Will's talk about courage 10/31/21

 Hello. For those who don’t know me I am Jacob Farrell. I just moved back to the ward about 3 weeks ago and I was already nervous about sharing my talk right when I was asked to. That is because at the branch I only had to speak in front of about 10 people. But I am back and there are way more people as you could probably tell. Anyway I was asked to speak about courage and to lead things off I want to to tell you what the dictionary says the definition of courage is. The definition of courage is the ability to do something that frightens one self. I don’t think that is an accurate definition. I think courage means to stand up for the better good and to do good even in the face of danger.

 Knowing this I would like to share with you a story about Samuel the Lamanite who is a great example of this. About 6bc Christ told a Lamanite known only as Samuel to go preach the gospel unto the Nephites. I know what you are thinking. That’s weird but it actually isn’t. At this time the Nephites had hardened hearts because they were focused on riches and themselves. They were not focused on god. On the other hand the Lamanites were thriving and living the gospel. They were following the ten commandments and as my grandpa would say “They were being a latter day saint and not a latter day ain’t”.

That is why our savior told Samuel to go preach the gospel unto the Nephites. Samuel reacted to this instantly as Nephi did when he was asked to retrieve the plates. And so he began his journey to the city. I would personally never have the guts to do this and that says a lot because I LOVE TO DO THINGS. The journey he had to take was hard enough but when he got there the Nephites would not let him enter. At that point he gave up and started heading back but then the prince of peace told him to go back and preach. They still wouldn’t let him in so he had to improvise. At this point I would have just grabbed a ladder for this next part but he had other plans. He started to climb up the huge wall with his bare hands. Even in this time it is hard to climb up things especially if you have a huge fear of heights but now imagine climbing up this uneven, big, huge wall without any safety gear. This shows how determined he was to get this done. Once he got up the wall he started to preach repentance unto the wicked.

What a classic. Back to the story anyway. The Nephites did not like him telling them what to do so they reacted with the devil in their hearts. This huge, massive crowd started throwing rocks and shooting at him but none of them hit him. If I was up there I would dip before one of those rock or arrows could hit me. But he persisted full of courage as the God of Miracles protected him the whole way through. I can tell you first hand that courage is a good quality to have.

This past Sunday we were on our way home when I had to deal with the saddest memory of my life again. It was when my Great Grandpa died. We called him Papaw for short. Don’t judge us. We were listening to Sunday songs when the songs played at his funeral came on. I asked Aubree to skip these songs but she wanted a reason first. Hearing these songs I started to cry. My mom told her the reason and she then comforted me and said something along these lines, “I listen to these songs because they tell me that he is happy and that I can see him again. We were at my house when she told me this. It took a lot of courage to realize this truth but I was able to do it. The lord had comforted me from mental pain like he protected Samuel from physical pain. He wouldn’t let this pain touch us.

I would like to share one last example. The one that hurt the me the most-  Some of you such as my friends and some of my family may know that I at times I am uncertain of my worth and am really hard on myself. A couple weeks ago, I had a hard time and it was hard for my brother too as I talk to him about it.  Chris said a prayer that my feelings might change. His prayer was answered. As I was feeling down, Chris had the prompting to tell me something. He said and I quote, “Will, this is a whole new level of pain”. This touched my heart and softened it. I shared this because I wondered how much courage it took Chris to say this because how much I physically hurt him in the past. Chris, you are such a strong man who is physically, mentally, and spiritually strong and I want you to know this. I thank you for having that courage because it helps my life.  You are the best brother I could ask for. I can testify to you that the church is true and so is our Lord, the Savior. Courage is a quality I wish I had more of. I know we can be forgiven as God as forgiven me in the past. We can repent and change even if it is super hard. We are Latter Day Saints and not Latter Day Ain’ts. Amen.