I was born into a good family. My father and mother were Christians, and they raised seven children in love of God, Jesus Christ, His gospel, and love of neighbor. My father was not a rich man, but he was able to provide for all the needs of the family. We lived in modesty and had everything we needed. But an unfortunate event would happen in my father's life, and it was going to change the course of my future.
When I was 16, my father fell ill and was no longer able to provide for the family. He no longer had the financial means to send us to school, and it was a dark period in my life's history. This situation meant that I couldn't go to school for two years, and I stayed at home without furthering my education because there was no one else to help me continue with my high school education. After several months of illness, my father recovered, but his whole life had changed because he had lost many of his material and financial possessions.
All my dreams seemed to end and my whole future became dark. I had lost hope for a better future. I lost the opportunities to continue my studies and become the man I wanted to be—or the man I dreamed of becoming.
But a year after this situation happened, I got closer to my father, and we had a very open and comforting conversation. I asked him if I still had the opportunity to return to continue my studies because education was the only guarantee in our time to be able to survive and provide for his personal and family needs.
My father was very sincere with me, and he told me, “Alfred we have to work hard to save money that will allow you next year to go back to school and continue your path of education.”
The work we had to do was to make the fields—farming. He was a man who was already fielding in the past. He also enjoyed breeding animals because he was a veterinarian by training and career. So, we decided to work the land. It was necessary to prepare the soil for the seed. Preparation meant cutting down trees and grasses, uproot tree trunks, do ploughing, sowing, weeding. We should use axes, machetes to cut down trees and grasses, and use hoes for ploughing, sowing, and weeding. So, everything was manual.
For a young person (my age of 16) who did not live in these living conditions, it was very difficult for me to have strength for this work of the land that requires endurance and perseverance. It was a very difficult job, and my body was not used to this kind of heavy work. So, I suffered from it the first days and months. My hands were wounded and bleeding. I wanted to give up everything. But because I knew the goal I had to work hard for, I didn't stop trying. I learned, I picked up the pace, and I started working the land.
We had made a field of cassava, maize, and groundnuts. But the main project was cassava.
My cassava field in 2015. Remembering my agriculture experience of 33 years ago. Keeping the heritage from my father. How the cassava looks like when it is mature.
I am not a specialist of agriculture, but I am telling you the story and the experience that I personally lived.
The cassava species we planted would have to wait a year to grow and be ready for harvest and sale. This work took us practically a year under the sun, in the rain, in the cold, and in the wind.
It was necessary work to watch over the land so that birds or wild beasts did not come to destroy our seeds. From time to time, we would check that there were no weeds growing. The field had to be weeded to allow the plants to grow in favorable conditions.
Eventually, God blessed our efforts and our field. We had a very good harvest. We sold our products and were able to save money. Finally, I went to continue high school after two years of inactivity.
From this experience I learned some lessons and principles. These principles can also help you in this life on earth as a child of God.
Sometimes you get discouraged, you get depressed, you get left out, you get disappointed, and you lose hope. What to do? There are many things you can do according to the scriptures, according to the counsel of prophets, local church leaders, and parents to restore your confidence and hope. But as part of our conversation today, I want to share with you some principles that have helped me regain a smile and hope.
As I did with my Father Kyungu, you can also approach your Heavenly Father and talk to Him, express your feelings, needs, difficulties, and plans. The best way to do this is through prayer of faith, with honesty, sincerity, and real intention.
In Doctrine and Covenants 88:63 it reads, “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
In Alma 37:37 it reads, “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.” Ask what is useful to you.
In Doctrine and Covenants 88:64 it reads, “Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you.”
Ask for the things you need, as it is mentioned in Doctrine and Covenants 8:10: “Remember that without faith you can do nothing; therefore, ask in faith. Trifle not with these things; do not ask for that which you ought not.”
Address your prayer in faith as Enos did in the Book of Mormon. Pray with real intent, which means you commit to acting on the response you receive. By praying with faith, sincerity, and real intention, we will see God's influence in our lives. He will guide us in our everyday lives and help us make good decisions. He will give us comfort and peace. He will warn us of danger and strengthen us so that we can resist temptation. He will forgive us our sins. We will feel closer to Him.[1]
After the conversation with my father, a goal was set for me to go back to school. But there was a job that had to be done, that preparing, planting, and nurturing the field from the beginning to the end. And I did it for a year.
Our goal for all of us is to return to Heavenly Father and become like Him. To achieve this, we must work for our own salvation and the salvation of your family.
Doctrine and Covenants 58:27–28 reads, “Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.”
Study and ponder the scriptures diligently. With your agency, always choose to serve God. Put effort and constancy into service to the Lord.
Doctrine and Covenants 75:3 reads, “Behold, I say unto you that it is my will that you should go forth and not tarry, neither be idle but labor with your might.”
Go in search of the lost sheep. Carry out your ministering with joy and enthusiasm. Share the gospel with others. Do your family history. Go to the temple regularly.
2 Peter 1:5–8 reads, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
It is an invitation to acquire the Christian virtues that are the Christlike attributes. Work to obtain one after the other. Put together your own work plan and get it done.
When I left for further education, I stayed focused on my goal to succeed. I would have to avoid any distraction that would divert me from my goal. I knew how hard I had worked to get there. I knew the value of time and money.
Like you, stay focused on your identity. Remember who you are and where you are going. You are sons and daughters of Heavenly Father, created in His image and likeness. You belong to Him, and He wants you back in His presence safe and sound. Keep and grow your faith in God and Jesus Christ. Cherish your testimony so that it grows more. Remember the covenants you made with Heavenly Father and honor them. Choose which images to watch and what conversations to have with others. Cast out of your life thoughts and actions, all impure things or things that would take you away from your eternal destiny. Remember how prayer has helped you stay strong in difficult times.
President Russell M. Nelson taught,
Keep on the covenant path. . . . Your commitment to follow the Savior by making covenants with Him and then keeping those covenants will open the door to every spiritual privilege and blessing available to men, women, and children everywhere. . . . The end for which each of us strives is to be endowed with a power in a house of the Lord, sealed as families—faithful to the covenants made in a temple that qualify us for the greatest gift of God, that of eternal life.[2]
I would like to thank all of you for your input, your thoughts, feelings, and testimonies that you shared in the discussion board. I hope I read all of them, and I found that all you said was either the things that you can do when you are facing any challenge or to remember something that can help you to face and to overcome them.
But all you mentioned was related to this as below: pray and have a conversation with our Heavenly Father; the Atonement of Jesus Christ; scripture study and spiritual readings; keep your covenants; stay a positive person; serve someone; turn to the gospel of Jesus Christ; listen to good Church music; remember blessings; talk to your father, your mother, your husband, or to your wife, church leaders and friends; obey the Lord’s commandments; keep the faith; go to the temple; believe in the Savior and build relationships; hope in God; read your patriarchal blessing; remember your divine potential; be emotionally resilient and be patient.
I am so proud of you as you know where to turn when going through hard moments in your life. You are aware of the resources. You know what to do and how to proceed.
My invitation to you is this: as you know the things you must remember and the things you must do, go remember and do, and the Lord is with you.
I bear my witness that God is our Heavenly Father. Jesus is the Christ, and I am grateful for His infinite sacrifice. The restored gospel is on the earth today. President Russell M. Nelson is the prophet. The Book of Mormon is true. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] See Preach My Gospel, pp. 76.
[2] Ibid., pp. 93.