Parker's Talk

Sunday, November 25--Parker gave his first sacrament meeting talk at church.  He was given a topic so Sarah showed him how to search it on the church website and made some recommendations on which General Authority talks to pull from (or not) and provided a resource article directed at youth on how to give a talk.  From there, Parker did the rest.

1.  Name

2.  Asked for a talk on service

3.  Took notes on a previous general conference talk along with my own words

Intro:  service is a great opportunity to strengthen faith and show love and charity.  It is a great blessing of membership, and as we serve we grow closer to god.  The Lord has said, "If thou lovest me thou shalt serve me," and we serve Him by serving others.

Body:  We draw closer to God as we serve.  As we serve, our problems are put into perspective.  Our faith increases.  We are more satisfyed.  As our faith increase, so does the desire to serve, as well as our love.  As we serve, we become more like God, and we are better prepared to return to him.

But, service can be challenging, we might find ourselves growing weary of service, or being called to do something that we do not find appealing.  But as we do so, think of it as a privilege to serve others, and so many.

Even if we think our Church calling is simple, we will be blessed as we serve.  Accepting and fullfilling a calling is an act of faith.  A lot of times we allow us to excuse ourselves from service for reasons such as "I'm tired and need a break," or "I'm simply too busy."  But whether we are overwhelmed or underwhelmed, the Lord wants us to keep serving others.

We must all see that our modern day Prophet is setting an example to us in an inspiring way the power that comes into our lives as we exercise faith, accept assignments, and fulfill them with commitment and dedication.  As we do so, we will continue to push forward, onward, and upward.  Yes he serves an important calling, but every calling and assignment is important.

As brothers and sisters, let's serve.  If you want to make someone's day, ask "How can I help?" or if you can't find anyone, ask yourself, "where would the Lord have me serve?" for service, every member is needed, and every member needs an oppritunity to serve.  Serve in your calling.  Serve a mission.  Serve your mother.  Serve a stranger.  serve your neighbor.  Serve dinner.  Just serve.

Conclusion:  May the Lord bless each of us in our efforts to serve and become true followers of Jesus Christ.  I testify that He lives and directs this work.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.