“God Said Yes!”

Leva‘aia Levao lived with multiple physical limitations. Her hearing and eyesight were both poor. She had lost a leg to diabetes and relied on a prosthetic one to walk around the small island of Olosega, where she lived.

In 2015 Levao developed boils on her eyes, and her eyes began bleeding. One day, as Levao wept, someone tapped on her shoulder. Three young men, Latter-day Saint missionaries, were trying to speak with her. With her poor hearing and the swelling in her eyes, she couldn’t follow what they were saying, but the missionaries held up a picture of Jesus Christ healing a young woman. Understanding what they were offering her, Levao accepted their invitation of a priesthood blessing for the healing of the sick.

Levao’s family had been planning to take her to the hospital 120 kilometers away on Tutuila, but by the morning after the blessing, the boils on Levao’s eyes had healed. Levao soon began meeting with the three missionaries—Ammon Tuimaualuga, Weston Holt, and Gabe Reid—and became determined to study the Book of Mormon. Reading with poor eyesight and without much practice or schooling was difficult, but she worked hard, reading a verse or two with the missionaries each day and then reading the same verses again on her own after they left. When the missionaries told her to ask God if the Book of Mormon was true, she did and got a clear answer. “It’s true!” she testified when she saw them again. “God said yes!”

Some people in the island’s small community were unhappy, however, to see Levao considering a new religion. They mocked her efforts, tearing up her notes and belittling her. Still, she remained firm and was soon baptized. Her husband, Tui, and her three children soon followed her into the faith, and Levao later served in her branch as Relief Society president. Others, influenced by her example of dedication, called her the heart of the Church on Olosega.