This was my second to last day in Aus.
Here are all the sisters serving in the mission at the time I left.
This is the very last picture I took in AUS. With Sister Lifferth at the Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne. What a wonderful example she was to me! How grateful I am to have served shoulder to shoulder with this wonderful couple! Welcome Home President and Sister Lifferth!
I recorded their talks and have typed up Sister Lifferth's. I know there are some grammatical errors and such, but I tried to type it the way that she said it.
Sister
Lifferth Homecoming talk – July 14, 2013, Rick’s Creek Ward
"Like
Nephi of old, I believe in a God of miracles.
One of the miracles that is especially tender is that 2 weeks ago I
stood before a congregation of people whom I loved and I am doing the same again
today half a world away and it’s because everything that is most precious to me
is also most precious to you.
Brothers
and sisters, we live in a day where prophecy is being fulfilled. That in itself is a great miracle. Every prophet saw you, saw us, saw our day,
saw what would happened as we worked together to gather Israel and prepare a
people for the second coming. Isaiah, Moses,
brother of Jared, Nephi, Lehi, Moroni, all saw us and were comforted to know there
would be a day when the gospel of Jesus Christ and the work of salvation would
triumph. This is a work of miracles and
we get to be a part of it. I just like
to share some of the miracles of this great work that happened in our part of
the vineyard.
First
of all, miracles are reflected in the sense of urgency and in the growth of the
missionary force. When we arrived in Melbourne
we had a missionary force of 150 missionaries that stayed pretty consistent
until this last February. Between February
and when we left we received 100 more missionaries. When we arrived in Melbourne we had 16
sisters. When we left we had over
40. When we arrived we had one couple. When we left we had 10 in the service in the Lord. There is a great sense of urgency among the
brethren and it is reflected in the faith of the youth and couples that are
serving missions.
The
miracles of this work is reflected in the diversity of the missionary force that
we worked with. The represented a
worldwide church. We had missionaries
from Russia, Malaysia, Thailand, Costa Rica, Singapore, Mainland China,
Vietnam, all the pacific islands. Our
mission was fortunate enough to have the very first missionary to Australia from
Pakistan. I think we had the very first senior
couple serving from mainland China. They
didn’t speak a word a word of English, but they came and brought their strength
to the Mandarin branch. What a remarkable
act of faith.
By the same token, the converts that we met and loved in our mission represented this same worldwide diversity. They came from Sri Lanka, from the Sudan, from China, from Vietnam, from Korea, Nigeria and even Iran. The miracles of this work are reflected in the strength and faith of the missionaries. I have heard more than once that serving as a mission president might be compared to 3 years of scout camp. I can assure you brothers and sisters it is not. The missionaries, the young people that come to serve are remarkable, they are strong, they are faithful. We had many missionaries who arrived who were the only member of their family or they had been a member just a year or two or even less. I remember one young man who came and he had been a member of the church for about 18 months. He joined the church as the only member of his family and his parents were alcoholics and one day his mother sent him to the store to get some alcohol and when he refused he was invited to leave his home. He was homeless for a short time, was able to and prayed to get a job, that he could save up go on a mission and provide for his own needs. When he arrived in the mission field, he was ready to work. He said over and over again our job is to teach repentance, it is to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. What remarkable young man he was and how does that happen? It happens first of all because of their great faith. It happens second of all because they have a branch or a ward with priesthood leaders who support and sustain them and encourage them. I hope that I can be that for somebody. Some of these young men with great faith and little support come and serve missions.
The
miracle of this work is reflected as our brothers and sisters are taught the
doctrine of Christ. This is a laser
focus of what the gospel is about. And with
it comes great power and a great ability to change hearts and change lives and
invite the blessings of heaven into their lives. The purpose of missionary work, all of our
missionaries memorized this and we stood and repeated it often. It says to bring other to Christ through
faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the
gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.
It’s important for missionaries and for all of to realize that doctrine
of Christ those few simple principles and ordinances that we all memorized in
the fourth article of faith when we were in primary is the essence of the
gospel and there is great power in it.
Faith comes when somebody really understands who God is and who Jesus Christ is. So many of our brothers and sisters don’t remember. I say remember because as our missionaries know they will never meet anyone who doesn’t already know the gospel is true. They’ve just forgotten and need to hear the doctrine again to remember what they’ve already known from pre-mortal life. So when you say, God is our loving Heavenly Father. Its such beautiful and simple doctrine and it’s the beginning of faith understand that because we are each a child of God we can pray to him and Heavenly Father will answer our prayers. I remember a young Chinese sister who had recently been baptized and bore her testimony she talked about the power of prayer and the power of faith. She was trying to get permanent residence in Australia and to do that you have to pass a difficult English test and she had already failed it five times. She asked the members of her branch to pray that she would pass it as she took it for the sixth time. She prepared to take the test and had great faith, members of the branch were praying with her she became very nervous that she would fail again and let everybody down. It’s interesting that because miracles are a product of our faith the missionaries have great confidence in promising blessings to the faithful. And so they promised with great faith and preparation she would pass the exam and she did. Great faith in the blessings and promises of the Lord. Takes great faith brothers and sisters for these new members who are just coming out of the influence of the world to live the law of chastity, to pay tithing, to come to church, and live all the commandments that brings blessings. It takes faith and believing in the gift of repentance. What a remarkable gift that is for someone who is learning there is a God in Heaven that does forgive. I remember that we went to church, we went to our ward and there was a woman who was sitting right in front of us and as we came in and sat down she turned around she grabbed the hands of President Lifferth and wrapped her hands around his and kissed them. I was a little taken aback and then she told me she was recently baptized and because of some past transgression President Lifferth was required to give her her baptismal interview and she said, sister lifferth I have had this great burden lifted from me she said I was sick for years. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I had stomach illness, chest pains, had camera put down my throat and they couldn’t find anything wrong or what was causing this great discomfort. But when your husband explained to me the atonement of Jesus Christ and that my sins could be forgiven through the waters of baptism and through the reception of the Holy Ghost and that he had paid for them, all of that went away. That beautiful blessing of repentance lifts burdens. It is a wonderful and powerful blessing in each of our lives.
Baptism,
our first ordinance. What great power
there is in baptism. I think it is not
uncommon that there is a philosophy in the world that all churches and all good
lead us to God, that the path doesn’t matter.
And certainly there is some truth to that, that all good is important in
the world. But Christ himself exemplified
that baptism is important and has to happen with the proper authority and the
proper means. Every temple is a beacon
to the fact that ordinances are important for everyone.
Baptism
are an especially happy event for missionaries.
We had another interesting event about baptism on our mission. I don’t know if you remember President Monson’s
talk from priesthood session last conference?
He talked about a missionary in Melbourne Australia whose father came to
pick him up and his father was a non-member and when his father arrived he
decided to be baptized. And told his son
that he would be his last baptism that he would have as a full time
missionary. Several days after President
Monson gave this talk in conference we had one of our missionaries come to us
and he said, my father is not a member of the church but my mother is and she
was very faithful in raising me and she left town this last conference and my
father who I always went to priesthood meeting with, I wasn’t there to go with him
and he decided to go alone and heard president Monson’s talk about the father
meeting his full time missionary son in Melbourne Australia and being his last
baptism. My father was touched by the
spirit and he has decided that he will be my last baptism as a full time
missionary in Melbourne Australia. What
wonderful blessings come to the families of full time missionaries who give to
this great service. Baptism is that
amazing covenant with God. Where
if we are obedient he promises us all that he has.
No
one can gain a testimony or teach the truth without the gift of the Holy Ghost,
without that power. For missionaries the
Holy Ghost prepares them, it helps them know where to go, and to know what to
say. It gives them the words to teach. For the investigator it is the confirming
witness that what the missionaries are saying is true. We were privileged to have our 16 year old
grandson come and join us in the mission field for a day or two. He served two days with the
missionaries. He was able to bear his testimony
and give the baptismal commitment to one of the investigators. After this experience we asked him what he
learned. He said, “I learned that when
you don’t know what to say, the Holy Ghost will tell you and you’ll know what
to say.” That is a profound lesson for a
16 year old and the essence of missionary work.
Brothers and Sisters, the spirit is hard to forget. One who has felt the spirit only briefly they
tend to remember that. I remember when
President Lifferth and I went through customs in NZ we briefly talked to the
customs agent there, he was a man from Iran.
He had known two members of the church from 1970 – he still remembered
their names, the names of the members. He
remembered their influence and the spirit he felt from them. This spirit is also hard to deny. Often and over and over again new converts
will say, this is different, this is familiar to me, this is like coming
home. And that’s because that is the truth. The Holy Ghost is familiar to our own
spirits. I hope there is not a returned
missionary in this audience today who would ever say that the most spiritual
and the most frequent time they felt the gift of the Holy Ghost was on their
mission. We have the opportunity daily. We just barely took the sacrament where the
promise is that holy ghost will always be with you to guide you, strengthen and
magnify.
I
just have one more minute and I feel to tell that brothers and sisters, don’t
be afraid of opposition. Certainly as
urgency and the efforts of gathering Israel moves forward, so will
opposition. I think we can expect it; we
can prepare for it. I think we have to learn
to recognize it in ourselves. We had a
very bright, capable, eager young elder come to our mission. They come with enthusiasm, they come with
ideals and it doesn’t take too long until the recognition comes that this is hard
work and people don’t really always want to hear what I have to say. And it can be discouraging. One morning this elder woke up and he had
doubts and he decided that a mission wasn’t for him. He spent his whole hour of personal study
trying to figure out how he was going to go home. At the end of that hour, he took the car keys
and pushed his companion away, got in the car and drove away. Called his mother, I’m coming home mom. She could not dissuade him. But she made him promise to call the mission president
before he got too much further down the road.
He agreed but said there was nothing he could say to change his mind, he
was coming home. She made him promise to
make that call and president Lifferth got that call. Missionary on his way home. Through that conversation this is opposition,
this is because there is so much on the line. Maybe each of us, maybe you, he’s
talking to the elder, maybe you are having a joseph smith experience with the adversary. He helped him understand that opposition that
we will face in this work is real and powerful, but the power of Jesus Christ
and Heavenly Father is always more powerful than the adversary. He stayed.
He wrote in his journal, the phone call that saved my life. I think that the opposition is revealed when
we feel a change of mind or change in attitude about who we are and our purpose
of our lives, and the purpose of the work of salvation to which we have been
called.
The
real miracle of this work of the latter days is possible because of the
atonement of Jesus Christ. That is the real
miracle for each one of us. It is
through that we are healed, we are made clean, that we are magnified, that we
are sustained that we are born again. I
have felt the power of the atonement and that miracle taking place in my own
life. I know you have too. Each of us is called to teach and focus on the
doctrine of Christ and bring the power of those principles into the lives of
those around us. Maybe it’s someone in
your family, maybe someone in your primary class or young women’s or your
quorum or your neighbor or someone you work with. We are living, the prophecy is being
fulfilled, the gathering is happening and we are in the final hours. It is a church of miracles. A doctrine of miracles and we are part of
it. So grateful to work shoulder to
shoulder with each of you. In the name
of Jesus Christ, amen."
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