During these uncertain times with COVID-19, it’s possible to lose sight of what’s most important in this life: The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Today, Elder Peter M. Johnson a General Authority Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his wife, Sister Stephanie Johnson, gave us one way to remember what’s most important, through the live BYU-Idaho Devotional.
Sister Johnson spoke about an experience her family had hiking through Peek-a-boo Canyon in Utah and how she felt she couldn’t go forward at one point with a 10-foot drop in her way. She related this experience to how sometimes we need to move forward and trust The Savior even when we think we can’t.
“When we seek to hear our Savior and come to know how he speaks to us, we begin to feel the reassurance that we are following His path and feel the peace that we are going the right way,” Sister Johnson said.
Elder Johnson spoke of a time when he felt alone when he was a missionary. He related his experience to ministering to ‘the one.’
“Those of you who are amazingly faithful and yet still feel alone, please know that you are loved and trusted and that all the Father has will be yours,” Elder Johnson said. “Continue to make and keep your covenants and seek to feel His loving arms because He is there, you are never alone, and He wants you to hear Him—even the voice of Jesus Christ.”
Elder Johnson expounded on his talk more in an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio. When asked how we could help people who are feeling alone during COVID-19 self-isolation measures, he said we could do simple things to show others they are loved and not alone.
“We can do small and simple things, through Zoom meetings, telephone calls, texts, emails, sending pictures, just to express our love to each other,” Elder Johnson said. “Let them know that [they] are not alone. Even though we can't be there physically, there are other ways to show that we care.”
Elder and Sister Johnson also took some time in the interview with BYU-Idaho Radio to explain how their lives have changed with COVID-19. They said their travel plans were canceled but that it’s the first time their family has been together this consistently in a long time.
“Because of everything that's going on [our kids] have been home with us,” Sister Johnson said. “It's actually been nice because it's been a few years since we've been all together.”
“It’s been nice to have everyone together, it's been a blessing,” Elder Johnson said.
Even through the hard times that COVID-19 has brought to the world, we can still find ways to help others and ourselves, through remembering what’s most important and that there might be someone we know that could use some contact, even though it’s from a distance.