Landon (almost 16) and Sadie (13) were both asked to speak in church last Sunday. I thought it would be fun for them to go back and read them in the future, so I'm going include them on our blog. It's a big deal when our teens are asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting. Our ward (congregation) has over 300 people in attendance each week, so it's scary...but great experience. Both of them wrote their talks with zero help from Jeremy or I. They blew us away!
Sadie looked so pretty and mature up at the pulpit in her brown dress and her hair back in a loose bun. She did great.
Here's her talk:
Good morning brothers and sisters, for those of you who don't know me my name is Sadie Fillmore. My family and I have been in this ward for almost nine years now.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to an amazing young womans confrence called Retreat for Girls. The whole week at Retreat we really focused on finding joy in different aspects of our lives. Today I am going to share with you one of those topics that really stood out to me, which is finding joy in serving others.
In the scriptures we read of the importance of serving others. In Mosiah 2:17 it states, "When we are in the service of our fellow beings we are only in the service of our god". I love what President Hinckley said about serving others. "Tremendous happiness and peace of mind are the results of loving service to others. Nobody can live fully who only lives unto himself or herself." President Thomas S. Monson also said, "As we look heavenward we inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward. To find real happiness we must seek for it in a focus outside of ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. service to others is the akin to duty to the fulfillment of which brings us true joy."
I'd like to bear my testimony that I know that we will find more happiness and joy in our lives when we are serving others and putting others before ourselves. I know that the scriptures are the word of god. I know that God answers our prayers. I know that we will all return to live with our Heavenly Father some day, and I leave my testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Landon's quorum (all 14-15 year old boys) had just completed the big 50-mile hike for Scouts. They hiked 10 miles a day for 5 days last week, camping out along the way. Landon was asked to talk about this experience and relate it to a gospel topic.
When he stood up to give it in front of our ward, I sat there and thought, “Is this my little boy? When did he grow up?” Holy cow, he has grown SO much in the past year. Physically and spiritually. I'm just amazed. Anyway, this talk seems to have made a big impact on our ward members. Many of them told us how touched they were. I think people were most touched by what he said about his little sister, Anya. I think they wonder how her adoption has affected our other children, and it was sweet to hear these heart-felt words from a 16 year old boy.
This was so cute: Landon was on the program to speak right after Sadie. Just after Sadie sat down from giving her talk, Landon went up to the mic and said "She's one of the best-looking young women in our ward, don't you think?" Ahhh, wasn't that sweet?
Here's his talk:
Good morning brothers and sisters. Last Tuesday the Teacher’s quorum left from Brother Smart’s home early in the morning to go on a fifty mile hike. This hike, without a doubt, was one of the hardest weeks I have ever gone through in my life and I know that if you ask the other guys that went, they will be able to say the same. Hiking 10 miles a day for 5 days may sound like a lot, but let me reassure you that, it is… but this daily challenge brought many opportunities that I wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise. The views from the various mountain tops were breath taking, we had many chances to talk along the trail and enjoy one another’s presence, and we had some incredible spiritual experiences.
Friday night was the climax of the whole week for me. As the sun started to dip toward the mountains in the west, 8 young men… and 3 not-so-young men sat in a mountain meadow and shared with one another what we had learned from the challenges we had faced so far that week. After each of us shared what we had learned and felt, Brother Jensen asked me if I would be willing to share what we had gone through in a talk today, and relate what I had learned to a topic of my choice.
The topic I chose is Family.
While in the mountains with my friends and leaders for a week, I quickly realized how blessed I am to have such amazing people in my life. I have many friends that have helped me through hard times, and I will be forever grateful for that. Along with great friends, I also have the most amazing family I could ever hope for. Being away from your family for a week will quickly make you realize how much you love them. One of the young men shared with us an experience in which he and his younger sister fell down a window well, and this young man took the fall for his sister and was hurt in the process. During his testimony, he described the unending love that he has for his little sister, and the pain it would have brought him if he had known that she was hurt any more than a scrape on the knee. After telling us this, he did a great job at comparing what he had gone through to the atonement and how Christ is our older brother and he suffered for us in order to make sure that we have a way back to our Heavenly Father. After hearing this story, it made me think about my siblings, and how much I love each one of them.
Being the oldest child in my family has taught me countless lessons on many important things in life such and patience, humility, and especially love. Our family has had the unique opportunity to adopt a little girl from Russia named Anya. Many of you have probably noticed her funny little noises, or her exaggerated facial expressions. But one thing that will never change is her endless love and kindness towards other people. I cannot describe the overwhelming feeling of love I have for this little girl. When I walked in the front door yesterday after a week of hiking I saw her sitting on the couch watching a show. When she heard me walk in the door, she jumped off the couch with her face beaming and ran toward me to so I would pick her up and give her a hug (since she can only hug my knees.) Although we may not always be able to understand what she is trying to say, the universal language of love and smiles always communicate to us the way that she feels. Something as simple as a smile can brighten someone’s day more than anything that you will ever be able to say or do, and since she cannot speak well enough to say that she is happy, all she has to do is give you a cheesy grin and you’ll know what she’s trying to say.
In For the Strength of Youth, it says… “Being part of a family is a great blessing. Your family can provide you with companionship and happiness, help you learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and help you prepare for eternal life”. It says also “Strengthen your relationships with your brothers and sisters. They can become your closest friends. Support them in their interests, and help them with challenges they may be facing”.
My dad has often told us that we should treat our brothers and sisters better than we treat our friends, and this has really made me think about how I treat my siblings. I know that if I were to treat them as good, if not better than I treat my friends and people my age I would learn to love and appreciate them more.
In three short years, I will be leaving my home to go on a mission, and I want to be absolutely sure that my little brothers and sisters have nothing but fond memories of me. My youngest brother Eli, is only three years old. By the time I leave to go on my mission, he will only be six. Try to think of how many memories you have at the age of 6 years old. I don’t know that I have many, so to think that he may not remember me being home much is hard. There are many youth in the ward that are in the same situation as me, having young siblings, while being a teenager. I would like to challenge us to be good examples, be strong in the church and to help the little ones know what a great blessing it is to be in a strong family.
I would not be the person I am today if it were not for the lessons I have learned from the gospel. Over the last year of school, I have talked to friends that have not had that same opportunity, and it has really given me some perspective on how much better our lives can become if we have a strong family and a strong testimony of the gospel. Brothers and sisters, I know that family is what will get us through the hard times in life. I know that if we keep our relationships strong with our parents, our children, our siblings, and other relatives, that we will have a much more fulfilling life and have the opportunity to learn important life lessons in a home, especially a home with a strong foundation built upon Christ.
I know that Christ lives, and that he died for us, so that we may return to our Father in Heaven someday, and I will be forever grateful for my Redeemer and for his sacrifice for each of us. I know that President Monson is a true prophet, and that if we follow his council and guidance, we will have the most fulfilling life that we possibly can. I’m grateful for great friends that I can look to in times of need and trial, and I’m grateful for such an amazing ward and great leaders that have helped me become the person that I am today. I say these things, in the name, of Jesus Christ, amen.
Sadie looked so pretty and mature up at the pulpit in her brown dress and her hair back in a loose bun. She did great.
Here's her talk:
Good morning brothers and sisters, for those of you who don't know me my name is Sadie Fillmore. My family and I have been in this ward for almost nine years now.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to an amazing young womans confrence called Retreat for Girls. The whole week at Retreat we really focused on finding joy in different aspects of our lives. Today I am going to share with you one of those topics that really stood out to me, which is finding joy in serving others.
In the scriptures we read of the importance of serving others. In Mosiah 2:17 it states, "When we are in the service of our fellow beings we are only in the service of our god". I love what President Hinckley said about serving others. "Tremendous happiness and peace of mind are the results of loving service to others. Nobody can live fully who only lives unto himself or herself." President Thomas S. Monson also said, "As we look heavenward we inevitably learn of our responsibility to reach outward. To find real happiness we must seek for it in a focus outside of ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. service to others is the akin to duty to the fulfillment of which brings us true joy."
I'd like to bear my testimony that I know that we will find more happiness and joy in our lives when we are serving others and putting others before ourselves. I know that the scriptures are the word of god. I know that God answers our prayers. I know that we will all return to live with our Heavenly Father some day, and I leave my testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Landon's quorum (all 14-15 year old boys) had just completed the big 50-mile hike for Scouts. They hiked 10 miles a day for 5 days last week, camping out along the way. Landon was asked to talk about this experience and relate it to a gospel topic.
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| Jeremy drove up the canyon to have dinner with the troop on the 3rd night. |
When he stood up to give it in front of our ward, I sat there and thought, “Is this my little boy? When did he grow up?” Holy cow, he has grown SO much in the past year. Physically and spiritually. I'm just amazed. Anyway, this talk seems to have made a big impact on our ward members. Many of them told us how touched they were. I think people were most touched by what he said about his little sister, Anya. I think they wonder how her adoption has affected our other children, and it was sweet to hear these heart-felt words from a 16 year old boy.
This was so cute: Landon was on the program to speak right after Sadie. Just after Sadie sat down from giving her talk, Landon went up to the mic and said "She's one of the best-looking young women in our ward, don't you think?" Ahhh, wasn't that sweet?
Here's his talk:
Good morning brothers and sisters. Last Tuesday the Teacher’s quorum left from Brother Smart’s home early in the morning to go on a fifty mile hike. This hike, without a doubt, was one of the hardest weeks I have ever gone through in my life and I know that if you ask the other guys that went, they will be able to say the same. Hiking 10 miles a day for 5 days may sound like a lot, but let me reassure you that, it is… but this daily challenge brought many opportunities that I wouldn’t have been able to have otherwise. The views from the various mountain tops were breath taking, we had many chances to talk along the trail and enjoy one another’s presence, and we had some incredible spiritual experiences.
Friday night was the climax of the whole week for me. As the sun started to dip toward the mountains in the west, 8 young men… and 3 not-so-young men sat in a mountain meadow and shared with one another what we had learned from the challenges we had faced so far that week. After each of us shared what we had learned and felt, Brother Jensen asked me if I would be willing to share what we had gone through in a talk today, and relate what I had learned to a topic of my choice.
The topic I chose is Family.
While in the mountains with my friends and leaders for a week, I quickly realized how blessed I am to have such amazing people in my life. I have many friends that have helped me through hard times, and I will be forever grateful for that. Along with great friends, I also have the most amazing family I could ever hope for. Being away from your family for a week will quickly make you realize how much you love them. One of the young men shared with us an experience in which he and his younger sister fell down a window well, and this young man took the fall for his sister and was hurt in the process. During his testimony, he described the unending love that he has for his little sister, and the pain it would have brought him if he had known that she was hurt any more than a scrape on the knee. After telling us this, he did a great job at comparing what he had gone through to the atonement and how Christ is our older brother and he suffered for us in order to make sure that we have a way back to our Heavenly Father. After hearing this story, it made me think about my siblings, and how much I love each one of them.
Being the oldest child in my family has taught me countless lessons on many important things in life such and patience, humility, and especially love. Our family has had the unique opportunity to adopt a little girl from Russia named Anya. Many of you have probably noticed her funny little noises, or her exaggerated facial expressions. But one thing that will never change is her endless love and kindness towards other people. I cannot describe the overwhelming feeling of love I have for this little girl. When I walked in the front door yesterday after a week of hiking I saw her sitting on the couch watching a show. When she heard me walk in the door, she jumped off the couch with her face beaming and ran toward me to so I would pick her up and give her a hug (since she can only hug my knees.) Although we may not always be able to understand what she is trying to say, the universal language of love and smiles always communicate to us the way that she feels. Something as simple as a smile can brighten someone’s day more than anything that you will ever be able to say or do, and since she cannot speak well enough to say that she is happy, all she has to do is give you a cheesy grin and you’ll know what she’s trying to say.
In For the Strength of Youth, it says… “Being part of a family is a great blessing. Your family can provide you with companionship and happiness, help you learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and help you prepare for eternal life”. It says also “Strengthen your relationships with your brothers and sisters. They can become your closest friends. Support them in their interests, and help them with challenges they may be facing”.
My dad has often told us that we should treat our brothers and sisters better than we treat our friends, and this has really made me think about how I treat my siblings. I know that if I were to treat them as good, if not better than I treat my friends and people my age I would learn to love and appreciate them more.
In three short years, I will be leaving my home to go on a mission, and I want to be absolutely sure that my little brothers and sisters have nothing but fond memories of me. My youngest brother Eli, is only three years old. By the time I leave to go on my mission, he will only be six. Try to think of how many memories you have at the age of 6 years old. I don’t know that I have many, so to think that he may not remember me being home much is hard. There are many youth in the ward that are in the same situation as me, having young siblings, while being a teenager. I would like to challenge us to be good examples, be strong in the church and to help the little ones know what a great blessing it is to be in a strong family.
I would not be the person I am today if it were not for the lessons I have learned from the gospel. Over the last year of school, I have talked to friends that have not had that same opportunity, and it has really given me some perspective on how much better our lives can become if we have a strong family and a strong testimony of the gospel. Brothers and sisters, I know that family is what will get us through the hard times in life. I know that if we keep our relationships strong with our parents, our children, our siblings, and other relatives, that we will have a much more fulfilling life and have the opportunity to learn important life lessons in a home, especially a home with a strong foundation built upon Christ.
I know that Christ lives, and that he died for us, so that we may return to our Father in Heaven someday, and I will be forever grateful for my Redeemer and for his sacrifice for each of us. I know that President Monson is a true prophet, and that if we follow his council and guidance, we will have the most fulfilling life that we possibly can. I’m grateful for great friends that I can look to in times of need and trial, and I’m grateful for such an amazing ward and great leaders that have helped me become the person that I am today. I say these things, in the name, of Jesus Christ, amen.
1 comment:
Wow! What a young man you have! That was touching talk. It made my eyes wet. You sure can be proud of him and your self to raised such a fine young man !
-Sini
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