Milestones
The topic I
have been given to speak on today are the milestones in my life that have lead
me to my mission and that will continue to lead me to a Temple marriage and
sealing.
Being born
· I can’t
remember mine but this was my very first milestone on my way back to Heavenly
Father. I got a body and started my time on Earth. I was blessed to be born in
the covenant to the family I was; with loving parents and a big sister to look
up to.
·
I
have been guided along since birth continuing on the plan of happiness. First
by the example of my parents and other family members and then by church
leaders and teachers.
·
I
remember the birth of my niece, Paige. I was able to be in the hospital with my
sister and brother-in-law and mom when she was born. When she finally came the Spirit was in the
room so strong. What a wonderful gift we had all witnessed being given.
·
On
my parent’s Fridge is a saying “It is not a slight thing when those who are so
fresh from God love us.” I had never really understood this before, but the
moment my sister held her baby in her arms for the first time with her husband’s
arm around her and all three of them just looked at each other I understood. Paige
had just been in the arms of her Father in Heaven and now she is with her earthly
father and mother and starting her journey to get back to Him. I rejoice
whenever I see my sister’s little family together, and now that it’s growing my
rejoicings are greater. They are being wonderful parents and already are letting
their two daughters know of God’s love for them.
Being baptized
·
Baptism
is the first ordinance of the Church, the first step to salvation and
returning to live with Christ and our Heavenly Father again. This is a necessary
step and a beautiful one. Because of the Atonement that Christ performed and
the suffering He endured in Gethsemane, we can have our sins forgiven. Christ
will stand as mediator at the Judgment Seat and show mercy on us if we allow
His Atonement to work on us. In the Waters of baptism our sins are washed away.
We get a clean slate, it is as if we had never sinned in the first place, a
remission of sins comes upon us.
·
I
only remember a few things about my own baptism. I remember being nervous
that I would fail the bishop’s interview (which it turns out I didn’t need to
be worried about), that I was excited for the Krispy Kream donuts that we were
having after, how cold the water was, and the best thing that I remember is how
happy I was. I was fidgeting waiting my turn to go into the water at the Stake
baptism. I just could not wait to be baptized and become a member of the Church
and to follow in Christ’s footsteps. I was so happy to get the gift of the Holy
Ghost and resolved to live worthy of His help throughout my life. Once I was
out of the water and later had hands laid upon my head for the Holy Ghost I
rejoiced.
·
This
gift of the Holy Ghost is one of my most favorite gifts and one I am
most grateful for. I have felt the witness of the Spirit countless times and my
testimony has been confirmed by Him many times over.
·
But
we are all human, and I am no different. We are not perfect and do sin again
after we are baptized. But my rejoicing did not stop because another blessing
of the Atonement is asking repentance and having our sins forgiven. If we truly
repent, confessing and give up our sins, we can be made pure again. How
wonderful.
·
There
is another blessing that is related to baptism that we have the privilege of
partaking in almost every week: the Sacrament. When we take the sacrament
we renew our baptismal covenants. In
case we forgot what our baptismal covenants are, they are restated each week by
the aaronic priesthood holders when they bless the bread and water and is found
in D&C 20: 77 & 79 “may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and
witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take
upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his
commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to
be with them.” The sacrament is a wonderful gift.
Young Womens
·
Personal progress – It may not be called a milestone by some, but for me a very big milestone
was going into Young Womens and earning my Personal Progress recognition medallion.
While boys my age were being ordained into the Holy Priesthood, I was doing
something that I think is equally important- truly learning that I am a
daughter of God, developing my talents and learning important lessons that will
someday help me become a mother capable of raising a strong family in this
perilous world. It was in Young Womens and through personal progress that I
developed a love for the Temple, not just for the hope of going inside someday
but actually going inside to do baptisms for the dead. This experience of going
to the Temple for the first time when I was 12 years old is one that has
continued to bless my life. If I remember being so happy after waiting 8 years
for my baptism, I can only imagine the rejoicings that must be happening on the
other side of the veil after hundreds of years waiting.
With the developing love and appreciation for the Temple came
a deep desire to fulfill the rest of my work, to be endowed and sealed. I
encourage all Young Women to work on their Personal Progress and encourage all
the Youth to do Baptisms for the Dead as often as you can.
·
Patriarchal Blessing – Another thing that has continually blessed me and has assisted me in
many difficult times that I received when I was in Young Womens was my
Patriarchal Blessing. This blessing is very personal and sacred to me; it is a
testament that Heavenly Father truly does know me individually. He knows Kalyn
Paige Walker. He knows my fears, my struggles, my desires, and my heart. He
knows all these things even before I do! There have been many times where I
have been struggling with a particular thing or have been sad for a very
specific reason, and I turn towards my Patriarchal Blessing and God has blessed
me with comfort right there. He knows all the struggles and hardships that we
have gone through, we are going through, and will go through, and He is there
to help us. Always. When I have doubts or fears about my future, I read my
Patriarchal Blessing. Promises were made to me by my Heavenly Father that are a
great comfort. When I receive this blessing, it was the strongest I had ever
felt the Spirit in my life up to that point.
Mission Call
·
Desire to serve a mission- When I was about ten or eleven years old my mom’s little
sister Heather went on a mission. I remember sitting on my bed just crying because
I missed her. My mom came in and explained to me that Heather had to leave our
family for a little bit to go help other families be together forever. Mom
helped me write a letter to her and it was that moment I decided I wanted to go
on a mission.
·
Decision to serve- All growing up I expressed my desire to serve. I sang “Called to Serve”
with conviction. It was always in my plans to serve. But then when my 21st
birthday was just around the corner, my resolve to serve started to waver. I
started to question my decision to go. Was it really the thing I should do? I
wasn’t so sure anymore. I was up at BYU finally starting in my major that I
love, there was a wonderful boy that I liked very much and had gone out with
quite a lot, I had a good job and friends, … Did I want to leave all that
behind? I wrestled with the decisions changing sides every day.
During this time my
religion professor made an assignment that during the October General
Conference we should watch with a specific question in mind and then he
promised that it would be answered. So I did this homework assignment and my
question to General Conference was “Should I serve a full time mission?” It was
answered. The choir sang the song “I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go” and I knew.
I was supposed to go on a mission. After that song it seemed as if every
speaker answered my question as well! Man, did I ace that homework assignment
or what?! :]
From that answer I have made all my decisions up till now. I
spoke with academic counseling to work out how to get to a break point in my
major, this wonderful boy and I stopped dating, submitted my papers, I quit my
job, said good bye to my friends, and am now getting ready to say good bye to
my family. Though all those things were hard for me to do, my heart has
rejoiced in doing them because I know I am doing what my Father in Heaven wants
me to do.
·
Reasons I want to serve- There are multiple reasons that I want to serve as a full
time missionary. The main one is I want to show my Heavenly Father that I love
Him. That I am grateful for all He has given me, especially for His son. If
Jesus could love me enough to die for me, I can go on a mission and serve Him.
I want to go to show the people of Germany God’s love for them. I will be the beacon
on the hill lighting the way back to our home above.
·
Scripture on plaque – Something that I think is neat that happens to a missionary is that a
plaque goes up in their home ward. To me the plaques hanging on the wall have
always been an inspiration. Here are young people giving themselves to the
Lord. I am excited to have a plaque up there alongside people and in the same
place as people that I look up to. My favorite part of the plaque is reading
the scripture that the missionary chose to represent themselves and their time
of service. I fretted over what my scripture would be. But finally after
debating over which to use, and with a little encouragement from my Mom, I
chose to use my very favorite scripture in all of the standard works. It is 1
Thessalonians 5:16 and states “Rejoice evermore.”
That’s all.
Just those two words. But how powerful those two words are. “Rejoice Evermore.”
This scripture is my favorite because that is the key to happiness and the
whole point of man being created is to have joy, and the great plan of the
Father is the plan of happiness. These two words are the keys to life. “Rejoice
evermore.” Not just when the sun shines, but also in the rain. Not just when
things go our way, but also when we struggle. Not just when a baby is born, but
also when someone dies.
It is an
easy thing to do the rejoicing half of the scripture, but true happiness comes
when we can do the evermore part. I hope that while I am on my mission, I will
be able to help the people of Germany be able to do this, and that by doing so
they will have a desire to draw closer to their Heavenly Father. I also hope
that my plaque with my little scripture, that the reference is longer than the
verse, will also be able to help you all remember. Maybe if I’m lucky, my
plaque will be an inspiration to someone here who sees it just like so many
plaques have been inspirational to me.
Receiving
the Call – After my
papers were submitted, the waiting period began. Along with the waiting period
came the guessing game of where family and friends guess where you’re going to
go. If I could have chosen my mission then, I would have assigned myself to the
Nauvoo, Illinois Visitor Center Mission. If not that one than another Visitors
Center Mission. I can be a shy person sometimes and laboring in a Visitors
Center where people came to me to learn seemed much more comfortable to me than
a prosyliting mission where you knock doors and make street contacts. That idea
scared me. Terrified me, actually.
But when I
opened the call and saw my assignment to the Germany Berlin Mission, a strange feeling came over me. It was a feeling of peace and of
remembrance. It was like I had known all along that I was going to Berlin but I
had just forgotten until this moment. It was wonderful. I know this is where I am needed and that the
Lord has called me to Berlin for a reason. I may not find the reason out while
I’m there, but there is one. My trust is in God and I know that I can do what I
am called to do. I am not scared any more.
Temple
·
Own endowment –
After receiving my Mission Call, I was able to complete another saving
ordinance by taking out my endowments. Again my heart rejoiced. I was so happy
I worried I would die of happiness. Walking into the House of the Lord where he
walks on the Earth today was so sacred. I was blessed to be escorted by my Mom,
with my Dad and sister, and aunts and uncles, a cousin and a family friend
there with me. The same feeling of remembrance that I had when opening my
mission call was the feeling I got inside the Temple. I was the first one of my
little group into the Celestial Room and watching my loved ones come in to join
me was the best feeling I have ever had. My desire to live worthily to enter
into the Celestial Kingdom was deepened. As was to have my family with me. Both
the family that I have now and also the family that I will one day have. I need
to keep strong and faithful in the covenants that I made so that I can enter
the Temple and be married and have an eternal family of my own.
I am so thankful for my parents and that they were married
and sealed together for time and all eternity in the Temple. I am thankful for
grandparents who set the example for my parents, therefore setting an example
for me. I am grateful to my aunts and uncles and to my big sister who have
started their eternal families by being sealed together in the Temple.
I think that the greatest blessing we have is that the
sealing keys were restored in this the Latter-Days. No greater happiness can
there be than to know you have your family forever. Death cannot stop the love
of a family.
I have gone to the Temple and done Proxy Sealings for
the dead and the love and gratitude I have felt in the Sealing room was so
great I cannot find words to describe it. I can only imagine the joy and love I
will feel when I kneel across the alter from the man I will marry and make
those sacred covenants together.
Excitement
for Trey – My younger
brother Trey got his mission call last week to the Italy Rome mission. I am so
proud of him and am excited that we have the opportunity to serve our God at
the same time. Trey is planning on going through the Temple for the first time
on Tuesday and I get to be there with him.
I rejoice
for Trey and for the wonderful experience he is about to have. I know it will
bless him for the rest of his life. I hope that I can help people in Germany
understand the wonderful blessings of the Temple. When people think about
missionary work they generally think about baptism in conjunction. Yes baptism
is important, but it is only the first ordinance. What missionary work truly
is, is what my Mom comforted me with- to bring families together forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment