Hermana Ward: My Farewell Talk

I gave my Farewell talk this week in my ward. It was quite a nerve racking experience, but I learned a lot about my self for those who weren't there to hear it here the words and I'm trying to download the audio of it.

My Farewell Talk

I am so grateful for this opportunity to speak to you today. I am so grateful to serve a mission and give my farewell talk. But I think that we shouldn’t call this a farewell talk, we may be leaving for an amount of time, but let us call it the opening remarks to this great journey on a mission. And when I return I will give the closing remarks of what I have learned on my journey.

Because these are my opening remarks to my mission, I guess it would be appropriate to share why I decided to serve a mission. It started when I was a small girl and I wanted to be just like my mom and when I learned my mom served a mission that is when I knew I wanted to serve a mission to help me be like her. As I grew older, my reason remained the same. At the end of high school, I started to plan the rest of my life I had decided that I wanted to major in chemistry and after I graduated, I would serve a mission at the age 22. And I didn’t think of it much until last October when President Monson Gave the announcement of the age change, I knew at that moment that was exactly what I needed to do. I set up and appointment with my bishop about starting my mission papers. While I was working on my mission papers, our stake had a stake conference where the focus was on the importance of serving a mission and helping us know if our reasons for serving a mission was a good reason. I remember this Sunday so vividly. I was sitting very close to the front and I could see all the other girls in my stake listen very intently the message President Zenger was giving. He told of an interview that he had with a sister finishing her papers and her process of deciding why it was she wanted to serve. And as he told the story and as he encouraged us to really think why we wanted to serve. As I sat in my chair ignoring all others that are around me, I realized that my reason for being just like my mom was no longer a good enough reason even though she is quite an awesome woman. So I thought about my life and looked back on what the gospel has brought me, it has brought me so much joy and comfort, and I have seen the change that it has brought in so many others life. So my reason then became because I wanted to share the joy that the gospel brings to all of His children.

Allot of the joy that comes from the gospel is the knowledge that comes from the plan of salvation. The plan of salvation answers so many of life's questions, “why am I Here, what is my purpose and where am I going?”

The plan of salvation answers the first question "who am I?" when we are told that lived with our Father in Heaven before we came to earth. in preach my gospel it says

"God is the father of our spirit. We are Literally His children, and He loves us. We lived as spirit Children of our father in Heaven before we were born on this earth. "

When Jeremiah was called to be the prophet the Lord told him (Jer 1:5)” Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

The Lord told Jeremiah that he was his son and that he had a special calling. He also told Moses of who he is The Lord said “And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.”

This that was also told to Moses applies to us too. We are Children of God and we are made after His image and that He Knows who we all are and Loves us all.

The Lord tells us of our role and our nobility when he speaks to Abraham:

22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;

23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

From these scriptures, we learn of our purpose and our divine destiny and our role in life. And This is part of the plan of salvation. He Has a Plan for each one of us that will lead us back to Him.

So where are we going and what is our purpose?

Our purpose is to gain a body, to be tested, so that we can return and live with our Heaven Father again and live with our Families Forever. By having, the knowledge of what the plan consists of allows us to live in a way that will allow us to return to Him. God First sent Adam and Eve to earth in the Garden of Eden who fell from God's presence so that they could multiply replenish the earth. And because they fell, we are mortal and we are imperfect. And because we are imperfect, we cannot return to live with Him in this imperfect state. Because of the Lord’s love for us, Jesus Christ paid the price of all our sins and sorrows and that gave us the power of the atonement, which gives us an opportunity to be cleansed of our sin and our imperfections. And only through the power of the atonement Can we be cleansed of our sins and imperfections and be able to live with God again. So that is our purpose to live in such a way that we can live with Him Again and to share the gospel with all of His children.

Neal a Maxwell said this

“Our Father’s plan provides for redemption from the Fall through the atonement of Jesus Christ. As the Only Begotten Son of God and the only sinless person to live on this earth, he made a perfect atonement for all mankind. It applies to everyone unconditionally as it pertains to the resurrection from temporal, or physical, death, for all shall rise from the dead with immortal bodies as a result of the Atonement. However, the Atonement is conditional as it pertains to each person’s individual sins. It touches everyone to the degree that he or she has faith in Jesus Christ, repents, and obeys the gospel. Exaltation and eternal life with God are reserved for those who keep the commandments.

Mortality, then, is the time to test our ability to understand our Heavenly Father’s plan and, of course, our willingness to be obedient. Obedience is essential to obtain exaltation and eternal life. King Benjamin explained that “the Lord God hath sent his holy prophets among all the children of men, to declare these things to every kindred, nation, and tongue, that thereby whosoever should believe [in] Christ, … the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy” (Mosiah 3:13).”

The Lord asks us of our obedience to the commandments that He has given us and to the covenants, we have made with Him. When we are obedient to the commandments and the covenants that we have made shows the Lord how much we love Him and how much we want to return to Him. The Covenants that we make are very important part of the plan of salvation that allows us to live with Him in the celestial Kingdom. The covenants of baptism, endowments, and sealing are saving ordinances that allow us to live with our father in Heaven again. As we live up to the promises we make it will allow us to become more like our Father in Heaven and become perfected in Him.

Neal A Maxwell also States

We must understand the basic doctrines and receive the saving ordinances that are essential for our eternal exaltation and happiness. Our present mortal state places a veil of forgetfulness over our minds, allowing us to prove ourselves able to “do all things whatsoever the Lord [our] God shall command” (Abr. 3:25). But even though our present long-range view of eternity is limited, the Lord has not left us without direction. He has provided scriptures and Apostles and prophets through whom he has revealed his plan for our exaltation and eternal life. And we have the Comforter, the Holy Ghost, to guide us."

This Guidance that we are given is for us, to help us to return to live with Him again. He Gives us this guidance that allows us to return to Him. He gives us this guidance because He Loves us sooo much and wants every single one of His children to return to Him. By living in such a way that allows us to live with Him again, we can live with our family forever.

We call this the plan of salvation, the plan of Happiness and the "great plan of the Eternal God” We call the plan this because of what it is. His plan brings us salvation and brings us joy and happiness and it is of our Father in heaven.

I love having the knowledge of the plan of salvation and that the Lord purpose is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

"God’s whole purpose—His work and His glory—is to enable each of us to enjoy all His blessings. He has provided a perfect plan to accomplish His purpose. We understood and accepted this plan before we came to the earth. In the scriptures God’s plan is called a merciful plan, the plan of happiness, the plan of redemption, and the plan of salvation."

By having the knowledge and Following His Plan, we can have immortality and eternal life. Knowing that this is Gods purpose brings me joy He Want me Jessica ward to come back to live with Him and he Wants all of you all of His children to return to Him one day.

I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to share this message with all those that I meet on my mission that they may also feel the joy this gospel brings. I am grateful for all those that have taught me and have helped me grow in the gospel and in my confidence, those that were willing to see passed my quirks and to see me as the Lord sees me and how that has helped me see all of you as the Lord does His precious sons and daughters. I want to let you know that I have a testimony of my savior Jesus Christ I know That He died for me He paid the price of my sins and of my sorrows and pains, And He paid for all of mankind. I know the Book of Mormon is a book of true scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ and His mission on the earth. It Tells of True people that lived and experienced great miracles and heart ache just like us, I know that it contains true doctrine and principles. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet Of God that restored this church to the earth and did translate the book of Mormon. I know that Thomas S Monson is a true prophet on the earth today and that he will never ever guide us astray. I know that there is a power in prayer and that He does hear the words that we speak and he know what is in our heart and he cares about everything we do no matter what it may be. I know that we can live together as families forever. I know that the Holy Ghost is there to guide us and comfort us. I know that serving a mission in Barcelona Spain is what the Lord needs me to-do right now in my life. I know He is watching over us every second of our lives even when we feel, He is, not there He is. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

We also took some missionary pictures and some Family ones here they are: