Mission Farewell Talk

MARCH 31, 2013

Ashleigh gave her farewell talk on Easter Sunday in Orchard View ward. It was fun because her very best friend since 7th grade, Ashley Slaughter, was able to come and hear her talk. 

This is her talk from that day:

Today is the day we celebrate the Resurrection of the Savior. As I was preparing for this talk I thought about the Resurrection and what it means to me. I was reminded of a couple of experiences that touched me and strengthened my testimony of the Resurrection of the Savior

My senior year at Girls Camp, all of the senior girls got to put together a night devotional. In that devotional we got to portray different women from the scriptures and tell about the way that Christ touched their lives. I was asked to portray Mary Magdalene and tell the story in John chapter 20 of when she saw the Savior right after he was resurrected.

Mary came with Peter and John to the sepulchre that Easter morning and they found that they tomb was empty “for as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom sleekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master.”

As I told that story at the devotional at Girls Camp, I was really touched and I was able to feel just a little bit of how Mary must have felt when she saw the empty tomb and was anguished and heartbroken because He was gone. And then I was able to feel the joy when she saw and recognized that the Savior was not dead but that he had been resurrected. This is just an amazing story.

The second story that strengthened my testimony of the Resurrection happened while I was up at BYU Idaho.  Last semester I was able to take an art seminar class. In this class we were able to listen to a few guest speakers who were artists from around the country. Walter Rane, an LDS artist actually, came to show some of his artwork to us and talk about them a little bit. One of his paintings is of the empty tomb with the linen laying in it. It really, really touched me because it communicated to me the central message of the Resurrection that Christ lives and that death is conquered. I really love that painting  because it is just a beautiful representation of what the Resurrection is.

That brings me to the whole point of the Resurrection. It is not just a story. Christ lives! And because He lives we are able to live again too. In Alma 7:12 it says, “and he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.”

That scripture reminds me of a couple of lines from the hymn, I Know That My Redeemer Lives: “He lives to silence all my fears, He lives to wipe away my tears, He lives to calm my trouble heart, He lives all blessings to impart. He lives and grants me daily breath, He lives and I shall conquer death, He lives, my mansion to prepare, He lives to bring me safely there.”

I want to bear my testimony to you that I KNOW that Christ lives and I know that because He lives, we are able to have life after death as well.

I am so excited to go and share this message with the people of Kentucky. I am so excited to serve the Lord and to strengthen my testimony. I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

Easter Sunday