Fear Not

                Finals week is fast approaching here at BYU, and with it the stress of a college student seems to skyrocket. It’s no fun. Today I want to write to all those who, regardless of their situation, feel stressed. I was recently reading in Revelations, and loved a passage I came across in chapter 2, verses 8-10. It reads something like this:

                “And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty… Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prision, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”

To the stressed or distressed who read this, I want to point out a couple of points:

“I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty”

First off, God knows you and your situation. I think one of the things that can be the most depressing in the world is facing a problem alone. The opposition in life always wants us to feel alone, miserable, cut off from everyone we love. That’s simply not true. You are never cut off from God. He knows you, and he loves you! He knows perfectly the challenges that you go through on a daily basis, and He is willing to comfort and help you!

                Secondly, this verse makes an important distinction. Notice that God first says “I know thy works” and then moves on to say “and tribulation”. They are separate, different. I know that in times of trouble, it’s easy to let the troubling circumstance define you. It’s our tendency to focus solely on that problem and feel as if our self-worth is tied to the overcoming of it. That is simply not true—tribulation doesn’t define you! Even when things are at their absolute worst and you feel trapped, God still recognizes that you are still you. Making the right choice, even if it’s no more than in a thought, is still something that is seen and recognized by your Heavenly Father. Problems are problems, and you are you, and the two will forever be different. God’s love, mercy, and grace will never be conditional upon solving a tricky situation. That includes those pits that we dig for ourselves through our own mistakes as well. So take heart. He’s there for you—you don’t have to battle alone.

“Fear none of these things… Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life”

                The point here is simple: some things are more important the others. Getting a good grade is important, but not to the same degree that faithfulness is. I know that’s an obvious point to make, but we all need a reminder sometimes that most of daily cares really don’t matter all that much. Therefore, don’t stress out TOO much or worry unnecessarily—everything will end up right if we put our focus on being and doing good, for we are promised “a crown of life”. So keep pushing onwards!

The True Source of Joy

3 John 1:4 reads “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” In this verse, John isn’t talking about his physical children, but rather those “children” who he helped come to a knowledge of the divinity of Jesus Christ. In other words, those he taught and baptized.

Today I can testify of the truth of that scriptures. You see, a little less than three years ago, I was received a white envelope in the mail that told me I had been called to serve in the Thailand Bangkok Mission of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That letter started the most incredible journey of my life, as I entered the MTC and began learning the difficult Thai language, and then departed to serve in the wonderful country known as the “Land of Smiles”.

                Throughout that journey, I was called on again and again to sacrifice and dedicate more of myself to the helping the Thai people. It was a difficult mission filled with days of rejection and disappointment, but there were always peaks of pure joy when I felt like I was able to make a legitimate difference in someone’s life, to be an instrument in God’s hands to help one of his children. Throughout this entire process, one thing that kept me going was the idea that someday, the Thai people would be able to have the full blessings of the gospel—including temple blessings which were denied them due to geography.

                Yesterday was the greatest day of my life, as President Thomas S. Monson announced that the Thailand Bangkok Temple would be built. I was ecstatic then, and I’m still ecstatic today. Nothing can really bring my mood down. I’m just so happy to hear that those people who I knew, loved, and attempted to serve are doing well enough that God deems their efforts acceptable to Him. I’ve learned by experience what John teaches—the greatest joy comes from helping others come to Christ, and watching that relationship build even once your personal connection has faded.

To those of you who are looking for true joy, I testify that one of the most meaningful things you can ever do is to sacrifice and dedicate yourself to the cause of helping others receive the blessings of the gospel. In so doing, you will gain so much more than you give, and you will find a kind of joy that seeps down into your very soul.