So Long, Farewell, Alvederzane, Adieu :) - June 15, 2014

I have been called to serve in the Baltimore Maryland mission, Spanish speaking. I report to the Mexico City MTC on June 18th. For those of you that know me well, you know that this is the perfect call for me. As soon as I read the words Baltimore Maryland I felt such comfort, peace and a surety that this was were I am supposed to go. After I had opened my call, my family and I wanted to look up every fact that we could find about Baltimore. We were looking at pictures on google images and it suggested that we look up “the ghetto”. My mom looked at me and said “Lennon, Heavenly Father loves you so much, he is sending you to the hood!”. I have always thought I’m a gangster.

Every since I was a little girl I have wanted to serve a mission. I was the one in primary that would belt out “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission” and wear the little paper missionary name tags that we colored during class. I have always had a desire to serve, but, when I was filling out my medical paperwork I came to questions about medical history. I would have to tell them about some of the kidney issues that I have had. I did not want to say anything about it, but my mom told me that I needed to tell them the truth. Then I read at the top of the paperwork where it said to be honest with them, my physician and the Lord; so I decided I better be honest. About a week after I submitted my papers I got a phone call. When I answered it, I was shocked to hear that it was from the mission office. They wanted more information about my kidneys, said that it could limited where I was allowed to serve and told me they were going to put my mission call on hold. When I hung up the phone I ran upstairs and said to my mom “Why didn’t you just let me lie?” I am not sure if this is a good thing, but I was willing to lie my way into serving a mission.

There are two main reasons why I have always had a desired to serve a mission. The first being my grandparents conversion story and the second, the example of my family and friends. I would like to share both of these with you. My grandma was raised in a foster home in northern California. She did not receive the best dental care during that time, as a result she needed extensive dental work when she was 21. She picked her dentist from a phone book because she liked the sound of his name; Vern Tueller. Unbeknownst to my grandma, Brother Tueller was a member of the church. As she spent countless hours looking up at his face she noticed something different about him. She described it to me as an “honest, loving look”. She recalls one time seeing Sister Tueller and one of their children coming into the office, and recognized the same light in her.

Fast forward several years to when my grandma was pregnant with my mom. She was working in Oakland California and on her daily commute to work she passed the construction site of the Oakland temple daily. She got tickets to go to the open house with my grandpa and his dad. They waited for hours outside, but being 8 months pregnant with my mom, my g-ma was uncomfortable and they ended up leaving without going in. Nice going mom. bahahahahahaha

Now fast forward again and my mom is 4 and a half. My grandparents bought a lot on Mendocino Drive and started to build a new house. And guess who ended up living directly across the street? None other than the dentist, his wife and their 6 children, the Tueller’s. My grandparents immediately fell in love with the Tueller’s and the Tueller’s fell in love with my grandma and grandpa. Brother and Sister Tueller invited them over for dinners and swimming; my mom has such great stories of playing baseball in the streets with their children. They became fast friends. As far as the church, the Tueller’s invited them to every ward social that there was, but my grandparents did not go to any sunday meetings.

My grandma and grandpa began to notice all of Sister Tueller’s remarkable qualities, but, they were not sure if Sister Tueller was just that exceptional of a woman, or if her religion made her into such a wonderful person. In other words, they were worried that it was Sister Tueller, not the church that they liked.

They became more interested in religion and out of the blue, my grandparents told the Tueller’s that, because of their example, they had decided to join the Methodist church. A few weeks ago I was talking to Sister Tueller about this experience, she said that it crushed her, but, Brother Tueller told her not to worry, at least they were making a step forward and going to a church. Sister Tueller was teaching a Relief Society lesson for a mid-week activity, but, the lesson was on Satan and she did not think it was the best topic for someones first time at church. But my grandma wanted to come anyway and much to Sister Tueller’s surprise, she throughly enjoyed the lesson. She asked lots of questions on the car ride home, Sister Tueller answered them and bore her testimony to my grandma. My grandma told me that this was one of the most touching experiences she has ever had and she was immediately hooked.

Sister Tueller began to bring lots of reading materials, the Book of Mormon, anything she could get her hands on to, to give to my grandma. She told me that she reread the Book of Mormon as if she was an investigator so that she would be better able to answer any of the questions that my grandparents had. This not only helped in their conversion, but it lead to her learning more about the church. One day Brother Tueller told her to give my grandparents some space and let them think things through, she promised that she would. Later she found a great quote and wanted to take it over to my grandma, but she remembered what she had agreed to. So, instead, Sister Tueller wrote the quote on a big sign and hung it in her window facing my grandparents house. I love Sister Tueller’s zeal for missionary work and hope to adapt this same attribute to myself, not only in the mission field but when I get home.

My grandparents finally agreed to meet with the missionaries after years of their friendship. David, one of the Tueller’s children, who was maybe 8 or 9 years old decided that he would fast for a full 24 hours that the meeting with the missionaries would go well. My grandparents canceled. They later rescheduled and the discussions with the missionaries started going well. My grandma had been searching for answers and she was finally getting them. My grandpa on the other hand, was having a harder time. He struggled with believing that Joseph Smith, a 14 year old boy, had a vision and he did not like that the missionaries kept asking him to set a baptismal date.

My grandma wanted to be baptized but my grandpa was still shaky. He told my grandma that he would get baptized, and if they did, they would attend every church meeting and function for a year, give it 100%, but if he did not think this church was true by then, he asked if she would leave it with him. Although it was hard, she agreed. They went to go tell their minister about their decision and it did not go over well. He came over to my grandma and grandpa’s home the next day for 4 hours trying to convince them that they were making the wrong decision. Sister Tueller told us how nervous and anxious she was as she spied from across the street. When the minister finally left, my grandma came over to the Tueller’s with six pages of notes and questions for Sister Tueller to answer.

From start to finish, from moving in on Medicino to May of 1972, a conversion that took 3 and a half years, my grandparents finally got baptized. My grandma knew in an instant that the church was true, my grandpa had more doubts and unanswered questions. But, after they were baptized, my grandma started to see something change in my grandpa. His doubts were going away, he was understanding and gaining a testimony, he realized that these good neighbors were not just born this way, it was a cause and effect. Although my grandpa joined the church with an inkling of a testimony, he gained one of the strongest testimonies there is. I am forever grateful for his willingness to share his witness of the gospel and for the tremendous faith and courage he had to take the step in getting baptized.

The second reason I want to serve is because I have been surrounded by a missionary family who shared their experiences with me. I long to do what they did for the Lord. My mom served a mission in Buenos Aires Argentina. As a kid I thrived off of hearing her stories, adventures and the strong testimony that was a product of her hard missionary work. As I am sure all of you know, my mom is an extraordinary woman. I could not say enough “thank you”’s to make up for all she has done and the sacrifices she has made for Hannah, Max and I. I am so grateful for your example Mom and for the overwhelming desire you gave me to serve a mission through your rock solid example.

My sister Hannah is currently serving in Fort Collins Colorado and is having the time of her life. She is such an example and inspiration to me. Hannah was amazing before she left on her mission, but I have already seen her grow leaps and bounds. Mondays have truly become my favorite day of the week because there is nothing I look forward to more than hearing from my big sis and best friend. She has been able to give me such amazing advice and comfort as I have been preparing to serve my mission.

As Max said, with all of my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents who have served missions, I have been able to go to plenty of farewells and homecomings. There is nothing that touches me more than these meetings. The times that I feel the spirit closest to me is when I hear all of my amazing family and friends share their missionary experiences. Thank you to all of you for influencing me to serve with your testimonies and examples.

The conference talks that have always stuck out to me have been the ones regarding missionary work. Conversion stories have always drawn me in. There is something about me that cannot get enough of missionary work. I am also so grateful for the age change because now I am able to serve a mission 2 years earlier than I would have. Yet, even though I want to serve and I have a strong testimony of Christ and the gospel, I have always had very little confidence in myself and struggled with opening my mouth. Thoughts or experiences I have had will come into my mind, but I am afraid to share them. I have a strong testimony but am scared to open up. My mom was the exact same way before her mission, and as she puts it, her mission “cured” her of that. If she wanted to do the Lord’s work, she was going to have to speak up. 

In conference a while ago Elder Uchtdorf read a quote that said “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” I immediately fell in love with the quote and have had it hanging in my room ever since. I think the reason that I love this quote so much is because I was excited about not having to use words to share the gospel. But, even the quote admits that at times it is necessary to speak your testimony, not just show it. I was expressing this concern to of friend of mine the other day and he shared this scripture with me; Doctrine and Covenants 100:4-8 “Therefore, I, the Lord, have suffered you to come unto this place; for thus it was expedient in me for the salvation of souls. Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men. For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say. But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things. And I give unto you a promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.” Wowza! What an amazing promise! The Lord will help me know what to say, and if I do it in a dignified, gentle and respectful way, the Holy Ghost will bear record of it. I cannot think of more comforting knowledge than this for a future missionary.

Another thought that I found comforting was shared in my singles ward a while back. They read a quote that said “knowledge of God is memory of God”. Missionary work is reminding people of something they already had knowledge of. Missionaries are not out trying to save people, they are simply there to remind those of what they have forgotten. Since I struggle with my confidence, it takes a little pressure off me knowing this. I am not the teacher who is teaching brand new information to the class, I am the one who does the quick review before they take the test. I am grateful to know these things as I leave in a few days.

And, I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak on fathers day. I would like to thank my dad and tell him that I love him. Thank you for supporting me in something that I believe. My dad is the type of person that if I tell him I think a certain recipe sounds good, the next time I am at his house he has it made for me. When my dad asks if I need anything for my mission and I say a short sleeve shirt, I will go home with about 4 or 5. My dad knows my personality very well and is always able to choose a movie that will touch me and make me cry. I love you Dad.

I would also like to give a shoutout to all of the other father figures in my life. First off, Grandpa Mangum. Thank you for being a great example to me and for all of your advice throughout the years. I love going to visit you and Grandma because I always know that you will teach me a valuable life lesson and tell me how much you love me. Thank you for all of your birthday spankings, teasing and your strong testimony. G-Pa Danielson. Thank you for all of your faith and courage. Thank you for joining this church and changing our family’s lives. Thank you for coming to every single one of my basketball and volleyball games, for being my number one fan. Thank you for being an example to me of a worthy priesthood holder and for your firm testimony. I am going to miss our ping pong wars, playing golf and all of our other games for 18 months. I am so blessed to have you as a Grandpa.

Shoutout to the Dave’s in my life, my old neighbors. Dave Feitz- Thank you for always challenging me to a game of horse, for making us your delicious general conference french fries and being one of my greatest friends. Dave Creer- Thank you for inviting me to watch Jazz games with you and for making me feel like part of your family. Thank you to our home teachers Brother Taylor and Brother Gross. I love your lessons and am very grateful for your strong examples as well as everything you do for me and my family. Thank you to the best primary teacher of all time, Keith Harrison. You never know how much you can touch someone and for some reason you touched me. I can still remember the stories you shared during class and am forever grateful for the love you showed me. You will always and forever be my favorite primary teacher.

I have 8 uncles on my Dad’s side and could not be more blessed to be surrounded by so many good influences. Kurt, Lyle, Kevin, Bart, Tom, Kim, Dave and Brad. Thank you for letting your witnesses and testimonies shine. Shoutout to my uncles on my mom’s side Bill, David and Eli. Even though none of them can be here, I want to thank them for all of their love, kindness and all the fun memories we have together. I want to thank Brother Esplin for his amazing example. I am so grateful that you were my sunday school teacher and for the inspired thoughts that you shared. Although you may not know it, you had such an impact on my life. You made me feel so comfortable and welcome in this ward. Thank you to all of my bishops. You have gotten my family through some rough times. I will always be grateful for the advice and guidance you have given to me. I am so grateful that I have been able to work at Day’s Market and see so many of the ward members during my shifts. Especially the men who shared mission experiences with me. Thank you for all of your compliments and kind words. I cannot tell you how much they meant to me and brightened my day.

I am sorry for the super long list, but, I wanted to thank all of these influences in my life. I can only imagine what these men were like as missionaries and pray that I will be like them. I hope that I can take all of the qualities, the testimonies, the love that I have felt from all of you, and use it to better myself and make the most of the next 18 months.

Lastly, I would like to thank my Father in Heaven. I am one of the worst decision makers that there is. I am on the verge of tears anytime a simple decision has to be made, whether it is where to go to dinner or what time get up in the morning. And yet, the easiest decision I have ever made has been to serve a mission. There is not a doubt in my mind that I am doing what I am suppose to. I am so grateful for my Heavenly Father and for the opportunity that he has given me to go to Baltimore Maryland. I am excited to be a instrument in his hands and to help remind the people of their Heavenly Father’s plan for us. The joy that this gospel has brought to my life is immeasurable, and I can’t wait to play a small part in bringing that incredible happiness to others. I am also excited for the journey I am about to take in refining, bettering and bringing myself as close to my Father in Heaven as I can. I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and his son, and that he restored the true gospel onto the earth. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that it can answer any question, that it can bring comfort through any trial and that if we follow its teachings it will help us return to live with our Heavenly Father. I love all of you and will see you in 18 months.

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