Digital Only: Young Adults
Do You Believe in Christ and in What He Can Help You Do?
The author lives in Angola.
Believing in Jesus Christ is one thing. But believing in what He can help us accomplish is a whole different matter.
I was 14 when my grandmother passed away. During this time, sadness wasn’t a stranger to me. I wanted to know where she was and if I would ever see her again. I needed to know how to overcome the pain I was feeling. For two years, these questions weighed heavy on my mind.
One day, my dad invited missionaries to our house, and they taught me about the restored gospel. They taught me how to find the healing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Their teachings of the plan of salvation entered my heart with force and answered my questions. These answers brought the peace I was looking for.
The closer I came to Jesus Christ, the more I wanted to share what I was learning about Him! The Church was very small in Angola, and I couldn’t wait to help it grow by telling people what I knew. Even though my efforts to share the gospel didn’t always get the best reception, I continued to try. And eventually my desire to share the happiness, hope, and peace of the gospel grew even stronger.
I decided to serve a mission and share what was in my heart.
Could I Really Have Faith?
I was called to the Ghana Accra Mission, speaking English instead of my native Portuguese. I was so nervous about learning English! I couldn’t believe I was going to have to speak such an impossible language.
But during our first class in the MTC, my teacher wrote the words “Believe it” on the board—meaning believe that we can do all things with Christ (see Philippians 4:13).
I believed this, but I didn’t think it extended to my ability to learn a new language in just six weeks. I had no idea how I was supposed to do something that seemed so impossible!
After that first day of class, I knelt in prayer in my room. I told Heavenly Father that I would trust Him, and even though I wasn’t positive about my ability to learn English, I would act in faith as much as I could. I told Him I would choose to believe that with the Savior’s help I could do this.
And as the weeks went by, I slowly but surely felt myself learning this impossible language.
It was a miracle.
Choosing to Believe
Since learning about Jesus Christ, I have always believed in Him. But believing in what He and Heavenly Father can help us accomplish is something different and something I had to work on. Without faith, miracles can look like mere coincidences. But as I chose to have faith in Christ and combined that with my efforts to learn, I felt Him magnifying my abilities and capacity.
President Russell M. Nelson has taught: “Miracles come according to your faith in the Lord. Central to that faith is trusting His will and timetable—how and when He will bless you with the miraculous help you desire. Only your unbelief will keep God from blessing you with miracles to move the mountains in your life.”
If I could share one thing from my story, it would be this: Believe it. Not just that you can learn a new language or leave your comfort zone to serve a mission or have the courage to do what you know is right even when nobody around you agrees.
Believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that when we trust Him, we can accomplish what seems impossible.