December 22, 2019
Jesucristo
Buenos Días Hermanos y Hermanas! I’m sure
y’all can imagine my surprise when my dad emailed me asking to me write a talk
for this Sunday, but honestly, I’m kind of liking the idea of writing the talk
and not having to give it. First, I just want to say how much I genuinely
appreciate all of the support from everyone here. I loved all of the cards from
the Christmas party, and I love all of the emails and updates from everyone!
Your encouragement always lifts me up a little higher, and your testimonies are
constantly strengthening mine.
But the real topic for today, the reason that
all of you are here, and the reason that I’m 2500 miles away attempting to
speak Spanish, is Jesus Christ. I have been so blessed by my amazing family to
be able to know Jesus and to know His story and everything that he has done for
me, but just from these 6 months of being on my mission, my understanding and
appreciation for Him has grown more than I can explain. The first thing that is
so crucial to understand though before you can really grasp the gravity of
Jesus Christ, and the first thing we teach any person that we meet here, is
that God is our loving Heavenly Father. More than anything, He wants us to be
happy. He wants us to have a real, eternal joy that won’t waver in hard or dark
times. And at the center of His big, master plan of happiness is Jesus Christ.
There are two scriptures in John 16 that I
feel explain this super well. Jesus is talking to his disciples, explaining
that he is going to go back to live with God, and of course they’re pretty sad
that he’s leaving them. He says in verse 22, “And ye now therefore have sorrow:
but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man
taketh from you,” and in verse 33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that
in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of
good cheer; I have overcome the world.” So, it is in HIM that we have this kind
of joy that Heavenly Father desires for us, the kind of joy that no man can
take away!
But I know that sometimes this really seems
too good to be true. We all have our doubts that we’ve just messed up too many
times, or that maybe this applies to everyone except for ourselves, but
Hermanos y Hermanas I can promise you with my whole entire heart that Jesus
Christ spoke these words for you. These beautiful promises from him, and so
many others as well were spoken and written with you in mind, and what an absolutely incredible blessing it
is that we have them readily available to us all the time. And I truly believe
this goes for talks given by modern-day prophets and apostles as well. There is
a quote that I’m sure a lot of you have heard from Elder Jeffery R Holland that
says, “However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have
missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you
don’t have, or however far away from home and family and God you feel you have
traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love.
It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s
atonement shines.” In John 15:13 Jesus also says this, “Greater love hath no
man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” He really is our
friend Hermanos, He really will never forget us, and he will really be here
with arms open wide to comfort us in any time of our lives.
The love of Christ is probably my favorite
thing to talk to people about over here. It’s unconditional, never-ending, and
honestly mind-blowing. During his life on Earth, love was a solid part in the
foundation of his gospel. Every act of service, teaching moment, and miracle
was done through pure love. There are so many examples of this in the New
Testament, and quite a few in the Book of Mormon as well. One of my favorites
is in 3 Nephi 17 when Jesus is in the Americas teaching the people there. He
had just instructed them to go back to their houses and ponder the things he
had just taught them, but then he saw how they were looking “steadfastly upon
him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them,” and so he
stayed and healed them and blessed them and prayed for them. Once he finished
praying, he said, “Blessed are ye because of your faith. And now behold, my joy
is full.” And in verse 21 it says, “And when he had said these words, he wept.”
Imagine that, the savior and redeemer, the only perfect person to ever live,
weeping for joy because of the faith and righteousness of his brothers and
sisters. I know that he still loves us the same way, and I’m sure that he still
weeps for joy as we strive to follow his example and do what we know is right.
We all know that he truly is the perfect
example for all of us, he was charitable, generous, and strong. He was a
teacher, a friend, and a guide. One of my favorite attributes of Jesus though
is being a light. The idea of light is often characterized with warmth,
happiness, direction, and comfort. In John 1:9 it says that Jesus “was the true
Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” and in John 12:46
Jesus himself says, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth
on me should not abide in darkness.” Everywhere that he went, he went about
doing good, bringing light into the darkest lives and places, and bringing hope
to those who needed it. It’s like the Light the World initiative by the church
as well. We are striving to light the world just as Jesus did, through acts of
service for all of those around us. Just like in 3 Nephi 12:16 when Christ says
“let your light so shine before this people, that they may see your good works
and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” He wants us to light others, just as
he lit the world. Darkness can’t be in the same space where there is light,
literally and metaphorically. So as we constantly remember his light and strive
to have it with us as well, we don’t have to worry about any darkness.
Brothers and SIsters, I know that Jesus Christ
was sent to the Earth by our Heavenly Father who loves us. I know that they
both know us individually and that they want us to have real joy throughout
the eternities. I know that Jesus Christ lived and died for us and that he
truly does live again. He is the light and the life of the world, and he does
love us with an unchanging love. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I
have to testify to the people here in Southern California about him. I have
already seen how much good can enter a person’s life when they realize the love
Jesus has for them, and I have most definitely seen it in my own life as well.
I know that as we read the scriptures and learn more about his life, we will
draw so much closer to him. I know without a doubt that when we build our
testimonies on Jesus Christ, and also on the Book of Mormon, and when we keep
working to build them, that we will never feel lost. Jesus is the Christ, the
son of God, my Savior. This knowledge that I have of him and the true joy that
it brings me is something that no one can take away, and I pray that y’all can
each feel that as well. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Hermana Carol Brayton
