Good morning brothers and sisters, wonderful friends, and my dearest family, my heart is so
full as I look out on this room filled with the people I love and who mean so
much to me. I truly feel so lucky to be surrounded by such an amazing support
crew and thank you to all those of you who have traveled far and wide to be
here today for me.
This
morning I would like to share with you two sentences that have changed my life
forever. They go like this:
Dear
Sister Dunlop,
You are hereby called to serve as a
missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You are
assigned to labor in the Alaska Anchorage mission.
I hope
to never forget the overwhelming feelings of joy, peace, and love from my
Heavenly Father as I read those words aloud on a rainy night in April. I report
to the Missionary Training Center in Provo on Wednesday afternoon and will
spend about three weeks there and learn everything about becoming a missionary.
In the beginning of September, I will climb onto an airplane and head up north
to Alaska for eighteen cold months and return home in February of 2018.
The
preparation that I have done for my mission includes watching just about every
single episode of the TV show “Alaska Bush People”, researching the recipes of
“moose tacos”, “muktuk”, and “eskimo ice cream”, and buying enough Smart Wool
tights and Patagonia parkas to last a lifetime; and I think I’m finally ready
to stay warm enough for my eyelashes not to freeze off while I am there.
Hopefully.
My message
this morning is simple and it is one of the happiest messages in the world. It
is the message that we have a Heavenly Father who loves each and every one of
us. And that He loves us NO MATTER WHAT. He ALWAYS loves us because WE are His
children.
To me,
there is no doubt that there is a God. Everything around us testifies of Him;
the rushing rivers and towering mountains, the change of seasons from green to
white, the stars in the night sky, and being surrounded in a world of millions
of people, none of which are the same as you, and yet, He is mindful of YOU
because He loves YOU. ISN’T THAT THE COOLEST THING? There is a quote that says,
“how cool is it that the same God, who created mountains and oceans and
galaxies, [knew] that the world needed one of you too?”. You are important to
Him.
Part of
Heavenly Father’s Plan was for Jesus Christ to become our Savior. In order for
this to happen, Jesus Christ needed to perform the Atonement which allowed for
each of us to repent and have the chance to return to live with our Heavenly
Father again in eternal happiness and joy.
Jesus
Christ is known by many names- the Light of the World, our Savior &
Redeemer, the Lamb of God, Prince of Peace, the Lord Omnipotent, and many
others. But one of my favorites is the Good Shepard. The job description of a
shepherd is someone who cares for and looks after each one of his sheep. And
because we are all His children, we are all under the watchful and loving care
of the Good Shepherd because we are His sheep. And we are all a part of His
fold.
When
Jesus Christ was alive on the earth, the religious leaders of His day condemned
Him for spending time with “sinners”. Jesus Christ then taught the Parable of
the Lost Sheep which can be found in the 15th chapter of Luke. It
reads: “What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is
lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his
shoulders, rejoicing.”
President
Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s said of this parable, quote, “over the centuries, this
parable has traditionally been interpreted as a call to action for us to bring
back the lost sheep and to reach out to those who are lost. While this is
certainly appropriate and good, I wonder if there is more to it. Is it possible
that Jesus’ purpose, first and foremost, was to teach about the work of the
Good Shepherd? Is it possible that He was testifying of God’s love for His
wayward children? Is it possible that the Savior’s message was that God is
fully aware of those who are lost- and that He will find them, that He will
reach out to them, and that He will rescue them? If that is so, what must the
sheep do to qualify for this divine help? Does the sheep need to be able to use
a GPS to define its position? Does it have to have the expertise to create an
app that will call for help?
No.
Certainly not! The sheep is worthy of divine rescue simply because it is loved
by the Good Shepherd,” end quote.
One of
my favorite hymns is called, “Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd”.
The
lyrics to this song are as follows:
Dear to
the heart of the Shepard, dear are the sheep of his fold;
Dear is
the love that he gives them, dearer than silver or gold.
Dear to
the heart of the Shepard, dear are his “other” lost sheep;
Over
the mountains he follows, over the waters so deep.
Out in
the desert they wander, hungry and helpless and cold;
Off to
the rescue he hastens, bringing them back to the fold.
Dear to
the heart of the Shepard, dear are the lambs of his fold;
Some
from the pastures are straying, hungry and helpless and cold.
See,
the Good Shepard is seeking, seeking the lambs that are lost,
Bringing
them in with rejoicing, saved at such infinite cost.
Dear to
the heart of the Shepard, dear are the “ninety and nine”;
Hark!
He is earnestly calling, tenderly pleading today.
“Will
you not seek for my lost ones, off from my shelter astray?”
Green
are the pastures inviting; sweet are the waters and still.
Lord,
we will answer thee gladly “Yes, blessed Master, we will!
Make us
thy true under shepherds; give us a love that is deep.
Send us
out into the desert, seeking thy wandering sheep.”
Out in
the desert they wander, hungry and helpless and cold;
Off to
the rescue we’ll hasten, bringing them back to the fold.
Over my
last year of school at Utah State University, this hymn brought so much peace
to my soul in times of trials. Having the knowledge that I am under the loving
watch of the Good Shepherd even when life gets tough, meant the world to me. It
gave me comfort when I was feeling lost or afraid and made me remember that as
a Child of God, I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and has a plan for me,
even when it sometimes seemed that the light at the end of the tunnel seemed
impossibly far away and out of my own reach. Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd,
knows and loves each one of us. He weeps with us when we suffer and rejoices
with us when we do what is right. He knows where we are and what we need. We
are His children and He loves us. And because He loves us, He will come to the
rescue. Since the Savior has
experienced everything that we will go through, He can help the weak become
strong. He experienced all mortal challenges “according to the flesh” so He
could know “according to the flesh” how to help His people according to their
infirmities. He knows our struggles, our heartaches, our temptations, our
suffering because He willingly experienced them all through the Atonement.
It also
helped me in my decision to serve a mission. The last verse reads, “Lord, we
will answer thee gladly “Yes, blessed Master, we will! Make us thy true under
shepherds; give us a love that is deep. Send us out into the desert, seeking
thy wandering sheep.” Out in the desert they wander, hungry and helpless and
cold; off to the rescue we’ll hasten, bringing them back to the fold.”. As a
missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we will go out
and find people to teach about the joyous message of the restored Gospel in the
latter days.
If you
knew the cure for cancer, wouldn’t you share it with everyone? If you
discovered the most delicious chocolate chip cookie recipe, wouldn’t you make a
dozen for every person you knew? That’s how I feel about going on a mission.
For me, the Gospel like the cure for cancer or that amazing chocolate chip
cookie recipe. This simple and beautiful Gospel is what makes me happy! I want
others to share in this happiness with me and so I am going to go and share it.
President
Uchtdorf said, quote, “It matters not how completely ruined our lives may seem.
It matters not how scarlet our sins, how deep our bitterness, how lonely, abandoned,
or broken our hearts may be. Even those who are without hope, who live in
despair, who have betrayed trust, surrendered their integrity, or turned away
from God can be rebuilt. There is no life so shattered that it cannot be
restored.
The
joyous news of the gospel is this: because of the eternal plan of happiness
provided by our loving Heavenly Father and through the infinite sacrifice of
Jesus the Christ, we can not only be redeemed from our fallen state and
restored to purity, but we can also transcend mortal imagination and become
heirs of eternal life and partakers of God’s indescribable glory,” end quote.
I love
the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for my knowledge
of the Plan of Salvation and that we can be with our families forever. I know
that we have a Heavenly Father who always loves us and that He has a plan for
each of us. I know that God gives us commandments to help us progress and so
that He can bless us. I am grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, who atoned
for our sins and helped to make it so that we can repent and work to become
better people. I am grateful for the influence and companionship of the Holy
Ghost to help us know right from wrong. I know that the Book of Mormon is true
and that we have a living prophet who guides and directs us in these the latter
days. I am grateful for this ward and for the way that it has shaped and
strengthened my testimony.
In Greek, “gospel” literally means
good news. I am so excited to go and share this good news of hope and light
with the people in Alaska and know that this is exactly where Heavenly Father
needs me to be. I love my family and am so glad that we can hang out forever
and ever. I know that this church contains the restored gospel in its fullness
and that it is true.
See you
in eighteen months.
I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
