the castos: August 2012

Well I was called to speak in church today... yep, I was just as freaked out as I expected I would be up there on the stand. After successfully standing up and not tripping whilst walking to the mic, I mumbled something about being nervous.. then some other stupid things.. but after that, I think the talk was pretty successful.

The topic was the Atonement and keeping the Savior in our lives... having faith through difficult times. All rolled into one. I sat down and wrote out the talk on Wednesday and was actually pretty pleased with the way it turned out. Sometimes I'm able to write well... other times, it gets a bit jumbled. This time, it was sort of a mix of the two.

Afterwards, I had a few people come up to me and say "good job" and whatnot. One woman in particular said, "great talk... I really appreciated it... I really needed to hear that today.." with tears in her eyes. It was sweet... and I'd never met her before.

So it ended up being something that I totally needed to dwell on for a minute. And instead of letting it hide away for years in my documents folder that I never go through, I thought that maybe I'd post my talk here so that I could come back and refer to it again in the future.

You don't need to read it, but maybe if you're struggling with something in life, it may help.

If only to know that you're not struggling alone. xo

Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. My name is Lauren Casto, my husband Jake and I moved into the ward in February of this year. We’ve been living in Austin for about 2 years now and are originally from Las Vegas, NV. We’ve been married for 4.5 years and are very grateful to be in such a great ward.

My talk today will be on recognizing the Savior and the atonement in our lives. Hopefully I’ll be able to convey this incredibly essential topic without passing out or breaking into a cold sweat… which I’m probably already doing. Many of my words will come from a general conference talk that was given this past April by Elder Neal Anderson entitled “What Thinks Christ of Me?”

Elder Anderson begins by indicating, “Jesus asked the Pharisees, “What think ye of Christ? In the final assessment, our personal discipleship will not be judged by friends or foes. Rather, as Paul said, “We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” At that day the important question for each of us will be, “What thinks Christ of me?”’

We grow up in the church learning that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and that he, along with our eldest brother, love us very much. But Elder Anderson states that “even with His love for all mankind, Jesus reprovingly referred to some around Him as hypocrites, fools, and workers of iniquity. He approvingly called others children of the kingdom and the light of the world. He lamented that some were faithless and of the world, but others He esteemed as chosen, disciples, friends. And so we each ask, “what thinks Christ of me?”’

As society seems to be moving away from tradition and daily spirituality, we can often see the blatant disregard for Christ and His teachings. President Monson has said that the “moral fiber of society is continuing to disintegrate before our very eyes.”

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are able to see the Lord’s hand all around us. We are able to believe in eternal life and have a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Jesus’s call “Come, follow me” is an invitation to all. It is a call to daily duty. Elder Anderson says that “we may not be at our very best every day, but if we are trying, Jesus’s bidding is full of encouragement and hope: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”’

He goes on to say “wherever you now find yourself on the road of discipleship, you are on the right road, the road toward eternal life. Together we can lift and strengthen one another in the great and important days ahead. Whatever the difficulties confronting us, the weaknesses confining us, or the impossibilities surrounding us, let us have faith in the Son of God, who declared, “All things are possible to him that believeth.”’

In my own life, there have been struggles and hardship that I never imagined I’d be dealt. As a young teenager, my parents were divorced and the years that followed were very difficult for me. Watching my mom go through the worst years of her life, I tried to enjoy what I could of the last days of my childhood… but to be honest, the situation called for me to face a reality I wasn’t prepared for and I had to grow up very quickly. As I look back on these days, I no longer feel resentment towards my mother, as she is probably the strongest person I know. I see the faith she found through the darkest times that carried her to a place of peace, assurance, and happiness.

As an adult, I’ve hoped that the big trial of my youth would be the worst of it… I hoped that because I dealt with such mature devastation at such a young age, I’d be safe from any real pain in the future. The thing is, we never know what our trials are going to be… we never know if what we face tomorrow will change our world. I’ve learned that keeping a firm handle on our beliefs and striving to have absolute faith is the best preparation for facing such challenges and I strive to remember that “All things are possible to him that believeth.”

It’s not always easy to keep the righteous and faithful perspective on a daily basis, though. At least not for me, anyway. I’d like to say that I have unwavering believe, that I don’t yearn for certain things because I know that it’s all part of the Lord’s greater plan. I’d love to stick my selfishness and heartache far away and only feel resolute faith at all times. But it takes constant effort to grasp that firm belief sometimes, effort that involves many prayers, scripture study and remembering the sacrifice that was made in our behalf.

Elder Anderson states, “discipleship is believing Him in seasons of peace and believing Him in seasons of difficulty, when our pain and fear are calmed only by the conviction that He loves us and keeps His promises.”’

He goes on to tell an incredible story:

He says, “I recently met a family who is a beautiful example of how we believe Him. Olgan and Soline Saintelus, from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, told me their story.

On January 12, 2010, Olgan was at work and Soline was at the church when a devastating earthquake struck Haiti. Their three children-Gancci, age five, Angie, age three, and Gansly, age one- were at home in their apartment with a friend.

Massive devastation was everywhere. As you will remember, tens of thousands lost their lives that January in Haiti. Olgan and Soline ran as fast as they could to their apartment to find the children. The three-story apartment building where the Saintelus family lived had collapsed.

The children had not escaped. No rescue efforts would be devoted to a building that was so completely destroyed. Olgan and Soline Saintelus had both served full-time missions and had been married in the temple. They believed in the Savior and in His promises to them. Yet their hearts were broken. They wept uncontrollably.

Olgan told me that in his darkest hour he began to pray. “Heavenly Father if it be thy will, if there could be just one of my children alive, please, please help us.” Over and over he walked around the building, praying for inspiration. The neighbors tried to comfort him and help him accept the loss of his children. Olgan continued to walk around the ruble of the collapsed building, hoping, praying. Then something quite miraculous happened. Olgan heard the almost inaudible cry of a baby. It was the cry of his baby.

For hours the neighbors frantically dug into the rubble, risking their own lives. In the dark of the night, through the piercing sounds of hammers and chisels, the rescue workers heard another sound. They stopped their pounding and listened. They wouldn’t believe what they were hearing. It was the sound of a little child – and he was singing. Five-year-old Gancci later said that he knew his father would hear him if he sang. Under the weight of crushing concrete that would later result in the amputation of his arm, Gancci was singing his favorite song, “I Am a Child of God.”

As the hours passed amid the darkness, death, and despair of so many other precious sons and daughters of God in Haiti, the Saintelus family had a miracle. Gancci, Angie, and Gansly were discovered alive under the flattened building.

Miracles are not always so immediate. At times we thoughtfully wonder why the miracle we have so earnestly prayed for does not happen here and now. But as we trust in the Savior, promised miracles will occur. Whether in this life or the next, all will be made right. The Savior declares: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”’

As I prepared this talk, I knew that it was exactly the talk that I not only needed to give, but that it was a topic that I absolutely needed to remind myself of as well.

I’d like to bear my testimony of the truthfulness of this gospel, the love of our Savior and His promise to us. I am so grateful for Him and for the support I receive on a daily basis from those who love me. Especially my husband back there... he is my world.

I say these things, in Jesus’ name, Amen.