“God Had Something Better for Us,” Liahona, Sept. 2024.
Latter-day Saint Voices
God Had Something Better for Us
When the missionaries taught me that I was a child of God, I knew He had more blessings in store for my family and me.
Photograph from author
I grew up in a small, rural village in the Philippines. My family was poor. In the Philippines, if you don’t have money, you can’t go to school. Despite that obstacle, I was an ambitious young man.
I told my parents I wanted to become a doctor or a teacher or some kind of a professional, but they always told me to stop dreaming. We didn’t have money for me to go to a university. My parents wanted me to be content and not disappointed with my life.
“Being a professional is not for us,” they said. They didn’t believe that anything better was in store for our family than what we already had.
But that was before we joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
We lived far away from any cities, but the missionaries found us and kept coming back. They made many sacrifices to teach my family, but they changed our lives forever.
When we joined the Church, I learned I was a child of God with potential to grow and learn and become (see Moses 1:39; “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Gospel Library). With gospel knowledge, I knew it was time to elevate my family’s station. We were no longer just poor people from a small village—we were worthy sons and daughters of God deserving of blessings He has promised to His faithful followers.
The missionaries brought the gospel into my life, the gospel brought music into my life, and music got me a scholarship to attend the university. I earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and then a degree in music, majoring in choral conducting. Now I teach music at Liceo de Cagayan University and conduct the Liceo U High School Glee Club. I also lead a choir of members of the Church. Our mission is to share God’s truth through music.
Graduating from the university gave me a new life. I don’t know where I would be today without the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Everyone deserves the chance to learn, as I did, that they have a Heavenly Father and that He has blessed them with potential to grow and learn and become.