Brothers and sisters, it is good to be here today. It is good to be able to look out and see all your faces. I love this ward. It is amazing to me that this ward that was created from three other wards, has been able to draw so close, and have the strength that it has. I am truly grateful that I am a part of this ward. I will miss all of you and hope that today I will be able to leave you today having left you with a message guided by the Holy Spirit.
When I was given the topic for my talk it was hard not to laugh, in my defense I was told the talk was on, “I Love Loud Boys”. After a little pause, Brother H ---- then told me that the topic is the title to the talk given by Elder Yoon Hwan Choi in the priesthood session of the October general conference. It is a great talk and I encourage all the young men, and their parents to read it. For my talk though I want to take the words of council that are the message of the talk these words are, “Let us love our boys-although some of them are loud boys. Let us teach them to change their lives.” I want to testify and give the young men of this ward council from my experience in changing my life. I have five key principles that have helped me change my life from a “Loud Boy” to a man willing and ready to serve the Lord.
The first of these principles is to obey the will of the Lord. Before I lived here in Texas, I was living in Utah. I loved my life I had lots of friends, I was part of the “in” crowd, and life was good. Then one night I came home and saw my parents huddled around the computer and I knew right then that we would be moving. I don’t know how I knew maybe it was a tender mercy from the Lord to prepare me. I didn’t want to move, and I was very sad about it; however somehow I never complained to my parents I just trusted them I trusted they were obeying the will of the Lord. The move was hard. The hardest part that is actually a great blessing was joining a new high school football team where I was the only member and I had to defend my testimony every day. I have visited Pleasant Grove, Utah many times since the move and I have seen a large group of the people I used to hang out with fall away, I know the will of the Lord is always looking out for me, because I might have fallen right with them had I not moved and built up my testimony. I want you young men to know the Lord loves you and His will is the only path that will bring you joy.
The next principle is found in Mosiah 2:17 “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God”. I have many experiences in this but I will share one with you that helped me feel the love of my Father in Heaven, and his gratitude for my service. When I first moved here I had the opportunity to help another family that had just moved here with my father. My dad and I helped Brother Ashcroft put some mulch and dirt in the low spots on his lawn. When we were about to leave Brother Ashcroft came up to me and told me something his son Jaden told him that has stayed with me ever since that day. Jaden told his father, I’m sure these aren’t the exact words but they were to this effect, “That Garrett is a good kid.” In that moment I was able to feel the Lord's love for me and I have never forgotten the joy that I felt performing service for others. Brothers, I hope you will find this same joy in service as I did because it will prepare you for two years of non stop service when you are my age.
The third principle I would like to share is that we must heed the prophet’s counsel. This seems like a "no brainer", like "duh"; however, I struggled with one such commandment. I fell into a trap I see many young men and women falling into at the age of sixteen, seventeen, and even younger. Steady dating. I wish all of you could know of the wisdom there is in this commandment. I’m not even referring to the chance of serious sin. What it did to me was prevent me from building friendships with others, and not enjoying family time when sometimes I did not want to go on a family trip because I didn’t get to see my girlfriend. When I finally started following this counsel I became happier than I ever was with a girlfriend. Bill, Eric and I have become great friends in the last two years or more, I have come closer to my siblings, and I knew I was following the prophet. I hope you young men and women will be able to take this to heart because it makes such a difference in your life.
The fourth principle is to be in the right place at the right time. In the Old Testament, King David suffered great consequences for not being in the right place at the right time. In stead of leading his nation in war like a king should David stayed at home where when one night he chanced on seeing a woman bathing, and proceeded to follow down a path that would ultimately lead to murder, and many other sins that would harrow up his soul. Had he been where he was supposed to, leading his kingdom in war, he may never have committed those transgressions. I have come to know this same principle as true through my own experiences. I love institute, I especially loved this semester because I was able to grab a concept that not many of the students were able to grab. By doing so I gates of revelation were opened to me on many occasions while I was in that class. If I had not regularly attended that class I would not be as far in progression that I am today. I encourage the youth to love their church meetings, to attend them, and participate in them. Participation is important in receiving revelation, Alma 32: 27 says to, “arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith yea, even if ye can do no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you even until you believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.” You must give place for a portion of revelation. The easiest way to do that is to be at seminary, church, mutual, and other church meetings, and to exercise your faith. I testify that this works.
The final principle has been the hardest for me and I have not really worked on it until recently. That is to humble thyself before the lord. All my life I have had a certain skill of knowing how things work. I have been able to help my dad a lot by fixing things he didn’t even understand, and he has the same skill. I liked the praise I got and I started to expect such when I did something good. I sound terrible here but it is true. Another thing I would do is argue with my parents. I have this issue where if it’s not my idea it’s not a good one. Even I know my parents are right I will fight it just because I didn’t think of it. That has been the cause of a lot of contention for me, and I have tried very hard to work at it. The best part in working on it is that I have realized that when I am humble I do my best work, I understand the Lord more when I do, He blesses me so much more, and I am much happier. What a difference something can make in a persons life. I am not the best example for humility but I want to point the young men to a great example, Ammon was able to show how to be joyous and humble at the same time. While conversing with his brothers he said this, “Yeah, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.” Please look to Ammon’s example. It is through their humility that the sons of Mosiah and Alma the younger were so successful, and they truly started out as “loud boys”; however they were loved and the lord showed them how to change their lives.
I want to testify to you today that these principles have truly changed my life. I hope that you will be able to let them take the same hold in your hearts and let them change your life because they will change it. I will miss the young men dearly I already have been ever since I became an elder, but more so now that I will not see them for the next two years. I hope to come back and see more of you out on your missions as well or preparing to. Going on a mission will be the best thing that you can ever do for the Lord, and for yourself. I can testify of that and I have not even gone yet, just the preparation is amazing. I bare you these things and pray that you will heed these counsels, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
