Welcome to Closer to Christ through Conference.
We're two friends who love Jesus, and we're sharing our own approach to conference.
So today we're going to talk about Four Ordained to Serve by Elder Stephen R. Bengeter of the
Seventy.
Um, this was a great talk.
Loved it so much.
Abby, thanks for being here.
Welcome.
It's good to be here.
Hi guys.
Um, okay, so he's going to speak specifically to the youth in this talk.
Um, but you know, we're old and the message is really still valuable to us as well individually.
Um, so a tool to help in my role as a mother or serving in the youth could help them learn
how to see to know what they were four ordained to do here on the earth.
And why does this topic even matter?
From the talk, he says, why does it matter to seek to know and understand your four ordination?
In a day when questions abound, when so many seek to know their true identity, the fact
that God knows and has blessed each one of us individually before we were even born on
this earth with essential characteristics of premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and
purpose.
This brings sweet peace and assurance to our minds and to our hearts.
That's also from the family proclamation.
I love this so much.
I also loved, um, I have to tell you when I was listening to this for the first time,
like I kind of, I didn't, I stood up or I scooted toward my, at the end of my chair
and I was just like all in, I was like, oh my gosh, he's talking about four ordination.
That's pretty big.
It's a bold topic.
It is, um, a powerful topic.
Um, but he did it in a way that was kind of simple.
Exactly.
So I love that he kind of visualized the youth that he was speaking to, but like it really
helped me on the level where right older, this is a topic that's come up many different
ways at different times, but he is, I'm sure he could make this much more complicated talk
if he wanted to.
You could, I mean, it, it's a, it's a interesting subject, but because he was thinking that
the youth in mind did a really good job making it applicable.
So good.
Okay.
Um, I wanted to say, can I jump to, I printed this talk and the footnotes came out in it
and it was only, was it like a page and a half?
It wasn't like the longest talk in the world, but he got his message across like so well,
so it's so quick and simple.
Yeah.
That it wasn't super long.
And so I just kind of briefly looked at the footnotes of it and I made a note about it.
It's, um, I'm giving him an A plus on his talk because my husband, he works with the
seminaries and institutes and church CES and, um, he told me that something they're really
being asked to focus on is amplifying the prophet and echoing his words.
And so the reason I gave it to bring it on a plus for his talk is because he referenced
six talks by president Nelson and he did it flawlessly, right?
It's like, you wouldn't know how do you know, one seamless talk and it was just the right,
the right paragraphs from each of those things that we've done to the top of our nation,
which you know, the prophet would have been talking about, uh, you know, multiple different
things in those six talks, but his, his vision is so clear and his purpose is to bring us
closer to Jesus Christ.
And in this moment, you know, all of those things work together to stress the point of
four ordination.
So, so he pulled out the family proclamation.
He pulled out just the right scriptures that center around the topic of four ordination.
And even though, um, uh, so like I said, even though all of those six topics weren't individually
on four ordination, he just leaves like a beautiful message on it that applies to all
church members.
Um, before the creation of the earth, faithful women were given certain responsibilities
and faithful men were foreordained to certain priesthood duties.
I'm reading that right from the talk.
As people prove themselves worthy, they will be given opportunities to fulfill the assignments
they then receive.
And he got that right out of gospel topics.
So I love that he just points to simple truths.
Like you just kind of sit and like you read that, you reread that a few times and you
think that's exactly what all of this is about, you know, kind of wonder why your life takes
a certain direction or not.
But if we think about all of the time that we spent in our pre-existence and had a lot
of time to kind of make plans for how we would best learn the lessons that we needed to.
And then, um, so for some men, some priesthood obligations, like they promised through that
power that they would do the things that they were asked to do and faithful women given
certain responsibilities.
And I loved it too.
Like that's exactly what we talked about this week and come follow me.
Those that were foreordained to the high priest priesthood.
And I really loved the way that they explained it because someone could be like, well, why
do they have these opportunities when others didn't?
Many were foreordained, but it's our choices and our agency that come into play.
And so it's not like for ordination, for ordination would ever take away our free agency or our
agency there, you know, to choose.
It's just that we get to choose into that.
We get to opt into it.
It's a blessing that we can attain.
Elder Binggitter shared his own personal experience when he was a 13 year old, his father approached
him.
He was in the stoop of his house.
And when his father came to him, he said that he prayed to Heavenly Father beforehand and
prayed that the words he was going to say would go straight to his heart and that he
would take them, take them in.
And clearly that's what happened because now all these years later, he's sharing this bit
of wisdom with all of us.
And essentially what it was is he wanted him to protect what he called the private times
of his life.
What that means to me is just anytime when you are alone and no one's really watching,
but you continue to be as integrity as you are in that moment as other moments when there's
a crowd of people around you.
That is exactly what I was thinking of because like that can kind of make you feel uncomfortable
like, oh, we're talking about the private times in life.
But you know, that can mean, you know, sexual sin, like keeping yourself morally clean.
But he really does delve into what actually meant to him.
It's so much deeper than that.
And I had the same impression.
I thought of integrity.
I was impressed to think, go back and review Elder Gerard's talk.
And I thought, I'm not sure why, but I happen to just be on the podcast listening.
So I popped over to our episode, I would suggest that.
So that's episode six, if you wanted to backtrack and re-listen to that with the light of thinking
about private moments.
Because for me, I made the connection that exactly what you said, the integrity of doing
the right thing, even when nobody's watching.
You have nobody else that's holding you accountable except yourself.
And so I was really grateful that the Spirit impressed me to make that connection.
Another interesting thing was somehow I happened onto topics.
Like if you go to the general conference, you can search it by speaker or there's one
other option.
Maybe, I don't, I can't remember the middle one.
And then the last one was by topic and Elder Gerard's talk, Elder Vanguarder's talk that
we're talking about today.
And then the next episode that you hear will be by Sister Vanaeus.
They are all ones that highlight as divine nature talks as the specific topic.
So I thought, what a beautiful thing to, you know, at the end of those three, that we'll
have all the pieces and parts that come to us that we can mesh the thoughts of all of
those three talks and really get a better understanding of what he wants us to know
about our divine nature at this snapshot of our life and think on that and do little things
that we need to, to, to really let that message resonate through us and really feel empowered
by the divine nature that we do have.
He makes it seem like an easy thing to just recognize that.
But I do know this is, this is a hard message to get across to the youth.
Yeah.
So, um, if I'm going to ask you, what did Elder Vanguarder do in the private times or
in the times where he was alone?
Cause he takes a different approach.
So I kind of just read through what he's, what he learned from his, from his dad's words
as he thought about it.
He thought about the times that he privately went to God in prayer when he was trying to
receive his own revelation.
Exactly.
He talks about, um, how he talked about how he worked in those private times to learn
about how God had forwarding blessings for him.
And he said in those private moments, I learned the Book of Mormon is the word of God.
I do think there are appropriate activities and group settings where we're getting strengthened
by things that we're learning in the Book of Mormon.
If we're at church and we're discussing the Book of Mormon, we might get a little addition
to our testimony, like a glimmer of light.
But I think most people would agree, like when you ask him that question to know for
yourself if the Book of Mormon is the word of God, that's a very private moment.
Absolutely.
Um, he said, I learned God had forwarded me to serve a mission.
And I mean, I think he hit that in the first, the second paragraph that was right from the
prophet.
And just a reminder, it sounds funny, but, um, out of my, you know, that youth class
that we teach, it was two sessions ago and these kids came back from that conference
and they were like, I'm going on a mission.
They were thinking about doing A, B or C and they're like, I'm going to go on a mission.
Like, oh, let's change your mind.
Cause we're open to whatever they're, they're, they're impressed to do at that moment.
Some go to college, some kind of a gap year, like some know they're going to get their
papers in and head out immediately.
Just there's lots of different options.
And some say like, it's not really something that I'm feeling like doing.
And a couple of our kids that were kind of on the fence about what their plan was specifically
after that talk, they were like, I'm going to go on a mission.
I'm like, what, what made you change?
What made you decide that?
And they were like, well, the prophet talk, I've never, I've never heard him say so directly
that that we're supposed to go on a mission and I kind of like giggled internally.
Cause I'm like, definitely, definitely.
He said that they may have been five when you heard it.
Exactly.
It, it wasn't the message for them to hear at that time.
Totally.
With the Hillary hit that same thing.
And so I looked into that, like looked at the references and I thought it's a beautiful
thing to be explained that in all of that time that we had before we came to earth,
that we made promises and that's where we made that promise.
Like why do we say that these men are going on missions because they were some of the
select few that would have the opportunity to come to earth and bear the priesthood.
And with that priesthood comes responsibilities and absolutely, you know, like, like decisions
can take you off of that path that you were headed on, that you were going to go take
this beautiful message and share with other people.
But I think it's not really meant to be like, Oh, it's not something that I did and I should
feel bad about myself.
I just think it's a powerful thing to think.
I made covenants, I made a priest to promise that I would serve a mission and I would say
like God is good and there's always second chances.
Like I have, you know, important people in my life that didn't serve a mission at 18,
19, whatever that age was, you know, when they were supposed to go, when they could
have gone for the first time.
But you know, my own grandfather, he served three missions with my grandma much later
and like built a temple and took the gospel people of Papua New Guinea and Australia.
And I'm sure that like, you know, as he became deeply involved in the gospel that there were
probably moments that he regretted that he hadn't served a mission when he was younger,
but that wasn't what the cards dealt to him.
Like he became a father instead of a missionary at that time, but sent one child, one grandchild
off after the next, you know, on those missions and till it was his own term to serve.
And he made that choice to fulfill that promise that I'm sure he made in the pre-existence.
So whenever the time is right that you're going to do it is a beautiful thing.
Yes.
So I don't know, how do you, we're the older people, so he wasn't technically talking to
us.
What tools do we have that we can teach the youth that are in our lives, whether they
be classes that we teach or our own children, the ones that we encounter, like what can
we do to help them understand their sport or donation process?
Where can we turn them to understand what they were working for?
I think a big one is your patriarchal blessing, you know, because that's very, it's a very
easy way to start.
I shouldn't say easy.
It's a simple way to start with something that's so very personal and tailored exactly
to you.
And as you get to know and understand your own patriarchal blessing, it's easier to look
through, you know, scripture and words of the prophets and know that those are directed
to you as well.
For me too, I love the prayer journaling.
I'll ask Heavenly Father, like I literally from this talk, I said, what was I forwarding
to do?
And that felt big to me.
And I'm, I'm 48.
I couldn't imagine someone.
Let's pause on that for a second.
I'll make sure to add that to the notes as like, like that's such a good action item.
It's big, right?
It was almost kind of scary for me to ask.
That's funny.
That's big because it could, it could open up to many things he could hit you with, but
what you're like really prepared for right in this moment.
So maybe, maybe the way I would ask that question is, um, what, what is one thing that I've
been for ordained for it that I'm prepared for right now?
And then kind of where your mind will take you next to be like, Oh, I need to start working
on this piece of my life.
So for me, it was really interesting or get into the genealogy thing, whatever that's
yes, whatever the thing is for you, right?
Because I'm, you are capable of whatever policies can throw you.
I've seen you be multiple, good at taking like multiple suggestions and like understanding
those are all good things.
And you can sit and prioritize like which one you're going to attack first.
Actually unfolded differently though.
It was so interesting.
Yeah.
Something you felt comfortable saying.
It was interesting because it unfolded.
It's funny that you go on that line because I was kind of thinking along the same lines
too.
That's not the line.
Like a Velcro and you're like, I'm ready to catch what you say.
Give it to me.
Right?
Yeah.
All it was, was, so I have to say this and I think I've hit on this before, but, um,
in 2013 we received, um, just a regular father's blessing and in it, it said, right.
These things down, like record them and print them out and look back at them as if they
were your personal scripture.
And I remember it happening probably two times before I actually did it.
Cause that seemed like a big thing for me to do.
Oh my gosh.
I have to write it out, print it out.
And then, so anyways, I got the binder.
I did the thing.
I've been doing that now for 11 years, the feeling and the doing what I don't think that
I'm hearing what you're saying.
Recording the blessing when it, when I get a father's blessing and then printing it out.
And then I put it in a sleeve protector and I have a thick binder now of 11 years of just
father's blessings or blessings I get from Garrett.
So priesthood blessings, the impression I got after I asked, what have I been for ordained
to do was just, just a thought was look back through your blessings.
And I thought, man, that's a big work, but I've been doing it and unequivocally like
there are some things in there that are definitely a direction.
Do I know exactly what they mean?
Are they redundant things?
Like you're seeing a theme like that in this blessing and then it came back again a year
or two later.
Yeah.
And they're just little bits and pieces here and there.
It's not even like you are for ordained to do this.
I mean, it said that one time, but so now I've looked at anything that's along that
vein, which was us kind of moving here and doing this thing here.
It was interesting.
Like who knows?
I don't know what it means.
I just know that I follow each impression to move forward.
And when the spirit moves me, I do it whether I know how it's going to end or not.
So I don't know the end of the story.
Do you know what I'm saying?
But I absolutely know that I know that heavenly father's in this with me and he didn't just
drop me here and say, good luck figuring out what you were for ordained to do.
I feel like I don't have the full story, but I'm not nervous and I'm not scared.
I'm just taking one step at a time, just like regular life.
I like that.
I'm going to think on that for a minute.
Like you've got multiple years of blessings to look back on to synthesize and then find
the action plan.
Like most of us are like, well, good job girl.
I do have my patriarchal blessing to go back on.
It has been such a steady force in my life and things I think have been fulfilled.
If I read it again, different eyes, different year, then I'm like, oh, I see that differently
now, which is such a beautiful, it's a beautiful thing.
So I guess another action item is if you haven't received your patriarchal blessing, maybe
stop and consider is it your time to have that in your life is like a nice potential
roadmap.
We could have a whole different conversation on actually patriarchal blessings, but those
were probably my two favorite things at FSY last summer.
We were asked to discuss the young men's and the elements theme, depending on if you're
speaking to the girls or the boys individually.
And so I thought patriarchal blessing was exactly where I wanted to go with.
And I was impressed to talk about patriarchal blessing, but I explained to the girl, the
young woman that I was with that the young woman theme stands as such a powerful, like
what do you call them?
Like affirmation, positive affirmations, like line after line, the things that we were sent
here for to be, to do.
And it's a placeholder for me.
I think it's applicable to everybody.
And then when you know that that to be true, if you're ready for it, you ask, you prepare
and do the patriarchal blessing and that gives you a little more fine tuning.
So when you say placeholder, explain to us what that looks like in your mind.
So I think we start as young as like the first song we learned in primary as I'm a child
of God.
I'm pretty sure like every kid knows that it's like a favorite for everybody.
And those are truths.
I feel like most primary kids, they know it, they feel that song, they love it.
And it's so easy for them to sing that song and know that it's true.
We all get confused as to what one, two and three verses are like, what's the next one?
But once you get going, you know it.
And I think something happens as we approach like those teen years.
And there's a shift, there's definitely a shift and we've become less certain of the
things that we knew as a child.
And we have to, we have to evolve and be prepared for like whatever taxis is going to have on
us.
And so he does something to make us less certain about those truths that we literally started
with.
It's like almost like the veil is super thin coming to earth life.
Like I think that's why babies don't talk.
That's just a side note.
Like that's not doctrine.
But like I think they think that they're super in tune with spirits, angels that are attending
them and like they're not permitted to talk because they would tell us too many amazing
things.
And then, you know, we move into this age where anything you tell your kid, they believe
that it's true.
You can get away with a lot of things, you know, Santa to various things of this nature
and the lies feel appropriate at the time.
But anyway, they grow, they evolve and they need this place.
I think that's a place for the Satan.
He gets a little more access to us.
Does that seem accurate?
And so trying to explain to people that they are a daughter of God.
I don't know the immense things.
I'm not going to really try to act like I know it, but we have heavenly parents.
Those are like just simple truths that you can just sit in and think on those and see,
you know, does my soul like burn when I think of being his daughter and that like I'm loved
by those parents before I came to earth.
And I hope that that message does break through to people like that.
That again, that's stuff that you want to consider in the quietest times of your life
when you don't you, I can tell you that.
I mean, if you didn't believe that to be true, I could tell you that truth to your face.
Like it's something I know and I can tell you, but it's something you have to know for
yourself.
It's true.
You have to experience it for yourself.
And I think he just gave us so many opportunities to really find power in asking yourself those
questions.
They're hard questions.
And I think sometimes we don't want to ask the question because we're going to assume
that we're going to get an answer other than yes, that we're loved and deeply loved and
have so much worth and have so much potential because it does come with responsibility.
Maybe we're afraid of letting him down on the things that we promised to do, but I can't
really think exactly.
Being a mother, let's say that, or not everybody's a mother.
So I don't want that to be the thing that I have to say.
But when you're like, this is what I was made to do.
Is that, and can you think of other ones?
Am I drawing a blank?
But when you do something in your life and you're like, this is what I was made for.
I certainly don't find that in my job, like in my day job.
Gotcha.
Yes.
If you look back in family history too, I do feel like, and I've said this before, like
with Mormon and Moroni, one generation started it and the other generation like piggybacked
on it and finished it because it was too big of a job for one person to do.
So it took two generations.
And I feel like we stand on the shoulders of those strong men and women that sacrificed,
that really put the hard work in.
And I honestly feel like I'm finishing things that my great, great grandparents started
and it's gone down.
And I'm grateful to pick that up and to keep walking with it.
That makes me think of like the jobs, like some missions, they're literally just kind
of getting a presence in the land.
And you're trying seeds.
Yeah.
You're planting seeds and you definitely don't see anything come to fruition in the time
that you serve there.
But a couple of generations later, what's extra awesome is like sometimes another family
member generation or two down the line gets called to the same place and we're talking
like multiple temples or, you know, stakes.
Yeah.
And individuals remember, blossoms into a branch to a war to a stick and then we're building
temples.
Yeah.
So that's a cool thing to think about like what that family member promised to do.
And if they had used their agency to make a different plan, different path for their
life and hadn't started those seeds, then by the time that it got to you, it would look
a lot different, which, and that's a no way to make people feel like, Oh, what if I really
messed this up?
I will just testify that God has a contingency plan in any, every, anything and everything.
And you just get to just like bask in the beauty, the filling of like that you had your
peace and part in that great work.
Because you said yes.
Right.
And to whatever degree you opt into.
Yeah.
Right.
But and not feel bad.
No.
If you like, I've, I mean, I've done this in my life.
Like I was invited to go on a mission by a bishop of a finishing college in a job that
really needed to like get, like get going on.
And I'm thinking like, I'm going to put that on hold for a year and a half.
Cause this was when 21 was a driven person.
Well, I know, but I was like, he called me in to ask me to go on a mission.
And like, I'm like, so I was considering it and I like went to go get the missionary materials
to start studying up.
And, and like, I reached for it and I had this like, no, like don't even pick that material.
It's not for you.
So this was like even before like preaching my gospel.
So I'm old, right?
This was like, this is kind of right in that time timeframe.
So I ended up taking a job and going to put my degree to work and wasn't married.
And like, like that's really what the desire of my heart was.
And I was like, it's cause I didn't go on a mission.
I'm like, I don't see it in my patriarchal blessing technically.
I mean, I could read into it, but I sat in second guess the decision that felt right
to not go on a mission because I felt like things were like stalling in my life.
But the rest of the story is that my husband was kind of a late missionary goer.
And when I wanted to be engaged and then married, he was serving, you know, the people in California
on the right timeline for him.
And I just needed to be patient while he was doing that thing so that, you know, whenever
we met 2017.
Yeah.
Timing is a big deal.
Yeah.
And I, so I always try to say to people like friends that are looking for maybe their companion
and it's not working out just yet.
I always say in my experience, it's like the person that you're like, I'm not just saying
there's only one person for everybody, but what I am saying is that when you do find
the person that you're ready, we've probably, I don't know, I don't want to be like all
Saturdays warrior like before it ain't, but you can think of your person.
But what I, what I am saying is, um, it does, does feel true that like you, the timing had
to be right.
And the decisions like how to get you both to the place where like you, you, you know,
and that person that you, it does kind of sound Saturdays warrior, huh?
Like you were the one.
I, I think that you're, you're happy that it didn't work out with anybody else before
because the person you're with is the person you're supposed to be with.
Absolutely.
And I think probably you could be happy with somebody else too, but you know, I, I feel
like Adam was my only guy.
I think she's the only one that could tolerate me.
You guys are a good couple.
Let me, oh yeah.
A couple of quotes.
Do you want to share a couple, like just leave us with a couple of quotes that have had one
you want to read.
I love the one where he says, your heavenly father has known you for a very long time.
You as his son or daughter were chosen by him to come to earth at this precise time
to be a leader in this, in his great work on earth.
And remember he's speaking to the youth and I can testify that youth that are coming to
the earth at this day and time, the generation that is the youth right now in this moment,
I just want to testify.
They were definitely held for this time and season and they're doing, we have got to be
like ready to keep up with what they are prepared to do and change the world.
So that's a gorgeous quote.
Uh, I want to share one.
He said today, I reaffirm strongly that the Lord has asked every worthy able young man
to prepare for and serve a mission for latter day.
Saint young men, missionary service is a priesthood responsibility.
You young men have been reserved for this time when the promise gathering of Israel
is taking place for young and able sisters and missions also powerful, but optional opportunity.
Pray to know if the Lord would have you serve a mission and the Holy Ghost respond in your
heart and your mind.
So rather than hear me say that as a, um, you know, quote from the prophet who quoted
from the gospel, the preaching, the gospel piece, ask yourself that question is a mission
right for you.
And if it's not, then you've got that answer for yourself and then you don't really have
to listen to anybody else saying, why aren't you on a mission?
I never say for myself, my guess is you're probably impressed to consider a mission,
but I think that will leave that to the personal answer that you're going to get for yourself.
It is.
Um, so Gabby, do you want to leave us just with any last words?
That's a culminating thing you could leave.
How about this one?
This is from an Instagram post from the prophet.
I believe that if the Lord were speaking to you directly, the first thing he would make
sure you understand is your true identity.
My dear friends, you are literally spirit children of God.
Make no mistake about it.
Your potential is divine with your diligence seeking.
God will give you glimpses of who you may become.
So I think that ties back into action items.
We suggested you ask what, what piece or part of something you forwarding to do is, are
you ready to, um, come to recognize right now?
And those glimpses, it's not going to be a full picture, but glimpses and you just keep
moving forward.
I love that.
And just a quick, important reminder, Satan's goal is to help cause you to forget your true
identity, to know where you came from, that you are a daughter of God, a son of God.
Yeah.
And, and to like overwhelming thoughts persuade you to think that you're not, but, um, your
true identity is as a child of God above all else.
And so, um, just do on that beautiful thought for a while, if nothing else.
And hopefully you guys enjoy this talk as much as we do.
So good.
Thanks so much for being here.
We'll see you next time.
Bye.