Called to Serve: November 2016

Sister Hatch's Farewell Talk - September 18, 2016

Good morning, brothers and sisters. We were taught that in the pre-mortal life before any of us came down to earth, we were at war with the followers of Satan. Satan didn't want any of us to make wrong choices so he wanted us to not make choices for ourselves. He wanted to take away God's greatest gift from us which was agency; having us go through life without having experience of our own. That was not the way God wanted things. God wanted man to choose for himself between liberty and eternal life or captivity and death, learning good from evil. Like Nephi said, "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all mean might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:27)

But how do we know what is good from evil? The prophet Moses wrote down the ten commandments which are the laws of God, these are the basics to differ between good and evil. Something I think we should realize is that we are in a war right now! I am not talking about us as a nation, though there may be wars going on now, but I am talking about you as individuals. You are in a war against the world and against Satan. In today's world it is normal to be involved in immoral actions such as drugs, alcohol and us of unkind words towards others in secret or on media. We idolize celebrities, lifestyles, looks, and money. In our culture it's okay to look at pornography and have sexual relations before marriage. These things violate your spirit, and cause you to turn away from God.

Our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson shares are story from his youth,
"When I was growing up, each summer from early July until early September, my family stayed at our cabin at Vivian Park in Provo Canyon in Utah.

One of my best friends during those carefree days in the canyon was Danny Larsen, whose family also owned a cabin at Vivian Park. Each day he and I roamed this boy’s paradise, fishing in the stream and the river, collecting rocks and other treasures, hiking, climbing, and simply enjoying each minute of each hour of each day.

One morning Danny and I decided we wanted to have a campfire that evening with all our canyon friends. We just needed to clear an area in a nearby field where we could all gather. The June grass which covered the field had become dry and prickly, making the field unsuitable for our purposes. We began to pull at the tall grass, planning to clear a large, circular area. We tugged and yanked with all our might, but all we could get were small handfuls of the stubborn weeds. We knew this task would take the entire day, and already our energy and enthusiasm were waning.

And then what I thought was the perfect solution came into my eight-year-old mind. I said to Danny, “All we need is to set these weeds on fire. We’ll just burn a circle in the weeds!” He readily agreed, and I ran to our cabin to get a few matches.

Lest any of you think that at the tender age of eight we were permitted to use matches, I want to make it clear that both Danny and I were forbidden to use them without adult supervision. Both of us had been warned repeatedly of the dangers of fire. However, I knew where my family kept the matches, and we needed to clear that field. Without so much as a second thought, I ran to our cabin and grabbed a few matchsticks, making certain no one was watching. I hid them quickly in one of my pockets.

Back to Danny I ran, excited that in my pocket I had the solution to our problem. I recall thinking that the fire would burn only as far as we wanted and then would somehow magically extinguish itself.

I struck a match on a rock and set the parched June grass ablaze. It ignited as though it had been drenched in gasoline. At first Danny and I were thrilled as we watched the weeds disappear, but it soon became apparent that the fire was not about to go out on its own. We panicked as we realized there was nothing we could do to stop it. The menacing flames began to follow the wild grass up the mountainside, endangering the pine trees and everything else in their path.

Finally we had no option but to run for help. Soon all available men and women at Vivian Park were dashing back and forth with wet burlap bags, beating at the flames in an attempt to extinguish them. After several hours the last remaining embers were smothered. The ages-old pine trees had been saved, as were the homes the flames would eventually have reached.

Danny and I learned several difficult but important lessons that day—not the least of which was the importance of obedience."

I love that story. Sometimes it may feel as though the commandments restrain us from what may look pleasing at the time, or we feel like someone is telling us what to do. The commandments are there for our protection, just like President Monson was told not to play with matches. Disobeying the commandments leads us away from the Lord and under the influence of Satan, it can have possible spiritual or physical dangers, taking us into addictions that restrain us from knowing the priorities of what is most important. When we stay true to the commandments, we are given a shield against the temptations of Satan. One blessing of obedience, the Lord will send down his spirit, the Holy Ghost to be our guide through our life and our desires for the worldly things will dim and our hunger for spiritual desires will grow. The Lord Will reveal his truth unto you because you desire to know of him. My baby Sister Natilee had a class assignment to write a breakup letter. I'm going to read it to you:

I love the passion she had shared in this letter about breaking up with sin. It's true that sin just drags us down and gets us into trouble. It may start out fine, but never ends well. But seeing Natilee with a true desire to know of Christ and his plan for her, I have seen over time that she has become a beautiful radiant daughter of God who is not afraid to put Satan in his place. We must remember we are still human we will still make mistakes, all God has asked of you is to try to get better everyday.

I'm going to leave you with this last scripture: Doctrine & Covenants 87:8, "Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen." In obeying the Lord's Commandments we will find peace with ourselves and find the truth. The world's standards will always change, but the Lord's standards will always be the same.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

She is off!

Sister Alisyn Hatch called to serve in Birmingham, Alabama!