I Will

President Sloan paid me a great, if scary, compliment this past week. He asked me to speak to the elders and sisters during our breakout session in zone conference about not whining. In Spanish. Since I didn't immediately recall any scriptures about whining, I asked him what the Spanish verb for "murmur" is and he said, "murmurar." I thought--okay, I can remember that. I think I can do this.

Serving a mission is hard work. Otherwise it wouldn't be a character-building experience. Along the way come many challenges--investigators who have testimonies and won't consent to baptism, companions that don't have the same goals you have, physical privations, long days of separation from family and loved ones. It is well worth it, but you have to gather spiritual and mental toughness around you--and especially faith in Jesus Christ. These are 19-20-21 year old young people and it's no wonder that they find occasion to complain now and then.

I had about 15 minutes to prepare.

I found a scripture in the Book of Mormon that seemed to summarize the matter, 1 Nephi 17:50. Nephi had been commanded by the Lord to build a ship to carry his family over the sea to the promised land--the Americas. Nephi and his family came from Jerusalem, and thus Nephi probably had no idea how to build a ship. His brothers, Laman and Lemuel, famous for whining, complaining or murmuring (take your pick) pointed out the obvious to Nephi, who responded:

And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.

I asked the missionaries what Laman and Lemuel lacked that Nephi had. Their answer was "faith."

I then told them briefly the story of Dan's death, and my emotional journey thereafter. I told them that I knew immediately I had a choice. I could choose to be like Laman and Lemuel and complain endlessly to Heavenly Father about how unfair it was that my husband should die accidentally at such a young age, and with so much left to give others. Or I could be like Nephi and proceed with faith, knowing that Heavenly Father has a plan for me, for my family, for Dan--for all of us. I told them my choice to have faith had led me to be with them here in Ecuador, serving the Lord as a missionary. I told them how grateful I was for that opportunity.

I don't know what the result of my counsel to them will be. But that doesn't matter. I was asked by President Sloan to carry out an assignment--in Spanish--and, with the help of the Lord, I did.

Faith is the foundation of missionary work. As Joseph Smith stated in his Lectures on Faith, faith is the motive force behind everything we do. We prepare ourselves for the next day's tasks, or next year's events, because we have faith there will be a next day or a next year. If we didn't believe we could cross the street, we would never try. Farmers wouldn't plant seeds if they didn't believe they would bear fruit. Though faith is much more than belief, it is sufficient to start here. Missionaries teach because they believe someone will listen, that the Holy Spirit will bear witness of the truthfulness of their message, and that the love they have for their investigator will bear the fruit of baptism.

It's easy to say, "I can't." It would have been logical for Nephi to say, "I can't." I could have told President Sloan, "I can't." But saying "I can't" has the same effect as saying "I won't"--both answers end up with no effort being made. On the other hand, saying "I will" is proof of faith, and although the result may not always be perfect, it accesses power beyond our own native abilities, and shows the Lord how much we love Him and His work.