Leila's Sacrament Talk

Kia Ora everyone, my name is Leila Wihongi and my parents are Jason and Candice. My family name is Wihongi, and the topic I will be speaking on today is family.

From The Family: A Proclamation to the World, it says “All human beings- male and female- are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.” I know this to be true when I think of my Grandma Barbara, the mother of my Dad, who has been a light to everyone she meets. Her divine nature was always showing because she had Christ-like love for others. She knew of the divine and eternal destiny that is possible for families because of the Atonement. She showed me that loving your family is important whether they are living or have passed on as she also did a lot of family history work until Heavenly Father said her work was done. I hope to follow her example.

In For the Strength of Youth, it says to “Join your family in family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evenings.” My family does this mostly everyday, and I know this brings us closer together. After family scripture reading, my Dad asks us questions about the chapter we read so that it could be more meaningful. He also lets us ask questions about the scriptures if we are confused so that he can help us understand the scriptures. We also take turns for family prayer and help each other improve on what we could say in our prayer instead of saying the same prayer over and over. Our families can help us to understand the world around us and teach us right from wrong from their own experiences.

Most of you probably know that my older sister, Wiramina, is serving a mission in Hamilton, New Zealand. She has had many miracles and experiences, and apparently had one recently and told my family about it through an email, it says “So much has happened this week.
The whole Hamilton mission (about 170 of us) got together and stayed at a camp for 2 nights for our Christmas Conference. During a devotional, I finally accepted and got the reason why I am serving here in NZ. From the moment I opened my call, I knew I was sent to New Zealand because of my ancestors and because my roots are here - of course! Well, long story short, guess what the spirit confirmed to me during our Christmas Conference?
"Sister Wihongi, you are here because this is the land of your ancestors."
Is that surprising? Nope. But it brought immense peace in my heart. I guess I always took that reason for granted. But as I pondered on it more and more throughout the devotional, the spirit became stronger and stronger. Most of the people that the missionaries are teaching in this mission are: my family. The "500 baptism goal" is 500 more souls, my family, coming into the fold of our loving Savior. This Christmas Conference had given me more drive, more confidence, more faith in doing the Lord's work. I will not take my name for granted anymore, I will treat everyone with greater love because I have gained more charity from this conference. These people are my family. On my father's and on my mother's side, there has been a strong heritage within the church and I know some stories of my missionary ancestors as well. I have felt their presence & I know they are helping me with the Lord's work. I grieve as I look back on my mission and could have done more, asked for more help, depending on the spirit more. It has made me also want to help my fellow missionaries. I want them to know how important this means to me and Heavenly Father, and how important it should mean to them. I loved being with fellow full time servants of the Lord. You bet I am taking this more seriously.”
It’s a miracle for her to send an email about family after I was given the assignment to talk about family. I guess that’s what sisters are for.

Mina taught me that family is one of the greatest blessings you could ever have. For the Strength of Youth says, “Your family can provide you with companionship and happiness, help you learn correct principles in a loving atmosphere, and help you prepare for eternal life.” I can't agree more with that sentence as my family does the same for me.

I’d like to bear my testimony that families are forever and that we can see each other again through Christ’s Atonement. I know this church to be true, i runga i te ingoa o Ihu Karaiti, amine.