Area Leadership Message
Never Give Up
In 2017, a 16-year-old woman who was nearly finished with her final year at Church College in Pesega, wanted to become an accountant. She did fine throughout the year but was badly affected by her failure to pass maths. Despite her parents’ seeking help for her from her maths teacher and the principal, she simply could not improve and failed miserably. She saw herself as a failure and did not want to continue with school anymore, even before her final internal and external exams. Her parents struggled to help motivate her or lift her spirits so she could complete the year and to pursue her goals with higher education. Through diligent prayer, her parents sought heaven’s help for their daughter, and, in the end, the father was inspired to minister to her with loving and reassuring questions:
“Do you know that you have a Father in Heaven and that He loves you and wants you to be successful? Most importantly, do you know you are His spirit daughter, and He answers prayers?” She answered affirmatively.
Her father continued, “Where did you learn about these truths?”
She answered, “In the home, at Primary, in the Young Woman’s programme, at Sunday School, in seminary classes at school, at Sunday Church meetings.”
When pressed further by her father, she added, “Reading and pondering scriptures.”
These parents earnestly prayed that she would know those truths for herself, and that this knowledge comes from having faith and a sincere effort on her part to learn, and that the Lord keeps His promises.
The young woman returned to complete her exams at college, and she qualified for entry into the National University of Samoa. Although she was unable to pursue her original goal because her maths mark wasn’t high enough, she was, however, able to pick up an alternative course of study close to what she had initially wanted.
In the end, she graduated from seminary in 2018. She qualified for a government scholarship to study at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji from 2019 to 2021 and graduated in 2022 with a bachelor of commerce degree double majoring in economics and international marketing. When asked what she has learned from such an experience, she responded:
“I am reminded of the Primary song: ‘A Child’s Prayer’”:
Heavenly Father, are you really there?
And do you hear and answer ev’ry child’s prayer?
Some say that heaven is far away,
But I feel it close around me as I pray.
Heavenly Father, I remember now
Something that Jesus told disciples long ago:
“Suffer the children to come to me.”
Father, in prayer I’m coming now to thee.
Pray, he is there;
Speak, he is list’ning.
You are his child;
His love now surrounds you.
He hears your prayer;
He loves the children.
Of such is the kingdom, the kingdom of heav’n.1
She has a testimony of truths she came to know for herself. Though she is not an accountant, as she had hoped to be, the Lord responded to her prayers for guidance according to His will. He provided another way that she could move forward. She learnt to trust in the Lord, that He would reveal His hand in all matters. Further, she shared a few scriptures that readily come to her mind with the constant support of the Holy Ghost:
From the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 25:26, where parents help teach their children:
”And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophecy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
Lastly, she referred to the importance of treasuring up in your minds continually the words of life, Doctrine and Covenants 88:118:
“And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”
She has increased her faith in the Lord by not giving up, and through the power of prayer and her continued efforts to study the scriptures, she learns the Lord’s will for her, and she desires to serve her Father in Heaven in whatever that He would have her do.