“Holding On to Truth,” For the Strength of Youth, July 2023.
Holding On to Truth
Illustration by Ben Simonsen
The first time I saw a Church building, I thought it was a hospital. It was so clean and quiet. I loved the gospel of Jesus Christ the moment I attended church services.
Sister missionaries began teaching me, and I decided to be baptized. It was the best day!
I was introduced to the gospel by my neighbor, who is a returned missionary. She called me one Sunday morning and asked me to go to church with her and her family. At first, my mother told me I couldn’t go because we didn’t have money for the bus fare. When I told my neighbor about it, she said she would take me, and my mother allowed me to go.
Even When We Walk Alone
After I was baptized, I had a lot of hard times with my family. Sometimes they wanted me to stay home on Sunday, but I would choose to go to church instead. Most of the time it was hard trying to keep on the covenant path.
Some of my family members have been against the Church and have told me that I made the wrong choice to join. When they tell me this, these words come to my mind: “I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live. I know that the Church is true.” These thoughts have helped me hold on to the truth.
Our Actions Can Touch Others’ Lives
When I struggled to know how to pay tithing, my neighbor showed me how to pay it. Now when my mother gives me pocket money, I always pay my tithing. My family and I have seen blessings from it. My family has even started giving me their money to pay as tithing! That has been a surprise.
Most of the time I go to church by myself, but sometimes my mother comes with me. My mother decided to learn more about the gospel and finds it to be very happy, although she hasn’t been baptized yet.
Prayer and Faith Changes Hearts
I have seen the Lord’s hand in my family’s life as I pray for them and ask others to pray for them in the temple. My family members have become more supportive, and they now encourage me to go to church and to be true to who I am.
My grandfather passed away recently, and I found his name while doing family history work. I asked my dad if I could have his ordinances done in the temple. He said, “Just do it if it is the right thing.”
True Joy and Happiness
Reading the scriptures and knowing about the Atonement of Jesus Christ has brought me joy, happiness, peace, and comfort.
I know that through the Savior’s atoning sacrifice, I can be with my Heavenly Father again and that my family can be with me forever if we are sealed in the temple one day.
The author is from Vanuatu and lives in Fiji.