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Devotionals

Reach and Encourage

My brothers and sisters, aloha. First of all, thank you to my sister for introducing me today. Well, I was asked a while back if I was willing to speak today. I quickly said yes; however, I am humbled by this assignment. In writing this talk, I had to question myself. Who am I to speak to you? I am just one person. Many of you have experiences and knowledge that exceed my own. But, it is with my purest respect and humility that I come before you in hopes of bettering myself and those of you listening.

As students of BYU–Hawaii we are constantly reminded that we have been chosen to come to this school to become leaders who will span across the globe and lead in righteousness. However, how many of us are actively striving to reach our potential? Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926-2004) said, "The Lord loves each of us too much to merely let us go on being what we now are, for he knows what we have the possibility to become!" It is not enough to be good when we have the potential to become better. We are the future leaders. There are people in this very room who will make changes that affect the world. We are not weak. We are not meant to follow the crowd or the worldly standards. We must reach and obtain our potential. Now if you notice, I did not say your potential will just come to you or be handed to you easily. We as leaders must work and strive to reach that potential. This begins on a personal level. Take hold of what you want to become and follow that vision. Depend upon the Lord. Build your testimony. Understand that as an individual you have great worth. Trust in yourself and push yourself to do more. Prepare yourself to lead in faith. Be steadfast in Christ. Now these are only a few aspects of reaching your potential, but the main point is that all of these suggestions require action and they begin with your individual willingness to create change, so reach.

It will be hard. We will face trials that will seem unbearable. We will struggle and even fail every once in a while, but as Ralph Emerson says, "Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up very time we fail." Our trials define us. Are we willing to depend on the Lord and become something greater than we even imagined? If so, we must act without fear. The Lord expects so much of us because He knows we can do more.

Take missionary work for example. I have a deep love and appreciation for missionaries. Missionaries are expected to live to such a high standard. They have scripture study every morning, leave their families for eighteen months or two years, sacrifice time and efforts, and are expected to devote all of their time to serving the Lord. These missionaries give their all, and when losing themselves in the Lord's work, they find themselves through it. For those of you who have served missions, I am sure you remember all these types of experiences. The Lord expects so much, and yet did the blessings not exceed the trials? How many of you have relaxed those standards now that you have come home? Is it because your potential is less than what it was on the mission? If you ask me, I would say no. You have a greater capacity than you expect. An individual can make the difference that no one else can make. This is just a two year span. It's so small when we look at the big picture.

So, how much can we grow and do to reach our potential when we have our whole lives ahead of us? The world is constantly changing but the Lord's expectations are constant. We are in a dispensation where we must be different. We must have the light of Christ. We must use that light to lead. If we choose not to, then we fail. If we are not willing to do our part, we fail. We fail those who depend on us, and we fail ourselves. We are not at this school by accident or by chance. We are here to become more and to influence more.

So what is your potential? I may not know what each individual in this room will become, but I know you will be the one to make change if you reach. You will be great if you choose to be. Even if no one seems to expect much from us, we must expect great things from ourselves first. God will do His part if we do ours. Trust in yourself. Believe you can do it. Use trials to your advantage. They are given to you to make you stronger. Move forward without fear. Love the Lord. In that, all will fall into place if you truly work to become the leader you are destined to be.

The second part of my talk is a lot easier. As we reach and better ourselves, we must encourage others to do likewise. Mosiah 2:17 states "Behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." Lead in righteousness. Emulate Christ's works. Lead with truth and respect. Encourage through patience, love, charity, hope, humility, and diligence. In leading and encouraging others, you are serving as Christ did. President Hinckley stated: "There is a sad tendency in our world today for persons to cut one another down." So do we do so because their potential is less than our own? As you strive to reach your potential, you gain power. You have the power to encourage. You have the power to influence whether for good or bad. You can lift, build, love, cherish, hope, and motivate. You can also break, hurt, take for granted, step on, or push down. Your potential is endless. Your ability to encourage is endless likewise. God expects much of you. Expect more of yourself. Use your potential to lead in righteousness and serve those whom you lead. We as future leaders of the world must build one another up. Encourage others to do their best hoping that they will one day exceed our greatest expectations. Allow people to see that you are different. Sometimes the greatest encouragement can come through your devotion to the Lord and the example it sets for others. Your difference can inspire hope or a desire to know the Lord in someone you may not even know. Better yourself and use the potential in you to strengthen those around you. Every person in here has had at least one person greatly influence their life for the better. I ask you now to think of one of those people. How would your life be affected if this person did not believe in you, they did not encourage you, they were not there for you when you needed it? One person can make a difference. Just like this person in your life, you can be that beacon of hope and love for someone else. Believe in the capabilities of not only yourself, but of others as well. Johanne Wolfgang von Goethe once said, "When we treat man as he is, we make him worse than he is; when we treat him as if he already were what he potentially could be, we make him what he should be."

The Lord loves each of us and we are his instruments in bringing truth to the world. We must trust in ourselves and lift ourselves up so we can reach out our hand and help others along the way as Christ does for us. If we reach, He will give His hand and lift us to higher levels of happiness and perfection. We are leaders. In this school we are all here because we have been chosen to lead. How many people in this world are waiting for you? So I ask once again, how many of us are continually striving to reach our potential. Take the time to make a new friend. Learn all that you can. Don't just sit back and watch changes occur. Build your testimony. Don't allow your potential to go to waste. For us now, enter to learn and go forth to serve. We will make the difference. Don't live beneath yourself because you have the potential to be great. Prepare because opportunities and challenges arrive unexpectedly. Let me give you an example. I had been here in Hawaii for less than six months when Hema approached me and asked me to run for office with him. I told him no since I would be leaving for the summer. I asked for guidance from my family and friends and then when Hema approached me again, I agreed to run for office. So many people doubted us, but we were soon elected and are now where we stand today. This position has forced me to grow and understand so much more while taking on huge responsibilities and challenges. I am only twenty years old and I am here speaking to you and serving you. God works in mysterious and powerful ways. He believed in me when it seemed I could not believe in myself because he knew I can do so much. What I have sacrificed and what I have endured has made me a better and stronger person. I too struggle and do my best, but I fail at times because I am human. However, I am doing my best and I have seen the Lord pour out his blessings upon me because He knows I am trying.

I have had amazing people come into my life. I have been influenced by each and every one of you and for that I am grateful. Every day I learn something new and every day I see that God loves each of us. As I stand here today, I see that you are the true leaders of this school. We all have the capability to be great. We have the power to influence the world for the better. God loves each and every one of us and He is here to support us in our righteous desires. Brothers and sisters don't tell yourself you are not good enough. There's many of us in this room who say I'm not smart enough, I'm not handsome enough, I'm not pretty enough, I'm not good enough, there's too much, I can't do it. You can. You are smart enough, handsome enough, pretty enough. You are absolutely amazing. Each and every one of you is unique. Don't allow anyone or anything to tell you that you can't because the fact that you're here at this school tells me that you can.

I had somebody tell me not to mention his name in this talk, but I have something that I should probably say, so don't worry Sione, I won't say your name. A couple weeks back I was worried about one of my friends back home [in California]. He has not been doing too well and I had been hearing a lot of things. I really started to worry about this friend. I decided to give my parents a break and I went [to a friend] and I asked him what I should do [about my friend back home] and basically I explained my life. What he said shocked me and inspired me. He asked me if I'd shared my testimony with this person [back at home]. Now this friend of mine from back in California, I've known him for a while and he is not the type that you'd just go up to and [say], I want to tell you about the Gospel. But I had somebody there to encourage me; somebody that knew I had the potential to influence someone. Whether I ever find out if it made a difference or not, I listened to this person and I wrote a letter. Now those of you that know me know I write about 20 letters a week, but this one took me a couple of hours. I told him that he does have a great potential, that I hope that he gets back on track. Then I told him my testimony about the Gospel. I am one person, but I am striving to reach my potential. I needed that person to encourage me and in turn I needed to encourage someone else. This is something we must all learn. There is nobody in this world that should be without the Gospel. So in reaching your potential will you build the Kingdom of God?

My brothers and sisters, reach and He will lift you; encourage and He will be there walking beside you. I love each of you and pray that you will become what God wants you to be. I hope I may continue to serve you even as my term in office ends. Thank you for pushing me to reach my potential and especially thank you to my family. These things I leave with you humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.