The Only Talk I've Ever Written

         
 So my talk was obviously a lot better in person cause I'm just so stinkin funny ;D ...or because I am just that embarrassing that people laugh at me.  Either way here is my written talk.  I hope you enjoy it.

            I’ve been asked today to speak on fasting, specifically Isaiah 58:5-11.  This is the first time I have spoken in sacrament since I was like 13 and when I found out I was speaking on fasting I got really nervous.  I wish I could tell you a personal story that relates to fasting and how one time when I fasted it changed my view on things and that now I have a whole new perspective but in all honesty I don’t have one.   I strongly believe that that is why I was asked to speak on this topic.  I am not very experienced with fasting and the reasoning behind it but after writing this talk I actually see things in a whole new light.  Please bear with me and I hope you are able to get as much out of this talk as I did writing it.  

               This is going to sound bad but too often when I read my scriptures I tend to mentally skip over versus that I don’t really understand.  If I see words that I don’t know then I don’t really dig deep to find the attended meaning behind it.  Well after reading these 6 verses I hope I’m able to change my ways in the future because I was able to find out much more than I ever thought I would.

           Isaiah 58:5 reads "Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?"

 This verse didn’t make much sense to me when I first read it.  I had no idea what a bulrush was and didn’t understand what the relevance of the sackcloth and ashes were. Well if you’ve ever been to a pond or small body of water you’ll often find those plants about 4 feet tall that have a weird brown thing at the top…yes great description I know.  But anyways if you’ve ever played with one or tried to “pick one” or pull it out you’ll find that it will just flop over, it has no strength to it, no foundational support, it holds fine when it is in water, but as soon as it is out of its element, it easily bends under its own weight.  So the bulrush is a symbol of a man bowed down with grief and the sackcloth and ashes used to be a sign of humiliation, often worn as a loin cloth during fasting or knelt on during prayer. The sackcloth was typically a burden to people.

God had no intention of fasting to be a day of grief or burden upon us and He goes on to explain that in verse 6.

    6 "Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the abands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go bfree, and that ye break every yoke."

 Literally, a "yoke" is a device laid across the necks of draft animals to hold them together so they can work as a team, and their load is attached to it. However, if a yoke wasn't properly attached to the animals, or if the load was too heavy for them to pull, the yoke would chafe the animals painfully and hinder their productivity.  God’s intentions for a fast were to help free us from the burdens of life.  He is very wise in knowing the loads we are able to bear.  Never will God give us more then we can handle.  

7 "Is it not to deal thy bread to the ahungry, and that thou bring the bpoor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from cthine own flesh?"

 This is a great blessing we’ve been given.  We have the opportunity of fast offerings.  The beauty of fast offerings is that the money that is given goes to those we know, those who are close to us.  We always hear of the people in third world countries in need of food and shelter, which yes I think it is important that we do what we can to help them and don’t ignore their needs.  But it is also important that we don’t forget about those close to us.  There are many within arms-reach that are in need of a helping hand.   Our contributions to fast offerings may not be large sums at this time because we are single college age students but it is a habit forming concept.  And although they may be small amounts, we should also understand as poor college students that every penny counts….and every dollar adds up.  You never know the difference you will be able to make in the life of a nearby friend.  One of our main goals in life is to become more like Christ and to give what we can, and as we do that the light of Christ will shine from within us. Which leads me to verse 8

  8 "Then shall thy alight break forth as the morning, and thine bhealth shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward."

  When we are involved in God’s work, such as fasting, we are instilled with the light of Christ which will lighten any darkened place it enters.  Fasting is also good for our bodies.  For those of you who don’t know me, I enjoy eating.  I eat a lot and seeing as how Saturday is before Sunday, the odds are I have eaten a large amount because...well that is just what I do.   Our bodies need a physical cleanse from the food and toxins we continually consume.  It has been proven that our body benefits from a 24 hour cleanse once a month. That is why fasting is a beautiful thing, it is a physical as well as spiritual cleanse.

Now my favorite  is probably verses 9 and 10

9 "Then shalt thou acall, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the bputting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the ahungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light brise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday"

  If we pray with a good intention and a pure heart God will answer in His way and on His time.  But I’ll be honest in saying I haven’t been too great when it comes to praying for answers.  It is definitely an area I am not very experienced in. But that is why the part I really love is where it says, “thou shalt cry, and He shall say, Here I am.”  It truly gives me ease in knowing that although I may not have a direct answer to a question that I have, I at least have the comfort in knowing that I have my father in Heaven with me. He is by my side if I choose to be by His.   We receive blessing through fasting that we can’t receive anywhere else.  As we cleanse ourselves from the desires of the natural man, we will fill cleaner and give the spirit more room to fill our lives.  It is important that we stay disciplined throughout our fast, keep our hearts close to the savior and the purpose behind our fast. The more we fast with our hearts open, the more He will fill our hearts with His light.  And like he says, His light will rise in any darkness and your darkness will be as noonday.  

The last verse goes on to say

11 "And the Lord shall aguide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in bdrought, and cmake fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a dspring of water, whose waters fail not."

  Although we may physically feel hungry for 24 hours, our lives will feel full of the spirit and full of Christ.  By fasting, we give God the opportunity to give us the blessings we need to guide our lives and help us progress to the next stage.  Without fasting we withhold ourselves from further progression that is necessary for our salvation.  As the next fast Sunday falls up on us in a couple of weeks, I invite you to find a reason to fast.  Don’t just fast because it is what we are supposed to do, fast because it is the right thing to do... life is too short to go through the motions.   Keep in mind those who you are helping with fast offerings and remember, when you are in service of your fellow men you are in service of God.  When starting your fast pray for comfort and guidance as you are fasting.  Don’t just nap the day away, fill that time with the Gospel and give God a chance to be in your life…I truly believe that as we come to Him, He holds his arms out wide waiting for us because we are His children and it is like any parent who waits anxiously to give a gift to their child.