She urged her classmates to put on a heart of gratitude.
“Let’s remember to be thankful for our immeasurable blessings,” she said proudly. “To have been born in a country where we’re granted quality education as if it were a right.”
Moriah went on to express gratitude for teachers, parents, mentors and family members — thanking them for their roles in each of the graduates’ lives and high school experiences.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://faithit.com/school-forces-student-take-jesus-out-speech-plan-backfires/&media=https://faithit.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/graduate6.28.17.jpg&description=“I’ve always been a rule follower. When they said not to chew gum, I didn’t chew gum. When they said not to use your cellphone, I didn’t use my cellphone. But today, in the spirit of defying expectations, and for perhaps the last time at this podium, I say..."){kind=link}
She then took the prayer she had planned to pray and transformed it into a beautiful declaration which she spoke over her classmates.
“I hope that we’re surrounded with grace and favor everywhere we go,” she continues. “Let our hearts be soft to show true love and compassion, to show mercy and grace to others the way that mercy and grace were shown to us—even to the ultimate sacrifice. Let us love our brothers and our sisters deeply. Let us be a blessing to them. Let us be selfless. Let us be righteous. Let us be successful people. But more than that, let us be good people.”
Moriah concluded her speech with a tasteful hint of rebellion saying:
“I’ve always been a rule follower. When they said not to chew gum, I didn’t chew gum. When they said not to use your cellphone, I didn’t use my cellphone. But today, in the spirit of defying expectations, and for perhaps the last time at this podium, I say in the righteous name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
All the praise for this brave young daughter of the most high. You are a shining example of what it means to stand firm in your faith.