Focus On: Faith—
A Dream Coming True

by Randall Shirley

Kiruba found the gospel’s sweetness. Now she wants to share with 800 million others.

Sharing the gospel always requires a cheerful disposition and a willing heart, but Kiruba Samkumar of Coimbatore, India, faces very special challenges as a member-missionary in her predominantly Hindu country. As a member of a very small religious group, Kiruba must have special reliance on her faith in the Lord to keep going.

“A lot of people wonder why I changed religions,” Kiruba says. “They say Hinduism is very nice, so why change?”

For Kiruba there is no question why she changed. The gospel has changed her life, and the lives of her family members, for the better.

“I had a special dream and knew we should join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” says Kiruba. “I told my granny about it, and she took my brother, sister, and me to church. We were baptized shortly after.”

Four months later, her parents were baptized, and the family has experienced the sweetness of the Spirit in their lives. It is a sweetness they are all willing to share with anyone who will listen.

The Samkumar family holds their own family home evening every Monday night. They invite neighbors, friends, and family to come and share the gospel with them, but sharing the gospel in a country where people have been brought up to believe in many different gods can be frustrating at times.

“Sometimes they say, ‘maybe Jesus is also true, but we won’t change from our Hindu gods.’” But Kiruba doesn’t let herself get discouraged and believes that the Church will continue to grow in India.

As Kiruba shares her testimony with others, she also looks for ways to help it grow every day. Through faith, study, and prayer, Kiruba is growing in the gospel.

Millions of people in India may not know it yet, but the Church is growing in their exotic land, thanks in large part to the youth—youth like Kiruba Samkumar.

Photography by Randall Shirley