Well
for those who haven’t heard, I am leaving September 5th to serve the
Lord and Preach the gospel to the people in the Micronesia Guam Mission. And
for those who don’t know or just need to hear it, my name is Bryson Ashcraft.
But,
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any
other name would smell as sweet."---Or would it? Names certainly mean a
lot in this day and age. For instance, a device used for washing clothes is a
washer. To hammer materials down, one would use a hammer. Or, if you wanted to
dispose of garbage, you just might use a garbage disposal. The name is directly
related to what it does. Is this always the case? No…but a lot of the times!
Even in ancient times, names meant a lot. If your last name was Smith, you
worked with metal. If your name was Thatcher, you worked fixing roofs and such.
If your last name was Bytheway, you sat “by the way”. Or, an example from
Biblical times: Simon Barjona—Barjona, meaning son of Jona. Your name is
literally your identity. Names are
important! There, have I said it enough?
Time
to tie it all in: our Savior, Jesus Christ, has oh so many names! But are all
needed? I mean, one name ought to be enough, right? Why would he need more than
that? Or, don’t they all mean the same thing?? No one name is enough to
describe Christ. Each name that our Savior was given shows us a little bit of
who He was, and what He stood for.
First
off, the name Redeemer--2 Nephi 1:15 states: “But behold, the Lord hath
redeemed my soul from hell; I have beheld his glory, and I am encircled about
eternally in the arms of his love.” Without our Redeemer, we wouldn’t stand a
chance in this world. He has redeemed our souls. To redeem is to compensate, or
pay the necessary amount to clear a debt. It is “through grace we are saved;
after all we can do”, but, as explained by Brad Wilcox, when redeemed, “Jesus
isn’t making up the difference; Jesus makes ALL the difference. Grace is not
about filling gaps. It is about filling us…He paid our debt in full. He didn’t
pay it all except for a few coins. He paid it all.” Christ truly redeemed all
of our souls by paying the price, as expensive and taxing as it was. Our
Redeemer satisfied the demands of justice, while still showing mercy to us all.
Oh how merciful has He been to me, and to all of us! To be able to repent and
come back after all the mistakes we have made? It truly is a miracle. One of my
favorite quotes from this last General Conference comes from Elder Holland,
when he declared that, “surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is
the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often
feel they don’t deserve it.” I sure don’t deserve all the mercy I have
been shown in my life! And yet, for some reason, my Redeemer continues to
freely show it, because He wants to, and because He can. I have been redeemed
from that awful place, and know that I now stand a chance to live with my
Redeemer and my Father in Heaven again. I know that my Redeemer lives, what
comfort this sweet sentence gives. May I
ever be able to help others see that they too have been redeemed, regardless of
past sin or transgression.
The next name is “Immanuel”. In Matt
1:23, we read, “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a
son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God
with us.” God with us—that is what we are shooting for in this life, to end up
with God! Isn’t that Heaven?? I can’t think of anything better than to have the
Savior walk beside me and guide me along the way. Immanuel is with us, guiding
us! He has given us resources to feel of His love and spirit. He has given us
roadmaps, the scriptures and priesthood blessings, with Leaders, Apostles,
Prophets, and Bishops to guide us. And more than just being spiritually with
us, He truly did walk the earth with man, teaching truth and showing the way.
It is my goal to someday come into His presence, after I have finished my work
on the earth. But more than just being in His presence, we have to WANT to be
in His presence. From Brother Wilcox again, and I wish I could just read all of
his talk for you, “Heaven will not be Heaven for those who aren’t Heavenly…the
scriptures make it clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God. But no
unchanged thing will want to.” I always envisioned it being me trying to beg my
way into Heaven. “I know I sinned, but I didn’t mean it. I just really want to
be there.” But that isn’t how it will be. He will be begging US to stay!
“Please, choose to stay. Please, use my atonement—not just to be cleansed, but
to be changed so you will WANT to stay.” Immanuel, with His infinite wisdom and
goodness, will not force us to be with Him. But He wants us to be with Him so
much! If not, why would He have suffered in the Garden like He did, all for us.
Remember, He paid your price IN FULL. That is His way of showing His desire for
you to dwell with Him. But He will not force you to do anything you don’t want
to. So, choose now to be Heavenly, so you will be able to live with Him, and so
you will WANT to.
Christ
is the “Good Shepherd”, leading us into His fold. “And he gathereth his
children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and
they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed
his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.” Stated in 1 Nephi 22:25. And
from the Hymn Book, # 108, “The Lord is my Shepherd; no want shall I know. I
feed in green pastures; safe-folded I rest. He leadeth my soul where the still
waters flow, restores me when wand’ring, redeems when oppressed. Thru the
valley and shadow of death though I stray, since thou art my Guardian, no evil
I fear. Thy rod shall defend me, thy staff be my stay. No harm can befall with
my Comforter near.” We all stray from our Shepherd, wander from the way, and
fall from the fold. But the Good Shepherd will always be there, herding us back
to the path, keeping us close by Him. I love referring to Christ as the Good
Shepherd, because it shows the tenderness He shows for us. We are His flock,
following our Shepherd, who knows so much better than we do. How often in a
flock do some of the sheep stray from the group for their own personal reasons,
only to be saved by a wise shepherd who knows the dangers and trials that lie
ahead, and will help guide them through. “Therefore, fear not, little flock; do
good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock,
they cannot prevail.” Follow the Good Shepherd. He sees much more than us, He
knows much more than us, and He will never lead us astray.
Another
name for Christ is the Advocate. As we learn in Doctrine and Covenants 45:3-5,
Christ is our advocate with the Father. To advocate is to publicly support
someone or something. So our Advocate is supporting us in getting to the
Celestial Kingdom, the highest part of heaven, by pleading with the Father,
“Saying, Father, behold the sufferings and death of Him who did no sin, in whom
thou wast well pleased; behold the blood of thy Son which was shed…wherefore,
Father, spare these my brethren that believe on my name, that they may come
unto me and have everlasting life.” Who better to have pleading your case than
the perfect one Himself, He who paid for your sins? And I think it is so
powerful that the scripture says that He is pleading for your sins! He is not
asking or making a request, but is pleading! When I hear pleading, I think of
begging, groveling, offering other means, doing anything in your power to get
the result you are fighting for. Think of when you have pled for something in
your life. You put your whole heart and soul to it. It has so much more emotion
and feeling in it, and means so much more. You don’t plead for things you don’t
care about. You do what is necessary to achieve your goal. The Advocate will do
and has done everything to enable you to get back to Him. It is now up to us to
become worthy and to feel worthy to live in His presence.
Jesus
Christ is the Bread of Life, or the Living Bread.
John 6:35, “And Jesus said unto
them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he
that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Now how does this work?? Come to
Jesus and you will never be hungry? Sounds like some kind of Diet: Follow
Christ and lose your appetite! Well, not exactly…but kinda! Follow Christ to
overcome your appetiteS. By coming unto the Living Bread, we can all overcome
anything that is in our lives that we don’t want to be there. We can overcome
any of our sins and transgressions by coming unto the Lord. He will help us to
overcome them, and will leave us without need to fill those appetites. The
Living Bread will fill us, and leave no more room for filth. The goal is to
partake so often and so much that we don’t have a desire to partake of anything
else. Too often in our lives, we forget to partake of the Bread of Life, and
instead partake of other things--The Devil’s Food, if you will. The more we eat
of this food, the more addicted we become. Is it sweet?? You betcha! Enticing?
Oh yeah! But as you continue to run the race of life, all these devilish sweets
take their toll, and you find yourself lagging behind. But those who eat the
Living Bread, topped with the meat of the gospel, find themselves sprinting to
the finish, stronger than when they started. Eat and Enjoy, brothers and
sisters. For nothing is as delicious as the Love of God.
Finally, the last
name I want to talk about is my personal favorite, and one of the most
meaningful to me: Savior. John 3:17 says, “For God sent not His Son into the
world to condemned the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
The Lord, Jesus Christ, is my Savior. He has saved me from the darkest abyss,
saved me from the world, and saved me from myself. Without Him, I would be
nothing. Truly, I wouldn’t even be here without Him. And I wouldn’t have
anywhere to go. I am giving up two years of my life because Jesus Christ is my
Savior. If I hadn’t gained a testimony for myself, and known this with a
surety, why would I be leaving family, friends, life, school, work, and so much
more to go to some Islands in the middle of nowhere to preach His gospel? It’s
simple. I wouldn’t be going if I didn’t truly believe and know that I have been
saved, and I truly know that I have been saved! That isn’t a phrase we hear too
often in this Church, but oh how true it is. Have we been saved?? Yes!
Absolutely we have! Are we saved by just declaring our faith in Jesus Christ?
Well, it takes a bit more than that. But we are most definitely saved by the
Grace of our Savior. Because He has saved us, the Savior can ask us to do
certain things, like keeping the commandments and repenting. Elder Bruce C. Hafen
has written, “The great Mediator asks for our repentance not because we
must ‘repay’ him in exchange for his paying our debt to justice, but because
repentance initiates a developmental process that, with the Savior’s help,
leads us along the path to a saintly character”. And along those same lines,
Elder Oaks stated, “The
repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different
purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is change”. Change, is
what our Savior asks from us—a change of heart. We must come, from wherever we
are now, unto our Savior. But no matter where you are, you can come unto Him.
You can come back. That is the whole purpose of the Atonement! Our loving
Father in Heaven knew we wouldn’t be able to make it back on our own. And it is
for that reason that He sent His Only Begotten Son to suffer, bleed and die for
me. Christ suffered unimaginable pain for me. For you. For all of us. For all
mankind. So regardless of what you have done in the past, what you are doing
now, or what you think you may be stuck doing for the rest of your life,
forsake your sins for Him. Allow our Savior’s Atonement to change your life. He
will be there 100% of the way, guiding you, helping you along, picking you up
and carrying you. He will not let you fail, if you put your faith in Him, and
give Him your heart and soul. I know it is scary to change. Life seems good
now, you have all you need and everything is fine and dandy. But fine and dandy
is not what we are searching for. We are searching for perfection. If your life
isn’t perfect, then there is improvement to be made! Which really means that we
all have room for improvement. Come unto the Savior of the World. Allow His
saving grace to change you and change your life. He will heal you from whatever
infirmities you are suffering from, whether physical or spiritual, as long as
you embrace His gospel and do all that you are supposed to.
Why would our Savior do
something as amazing as this for me if He didn’t love me? And why would
thousands of 19-year-old boys get up here and cry about it if it wasn’t true!
At 19, the only things boys cry about are sports, and lack of food. They feel
like they are invincible. They are in their prime! Life is good; they think
they are good looking, athletic, and wonderful. Everything in life is about
them. So how could some story, brought together by a 14-year-old boy, influence
so many to leave everything they have for two years, if it wasn’t true!
Brothers and Sisters, the
Book of Mormon is true. It truly is another testament of Jesus Christ. If you
haven’t read it for yourself, I beg of you, read it, from the introduction, to
Moroni’s promise. Read it and ask for a witness of its truth. You will feel it
if you are searching for truth.
I know that
Joseph Smith is a true prophet, and that He restored Christ’s true church on
this earth. I know that Thomas S. Monson is now our true and living prophet,
and has power and authority to do the will of the Lord in this day. I know that
this is the only complete and true church on the earth. Others have bits and
pieces of truth, but this is the only church with everything, including
authority that can be traced back to the Savior.
I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that my
Shepherd and Redeemer, The Bread of Life and Advocate for each of us, Immanuel,
My Savior, Jesus Christ, lives. He lives, and has suffered for each of us so we
can live with Him. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for
our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.” Earn your stripes: He paid for your sins and suffered
all of your pains already. Don’t let Him down. He did all this because He loves
you! He has done everything in His power to ensure you get back safely. Now it
is up to us. Earn your stripes, and come forth victorious in the end.
So why does our Savior have
so many names?? Each name helps us see a different part of the Savior, and all
show how loving He is toward us. His arm of mercy truly is extended to us! And
He is the only one that can save us from all the horrible things that are going
on in this world. Quoting a song, “There is One who is the only One, with the
power to bring us home. Reverently, with every breath we breathe, we put our
faith in Him alone. He is known by oh so many names, and will be forevermore.
Hope comes from the one with many names, and He’s not forgotten yours.”
Brothers and
sisters, I want to thank you all for all the love and support you have given to
me; This Ward, Bishop, and President Burton for walking me through and guiding
me here; All my friends, for sticking with me through distances and
differences. It means the world to me to have you here, so thank you! Thanks to
all of my brothers in the gospel, setting the example in getting out there,
leading the way for me. Thanks to all my family, with wonderful Aunts, uncles,
and cousins, for helping to get me to this point. And thanks to my
grandparents, mostly guiding me from heaven; but a special thanks to Grandma,
the wonderful angel still with us. Thanks to my siblings; Shanna, Austin,
Taylor, Tanner, Braden, Brindy, and Pieface—life won’t be anywhere near the
same without movie quote battles, games, and constant teasing. You have
certainly toughened me up for the mission. And I have never seen a group of
people so easily entertained in my life… They say it takes a village to raise a
family, and so my parents decided to have a bunch of kids and create their own
village, and we have all helped each other learn and grow. J Mom and Dad, I can’t thank you enough
for all you have done: for your constant example, for loving the gospel and our
savior, for loving each other, and for loving me. Thank you! I love you!
Thank you for
your support in this great endeavor of mine, it truly means the world. Pray for
me, pray for other missionaries, and pray that those we teach will be receptive
of the gospel. Be missionaries here as well! But remember, we must convert
ourselves first, before we can convert others. Come unto Christ, and be
perfected in Him. I love my Savior and my Father in Heaven with all my heart!
“I stand, all amazed, at the
love Jesus offers me. Confused at the grace that so fully He proffers me. I
tremble to know that for me He was crucified; that for me, a sinner, He
suffered, He bled, and died. Oh, it is wonderful that he should care for me
enough to die for me.” Oh, He is wonderful, wonderful to me.
And I say these
things, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen
