Amber's Primary Talk

Amber gave a talk in primary at church today! She got to choose her topic from a general conference talk, and she immediately knew which talk she wanted to use. The most memorable conference talk for Amber last month was the one that mentioned salmon. Amber got on the Gospel Library App and found that talk all on her own before church: Our Heavenly Guidance System by Elder Sergio R. Vargas. Then I asked her questions to get her writing. She was so focused on the life cycle of salmon that she didn't have much to say for an introduction, so I typed out a few simple sentences and had her read them to see if she wanted to add anything. She approved my sentences. I asked her to tell me why she liked the talk and give a testimony about what she learned from it, and I quickly typed what she said at the end of the talk.

Amber did a great job giving her talk in primary at church today!

Amber’s Primary Talk

April 27, 2025

This year, I studied the life cycle of salmon in school. We hatched salmon eggs in a tank and watched them grow. Last week we went on a field trip and released them into the Yakima River in Prosser. They will travel all the way to the ocean from there! My favorite talk from general conference had salmon in it! Elder Sergio R. Vargas spoke about salmon. He said:

“In nature, salmon are born in the source of the rivers. At some point in their lives, they need to swim downriver to reach the ocean, where they find the nourishment and conditions necessary for their development.

"But the ocean is also a dangerous place where predators lurk and where fishers try to catch the salmon with flashy hooks that imitate food but do not nourish them. If the salmon can survive these threats, they will be ready to use their powerful guidance system to return upriver to the same place where they were born, facing new and some familiar challenges. Scientists have studied their migratory behavior for years and have discovered that they use a type of magnetic map, similar to GPS, to guide them to their final destination with incredible precision.

"We can all return one day to the heavenly home from where we came. And like the salmon, we have our own magnetic map, or Light of Christ, to guide us there. Jesus taught His disciples, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.'

"As we focus our lives on Jesus Christ, we will find our way home, enduring to the end and rejoicing to the end.”

The reason I like that talk so much is because salmon have challenges to go home just like we have challenges to get back home to God. Just like the salmon, we have help. Jesus Christ will help us get through our challenges in this world.

I know that Jesus Christ loves me and all of us and he will help us and guide us home. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

**During the middle of Amber's talk, she paused and explained the bracelet she made during her salmon field trip: each bead represented a different part of the salmon's life cycle.

Amber wore her Aunt Mel's mission dress that Mel handed down to Rose, and Rose handed down to Amber. How is my youngest child almost the same size as my youngest sister was when she went on her mission??