Good morning. I am Sister Hall.
Now I will give my talk.
I loved serving a mission with my parents.
I liked to deliver the mail to everyone's desk in the Church History Library.
I was the "brains" and my dad was the "brawn."
I also served in other ways.
I made cards for missionaries.
I led the music in devotionals.
I helped other do their jobs.
I know Heavenly Father and Jesus love you and me.
I know that President Nelson is the prophet.
In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Given on February 26, 2023 in the Barber Acres Ward after completing our mission to the Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission--
GATHERING SPIRITUAL LIGHT
What a
historical time for us to be serving in the Utah Salt Lake City Headquarters
Mission—not only due to Covid and things related to that but to the ongoing
refitting and restoration project of the Salt Lake City Temple. It has been
amazing to watch the scaffolding go up and encase the entire building, to watch
stones from the spires to be taken down and stored for later use and to watch the
work on the foundation of the temple is even more incredible—Digging
up to 20 feet below the massive foundational stones of the building to prepare
the needed stabilization of the entire building allows a hint of the massive
work being done. We have had firesides
where we were able to learn even more about this complicated and yet delicate
task of making the temple earthquake proof.
So, I loved
it when President Nelson in the October 2021 General Conference shared some of
what we had observed firsthand with the members of the Church worldwide.
Through a video, he expressed his amazement at the work and said that when it was
completed, the temple would stand into the Millennium. Another time, President
Nelson said that the temple will become the “safest place in the valley during
an earthquake.” As much as President
Nelson loves the Salt Lake Temple, he is much more concerned about us and our
own spiritual foundations. He said: ”In like
manner, it is now time that we each implement extraordinary measures—perhaps measures we have never taken before—to
strengthen our personal spiritual foundations. Unprecedented times call for
unprecedented measures.” He asked us to
review our own personal spiritual foundations and to determine what measures
are needed to make our testimony and knowledge of the gospel stronger so we can
withstand the gathering evil of our day.
I thought
about his remarks frequently on days I would look out at the temple from the 2nd
floor of the Church History Library. At first I thought-” I am a set apart
missionary, serving away from my home, family and friends—not far away, of
course, but enough that I missed sharing my life with yours.... obviously, my
testimony is strong, or I wouldn’t be here.”
But then I thought about President Nelson’s description of the great
granite stones which form the foundation of the temple. He said that once
uncovered, workers could see places of decay and cracking, gaps in the stonework
and other signs of erosion. I decided that it made sense for me to consider my
testimony and look for ways to strengthen and repair it. I have lived mortal life
long enough to understand that we do not know what is ahead for us as
individuals, as families, as a ward or community or a nation. If the prophet
tells us to strengthen our testimonies, it seems wise to follow the course to
do that.
First, what
is a testimony? In the Gospel Topics app, testimony is defined as “a spiritual
witness given by the Holy Ghost...It continues by saying “ the foundation of a testimony is the
knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves His children; that Jesus Christ
lives and about all that He has done for us; that Joseph Smith is the prophet who
led the restoration of the gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is the Savior’s Church on the earth today and that it is led by His
living prophet.”
I testify
that these things are true. From my first remembered spiritual experience when
I was five years old until today, I have had many witnesses of the truths of
these foundational doctrines. However, it is important for me to remember these
events, write them down, and share them with others. By doing those actions, I
am fortifying my testimony—preparing for the unprecedented times we are all
involved in. I encourage you to do the same. Even the simple act of recording
your testimony—verbally or in writing—can help your testimony get stronger.
Because we
are just returning from our mission, it makes sense that I would share some
stories and experiences which have added strength to my testimony—not because
they are big earthshattering experiences, but because they are simple, ordinary
ones—I hope that they remind you of your own “everyday experiences” which have
caused your testimonies to grow.
A bit of
background: We started on our mission from home in October of 2020, doing all
our MTC and training for our mission online. We
were assigned to serve in the Church History Library as part of the US/Canada
team. We were given the task of interviewing and recording oral histories from
mission leaders who have served in missions in the US or Canada. Shortly after starting,
we were called down to Salt Lake to meet our mission president, President Steve
Randall, in person and were given the assignment to serve as zone leaders over
the Collections Zone. This meant that we oversaw the “health, happiness, and
service” of 60-90 missionaries, some full-time like us but most were service
missionaries working 16 hours a week. All of them were between 60 to 90 years
old—except for Jena. In April of 2021 before the buildings around Temple Square
were opened, we moved down to Salt Lake, ending up in the Brigham Apartments a
block east of Temple Square in a nice apartment with a
great view of the Capital Building. Gary’s first comment--” This is way too
nice for a missionary apartment.” remembering his days as a missionary in Hong
Kong.
Serving as a
senior missionary on Temple Square with 800 other amazing senior missionaries
was life changing and so fulfilling.
Unfortunately, I can’t even begin to share all of the great experiences
we had.—let me share a few which increased my testimony of our Heavenly Father,
His Son, and their work among us:
First- the
story of Joseph Millet. This was recorded in his journal which can be found in
the Archives of the Church History Library and was retold in the video about
the Church History Library called “The Story Lives Here.” He was an early
pioneer member of the Church. One day, his children told him that the Hall
children (no relationship to us) were out of bread and had no flour. Joseph and
his wife took some of their own dwindling flour supply and put it in a bag for
the family. Before they could take it, a knock came at their door and there
stood Brother Hall. Joseph offered him the bag of flour. Brother Hall then said,
“I had gone to others but didn’t get any, so I went out to the forest and prayed,
and God told me to go to Joseph Millet.” After Brother Hall left, his daughter,
Mary Jane, noticed that her dad was quite emotional. Asking him what the matter
was, he replied, “It is good to know that God knows Joseph Millet.” I saw this video about twice a month for
almost two years as part of an orientation meeting for new missionaries. I
still cried every time. Have
you had those moments when you know that God knows you? Let me share one of
mine. Last
February one Monday I had a long conversation with one of our daughters who was
having a hard time and also difficult news regarding Ben’s health. I was discouraged and had one of those
prayers with Heavenly Father during the middle of the day where I was
complaining “like where are the blessings for our families which are promised
for serving a mission”—not really the kind of prayer that I am proud of. Fortunately,
Heavenly Father seems to be patient with those types of prayers. I did not feel
anything after those complaining prayers—no surprise. However, that night, we
had an evening fireside and a couple spoke who had served in the area presidency
in Africa. The wife spoke and shared an identical experience and prayer with
mine. Her husband shared a different but similar tough time. Five times within
their remarks, they commented about Heavenly Father’s care of us as his
children, as missionaries, and our families. Each time those remarks were made,
I had a strong overwhelming confirmation of the truth of those basic statements
and that they applied to me specifically and personally. My heart was opened,
and it was filled with the great love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior and
their awareness and care for our children and for us. In a receptive place, the
Holy Ghost could reconfirm that important principle.
Next story:
Interviewing mission leaders was a treasured and holy experience for us. In our opinion, we had the best assignment in the
mission—and considering there are over 800 missionaries in our mission that is
a bold statement. Whether on Zoom or in person, we were able to listen as these
dedicated servants of God shared amazing experiences and miracles related to
their service. Many times, as they shared stories, I would think to myself,
“That is how God deals with me” or “I have had that experience with the Holy
Ghost.” Each time, our testimonies were
strengthened by these mission leaders. Let me tell you a story shared by
President Ackerman and his wife who served over the New Mexico Farmington
Mission. As you know usually about every six weeks, missions received new
missionaries. President Ackerman stated that he knew he was getting an elder
from Pennsylvania who was assigned to speak Spanish. He had not read anything
else about him before the elder had arrived. President
Ackerman said that in their mission, they did not make the assignments until
the day after their arrival in the mission. He said that the whole night he could
not sleep and “wrestled” with the planned assignment for this elder. Finally,
early in the morning, he got up and changed the elder to Lupe, Arizona, right
in the middle of the reservation. He assured the elder when he made the assignment
that they would move him to a Spanish-speaking area within a transfer or two. The
next week, he opened his email to see an email from this elder’s mother. He
thought—Oh, no, I bet she is mad that he is not speaking Spanish here. The
letter started: President Ackerman. I am Dene’...or I am Navajo. She goes on to
tell him that when her son was two years old, they left the reservation and
moved back east and never returned. They were from Lupe, AZ. In his first area,
this elder met his grandmother, aunts and uncles, and cousins many he had never
met and was able to teach. Love, and nurture them. President Ackerman did not
know this...but a loving Heavenly Father did, and a miracle happened. Aren’t
you glad that you belong to a Church of miracles, where the gift of the Holy
Ghost can guide our actions and decisions?
The bulk of
our time was spent serving our missionaries and the staff as zone leaders. That
meant that we lead zone devotionals during the week, planned temple trips and
social gatherings, did lots of paperwork, and served on leadership counsels in
the mission. When we were first called, President Randall asked us if we had
any questions and we said we have not been here long enough to even know what
zone leaders do. He laughed and then told us that we were to serve somewhat as the Bishop and Relief Society president
over the missionaries in our zone. Immediately, I flashed back to the day that
Gary and I had been set apart as full-time missionaries. I was so excited to be
a full-time missionary. Gary and I had set a goal to serve in October of 2020
back when we were engaged. There were many times we did not think it would ever
work because of our complicated responsibilities in our family and extended
family—that is a story for another day—but it made being set apart even more
exciting for me! It was really happening. I am not sure what I expected—it was
a beautiful blessing for sure—but when I got in the car, I turned to Gary and
said, “I feel like I was just set apart as the Relief Society president.”--the
blessings, counsel, warnings, and promises were so similar to blessings I had
had in the past. That is what it felt
like. But there in President Randall’s office, I understood once again that I
was under Heavenly Father’s care and direction—that he blessed me with the
skills and insights that He knew I would need as I served Him and His Son as a
missionary. How blessed we are to serve under leaders with the priesthood who
can give us inspired and heavenly messages and blessings from our loving Father
in Heaven?
Elder Dieter
Uchtdorf reminded us in the October 2014 Conference: “gaining a testimony is
not a task of a minute, an hour, or a day. It is not once and done. The process
of gathering spiritual light is the quest of a lifetime.” Serving a mission has led to an increase in
the speed of gathering this light. Serving a mission with Gary and Jena has
been a wonderful experience—apparently since we are entering the MTC at the end
of March to serve in the Arkansas Bentonville Mission. How I love being a missionary and being an
agent of Jesus Christ. All of you should
plan to serve a mission—both as a youth if you are a young man or a young
sister who feels so called—but all of you should also set a goal to serve as
senior missionaries. Plan financially,
spiritually, and emotionally to leave your home and families again when you
retire—the sooner after you retire the better—and serve the Lord. It will be amazing!!
I testify that our Savior and our Heavenly Father are in the details of our lives if we will allow them. I testify through the Atonement of Christ and His resurrection that we will be able to manage the turmoil of mortal life and live again in the presence of our Heavenly Parents, that through the Holy Ghost we can truly Hear Them and be strengthened during hard times; and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is lead by the Savior through his living prophet, President Nelson. I testify of these things. May you seek and strengthen your own testimony of these doctrines is my prayer......
But both Gary and I felt that now we are done!
When we left the Church on Thursday night, Gary asked me what I wanted to do that I couldn't do as a missionary. We are so boring that we couldn't even think of anything great...plus we were all very tired! Sleeping was more on the top of our list! We decided that traveling outside the 60 mile limit of our mission without mission presidency approval was as "wild" as we were going to get. And travel we will do--leaving on March 1 and making the loop from Utah to Arizona to Washington and back by March 22. I love road trips!! More pictures to come along the way.
Meanwhile we have five busy days in Davis County planned.
Friday morning, I hung out with the grandkids and we played games almost the entire time. It was so fun. Zander is quite good at Guess Who and Carter was in a very cuddly mood and wanted to sit on my lap whenever she was playing a game. And everyone likes a good game of "Don't Break the Ice" even Ezri although she loves to BREAK the ice. Poor penguin is always doomed during her turn.
 |
| Playing Disney version of Color Brain |
 |
| Tom and Sherry Miggins, Jena, Meggan, Amy and David Daily, Cindy and Bret Anderson, Gregg and Kristy Sparrow, Debbie and Scott Woodrow |
 |
| Steve and Tami Slater, us, Kay and Wayne Volk, Brad and Lynne Allen, Amy and Newt McNeill (in came from Idaho where they have moved) and Kevin and Jolie Watson |
 |
| Burtons and Dicksons got the table for 4 They served together in the Relief Society Presidency years ago. I love them! |
 |
| Jena and Meggan Sparrow |
By the way, kids---everyone says hi to you as well!!!
The three of us met with our Stake President, President Nussbaum, at 9:00 pm at the Stake Center in Syracuse. I didn't know what to expect, but it was a sweet meeting in which we spoke about our experiences in the mission field, shared our testimonies and listened to our Stake President share sweet comments to us about our service and our discipleship. There were lots of tears by all of us...me the most, of course.
When President Nussbaum issued the formal release, he quoted the words from the formal release certificate from the Church. They are amazing so I am copying them here:
"You are honorable released from your sacred calling as a full-time missionary. No greater service can be rendered than to labor faithfully for the Savior in the salvation of souls. The gratitude of those who have benefited from your unselfish labors will always be a source of satisfaction and encouragement to you.
May the joy that has come from conscientiously performing your duties as a missionary abide with you ad inspire you with a constant devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, who you have served."
This was signed by President Douglas Homes, our mission president.
And I cried some more!
There was no formal---take off your tags now--moment, but that evening as we returned home, there was a moment as I removed the tag from my sweater and also the one from my coat. It wasn't really a moment of sadness--although I have had those feelings over the past couple of days--but it was a feeling of completeness--we had done what we were asked to do and it was done. It was a feeling of peace and joy and of gratitude! How blessed we are to have had such a choice experience.
I do think my sadness is lessened because we are leaving on our next mission in a month and we will wear missionary tags again.
takes a lot of work! And we had the added bonus of a major winter snowstorm on Tuesday night and Wednesday which prevents trips back and forth to Syracuse as we had originally planned. Gary slipped up on Tuesday with one load before the storm hit and then made another trip later on Wednesday. But it still left two trips for Thursday.
Collection of our gifts--The Church History Book for families was from our entire zone
 |
| A picture of their house I don't know if I ever took one of this townhouse where my dad and Karla have lived for several years |
 |
| Selfie on Sunday after our exit interview with President and Sister Holmes I am not sure how it worked out but you can't see any of our missionary tags in this picture and we were still missionaries! |
 |
| Our picture with Ashley Smith, one of our favorite interns Jena calls her the "boss." She works on the Asia/Pacific team now. |
.jpeg) |
| We were given so many sweet gifts and cards and notes. It was quite overwhelming and I cried a lot!! People are so thoughtful! |
because saying good-bye is hard and also doesn't seem right. We treasure our friendships and even the smallest interactions that we have had with the missionaries in our mission and the staff that we have worked with. And to the beloved missionaries of the Collections Zone--you are forever planted in our hearts.
Our zone and the sweet sisters in the SPC lab (who used to be part of our zone--mainly sweet Sister Aolipa McClure) planned an Aloha luncheon in the Nauvoo Room of the Church History Library. There was lots of yummy food and desserts.
Sister McClure another sister in the SPC lab prepared these pretty leis for us to wear.
.jpeg) |
| With Sister Linda Thatcher from Logan |
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
(1).jpeg)
At least for this mission. (warning--some of this might be reused in my talk in our ward on February 26)
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED
When we do oral histories with mission leaders, the
last question I usually asks is: “What have you learned from your
service?” It seemed appropriate as we
are ending our service hereto answer that same question for myself. Hopefully, in doing so, it might also be
helpful to you. While I will share some
of what I have learned, it is probably more important for you each to reflect
on what you are gaining as you are serving in your various assignments in the
Church History Library.
The first thing is that I have learned is to love
Church History more than I did before.
Not just the capital “C” capital “H” history that we learned in seminary
and in Sunday School—although it has been amazing to see the Foundation of
Faith displays with the pieces of the Book of Mormon transcripts, the First Vision
documents, and the first edition of the Book of Mormon. But I have also loved
the small letter church histories—the stories of everyday members of the Church
as they tried to live the gospel.
Stories that can be found in the Saints volumes, in journals collected,
and stories shared in our devotionals by all of you. Thank you for sharing your sweet stories of
faith, tender mercies, and conversion.
Let me tell the story of Andrew Gibbons shared by
Elder Thomas Clark at a mission wide devotional in 2021. I will paraphrase: “Andrew
Gibbons met his wife in Nauvoo when they were both quite young. They married in the Nauvoo Temple shortly
before leaving Nauvoo. Their family
motto must have been “We can do hard things.”
They were asked to settled 15 different communities during their life
time including: Council Bluffs, Salt
Lake City, Bountiful, central Utah, southern Utah, and then ending up in St.
Johns, AZ. During all of that community building, his wife gave birth to 15
children, only 7 who lived to adulthood. Andrew Gibbons and his son went out to
an orchard in St. Johns to pick the fruit and Andrew told his son, “I have
planted 9 orchards in my life and this is the first time that I will taste the
fruit from a tree that I planted.” Isn’t
that a great story. Are we like
that—maybe it isn’t orchards, but often we are called to do things—teach
Primary, minister to each other, fulfill assignments as missionaries, etc. and
we may never see the impact of what we have done in this lifetime. Yet we move forward, do as we are asked, not
requiring to “eat the fruit” of our service.
I hope to meet Andrew Gibbons and I want to be a Latter-day Saint like
him.
Second, I have learned that Heavenly Father and Jesus
love Their missionaries. I guess I
assumed that was true, but serving as a missionary and fulfilling our
assignments both as zone leaders and also interviewing mission leaders has
reconfirmed that truth over and over and over again. Do you feel Their love for you each time you
come into the Library to serve or for full-time missionaries every morning and
every night as you serve here away from your homes? I am quite in awe of that feeling and the
only way that I can feel okay (somewhat) about being released is knowing that
we will shortly be serving again. I told a friend it is like standing on a step
stool—I feel just a bit closer to the spirit everyday than before. I know that
we will not be set apart missionaries for the rest of our lives. There are other things for us to do as
well. But it is a remarkable feeling to
put on the tag each morning and to think about the Savior whose agent we
are. We started serving during Covid
when the temples were still closed. On
my birthday, on July 1, 2021, we were able to attend the Ogden Temple for the
first time. I remember the prayer in the
temple that day—when the person blessed the missionaries—a common, almost
expected request—I was overwhelmed by the feeling of the Holy Ghost that those
requests from this temple and many others were literally blessing the
missionaries across the world and that included Gary, Jena and I. I cried and tear up even now when I hear that
plea in the temples.
We have seen the Lord take care of you. Not that your lives or ours have been smooth
and pain free over the past 2 ½ years—but His help and tender mercies have
surrounded us. As zone leaders, one of
our assignments is to request for missionaries and then make their assignments
within the Church History Library.
Sometimes that has been very easy and other times it has been
difficult. One month last year, we got
two full-time missionaries and we had requests in for 6. Some of the requests were higher priority but
that wasn’t the most important. What we
tried to determine was “where does the Lord want THIS missionary to serve?” Usually, Elder Hall and I would have feelings
the day before about the assignments, some times when we meet the missionaries
at the Go Forth meeting…. This time,
however, we both felt stuck. We met the
two missionaries, ate food with them, took them to the library for an
orientation—but neither of us felt any clear direction. We loved these missionaries immediately and
knew that they would do great wherever we put them—but the where wasn’t coming
to us. We finally sent them off, telling
them we would let them know that next Monday.
That was not fun for them or for us—And it didn’t come easily over the
weekend either. But as we pondered,
talked, and prayed—the assignment for one came and then finally the
confirmation for the second. I am not
sure why that particular time was so hard, but it has been amazing to watch
them serve and to see the unexpected ways that where they served has blessed
them and those that they serve with.
The final thing I have learned is that Heavenly Father
and the Savior love me and also each of you –fully, completely, and
individually. Now, I have known that
since I was a little child and had my first spiritual experience, but serving
here has caused that knowledge to grow in leaps and bounds, as they say. Sitting with mission leaders as they share
their unique experiences, listening to you share at devotionals and in private
conversation, and hearing people share in Sacrament meetings and in comments at
Church---all of these reconfirmed over and over again this foundational
truth—We are his children and They love us.
As part of the Introduction to the Church History
Library, I have seen the video “The Story Lives Here” twice a month for almost
2 years. The story shared about Joseph
Millet still mays me cry. Remember how
Joseph Millet shared flour with a neighbor and the neighbor said that he had
prayed and the Lord had directed him to Joseph.
And then my favorite line by Joseph which he recorded in his journal
which is here in the library: “It is good to know that God knows Joseph
Millet.” Have you had those moments when
you know that God knows you? Let me
share one of mine. Last February one
Monday, I had a long conversation with one of our daughter who was having a
hard time and also difficult news
regarding one of our son’s health. I was
discouraged and had one of those prayers with Heavenly Father during the middle
of the day where I was complaining “like where are the blessings for our
families which are promised for serving a mission”—not really the kind of
prayer that I am proud of. Fortunately,
Heavenly Father seems to be patient with those types of prayers. I didn’t feel anything after those
complaining prayers—no surprise.
However, that night, we had an evening fireside and a
couple spoke who had served in the area presidency in Africa. The wife spoke and shared a very similar
experience and prayer to mine. Her
husband shared a different but similar hard time. Five times within their
remarks, they commented about Heavenly Father’s care of us as his children, as
missionaries, and our families. Each
time those remarks were made, I had a strong overwhelming confirmation of the
truth of those basic statements and that they applied to me specifically and
personally. My heart was opened and it
was filled with the great love of our Heavenly Father and our Savior and their
awareness and care for our children and for us.
Yes, They love me and They love you! Thanks for loving us for the past 2 ½
years. You will always be in our hearts!
I have learned to be a better Saint because of knowing each of you.
but without me over the past few days. All week, I had felt unusually tired and a couple of afternoons when I laid down for a nap when we got home from the library--I slept for over 2 hours which is unusual for me. Thursday afternoon, I started having a sore throat and by Thursday night, I was sneezing and having all of the other signs of a head cold, so Friday and Saturday I mostly slept and drank fluids. I packed a few boxes now and then but would end up back in the recliner for another nap :( Not the way to spend the last weekend before a move.
Meanwhile, Friday night our zone went to the Draper Temple for our "last" temple trip together. Gary and Jena met them for dinner afterwards. (So after living in Salt Lake for almost two years---still haven't gone to the Draper Temple). Then on Saturday, Gary and Jena joined our other assistant zone leaders for the Hale Center Theatre production of "See How They Run." They went out for dinner afterwards, but Gary and Jena headed home and brought me Panda Express for dinner.
Fortunately, started improving yesterday afternoon and feel well enough to go to Church today and also have our exit interview with President and Sister Holmes.
Tomorrow is our major moving day because snow is moving in for Tuesday and Wednesday this week and we want to have most of it done before then. It is hard to believe that it is finally coming to the end.
 |
| Us, President and Sister Jackson, Sister and President Holmes, Sister and Elder Faerbar and Jena |
 |
| Hannah and Jena |
It seems crazy in the middle of everything else going on, but we decided to buy a new car. After talking to the missionary couple that we are replacing and considering our current car with almost 90000 miles on it, we decided it would be wise to replace it before we go. And, of course, if we are replacing it, I wanted to increase the cargo capacity because we are only taking what we can pack in our car with us to Arkansas. We decided to get a SUV and going against our long standing policy of only buying used cars, we decided to go new. Buy cars is a whole new experience since the internet and social media. Just doing research on car brands and styles opened my Facebook feed to advertisements after advertisements about SUVs of all kinds. Making an inquiry about a specific car lead to emails.....it was craziness.
I woke up on Monday morning, February 13th, with strong desire to buy a car and get it all over with so that I could concentrate on other things---like packing! So after finishing items at the Church History Library, I headed out to look at cars. In our family, Gary's goal is to only drive one car--the one we buy. I usually find the car and then he comes and drives it and we buy it. This go around, he drove two as he ended up with me when we stopped at Young Chevrolet in Layton one Saturday.
 |
| Liam, Zander, and Jena did a puzzle. |
 |
| Ezri doesn't quite get the idea of cooperating in the play, but she will as she gets a bit bigger. |
