Elder Ian S. and Sister Paula Ardern Speak for Final Time as General Authority Couple to Young Single Adult Devotional

For 13 years Elder Ian S. Ardern, and his wife, Sister Paula Ardern have spoken hundreds of times to gatherings of the saints throughout the Philippines, the United States of America, the Pacific Area and the eleven countries in the Africa Central Area.  On Sunday, July 21, in the Nairobi South Stake Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder and Sister Ardern spoke to Young Single Adults.  He began by surveying the audience.  When did they join the church?  How many returned missionaries were in the audience?  How many have received a patriarchal blessing?  How many have a boyfriend or girlfriend?  (It was a single adult devotional).  Then he counseled, “marry someone in the church.  That is important so that you have similar values, and you can build on them. Sister Ardern has been my constant companion over 16 years of church service.  Today is the last time we will present as a companionship, called and set apart.  We hope that you will leave determined to remain true to God.  That would bring us the greatest happiness.”

Sister Ardern taught about testimony.  She projected a picture of her parents on the day in 1956 when her dad was baptized.  Pictured with them were the missionaries, Elder Hancey and Elder Morrison, who had taught her father for several months.  Her father kept asking questions and asking questions.  One day he went to church in their little branch, and he said to these missionaries.  “I want to be baptized and I want to be baptized today.”  The members of that little branch in New Zealand went down to the sea, and he was baptized that day, March 27, 1956.  Sister Ardern’s mother had been baptized as a child.  Sister Ardern, throughout her young years knew without a doubt that her father knew that the gospel was true.  She ultimately realized that she could not rely on her dad’s testimony, so she went to work to gain her own testimony.  “A testimony,” she taught, “is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. The foundation of testimony, as found in Gospel Library is #1 - Heavenly Father lives and loves His children. #2 Jesus Christ lives, He is the Son of God and He carried out the infinite atonement.  #3 - Joseph Smith is a prophet of God who was called to restore the Gospel.  #4 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior’s true church on the earth. #5 - The church today is led by a living prophet.” 

After teaching the foundations of a testimony, five YSA’s from the audience were asked to come to the front of the chapel as symbols of each of the five foundations.  Sister Ardern closed her remarks by bearing her own testimony.  “I want to testify to you that I know that God lives, that He is our loving Heavenly Father.  That we are His children.  That His son came to earth to atone for our sins.  We are so blessed to have the atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives.  I know that He blesses my life each day with His redemptive power, redeeming me from the fall.  I feel His enabling power.  I have been to some hard places and done hard things over the last 16 years.  I know that I could not have done them without the enabling power of the Savior.  I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and His son Jesus Christ.  I know that he was an instrument in God’s hands in restoring the Gospel.  I know that this is the Savior’s church on the earth today.  And I know that Russell M. Nelson is a living prophet today.  I am blessed to know him personally.”

Elder Ardern, in his finishing sermon as a General Authority, spoke of being a finisher, “Our purpose today is to encourage all of us to remain on the covenant path, and to be able to say as Paul wrote to Timothy, ‘I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.’  (2 Timothy 4:7). There are lots of starters, but, not as many finishers as we would like to see in life.”  He spoke of many, including people who join the church, who were starters, but already have faltered in the race of life.  “Yes, the world abounds with lots of starters and not nearly enough finishers.”  He shared the story of John Stephen Akhwari, a marathon runner from Tanzania, who at the beginning of the 1968 Olympic Marathon was jostled by other runners and fell gashing his knee, dislocating his kneecap, and badly bruising his shoulder. The medical people felt like he should pull out of the race, but, he continued. John Stephen determined that he would be a finisher.  An hour after the last racer had finished, John Steven Akhwari ran alone into the Olympic Stadium, and finished the race. It was written after the race, “today we have seen a young African runner who symbolizes the finest in the human spirit. A performance that gives true dignity to sport. A performance that gives meaning to the word courage.”  When asked why he did not quit, he replied, “my country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”  Elder Ardern compared our journey in mortality to John Stephen’s marathon race. “The Lord did not send us to this mortal existence merely to start the race. We must be finishers. And so, he asked, ‘when the going gets tough, will we falter or will we finish?’  The decision rests with each of us. In choosing the plan of God in the life before this we knew that we would run with other runners and that there would be some jostling along the way. Lehi reminded us that there ‘must needs to be opposition in all things.’ And yes, you and I are experiencing opposition…and there will be more opposition to come…The blessings of life for the faithful followers and finishers, far outweigh the afflictions.”

Elder Ardern then gave six ideas that will be key to each YSA’s finishing their course. The ideas, labeled after body parts are:

Ears – Have ears to hear. Attune your ears to hearing the good news and especially the words of our prophets and other leaders of the church. Listen and act on what they teach us.

Eyes – Have eyes to see the hand of the Lord in your lives.

Mind – Have a mind to remember how the Lord’s hand has been in your lives.  Remember the covenants you have made and the accompanying covenants. 

Heart – Have a soft heart.

Feet – Have feet to walk where Jesus walked.

Hands – Have hands to serve.

Young Single Adults always linger after devotionals. They enjoy being together. The words, “that was awesome,” were heard from the young people who were blessed to have been taught be these two good, wise, faithful finishers.