This is my talk I gave on the Sunday I returned home from my full-time mission serving in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission.
I was asked to use the scripture D&C 49:27, "Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded." My Bishop wanted me to take what I have learned on my mission/experiences I had on my mission to teach.
Throughout the talk, the brackets [ ] are used to make notes to myself as the speaker. Brackets like { } are edits that I have put in to make certain things clearer for purposes of reading the talk vs listening to me give the talk.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Preach My Gospel, it says, "the first few moments with people are very important".
Which I find pertinent because 1. many of you I do not know and have not had those first few moments with. The ward boundaries changed while I was on my mission.
And 2 I think it's interesting because although I already know many of you and have already experienced those first few moments with you, I feel that the returned missionary version of somebody is almost an entirely different person, or a new creature, as the scriptures may describe it.
I can testify that that is true of me as well. My mission has been the transforming experience I always hoped it would be, although it certainly wasn't how I thought it was going to be.
So, weirdly, both as a new creature to some and as a new face to others, I suppose I should introduce myself.
My name is Alex Perazzo. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, who I testify is the Savior and Redeemer of the world. I returned home from serving in the Utah Salt Lake City Mission all but two days ago. I am the son of Glen and Beth Perazzo who I'm sure many of you know.
As I stated, my mission certainly wasn't what I thought it was going to be.
I started my mission in November 2019. 4 months before Covid hit. On March 18th, 2020, our day started off with an earthquake and later that day we were told we were to be quarantined. We could only go outside, for a few hours a day.
We were stuck inside for roughly 3 months, which I will interject was a blessing for how short it was. I know many missionaries that spent months and months longer inside.
There were floods of missionaries leaving our mission to go to their home country, and floods more entering our mission from being reassigned from all across the world.
Meanwhile, as you know, in normal life, businesses were shutting down, people were losing their jobs, weddings were postponed, colleges went online, people we may know may be passing away, and I'm sure a slew of other things went down that threw a wrench in the normal plan of life.
It can be hard to imagine that God has a plan for you when things like these are going on.
And yet, it is perhaps one of the greatest things I learned and saw during the course of my mission. I know that God has a plan for every single one of us.
I know what it says in Doctrine and Covenants 49:27 is true, "Behold, I will go before you and be your rearward; and I will be in your midst, and you shall not be confounded."
I want to share some experiences with you that I had on my mission that have testified to me that this is true.
I will state, however, that regardless of the miracles I saw and the Lord's hand I witnessed, first and foremost I know these things by the power of the Holy Spirit which is in me. These experiences just add on to my testimony that is built through the spirit.
I want to start off by telling a story about The Grinch. I never learned his real name. He simply introduced himself as the Grinch and we knew him as that ever since.
Let me set the scene a bit. Park Place. Legendary apartment complex. Super good for missionary work. We spent probably over an hour a day there while I was in that area for 4 and a half months.
It was kind of sketch, that's for sure. Although I never saw it myself, a couple other Elders had reports of them going up stairwells only to find people doing drugs in the middle of the stairwell.
It was run down for sure. But, at least in this case, that meant lots of humble people.
Regardless of their current circumstances and struggles, many of them wanted to change and that's what matters most.
There are 10 buildings in Park Place. At the time of me meeting The Grinch, I had tracted 1, maybe 2 buildings out of the 10.
The Grinch was born and raised in Utah. He was the son of a Bishop. According to The Grinch, his parents were extremely controlling in regards to him and church and it pushed him away.
Since then (so, crossing the span of probably 30 years), he completely distanced himself from the Church.
As of late, The Grinch said he had tried to reach out to God but felt nothing in return. And so he put God in a "time-out" (those are his words) and was waiting for a sign.
Whenever I was told this by someone, I laughed a little on the inside. You're waiting for God to reach out? You're waiting for a sign? You are talking to two emissaries of the Lord right now. You are talking to official representatives of the Church and of Jesus Christ. Do you not feel this is God reaching out?
And so I told him that. I said, "Grinch, can I tell you something? We prayed this morning to be directed as to where we should go today. As we considered which building of Park Place to tract, we felt inspired to come to building J. Your building. But furthermore, Grinch, when we got here, we were originally planning on knocking the bottom floor. But we felt we should come to the top instead. And here we so happen to bump into you. I tell you that this is God reaching out to you. This is not a mere coincidence."
And although Grinch never came back to Church or had a big change of heart, I know we were sent to him that day. I know that God had a plan for us, him, and each one of you.
I want to share a few other quick, but significant examples of God being in my midst, so to speak, during the course of my mission. Here are a few back to back. Know that I have many more.
Experience #1: My Favorite District
I remember one day, not too long after quarantine ended, looking around at my district that I loved with all my heart. I realized that 7 out of the 10 of us were reassigned from other missions.
I know that God planned for us to gather and be together. That God sent those missionaries across the world to be exactly where they needed to be. In that district. In that part of Salt Lake. Serving each other and serving the people in that area.
Many of them are still my favorite missionaries I have ever known.
Experience #2: Jerome
Jerome is known affectionately by many nicknames. Jimmy, Billy, Jerome the Homie, Short Brown Fat Guy (the last one, I will add, is most commonly used by himself).
I am convinced that one of the primary reasons why I was sent to the Utah Salt Lake City Mission was to meet this man. Save certain companions only, Jerome has made more of an impact on me than anyone else I have met on my mission.
Experience #3: Rock Springs
I absolutely loved my time up in Rock Springs, Wyoming. People think I’m joking when I talk about how much I love Wyoming, but trust me, I’m not. Wyoming is the best part of the mission. Wyoming is the holy land.
During my time there, Elder Townsend, one of my favorite companions, and I taught and baptized a lady who we'll call Sam.
Sam is my favorite person I have ever taught. She was taught off and on by missionaries for several years before making the step to be baptized.
It was an incredible experience, and to put it simply, I’ll quote what one of the members told Elder Townsend and I. She told us, “I believe Sam was waiting for you two to come teach her. She needed you two to do it. No one else.”
I believe in the idea that there is somebody out there on your mission that only you can touch the heart of. That you as an individual can make a difference that perhaps no one else can. Sam was that person for Elder Townsend and I.
Now, I want to take a step back and refocus on why I shared those experiences in the first place.
I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us.
I have seen this time and time again.
This truth is most evident when looking upon our Savior Jesus Christ.
{In this section, I did not read the references to the quotes I was saying. I just let the scriptures flow into one another.}
"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." (John 3:16)
He is "the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by [him]." (John 14:6)
"There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ." (Mosiah 3:17)
"It is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice." (Alma 34:10)
"And behold, he shall be born of Mary, at Jerusalem, she being a virgin, a precious and chosen vessel, who shall bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God." (Alma 7:10)
"And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; he will take upon him the sicknesses of his people." (Alma 7:11)
"He shall suffer pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold, blood cometh from every pore." (Mosiah 3:7)
"He will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, that he may know how to succor his people." (Alma 7:12)
He will "make weak things become strong." (Ether 12:27)
"He hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting of death swallowed up." (Mormon 7:5)
"For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22)
"Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah." (2 Nephi 2:8)
How great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth!
People don't know these eternal important truths. These truths that bring so much solace to me and you are truths that many of the people you know and love do not have to rely upon.
One of my favorite quotes about missionary work is from Elder Bednar, back in April 2008.
He references members and the full-time missionaries. And now that I'm no longer a full-time missionary, he is talking just as much to me as he is to each of you.
He said,
"We properly pray for the safety and success of the full-time missionaries throughout the world. And a common element in many of our prayers is a request that the missionaries will be led to individuals and families who are prepared to receive the message of the Restoration. But ultimately it is my responsibility and your responsibility to find people for the missionaries to teach. Missionaries are full-time teachers; you and I are full-time finders. And you and I as lifelong missionaries should not be praying for the full-time missionaries to do our work!"
I think many of us understand the what and the why. We want to do missionary work. I think, commonly, what we don't understand is the 'how'. How does one share the gospel?
Elder Uchtdorf in April 2011 gives a perfect example of sharing in normal and natural ways.
"Years ago our family lived and worked among people who in almost every case were not of our faith. When they asked us how our weekend was, we tried to skip the usual topics—like sports events, movies, or the weather—and tried to share some religious experiences we had as a family over the weekend—for instance, what a youth speaker had said about the standards from For the Strength of Youth or how we were touched by the words of a young man who was leaving on his mission or how the gospel and the Church helped us as a family to overcome a specific challenge we had. We tried not to be preachy or overbearing. This often would lead to more in-depth discussions."
I wanted to share what I think is a perfect example of this from my last companion, Elder Kelly.
Before his mission, he ran cross country with his friend named Kyle. They had many long runs together and they had a long time to talk.
So, they talked about typical teenage boy topics. Sports and girls.
When talking about girls, Elder Kelly would get the chance to share his standards on dating. Why do you do that, Kyle would ask. Well, we've received guidance from a prophet. What's a prophet? Let me tell you.
As Elder Kelly was preparing to leave on a mission, Kyle asked him about missions. He thought it would be cool to serve a mission himself. Kyle was baptized a few weeks later and is now preparing to serve a mission :)
Conversations about girls led to Kyle changing his life forever.
Heavenly Father cares so much about his children. I promise you that he will be more than willing to help you as you share the gospel.
[Bear testimony]
I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I hope everything I do is a reflection of this knowledge that I have gained and continue to gain.
I bear witness of these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.