Mackay spoke in Sacrament and it happened to be his friend, Cooj (Caden) Johnson's Mission Farewell.
I. Intro:
My name is Mackay Hall and I have been asked to speak about friends.
II. Scripture Story:
Imagine for a second, you’re sitting in church listening to a speaker when all of a sudden you hear loud noises coming from the ceiling. Then the roof opens up. You look up and see the sky. And then you see the faces of four men peering down onto the congregation.
You start to wonder how they got there. And WHY they are up there. And then they start lowering a man on a stretcher onto the chapel floor.
In Luke chapter 5, we learn something similar happened.
“Men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy and they sought means to bring him in, and lay him before Jesus.”
But they couldn’t bring their sick friend in the building because the place was packed. All the doorways were blocked and there was no way to get inside. The friends could have given up and gone home. But they didn’t. I’m guessing their conversation went something like this:
“What should we do?” says one.
“I have an idea, Let’s go up on top of the building, make an opening in the roof, and lower him to the floor!”
I think the sick man, after hearing their plans, thought, “You’re going to do what?”
The story continues:
“They went upon the housetop, and let him down ... with his couch into the midst before Jesus.
“And when He saw their faith, He said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee”.
The scribes and pharisees thought this was blasphemous, so Jesus responded:
“Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
“But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, ... I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house”.
The story ends:
“And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
“And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day”.
There are a number of ways we can apply this story to our lives.
III. The Sick Man
First, think about those you surround yourself with. Who do you consider your “friends”?
We make choices everyday. Hopefully they are good choices. But like the sick man in this story, occasionally we are weak—not physically but spiritually. Maybe there’s a party or a movie or another activity that we know we shouldn’t be at.
At those moments, your choice of friends will be critical. Are they the kind of friends that will drive you to that party, movie, or activity? Or
will they stop the action and take you somewhere else?
I hope we will all have chosen friends who will take us to Christ.
IV. The Friends
Now put yourself in the place of the friends. What kind of friend are you?
These men loved their friend and wanted to help him. They didn’t give up and go home when things were difficult. These friends were courageous, persistent, and even creative. Imagine the joy they must have felt when they looked down through the ceiling and saw their friend pick up his bed and walk.
Hopefully we don’t have to hoist a friend on top of a building and cut open a roof. But I know we will have many opportunities to carry a friend away from danger - spiritually. We will have times when we are stronger in faith and will be able to help our friends make better choices, and bring them closer to Christ.
I had the opportunity to be part of a group who, in a very small way, were able to bring one of our friends closer to Christ. He became sick his senior year of high school and wasn’t able to attend young mens or even sacrament meeting on Sundays.
Each week a few of us would take the bread and water to his home. I know that it was important to us as a quorum but also important to him. It allowed him to feel apart of us, as a quorum, and also gave him the opportunity to partake of the sacrament, renew his baptismal covenants, and come closer to Christ. Although the gesture was small and the goal was to help him, I learned a lot from that experience and am grateful I am part of a qroup who seeks to help our friends physically and spiritually
I hope we will all strive to be the kind of friend who takes people to Christ.
V. Cooj
Our ward is filled with good people and good friends. Cooj is one of them. We all know he is a stud on the football field. He has no fear and we know he will make big plays. But he is also a very good friend.
He has set an example to many of us as he has prepared to serve a mission. He’s been given a lot of great opportunities because of the work he put into school and football, yet he didn’t hesitate to put them all on hold, so he could first serve a mission. I am sure he will be a stud in a different kind of field - the mission field, and by doing so, he will bring many to Christ.
VI. Testimony
I’d like to leave you with my testimony, that:
I know this church is true.
I know our Heavenly Father loves us and has a plan for us.
And Jesus Christ is our Savior.
I say these things in the names of Jesus Christ amen.
