Here is the text of a talk I gave in Sacrament Meeting in the Québec Branch on May 26, 2024. It is translated from the original French version that I already posted, so please forgive me if the language seems a little stilted or if some of the actual quotes are not “exact.” I tried to clean it up as best as possible. Simon Comtois, so you get the joke, is the counselor in the branch presidency who asked me to speak by messaging me on Facebook Messenger after I had accepted his friend request. The people referred to in the talk are some of the young single adults who attend our Come Follow Me study group (all of them recent converts) who we have taught, baptized and/or fellowshipped during our time here.
Good morning, dear brothers and sisters.
I want you to know that during the past week, I have prayed often for the gift of tongues. Unfortunately, my prayers were not effective.
I also want you to know that this past week I really regretted my decision to accept Simon Comtois’ “friend request” on Facebook.
But one thing I have never regretted was my decision to come on a mission. I would like to share with you some of my thoughts on serving a mission as a senior missionary couple.
In 1915, the American poet Robert Frost wrote his famous poem “The Road Less Traveled.” It is about making a choice on which path to take when you are walking in the woods and the path diverges in two. Most people know the last lines of the poem. In English, it reads:
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Frost wrote the poem after an experience he had with his friend Edward Thomas. One day, Frost and Thomas were walking in the woods and came across two different roads. Thomas was undecided on the road to take, and after they had finished their walk, he lamented several times that they should perhaps have taken the other road. Frost actually wrote the poem for Thomas as a joke, making fun of him for being undecided and still wondering if he should have gone the other way. Frost wrote the poem for people who, no matter where they go, will always be sure that they have missed something good on the other path.
As members of the church, we know the true road less traveled—the covenant path.
When each of us was baptized, we made a covenant with God. Like Frost and Thomas, we were presented with two paths, and we had to make a decision on which path to take. In deciding to be baptized, we chose the covenant path.
President Nelson said:
“The covenant path is the only path that leads to exaltation and eternal life.”
After we have decided to follow the covenant path, we must not look back. We must not question our decision. We should not ask ourselves what we are missing on the other paths, because there are so many wonderful things waiting for us on the covenant path.
Today, I will talk to you about three things I have found on the covenant path, especially during my mission. I hope you have—or you will—find those things as well.
1. A Better Version of Yourself
The first thing I found on the covenant path is a better version of myself, because it is on the covenant path that we learn to become like Christ.
Dallin H. Oaks said:
“This process of [becoming like Christ] requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.”
Everyone knows the song I am a Child of God. When it was written, the chorus said, “Teach me all that I must know to live with Him someday.” President Spencer W. Kimball suggested that the word “know” be replaced by the word “do”. So today, when we sing it, we sing ” Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday.”
President Oaks would probably change that line to read, ” Teach me all that I must become to live with Him someday.” He said:
“the Final Judgment is not just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts – which we have done. It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts — what we have become.”
President Oaks and President Kimball have the same message for us: the gospel is something that we need to know, that we need to live, and that helps us become a different person.
We see this progression in the hymn I Will Go Where You Want Me to Go. In the chorus we sing “I will go where you want me to go”, “I’ll say what you want me to say”, and “I’ll be what you want me to be.”
It is not necessarily easy to travel on the covenant path. President Oaks also said:
“Sometimes our needed growth is achieved better by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquility.”
As Joseph Smith was promised, “thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high . . .”
As you progress along the covenant path you should find yourself—a better you: more patient, more kind, more loving, and more like Christ.
2. A Community
On the covenant path, you will also find a community. I found one here in Quebec City. In Lehi’s dream, he identified two different types of community. The first was a community of people who clung to the iron rod, stayed on the path and made it to the tree of life and partook of the fruit. The second was a community of people in a large and spacious building whose main activity was to mock those people who chose the first community. Each of us, when we decided to be baptized, chose the first community, our community.
Our community here in Québec City is a community of shared faith and experience, even though it is not necessarily a community of shared language, culture or origins. Here in our community, we overcome these differences to develop bonds that unite us. For us, these bonds are a common belief in a Heavenly Father, in a Savior who loves us, and in a covenant to love our neighbor.
President Tremblay gave a talk several weeks ago in which he addressed himself to those in the branch who did not feel that there was a place for them here in our community. He assured them that there was a place for them. I want to continue that conversation, but with a different emphasis. Why are there people here in our branch who feel like there is not a place for them? Are we doing what we should be doing to make everyone feel at home among us?
As Alma explained to his followers in Mosiah chapter 18, when we were baptized and entered the fold of God we promised to be willing to bear each other’s burdens, so that they would be light, to mourn with those who mourn, and to comfort those who stand in need of comfort. President Nelson said that Latter-day Saints, like other disciples of Jesus Christ, are constantly looking for ways to help, strengthen and love our neighbours.
At the end of the day, we decide what kind of community people will find when they begin their lives with us on the covenant path.
3. Superheroes
The third thing you can find on the covenant path, if you look closely enough, are superheroes.
I want to take a few minutes to speak directly to some of the superheroes I have found here in Québec City.
Rémi: You have a lot of superpowers. Your superpowers include your understanding that you belong on the covenant path, the desire to continue learning the gospel, and the willingness to help others learn and progress as well. A little advice: there is nothing wrong with “rabbit holes.” There you can find little pieces of knowledge and give the Holy Ghost a chance to talk to you. But don’t forget to return to the surface sometimes so you can run with the wolves.
Valerie: Your superpowers include your faith and your desire to love and help your neighbor. By continuing to exercise your faith and helping others, you will increasingly understand your place in our community.
Emma: One of your superpowers is your voice. When we first met, you were very hesitant to talk or voice your opinion. But Sister Bates and I have watched you rediscover your voice. Never lose it again.
Louis: you have an incredible faith, and a strong desire to serve your Savior. Keep moving forward one step at a time.
Stanley: Unfortunately, Stanley is not here. Two weeks ago, he returned to Martinique. When he was young, Stanley was—as they say—thrown into the deep end of the pool without knowing how to swim. But he kept his head above water and taught himself to swim. One of his superpowers is the ability to keep swimming, even when it seems he’s no longer in a pool but in the ocean instead. Stanley, if you can hear me, “Keep swimming,” and help others around you learn to swim, too. We miss you so much.
Finally, I want to say something to our dear adopted daughter, Marjhory. Marjhory, you have many superpowers. Your superpowers include the desire to help your neighbor and help friends of the church feel at home when they come to church. In addition, you have a tremendous faith in God and you know He has a plan for you. For this reason, the adversary will try to convince you to stray from the covenant path. When you have doubts, remember that you are a superhero. Besides, you know that if you start to leave the covenant pay, Sister Bates will track you down and drag you back onto the path.
In closing, I invite you all to do three things.
First, find your best self by progressing on the covenant path.
Second, make sure that everyone on the path around you feels a part of our community, our family. Say hello to someone you don’t know. Sit next to someone who is alone. Love your neighbor.
Third, look for the superheroes that are hidden among us. Find your own superpower. You might discover that you are also a superhero.
We are here to do a great work, each of us. My testimony of this principle has grown significantly during my mission. We should be about our Father’s business. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.