Benjamin's talk

The primary here has been absurdly on top of sending reminders about the children's assignments in primary...until this weekend! Usually I get a text message earlier in the week as well as the day before, in addition to an email. I'm often also caught in the hallway by one of the presidency members and the kids have come home with little bracelets detailing their assignment.

Benjamin was supposed to give a talk in primary today and I got no reminders at all! Luckily I read the church bulletin that was emailed out last night because Benjamin's assignment was listed there.

We worked together this morning to come up with a talk.

You'll find the transcript below. He read the full text of Janice Kapp Perry's poem/song I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus. It fit well with his talk and she's been on my mind quite a bit lately (years and years ago I took a Spanish class with her (and my mom), which was fun, but she's more a friend of my mom's than of mine). She's a wonderful, talented woman and I wish her the best with whichever path she's to take (recovering from her illness or meeting up with her husband in heaven).

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Second Peter, chapter one tells us how we can become more like Jesus Christ. He says, we start with faith. We then need to start doing good works, gain knowledge and testimony, learn self control, patience, perseverance, and godliness. Finally we need to learn to be kind and to show charity—the true love of Christ—to all of God’s children.

This list makes me feel imperfect because learning about the gospel and being kind to others isn’t always easy for me.

I won’t be able to tackle this whole list at once but that’s okay because I’m not expected to. Peter says to start with faith and then add in good works. As we’re practicing goodness we keep studying the gospel. Then we keep adding more and more Christlike traits until we’ve found we’ve developed charity, which is one of the greatest things to learn.

So we start with a small thing: just trying to do something that’s good.

I like to help our neighbour Mr. Paul with his yard work. When I help him, he gets his work done faster and I feel happy. Helping Mr. Paul with his work helps me feel and show my love for Mr. Paul the way Christ would love him. That’s charity!

As I repeat many small acts of love and goodness, a big change will happen in me and I will find that I’ve become more like Jesus.

My grandma’s friend, Janice Kapp Perry, wrote a beautiful poem about this that you probably know. It goes like this:

I’m trying to be like Jesus;
I’m following in his ways.
I’m trying to love as he did, in all that I do and say.
At times I am tempted to make a wrong choice,
But I try to listen as the still small voice whispers,

“Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.”

I’m trying to love my neighbor;
I’m learning to serve my friends.
I watch for the day of gladness when Jesus will come again.
I try to remember the lessons he taught.
Then the Holy Spirit enters into my thoughts, saying:

“Love one another as Jesus loves you.
Try to show kindness in all that you do.
Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought,
For these are the things Jesus taught.”

I hope we can all learn to love as Jesus loves. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.