Homecoming Talk in Sacrament Meeting

 

Kylene shared her testimony and experiences from her mission in the Silverleaf Ward Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, August 17. Many people came or tuned in over Zoom to listen to her speak. Here is her talk:

 

Homecoming Talk - 17 agosto 2025

Good morning brothers and sisters, it is such a pleasure to be with you this morning in my home ward. This is the biggest and fullest chapel I’ve been in for the past 18 months haha so I’m a little overwhelmed as I look at all of you but as I see you sitting here I’m filled with so much love and gratitude. I just want to take a second to thank each of you. Thank you for the support you gave me and my family the past 18 months. Your prayers were felt and all of the supportive emails were so appreciated. I also want to thank you for the support you gave to my brother Spencer as he prepared for and began his mission to Honduras last month. Shoutout to you Spencer:) 

I’m going to be doing things a little backwards this morning but as I was preparing my thoughts I knew that if there was one thing I wanted each of you to remember from my talk today it would be the testimony I have gained of my Savior Jesus Christ so I would like to start by bearing testimony of the Living Christ. 

I know that Jesus Christ lives today.  

I had the absolute privilege and blessing to spend about a third of my mission serving in the Visitor’s Center of the Rome, Italy temple. It was here that I gained my testimony of the Living Christ. Our mission president invited our mission to memorize the document “The Living Christ” and so each day my companion and I would go and sit in the Christus room of the VC where a beautiful statue of the Resurrected Christ is depicted. I love this statue because we can see reminders of His Atonement, the prints of the nails in His hands and feet and the mark in His side, but unlike many of the statues of Christ I saw around Rome of Him on the cross, I loved seeing Him in His resurrected form, powerful, loving, and inviting. As we recited statements from “The Living Christ” such as: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” and “I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father” Jesus Christ became so real to me. I remember looking at the front door of the vc and thinking that Jesus could have walked in right then and there and I wouldn’t have even been surprised, He was so real to me! This testimony became the foundation of everything I did in missionary work as I invited others to come unto Christ and enter into a Covenant relationship with Him. Gaining our own testimonies of Jesus Christ invites a light and a spirit into our lives, one that cannot be dimmed. From my experience I have also learned that sharing this light with others only helps it to increase! 

During his discourse of The Sermon on the Mount, Christ invites us all to, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). 

President David O. McKay spoke of the light inside of us and how it impacts those around us. He says: “Every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone, it is not alone what he does. 

It is what he  is… every person radiates what he or she is…The effect of our words and acts is tremendous in this world. Every moment of life you are changing to a degree the lives of the whole world. … So, it’s not the surroundings, it isn’t the positions; the thing that will influence [others] in this world, are personalities. No matter what you are, people will feel and recognize this…It is important … that we seek, both in life and in books, the companionship of the best and noblest men and women.” 

President McKay then continues by saying that by studying these noble men and women we “...learn of at least one thing that has made their names endure. It is this: Each one has given something of his life to make the world better. They did not spend all their time seeking only pleasure and ease, and a “good time” for themselves alone, but found their greatest joy in making others happy and more comfortable. All such good deeds live forever, even though the world may never hear of them. No good deed, no kind word can be spoken without its effect being felt for good upon all. Sometimes the good may be (extremely small), but as a rock that is thrown in a pool starts a wave from the center which continues to enlarge until every part of the shore is touched, so your deeds, silent, many of them, unknown, unspoken, unheralded, continue to radiate and touch many hearts.” (Teachings of Presidents: David O. McKay, chapter 24)

One of the greatest examples I can think of on my mission of sharing this light of Christ is the story of two of my best friends: Danilo and Monica. I would like to use their story to illustrate how shining our light through simple acts can have life changing effects on those around us. 30 years ago Monica was walking to her car with her groceries in the pouring rain when two young men offered her their umbrella. She accepted it, ran to the car, and drove away. But she couldn’t stop thinking about these two young men and felt so bad for leaving them there in the rain haha. She somehow got in contact with them again and these elders gave her a Book of Mormon and began to teach her the message of the Restoration. Unfortunately a short time later she went through a big move, lost contact with the elders, and lost the Book of Mormon. Fast forward 20 years, Monica has always felt close to God, studied the Bible, attended the Catholic church, but never has felt like the things she heard in church fully aligned with her beliefs. For example she preferred to pray alone after everyone left the church- just her and God. Then one day Monica is in a horrible car accident that changes her life forever. One so bad she shouldn’t have survived, she was literally pulled out of the flames and revived multiple times. As a result of the accident Monica loses a large portion of her past, long term memory. Now let's fast forward to the time I met Monica, December of 2024. (Hopefully you guys are still following haha) Monica is on Facebook when she sees a picture of the daughter of her boss who is currently serving as a missionary in the Salt Lake City temple visitor’s center. Monica has always noticed that something was different about her boss's family and admired the joy and peace they have. Monica told me “I always knew there was something different and special about Marco’s family but I never could have imagined all of this.” In this picture her boss’s daughter is holding a Book of Mormon and standing next to a man Monica recognizes. As she thinks about it she realizes it is the same man who gave her the book so many years earlier. Even with her memory loss, miraculously small memories of her time with these elders and learning about this book start coming back. Monica said she felt that this book was important and knew she needed to get a copy. Monica’s boss and his wife hear the story and take Monica and her husband Danilo on a trip to the Rome Italy Temple Visitor’s Center where they both receive copies of the Book of Mormon. Monica and Danilo described the feelings they had there: ones they had never felt before and couldn’t quite describe: peace, warmth, and calm. I had the privilege of welcoming Monica and Danilo into church on Christmas Sunday where she held up her copy of the Book of Mormon and asked me: “How can I learn more about this book?” I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to teach this couple whose hearts Heavenly Father prepared to receive the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Teaching them and participating in their baptism was one of the most Spirit-filled experiences of my entire life. Monica and Danilo have now gone to the temple, are serving as ward missionaries, and are preparing to be sealed for time and all eternity next year. And it all started with a small act of service and a family living the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Do you know the impact you have on those around you brothers and sisters? I believe we have far greater impact than we can ever imagine. 

The Lord teaches us in Doctrine and Covenants section 50: “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.” (D&C 50:24) As we take daily actions to increase the light of Christ inside of us and repeat this throughout our lives we people will notice and be drawn to the message we have to share. They will be drawn to Jesus Christ because they see Him in us.

I had the opportunity to meet and hear from 2 apostles of the Lord during my mission. Though they had different personalities and spoke about different topics, one thing stuck out to me that these 2 men had in common. The light of Christ and the Spirit of the Lord shined so brightly in their eyes. In every interaction they had, each person left feeling lifted and joyful. Even more than the words they spoke, I learned from their actions, the tone of their voice, and the way they treated others. After our mission conference Anziano Stevenson traveled to 2 other stakes in southern Italy and after each meeting he stood patiently and shook the hands of every single person. He shook hands with almost 1500 people in a short 3 days. He could have been doing anything with his time in Italy. He could’ve grabbed a pizza, slept off his jet lag, or seen the beautiful beaches in Sicily. But Anziano Stevenson chose to stand in a small church building and show his support to individual members of the church. This is what Jesus Christ would have done if he was in Catania that day. I know that the 12 apostles are truly servants of the Lord because I witnessed them doing things that I know Christ would have done.

One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is the story of the Widow of Nain found in Luke. Nain was a tiny city about 30 miles outside of Capernaum, where Jesus was at the time. In that town lived a woman. She had already lost her husband and her only son had just died. In Old Testament culture, the death of a husband was a sign of God’s judgement for sin. This woman was facing spiritual and emotional pain, as well as financial and social ruin. This had to have been one of the lowest points of her life. Jesus sensed the desperate situation of this woman. Scholars believe that Jesus left very early in the morning or even in the middle of the night to walk those 30 miles, uphill to Nain. He arrived in Nain at the exact moment that the funeral procession of the widow’s son was passing through. In Luke 7 we read: “13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. 14 And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. 15 And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak, And he delivered him to his mother.” Jesus Christ knew this woman perfectly, he knew the trial she was facing perfectly, and he came to her rescue. He walked 30 miles out of his way, going after the one. 

Behind the Christus statue in the visitors center there is a beautiful mural of an italian countryside. Olive trees, poppies, and sheep. Shining over everything in the painting is a bright sun, representing the light of Christ. Off to the far right side there is one lone sheep, a little off away from the group. This sheep represents the parable of the lost sheep. The one. One of my favorite things to point out to visitors is a ray of sunlight that shines directly on that lonely sheep. We each find ourselves in the position of that sheep at some point of our lives. But we are never truly lost. Christ sees us. He knows us. And he will never stop inviting and searching for us until we come back home. One of my favorite quotes from Elder Holland goes like this: 

 “...however late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.” 

I know that this is true brothers and sisters. Throughout my mission I watched individuals, couples, and families take steps towards Jesus Christ. Whether it was big or small, each time they showed their faith through action, I saw the joy that came into their lives as they followed Christ’s invite to “come unto me” (Matthew 11:28).

Bear testimony in Italian