Farewell Talk

Elder Christopher Dean Porcelli
MTC Mailbox # 269
TX-MCAL 0820
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793


Here is my farewell talk for anyone interested. I thought it was pretty amazing ;)


Good afternoon brothers and sisters. It is my great privilege to speak to you today. I hope that in some way my message can reach into your hearts; and that it won’t just linger for a while and fade away. First of all, I must say that I generally do pretty well in front of crowds. I tend to use little tricks and mechanisms to help me out. The one I would like to use today is to pretend like everyone is here for the sole reason of hearing me talk one last time before I leave. This might give me a puffed up sense of myself, but it will help nonetheless. And anyone that knows me personally should know I have a huge ego to start out with.

I have been thinking about this moment for quite a while now. One thing that was going through my mind quite a bit was almost a plea asking that I don’t have to speak at all on humility. Either I would blank, or I would spend a good 20 minutes rambling on about how humble I am. I really have been humbled the last few months and even years with living away from home, dealing with a variety of different illnesses, and preparing myself to leave all of you for 2 years.

I was given a rather unique opportunity to choose my own topic. Brother Black asked me is if there were any subjects that the spirit might be prompting me to speak on. 3 things immediately came to mind. The first was a pretty tender subject for me; excuses. I have learned in my life how harmful excuses can be, and I wanted to share my ‘wisdom’ with all of you. The second was a message given by Elder David A. Bednar in the October 2005 General Conference on becoming a missionary. The final thing I want to talk about is something that is very dear to my heart, and that is the atonement of our lord and savior Jesus Christ.

As I was searching through lds.org for content on excuses (there aren’t any definitive articles on excuses by the way), I came across an article by President Uchtdorf from the ensign last July. The article is called Brother, I’m Committed. It starts out with a story of 2 young brothers standing on a small cliff overlooking a crystal clear lake.

This was a popular diving spot, and the brothers had often talked about making the jump—something they had seen others do.

Although they both wanted to make the jump, neither one wanted to be first. The height of the cliff wasn’t that great, but to the two young boys, it seemed the distance increased whenever they started to lean forward—and their courage was fading fast.

Finally, one brother put one foot at the edge of the cliff and moved decisively forward. At that moment his brother whispered, “Maybe we should wait until next summer.”

The first brother’s momentum, however, was already pulling him forward. “Brother,” he responded, “I’m committed!”

He splashed into the water and surfaced quickly with a victorious shout. The second brother followed instantly. Afterward, they both laughed about the first boy’s final words before plunging into the water: “Brother, I’m committed.”

Commitment is a little like diving into the water. Either you are committed or you are not. Either you are moving forward or you are standing still. There’s no halfway. We all face moments of decision that change the rest of our lives. As members of the Church, we must ask ourselves, “Will I dive in or just stand at the edge? Will I step forward or merely test the temperature of the water with my toes?”

“Some sins are committed because we do wrong; other sins are committed because we do nothing.”

There is a difference between intention and action. Those who only intend to commit may find excuses at every turn. Those who truly commit face their challenges squarely and say to themselves, “Yes, that would be a very good reason to delay, but I made covenants, and so I will do what I have committed to do.” They search the scriptures and earnestly seek the guidance of their Father in Heaven. They accept and magnify their Church callings. They attend their meetings. They do their home or visiting teaching.

I would like to add missionary work to that great list of commitments. Not only am I obeying a commandment from the lord, but I am keeping covenants and commitments that I have made with him.

You and I, today and always, are to bear witness of Jesus Christ and declare the message of the Restoration. … Missionary work is a manifestation of our spiritual identity and heritage

Proclaiming the gospel is not an activity in which we periodically and temporarily engage. And our labors as missionaries certainly are not confined to the short period of time devoted to full-time missionary service in our youth or in our mature years. Rather, the obligation to proclaim the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is inherent in the oath and covenant of the priesthood into which we enter. Missionary work essentially is a priesthood responsibility, and all of us who hold the priesthood are the Lord’s authorized servants on the earth and are missionaries at all times and in all places—and we always will be. Our very identity as holders of the priesthood and the seed of Abraham is in large measure defined by the responsibility to proclaim the gospel.

Elder Bednar says, “In meetings with young members of the Church around the world, I often invite those in attendance to ask questions. One of the questions I am asked most frequently by young men is this: “What can I do to prepare most effectively to serve as a full-time missionary?” Such a sincere question deserves a serious response.

The single most important thing you can do to prepare for a call to serve is to become a missionary long before you go on a mission. Please notice that in my answer I emphasized becoming rather than going. Let me explain what I mean.

In our customary Church vocabulary, we often speak of going to church, going to the temple, and going on a mission. Let me be so bold as to suggest that our rather routine emphasis on going misses the mark.

The issue is not going to church; rather, the issue is worshipping and renewing covenants as we attend church. The issue is not going to or through the temple; rather, the issue is having in our hearts the spirit, the covenants, and the ordinances of the Lord’s house. The issue is not going on a mission; rather, the issue is becoming a missionary and serving throughout our entire life with all of our heart, might, mind, and strength. It is possible for a young man to go on a mission and not become a missionary, and this is not what the Lord requires or what the Church needs.

You will not suddenly or magically be transformed into a prepared and obedient missionary on the day you walk through the front door of the Missionary Training Center. What you have become in the days and months and years prior to your missionary service is what you will be in the MTC. In fact, the nature of the transition through which you will pass in the MTC will be a strong indicator of your progress in becoming a missionary.

I believe that I have had a golden opportunity the last few weeks as I have had a job working with many non-members. Many of these people I worked with didn’t have much respect for the church. However, most of them knew exactly what going on a mission was. I got a very interesting reaction when I told each of them that I was going on a mission. First of all, they began to clean up their language immediately. This really surprised me, because of the amount of language they had each used before they found out. When I asked one of them why they had stopped, I got a very short answer; “I don’t like Mormons very much, but I respect guys who go on a mission.” The next thing that happened was an almost constant stream of questions about the church. The majority of them were focused on either the word of wisdom or the law of chastity. I surprised myself a few times with the answers I gave, because the words didn’t really seem to be coming from my own mind. I believe that through many of those Q & A sessions I was being led by the Holy Ghost.

I believe that I have been prepped to teach the message of the gospel since I first started primary. My family has and always will be the most important thing in my life. I am thankful for all the sacrifices they have made for me. Especially my mother for all of the service she gives to me, as well as the love and comfort I have always felt from her. It was incredibly difficult for me to move away from home last year; but the hardships and trials I have faced in the last few years have strengthened not only my testimony with Christ, but my personal relationship with him. I know that he watches over and helps me every day of my life. He atoned for our sins that we might all conquer death. I know that he knows each and every one of us personally, and that we will be blessed if we reciprocate the love that he shows us. I believe that I have made one of the best decisions I can ever make in life by going on a mission. I hope that when I come home I might be greeted with the message from Mathew 25; “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). I am very thankful for all of the support I have received through friendship and kindness. I know that Christ atoned for our sins, and that he loves each and every one of us. I have a testimony of Joseph Smith and I know that he was called of god to restore the church upon the earth. I know that President Monson is a living prophet on the earth today; and that we should listen to and heed his counsel. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

He will be here for me when I get back...

Prometheus synopsis

If you haven't seen Prometheus yet, I would highly recommend it as a great visual, sci-fi, and existence-questioning movie. It had many of the elements that made Alien great. It transcends the original visually, but lacks some of the more famous scares and plot twists. One of the better performances was given by Michael Fassbender as he played the android David. This is just a quick synopsis of his role throughout the film.

What are they avenging?

All these things that I've done

I have been struggling with this thought for a very long time, and I still don't know how to put into words properly. This is my best attempt at 'meaningless' thought process. Our society looks to judge on actions rather than intentions (outside of criminal cases). Christ looks on the intentions of our hearts. I wish to look at the perceptions we have of ourselves. We might do something like help a friend in time of personal crisis, give advice on life in general, or introduce someone to the gospel (as gently as you can). I have only the best intentions for these actions, but how do i perceive these actions looking back?

Maybe your comfort didn't change anything that you'd hoped for, your advice was taken in a wrong way, or your gospel 'lessons' didn't take hold and are forgotten almost instantly. I might then perceive my personal actions as being misguided and unimportant.

My next thought is very difficult to even manifest in my own mind, but i guess it has to come out in some form. I will likely contradict myself several times, but isn't that my intent for this lesson to properly take hold? Lets say we take these actions and shape a person from them. Do we shape them from the actions themselves, their intentions, or their own perceptions of past decisions that didn't pan out? By now I really hope that you're starting to catch on to my train of thought (because I've lost it a little at this point). Is this person shaped by the perceptions of others, themselves, or the perceptions the individual has of how society perceives them? My belief is that there is some pure mixture of the three included with the original intentions of their heart. Because regardless of perception there was an original intention, and some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions (bad movie, good quote).

No, there is no impact from this entire thought process. I got tired of writing it, so it is staying right where it stands. Why did I write it? I wanted to see how well I could put something like this into words. I believe I've failed miserably, because I could only get about halfway through (the rest of my thoughts actually to a great conclusion and impact, but I don't think I'll share that with you). Figure out the rest for yourself, I'm sure you are really smart. ;)