ELDER WEBER'S SACRAMENT TALK

Elder Weber sent me a copy of the talk he gave in sacrament meeting this past Sunday.  I am one proud momma.  This young man is pretty incredible.  I am humbled that he used "our" story to explain missionary work.  Please take a moment and read this.

The 3 Needs of a New Member

Hi. Seeing as this is my first time speaking in this Ward, I suppose now would be a really good time to introduce myself. My name is Elder Weber, and I and my companion, Elder Tapia, are currently the Elders serving in the Kimball-half of this Ward. I am from South Jordan, Utah, have been off on my mission for almost six months now, and have been loving my time serving the Lord.

Before I begin my talk, I would like to share with all of you a story. I use this to help the subject I am about to speak on, as well as paint a picture for all of you about the importance of my topic.

My story is about a young woman named Nikkole, or Nikki for short. Nikki lived in Riverside, California, with her mom and dad, Jo and Louis Sansevero. They were a wonderful and loving family, but they had something missing. Jo and Lou were raising their small family in a non-religious environment. And for a young woman like Nikki, that absence of religion could be very dangerous as she grew up, branched off, and became her own person.

And then, something happened. While going through high school, Nikki became interested in the Mormon Church. Her mother, Jo, had family in Utah that was Mormon, and whenever she attended their meetings, she felt something…more, something that she couldn’t seem to explain. Nikki decided that she liked the Mormon religion, and began attending meetings in her home in Riverside on her own. She was scared, shy, and more than just a tiny bit intimidated by all that went on in the meeting house.

Luckily, this fear didn’t last very long, as Nikki soon found friendship in the form of another young woman named Shauna. Shauna helped Nikki feel included—she took her to Seminary with her, she helped her with the Missionary Discussions, she made her feel wanted. She was Nikki’s guardian angel in human form.

After Nikki was baptized and left high school, she started to fall away from the Church a bit. She was continuing down her path of finding herself, and finding meaning in her life. At around this time, when she was in her early twenties, she came to a pivotal moment in her life. She met a young man named Steve. Steve wasn’t a member of the Church—in fact, he was as much a less-active Catholic as she was a less-active Mormon. In spite of them having slightly different religious backgrounds and up-bringings, the two were happily married, and soon began raising a young family in Augusta, Maine.

At this time in Nikki’s life, she became aware of the need for a good, strong religion in her children’s lives. She didn’t know much about Catholicism, which Steve and her had attended a few times since their children were born, so her thoughts turned back to Mormonism. The good, fond memories of her young member life in the Church came back to her, and she knew it was the Church for her family.

Soon the whole family was attending Church. Steve was baptized as well, though he felt out of place at first, and soon began to teach Seminary at the local meeting house. And then something amazing happened. Inspired by their daughter’s example, and driven by their desire to be a greater part in their grandchildrens’ lives, Jo and Lou were baptized as well. A year after their baptism, the family was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple, and to this day, they are faithful and strong members of the Church.

What does this story have to do with the message I wish to tell? This story is the story of my mom, Nikkole Maria Sansevero Weber, my dad, Steven James Weber, and my grandparents, Jo and Louis Sansevero. Each were converts in the Church, and each, when converted, had feelings of anxiety. They felt like they were the small fish in the big pond. Everywhere they looked, there was someone who understood the Gospel better, who had a stronger testimony, who spoke the Mormon language better than them. Being a new member in an atmosphere like that was intimidating.

Though we’d like to deny it, this is the experience most recent converts have when welcomed into the Mormon world. They find themselves feeling a bit of culture shock, and aren’t quite certain how to deal with it. In 1999, President Gordon B. Hinckley spoke directly on this topic, and addressed three needs new members must have fulfilled to ensure acceptance and long-lasting conversion. These “Three Needs of a New Member” are what I am talking about today.

1.      A Friend

The first need addressed is the need for a friend. President Hinckley’s image of what this friend should be like was stated as being thus—“a friend in the Church to whom he can constantly turn, who will walk beside him, who will answer his questions, who will understand his problems.” If we are using the “Alma-and-Amulek Theory” in our teaching of investigators, then members should already be forming friendships with these investigators-soon-to-be-recent converts. We need to keep those friendships strong even after baptism, however, so that our new members won’t find themselves lost later on in their journeys.
 

Nikki  with her friend Shawna (1989)

My mom had such a friend. Shauna, who I mentioned in the story, is still one of my mom’s most near and dear friends. They talk to each other often—over Facebook and texts—and have helped each other through the spiritual hurdles in their lives. It was because of the friendship my mom formed with Shauna that made her confident in the belief that the Church was where her family needed to be raised. And because of the friendship they formed, they’ve been able to strengthen each other’s confidence in the Gospel, and keep each other firm in the Church.

2.      An Assignment

The second need that President Hinckley spoke of is the need for an assignment. “Activity is the genius of this Church,” he said, “It is the process by which we grow.” If we do not give our new members assignments in the Church, showing that we trust them, then these new members will feel unwelcome or unaccepted in our meeting houses. And, though we do not mean it at all, we will end up driving our brothers and sisters away from the very organization we wish them to be a part of. But if we give them an assignment, even if we feel they are still too young and inexperienced Church-wise for it, then they will grow stronger and more firm in their belief.
 

Lou Sansevero with his missionaries (1999)

For this, I’d like to look toward my grandpa, Lou Sansevero. For as long as I can remember, he has served somewhere in the leadership of the Ward he attends. I have known him to be Ward Clerk a number of times, and—though my memory is fuzzy—he has even served as a counselor in his Ward’s Bishopric. Even though he hadn’t been a member all his life, his Bishop trusted him enough to give him those callings. And the Ward trusted him enough to sustain him as such as well. The result? He is truly stalwart and steadfast in the Church, with a testimony that shines bright and true.

3.      Spiritual Nourishment

The last need that President Hinckley spoke of is the need for spiritual nourishment. We can’t pretend that every new member that joins the Church has learned everything they need to learn and can stop learning. Every member of this Church, whether they be as young as a Sunbeam or as experienced as the Prophet of the Lord, needs to continue to learn and to grow. And, as long as they continue to learn and grow, their faith and trust in the Church grows as well, and they become fully converted unto Christ.

I’d like to look to my dad as an example of this in work. Growing up, I always saw my dad as being a very learned and wise man. As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that he, too, had to learn and grow, just as I am still learning and growing now, though it has done little to minimize the legend I see him to be. However, as I said, he needed to grow as well. When he was given the calling of Seminary teacher, he was about as inexperienced in the Gospel as the teenagers he was teaching. However, that could easily be the very reason as to why he had the calling. As he taught the young men and women in his classes, he himself gained further understanding of the Gospel.
 

Steve Weber with his missionaries (1998)
That is the future Elder Weber standing in front of his Dad

So it has been in every calling my dad has taken, be it a Young-Men’s Teacher, or a Cub Scout Master. He has always been learning and growing. And me, and my siblings, have had the happy experience of growing with him. Through Family Home Evenings, listening to his testimony, or just seeing his example, me and my sisters have become firmly planted in this Church’s soil, and served faithfully in every calling and seat we’ve been given by the Lord. In fact, if my Dad hadn’t been so firm in learning the Gospel and helping others to learn the Gospel, I probably wouldn’t have been as firm in my conviction to serve a full-time mission for the Church—the mission I am currently serving in.

These are the “Three Needs of a New Member”. We, as members of this Church, can play a crucial role in fulfilling these needs. We must be friends to those that are friendless, and support them through the trials they have as new members. We must sustain our new brothers and sisters in their callings, and—again—be there for them when they need help or support. And we need to be active in teaching and nourishing each other, in helping each other to thrive in the soil of the Gospel, and this Church. If we can do this more actively, we can have more families like mine—families so firmly planted in the Gospel soil that nothing short of the absolute force of the Devil himself can force them to move. I pray that we can be able to be the friends, supports, and teachers our brothers and sisters need.

In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, Amen.