Farewell

Well for those who haven’t heard, I am leaving September 5^th 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