One of the greatest gifts the Lord has given us is the gift of free agency. This gift allows each individual, through his or her choices, the pursuit of specific blessings and privileges while in mortality. President Monson said this:
"I have been thinking recently about choices and their consequences. Scarcely an hour of the day goes by but what we are called upon to make choices of one sort or another. Some are trivial, some more far-reaching. Some will make no difference in the eternal scheme of things, and others will make all the difference" October 2010 General Conference.
President Wheelwright taught us this:
"Many small and simple ....steps, which might seem insignificant at the time, have eternal consequences, ranging from the divine to the tragic, based on how we choose to follow the recipe. In other words, how we use our agency as we make small, daily choices, ultimately determines the outcome of our lives. The process is often slow and imperceptible, first affecting our growth and development, but ultimately determining our eternal destiny." BYUH Devotional May 6, 2008.
So now I would like to discuss with you a few important decisions that you have already made, or maybe that you are about to make, which have eternal consequences.
Some of you have been members of the Church since birth. Others have become members later on in life. No matter when you were baptized, I believe each of you has a beautiful conversion story, because your conversion is a true miracle.
If you are a convert to the Church, one thing I can guarantee you: you will never be able to forget the countenance, the face, the spirit of those two Elders or Sisters who brought you the message of the Restoration.
When I was 12 years-old I lived in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. My parents had 7 children then. The year was 1969. According to my parents, at that time there was a lot of evil in the world, people were losing respect for each other, people were distorting their values, losing a sense of ethical and moral principles, and people were no longer distinguishing right from wrong. Imagine that was back in 1969! At the time my parents were seeking a religion that could help them raise a family and keep the family together through the years. It was at that important moment of decision that the missionaries knocked at our door. Certainly, those two Elders were angels sent by God in response to my parents' prayers.
My father is now 77 years old. He says that the most important decision he has ever made was his choice to embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ. According to him, the gospel helped him to become a better father, a better husband, a better son, a better professional, a better citizen, finally, a better son to Heavenly Father.
I believe that seeing the fruits of the gospel in my family motivated me at the right time to accept the call to serve a full time mission. I wanted to bring to others the same feeling of joy and spiritual fulfillment our family received through those two young missionaries.
I know some of you have already served a mission and returned home with that good feeling inside: these were the best two years of my life. Some of you are about to accept a mission call. And I know some of you are trying to decide whether you should go or not. One thing I can guarantee you: You will never regret the decision to accept a mission call and serve the Lord as his representative. The Lord will expand your vision, your intellect and your wisdom. The Lord will increase your faith, your testimony and your love for the gospel, for the Savior and for his children. You will receive many blessings, your family will receive many blessings, and your posterity will receive many blessings. I like the promise found in Matthew 19:29,
"And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."
I commend many of you who have already given two years of your life to the sacred cause of bringing souls unto Christ and now you are in a higher mission harvesting the promised rewards of your devoted service.
After you return from your mission, you will want to find that special someone who will make all the difference in your life. I know some of you have already been sealed in the temple. Some of you are about to accompany your sweetheart into that sacred place and be sealed to each other for time and all eternity. And I know some of you are trying to decide whether you should take this important step or not.
Well, I would like to share with you that not too long ago; I was exactly in your shoes. I had returned home from my mission, I had already met a beautiful and very special young girl and I was super afraid to make that decision. I didn't know if the time was right. I didn't know if I was ready. I didn't know if things were going to work out fine.
At that time Elder James E. Faust, then a member of the quorum of the Twelve, went to Brazil to hold a fireside for all returned missionaries. I was going out with this beautiful, very sweet and special young girl called Vania, who also had served a mission. We decided to go together. In that fireside Elder Faust taught: "Marriage is a matter of love and faith. Love to one another and faith in one another. And also love for and faith in the Savior" . Then he added: "If you have love and faith in one another and love and faith in the Savior you can marry" .
Well, I don't know what happened that night, but after we heard those inspired words from Elder Faust, somehow I returned home with this feeling inside: I think I am ready to get married. Five months later Vania and I were kneeling in the altar of the Sao Paulo temple to be sealed for time and eternity. A few years later, in a General Conference talk, and then president Faust declared:
"We make no greater voluntary choice in this life than the selection of a marriage partner. This decision can bring eternal happiness and joy. To find sublime fulfillment in marriage, both partners need to be fully committed to the marriage," April 2004 General Conference.
We learn from our church leaders that we should reserve one evening a week for our Family Home Evening. In these special occasions we talk about our spiritual, temporal, professional, physical and emotional needs, wishes and plans.
I will always remember the first Family Home Evening we held. We were still on our honeymoon. One night, sitting on the sand by the beach, we talked about our goals for the future. Among other goals we established that evening, one I vividly remember was this: We will seek the blessings of prosperity.
I understand now that my wife needed a lot of faith and love in order to accept marrying me. What bright future could she expect marrying a returned missionary that only earned the minimum wage in a Latin American country? How could she dream of prosperity knowing that her husband had only high school education?
Somehow we had the faith that the Lord could and would bless us, and change our temporal circumstances. We knew then that if we were to succeed in this purpose, like Nephi of old, we would have to build our ship "after the manner which the Lord would show us." To Nephi the Lord said:
Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee. And later on Nephi wrote:
"And the Lord did show me from time to time after what manner I should work the timbers of the ship.
"Now I, Nephi, did not work the timbers after the manner which was learned by men, neither did I build the ship after the manner of men; but I did build it after the manner which the Lord had shown unto me."
We also understood then that "There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated. And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated," D&C 121:20-21.
So it was clear to us then that if wanted to receive the blessings of prosperity we would have to follow the physical and spiritual laws that led to this privileged condition. So at that night, sitting on the sand by the beach, we made two important commitments with the Lord:
1.We would be 100% faithful in paying our tithing and
2.We would be generous in our offerings to the Church.
Today we believe those two decisions helped us build the spiritual foundation for the generous temporal blessings the Lord would later graciously grant to us. Often with gratitude we remember the words of Malachi 3,
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
Of course, we knew then that acquiring an education would play an important role in the process of seeking better professional qualifications. That was when we decided to included BYU in our plan of action. At this time, I commend every one of you for being a student at this great university. I understand we have many international students on this campus. Please be always grateful for this opportunity, privilege and blessing. Obtaining an education in an American institution places you among the top candidates to take on leadership positions in your field when you go back to your country.
I know that while you are on campus it's hard to appreciate all the blessings you have. Most of the time we think only in terms of the work load we have to finish, the next exam, the next project, the next deadline. And sometimes we are even tempted to give up. Believe me it was not different in my case.
I was accepted at BYU Provo when I was already 27 years old. I had been out of school for several years. When my first semester ended and I got my grades, I was afraid to arrive home and show them to my wife. My grades were terrible. I started preparing a mental plan in my own defense. I thought to myself: I will show my wife my grades, she will not be pleased, then I will tell her that this school is too hard, that I am not prepared for college and that we'd better go back to Brazil. And as I walked home carrying my grades (just like a child goes back home to show mom his grades) I started rehearsing in my mind what I was going to say to my wife. When my wife saw my grades, first she agreed that they were really bad. Then I immediately started telling her my feelings of inadequacy, and my desire to interrupt school and go back home. Then she said, "Carlos, we have come all the way from Brazil over here for you to graduate from this university, and we're not going back home until you graduate. I don't care if you need to take a particular class 2 or 3 times, but we will not go back home until you have graduated!"
After hearing those words from my wife I thought, well, I have no way out. I'd better stay in school. So dear brothers and sisters, the fact that I am here this morning sharing my testimony with you is thanks to my dear wife who at a very crucial moment of decision, gave me the help and support I needed.
You have the blessing of having a beautiful temple within walking distance of campus. The temple is a sacred house of contemplation, meditation, prayer and revelation. While I was in my last year at BYU, school work was very demanding: many projects, papers, exams and deadlines to meet. I felt there was not enough time to get everything done at school, and also take care of wife, children, church calling, and other responsibilities. At that time a scripture helped me have the right perspective: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you," Matthew 6:33.
I decided then, that every Tuesday morning I would attend the temple. No matter how busy I was or how much work I had to do, I would get up earlier and attend the first session of the temple every Tuesday morning. Up to this day I treasure the sweet memory of that experience and I am sure it made all the difference in my final year in school. I am sure I was able to accomplish more with the Lord's help than I ever could if I tried to do it by myself.
Finally graduation came. Then another important decision had to be made. And now the question was, should we return home or stay in America? Interestingly enough, now I wanted to stay in America and my wife wanted to return home.
She kept reminding me these words: our purpose in coming to BYU is to follow the counsel of the prophets:
Get an education
Return home
Make a mark
Serve the kingdom
Again her spiritual maturity, understanding and commitment to follow the leaders of the Church helped me make the right choice.
We returned home with the faith that the Lord would provide for our well-being and take care of us in our own country.
Back in Brazil I started working in an American company from Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, and then one day a colleague from work asked me, "Carlos, can you teach us some English lessons in the evening?" I thought, Why not? Evening classes means some extra money in the pocket.
So I started teaching English at home for 1 student, 2 students, 3 students, 1 class, 2 classes, 3 classes - until the moment came when I had no more time available in the evening for one more student. Then at that time I went to talk to my sweet wife Vania. Now just listen how a husband talks to his wife when he wants something from her: Sweetheart, honey, my love, there are some friends at work who want some English classes in the evening. Do you think you can teach them? My wife thought this way: Why not? Evening classes means some extra money in the pocket. So she followed the same pattern. She started teaching 1 student, 2 students, 3 students, 1 class, 2 classes, and 3 classes until the moment she also had no more time available in the evening for one more student.
So this was another moment of decision. Now what should we do? Should we continue with the day time job? Should we continue with the students? Should we open a school? What should we do?
So I did what any intelligent person does on a moment of decision. I went to talk to my friends to see what advice they would give me. And guess what my friends told me.
They said "You are crazy. Don't it. There's a lot of competition. Now is a bad timing. We are facing an economic crisis. There's no bright future in teaching." What did I do then?
I went home and cried. (I hadn't expected this reaction from my friends). What did my friends do? They laughed. Why did they laugh? Because they thought to themselves: We knew he would not do it. We knew it was too difficult. We knew he would give up.
Well, time passed by and today I am the one who laughs. And my friends.... They cry. And why do some of them cry? Because maybe some of them also had some plans, projects, ideals and dreams. But they were so focused in the barriers, obstacles, opposition, their inner fears and imaginary self-doubts that they never gave themselves a chance to implement their life project.
Time has passed by and today Wizard has grown to become a worldwide organization. We are currently present in 10 different countries, have over 3,000 schools, generate 45k jobs and teach approximately 1 million students each year.
I learned through experience that at moments of decisions, many times we find ourselves like Nephi when he was asked to return home to obtain the plates, he didn't know in advance what was going to happen. But he had trust and faith in the Lord. He knew that through his obedience the Lord would be by his side. When my wife and I returned to Brazil we knew we were doing the right thing but we had no idea what great things the Lord had in store for us. This reminds us of these verses in Isaiah:
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts," Isaiah 55:8-9.
Sometimes I stop and think, what would have happened if we had remained in America? What would have happened if we had never returned home? What would have happened if we had trusted only in ourselves and not in the counsel of our Church leaders? We don't have an answer to these questions. We only know one thing for sure: The Lord does keep his promise to bless all his children according to their faith and obedience.
And today I am here as a witness to say to you that regardless of your place of origin, the Lord has many blessings in store for you back in your country. You cannot see with your natural eyes now all that the Lord has prepared for you. But as you return home with the eyes of faith you too will become a witness of this promise. I like this verse of scripture in 1 Corinthians 2:9
"Love Eye hath not seen, nor hear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him."
Today we have more members of the Church outside the United States than in the United States. This means there is a large need of worthy and qualified brothers and sisters to hold several leadership positions in the kingdom in your country. The Lord has given you much in bringing you to this campus. This is your time of preparation. You are laying the foundation of your future service in society, but especially in the kingdom of God. Jesus himself said: "To whom much is given much is required," Luke 12:48. This means that the Lord expects a lot from each of you.
Recently we celebrated the 50th anniversary since president David O. McKay declared: "Every member a missionary." I believe during this time members of the church have done a great job spreading the message of the gospel. Fifty years ago we had a little over 1 million members and now we have over 14 million members.
Following the spirit of "every member a missionary," a few years ago I started the New Year with the resolution of passing out 365 pass along cards in a year. I thought: giving out one pass along card a day is a very worthwhile goal. However, at the end of January I had already given out about 100 cards. Then I thought: maybe I should increase my goal to distribute 1,000 cards during the year. Then at the end of February I had already passed out about 300 cards. Then in the spirit of prayer I started pondering: what would a realistic goal to accomplish during a year's time? As a response to this desire to be a member missionary the Holy Ghost inspired with this idea. The website of your school receives 200,000 hits a month, why not place a virtual pass along card on the website, so that users can access and leave their name and address, so they can receive a free copy of the Book of Mormon, a DVD on Finding Faith in Christ or the booklet 3 Simple Ways of Having a Happier Family? I thought: wow that is indeed a fantastic idea. We immediately implemented that plan.
Then one more inspiration came: is there anything else we can do spread the message of the Restoration? And the spirit clearly spoke this in my mind. Your school distributes approximately 500,000 books a year to students all over the country. Why not insert a pass along card inside each book? We immediately started doing that. We were authorized to print our own cards. The church office in Brazil gave us an exclusive 1-800 number so that we could measure the number of calls we received through this initiative.
As a result today we receive approximately 2,000 phone calls and/or contacts a month from people requesting some church literature. We have many mathematicians and statisticians in this audience. You know that when you have 2,000 people requesting Church literature every month, you will have a percentage of these people that will end up receiving the discussions from the missionaries, reading the Book of Mormon, attending the meetings, and finally becoming members of the Church.
What do we learn from this experience?
1. Every member is indeed a missionary.
2. The Lord does answer our prayers according to our desires.
3. The Lord does expand our vision.
What started out as a New Year's resolution of passing out one card a day, turned to be an inspired missionary effort of bringing 2,000 referrals a month for the Church.
I began this morning saying that one of the greatest gifts the Lord has given us is the gift of free agency. And I conclude now with the words from President Faust. "Tomorrow's blessings and opportunities depend on the choices we make today. The choices we make determine to a large extend our happiness or our unhappiness, because we have to live with the consequences of our choices. When [we] live worthy of divine guidance [we] can become "free forever, knowing good from evil, to act for [ourselves] and not to be acted upon" (2004 April, General Conference). May each of us be inspired in our daily decisions and follow the Savior teachings and example. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.