May 2015 - Baccalaureate

--This is the baccalaureate talk with a little about Riley. Tanner had some great words from Riley about faith. Good reminders :)

Marana Baccalaureate Speech 2015

Faith: the power to Act

Just to be clear; No, I am not graduating with this awesome group, I know I look younger than most of them, but I graduated with the class of 2012.

Graduates! I'm so happy to be with you! This time in your life really is "the start of something new!" (Hopefully some of you caught that reference)

Like Levi said, my name is Tanner Morse. I was a Marana Tiger, then a Pima Aztec, and starting this summer, a BYU cougar. But always a wildcat at heart. And yes I'm a Mormon!

Being a member of The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has given me many opportunities to speak. Having served a 2 year mission for the church in New York City, I have attended many churches of other faiths and even taught in a Lutheran church about what I believe. Even with these cherished opportunities, I have never been asked to speak at an inter faith event. In this I am honored to be given this opportunity.

This was a new experience thinking about what exactly to address an inter faith audience. As I did, I thought, "what binds us all together? What is the reason we are gathered tonight?" I believe the answer is FAITH. It is our faith that brings us here, it is the fact that we have faith that binds us together. So tonight, faith is the principle I have chosen to expound on.

To illustrate this I will start with an old story:

A fable is told about an eagle who thought he was a chicken. When the eagle was very small, he fell from the safety of his nest. A chicken farmer found the eagle, brought him to the farm, and raised him in a chicken coop among his many chickens. The eagle grew up doing what chickens do, living like a chicken, and believing he was a chicken.

A naturalist came to the chicken farm to see if what he had heard about an eagle acting like a chicken was really true. He knew that an eagle is king of the sky. He was surprised to see the eagle strutting around the chicken coop, pecking at the ground, and acting very much like a chicken. The farmer explained to the naturalist that this bird was no longer an eagle. He was now a chicken because he had been trained to be a chicken and he believed that he was a chicken.

The naturalist knew there was more to this great bird than his actions showed as he “pretended” to be a chicken. He was born an eagle and had the heart of an eagle, and nothing could change that. The man lifted the eagle onto the fence surrounding the chicken coop and said, “Eagle, thou art an eagle. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” The eagle moved slightly, only to look at the man; then he glanced down at his home among the chickens in the chicken coop where he was comfortable. He jumped off the fence and continued doing what chickens do. The farmer was satisfied. “I told you it was a chicken,” he said.

The naturalist returned the next day and tried again to convince the farmer and the eagle that the eagle was born for something greater. He took the eagle to the top of the farmhouse and spoke to him: “Eagle, thou art an eagle. Thou dost belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” The large bird looked at the man, then again down into the chicken coop. He jumped from the man’s arm onto the roof of the farmhouse.

Knowing what eagles are really about, the naturalist asked the farmer to let him try one more time. He would return the next day and prove that this bird was an eagle. The farmer, convinced otherwise, said, “It is a chicken.”

The naturalist returned the next morning to the chicken farm and took the eagle and the farmer some distance away to the foot of a high mountain. They could not see the farm nor the chicken coop from this new setting. The man held the eagle on his arm and pointed high into the sky where the bright sun was beckoning above. He spoke: “Eagle, thou art an eagle! Thou dost belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth thy wings and fly.” This time the eagle stared skyward into the bright sun, straightened his large body, and stretched his massive wings. His wings moved, slowly at first, then surely and powerfully. With the mighty screech of an eagle, he flew.

A few themes come to my mind when I read this story:

­Faith is the power to act

­Faith gives us the power to reach our full potential.

Life is full of trials and circumstances that break us down. Those trials are the like the chickens in our lives, so to speak, that keep us from from seeing who we really are. We must remember, our circumstances don't define who we are. Our actions, or what we choose to do in regards to our circumstances define who we are. Our friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, breakups, family situations, failed tests, lost games, financial set backs, not landing the part, or the job. None of these things makeup our character, or determine our potential or self worth. Like the eagle, we need to look towards the Son with an eye a faith enough to stretch our wings. It is then, that we will start to realize the actuality our divine potential.

My next story may be familiar and it illustrates this point. This story is about a young man who really inspires me and has inspired many around him. This is what I call a rough start, great finish. Some of you may know Riley Heflin and his story. He graduated with the class of 2014. Riley's mom Chrissie, who is with us tonight, gave me a background of Riley's story, she wrote me saying:

"Riley was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in December 2011.   AML is a very aggressive type of leukemia.  After much testing, it was concluded that his only saving course of treatment would be a bone marrow transplant. Chemo alone would not save him.  He spent 5 months in the hospital enduring treatments to prepare him for and then to have the bone marrow transplant.  We were incredibly blessed that Riley's brother Preston was a match for him and gave Riley the life saving marrow that he needed." 

I contacted Riley and asked him:

"How did your faith shape your choices and help you overcome your battle with leukemia?"

He replied saying:

"When I was battling cancer, I put everything in God's hands. I basically said, "Look, I have nothing to hold on to but you, God. So, I will do whatever I can, and I know that you will help me with the rest." I didn't expect God to just save me, but I did know that whatever happened to me was the will of God. And honestly, that was good enough for me because I know that He has a plan for me and He wants me to be happy. With that in mind, I was able to cope with the trials I faced and I did it with a perfect brightness of hope. I did the very best that I could, and I did what truly made me, and God, happy. I made the choice to do whatever would allow me to receive blessings in my life, and those blessings came. Believe it or not, when I look back at the times when I was battling cancer I think of so many good memories. It seems really weird, but it was because I was incredibly blessed during that time. I knew that God gave me trials like this for a reason. I was able to learn and grow from the experience, and I am incredibly thankful for that.

Today I still have that same faith in God. I put faith into action by making choices that allow God to flood my life with blessings. Because of that I see His hand in my life every single day. I'm able to face any trial with optimism and hope because I know that if I go and do what God wants me to do I'll find a way to overcome anything. He wants me to be happy no matter what happens, and I can be happy no matter what happens. It's all about accessing that faith to reach happiness. Every day I teach this principle to others so that they can understand the circumstances they are in or the opposition they face. I see the change that comes once we apply this in our lives, and it's the best thing in the world."

I want to highlight and put together two things Riley said:  "I can be happy no matter what happens." IF "I put faith into action by making choices that allow God to flood my life with blessings."

Riley's very real trial is a very real example of choosing to act rather than be acted upon. He courageously chose faith in God and positivity when the odds were against him. To Riley, it didn't matter what came his way, as long as he was doing what was right, he was happy.

Today Riley is doing great and serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Massachusetts Boston area.  He has compassion and empathy for others that is different from most 19 year old boys.  He finds joy in life and is happy.

Graduates!

Don't let others or your circumstances define you. You have the power to choose who you will become. I want to challenge you to take heart, and act. Refuse to be acted upon.

Many will make excuses in life, blaming others or poor circumstances for their bad behavior or there lack of progress. This simply is not not true. You decide who you will be and who you will become. Always! Have I made my point clear? I hope so.

Has everyone seen The Wizard of Oz? If you haven't, you've got to get out more. Towards the end of the movie Dorothy, the lion, the tin man, and the scarecrow, are surrounded by the the wicked witch and her guards. She tells them that the last one will see the first three go. The witch then proceeds to light her broom on fire and ignite the scarecrows arm. At this critical moment, (and probably as a safety measure) there happens to be a bucket of water that which Dorothy used to put out the arm of the scarecrow. In the process, Dorothy unintentionally splashed water on the witch. It's was then, that The Wicked Witch of the West said:

"Aah, you cursed brat! Look what you've done! I'm melting! I'm melting! Oh what a world, what a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness."

        In the movie, the witch says this really fast which is why this profound phrase is easily overlooked. Let me read the last half again: "Oh what a world, what a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness."

       

I emphasize this as my last point because I believe that there is so much power in simply being good. Life is no stranger to complications, but I know that if we simply be good, we can rid this world of a whole lot of evil. Abraham Lincoln declared: “When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.” I too believe it is that simple. I believe that one person can have a huge impact on the world today.

We as people of faith, must believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men. We must believe all things in other words, give others the benefit of the doubt, we must hope all things, enabling us to endure many things with a hope to be able to endure all things. I want to encourage you to seek after anything and everything that is virtuous, lovely, of good report or praiseworthy. Seek after all the good the world has to offer. Be the good the world has to offer. Hold to your faith, because sometimes that is all you will have.

There is probably so much going through your heads at this time. If I could have you remember one thing from this speech, it would be this: Faith is power, the power to choose who you will become. Therefore, it is you that decides. It takes faith to set goals and more faith to learn to live to reach those goals. You won't be perfect at it, but your best is all that is asked. You Graduates have so much potential to do good. I know we are all excited for what we will see from you.

Congratulations class of 2015 Roar Tigers!