The Farewell Talk

    Good morning Brothers and Sisters, friends and family, I'm so excited to be speaking with you today. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Spencer Dawson and for the last couple of months I have been preparing to serve a two year mission. It’s been an amazing experience to feel my Savior's love for me as I have been going through all of my preparation. Especially because personally I have felt seriously inadequate of being a messenger and teacher to those who I have been called to serve. So it was great when the Bishop not only asked me to share some of my experiences through my preparation process but also share my thoughts regarding President James Faust’s talk “What I Want My Son to Know Before He Leaves on His Mission.”
    His talk itself is split into 10 points that President Faust believed were some of the most important things to know before going into the mission field.

*First, You will be under call from the Lord Jesus Christ
*Second, your mission president is the Lords representative
*Third, hard work is more important than intellect
*Fourth, forget yourself in His service
*Fifth, never permit contention in your companionships
*Sixth, keep your bodies clean and healthy and your living quarters clean
*Seventh, learn to love and serve the people among whom you work
*Eighth, study, ponder, and teach from the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon and the New Testament
*Ninth, you must know that Lucifer will oppose you, and be prepared for his opposition
*Tenth, your own personal testimony is the strongest arrow in your quiver
    Now, because I am not a father nor do I feel any kind of responsibility in parenthood I am going to try to connect President Faust’s “things I want my son to know” to things that my parents have incorporated into my life. I am going to use signs and quotes that my mom has hanging around our home to help bridge the gap.

    Hanging in our basement is a sign that says “Don’t Forget To Be Awesome!” I love this sign, and obviously, I remember to be awesome regularly! But seriously, this sign reminds me that I am a Child of God, already awesome if I only remember. President Faust wants me, and all of us, to know that Jesus Christ knows us, and has a plan for us. That plan is to remember who we are, Children of God, and to be awesome! I was scared to death to put in my mission papers. I felt terrified that I wouldn’t be ready. I felt so inadequate. Everyone encouraged me to trust God. When I opened my call and saw that I was going to be serving in Japan I was immediately overcome with the Spirit and the knowledge that my Father in Heaven loves me and knows me personally. I know that my mission call was inspired and that it came from the Savior! I want to be as awesome as He is!

    The second thing President Faust wants us to know is that our leadership are doing their best to be the Lord's representatives. A sign in my room when I was smaller said, “Shoot for the Stars!” It was decorated with a rocket ship and a cartoon space scene. Elder Robert Simpson really helped me tie this sign with Elder Faust’s point. He said, “One of the most devastating experiences of our space age is when a multi-billion-dollar space effort is on final countdown—only to be placed on “hold” due to a technical failure. Unless the problem can be identified and corrected within a very short time, the mission will need to be scrapped and perhaps rescheduled weeks later when the moon phase comes right again. The cost of that technical failure becomes astronomical in terms of manhours and money. It was reported on one such occasion that the malfunction turned out to be caused by a small transistor worth about thirty cents.
    Just as space probes depend upon tens of thousands of other lesser components in their so-called support system, so does the Lord depend upon tens of thousands in His support system, that His ultimate objective of blessing the lives of people and qualifying them for eternal life might be accomplished on schedule.” I am so thankful for Seminary teachers, young men’s leaders, Sunday School teachers, Stake leadership and a Bishopric that loves and supports me. I’ve already gotten a letter from my Mission President and he is excited for me to come! I know that our Father in Heaven gives us leadership that will help us fulfill our potentials and 'Shoot for the Stars.'

    President Faust’s 3rd point is, hard work is more important than intellect! There is a framed sign in the family room of my home that says “You can do hard things.” One of my favorite scriptures is Phillippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ, which strengthens me.” In Doctrine and Covenants the Lord says, “Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thrash the nations by the power of my Spirit; And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me.”
    President Ezra Taft Benson once said: “One of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work. If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people; and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. That’s the secret—work, work, work. There is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work.”
    Sometimes I feel weak, unprepared and inadequate but I am willing and I know I can do hard things.

    FORGET YOU! That’s the magnet that was on my fridge in our last home! President Faust wants us to lose ourselves in service!
    The prophet Gordon B. Hinckley described what happens to the heart of every missionary who commits his or her life and work to the Lord when he talked about his own missionary experiences. It was early in his mission, and he was discouraged. The work was hard, and the people were not receptive. However, there came a time when discouragement turned to commitment. For him, the beginning was a letter from his father in which he read: “Dear Gordon, I have your letter. … I have only one suggestion: Forget yourself and go to work.” In describing what happened next, he said: “I got on my knees in that little bedroom … and made a pledge that I would try to give myself unto the Lord.
The whole world changed. The fog lifted. The sun began to shine in my life. I had a new interest. I saw the beauty of this land. I saw the greatness of the people. … Everything that has happened to me since that’s been good I can trace to that decision made in that little house”
    My friends, there will be tons of moments to focus on ourselves…just think of our power if we all took moments to focus outward.

    There is a letter board that hangs in the entryway of our home. My mom used to change it out often but for the last year it has stayed the same. It reads. “My husband’s wife is freaking awesome!” My parents are so funny together. They are best friends and really love each other. One thing I’ve learned from them is that, regardless of different opinions, arguments are never the way to solve a problem. President Faust wants us to know that contention should not be a part of our companionships…not in our companionships in our homes or, for me, on my mission.
    Elder Bachman shared a story when he was the President of the Quorum of the Seventy. “One of the missionaries who served with me had a difficult time getting along with companions. I was required to transfer them frequently because they could not take it. Finally, I asked one of my finest missionaries to become his companion, urging him to do all he could to help his fellow missionary love his work. As I approached a conference in the city where they were laboring, I feared he, like his predecessors, would ask for a transfer. To my surprise, when I asked how he was getting along with his companion, he responded: “We are doing great! We discovered we had something in common. Neither of us has been to Africa!”  I promise you that you will make some of the most enduring friendships of your life. I look back on my own mission and the men I associated with there. They have had a powerful, positive effect on my life. They are among my closest friends.”
    I want my mission companion’s companion to be freaking awesome and I need to make sure that I avoid contention to keep it that way! I know that self control and praying for the Spirit will always make a difference in bettering our relationships.

    President Faust’s sixth tip is to keep your bodies clean and healthy and your living quarters clean. My mom made a little sign that she put in the kids' main bathroom when my older brothers were teenagers and it’s made many moves with us and is outside my bathroom today. It states, “Please pick up your dirty clothes and wet towels before I punch you in the face! Love, Mom.” Now, my mom absolutely loves her kids and was completely joking about the promised punch; however, once my brothers ignored her threat and she hung their left behind underwear on the bush outside our house for the whole neighborhood to see. I, along with my brothers learned quickly to never leave clothes laying around the bathroom floor. President Faust councils that we should be clean and orderly. I realized that my mom, in her own way, was preparing me to become a clean and orderly person. I keep my room and other spaces I use in a clean manner because I know it will lead to a calmer mindset. This will help me on my mission. I know that keeping myself and my living quarters neat and clean will help me focus on the whispering of the Spirit without having to worry about the 2 week old egg salad sandwich left on the counter.

    Seventh, President Faust wants us to learn to love and serve one another.. In our dining room there is a sign hanging on the wall that says “Together Is My Favorite Place to Be!” Most of you know that my family lived in Japan a few years ago and I can say Japan is one of my favorite places to be. While we were there I saw the missionaries serving there teach English classes, work with food banks, assist the elderly, play soccer with children, visit with families, and ultimately fall in love with those they served! I know that by serving the people of Japan I will come to love them also. Serving those in our lives, whether it’s those we are serving on a mission, at home, at work or at school, can help us to love them more like the savior loves us.
    While in Japan we met a cat. He was filthy, scarred, mean and starving. We were not “cat people.” My sweet sister couldn’t stand to see him suffer and started to leave scraps of food for him on the front porch. One day, while offering him a piece of cold chicken, he hissed and scratched her. Over time and with true dedication she won him over and he let her pet him. Within six months, Jasper-that’s what we called him-was a regular fixture on our front porch. He grew strong and healthy. He loved us and without ever anticipating it, we loved him. He became the gentlest boy and watched over the entire neighborhood. We occasionally still get pictures from friends, who still live in Japan, of Jasper, curled up in a toddlers arms or patrolling the block. He is a changed cat and his life is full of love.
    Now we ARE cat people and we have two rescue boys in our home. Service can change hearts…in fact multiple hearts; those who are being served and those who are serving.

    On a bookshelf in our front room is a stack of black books that most of you would recognize. They are copies of the Book of Mormon, in many different languages. We don't really have a sign at home that goes with Faust’s eighth point that talks about studying, pondering, and teaching from the scriptures; but that stack of books reminds of a story that he told in his talk given to him from Sister Celia Cruz of the Puerto Rico Mission that I would love to share with you all today. One day she decided to give one of her newly made friends a Book of Mormon. She wrapped it in attractive paper and set out to deliver her present. On the way she was attacked by a bandit who stole her purse and with it the wrapped copy of the Book of Mormon. A few days later she received this letter:
Mrs. Cruz:
    Forgive me, forgive me. You will never know how sorry I am for attacking you. But because of it, my life has changed and will continue to change. That book [being the Book of Mormon] has helped me in my life. The dream of that man of God has shaken me. … I am returning your five pesos for I can’t spend them. I want you to know that you seemed to have a radiance about you. That light seemed to stop me [from harming you, so] I ran away instead.
    I want you to know that you will see me again, but when you do, you won’t recognize me, for I will be your brother. … Here, where I live, I have to find the Lord and go to the church you belong to.
    The message you wrote in that book brought tears to my eyes. Since Wednesday night I have not been able to stop reading it. I have prayed and asked God to forgive me, [and] I ask you to forgive me. … I thought your wrapped gift was something I could sell. [Instead,] it has made me want to make my life over. Forgive me, forgive me, I beg you.
Your absent friend.
    The Book of Mormon has power. And with pure intent to learn of His words and the words of His disciples, we can all change our lives and fulfill our potential.

Ninth, President Faust wants us to know that Lucifer will oppose us, and that we need to be prepared for his opposition. This makes me think of a small sign in the guest bathroom that says, “Good Things Are Going To Happen.” Let me explain.
During our last General Conference Elder Corbett of the Seventy told a story of speaking with a stranger on a bus about his testimony. He testified to her that, “we would also have a cunning, powerful adversary—the source of evil and lies—opposing us. Therefore, someone with infinite godly power to overcome all such opposition and obstacles would need to save us.” Elder Corbett continued, “I then shared with her the good news—the “good tidings of great joy … to all people”—that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” I testified to my friend, and I witness to you, that Jesus Christ is that Savior, that He had to suffer, die, and rise again—His infinite Atonement—to redeem all humanity from physical death and to give eternal life with God and our families to all who would follow Him. The Book of Mormon declares, “Thus God … gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men … ; being filled with [mercy and] compassion … ; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.”
    My friends, I testify to you that Good Things Are Going to Happen! We will have opposition, pain, doubt, loneliness and challenges of every kind but we have been given a Savior and he is our Hope!

Finally, President Faust wants us all to remember that our own personal testimonies are the strongest arrow in our quivers.
My mom loves the X-files and my dad is a devoted fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They are quite a pair. The X-files poster that hangs in the basement is one that you might be familiar with. It shows a UFO and the words “I want to believe.” The Buffy quote that I’ve heard many times is “You’re not special. You’re extraordinary.”
Friends, it is my testimony that the decision to believe is the most important choice we will ever make. We are not just special. We are extraordinary and there are great things in store for each of us. Our Father knows us, personally. He loves us. He wants us to be the happiest we can be and he has a plan to help us be happy.

Once during a visit, two of my uncles were doodling on our family chalkboard. One drew Nephi and the other drew Yoda beside him. One of them finished the drawing with the phrase, “ Go and Do…or do not, there is no try!” My mom sealed the chalk art and I see it every day! I want to be like Nephi…and even like Yoda! I want to Go and Do…and I will.
    I feel so blessed to be able to share God’s plan of happiness with the people of Japan. This call has been my own personal miracle and I’m so thankful for my Heavenly Father’s love that I feel today. It was challenging for me to leave Japan two years ago and move to Logan but I’m so grateful that this is the ward family that we landed in! Thank you for loving my family and for supporting me! I look forward to reporting back to you in two years!

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.



July 30, 2023

Mt.Logan Stake Center, Stewart Park Ward