O then, if I have seen so great things, if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men hath visited men in so much mercy, why should my heart weep and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow, and my flesh waste away, and my strength slacken, because of mine afflictions?
And why should I yield to sin, because of my flesh? Yea, why should I give way to temptations, that the evil one have place in my heart to destroy my peace and afflict my soul? Why am I angry because of mine enemy?
Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul. —
— 2 Nephi 4:26-28
This scripture has given me comfort and confidence to pursue in the Lord's work. I am presently a missionary on Temple Square. I come from Freetown, Sierra Leone, in West Africa. We have a terrible war there that has been going on for 10 years. Most of my relatives, including my father, have been killed.
I pondered over this scripture and asked the Lord to help me. I then decided that this was not the time for me to sit and mourn or be in despair. Though our home and everything in it was burned, I decided it was time for me to take upon myself the name of the Lord and try my best to please Him and show Him of my love for Him.
To show my gratitude to Him in sparing my life and the rest of my family's lives, I decided to serve Him. If I sit down and think about the terrible things that have happened in my life, then the evil one (adversary) will have a place in me, to tempt me to do things that are evil. Many of my friends have been led to do things that are not good in the sight of the Lord.
After thinking over these things I decided to serve a mission; to share the sweet gospel of Jesus Christ to His children. I know that it is this gospel that will save my people, even Africa as a whole. And I know that even though my people are hungry and homeless, the Lord will bless them and provide for them, if they will turn to Him. For the Lord gives no commandment to us, save He shall prepare a way for us to accomplish this as long as we have faith in Him. The Book of Mormon has helped me find answers to my life's questions. I know it is true, and that this is Christ's Church. My serving a mission here on Temple Square can only help me and my people. I sustain our living prophet and I know that he is inspired by God. — Sister Mariama Kallon, Temple Square Mission, Salt Lake City, Utah.
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