Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Latter-day Saint
We Talk of Christ

We Talk of Christ

Last updated on: November 10, 2021 at 5:26 pm by Abe Mills

We Talk of Christ 2021-11-10T17:26:11-04:00 Abe Mills

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

speech bubble

Image by Volodymyr Hryshchenko from Unsplash

“We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ . . . that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Nephi 25:26). This scripture is a call for all of us to talk of Christ with everyone we can.

My son Jackson has made this scripture a part of his life in multiple languages. The day that Jackson received his mission call was a day of excitement and deep gratitude. Jackson would go to Bogotá, Colombia, learn Spanish, and teach the gospel. This was a major blessing for all of us.

In fact, Jackson’s ability to talk of Christ in any language is a miracle. Let me explain.

Learning to Speak

When Jackson was born, a celestial silence swept across the room.

During labor, the doctors noticed that Jackson’s heart rate slowed whenever my wife, Rachel, had a contraction. The doctors performed an emergency C-section, only to discover that the umbilical cord was wrapped around Jackson’s neck four times. But Jackson was alive.

In that moment after Jackson was delivered, the doctors and nurses stood in awe of the miracle of his birth. I looked around the room and knew that we all felt respect for God’s power. I believe that God or His angels were there with us.

It turns out that the cord being wrapped around his neck was not his biggest problem. He was born with a congenital heart defect and spent the first 15 month of his life on monitors and oxygen until he had a complicated heart surgery.

The surgery allowed him to function without an oxygen tank, but it took a toll on his ability to communicate. His language skills were very delayed. He also had difficulty with basic reactions to stimuli.

Thankfully, he had many resources to help him. At four years old, he started attending special language classes. My wife also helped immensely. Rachel has been not only Jackson’s mother, but also his constant teacher, therapist, and everything else. With all this support, Jackson learned how to express himself.

In fact, Jackson’s learning was so successful that it shocked one of his doctors. At a routine heart checkup when Jackson was 10 years old, he spoke with the doctor alone after Rachel had stepped away. When Rachel came back, the doctor commented on how well-spoken Jackson was. It was hard to believe that this was the same boy who had so many language difficulties.

Jackson’s birth and development were miracles. And those miracles prepared Jackson for his mission.

Speaking More Languages

Through hard work and divine help, Jackson had learned to speak English, his first language. But he always wanted to speak Spanish. His wish was coming true with his call to serve in Bogotá, Colombia!

However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he and most missionaries faced challenges that were out of their control. Jackson went to Colombia for only six weeks before he was sent home. He spent a year serving in California. He was then able to go back to Colombia for a time, but he got sick and had to come home five months early.

Through all of this hardship, Jackson continued learning Spanish and teaching the gospel. There’s a quote, often attributed to Saint Augustine, that says, “Pray as though everything depends on God, and work as though everything depends on you.” Jackson did just that. He read the entire Book of Mormon out loud in Spanish. He did language fasts where he refused to speak English for several days.

He worked on his Spanish skills like it all depended on him, but he prayed for help like it all depended on the Lord. With these efforts, and with God’s power, Jackson learned to speak fluently in Spanish.

Even after learning Spanish, Jackson felt the Spirit prompt him to learn Portuguese as well. Many people told him that it would be too difficult. But the feeling wouldn’t leave. So Jackson began reading the scriptures in Portuguese, too.

It was unclear why he was learning this third language. But Jackson continued to study, and he became an accomplished speaker of the language.

Since Jackson returned from Colombia, he has seen more clearly why the Spirit directed him to learn Portuguese. Jackson has met many Brazilians who speak Portuguese as their first language, and he can effortlessly communicate with them. He can bear his testimony of the Savior to them.

When he gave his homecoming talk after his mission, Jackson bore his testimony of Christ in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Visitors in attendance that day heard Jackson’s testimony in their native languages. His testimony was deeply moving, especially to those of us who knew his journey.

Talking of Christ

The little boy whose biggest challenge was communicating is now a returned missionary, communicating beautifully in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. He can talk of Christ in three languages. Christ helped Jackson turn his weakness into a great strength!

Jackson is an example to me. He reminds me to talk of Christ, rejoice in Christ, and connect with Christ. And just as He helped Jackson, Christ will help us all make our weaknesses into strengths.

Previous Post

November 3, 2021

Trials and Sycamine Trees

Next Post

November 17, 2021 Obeying When You Don’t Understand Why

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Comfort and Healing Death and Resurrection Family gratitude Service Spiritual Growth Strength and Courage Uncategorized

Select a Month April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz