Hello everyone, My name is Mariah Worley.
For those of you who don't know me I am the oldest daughter of Preston and Selah Worley in this ward. I am 20 years old. I was raised in Nampa, Idaho. I am an aspiring elementary school teacher!
This past year I was spending my time as a Boise State Student working at a bakery called Great Harvest and attending the Boise YSA 5th ward.
In three more days I will be known as Hermana Worley.
I have chosen to serve as a full time missionary for the next 18 months of my life. I have been assigned to serve in the New York, New York North Mission where I will be speaking Spanish.
I have given quite a few talks at this pulpit, but this is a talk that I have been greatly anticipating for some time.
The definition of Joy according to Merriam Webster dictionary is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
When I first think about the word Joy a few people pop into my head.
First, my Savior Jesus Christ. Second, the people that I love in Cape Verde. And third, my high school art teacher, Mrs. Burnham.
Psalm 188 verse 24 is one of my favorite scriptures about Joy.
It states “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
I love this verse because it magnifies that everyday is truly a gift from Heavenly Father.
And each day is a day that the Lord has created.
Days are constant. There is always a today and there will always be a tomorrow.
The task is ours to choose to experience joy and gladness.
This is not always easy. I have had to learn to train my brain, to focus on Joy when I am experiencing a not so joyful day, week, or season in life.
In 2014 I experienced my darkest hour and I believed with all of my heart that I would not be able to feel true joy again.
When I was in the middle of this trial, my Grandma Brenda gave me a picture of Jesus that I keep on my bedside night stand. In the picture Jesus is kneeling in the Garden of Gesethmany. There is a caption in this picture that reads
"I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.”
I testify that this is true. That trial in my life was painful, and really hard and I hope that I never have to experience that kind of pain again, but it brought me closer to the Savior.
It taught me how to more fully access joy when times are hard. This is the Joy that is provided to us all freely through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
In The Book “Man's Search for Meaning” written in 1946, by Viktor Frankl a psychiatrist sharing his experiences as a inmate during World War II,. He describes a method that involved identifying a purpose in life, to feel positive about, and then imagining that outcome.
During all the horrific suffering in the Nazi camps Viktor explains
“What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.
We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly.
Our question must consist, not in meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. In conclusion that even in the most absurd, painful, and dehumanized situation, life has potential meaning and that, therefore, even suffering is meaningful.
He is quoted as saying, "What is to give light must endure burning."
In a recent LDS Conference talk given by Elder Russel M. Nelson titled, Joy and Spiritual Survival, he highlights that the joy we feel, has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.
Elder Nelson states that “it doesn’t seem possible to feel joy when your child suffers with an incurable illness or when you lose your job or when your spouse betrays you. Yet that is precisely the joy the Savior offers. His joy is constant, assuring us that our “afflictions shall be but a small moment” and be consecrated to our gain.”
Joy is so powerful, and focusing on joy brings God’s power into our lives.
Every day we all have a choice to make. Every hour and each minute we all have to choose and to act a certain way— am I going to be offended by a negative comment from another? or Am I going to make the best out of my circumstances?
I try to direct my thoughts when I wake up in the morning going straight to, “Why is today going to be a great day?” And I list off in my brain why I am excited for this fresh start.
Some days the list is a lot longer than others, but let me tell you: positive thinking makes a world of a difference in my book. Hard days and times will come. But I know that as we work to be happy and have brighter days, they will come too.
Something that my Dad always says to our family when someone is acting just downright grumpy is
“negativity breeds negativity”
This has taught me that just because we have a bad day that doesn’t mean we have a free pass to give someone else a bad day too. I know that we are accountable for how we treat others. We should be constantly trying to create love in other peoples lives. When we lift others, we become more lifted ourselves.
So are we going to be “negativity Nancy's" or “positive Polly’s"?
There is a fable that I really love in which a little girl walks up to a construction site and there are three different men all at work.
She approaches the first workman she sees and says, "excuse me, what are you doing?" He says, "oh cant you see? I'm laying bricks." That is what he is doing.
Then she goes to the second workman, who is doing the exact same thing as the first, and says "excuse me, what are you doing?" And he says," oh cant you see? I'm building a wall"….and that's true too.
She then goes to the third man, who is doing the exact same thing as the previous two, and she says "excuse me, what are you doing?" And he says, "Oh cant you see? I'm building a temple”
I love this story because its not a matter of which construction worker is right and which is wrong. It’s a matter of how people look at the world differently.
This fable makes me question what kind of person am I?
Do I focus on the task at hand? Laying brick.
Do I connect myself to a job, a project? Building walls.
Or do I dedicate myself to an eternal work, a cause larger than myself, larger than my earthly existence, even?
I am a firm believer that an attitude of gratitude or a 'favorite things' list can cure even the bluest of emotions or the grayest of days and enhance the joy in ones life.
So on behalf of the beautiful actress Julie Andrews who sings the song "My Favorite Things" in the movie The Sound of Music, I feel compelled to share some of my favorite things…
• Spending time with my loved ones
• The color yellow
• An extra large dirty diet coke from Sonic
• sending & receiving mail *hint**hint*
• an exhausting yoga workout
• the start of a new season
• cheesy love stories
• walking through antique stores
So why have I decided to leave some of my favorite things behind like, sitting in a movie theater with a bucket of popcorn, red vines and a diet coke to go serve a LDS mission for 18 months?
I choose to serve a mission because I love Jesus Christ.
-Because I am an American girl, born in a free country, who has the privilege to wear a little black name tag and share her beliefs.
-Because I know the source of true joy and I want others to experience this joy too.
-Because I had seen my mom fight to practice her religion in her home.
-Because five years ago my dad was baptized into to LDS church and because of this I was able to experience the eternal joy of being sealed to my family for forever in the Boise, Idaho temple.
I find comfort in Sister Hinkleys' words, she stated:
“Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life.
It may be to get an education,
it may be to rear children,
it may be to be a grandparent,
it may be to care for and relieve the suffering of someone you love,
it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible,
it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own.
Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time.
Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm.
Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul.
To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling.”
I do not know what all of my future entails and I do not know what these next 18 months really entail.
But I do know that this is my particular assignment right now in life. I can choose to dedicate my full heart and energy to my mission. I can choose to purpose much larger than myself. I can choose to create and find joy.
I love Elder Nelsons words on missionary work, he said:
Missionaries leave their homes to preach His gospel. Their goal is NOT to increase the number of Church members.
Rather, our missionaries teach and baptize, to bring joy to the people of the world.
I testify that we have a loving God. He wants us to be happy and that is why he created The Plan of Happiness.
I feel extremely blessed to have born to parents who have paved the way for my siblings and I to develop a relationship with God.
I testify that this church has the fullness of the gospel.
I have felt the power of the atonement in my life.
I am so thankful that the Savior has provided me an infinite amount of new beginnings.
I know that I am a daughter of a God who loves me! I owe all that I have to my Father in Heaven and I cant wait to share this gospel to the amazing people in New York!
No entiendo mucho español, pero entiendo el Espíritu. Tengo fe en el evangelio. En el nombre de Jesucristo amen.
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