Don't you quit! Don't give up!

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God." Ether 12:4

Each one of us experience a time in our lives when we hope for the better, or know that things will get better if we just hold out long enough. That is why I love that scripture so much! As Elder Jeffery R. Holland would say, "It is enough just to know we can get there, that however measured or far away, there is the promise of “good things to come.”.

 Do we actually believe that there are good things to come?

Do we actually believe that God is a God of miracles?  Mormon 9:19

I know sometimes I feel like I just want to throw my hands in the air and say, "I QUIT! I DON"T WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE!". Usually after I say that, or think that, I realize that I have little faith that there are good things ahead.

I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and am serving in the New York Rochester Mission, but as a missionary, we receive training before we actually get shipped to our various destinations. I was in the training center for 7 weeks, because I was learning a language. But, about 5 days after I had entered the training center, I got pulled into an office, and got told that my dad had attempted suicide. Devastating right?

I was ready to go home. My heart felt like it was torn up and thrown on the ground. I was ready to quit. I was ready to be done, and at that moment, I didn't feel that there were "good things to come".

 
What lessons can we learn from watching that video?

What lessons did I learn from that video with the situation that I was in?

Well, I first learned that I should always seek for help, not only from others, but from my Heavenly Father. He knows everything. If he can help me, then why shouldn't I go to Him for advice? He answers prayers right? I lacked some wisdom as it says in James 1:5. So I knew that if I asked Heavenly Father that He could help me with what I needed to do to help myself heal.

Secondly, I learned that there was hope, even if I didn't want there to be. There was hope that everything could be normal when I got home from my mission. Hope is hard to define, but an Apostle stated this about hope, "Hope is not knowledge, but rather the abiding trust that the Lord will fulfill His promise to us. It is confidence that if we live according to God’s laws and the words of His prophets now, we will receive desired blessings in the future. It is believing and expecting that our prayers will be answered." To read more about hope click here.  Hope is trust. Hope is if we live according to what He expects of us, we will in the time that is right, receive that strength to continue forward.

 Lastly, I was not supposed to give up. I wanted so badly to give up and forget the whole mission thing, but no, I knew that I was supposed to stay on a mission and help others apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in their life just like I have and still doing. Because of the Atonement I am able to have to strength to forgive those who have done wrong to me. I am able to get over those hard trials that Satan throws at me. I am able to learn how much my Savior, and Heavenly Father loves me, but not only me, how much they love everyone.

"Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come." Elder Holland

I needed to wait for the blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ until later on when I was ready and when He knew when the time was right. Let us all be patient and trust in His timing, because it's His will and not ours.

If you would like to read more about how to keep going, read here.