Elder Steele's Farewell Talk given on 7/16/17
Elder Steele has a knack for outlining his thoughts, making notes, and then delivering amazing talks! The following is a compilation of his outline and notes that resulted in his Farewell Talk given in the Allen 1st Ward, on Sunday, July 16, 2017.
Good morning brothers and sisters. My name is Kyle Steele, or maybe I should day god morgon broder och systrar. Jag heter Kyle Steele. It is so wonderful to be speaking to you all today. This is the Ward that I grew up in and the Ward that raised me into the man I am today. Fair warning, I may get emotional throughout my talk, but I am ok to get emotional in front of you because we are a close-knit family.
I am speaking to you all today because I have been called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am assigned to labor in the Sweden, Stockholm mission. And no, that doesn't mean I'll just be working at IKEA off of 121 for the next two years. The Sweden Stockholm mission is comprised of the entire country since there is only one mission in Sweden, so during my two years in Sweden, I could be living in any part of the country. Whether I be in the capital of Stockholm, Malmo, Goteborg, or the cold, cold northern parts of Sweden, I know that I will fall in love with the pure beauty of the country. I am very excited, yet humble about this amazing journey.
Before I leave for two years I want to leave you all with my personal thoughts, feelings, and experiences that have led me up to this important milestone in my life. I will share with you the impact of missionaries in my life, why I want to serve a mission, and lastly what I will be doing as a missionary.
1. Impact of missionaries
- Story of Grandpa Mueller and Family "The details are actually so sad, I really don't know how I made it through, but I did."
It was fall in Weimar, East Germany, known as the
home of the German language when Goethe and Schiller
and like-minded artists gathered there to write, philosophize,
experiment, and lead the world of literature in the
late 18th century. But in 1950 Weimar was no longer the
host of new thought and advancement but a sullen,
frightening city. Peter was six then, his sister Monika
barely two, and their parents were secretly planning to
escape to the West. Peter’s father had fought in World
War II and finished the war as a prisoner in Louisiana
and Missouri, but he was no longer willing to support the
regime he had risked his life for. If they could reach West
Berlin, essentially an island in East Germany, they hoped
to be transferred to a West German refugee camp. Others
were doing it successfully and the Muellers felt it was
worth the risk. One night, the children said goodbye to
their grandparents for the last time and boarded a train
for Berlin with their mother. As an ex-soldier, their father
knew he would not be allowed to make a trip to Berlin, so
he hid in the wheel well under one of the train cars for
the four-hour trip. Once in East Berlin, the family reunited,
stealthily climbed down into the sewer pipes and
walked to the western section of the city.
They spent the next year in a refugee camp in West
Berlin awaiting their chance to go to West Germany.
Accommodations were cement bunkers left over from the
war. The bunkers, mounted on rollers, were ideal for withstanding
bomb blasts but inhospitable as housing. The
family claimed a small section of one building and hung a
blanket for privacy. It was in this camp that the Muellers
first heard about the Mormon Church from the missionaries.
Peter, his sister, and his mother were Catholic; his
father Protestant. Later they would be reminded of the
new church.
Their turn finally came to leave for West Germany, but
they could not travel together. The limited space on the
airplane was allotted to adult refugees because ground
travel was too perilous. The Mueller children, Peter (then
seven) and his sister (three), had to travel alone by train.
They were frightened but glad their parents weren’t with
them when the train was stopped and searched. They witnessed
several refugees who were pulled out of the cars
and shot to death.
When the children arrived at their new camp in
Worms, famed for Martin Luther, their parents weren’t
there. No one seemed to know where they were. The Red
Cross and the Catholic relief organizations were alerted
and began to search the various towns and cities where
refugees were situated, but for the next four months the
two children had to fend for themselves. It was there that
Peter’s career as an innovator began. Every day he had to
find food for himself and his sister. He had to find shelter
and warmth when all they had were the worn-out clothes
on their backs. And neither had identification papers.
Other refugees helped. At times Peter sneaked food from
kitchens. When he discovered that Frenchmen stationed
in Worms liked snails, he and his sister began to search
out the slimy creatures and load them in a bucket to sell.
He collected scraps of brass shrapnel to sell as well. He
also earned pocket change by helping set up shelves in the
local bookstore/library—his first library job. Survival was
day to day.
Finally the family was reunited, and soon afterward the
Mormon missionaries found them again. In November
1952 Peter and his parents were baptized just before they
were relocated to a small town called Frankenthal.
- Story of Dad
PopPop was Catholic and DiDi was something else. They got married in a Catholic church in Chicago and I think DiDi had to promise to raise the kids Catholic. PopPop took us to church but DiDi didn't usually attend, although she had lots of Catholic friends, in fact, most of her friends went to the Catholic church. PopPop even taught Sunday school, first for 5th grade then for 7th grade, and he supposedly was a good teacher. All of a sudden, he stopped going to church and since he wasn't going we stopped, too. I was around 13. I later found out it was because the local parish was having a fundraiser that included gambling and PopPop was against this so he simply stopped going to church.
When I was at Indiana University, I read an article I think was in Time magazine about BYU and its standards. The short article intrigued me because I was surrounded by people at IU who put partying first and I often felt out of place there. I wondered what it would have been like to attend BYU and not have to deal with all that stuff I saw at IU.
Fast forward to when I met Mom. I wasn't attending any church and hadn't since PopPop stopped going. I tried to live my life well and didn't do many things others did. She seemed to embody everything good that I had heard about BYU and the LDS church. Once we were married and had our apartment in Dallas, she went to the Carrollton 2nd ward and at first I didn't want to attend. But then I started going to sacrament meeting only. Then she was called to Primary and I started going to that with her as the little kids were so cute. The elders tried their best to connect with me and teach me lessons along with other members. However, I wasn't feeling it and I thought the elders were too pushy and just wanting me to get baptized to check it off their list (perception, probably not the truth). A really good thing was that we met the Higbee family. Mom went to Relief Society one evening and when she came home she was so excited. The woman teaching that night was Sister Higbee, a teacher in Plano. She and Mom hit it off and Mom learned there was an urgent need for a 5th grade position at Brinker Elementary on Linda's team.
After a year in the apartment, we bought our first house in Plano. We were one block from the Legacy chapel and walked to church. I liked being in the Primary with mom as those Sunbeams were adorable. I didn't attend Sunday school or Priesthood as I wasn't a member. The sister missionaries started visiting us. I really liked them as they weren't pushy. We had lots of fun with them feeding them and even took them to restaurants which they loved.
When Mom was pregnant with you, I started to put things in perspective. I already liked going to sacrament meeting and Primary with mom and people seemed really nice. I didn't have a problem with Word of Wisdom or other issues. I felt it was the right time for me, Mom and our soon to be child and future children. The sister missionaries switched out which threw me off a bit, but I finally committed to being baptized on July 15, 1995, 12 days after I turned 30.
- Austin's example - My Mom (Chris Steele mission)
I love my family and I know that serving a mission will benefit the relationships we have in an infinite amount of ways. The mission is not only going to change me physically, emotionally, and spiritually, but it's also going to increase our family's capacity to love each other and love the people in this world.
2. Why I want to serve a mission
-Unhappiness in middle school story, to turn into my testimony now, Book of Mormon
3. What will I be doing?
- "Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end."
- MTC
- Restoration, Plan of Salvation, Gospel of Jesus Christ, Commandments
- Talk to everyone, contacting
-Finding people to teach analogy (Optimal Ship)
When I was baptized almost 12 years ago, the Arnett family, who by the way is very close to my heart, gave me a keychain that reads, "Return With Honor." Those three simple words bring me to tears today as I say goodbye to this Ward, my family, my friends, my girlfriend, my education, for two years. But I know without a doubt that this Church is true and that Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and that I am meant to serve the people of Sweden. For each and every one of you close to my heart, I want you to know I will serve obediently, valiantly, and faithfully as a missionary for this Church and hold true to that keychain given to me years ago, Return With Honor.
Alma 42:31 "And now, O my son, ye are called of God to preach the word unto this people. And now, my son, go thy way, declare the word with truth and soberness, that thou mayest bring souls unto repentance, that the great plan of mercy may have claim upon them. And may God grant unto you even according to my words. Amen."
Close with testimony
