God Answers Prayers: Encouragement from President Holland
When general conference started, I hoped for an answer to my prayers.
General conference had barely started, yet I found myself already in tears. President Holland has a way of delivering powerful, impactful messages—but this message really hit home for me.
“It is for reasons known only to God why prayers are answered differently than we hope.”1
Those were the words that President Jeffrey R. Holland, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, shared as he began the Saturday morning session of the April 2024 general conference.
Just the day before this session, my uncle had passed away. And instead of viewing conference as a teaching missionary in Fresno, California, I was sitting in my home, having transferred to continue my mission as a service missionary in Layton, Utah. I had been asked to return home due to possibly having narcolepsy, a neurological condition where I fall asleep without warning.
With all these changes outside of my control, I had been wondering what Heavenly Father’s plan for me was.
More Earnest Prayers
After being home for three weeks, with medical tests and a possible service assignment repeatedly getting canceled or postponed, I felt so frustrated.
My tearful prayer in California—where I’d asked God if I should return home or stay on my teaching mission—had been answered after long conversations with my companion, my mission leaders, and my mom.
So I returned home, only to have nothing to do. Again, I prayed, asking God why He had confirmed that I needed to return home. The transfer was almost over, and I’d done nothing.
Since returning home, my prayers were not what they had been while on my teaching mission. I’d kept saying morning and evening prayers for almost a week, but that habit had quickly deteriorated until I was only saying my nighttime prayers while kneeling half-reclined on my bed.
But President Holland’s words seemed to fit so perfectly with where my life was now. And I realized that what mattered most was simply that I continued to pray.
Receiving My Answers
Looking back, I realize that God had answered me right at the time my prayers became desperate and heartfelt, when I was struggling to understand why and realized that I needed to change.
After coming home, I was able to undergo medical testing that has gone well.
My service assignment is something I love—it combines my interests with what I studied in school.
I was also called as a sister leader in the mission, something I didn’t know was possible for service missionaries.
I get to serve at a temple open house and use American Sign Language, which I used for almost half of my proselyting time.
I can help my aunt and four cousins with my uncle’s death, something I empathize with after my own dad’s passing.
While I hadn’t expected these things when I chose to return home, I knew that God had heard “every prayer”—even if they weren’t answered in the way I’d hoped.2
I felt that President Holland’s message was for me, as if God was reminding me that I had received answers to my prayers.
Trusting God’s Plan
Those answers weren’t always easy to recognize. Coming home was a difficult decision, but it has turned out to be “for [my] good” (Doctrine and Covenants 90:24).
President Holland continued, “When Christ comes, He needs to recognize us … as thoroughly committed, faithfully believing, covenant-keeping disciples.”3 I am still striving every day to become more committed as I serve Him with “all [my] heart, might, mind, and strength” (Doctrine and Covenants 4:2).
I have also tried to express more gratitude for small miracles, look for reasons why things happen the way they do, and be more thoughtful in my prayers.
Because of everything I have learned from my mission, I hope that I can remain a strong disciple of Christ to the end of my mission and beyond. I encourage you to recognize the lessons you may have learned from your own trials. I know that God desires to bless you and will always answer your sincere prayers.