I [spoke] in sacrament.

My name is Sister Lynsie Overman, My husband Cass and I are fairly new to the ward. We moved to Vegas about 4 months ago. Cass and I were called into the office with brother hoofman to recieve our new callings. About when we were finished Brother Hoofman said "Wait, there is one more thing, and I was thinking "Another callling?" but it was "Will you speak in Sacrament?" I was actually hoping for another calling.

I'm going to school at UNLV as a nursing major and I'm working on my last 6 prerequisites. I was in my psychology class and we had a short lecture and the professor let us out early. I was way excited and I started my long journey home full of traffic and as I was pulling in my garage I saw the missionaries driving their bikes down the street. Everything was going perfect that day and I thought it was a sign by seeing the missionaries because I thought I could at least to get one of them to write my talk but I got denied by both of them. Thats okay thought because I've learned alot by studying for this talk and that's the reason why it was given to me.

The subject of my talk is based on two general conference talks. One from President Thomas S Monsons talk from Aprils General Conference, Come all ye Sons of god. And the other from Deter F. Uchtdorf "Your wonderful journey home" from a broadcast.

Thomas S. Monsons talk is about the formula that will ensure success. Just to remind you of the formula First, to search the scriptures diligently. Second, to plan your life with purpose. Third, teach the truth with testimony. Fourth, serve The Lord with love. I'm going to talk about the second one, Plan Your Life With Purpose. 

In his talk he says,"and, I might add, plan your life regardless of your age" This talk was given in the Preistood session and it was directed to the young men, but we can apply the same concepts to all of us. From his talk he says "Perhaps no generation of youth has faced such far-reaching decisions as the youth of today. Provision must be made for school, mission, and marriage.
He says that the preparation has to come early. Our leaders and parents had a big influence on us as we set our goals, but that is good because it gave us the practice so we can set out own as we got older. 

he also mentions in his talk, Preparation for a mission begins early. In addition to spiritual preparation, a wise parent will provide the means whereby a young son might commence his personal missionary fund. He may well be encouraged as the years go by to study a foreign language so that, if necessary, his language skills could be utilized. Eventually there comes that glorious day when the bishop and stake president invite the young man in for a visit. Worthiness is ascertained; a missionary recommendation is completed.

Then he talks about family appreciation. he says "Young men, I hope you appreciate the sacrifices which your parents so willingly make in order for you to serve. Their labors will sustain you, their faith encourage you, their prayers uphold you. A mission is a family affair. Though the expanse of continents or oceans may separate, hearts are as one.

*Do not overlook your privilege to be missionaries while you are pursuing your formal education. Your example as a Latter-day Saint will be observed, weighed, and ofttimes emulated.

I have an example of being observed as a Latter-day Saint.
When I started to going to UNLV, I had a huge culture shock. The way the people present themselves is sad to me. The way they dress, the way they talk, and there attitude towards each other. In the first week of school we introuduced ourselves to our class mates and had to tell a little bit about each other. I never mentioned that I was Mormon. I had two different class mates ask me "Are you Mormon?" and I would say yes and they would say "Oh! I can tell" Living in Utah I never got the "Oh I can tell you are Mormon" because of the large populations of Latter Day Saint families there. I was proud that they could tell that I was Mormon.  Elaine S. Dalton said "Young women, in a world ever growing in moral pollution, tolerance of evil, exploitation of women, and distortion of roles, you must stand guard of yourself, your family, and all those with whom you associate. You must be guardians of virtue."

Thomas s monson finishes his talk about the Planning your life with purpose by saying:
Brethren, whatever your age, whatever your circumstance, I admonish you to plan your life with purpose." end quote

The church has always encouraged us to set goals and has created Path's back to our Heavenly Father. The church goals that stood out to me was getting baptized, getting my young women medallion, and getting married in the temple. Looking back at what i was taught in Young Womens and the example the leaders set. I was able to see the happiness and joy by the choices they made. To this day, I keep in touch with them and still look up to them. They helped me plan the goals that I wanted to have, live the law of chasity, keep the word of wisdom,  and all these goals took planning. The purpose of planning these goals are to return to our heavenly father and become more like him on this earth. These goals help us better our selfs and we are able to present ourselfs as children of our Heavenly Father. 


I set the goal of getting to wear those 3 white dresses. My Grandmother has a painting in her house of the 3 white dresses. I remember how beautiful the girls are in the painting. I planned to be like the women in the picture. I found this poem by Elder Tom L. Perry's daughter - (Linda Gay Perry Nelson, 1993)

My mom bought me a white dress,
Not red or pink or blue.
She said it was a special dress
Like very other few,
There has been just one before,
A dress now put away,
That I wore some time ago
Upon my blessing day.
As a little baby clothed In my first white dress, 
My dad held me in his arms,
There to name and bless.
So pure and clean was I just then,
With time to grow and learn
About the Father's plan for me.
My glory I must earn.
Now I've reached the age to judge
The wrong road from the right,
And I am here to be baptized
In this dress of white.
So once again I'm free from sin.
The path is clear to me.
I'll grasp the rod and hold on tight, I vow with certainty.
Just as mud would stain my dress,
Sin would stain my soul.
The key is to repent or bleach,
For whiteness is my goal.
And if I try my very best,
Then richly blessed I'll be,
Wearing inside God's holy house
White dress number three,


I wore my first white blessing dress in 1990. Then my white baptism dress in 1998. Then my white temple dress in 2012. As the chioces i have made, of wearing the 3 white dresses, I have been blessed. I'm grateful that I have been able to feel the purness of wearing my 3 white dresses. As I wore each dress I felt motivated to wear the next one. Each one gave me new blessings. Thomas S Monson said  I hope you appreciate the sacrifices which your parents so willingly make in order for you to serve. Their labors will sustain you, their faith encourage you, their prayers uphold you. Hearing this makes me greatly appricate all the help I received to wear the 3 white dresses.

As I ponder back on growing up i look at all the choices I have made and how it has made me become who I am. The earliest decision I can remember making was getting baptized. At the age of 8 you are able to choose between right and wrong. At the moment of coming out of the water the pureness I felt in my heart has been a feeling I can remember till this day. 

I continued to create my path. .....In middle school I played the piano and every week you would learn something new and we would set goals and I would get better each week. In highschool I played volleyball and softball and we would run drills to practice the necessary skills. When I went to seminary or institute they encouraged us read our scriptures and learn scripture masterys. With setting all these Goals I was able to accomplish everything when I set my mind to it. 

After Graduating highschool in Lehi, Ut. 
My bestfriend and I decided to move to St. George and go to Dixie State College. That was probably the best decision I have ever made. Going through college I was on my own and this is were I really learned that decisions I made would effect me. I learned very quickly that I still had to obey rules being outside of the home I grew up in. So We moved down to college in August and in October my friends and I went to Homecoming. After the dance we went back to our apartment and all my friends decided they wanted to walk up to Mcdonalds  and get a drink. I didn't want to go, and I'm not sure why. But I'm glad I made the decision not too. My roommates and friends were all evicted from our apartment that night. They broke the curfew by 15 minutes. They had already paid rent for the semester, which wasn't cheap, and were not refunded ANY of their money. It was very rough losing my friends including my best friend. They moved to a housing complex across campus. After my contract was up, I moved in with them and we were very careful with our decision making from our learning experience. We learned that we had to plan our nights with purpose so we could avoid similar situations. I'm glad I listened to the spirit and went to bed at midnight. My mother always told me that the "Holy Ghost goes to bed at midnight" and so that i should too. 

After moving back in with my friends we spent a lot of time at the pool and of course studying....One day we went to the pool and I met this really cute young man named Cass. Let's just say I was really happy that I made that decision of going to the pool that day. Cass and I started dating right away. Pretty sure he kissed me within one week of meeting each other. Don't worry. I was a mature college student. I thought I knew what I was doing. Must of done something right because I ended up marryin him. 

Cass and I continued to date and did everything with eachother for the next 2 years. Everyone kept saying "when are you two getting married?" and we were in no rush. We enjoyed being with each other and living the college life. We got to know eachother and each others families fairly well. 

Cass and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 18, 2012. I was a very happy girl that day. Wearing my 3rd white dress was such a great accomplishment for me. It poured rain on our wedding day and as Cass and I came out of the temple. Our families were all tucked under neath their little umbrellas and it was cold. Our wedding pictures turned out so cute, all of us soaking wet, flat hair, luckily no make up was running. I was still so happy that I didn't care what happened. I just pictured Heavenly Father cleaning the earth for our first day as an eternal couple. 

Elaine S. Dalton shares an experience of watching someone follow the path that the lord has set:

Last month I had the opportunity to attend the temple wedding of a young woman I have known since she was born. As I sat in the sealing room, looking at the beautiful chandelier sparkling in the light of the temple, I remembered that day when I first held her. Her mother had her dressed in a little white dress, and I thought she was one of the most beautiful babies I had ever seen. Then this young woman walked through the door, once again dressed in white. She was radiant and happy. As she entered the room, I wished with all my heart that every young woman could envision that moment and strive to always be worthy to make and keep sacred covenants and receive the ordinances of the temple in preparation to enjoy the blessings of exaltation.

As this couple knelt at the sacred altar, they received promises beyond mortal comprehension that will bless, strengthen, and assist them on their mortal journey. It was one of those moments when the world stood still and all of heaven rejoiced. I know that she understood again in that moment how important it is to believe in being chaste and virtuous. There is no more beautiful sight than a couple, properly prepared, kneeling together at the altar of the temple.

Reading this story brings back the feelings of getting married in the temple. At the moment sitting on the couch with my husband in the temple was pure happiness . I felt so close to Heavenly Father and I felt his love and support that I was doing what was right. 

15:30

After Cass and I got married we stayed in St. George and continued to go to work and school. We had made our plans to attend school and start working towards our careers. At this time in our lives, Cass was at a deciding point. He was working in the medical field and he knew we wanted to go to MED school or follow his Childhood dream as a FireFighter. Cass was enrolled in his pre-requistes classes for MED school and he applied for the Fire department and he was 1 of 3000 applicants for 30 firefighter positions. Our chances of getting this job were slim to none. Cass went through all the steps of the long application process. From the first day he tested till the phone call of the job offer was 8 months. When we got the phone call, Cass had 1 week to report to the training center. So he dropped both jobs and left half way through the college semester. Pretty scary huh? We had to put all of our trust in the Lords hands. We had a plan to go to years of MED school to dropping everything and moving to Vegas. Cass moved down and I stayed in St. George until I finshed my semester of school. We lived apart for 2 months, it was difficult but with the Lord's help it made it easier by comforting us. We knew what we were doing would work out the best for us. It was plan  The Lord had for us. Cass graduated the Acadmeny and now he is starting his rookie year. We are so blessed to have this job opportunity. 


Moving down to Vegas, was very difficult to me. I'm a moutain, green grass, loves to ski kinda of girl. Cass doesn't know this but When we drove to Vegas I looked out the window and saw all of those desert joshua trees it made me cry the whole way.  It's not that I didn't want to move down here, i was just scared. Cass and I didn't have any family or friends down here. It wasn't until I was in the Ward that I knew we were supposed to be in Vegas. I have never had to rely on the ward for family and friends and getting to know you all has been very fun.  The personality of this ward was so welcoming. I have never experienced a warmer welcome.I know I have spiritually grown through all the experiences I have had moving down here.

18:00

Through my life and the goals I have set it has lead me to where I am today. From the day I choose to be baptized to moving to vegas I have realized all the blessings I have. Living down in Vegas has opened up my eyes and I have realized how Blessed I am as a person. I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to be a wife, student, and daughter of GOD. 

For the message I want you to take home is from Deter F. Uchtdorf he says:

Now that you are here on earth, it might be wise to ask yourself how your journey is going. Are you on the right course? Are you becoming the person you were designed to be and wanted to become? Are you making choices that will help you to return to your Father in Heaven?

He didn’t send you on this journey only to wander aimlessly on your own. He wants you to come home to Him. He has given you loving parents and faithful Church leaders, along with a map that describes the terrain and identifies the dangers; the map shows you where peace and happiness can be found and will help you plot your course back home.

This map is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news, and the joyful way of a disciple of Christ. It is the commandments and example given to us by our Advocate and Mentor, who knows the way because He is the way.3

You are not alone on this journey. Your Heavenly Father knows you. Even when no one else hears you, He hears you. When you rejoice in righteousness, He rejoices with you. When you are beset with trial, He grieves with you.

With this in mind, I invite you to walk confidently and joyfully. Yes, the road has bumps and detours and even some hazards. But don’t focus on them. Look for the happiness your Father in Heaven has prepared for you in every step of your journey. Happiness is the destination, but it’s also the path. “Peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come” is what He promises.11 That is why He commands us to “be of good cheer.”

BARE YOUR TESTIMONY

Just in case you need to speak for a longer time:

Alma 34:32-33- 

32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

33 And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.