“I want to keep following Jesus Christ every day. I want to be kind, help other people, forgive others, and have more faith.”
— Jimmy Mwemedi
A young man and I were recently asked to speak in the Latter-Day Saint Parley’s Creek African Refugee Branch. I have served there for over 10 years—mostly with the youth. Jimmy, who is 16, has been in the US for over three years and a member of the church for almost as long. English is still a challenge for him, but he is making progress. He chose to give his talk in English despite the difficulty.
Remarkably, the same day I told him we’d been asked to talk, he texted me what he had written. I was impressed. I was even more impressed when he expanded his talk the Sunday he gave it. I am sharing his first draft partly because it is so simply good and partly because he inspired what I shared for my talk.
As we gave our talks, we would pause, line by line, while a man standing by us translated our words into Swahili.
Jimmy’s talk:
Good morning, brothers and sisters.
I am happy to be here today. I am grateful for the chance to speak.
Today I want to talk about how church has helped me.
Church has helped me come closer to God. I have learned that God loves me. I have learned that I can pray every day. When I pray, I feel peace and hope.
I like coming to church every Sunday. I learn more about Jesus Christ. I learn how to love other people, forgive, and help others.
The people at church are kind to me. They welcome me and help me feel like I belong. I am thankful for their love and friendship.
Sometimes life is not easy. We all have problems. But when I come to church, I feel stronger. The songs and the lessons help me remember that Jesus Christ is always with us.
I want to keep following Jesus Christ every day. I want to be kind, help other people, forgive others, and have more faith. I know that when we follow Jesus Christ, He will help us and bless our lives.
I know that God loves us. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
My talk:
Jambo!
Habari!
Asante
Shukuru
Baba
Yesu Kristo
Amina
That’s about all the Swahili I know after being with you for over 10 years.
I am a very, very slow learner. That is why I am shukuru to have begun in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at a young age.
I loved how Jimmy spoke of how God helps him through his participation in our church. He wrote that very good talk all by himself. He told me God helped him. I believe him. I believe God has also helped me with what I am going to share with you today. God has taught me much through serving your children.
God brought me into this church in a miraculous way. My birth mom was in high school when she gave birth to my older brother. She married our father. A year later, she gave birth to my sister. Then she had an affair, and a year later she gave birth to me.
She was a young mother with 2, now 3, very young children and a troubled marriage. She decided to give me up for adoption. The woman who adopted me worked for the doctor who birthed me. Because he knew my mom was a member of our church and valued family history, he gave her the name of my birth parents even though that was illegal back then. It isn’t illegal now.
Six years ago, my wife found my adopted parents and siblings. She found them because the doctor gave my adopted mom their name and because of a Family History calling in the church I had years before. My adopted parents’ participation in our church and my participation in the church helped me find my birth family.
My birth parents had already died. My birth mother married 4 times, and the last marriage was long and good. It made me happy that things eventually worked out for her, and that she was so well loved and appreciated despite her mistakes.
I am very grateful that she gave me up for adoption. That was not a mistake. I learned that my birth siblings had a very hard life growing up. My older brother either committed suicide or was murdered at age 40. His wife was addicted to drugs, and my birth mom and her last husband brought his 7-year-old son into their home and helped raise him.
My birth mom’s second husband sexually abused my sister. She was never the same. It contributed to her being an alcoholic and her current poor health and poverty.
My half-brother saw the third husband be abusive to my birth mom, even shooting at her in the house, and at age 17 he stood up to him, and they left.
My adopted parents couldn’t have children. They had joined our church separately as adults and met each other while serving in a branch in Oregon. At age 39, it was my adopted mom’s first marriage. They had little money, and I had to work hard from a young age to help, but they were very loving and good parents to me. I am shukuru that they adopted me.
I tell you all this because I can see how God helped my birth mom and me by putting me up for adoption. And God helped my adoptive parents because they really wanted a child but couldn’t have one. I love her for her courage in giving me up for adoption. I thank God because of how well it helped all of us—especially me.
My wife Jane and I have 3 children. We adopted our daughter when she was about 3. She has been a great blessing to us, and we to her.
My adoption brought me into this church. And this church brought me into a relationship with God and many good people throughout my life. I met my wife at church not long after serving a mission. Serving a mission taught me a great many helpful things. My profession—my work—has come because of my serving in our church.
I have said “my participation in the church” several times. What I mean by that is my being deeply involved in trying to follow Christ through my active involvement in this church. Not just coming regularly, but serving when asked as well as looking for ways to help others in and out of our church. Sometimes it has been hard and has challenged me. But over my many years, I can see how it has helped me and others.
Through this church, I have experienced the power of service, personal prayer, and scripture study. These continue to bless my life. I have felt God’s influence in my life many times, helping me feel loved even when making mistakes. Showing me ways to repent and serve better. And having others around me who inspire and encourage me. I have seen others in our church blessed in all these ways. And in other churches as well.
I make lots of mistakes. Sometimes I struggle with being motivated to do my best. I have doubts at times. My wife and children have left the church and their belief in God. But we still love each other and do much together. We accept and support each other where we are.
I don’t agree with everything our church teaches. It hasn’t always been helpful to my family or others. It has harmed them and me in certain ways. But I am not perfect. I don’t expect the church to be perfect. All of our scriptures and our history show an imperfect church and a God who is doing the best They can with it.
That’s because the church is all of us. It’s not just a set of ideas and ways of living. It’s more than just trying to follow our leaders. It’s the church of Jesus Christ as lived through the Latter-Day Saints—you and me. It’s us doing our best to follow Yesu Kristo every day according to our abilities, opportunities, and our conscience.
I don’t worry about the next life. As Jesus taught, I know that if I take care of the things today by following him—tomorrow will take care of itself. Like Jimmy, I thank God for being a part of my life through my participation in this church.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
