Rewind: Farewell

[June 19, 2016]

Will spoke in church prior to leaving on his mission and due to scheduling, it happened to be on Father's Day.  We were lucky to have so many of our family and friends join us for the day.  Here's what he had to say:

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Hello, first I would like to do something unusual but necessary in my current situation.  That is to introduce myself to all of you.  I am Bryce William Peacock.  Some call me Bryce, others Will, but you can call me Elder Peacock because I have been called to serve in the Guatemala Quetzaltenango mission and I report to the MTC on July 13^th.  To give you some reference as to who I am, my father serves as a Gospel Doctrine teacher and my mother is now the Relief Society President.  I am the youngest of three brothers, the third to go on a mission, but the most attractive of the three.  I have served as quorum presidents and counselors in my youth as well as served on our youth committee [a regional organization of youth leaders] in California.  I just recently went to a year at SUU and of course, my parents conveniently followed me, their last child, a solid 90% of the way to the school I chose as they moved away from our home in California.  Seeing as I do not exactly know many of you, this talk is kind of like an Aloha moment where I mean both hello and goodbye, but at the same time.  I did bring some people with me that I do know, so there is still some pressure to do well up here.

            Today I was asked to speak about fathers, and I think it is not only important to talk about our physical father or Father in Heaven, but also those father figures around us as well because these men are all our fathers in a way, and deserve to be recognized as such.  In an attempt to recognize those people, I want to say how my father figures fathered me and appreciate them.

I love this picture...
2 dads, 2 missionaries-to-be sharing a moment

First and foremost, I must talk about my birth father on this day.  The Peacock men as far as I know seem to carry this gene that forces us to show the Spirit through shakiness of voice as well as through our tear ducts occasionally, and my grandfather, father, and I are no exception.  I both appreciate and regret having this in my family.  Obviously I do not want my voice to shake or to blow my nose when speaking about a subject such as this, but it has always been a perfect example of what the Spirit can and should look like.  It also always acted as a good wake up call for me to know that whatever my grandfather or father was saying was important and that I should listen and have the opportunity to hear something so important to them that they would lose their composure.  While they may have hated that they would do that, I admired and respected them for it.  Rather than show weakness that they may see it as, I see it as humbleness and meekness of heart that I know I need in order to be a proper and successful missionary. Elder Neal A. Maxwell said meekness “is the presentation of self in a posture of kindness and gentleness. It reflects certitude, strength, serenity; it reflects a healthy self-esteem and a genuine self-control”   It also acts as a tool through which one can almost forcibly spread the spirit to others.  And what better gift could a father give than to be able to instantaneously spread the Spirit through a room. So I would like to say, gosh dang it dad, but with an actual message of thank you dad.

My father has always been a definite role model for me.  He has taken care of me in so many ways that I could never thank him enough for.  He has also shown me how to do so many things like offer help to others who need it, even when it may not be convenient, to be prepared, to be responsible, to not give up on a task even when it may seem impossible, even if that means yelling at a ceiling fan because it is stupid and obviously is being the problem when he cannot figure out how to install it.  Even though my father has not been the face of patience every single day of my life, he has taught me valuable lessons even without meaning or trying to.  I am a person watcher and often I will watch those I know very closely to see what they do in situations and do my best to emulate those behaviors I admire most.  It helps because my father is often a silent doer who will do helpful and generous things that he will never get credit for, or was never asked to do. Again another thing I cannot thank him enough for being.

Elder D ToddChristofferson gave a short story about his father when he said “I myself was blessed with an exemplary father. I recall that when I was a boy of about 12, my father became a candidate for the city council in our rather small community. He did not mount an extensive election campaign—all I remember was that Dad had my brothers and me distribute copies of a flyer door to door, urging people to vote for Paul Christofferson. There were a number of adults that I handed a flyer to who remarked that Paul was a good and honest man and that they would have no problem voting for him. My young boy heart swelled with pride in my father. It gave me confidence and a desire to follow in his footsteps. He was not perfect—no one is—but he was upright and good and an aspirational example for a son.”

Often I have had similar experiences with meeting people that knew my father and would say how much they admired and revered my father.  This is especially so important to me because my father recently switched jobs for reasons out of his control.  It was a stressful time and our family did not know where or what we would do.  My father could have done many things but he persevered and worked day and night until he found a way that he could support us his family.  This was one of the hardest things I have ever seen my dad do, but was also the biggest feat of strength or any other such thing I could have seen him do. He could have done many things like laze around for days, sulk, or otherwise not show determination what do what needed to be done.  He did not hide his head when it was a struggle.  Rather he pulled himself up and did what needed to be done.  My father has truly shown me how to work and persevere, and I know I will be better for the things that I have seen him do, for as a missionary, and as a priesthood holder, husband and father for the rest of my life. 

Then there are the father figures we all have, or have had besides our birth fathers.  These could include priesthood leaders, uncles, grandfathers, other priesthood holders or even those who are not a part of this church.  These men are also vital to upbringing and these men have shown me personally, examples for how to live my life, treat others, and to be a missionary.  These men have shown me how to do everything from being a leader and taking control when a situation needs it, to throwing a lesson together in 5 minutes, as well as be accountable for my mistakes.  These men are important to everyone’s lives and it is important to know that if you are a priesthood holder, you will most likely father someone that is not your son or daughter  I have more than a couple of these figures that I can think of for me and many of them are here to hear me speak.  I am thankful for their advice and wish I could publicly acknowledge them all but due to time constraints, I will talk about one that has had one of the most notable effects on my life to date.

Rick Power wearing what else?
           A Hawaiian shirt and his trademarked smile

One such person that has been such an influence on me has been my Young Men’s President, Brother Power, from my ward in California who I did not know would be here until late last night.  When I was about to turn sixteen, my stake [regional organization of local congregations, who meet according to where they live] went through boundary realignment, I was switched from the only ward [congregation] I had ever known into one that I was not particularly fond of.  I didn’t feel like I had many friends in this ward and lost any real interest in going to activities or being active in that new ward.  I did not want to be there and I became closed off and critical saying how someone had gotten it wrong and I wasn’t supposed to switch wards. What I did not expect was Brother Power.  All I had known about Brother Power that he was the funny guy wearing Hawaiian shirts that never stopped smiling.  I figured out fairly quickly why he indeed never stopped smiling.  The reason was that this man always had a joke up his sleeve and would set you up for a punchline of a joke at the drop of a hat.  You cannot have a normal conversation with him without him putting a pun or some other joke almost right into your mouth without you knowing it until he laughed so loud that you couldn’t help but love the guy.  He pulled me up and showed me how to come into that new ward with a smile on my face and to keep going even if the situation wasn’t what I wanted it to be.  Brother Power was my friend and showed me how to joke and have a good time, but then keep the Spirit and get down to business, and serve others even when it was Fast Sunday and I wanted to go home and eat an enormous early dinner and take a long Sunday nap.  He was like a father in that he guided me in this unexpected situation and showed me how to deal with a tough situation by becoming a leader in a ward with not the most young men and making sure I knew what was important as a priesthood holder. I did not find the silver lining to the ward change, but figure out that I had no idea what was really good for me.  He quite frankly may have saved my testimony and kept me active with one of the largest smiles and laughs that has ever been a part of this church.  He also then gave me a place to sleep when my parents had moved out of their house and before I left for school. So thank you Brother Power for being one of my fathers, so to speak.

Parents and Grandparents

I think the main idea of what the Spirit has been trying to get me to say is that fathers should be and are so often, perfect examples.  No I do not mean to say that these men are perfect, but that they show things that our perfect Father in Heaven is.  Being an example is most important because teaching by example is often the most effective medium through which to teach.  We have missionaries who follow strict rules so that they can be effective teachers, we have priesthood leaders who are handpicked by the way they live so that they can be examples, and we have other male role models that do things who do just that.  Be role models, but more specifically, models of our Father in Heaven.  Yes they teach us directly those things that they would have us know, and yes they have other responsibilities as a father, but those lessons learned by children through way of example are often the most powerful and memorable that are ever learned.  With that being said, I think it is important that men understand they are most certainly a father figure to at least one person even if they do not know it or are not a father yet themselves.  It is for this reason that priesthood holders are good examples of our Heavenly Father and of Jesus Christ.  It is also the reason I am so thankful for these figures in my life.

A little Father's Day levity...

            I wish I could have time to acknowledge each of the people who fathered me as they deserve on this day, because I truly had many who are so important to the person I am today as well as the missionary I will be in 24 days.  I know this Church is true and that Thomas S Monson is a true Prophet of God.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet of God.  I am thankful for all that the Lord has given me in the form of loving and caring parents, friends and family.  I am so excited to serve the people of the Guatemala Quetzaltenango mission.  And I am thankful for the examples that have been set by my father figures, mothers and all else that were around me and I know that because of their testimonies and faithfulness, that I will be a better missionary than I ever could have been on my own.  I do not know what to expect for the next two years, but I know that if I am true and do as the Lord would have me do, that he will protect and guide me to be a successful and devoted missionary.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen

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Will and the Cella Family

Will and Taylor

We especially missed Will's oldest brother Justin and his family.  They live in Vancouver, Washington and had an 11-day old baby and so they couldn't travel.  More on that later.  We took this picture, however, with cousin Jordan standing in as proxy for Justin.  Someday maybe I'll figure out how to do a headswap. 

Tyler, Will and "Justin"

Aww, they're going to miss him

Cousins