While translating a passage about baptism in the Book of Mormon, He and Oliver Cowdery began to wonder about the doctrinal concept of baptism. It was clear to them that baptism was a necessary ordinance to enter the Kingdom of God, but it was also clear that the ordinance needed to be performed under the proper authorization. They took their dilemma to the Lord. While they were praying, John the Baptist appeared to them. He told them that God had sent him to restore priesthood authority to the earth. He placed his hands upon their heads and said, “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness” (D&C 13:1). And Joseph said, “And he commanded us to go and be baptized, and gave us directions that I should baptize Oliver Cowdery, and that afterwards he should baptize me. Accordingly we went and were baptized. I baptized him first, and afterwards he baptized me—after which I laid my hands upon his head and ordained him to the Aaronic Priesthood, and afterwards he laid his hands on me and ordained me to the same Priesthood—for so we were commanded” JSH 1:70-71). With this priesthood, they could baptize, but they did not have the authority to perform many of the other priesthood ordinances. Once again they sought the council of the Lord, and this time, were visited by the three of Christ’s original apostles, Peter, James, and John. The apostles then conferred upon them the Melchizedek Priesthood, which would allow them to perform all of the ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This gave him all the priesthood authority Joseph would need to restore the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ on the earth. Shortly thereafter, the Church was organized, starting with only 6 members.
Elder Eyring said, “This is the true church, the only true Church, because in it are the keys of the priesthood. Only in this Church has the Lord Lodged the power to seal on earth and to seal in heaven as he did in the time of the Apostle Peter. Those keys were restored to Joseph Smith, who then was authorized to confer them upon the members of the Quorum of the Twelve.”
He continues, “When the Prophet Joseph was murdered, the enemies of the Church thought that the Church would die. They thought it was the creation of a mortal man and therefore would perish with him. But their hopes were dashed. It was the true Church, and it also had the power to live on, even when those chosen for a time to lead it dies.”
In D&C 1:30-33, the Lord said those whom through he restored the gospel would “have power to lay the foundation of this church, and to bring it forth out of obscurity and out of darkness, the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased, speaking unto the church collectively and not individually—
“For I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance:
“Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;
“And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man, saith the Lord of Hosts.”
So through Joseph Smith and the restoration, a foundation was laid, upon which the true and living church was built. President Hinckley said, “We have basic cornerstones on which this great latter-day Church has been established by the Lord and built, “fitly framed together.” They are absolutely fundamental to this work—the very foundation, anchors on which it stands. I should like to speak briefly of these four essential cornerstones which anchor The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I mention first the chief cornerstone, whom we recognize and honor as the Lord Jesus Christ. The second is the vision given the Prophet Joseph Smith when the Father and the Son appeared to him. The third is the Book of Mormon, which speaks as a voice from the dust with the words of ancient prophets declaring the divinity and reality of the Savior of mankind. The fourth is the priesthood with all of its powers and authority, whereby men act in the name of God in administering the affairs of His kingdom.”
The keys of the priesthood are passed on to other prophets by the will of the Lord, and therefore we have living prophets today. President Monson’s line of authority, just as any other prophets, can be traced back to Joseph Smith, who received his authority from Peter, James, and John, who received their authority from Christ himself. The priesthood keys that President Monson holds are the very same keys from the time of Christ. In Elder Ballard’s book, Our Search for Happiness, he says, “And what a blessing this is in the lives of those who believe in and follow these living prophets and apostles! Knowing that there is a prophet of God on earth today doesn’t relieve Latter-day Saints from the burden of thinking and acting for themselves. We all have the responsibility to respond to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit in our won lives. But the inspired counsel of God’s chosen servants provides those who pay attention with an extra source of spiritual strength and insight. The principles of the gospel are clarified and the plan of salvation is explained so that all may know how to live in accordance with the Lord’s teachings.”
Those who have access to latter-day revelation through living prophets and apostles face life’s most demanding tests more confidently, because they know to whom they can turn to find the truth.”
Each of these cornerstones is related to the others, each connected by a foundation of apostles and prophets, all tied to the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ. On this has been established His Church, “fitly framed together” for the blessing of all who will partake of its offering (see Eph.2:20-21). So undergirded beneath and fitly framed above, this Church stands as the creation of the Almighty. It is a shelter from the storms of life. It is a refuge of peace for those in distress. It is a house of succor for those in need. It is the conservator of eternal truth and the teacher of the divine will. It is the true and living Church of the Master.”
Because of the restoration, we now have the fullness of the gospel once again upon this earth, and it shall never be taken away from us again. Now it is our responsibility to keep the faith, obey the teachings of the church, and repent of our sins. If we do this, we will be led back to live with our Father in Heaven once more.
I know that this is the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he lives today. He atoned for my sins so that I may be saved and so can return to live with him again someday. I know that my Heavenly Father knows who I am, and he listens to my prayers. I have felt his guidance in my life. He knows of my desires to do what is right. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, because I have read it and felt of its power. I know that Joseph Smith was the Prophet of The Restoration and that President Monson is the living prophet today. If I follow his council, I will never be led astray.
I am excited to be a full time missionary inviting and helping others come unto Christ; that they might feel the joy I have felt from being a part of the true and living church. I am so blessed to teach the gospel where many historical events of The Church occurred; where Heavenly Father actually appeared to Joseph Smith! What an honor it is to represent the Lord in this special call.