Warning: There are many references to scriptures in this that are not mentioned. All of my quoting can be found somewhere within lds.org between the scriptures or general authority talks.
I know not all people could attend and some people have asked for a copy of my talk and so I am posting it to my blog so here it is. Thank you SO SO SO SO much for all of the support, love, and everything! I love you all!
Good morning. It is a pleasure to have
this opportunity to speak in front of family and friends. I have had a lot of
time to think about things and one of the questions I keep asking myself is
“How on earth did I get to this point in my life?” Many of my thoughts turn
back to growing up in the Tustin 4th ward. I was very, extremely,
adamantly not going on a mission but here I am today shocking everyone,
including myself, leaving in 10 days to serve an eighteen month mission for The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What changed?
My heart did. My heart was softened. I thought all this time a hardened heart
referred to people like Laman and Lemuel from The Book of Mormon or the Pharisees
and Sadducees in the New Testament that eventually had the savior of all
mankind crucified. However I was wrong, my own heart was hardened to the idea
of going on a mission and I realized that one of the reasons I came to Earth
was to help and serve others and what better way is there than to serve a full
time mission. I tried rationalizing all of the good things that were happening
in my life and how going to stay and finish my last year and a half of school
would be the best but the Spirit kept prodding me. My idea of missionary work
was skewed for some reason. A missionary's purpose is to invite others to come
unto Christ by helping them receive the restored of the gospel of Jesus Christ
through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, baptism, receiving the gift of
the Holy Ghost an enduring to the end. For some reason this was not the
purpose of a missionary to me. I don’t really know what was but this wasn’t it.
Finally one night in my apartment I was up by myself, which was unusual, writing
in my journal and began writing “I think I should go on a mission, I’ll wait
until general conference next week.....” There are about four pages of me going
back and forth writing no, yes, since when do I want to serve a mission, am I
crazy and at the end of that entry it says "I am going on a mission and
that's that". So I scheduled an interview with the bishop of my ward
but I was moving to another apartment complex which meant a new ward, so I met
with my new bishop too and then with that stake president and then my papers
were in! I was still unsure about going on a mission but I was putting all of
my trust in the Lord and prayed for the strength to go through. Despite all my
secret hopes, two weeks later I was opening a big, white envelope I had never
imagined that I, Katie Sundberg would be opening. I knew that as soon as I
opened this letter there was no going back. I was not going to deny any
calling. My hands would not stay still, they were shaking like crazy and I was
soon reading Sister Sundberg. You are hereby called as a missionary of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the
Mexico Hermosillo mission. I about died. Like I said it’s been about five
months since I got that call and so I have had a lot of time to think all about
the miracle it is that I am going on a mission and the only thing that got me
here was trusting in the Lord and depending on the enabling power of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ.
The atonement consists of Jesus Christ's suffering in the garden of gethsemane
and his crucifixion on Calvary yet it is so much more than those two sacred
events. Each one of us needs the blessings that come from the atonement. Prophets
of old foretold of this essential event since the days of Adam. In the Garden
of Eden, Adam and Eve lived in the presence of God and were told they could
partake of the tree of life but were commanded not to partake of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil. Adam was told that in the day he eats of the fruit
of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he should surely die. From the
scriptures we know that Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil and were cast out of the Garden of Eden and with
that, cast out of the presence of the Father. This is called the fall. The fall caused two kinds of death to occur.
One, spiritual death meaning separation from God and two, temporal death
meaning they would one day die. Adam knew there would be consequences for
breaking a commandment of the Lord, there always is. He knew that no unclean
thing could dwell in the presence of God yet he longed to be in His presence.
Imagine the joy Adam and Eve felt when they found out that a Savior had been
prepared for them to redeem them from both types of death. And so as 1 Corinthians 15:22 says “as in
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Because of the fall, we are all prone to
mortal death and we are all accountable for our own sins. In the second article
of faith we are reminded that “we believe that men will be punished for their
owns sins and not for Adam’s transgression.” Jesus Christ is our savior and
redeemer. His death on Calvary ensures
each of us immortality. We will be resurrected. He broke the bands of death. The
grave has no victory. (see Mosiah 16:7) We will be able to see and live with
loved ones who have passed on again and to be with our families eternally
because of Christ’s selfless sacrifice on the cross. Immortality is
unconditional. However eternal life, meaning returning to the presence of God
is conditional. Christ’s suffering in Gethsemane, his bleeding from every pore,
his descending below all things and rising above all things is the part where
we must act to receive the blessings that come from His suffering. For if we do
not use the atonement it is “as if there was no redemption made” (Mosiah 16:5).
The gift of eternal life requires us to have faith in Jesus Christ and in His
Atonement and then to repent of the commandments that we ourselves have broken.
Our salvation depends upon us. We must have faith that Jesus Christ exists and
that he truly makes it possible for us to live in the presence of our Father
again. I know that I do not have all of the answers as to the mechanics of how
the Atonement works but I know that it does. My faith sustains me. It is our
choice whether or not “we come unto Christ and be perfected in Him” as is
explained in Mosiah chapter 10 verse 32 in the Book of Mormon.
Making
the atonement a part of our daily lives is simple but just as Naaman in the Old
Testament doubted that he could become clean of his leprosy by bathing in the
river 7 times or how the children of Israel could be healed of their snake
bites just by looking up unto the staff that Moses was raising, our pride
creeps into our minds to stop the simple process of gaining the blessings from
the Atonement. Our pride leads us to believe that our healing needs to come from
some great journey or that something extraordinary need to happen but in
reality it is simple, all we need to do is come unto Christ. The extraordinary
has already taken place. We just need to have faith. All he asks of us is a
broken heart and a contrite spirit. It is a humbling experience. We, who have
sinned, only need a broken heart and a contrite spirit but the person forgiving
us and leading us to perfection lived a sinless life and paid the ultimate
price. What a remarkable gift.
The
process of each of us changing to be more Christlike is going to take a very
long time. Just because we haven’t committed any serious sin does not mean that
we do not need to ask for the blessings of the atonement in our life. This is
my favorite part of the atonement. Not only does Christ’s atonement make it
possible for us to be forgiven of our sins but there is the great enabling
power or grace that comes with it. This is the power that has and is still
moving me forward in going on a mission. I am learning to depend on the Lord. I
can do all that I can and then through the atonement and my prayers of asking
for added heavenly help, I can do all things. Philippians 4:13 says “I can do
all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Through Christ we are strengthened. When we
no longer have any strength or power or no more control over a situation, if we
turn to the Lord we will be blessed with the added strength and perspective
that we need to get through. And if it doesn’t come right away just see it as
the great gift of learning patience.
Patience truly is a virtue.
Just
as prophets of old spoke of the atonement of Christ, we have modern day
apostles and prophets that testify of Christ. In The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints we have Jesus Christ as the head of the church with a
President, President Thomas S Monson, a First Presidency which consists of the
President of the Church and two apostles as counselors and then the Quorum of
the Twelve Apostles who are all called to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ
just as they were when Christ established his church while on the Earth. I
sustain these men and know they are called of God. Here are some of the things
that these special witnesses have said concerning the atonement of Jesus
Christ.
Elder
L Tom Perry of the 12 says “Prophecies foretelling the life and mission of
Jesus Christ promise us the deliverance that He will provide. His Atonement and Resurrection provide all of us an escape from physical death and, if we
repent, an escape from spiritual death, bringing with it the blessings of
eternal life. The promises of the Atonement
and Resurrection, the promises of deliverance from physical and spiritual death,
were declared by God to Moses when He said, “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to
bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39).” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-power-of-deliverance?lang=eng&query=atonement)
President Dieter F
Utchdorf of the First Presidency says “With our heart and soul we yearn to
become better with the help of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. If these are your
desires, then regardless of your circumstances, your personal history, or the
strength of your testimony, there is room for you in this Church. Come, join
with us!” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/come-join-with-us?lang=eng)
Elder
Jeffrey R Holland of the 12 says “Trust in God. Hold on in His love. Know that
one day the dawn will break brightly and all shadows of mortality will flee.
Though we may feel we are “like a broken vessel,” as the Psalmist says,10 we must remember, that vessel is in the hands of the divine
potter. Broken minds can be healed just the way broken bones and broken hearts
are healed. While God is at work making those repairs, the rest of us can help
by being merciful, nonjudgmental, and kind.” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/like-a-broken-vessel?lang=eng)
President Henry B
Eyring of the First Presidency says “Heavenly Father has perfect foresight,
knows each of us, and knows our future. He knows what difficulties we will pass
through. He sent His Son to suffer so that He would know how to succor us in
all our trials. We know that Heavenly Father has spirit children in this world who
sometimes choose sin and great unhappiness. That is why He sent His Firstborn
to be our Redeemer, the greatest act of love in all creation. That is why we
must expect that it will take the help of God and time to polish us for eternal
life, to live with our Father.” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/to-my-grandchildren?lang=eng)
Elder Russell M Nelson of the 12 says “We
can change our behavior. Our very desires can change. How? There is only one
way. True change—permanent change—can come only through the healing, cleansing,
and enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.26
He loves you—each of you!27
He allows you to access His power as you keep His commandments, eagerly,
earnestly, and exactly. It is that simple and certain. The gospel of Jesus
Christ is a gospel of change!” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/decisions-for-eternity?lang=eng)
Elder
Dallin H Oaks of the 12 says “For Latter-day Saints, God’s commandments are
based on and inseparable from God’s plan for His children—the great plan of
salvation. This plan, sometimes called the “great plan of happiness” (Alma 42:8), explains our origin and destiny as children of God—where we
came from, why we are here, and where we are going. The plan of salvation
explains the purpose of creation and the conditions of mortality, including
God’s commandments, the need for a Savior, and the vital role of mortal and
eternal families.” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/no-other-gods?lang=eng)
President Thomas S
Monson, President of the Church says “There is one Teacher whose life
overshadows all others. He taught of life and death, of duty and destiny. He
lived not to be served but to serve, not to receive but to give, not to save
His life but to sacrifice it for others. He described a love more beautiful
than lust, a poverty richer than treasure. It was said of this Teacher that He
taught with authority and not as did the scribes.11 His laws were not
inscribed upon stone but upon human hearts. I speak of the Master
Teacher, even Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior and
Redeemer of all mankind.” (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/true-shepherds?lang=eng)
I believe the words of these men. They truly testify
of Christ. Now some of you here today may not believe in God or Jesus Christ or
you question your faith or you may not believe and you may question that
Christ's suffering in the garden of gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary was
of any significance but I know of their reality because I have felt the Holy
Ghost testify it to me because I have asked if these things are true. I
know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to return to him. And
knowing that we, as humans, would make mistakes and give in to our carnal desires,
he provided a Savior, even his only begotten, Jesus Christ at a time when his
own people would not accept him as the man that had been prophesied to be the
savior of all mankind. I know that Jesus Christ was not just an extraordinary
historical figure but that it is through his completely perfect life and
completely selfless sacrifice that we are made clean. I know that when we
sincerely ask to be forgiven of our sins and mistakes through earnest prayer to
our father in heaven, we can be forgiven and our "sins are remembered no
more" and we are then blessed with one of the greatest blessings- a clean
conscience and peace in our souls. I know that in life, I cannot do what I have
been called to do with just my own strength and I will need to be dependent
upon the great gift of the atonement to enable me to do what it is that my
father in heaven wants me to do. I can give all that I have and the rest will
be filled. Immortality and eternal life are possible because of the great
sacrifice that was made by our Savior, our Redeemer, our friend Jesus Christ
and I know the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored today.
All of the keys, ordinances, covenants and blessings are available to us if we
come unto Christ through the restored gospel, have faith in Him and His
atonement, be baptized by someone who holds proper authority, receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost and endure to the end. I know we have modern day prophets who
warn us of the dangers in this turbulent world where the area between right and
wrong is getting larger and larger. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know
the atonement was real and that it was and remains to be the most significant
event in all of history. I know these things to be true and if you do not,
search, ponder and pray and the truth can be shown to you too. I say these
things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior amen.
