Young Adults
Building Our Foundation through Small and Simple Things
“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass” (Alma 37:6).
I have a plastic star decoration in my room that I brought home from my mission. I love how it looks when it lights up. This little star hangs on a wall so I can see it every night as I go to sleep and first thing when I wake up.
Recently I noticed that my star wasn’t attached to the wall as securely as it normally was, but I didn’t give it much thought. I was confident that the single piece of tape holding it to the wall would stick.
Then one morning my star wasn’t there—it had fallen. I decided to resecure the star with more tape. This time I used five pieces—one piece for each point of the star—to make sure it wouldn’t fall again.
That’s when I realized that my little glowing star is like each of us, and the tape holding it could represent our spiritual habits. The light we have within us is entirely dependent upon the things we do to strengthen, or secure, our testimonies. Every piece of tape I put on the star reminded me of Alma 37:6: “By small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”
I also thought about how I had noticed that my star was about to fall for several days, but I did nothing to save it until it did fall. And it’s the same with our testimonies—if we become complacent and forget to do the small, spiritual practices that can help keep our faith strong, our testimonies can weaken.
Now the star reminds me each night to ask myself a few questions: How much “spiritual tape” did I put on today? Is my faith secure enough that I am spiritually safe from falling? Can others see the Light of Christ in me?
When I consider these questions, I’m able to see how I can better strengthen my testimony of Jesus Christ. I’m prompted to think about whether I could study my scriptures more deeply, pray more consistently, go to the temple more frequently, or serve in my calling more effectively. I ponder what questions I might have for the Lord and how I can find truth. And I’m guided to make small changes to invite the Spirit more abundantly into my life.
The adversary will always try to distract us from doing these small, spiritual things or convince us that doing the bare minimum will be enough for us to hold on to our testimonies. But President Russell M. Nelson has reminded us that we need to actively secure our faith: “I plead with you to make time for the Lord! Make your own spiritual foundation firm and able to stand the test of time by doing those things that allow the Holy Ghost to be with you always.”1
Just as the extra pieces of tape helped keep my little star from falling, putting on pieces of “spiritual tape” and listening to the promptings of the Spirit will help us stay close to the Savior, the foundation of our faith, and resist the pull of the enemy. President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, emphasized the importance of the little things: “The simplicity of the way or the easiness of the commanded task cannot mean that it is unimportant.”2
As it says in Alma 37:6, God can help us achieve great purposes through our small efforts to come closer to Christ. He can magnify our simple habits like prayer, scripture study, and temple attendance to give us the strength we need to overcome the adversary and other obstacles in our lives. If we do these small and simple things, we can be steadfast in our faith. Just like my little star, our foundation in Christ can remain secure as we continue forward on the covenant path.
The author lives in Pescara, Italy.