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 13th. 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.
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| 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.
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| Rick Power wearing what else? A Hawaiian shirt and his trademarked smile |
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| Parents and Grandparents |
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| 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
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.
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| Will and the Cella Family |
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| Will and Taylor |
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| Tyler, Will and "Justin" |
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| Aww, they're going to miss him |
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| Cousins |
