hi guys, welcome back to the blog <3
i gave a talk in church this month & wanted it to have a permanent place on the blog. so here we go, i hope you take something from it :)
hey i’m kate, a bit about me: i’m seventeen, i’m the oldest of six, i’m going to be a senior & hopefully go to byu, go on a mission, be a teacher, and be a momma. i love being creative, music, nature, yapping with people, writing, health, & teaching swim lessons.
i was asked to speak about what i learned from girls camp & how that relates to the young women theme. our youth theme this year is from third nephi 5:13, i am a disciple of Jesus Christ. at camp we really dove into what that means & today i want to talk about what i learned as well as dive even deeper into what it really looks like to be a disciple and how to actually do that in our own lives.
the main thing that defines a disciple is the way they treat people. if someone says they believe in God, love Him, and follow Him, but then goes and treats others poorly, there is not much behind what they say, because God is love. Christ was the ultimate example of how to treat people well. open up to first john four and we find in verse fifteen:
“whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. and we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” then we jump to verse nineteen: “we love Him, because he first loved us.” and this is the important part i always remember: “if a man say, i love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? and this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.”
if we don’t love those we see, how can we have faith in and have a relationship with our Father who we can’t see?
the first thing i want to touch on is how we talk about others.
do we talk badly about people behind their backs?
president nelson said: “My dear brothers and sisters, how we treat each other really matters! How we speak to and about others at home, at church, at work, and online really matters. Today, I am asking us to interact with others in a higher, holier way. Please listen carefully. “If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy” that we can say about another person—whether to his face or behind her back —that should be our standard of communication.”
disciples of Christ speak well of others. this doesn’t mean being fake or overly-positive, but i think it’s definitely possible to be honest and sincere and not say unkind things that can be left unsaid, even if they are true. we can be honest about people while still being very loving.
what if it’s hard to talk upbeat about people? while preparing a devotional about charity for girls camp, i asked a lot of friends and people i consider disciples of Christ for their advice on what charity really means to them. my friend kaylee who was the cross country team captain had an amazing answer i still think about. she said:
“I think the thing that really has helped me to love like Christ is to kinda think like him. Before I go and be judgmental I always think about the verse that says we are all beautifully and wonderfully made. I also think about how in a sense each one of us is a work of art that God made so it’s rude to judge or not care for his work.”
at the end of the day, each person is created by God, specifically and perfectly. they are flawed, but they’re probably doing their best with the life we don’t understand they have. having this mindset is so helpful in giving others grace and being able to judge a little less. i love how it’s rude to God when we judge or don’t care for His work. i envision this world being a giant art gallery, with every person a work of art He created. how disrespectful it really is to go around criticizing His creations. as disciples of Christ, we can do better.
a part of the young women theme states: i stand as a witness of Christ at all times and in all things and in all places. how do we stand as a witness of God? there were four characteristics that were really on my mind this week creating this talk and i want to go into each of them. to me, a disciple of Christ stands as a witness of God by being merciful, patient, generous & humble. these qualities are big and a little bit vague so let’s explore what they really mean.
being merciful
what does mercy mean? the definition is compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm. having mercy on someone means showing compassion or forgiveness to. everything always says it well: “they love Jesus-style — with extravagant grace.” God has mercy with us when we mess up: are we doing the same for others? it reminds me of a quote: few people you interact with are functioning at full capacity, so be gentle.
as bob goff wrote, “those who are becoming love don’t throw people off roofs; they lower people through them instead.” i think this encapsulates mercy so well: when we could easily have reason to be right, be better, or walk right by, but instead we love, we have extra grace, and we forgive easily. it’s easy to say and hard to do, but with Christ, we can do all things.
what else does mercy mean?
Christ told us that being merciful is doing good to them that hate you,
praying for them that despitefully use you: trusting in the plan & justice of God, and
loving your enemies aka discarding hate for anyone. i think this comes from knowing yourself well enough that you love yourself & God enough that you can overcoming hate & strong feelings towards people.
giving people grace is a big part of being part of being merciful.
but giving others grace begins with you letting yourself receive the grace God is giving you: are you giving yourself grace? this is so hard and i think it’s the first step to being able to truly give others more grace than they really deserve at the moment. to be merciful with your grace.
it’s similar to forgiving yourself: if you can’t forgive yourself how can you forgive others? you can but it’s so much more, so much deeper if you can also do it for yourself. i think sometimes we forget that God is merciful. He has so much mercy, not just for others, but for YOU. the scriptures are full of His mercy. just read psalms 136, where the line “for His mercy endureth forever” is in every single verse, 27 times. as my friend katie said, “mercy stems from faith in Christ, and I genuinely believe you cannot have mercy for others until you’ve truly accepted Christ’s mercy for yourself and forgiven yourself. You can’t give a gift you don’t have.”
how can you be more merciful this week? which disciples do you know of who show you what mercy looks and feels like?
patience
very similar to mercy, a disciple of Christ is patient.
so what do we do when it gets hard to have patience? one of my friends, who works with boys with special needs was explaining to me how it’s hard to have patience over and over. but it’s something that we can pray for and work for. his tips are
remembering that everyone has gone through such HARD things.
sing praises in your head
pray for Him to give you strength
patience looks like being gentle when something is really hard for someone (and easy for you). teaching, repeating, and encouraging in a gentle and supportive tone, even when there’s reason not to. patience can look like not making fun of someone when they mess up. it’s a simple thing but it makes such a big difference and really shows you don’t look down on anyone because of their difficulties.
generous
being generous brings connections. we need to remember that we can always give more. maybe that will look like giving to God or caring for ourselves as well.
at camp we talked about how “life is good when you are happy but better when everyone is happy because of you” and how little acts of service, like leaving notes on pillows & sending letters means so much in the long run.
when i think of being generous, i think of smiling at everyone, waving to strangers, holding doors, complimenting extra, buying someone’s ice cream, making extra dinner for someone, and giving rides. there are so many things.
humble:
disciples of Christ are humble.
recently i’ve been thinking a lot of about giving the glory to God. are you a disciple by the way you give the glory to God? are you loving others or doing good to glorify yourself? or are you doing it for Him, and for His glory? this is such a good way to reframe it in your mind.
open with me to alma 42:30, where it tells about how the character of God (justice mercy & longsuffering) can fully sway your heart to bring you down to humility. when you are humble you have no reason not to be merciful because you worship & serve God with everything in you.
humility looks like taking the blame when it is yours to take & not finding faults in other people or dwelling in their mistakes.
in everyone always, it teaches how “God didn’t give us neighbors to be our projects; He surrounded us with them to be our teachers.” humility looks like not letting our ego get in the way from learning from others.
another quote in the book explains how “extravagant love often means coloring outside the lines & going beyond the norms. loving the neighbors we don’t understand takes work & humility & patience & guts. it means leaving the security of our easy relationships to engage in some tremendously awkward ones.” humility means stepping outside of our comfort zone to love others.
and we all need to remember that no one expects you to love flawlessly: humility is recognizing your weaknesses and being okay with that because you have a perfect Savior.
disciples of Christ are humble.
at camp we memorized the scripture of john 13:35 with actions. by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
president nelson echoed the words of Christ when he said: “one of the easiest ways to identify a true follower of Jesus Christ is how compassionately that person treats other people. “ he continues:
“Today I invite you to examine your discipleship within the context of the way you treat others. I bless you to make any adjustments that may be needed so that your behavior is ennobling, respectful, and representative of a true follower of Jesus Christ.”
i leave my testimony that with Christ, we truly can be disciples of Him and become people who love like He does. i’m so grateful for Him, for His word, and for the grace, mercy, and love He has for us day after day. in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
love you all, see you soon! my goal is to post once a week or close :)
xo, kate
Great talk!