Hello, world!
This is the talk I gave in Sacrament Meeting the Sunday before I left for the Dominican Republic MTC. For those of you who came, I appreciate it more than you know. For those of you who missed out, it's all good; you just won't get to see me in person for a while.
But as long as you're here, I decided to copy & paste my farewell address for a good time, you know, in case you needed some material for light reading. Enjoy, everyone! :)
-Hermana Erickson
AAA: Agency, Accountability, Atonement
Like most missionaries sent out
from the Heatheridge 7th Ward, I was told to read a bit out of Jesus
the Christ by James E. Talmage, and pick a topic to speak on. As simple as
this task seemed initially, it was very difficult for me to narrow down all my
thoughts, so I just decided to use the talk my sister gave three months ago at
her farewell address. What’s wrong with that!? J
Just kidding.
I
do pray, though, that the Spirit may be at my side today, to convey the message
that the Lord would want sent to you through me, His mouthpiece this afternoon.
In
chapter 3 of Jesus the Christ, Brother Talmage elucidates the reasons
for which we need a Savior. He begins by explaining the gift we were all given
in the pre-existence, after electing Jesus Christ as our Redeemer. This gift we
received is the inalienable birthright of liberty, to CHOOSE and to act for
ourselves in mortality. As we are subjected to the influences of good and evil
every day, we are tested and proved to see if we will do all things commanded
of us by the Lord. The gift of free agency is an indispensable element of this
lifelong test because it allows us to CHOOSE not only the life we will live in
the here and now, but the life we will have in the eternities due to the law of
justice and accountability. As it says in the scriptures, “God will force no
man into heaven,” and we must try to make the best choices each day in order
for us to make it there in the end.
Throughout
the chapter, Brother Talmage continues to explain the next event in the Plan of
Salvation: the creation of man in the Garden of Eden, and the choice both Adam
and Eve made to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life, which resulted in the
Fall of all Mankind. As the apostle Paul writes, “For as in Adam all die, (both
temporally and spiritually), even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Therefore, through the infinite and intimate Atonement of Jesus Christ,
we can all be redeemed from the physical death invoked by the fall of our first
parents, and also receive salvation and a means of relief from the results of
individual sin. We would all die, and we would all sin, but our merciful,
loving Heavenly Father, in his infinite wisdom and grace, provided a Savior as
a means of insurance for us to have if we CHOOSE to accept the means of
deliverance set forth for us by our elected Deliverer.
The
Book of Mormon prophet, Mormon, puts this principle simply in chapter 9, verse
23, which reads: “And he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved…” Many
of us here today already CHOSE to be baptized, and we also partook of the
sacrament this afternoon, therefore renewing the covenants we made at baptism,
thereby becoming just as clean and as pure as we were on that day. Believe it
or not, we all CHOSE, on our own free will this afternoon, to recommit
ourselves to serve the Lord and remember Him. What a wonderful blessing it is
for us to CHOOSE to receive a remission of our sins each and every week! Every
7 days we get to start over with a clean slate. I love that!
My
institute teacher this past semester gave a lesson about decision making that
has impacted my life forever. After General Conference weekend, when everyone
was buzzing about the new age limit announcement for full-time missionary
service, my institute teacher stood in front of our class and posed two rhetorical
questions. He gave us two choices, and asked which one was worse: Being wrong
in a decision, or not making a decision at all?
As
I’m sure it’s pretty obvious what I eventually chose to do, at the time, I was
having an internal battle about my personal choice to serve a mission. The
significance and crucial timing of a lesson like this was critical for me
because over that weekend, I had been given a window of opportunity: the chance
to serve a mission – an opportunity I never thought I would take advantage of
by the time I was 21 years of age. And there I was, trying to decide, but too
afraid to just buckle down and CHOOSE.
My
institute teacher then said this: “I know each and every one of you is
struggling with one decision or another. So right now, just DECIDE. Make up
your mind to just DO IT.” I couldn’t help thinking to myself, HOW DID HE KNOW!? He then had us take
out our journals and write it down, whatever we were committing to do. After
that, he said, “Okay, now write, ‘No, I really am,” after it.”
So, I did it. And here it is,
people. And here I am, less than six months later.
I
CHOSE, that day, to devote a year and six months of my life to the Lord who has
given me everything. And just like in every choice we make, my choice will have
its consequences, and I will have to be accountable for them. But whether those
consequences are good or bad, the Lord has provided insurance, the Atonement,
to help me along my way. And I know that to be true.
With that being said, I
want to talk about AAA Insurance now. If you aren’t aware, the “A”’s in AAA
stand for Agency, Accountability, and Atonement. Earlier, I likened the
Atonement of Jesus Christ to a type of “insurance” for our actions. So I’d like
to compare the Atonement to an insurance policy. American Family Insurance ads
on the radio always say, “Your dream is out there, go get it. We’ll protect
it.” And of course, almost nothing in life comes free, so you must pay a
monthly fee for this added defense. Protection comes at a price that we are
willing to pay in order to insure the safety of our possessions.
We’ve
been given a precious gift: a body, accompanied by a soul. How much are souls
worth? Are they valuable enough to insure? The Lord definitely thinks so. As it
says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “the worth of souls is great in the sight
of God,” so it makes perfect sense that the Lord would provide a way for us to
return back to Him.
Salvation,
albeit a service rendered by Christ for the eternal life of man, comes at a
price as well. Although, many people see the Atonement as a means for
procrastination, or an easy way out that they’ll take advantage of later. But
what they don’t realize is that sins, when piled up, just like insurance bills,
are a lot harder and overwhelming to take care of when we put them off until
later and allow them to pile up, one on top of the other.
So
how do we “pay our bills?” In the Old Testament, the people were commanded to
offer burnt animal sacrifices to the Lord in payment for their sins as a symbol
of the future sacrifice of the Lamb of God. However, through Christ’s atoning
sacrifice, the Mosaic Law was fulfilled, and He now asks for “a broken heart
and a contrite spirit.” This means to suffer extreme sorrow for the sin we have
committed, and then to have a repentant spirit. This modern-day sacrifice that
we can CHOOSE to give to the Lord in payment for our sins is the only uniquely
personal thing we have to place on God’s altar.
Our
conscious choice to submit to the Lord’s will pleases Him and brings Him joy,
regardless of how many times we must re-commit ourselves to Him. However, this
personal offering doesn’t have to be given only if and when we commit a sin. A
well-quoted scripture in Joshua 24 reads, “Choose you this day whom ye will
serve…” Joshua says “THIS DAY,” not on the day he wrote it, not tomorrow, and
not next Sunday, nor does it say, “only when you commit a sin and need to
repent.” So why should we wait to choose to recommit ourselves only once a week
when partaking of the Sacrament? Why not choose right now – AGAIN – to commit
ourselves to the Lord? We’ve all been given agency, right? There’s no need to
wait; we are all ACCOUNTABLE for the choices we make, and making the decision
to re-commit oneself to the Lord doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
Brothers
and sisters, today is the day to choose to serve the Lord who has given us
relief and an escape from the liabilities of everyday life as well as
individually incurred sin. Choose to do one more thing to bring yourself closer
to Christ. Choose to be born again. Choose to follow him, choose to serve Him. Jesus
Christ first chose to serve the Lord by serving us, so it is my sincere hope
and prayer that we choose to serve Him – EVERY day—in return.
I’d
like to close now with my testimony. I know my Redeemer lives and loves each of
us. I know the Atonement is real, and that because of it, we have the
opportunity to progress and become the best we can be. I know that Joseph Smith
was a prophet, called by God, and that through Joseph Smith, the Lord restored
His gospel to the earth, which I am so very grateful for, as this gospel has
made all the difference in my life. I know this Gospel to be true. I know the
Book of Mormon to be true. I know the temple to be the House of God on earth,
and that within them, families can be made forever. I know Thomas S. Monson is
a true and living prophet, also called by God to lead and guide us through this
mortal world of confusion and strife. I know I am a daughter of God, and that
He is aware of me. And with that, I say these things in the name of my Lord and
Savior, even Jesus Christ, amen.
