Good afternoon, for those of you who don’t know me, my name is Rhett Collins preceded by my beautiful wife April who you just heard. In case I begin to crumble early I want to take this opportunity to publicly express my love for my wife and children. I was told not to do this because they say if you begin a talk that allows your emotions to surface and you may not recover and no one wants to listen to ten minutes of blubbering from a 25 year old man. (Rhett is really 42) For this I will do my best to try and contain my emotions.
Topic: Missionary work. Many of you may be wondering what Rhett Collins knows about missionary work. I would be the first to admit the answer to that question is very little. However, what I do consider myself to be is somewhat of an authority on is, how to evade, dodge, duck, or completely avoid missionary discussions and missionary meetings. In fact if there were a missionary dodging hall of fame I believe I’d be right there at the top of the list. I’m not proud of this statement given the fact that many of these individuals were doing nothing more than trying to fulfill their roles as worthy saints, were not just actual missionaries or what I refer to as name tag missionaries, but they were my own family members, they were my close friends, and neighbors, many of whom are sitting in this very chapel this afternoon.
My story of missionary evasion begins some 22 years ago back in the late 80's. While on my way to a blind date I approach the apartment building, I make my way up and I knock on the door, it opens and their stands the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on. From that moment on I knew my life would never be the same. While out on our first date April informed me she planned on going on a mission. I remember thinking to myself, we’ll see about that. After all girls don’t go on missions or at least that is what I thought at that time. I also believed at the ripe old age of 20 that I was far too cool for her to resist and there was no way she was going to traipse around the world preaching to others when she could stay here, get married to me and raise a family. After several dates, (I know many of are you are wondering how I ever got a second date - I can only attribute this to poor eyesight and a somewhat depleted pool of eligible men who reside in Tooele County at that time.) As I stated after several dates April asked me to come out to Tooele and meet her family. I thought ok, since I was madly in love with this woman it would only be appropriate that I go out and meet her family, besides I knew her dad was serving in the military overseas for a couple of years and I didn’t have to worry about him (at least for now anyway). Besides how bad could it be? After what seemed like a three hour drive when we entered Tooele County I had a green shirt on under my coat as it was winter time, and after a wonderful day of sledding and meeting her amazing family we left Tooele County headed back to Salt Lake only now I was wearing a two sided oversized red and white shirt with a giant bull’s-eye that said convert me. How did this happen? How have I fallen head over heels for a woman so committed to her religious convictions when for me my only commitments were to when and where the next social gathering was to be held and what beverages were being served. Was it because she was the only woman I’d ever met with the ability to fend off the powers of persuasion and peer pressure to do things she knew would not be acceptable to her Heavenly Father? She hadn’t even left for the MTC yet and still she had a profound way of leading by example, and that as a young woman at any given time she was being observed by others, and she would not let her Heavenly Father or herself down. This fascinated me and as a result I fell that much harder for her.
Well after 6-7 more months of dating I guess all of my cool must have worn off because as it turns out it was quite easy for her to walk away to fulfill her lifelong dream of serving a mission for her church. Within a short period of time off she went to the MTC. Shortly after that she left for a short stay in Florida, and then on to her final destination the Philippines where she would serve out her full mission. Why do I use this as an example of missionary work? Because I discovered that as hard as I tried and as much as I pleaded with her to stay (heck I even proposed to her) I could see that I was no match for her love for the savior. Had I been a dashing millionaire who could make all her dreams come true nothing could stop her from fulfilling her obligations as a saint.
For the first time in my life I had an up-close look at the power of God and the influence of our savior Jesus Christ. Upon April’s return from her mission I had surrendered myself to a life of intoxication and reckless behavior, and although her brothers and sisters cared enough about me to try and keep me from a complete path of self-destruction it seemed as though there was no hope for us getting back together. It wasn’t until a few years later that I received word that April was seriously dating another individual who was a devoted member of the church and it looked as though marriage was on the table. I remember that moment as if it were 5 minutes ago being overwhelmed with the idea that I had lost the most precious person to me in the world. I was so blinded by Satan’s temptations for relationships and worldly possessions that held no meaning that I couldn’t recognize the only real relationship I’d ever experienced was walking off into the sunset with someone else. After receiving word through one of April’s roommates that things had become a little rocky with her new found love, like a hawk hovering over a field mouse, I swooped in for a second chance. She certainly didn’t make it easy on me and made it very clear that in order to be a part of her life I would have to correct most if not all of my bad behaviors. Worse than that she said I had to meet her dad. I dreaded this day as I knew he was a lifelong military man that stood about 6' 4” and 290 Lbs. My definition of military meant: discipline, structure, and obedience to your country. Add to that a marvelous father and husband with an overwhelming faith in Christ and our Father in Heaven and you’ve just described Earl Rose Sr. Traits and characteristics of which I possess none. I knew upon meeting him that I would more than likely be a huge disappointment. This was confirmed when the day came that I took it upon myself to drive out to Tooele to ask for his first and oldest daughters hand in marriage. He and his wife Susie (who I’d grown quite fond of) and his oldest son Earl Jr. were all present which was a good thing in case he decided to strangle me. Upon my request for April’s hand in marriage I was not surprised to receive a hearty 6' 4" 295 Lbs. NO, I’d really rather you didn’t. I was however very surprised to see April’s mother Susie come to my aid with tears in her eyes pleading on my behalf that how did he not know that this wasn’t a test of faith for their family, and that he should reconsider. That moment changed my way of thinking forever. It sealed my belief that most members of the LDS faith are all accepting of anyone and everyone regardless of past transgressions and will do everything in their power to aid and assist you in your personal struggles - membership or not. Thankfully Earl is a compassionate man and did not run me off with a shotgun but rather insisted it was April’s decision and although he did not approve he would not try to persuade her one way or another. After April and I were married It took me some years to figure out that it wasn’t that Earl didn’t like me or approve of me personally but that in his eyes I or any other individual for that matter not striving for a personal relationship with our savior and a goal of nothing less than a temple marriage was not worthy of his daughters hand in marriage. I’m proud to say 22 years later that there is no higher priority on my list. As I pondered the topic of missionary work and the influences of the amazing young men who have dedicated two years of their lives to the spiritual improvement of people such as myself and others, my mind continuously wanders back to the other missionaries who quietly wander our church halls, our neighborhoods, grocery aisles, our elementary and high schools, it is my testimony that as a lifelong observer of people of the LDS faith, it is you the quiet, soft spoken individual who whether you recognize it or not are incessantly impacting the lives of those whom are observing you. Just when you think no one’s paying attention, I promise you we are. Your actions are on display for all to see and have a lasting impact on the way others struggling within them see and view our church. It is you the quiet yet discreet missionary who has elevated the standards of missionary work to a new level through your persuasive example and your thirst to share the scriptures with those of us who might seem less interested in learning. For all those who answer the phone, even when the caller i.d. reads Joel Hair and you know nothing good can come from answering this call, you do and because of your willingness to accept the call, you bless and enrich the lives of others through your participation. I can tell you even as a nonmember for so many years as I sat far in the back row and listened to the heartfelt testimonies of the people in this ward that there is no stronger form of missionary work. It is a privilege to stand up here and be on the same level with this bishopric, Bishop Bradshaw, Brother Joel Hair, and Brother Roberts are an inspiration to me through their example of sacrifice and endless dedication. You inspire me not only as a new member but as a father and a husband. Finally in closing, I want to publically acknowledge my love for my extended family of brother and sisters in laws, whom I thought over the years I would at least have been able to drag one over to the dark side with me, as most of you know I was unsuccessful in that attempt. Your examples are a mark of your upbringing but as we all know it takes a lot of effort to maintain those standards set forth by those before us. And to my mother and father in-law, the world’s most amazing missionaries, who never preached to me out loud who never made me feel like an outcast because of my unwillingness to conform, I strive to be more like you. You are the closest example to Jesus in human form that I’ve known in this lifetime, and as I accept my new role as a “missionary” of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I will always do my best to represent our faith just as you always have and still do and I say these things humbly in the name of my Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.
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