Small and Simple Things

2011

June 2011

“Small and Simple Things,” Ensign, June 2011, 70–72

Small & Simple Things

“Out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33).

The Gospel Comes First

Missionaries found and taught my great-grandfather in Samoa. In joining the Church, my grandfather had to forsake some of the traditional beliefs and religious practices of his people. Our family is proud of our Samoan heritage, but because of my grandfather’s example, we have learned that the gospel comes first.

When I was a young man, my dad talked to me about the tribal band tattoos that are common and some of the popular foods that wouldn’t necessarily be in harmony with the teachings of the Church. Dad said, “Don’t participate in any of that. You’re a child of God before you’re Samoan, before you’re a big, tough guy from the islands.” That is something I have always remembered.

Today my wife and I live in Costa Rica. There are traditions and cultural etiquette here, as there are everywhere, that do not align with what the Church teaches. Sometimes we have to have the courage to turn from these practices and to the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Morgan Sa Mataalii, Costa Rica