Prayerful Personal Progress

By Yésica Anabelle Benavidez

When I changed schools, I became good friends with a girl who was not a member of the Church. But after being my friend for a couple of years, she started to feel jealous of the Church because I was always going to activities and didn’t have a lot of time to spend with her. The situation became worse and worse—even though I really wanted to be her friend.

One day while I was working on Personal Progress, I started to work on an experience that included praying regularly for two weeks. One of the things I decided to pray for was that my friend would respect me and understand that the Church was very important to me. Two weeks later, when the experience was completed, I kept praying for the same thing.

Later when I was reviewing my Personal Progress, I was reminded of my experience with prayer. As I thought more about it, I realized that Heavenly Father had answered my prayers about my friend. My friend had totally changed; she no longer thought about me the way she had, and she had started to think about the Church in a positive way.

I got very emotional because I now had a testimony of sincere prayer. I know my Father in Heaven changed my friend’s heart. I also know that He will help us and will work miracles if we do our part.

Frame by Scott Snow; photo illustration by Matthew Reier