“Ye Shall Have My Spirit to be with You”

By Elder Edward Dube

President, Africa South Area

As we honour the Sabbath and partake of the sacrament, we will enjoy the blessings that come, even during times of difficulty.

Sister Miriam Kasimbe and her beautiful family truly enjoy the Lord’s promise attached to His invitation. Referring to honouring the Sabbath and partaking the sacrament, the Lord said: “And this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you” (3 Nephi 18:7).

Qualifications of the Lord’s Spirit

Let me share, at least from my perspective, three qualifications for having the Lord’s Spirit with you always. As I share these three qualifications, see how Sister Miriam Kasimbe qualified for all three, even when a test was placed before her:

Strengthening faith in our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ through Sabbath day observance at Church.
Integrity: “And again, verily I say unto you, my servant George Miller is without guile; he may be trusted because of the integrity of his heart; and for the love which he has to my testimony I, the Lord love him” (D&C 124:20).
Study and meditate the words of the living prophets and scriptures: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

Sister Kasimbe and her husband, Clemence Kasimbe, understand President Russell M. Nelson’s question: “How can you ensure that your behavior on the Sabbath will lead to joy and rejoicing?”¹. Sister Kasimbe observed: “We are able to endure the calamities, civil unrest and family challenges because of our love for the gospel and through Sabbath observation. I have been blessed.”

On 24 November 2016, as Sister Kasimbe returned home after an honourable missionary service, her mission president gave her $50 for eventualities during her trip home. She travelled safely and there were no eventualities. Upon her return home, she handed the $50 to her stake president, who in turn gave it back to the mission president. She later learnt from her stake president that her mission president said that she was one of the very few missionaries who returned such funds. Sister Kasimbe knew that she was returning home, where such money would go a long way, since her mother was striving to afford the necessities of life. Sister Kasimbe knew too that this was not her money. She was determined to be totally honest with great integrity even if that meant sleeping on an empty stomach. She tells her own experience: “When I arrived at home, life was difficult. My mother sacrificed her earnings for my welcoming home party. After two days at home, we were struggling to have meals on the table, so I prayed for a miracle. Soon after my prayer, I felt to look in my tithing envelope in which I found $10, which was a great miracle for my family”.

Of such women like Sister Kasimbe, our dear prophet President Nelson observed: “It is converted, covenant-keeping women . . . whose righteous lives will increasingly stand out in a deteriorating world and who will thus be seen as different and distinct in the happiest of ways”².

The Lord said, “Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not” (John 14:17). All that the Lord requires of us is to love Him. He has shown us a simple formula to always have His Spirit to be with us. The Lord declared: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Sister Kasimbe decided early as a new convert that she would show her love for the Lord by keeping the commandments. The scriptures have been her source of strength.

Sister Kasimbe shares her experience: “I grew in the gospel due to studying the scriptures. I remember before my mission I was given a calling to serve as Relief Society secretary. I love getting a calling but later realized that it was not an easy task for a 19-year-old who had just joined the Church. Surrounded by my own afflictions, I was supposed to minister—this was not easy for me. I remember being assigned to a Relief Society sister who had just lost her sister due to brain cancer. She was grieving and in pain. As I was with her, I felt her sorrow immediately. In my mind I felt the love of God towards her as I shared with her from the scriptures about life after death and that death is temporary. We were able to share from the scriptures and find joy.”

Observe how Sister Kasimbe has been guided by the Lord’s Spirit throughout her life. She exercised unwavering faith in our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. She was honest in all her dealings with others. She studied the scriptures and shared what she was learning from the scriptures with her mother who was not a member. Her mother later joined the Church. She found a faithful covenant-keeping husband. They were sealed in the temple for life and all eternity. Today, Brother Clemence serves as a Harare Zimbabwe South Stake clerk. They and their children are strengthened by a daily scripture study. Sister Kasimbe said, “I teach my kids and I love when they are listening during scripture study and when they always pray for the food in every prayer”.

My humble invitation is, may we all enjoy the precious gift from our loving Lord, to have His Spirit to be with us. Who will “teach [us] all things, and bring all things to [our] remembrance” (John 14:26).