Talk Given on April 24, 2022 This year I have started a new hobby. I have been sewing quilt tops. Each time I start out ready to make a quilt top I look at my pattern and start working on it step by step. Each piece I sew adds so much to the whole project. I get so excited when I step back and look at the progress I am making. I could not make it without the pattern. It is the key to making the quilt look like the finished one in the pattern photo. I have often made mistakes, even though I have the pattern. Sometimes it happens. Luckily when I do, I am able to rip it out and redo that portion. Then I am able to continue to make progress and eventually finish the quilt. In our lives, we have been given a perfect pattern to follow, which if we do will lead us back to our Father in Heaven. In 3 Nephi 27:21 and 27 we read: “ Verily,verily I say unto you, this is my gospel, and ye know the things that ye must do in my church; for the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do;.Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”
This perfect pattern to follow is Jesus Christ and the example he has been to us. Jesus lived a perfect life to show us the way back to our Heavenly Father. Although He never sinned, Jesus was still baptized to be obedient to God and teach us that baptism is a requirement for everyone. Being baptized is the first covenant we make with God in order to return back to him. The message of this church to all men everywhere is the same that has been preached by Jesus Christ from the beginning; Repent and be Baptized. I am so grateful for my own baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saint when I was 8 years old. Even though my dad was a fairly new member of the church and was a Priest, he baptized me. I clearly remember that day and knew it was an important day for me. Jesus also showed us the perfect pattern of the kind of love we should have for others. In his life on earth, He cared for the poor, He healed the blind, He welcomed little children and He even forgave those who crucified Him. His love is endless and available to anyone who needs it. He loves us
no matter the color of our skin, whether we are rich or poor, gay or straight, He loves us if we are a Democrat or Republican, He loves us if we have a Doctorate Degree or no education at all, He loves us if we give $1,000,000 in tithing or 2 mites. He loves each one of us unconditionally. He adores us no matter what we do. Each one of us has the opportunity to love those around us. We need not think about any differences that we may have but to think of others as Jesus would think of them. This will allow us to love them more. Although I can't do any of the miracles that Jesus did, I can show love to others by serving them. One loves or learns to love those that they serve. I Feel that service is one of the best ways to become more like Jesus Christ. Serving others helps take the mind off of ourselves and helps us think of others. Whether you are making a meal, driving someone to an appointment or listening to them and their struggles, sending a note or card, it doesn’t matter. We can be His voice and His hands to help others. I have realized that as a ministering sister I have learned to love the sisters
that I minister to. When we connect with each other, it's friends connecting with friends. It’s not something that I have to do. One way we can serve others is in the temple. We can help those who have passed on before us to receive their temple blessings and unite families. This not only helps the person we are doing the work for but it helps us just by being in the temple. Last January we went to the temple with family and friends to do sealings. On that evening we were able to seal Mike’s parents to each other, seal them to their parents and we were able to seal Mike to his parents. What a special evening that was. To be like Jesus Christ demands that we change. Every effort to change we make-no matter how tiny it seems to us-just might make the biggest difference in our lives. In the Oct 2021 Gen Conf Elder Michael A. Dunn told us the story about the British cycling team that went from perpetually losing to consistently winning wasn’t a dramatic, overnight turnaround. He said “The strategy coach Dave Brailsford referred to as “the aggregation of marginal gains”
meant that the cycling team had to improve in all aspects by making small improvements in everything. Coach Brailsford went on to say that “The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improve it by just 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together” According to Elder Dunn “Every effort to change we make–no matter how tiny it seems to us–just might make the biggest difference in our lives” Each Sunday when we come to church we can partake of the Sacrament, think about Jesus Christ and repent for our mistakes. This will help us stay on track and be focused. The Church has provided us with the program Come Follow Me, which if we participate in this program will definitely help us to follow the pattern of Jesus Christ. Come follow Me along with our scriptures is the key to becoming better each day. There are also many podcasts that you can listen to that go along with the Come Follow Me program that help explain it
in more detail and it helps me understand everything more easily. I have learned to love the Come Follow Me program and the opportunity it gives me to learn about Jesus Christ and to help me become a better person. Brothers and sisters, His life provides a perfect pattern for righteousness and happiness for all of us to follow. I hope you will join me in trying to be 1% better today than yesterday and for the rest of our lives, I pray.