Rhiannon speaks in Stake Conference!

For her second time in just over 5 years, Rhiannon spoke in stake conference early this month.  She did a PHENOMENAL job in front of almost 700 people.  We are so proud of her!!!

Here's her talk:

December 6th, 2015~ Stake Conference Talk by Rhiannon Cushing

Topic: Feeling Joy, Awe, and Excitement in Living the Gospel

Choose one:
-A tiny part of me cries when they lower the stand.
-Hello everyone!

I’m honored to talk to you all today and I hope everyone can hear me alright.

My topic today is Feeling Joy, Awe, and Excitement in Living the Gospel. First, I decided to simplify and get down to the basics—how do you truly live the Gospel?

The first thought I had was attending church meetings and activities regularly. Going to these bring me a lot of joy (especially when I don’t think it will that day); and my church activities like Mutual bring me joy as well. But living the Gospel is not just attending sacrament meeting and other church activities. True, this is essential and important; but it’s just one step.

I found a talk online from April 1993, from Elder L. Tom Perry, entitled—“Back to Gospel Basics”. He talked about visiting Peru and how all the saints located there were struggling. They started to practice basic teachings of the Gospel at home, and Elder Perry said this about the saints; “The blessings that have come to the Peruvian Saints from practicing these two basic gospel principles, daily prayer and scripture study, have been most remarkable. It soon became evident that faith and testimony were increasing among members of the Church…—daily prayer and scripture study—created a dramatic change and offered increased spirituality and works among the Saints there.”
My simplified version of living the Gospel is going to church meetings but then practicing the principles of the Gospel at home and representing our Savior to the best of our abilities.

The first part of my topic is feeling Joy in living the gospel. I believe this is one of the easiest feelings to have as a member of the church. President Utchdorf, my favorite speaker, gave an address in October of last year, titled, “Living the Gospel Joyful”. Instead of reading the entire talk, I’ll summarize. He explained how the “promised blessings of God to the faithful are glorious and inspiring…” and even though following commandments can be tough, it is all worth it. God is constantly raining down blessings and we only need to remove our umbrellas to receive them.

I’ve had a lot of experiences this year that have given me a lot of joy, and the more I’ve thought about these experiences, most of them have had to do with living the Gospel. This Thanksgiving Break my family and I went up to Utah, and we had the opportunity to do baptisms together in the Bountiful Temple. It was my brother Wade’s first time and my parents were married in Bountiful Temple so the whole thing was even more special than usual. I’m grateful we could do that together.
Then there’s the joy I get from going to Seminary each school morning. It can be quite a sacrifice, I’m not going to lie, but I’ve learned a lot and I’ve had fun with my friends there. It has also helped me tremendously with my personal scripture study. I used to only read my scriptures at church, but now I make it a habit of reading them every night. I’m grateful for Seminary and all my friends there, and for my wonderful teachers I’ve had. You are amazing.

Next is Feeling Awe from living the Gospel. We are all very lucky to have the Gospel in our lives and sometimes I think we forget how special it is and how people went through so many things for us to have it. Jesus Christ, our Savior, sacrificed so much for us. The Atonement was excruciatingly painful, but necessary, and He went through it all just for us, because He loves us. That is awe-inspiring to me.

Then there are the many pioneers who were chased from their homes, who traveled huge distances for their lives and for us. That is also awe-inspiring to me. I had the opportunity to go on our Stake’s pioneer Trek this past summer. I was very nervous but I am so glad I went. Over the space of three days the Kimbler Company traveled over 12 miles (which doesn’t sound like a lot but we were pulling a handcart the whole way haha) My testimony grew, and so did my friendships with my Trek family and others. Trek also deepened my understanding of how hard the trials of the pioneers were. They traveled hundreds of miles, sometimes in the dead of winter, and most lost family and friends along the road as well. I’m thankful for the pioneer’s example, for all the experiences I had on Trek, and for all the people I made those memories with. Trek is something I will never forget.

Last on the list is Feeling Excitement from living the Gospel. I get excitement from going to Mutual activities; they are always a lot of fun. Recently, my MiaMaid class put together some “blessing bags” to hand out to people less fortunate. I ended up giving one to a man in Salt Lake City. I thought it was hilarious because he said something along the lines of, “Oh, I get a lot of these! Thanks!”  ☺ He seemed grateful and it was exciting to see his reaction and give service that way.

Another exciting experience I’ve had, fairly recently was working on a missionary Open House for our ward. The youth in my ward put most of it together, with help from our leaders, and it was very successful. There were lots of people there that we taught different principles of the Gospel to, and it was a faith strengthening experience for me.

While writing this talk, I thought about why I’m a Mormon. And it’s that it makes me happy; I know it, I live it, I love it. It can be tough at times, especially with how much the world is deteriorating around us, but it’s so worth it.

For some reason, this past week was just spectacular. Noting huge happened, I think just all of the little everyday things made me happy; I started to recognize all the blessings that God was raining down on me. In particular, I had a really cool experience at my orthodontist appointment. Yeah; out of all the places, my orthodontist appointment. One of the really sweet ladies helping surprised me. She said something along the lines of, “I remember you! You are just free-spirited and you have a good outlook on life.” Of course, I couldn’t really say anything, because she was already working on my braces. I ended up giving her an awkward thumbs-up, which didn’t give the compliment any justice, but that made my week.

Our Savior loves us very much. We make mistakes but we will never be alone because He is with us always. I hope we will all remember what this month is really about and try our best to honor Him.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

April 26th Stake Conference talk

I spoke in stake conference for the 3rd time in my life on April 26th.  I was given about a week to prepare for it and definitely felt heavenly help doing that!  Because our stake center is still under construction, we met at the high school's auditorium!  It was a wonderful experience for me and a treat to speak with so many other people from our ward that weekend, including Melanie Litton, Kimm Washburn, Sundown Hittu, JenAi Evans, and Michael Hannafin!

A couple funny things--the sound system wasn't working great and so people in the back half could not hear the talks very well.  Brother Byerly, the stake executive secretary, came up behind my chair and told me I needed to talk LOUDLY when I gave mine.  I did this pretty well, but felt stupid practically screaming into the microphone, haha!

I got emotional a few times during the talk and broke my record of being able to stay composed only during stake conference talks.  Hopefully this means I'm done giving them for my lifetime!?

Here's the talk!  I love the topic!

Becoming Perfect in Christ

Stake Conference, April 26th, 2015

Good morning!  It’s really fun to be here in the PPAC with you all!  I am happy to be here and grateful for this opportunity to speak today.

As I sat down to prepare this talk, I thought of a funny, loving remark from Elder Holland in a talk he gave two years ago (“Lord, I Believe.)”  He said,“So be kind regarding human frailty--your own as well as those who serve with you in a Church led by volunteer, mortal men and women.  Except in the case of His only perfect Begotten Son, imperfect people are all God has ever had to work with. That must be terribly frustrating for Him, but He deals with it.  So should we.”

Today I was asked to speak about becoming perfect in Christ.  This topic has helped me learn how to face my own weaknesses  and deal more kindly with the imperfections of others.  

The key is understanding Christ’s Atonement.  

In the July 2014 Ensign, Elder Gerrit Gong wrote a powerful article on this topic of becoming perfect in Christ.  He said, “Understanding the Savior’s freely given atoning love can free us from self-imposed, incorrect, and unrealistic expectations of what perfection is.  Such understanding allows us to let go of fears that we are imperfect--fears that we make mistakes, fears that we are not good enough, fears that we are a failure compared to others, fears that we are not doing enough to merit His love..”  

I have felt every single one of those fears at one time or another!

He went on to say, “The Savior’s freely given atoning love helps us become more forgiving and less judgmental of others and of ourselves.  This love heals our relationships and gives us opportunities to love, understand, and serve as our Savior would.”

I know the Savior’s love is real.  Over 20 years ago I was a freshman at Texas A&M University.  One day I was really struggling.  It was Finals week.  I felt more stress than I’d ever experienced in my life, and I was burdened with some poor personal choices that I had made.  I remember walking to another class, feeling alone in a crowd, and so miserable.  I sat down on a bench and dug out the Book of Mormon that was buried in the bottom of my backpack.  As I opened the book randomly, my eyes fell on the following verse, Alma 31:31--”O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ.”  No one could have possibly known what I was going through in that moment, but the Lord did.  That phrase was just what I needed to face my imperfections, remembering the Savior’s words in Matthew 19:26, where He said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

In Elder Gong’s article, he talked a lot more about perfectionism and the reverse of that, being afraid to try at all..  I loved this comment from his article: “Fully accepting our Savior’s Atonement can increase our faith and give us courage to let go of constraining expectations that we are somehow required to be or to make things perfect.  Black-and-white thinking says everything is either absolutely perfect or hopelessly flawed.  But we can gratefully accept, as God’s sons and daughters, that we are His greatest handiwork, even though we are still a work in progress.”  I love that! (repeat last phrase)

There are some special verses on the very last page of the Book of Mormon, Moroni 10:32-33.  Listen for some of the keys Moroni mentions that will help us come unto Christ and be perfected in Him:   (don’t read this too slowly)

“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not His power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.

I thought about that phrase in verse 32, “deny yourselves of all ungodliness.”  How do we do that?  We can repent and turn away from the sins, the activities, the places, and sometimes even the people who have drawn us away from God.  In place of those “ungodly” ways, we can fill our lives with godliness.  

There are so many personal religious observances and good choices that can help us come unto Christ and be perfected in Him.  Offering sincere daily prayers, keeping the Sabbath day holy, partaking of the sacrament, sharing the gospel message with our friends and family and helping the full-time missionaries, doing family history, paying an honest tithe, serving others joyfully, and attending the temple regularly--these are just a few!  I know the list is long!  But today I’d like to talk about two things that kept coming back to my  mind and heart over and over again as I prepared this message..  

First, daily scripture study.  After several roller-coaster, inconsistent years, our family has done a much better job over the past few months doing regular scripture study.  When our family makes scripture study a priority, peace and love fill our home.  The stress of daily life and the drive for perfectionism lessens and is replaced with a spirit of acceptance and love for each other!  

Elder Scott gave us great counsel on scripture study.  He said, “Don’t yield to Satan’s lie that you don’t have time to study the scriptures. Choose to take time to study them. Feasting on the word of God each day is more important than sleep, school, work, television shows, video games, or social media. You may need to reorganize your priorities to provide time for the study of the word of God. If so, do it!”  

I also thought of my Aunt Shirlene.  Less than 6 months ago, her husband, my uncle David, slipped on ice while he was running and hurt his hip.  When he went to a doctor to get checked out, he learned that he had melanoma cancer that had spread through his whole body.  This was a complete, unexpected shock to him and to their large family.  They have a long road ahead.  But my aunt Shirlene’s testimony of scripture study gives me hope.  Months before this sudden news, her ward’s Relief Society had been challenged to read the Book of Mormon within a two-month period.  Aunt Shirlene accepted the scripture reading challenge, enjoying daily reading of the Book of Mormon and also studying the Institute manual that went with it.  She said that it has really been a blessing to have already been immersed in the reading and studying of the scriptures BEFORE learning of her husband’s cancer.  It has given her peace and comfort to help her get through this, whatever the Lord’s will is to be.   

My aunt’s experience is a great example to me of becoming perfect in Christ and gaining strength to deal with imperfect circumstances.

Another personal religious observance we can do is to recognize the tender mercies of the Lord in our lives and have a grateful heart.  Our prophet today, President Monson, has said that  “it is better to look up.”  President Eyring has asked us to recognize the Lord’s hand in our daily lives and record those moments.   

I thought of a simple experience I had the day after Christmas break ended a few months ago.  Our family had enjoyed a PERFECT, 2-week Christmas break, a stay-cation here at home in Ridgecrest.  It was heavenly!  But that Monday back to reality hit hard and I was really sad and grumpy!!!  As I stood at the kitchen window in the early hours of the morning, I looked to the eastern sky and saw the most beautiful sunrise I’d ever seen, purples and pinks and roses and blues.  It took my breath away with its beauty, but I also felt it was more personal than that, a gift from a loving Heavenly Father who knew how I was feeling at that moment and was encouraging me to get out the door and enjoy the day!  

President Uchtdorf has said, “Gratitude is a catalyst to all Christlike attributes…(and later)….We can choose to be grateful, no matter what.”    As I thought of these words and that phrase in Moroni 10:32--deny yourselves of all ungodliness--I felt the Spirit confirm to me that practicing gratitude is truly a godly attribute, one that can help us to recognize Christ’s love and help in our lives, and one that can help us conquer UNgodly ways.  

The next part of Moroni 10:32 says that after we have denied ourselves of all ungodliness, then we need to love God with all our might, mind, and strength.  If we do that, then His grace is sufficient for us, and by that grace we become perfect in Christ.

Just 3 weeks ago, President Uchtdorf spoke about the gift of grace.  He said:

“I marvel to think that the Son of God would condescend to save us, as imperfect, impure, mistake-prone, and ungrateful as we often are. I have tried to understand the Savior’s Atonement with my finite mind, and the only explanation I can come up with is this: God loves us deeply, perfectly, and everlastingly...”

A powerful expression of that love is what the scriptures often call the grace of God—the divine assistance and endowment of strength by which we grow from the flawed and limited beings we are now into exalted beings of “truth and light”...”

President Uchtdorf’s next statement really clicked with me:

“Grace is a gift of God, and our desire to be obedient to each of God’s commandments is the reaching out of our mortal hand to receive this sacred gift from our Heavenly Father.”

I love that--that we receive this gift of grace by obeying each of God’s commandments and show our love to Him by keeping those commandments with all our might, mind, and strength.

I’ve got to throw in one more perfect quote from this month’s General Conference:

Many of us were touched by Elder Renlund’s talk, called “Latter-day Saints Keep On Trying”:  He said:  “My invitation to all of us is to evaluate our lives, repent, and keep on trying. If we don’t try, we’re just latter-day sinners; if we don’t persevere, we’re latter-day quitters; and if we don’t allow others to try, we’re just latter-day hypocrites.As we try, persevere, and help others to do the same, we are true Latter-day Saints. As we change, we will find that God indeed cares a lot more about who we are and about who we are becoming than about who we once were.”

I know that becoming perfect in Christ takes time and process (Elder Gong).  

We need to be kind to ourselves and to those around us.  

The Savior’s Atonement is real--he did it for each one of us because He “loves us deeply, perfectly, and everlastingly.”  

We are not alone!

I know that if we keep on trying, we will know that “we are God’s greatest handiwork, even though we are a work in progress.”

References:  “Lord, I Believe,” Elder Holland, April 2013 Conference; “Becoming Perfect in Christ,” Elder Gong, July 2014 Ensign; “Make the Exercise of Faith Your First Priority,” Elder Scott, October 2014 General Conference; “It Is Better To Look Up,” Elder Carl Cook, October 2011 General Conference; “O, Remember, Remember,” President Eyring, October 2007 General Conference; “Grateful in Any Circumstance,” President Uchtdorf, April 2014 General Conference; “The Gift of Grace,” President Uchtdorf, April 2015 General Conference; “Latter-day Saints Keep On Trying,” Elder Renlund, April 2015 General Conference