This morning a member of the stake presidency asked me to speak at Seminary Graduation next Sunday. When I asked what the topic was, he said, "Whatever you think will most help these graduates to take whatever learned in seminary and stay active in the gospel and transition to their next stage of life, whether it's mission, institute, school etc."
SO... What has helped you to apply what you learned in seminary, stay active in the gospel, and transition to young adulthood? I'd love to hear any of your personal experiences, favorite talks on the subject, etc. I have had some ideas come to mind, but I'm still in the brainstorming stage.
Here's one talk that's a favorite of mine. It was a CES broadcast given just a few weeks before I graduated high school: https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/2002/10/education-for-real-life?lang=eng
It went well! I ended up talking about sacrifice:
ReplyDelete(1) I started out talking about the widow's mite--which we had been studying for Come Follow Me that week Church-wide. I talked about how the seminary students are a lot like the widow who gave "of her need." These youth have so many demands on their time (school, family, extracurriculars, sometimes jobs, mutual, Sunday meetings, ministering assignments, quorum and auxiliary presidencies, etc.). Even though their time is so limited and precious, they still prioritize early-morning seminary at great sacrifice. The Lord is aware of their sacrifices.
(2) I talked about a personal experience in Toledo. My husband was putting in really long hours as a law student (a very demanding and competitive program), and then we were both given very demanding and time-intensive callings. After a while I came to ask myself why the Lord asks us to sacrifice so much when we're already spread so thin. After a lot of prayer and study and the passage of time, I have come to see the growth that occurred during this period of our lives--even though it was very difficult for me.
(3) I shared the story of Benjamin Landart, who sacrificed his spot on the territorial orchestra and sold his most prized possession, a violin, to serve a mission. Forty-five years later he wrote in his journal: “The greatest decision I ever made in my life was to give up something I dearly loved to the God I loved even more. He has never forgotten me for it.” When we make sacrifices for the Lord, those are some of the best decisions we will ever make.
(4) I invited the graduates to stay on the covenant path--even when it requires sacrifice--testified that all sacrifice is in the similitude of the Savior and helps us become more like Him.
I could have shared this story from President Oaks's most recent Conference talk because it went along perfectly, but I only had 8 minutes:
"At a stake conference in Cali, Colombia, a sister told how she and her fiancé desired to be married in the temple, but at that time the closest temple was in faraway Peru. For a long time, they saved their money for the bus fares. Finally they boarded the bus to Bogotá, but when they arrived there, they learned that all seats on the bus to Lima, Peru, were taken. They could go home without being married or be married out of the temple. Fortunately, there was one other alternative. They could ride on the bus to Lima if they were willing to sit on the floor of the bus for the entire five-day and five-night ride. They chose to do this. She said it was difficult, even though some riders sometimes let them sit in their seats so they could stretch out on the floor.
"What impressed me in her talk was this sister’s statement that she was grateful she and her husband had been able to go to the temple in this way, because it changed the way they felt about the gospel and the way they felt about marriage in the temple. The Lord had rewarded them with the growth that comes from sacrifice. She also observed that their five-day trip to the temple accomplished a great deal more in building their spirituality than many visits to the temple that were sacrifice-free.
"In the years since I heard that testimony, I have wondered how different that young couple’s life would have been if they had made another choice—forgoing the sacrifice necessary to be married in the temple."