Even though I am a junior at Penn, and the first time I came here was in 2001, this is my first talk

in the Philly 3rd ward. I have had such a great experience in Philadelphia, but the hardest times that I have passed through may have been during my first few days here. I remember the first time I came off of the plane in Philadelphia, all alone in a dangerous and uncertain new world. I did make it to Penn safely, but in the week that followed, I sank into a state of hopeless depression. However, I remember distinctly the very first time that I walked within the walls of this chapel. The spirit touched me with the greatest feeling of peace and assurance. I felt instantly accepted into the ward and was given strength to get me through all of the stresses and vicissitudes of a first year away at college. A couple of weeks later, the tragic events of September 11th struck the hearts of America with new fears and insecurities. I remember the fear that I felt, but I also remember distinctly the services here the following Sunday, and once again the confirmation I received that we would pull through this and everything would be alright. The ward bonded together in this time of turmoil. The experiences I had that year and the closeness that I felt with the members of my new ward were really what inspired me to finally make the decision to serve a mission. But what is it that the members of the church had or have? We dress, for the most part at least, just like everyone else; we are not of one race or one socioeconomic background. But, every member of the church who keeps the commandments possesses a light inside of them which, without words, can inspire, edify, and uplift. James E. Faust talked about this light in the October 2005 general conference. He shares a story which Im sure will be familiar to most of you. He says:

I recently recalled a historic meeting in Jerusalem about 17 years ago. It was regarding the lease for the land on which the Brigham Young Universitys Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies was later built. Before this lease could be signed, President Ezra Taft Benson and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, then president of Brigham Young University, agreed with the Israeli government on behalf of the Church and the university not to proselyte in Israel. You might wonder why we agreed not to proselyte. We were required to do so in order to get the building permit to build that magnificent building which stands in the historic city of Jerusalem. To our knowledge the Church and BYU have scrupulously and honorably kept that nonproselyting commitment. After the lease had been signed, one of our friends insightfully remarked, Oh, we know that you are not going to proselyte, but what are you going to do about the light that is in their eyes? He was referring to our students who were studying in Israel. What was that light in their eyes which was so obvious to our friend? The Lord Himself gives the answer: [in the Doctrine & Covenants] And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings. Where did that light come from? Again the Lord gives the answer: I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. The Lord is the true light, and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit. This light shows in our countenances as well as in our eyes. In a quote that rings true to my first days as a freshman at Penn, President Brigham Young was once asked why we are sometimes left alone and often sad. His response was that man has to learn to act as an independent being to see what he will

do and try his independencyto be righteous in the dark. As James E. Faust adds, that becomes easier to do when we see the gospel glow radiating from illuminated individuals. This is by no means a new concept, and people throughout the ages have felt the influence of this light which comes from the Lord. David O. McKay said: Every man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone; it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she really is. . . . It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us.1 And so it is. If one looks, there are many different scriptures and quotes that can tell us about this concept, but none of them are as powerful to me as the one which I am about to share. It is the story of a taxi driver, whom well call Alejandro. This comes from the December 2003 edition of my journal. I was serving in the mission office at that time, which most people considered to be the most base and unholy of all the mission callings. I felt that it was a very spiritual position. So speaking of spiritual, this particular day my companion and I were going to pay some urgent bills, and we had a really important meeting that night with some great investigators, but we had no time to plan anything (we were paying bills and running errands all day). We hopped into a taxi and, as we usually did, started up a conversation with the taxi driver. It turned out that Alejandro was a member of the church who came from a small town in Southern Chile. My companion told him that we had an important discussion about tithing that night and

David O. McKay, Man May Know For Himself, Clare Middlemiss, comp. (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1967), p. 108.

wondered if he had any suggestions for us. He gave us some good suggestions for the lesson, and after that he told us a story that left an undeniable impression on my soul. He said, one day when I was young recent convert I was leaving church to go home, when a man came up behind me and placed a knife up to my throat. He told me to give him all of my money. I nervously replied that I didnt have any money on me. He said, then why are you dressed up nice, like youre all rich? I told him that I was just returning from church. He yelled back that he didnt believe me, and that my life was in his hands right now, and demanded that I hand over the money. I replied that he could do what he wanted to me, but my life was and always has been in Gods hands. We went back and forth as he yelled for me to hand over money and I tried to convince him that I had none, and I was only going to church. He eventually asked me what church I was going to. Even though I said it before, I told him that I was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He said, Youre a Mormon? and I nodded my head. The mans countenance changed. He said in my sector there are a couple of Mormons that go around in the streets every day. They play soccer with the kids and are always trying to give service to others. They do good things for us. They are good people. They are true representatives of Christ. The man withdrew his knife, gave me a customary hug, and simply walked away. Alejandro continued I have no idea who those two missionaries were, but those two missionaries saved my life. They will never know it, but they saved my life. I later got married, and had seven children who would not be here if those two missionaries hadnt been behaving themselves. Who knows how many lives have been touched by them? So remember when you go out there, you are saving lives in more ways than one.

We got out of the taxi, and my companion and I looked at each other in disbelief. We knew this was a moment that usually only surfaces in places like Ensign Magazines and Manuals of Teachings of the Presidents of the Church. We were just two missionaries, standing there in a crowded line waiting to pay an overdue bill. I cant speak for my companion, but my life definitely changed that day. The missionaries in that town were human beings. They werent magnificent leaders in the church; they might not have even known the discussions at all or even known Spanish for that matter. But they did have a light in their eyes, they radiated what they were, and that made all the difference. From that point on the mission changed for me. It became a journey rather than a destination. Many of the nuisances and things that I had worried about before in the mission just went on autopilot. The heat did not bother me, my legs never seemed to be tired, and the occasional hunger seemed to disappear. Even time, which had once been my worst enemy, came to be on my side. Companions no longer seemed irritable, and the large number of rejections, no matter how disparaging, could ever get on my nerves. Could their experience some day in the future be similar to mine as a Penn freshman, or even to Alejandros? No one knew. Also, scriptures opened up a new world of meaning as they became interwoven into my own life and showed me things that I had never realized before. In Doctrine and Covenants 58 I read that I could not behold with my natural eyes, the design of God concerning the glory which shall follow after much tribulation. I read in the Book of Mormon that Nephi, chosen to be an Apostle on the American continent by Christ himself, was only there because his great-great-great-grandfather, Alma, was touched by

the light in the eyes of a missionary named Abinadi. Abinadi never saw a single convert in his life, but his influence reached even to a future Apostle who was ordained by the hand of Christ. In preparing for this talk, reading over this change that occurred in me during the mission caused me to re-evaluate my life and think about the way that I measure success today. In our lives, how many of us are discouraged because of the uncertainty that lies before us? Maybe we dont get high grades, no matter how hard we try. Maybe our friends will not take the discussions, or not agree to be baptized at the last minute, despite all our efforts as member missionaries. We need to remember that these things, although great, are only as raindrops on a large stone, and that after much tribulation come the blessings. President Faust continues on in his talk to say that Secularism is expanding in much of the world today. Secularism is defined as indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations. Secularism does not accept many things as absolutes. Its principal objectives are pleasure and self-interest. Often those who embrace secularism have a different look about them. As Isaiah observed, The show of their countenance doth witness against them. Yet with all the secularism in the world, many people hunger and yearn for the things of the Spirit and hearing the word of the Lord. As Amos prophesied: Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: I feel that as we get older, the tendency to become concerned with secular things increases. In my life I know it has definitely been a challenge. We can see from

this why Christ tells us in the scriptures to become as a little child. My mission president recently wrote to me about an interesting experience. Two Elders were knocking doors on a street and a little girl several houses down started calling to her mother, "Mom, come quick. It is Jesus. Jesus is coming to our house." The mom came out, saw the Elders, and said, "No, it is not Jesus. It is just the Mormons." The girl said, "No, mom. It is Jesus. I know it is." The mom took her daughter in the house and shut the door. Too bad she didn't see what her daughter did. The experience touched the Elders and reminded them, once again, whom they represent. Faust goes on to describe how we can strengthen this light that is in our eyes and truly measure our progress here on earth. Those who truly repent receive the Spirit of Christ and are baptized into this Church unto the remission of their sins. Hands are laid upon their heads, and through the priesthood of God they receive the Holy Ghost. It is the gift of God unto all those who diligently seek him. As Elder Parley P. Pratt characterized it, the gift of the Holy Ghost is, as it were, joy to the heart, [and] light to the eyes. The Holy Ghost is that Comforter promised by the Savior before He was crucified. The Holy Ghost gives worthy Saints both spiritual guidance and protection. It increases our knowledge and our understanding of all things. This is of immense value at a time when spiritual blindness is increasing. Other blessings add further to the light in our eyes. They are the gifts of the Spirit that come from the Savior. Joy, happiness, fulfillment, and peace are the gifts of the Spirit that flow from the power of the Holy Ghost. Notice he does not say that record baptisms as a missionary, a prominent calling, material prosperity, or acceptance in social circles will determine or add to the

light in our eyes. Do these things come? Yes, they do, but only to whom and when the Lord sees fit. Those investigators that we were teaching back in December of 2003 were baptized, and continue to do well, but, for me at least, the most important thing we did that day was to learn how to find a lifetime of peace and satisfaction in our own work. I hope and pray that as we leave here today and start this New Year, we can remember our divine nature and enter each new day with the confidence and assurance that we are fulfilling Gods plan here on earth. The worth of souls is great in the sight of God, and if we should labor all our days and bring but one soul unto the Lord, even if that one soul is our own, our joy will still be great in the kingdom of our Father. Our lives will be illuminated, and other lives will be touched. If we remember this, and know that we cannot see with our natural eyes the things God has in store for us, we will be able to endure to the end and return to live with Him. In preparing this talk I was able to look back and see the designs of God in my own life. I have been truly blessed by this experience.