Warning: Here Comes A Novel

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has gone by pretty quickly. Sister Shaum and I always feel that we don't know where time has gone. We get to Sunday evening and think, "Wow! It is already a new week. What did we do?"

ADAM and NATASHA

This week we didn't meet with a ton of people, but there are two people that we have met with a lot. Those two are Adam and Natasha. As we have been teaching them, they have changed so much.  We are still working on some stumbling blocks as we prepare Adam for baptism, but these two are completely different people than when we first met them.  I love these two.  They are great.  Natasha has read the Book of Mormon twice since we first met her.  Sister Shaum and Sister Klingler had already met with her once or twice before I came out to Wilmington, but she has read it twice in the few months that I have been out here.

Adam taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ to us this week.  It was a wonderful lesson.  We gave him the pamphlet before so he could use it to teach us.  He had many great questions that he asked us.  He has come a long way.  He loves the gospel.  He loves the Book of Mormon.  He has such a great testimony.

BURMESE PEOPLE

The Zone Leaders, or the Elders that are in the same ward as Sister Shaum and me, have been teaching a community of Burmese people.  Sister Shaum and I had the opportunity this week to go read the Book of Mormon with one girl and her family.  Her name is Mue.  Her mother knows no English, and her siblings and she know only a little bit of English.  They speak Corin.  It was rather fun to teach them, but it is difficult to get past just following Jesus.  We read the Book of Mormon, but we had to pause after each verse and summarize in very simple terms.  We started with the very first chapter.

As we were reading, we came to the part of the chapter where Lehi is having a vision.  He saw a pillar of fire on top of a stone.  I just sat there thinking, "How do we tell people that fire on a rock is God?"  I thought about how crazy some things in the Book of Mormon are.  How do we believe these things?  What have I been taught my whole life?  All I know is that the Book of Mormon brings the spirit into my life.  It has led me through rough times.  I know that as I continue to read the Book of Mormon, I will continue to feel the spirit.  Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways.  We will not be able to know all about God in this life.  It is only our job to trust Him and continue to endure to the end.

I love all y'all.  I hope you are doing well.  Continue to listen to the prophet.  It is almost General Conference.  It is almost Christmas.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Who is Jesus Christ?

Dear Family and Friends,

Last Wednesday, I had an interesting experience.  Our district was having district meeting.  We were role playing. I decided that I would role play as Makenna.  This is a person that I truly love and care for.  I was interested in what the experience would be like as I tried to figure out what was going on in her head.  As I role played, I got to thinking: "Who is Jesus Christ?  And why is He so important to me?"

Who is Jesus Christ?

There is a hymn that is not often sung.  It perfectly describes Jesus Christ.  The title is "A Mighty Fortress is Our God."

A mighty fortress is our God,

A tower of strength ne'er failing.

A helper mighty is our God,

O'er ills of life prevailing.

He overcometh all.

He saveth from the Fall.

His might and pow'r are great.

He all things did create.

And he shall reign for evermore.

     

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.  He is the creator of the world.  He suffered and was resurrected for all mankind.  Jesus Christ loves us all.  He went about doing good.  

Who is Jesus Christ?  He is my brother, my friend, my comfort, my hope, and much much more.

Why is He so important to me?

I think about my mother every day. The phrases that provoke me to think about my mother are "O'er ills of life prevailing.  He overcometh all."  This at first seems contradictory that He prevails over ills and overcame them, yet my mother died of leukemia.  I know that He has overcome these illnesses that they will not last forever.  There is a life to come after death.  In THAT life, there is no illness; no one will die again.  But, we must experience sorrow and pain in our mortal life for our immortal life to mean anything to us.

The Savior is real.  He loves me.  He loves my sister, Makenna.  He loves my siblings--Emmett, Cherise, and Griffin.  He loves my father Darren.  He loves my step family.  He loves my extended family.  He loves my spiritual family.  He loves all of my brothers and sisters.  He is a strength to them and to me.

Why is He so important to me? Without Him, I am nothing.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Quick Thoughts

Dear Family and Friends,

Sister Shaum and I ran out of time today to do everything, so this note will be rather simple.  This Wednesday, I got to teach at Zone Training Meeting.  Sister Shaum and I talked about using Preach My Gospel with members.  My thoughts during preparation and during the lesson were just that I am thankful that I have been using Preach My Gospel since it was printed.  I knew even before my mission that it was for more than just missionaries.  But, I didn't really use it too often.  I am grateful that my parents decided that we should use Preach My Gospel for family home evenings.  The one thought that has stuck with me is "If we treat the members like missionaries, they will act like missionaries."  The General Conference talk that I think of when I think of this statement is the talk from President Thomas S. Monson titled "See Others as They May Become" from October 2012.  I know that as we see others as what they can become, they will be more likely to achieve their potential.  I love all y'all.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Retry

Dear Family and Friends,

As a sister leader, I get to do exchanges now.  Last week as we were on exchanges,one thought kept running through my mind: "Who am I to judge another, when I walk imperfectly?"  (Hymn # 220)  I was being the "leader" to a Sister who has trained at least two other Sisters.  I was the one doing all of the learning.  I haven't even been out for the whole training period. And, yet again this Wednesday, I have to fulfill my duties as a Sister Leader.  I get to teach during Zone Training.  Kit sent a letter saying that Heavenly Father puts us in positions that cause us to grow.  I believe that with my whole soul.

One other thing that I have been learning this week is hard work.  The Lord requires our every effort.  Alma 60:35 says, "Now see that YE fulfil the word of God."  Heavenly Father requires us to be the means of the fulfilling of His servants' prophecies.  A quote that I heard at District meeting about a week ago was: "Pray as if it all depends on God; work as if it all depends on you."  The other quote that I heard at that district meeting was "Light a man a fire, he'll be warm for a night.  Light a man on fire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."  But, my focus has been more on the first quote.  I have a lot of work to do.  It is going to require all of my energy.  I have to work to the point where I have nothing left to give.  I have also bee reading President Hinckley's talk "Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep" which talks about hard work.  There is much work to do.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

City of Enoch

Dear Family and Friends,

A few weeks ago, the Wilmington 2nd ward had a change in Elders Quorum Presidency.  Sister Shaum and I got to have dinner with the new Elders' Quorum President and his wife last Sunday.  We asked him what his vision was for the Wilmington 2nd ward.  He told us that his vision was the City of Enoch.  I have somewhat adopted that vision.  I wrote it down. I then later modified it to have more meaning to me.  What exactly does it me to have a translated city?  I have come up with the idea that it means a city of avid temple goers.  We have to get ourselves and others to regularly go to the temple.  So, I have set that as my vision.  

I have also found my vision for myself as a missionary.  My vision is Alma 48:11-13,17,18.  This is the passage that describes Moroni.  Verse 17 is the verse that says, "if all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever."  But, the verses that mad me realize that this is my vision were the first two that describe Moroni: strong, mighty, "of a perfect understanding," liberty, freedom, thanksgiving, and "who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people."  His goal was to defend his people and bring them to safety.  That is my goal.

This week we said farewell to some members who are moving to Texas.  They were great at attending lessons.  We will miss them.

Every time I saw Sister M, I thought of my mom.  Her mannerisms are somewhat similar, and she is trying to teach her children the same things that my mom tried to teach her children.  She knows the gospel is true and wants to share it.  Her daughter will be attending BYU this year.  She came to a few of the lessons with some young women age girls.  She has a powerful testimony and the love needed to share it with others.  I am truly thankful that I got to meet the M family.

Family and friends, I am thankful to be out here in Wilmington.  I am already making quite a few changes.  I know that God lives and He loves each one of us.  God knows what we need; we don't.  We know what we want, but sometimes we have no idea what we need.  That is why we are all called to serve.  We need to reach out and show others what Heavenly Father knows they need.  I love you.  Keep moving forward.  Do the will of God.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Big Changes in the Wilmington Zone

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been a bit interesting.  We had Zone Conference on Tuesday.  There, our district (and zone) learned of a few changes that are taking place.  First, here is a picture of the Wilmington District from Tuesday.

I tell a little about these missionaries from left to right.  Sister Klingler is being transferred tomorrow.  I will no longer be in a "tripanionship."  She will be a Sister Leader (our mission doesn't call them Sister Training Leaders because it is confusing with trainers and training leaders) in a different zone.  Sister Turley is me.  I was told at the end of Zone Conference that I will be a Sister Leader.  Sister Shaum is still a Sister Leader.  (I am sorry to Sister Shaum.  This is the best picture that was taken on my camera.  Elder Peck was not cooperating.)  Elder Peck and Elder Williams are the zone leaders.  They serve in the same ward as Sister Klingler, Sister Shaum, and me.

Elder Hook will be training a new Elder that arrived in Raleigh today.  Elder Winger is going home tomorrow.  The Brother who was taking our picture kept saying that he was afraid of meeting Elder Winger because he had heard such great things about him.  It was rather funny.  Elder Perryman is the district leader.  And, Elder Packard is a great pianist.

This week at Zone Conference, we learned about goals.  We had an "unofficial poll" by the zone leaders.  They asked who in the zone has met or exceeded most of the goals written in their planners.  From the response, we realized that we need to work a little harder to achieve our goals.  My companions and I also got to meet with the new Elders Quorum President on Sunday, and he also talked about goals.  So, what I learned is that we need to write down our goals.  And then do them.  We need to remind ourselves every day what our goals are.  As we remember what our goals are, we are more likely to achieve them.  I know that Heavenly Father will help us achieve our goals if we put in the effort to write them down, read them every day, and work hard.  I love all y'all.  Keep moving forward.

Go with God,

Sister Camille Turley

P.S. My aunt Lari asked if we are on Tornado watch.  My mission is a great target for Hurricanes.  The mission was told to start preparing before I even arrived.  We have buckets that we are supposed to put some belongings and food and other supplies in.  We also have a designated "safe house" that we are to go to if a hurricane is coming our way.  A few weeks ago, our district meetings were about preparation for storms and the different steps to take depending on the severity of the storm.

We have already survived the storm Andrea (just a bunch of rain).  And Hurricane Chantel is headed our way, but it should die down to just rain (if even that) by the time it reaches Wilmington.  I hope we have some good storms this summer.

Book of Mormon

This is the email from last week.  For some odd reason, my emails are being returned to me.

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been rather interesting.  We have quite a few new investigators, but we also lost a few investigators.  We were able to have members at almost all of our lessons.  That is something that missionaries love and need more of.  We want to have members at every lesson possible.  So, help the missionaries out and invite them to have you tag along.  One day, we had a pre-missionary stick with us for most of the day.  We exchanged missionaries (so we had a Jacksonville 2nd ward Sister with us), and then we dropped our car off and hopped into the girl's car.  It was a flock having four of us going everywhere.

Thursday was Independence Day.  We went to the ward's pancake breakfast, and I got to wear a red, white, and blue outfit.  The pancakes were delicious, but the turnout was not what we were expecting.  We thought more people would show up.  That evening, we had hamburgers at the Elder's Quorum President's home.  We then watched their little firework show.

That is about it for the week.  I read the Book of Mormon.  I read in Alma 26.  And, I thought about the phrase "instruments in his hands."  I thought about a piano.  If each person were a key (very large piano), Heavenly Father is able to use us to make beautiful melodies.  If we are stuck, we don't help much with the melodies.  So, we have to unstick ourselves.  The phrase that I wrote in the margin is "Humble ourselves to become melodious in the Lord's hands."

I love all y'all.  I hope you are doing well.  Keep trusting the Lord and helping the missionaries.  We love working with members.  Have a fun week.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

God our Strength will Be

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been raining hard.  We have rainstorms every day.  Whenever we talk to someone about the weather, they have to tell us that it is the abnormal for it to rain like this.  They say that they usually have little showers every day in June, but it has been pouring.  When we go running, we have to watch out for a ton of puddles.

On Friday, I had an interesting experience.  Both of my companions are Sister Leaders (the Sister "Zone" Leaders).  Mission Leadership Council was held on Friday.  So, all of the Sister Leaders and Zone Leaders and the Assistants to the President and the President and the President's wife gathered in Knightdale to have the council.  Because of strange circumstances, I got to sit in the council.  Sitting and listening really put into perspective how new the large numbers of Sister missionaries are.  Not until recently have they even had Sister Leaders.  So, they have a lot of questions about going on exchanges.  It was great to realize how much the work is being hastened. I love the gospel, and I am glad to be a part of the hastening.

On Saturday, Bonita was baptized.  She was confirmed on Sunday.  She already got started on family history work this week.  She has been asking about the temple for a while.  We cannot wait for her to start doing baptisms for the dead in the temple.

After the baptism, we got a ride home from a member.  Then we rode our bikes to contact a referral.  It was the first time riding our bikes.  My bike was working great.  But, Sister Klingler's bike was having some problems.  She got it for $100, and it showed.  It worked alright until the person riding it realized that the other two companions were several yards ahead.  Sister Shaum and I had to ride the bike most of the time because Sister Klingler has asthma and cannot be riding a problematic bike for a few miles.  Also, since Sister Klingler is a bit shorter than Sister Shaum and me, the bike was a bit small.  My legs were coming up a little higher than I would have liked.  

I got to ride the small bike for the final stretch.  As we were entering the neighborhood, all I could do to keep going was breathe, "GOD our STRENGTH will BE (inhale) PRESS FORWARD ever CALLED to SERVE our KING" repeatedly until we were at the house.  The Upper Case words were exhaled and the lower case words were inhaled.  I have never been known for my endurance, so God was my strength.  It was all I could do. And, I made it.  Afterwards, I thought it was really fun.  Just the last stretch was complicated.

I know that God is our Strength. When we rely on Him, we are given the power to press forward.  But when we rely on our own strength, we are weak and unable.  I love my Heavenly Father.  I love Jesus Christ.  I love the Holy Ghost.  I am weak, but I am able to continue through the grace of God.  I am so thankful for this opportunity to serve my Father and to bear witness of His name. I am inadequate to bear the name of Christ, but Christ is so powerful and His message so sweet that the human inadequacies do not frustrate the work.  Only when we forget the Lord do our inadequacies keep us from doing His will.  I love all y'all.  I hope you are doing well.

Go with God,
Sister Turley

Week of 6/17-6/23/13

Dear Family and Friends,

This week, we had exchanges.  My companions are the Sister Leaders, so I will be working with quite a few Sister missionaries in the next few weeks.  This week, Sister Brunner came down to Wilmington.  Sister Brunner is serving in the Jacksonville 2nd ward.  Sister Shaum trained her also.  

This is us.  From left to right: Sister Shaum, Sister Turley, Sister Klingler.  This is the village that is raising me.  We had exchanges this week, and this was at our exchange point.  Sister Shaum is always taking pictures, so she had to take some with the other Sisters as well.  I thought that I should get my camera out because we were already taking pictures, and Sister Shaum doesn't approve that I only have about seven pictures on my camera.

This week, we visited a Chinese sister and her son.  Last week when we visited, she was making homemade dumplings, and this week she had made Mochi.  It was delicious.  The filling was red bean paste.  I loved it. 

We learned that we will be getting another set of missionaries in Wilmington 2nd ward.  We have to share them with the 1st ward though.  They will be Spanishi-speaking missionaries.  That means that we will have three sets of missionaries in the Wilmington 2nd ward.  And, sister missionaries should be moving into the 1st ward soon.  So, by the end of the year, we should have at least 5 companionships in the two wards.  The work is Hastening.

The picture below is just the sign I saw in front of a Baptist church today. I thought that the thought was nice.  I still believe in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I know that this is the true church.  Heavenly Father has restored His gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith.  I love this church.  I know that Heavenly Father is aware of each of us.  He knows who we are.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

On the Coast and Flashbacks

Dear Family and Friends,

I am finally getting pictures to you.  This first picture is my MTC district.  We all were headed to the North Carolina Raleigh mission.  We had one other district in our Zone and they had ten missionaries as well all going to North Carolina Raleigh.  I love these missionaries.  They are some of the greatest people I have ever met.  I don't think that 12 days and 16 hours per day was enough time to spend with these people.  And yes, we all wore blue on purpose.

Unfortunately when we got to the mission home, we found out that some of us would be placed in the Virginia Chesapeake mission which is being formed in July.  Half of the Sisters and one of the Elders in this district will be in the new mission.

My MTC companion is about a month older than Cherise.  We had some great times together.  I can't say that our teaching skills were so great.  During one lesson in the MTC, I introduced a point and then said, "Now Sister Jensen will explain it."  Sister Jensen just looked at me, but then she was able to explain it really well.  She will be in the new mission.  So, I won't be her companion ever again.

Well, my first area in North Carolina is Wilmington.  My companions are Sister Klingler and Sister Shaum.  I believe I may have said that already, but I cannot differentiate one day or letter or email from the next.  This is probably why we have planners.  Actually, I know that is why we have planners. The house is about 20 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean.  We went to the beach with a member today during our preparation time.  Now that the summer is coming, we are going to have to stop going because the tourists are coming.  I don't know what else to say.

Oh yeah!  For the first week that I was here, we had little crabs in our yard.  A dead crab was in the driveway, and I was stepping backwards and crunched it.  Sister Klingler was sad that her crab friend was crushed.  I told her that I was sorry.  We also saw a skinny, black snake slither into a hole in the wall the other day.  We were walking up to the house and it just slithered into the area where the hose is connected to the wall.  There are all kinds of critters out here.
 

This is a picture of Wrightsville Beach that we walked on today.  It was nice.  

That is all I have to say.  I love all y'all.

Go with God,

Sister Camille Turley

First Week in North Carolina

Dear Family and Friends,

On the first Tuesday in the MTC, my zone was moved to the "West Campus," or what I loving call it--Wyview.  I got to return to my freshman housing.  There are just too many missionaries in the Provo MTC, so some of us were moved.  More missionaries will be moving into West Campus throughout the summer.  We were the first group to move.  We are creating history.  Or at least that is what we were told.

These past two weeks were somewhat interesting.  Last Monday, June 3, I got to hop onto a plane and fly to Atlanta Georgia, then hop onto another plane and fly to Raleigh, North Carolina.  I got to talk to a lady on the second flight who is not a member.  It was rather interesting.  She grew up baptist and had a lot of questions about missions, Temple Square, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in general.  Our group of new missionaries numbered 28.  We were originally 29, but one of the Elders in my zone had to be sent home for stomach and heart problems.  In the MTC, he was constantly being called to the front desk.

The new sisters (including me) got to spend their first night in the mission home.  The next morning I woke up and, voila, I was all of a sudden twenty.  Sister Hernandez and Sister Lewis, from my MTC district had to tell me happy birthday every time they saw me.  Then, we headed to transfer meeting.  I have two trainers: Sister Klingler and Sister Shaum.  My comment to having two trainers was "it takes a village to raise a child."

I think that is about it.  We have kept busy, busy, busy.  We don't finish our business until 10:30 PM, when lights need to be turned off, so I get to get ready for bed in the dark.  I haven't killed myself yet.  Here is to the future.  I love you all.  I hope you are doing well.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

An Interesting Beginning to my Missionary Experience

Dear Family and Friends,

A few days before I left, Brother Marshall (the ward music man) came to the house and asked to talk to me.  He was wanting to get a musical number together before I left (I would be playing cello).  But, Sundays were too scarce before my time to leave.  But, we ended up chatting for a while.  At the end he told me "Good Luck."  But, then he stated that he did not really like to tell people that when they are going on a mission.  So, he said a phrase in Latin.  I don't remember the phrase in Latin, but he translated it to English: "Go with God."  I loved that.  I also hate saying good luck to missionaries.  If they are serving the Lord with all their heart and mind and might, there is no luck involved.  God is guiding them.

On Tuesday evening, I was set apart as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  After the setting apart, my father's leg was hurting again (he is better at explaining, and it was bothering him before my setting apart).  So, my dad received a blessing and headed to the hospital.  On Wednesday morning, Emmett got to drive me to the airport.  We arrived at the airport a while before I had to get onto the plane, but we had quite the adventure trying to get to the correct terminal parking.  We turned around at least three times.  We almost backed up into another car.  In the end, we ended up parking in the terminal 4 parking lot.  We had to ride the sky train to terminal 4, then take the shuttle to terminal 3.  We made it just in time to check bags and go through security.  We met the Hancocks at the security.  I gave a few hugs, and John Hancock took a few pictures.  Then, I was off.

Before getting on the plane, I met Sister Griffin from Thatcher, Arizona, who is also going to North Carolina Raleigh.  On the plane, I got to sit by Elder Bloomfield.  We didn't even have to switch anybody seats.  We got to talk.  I am pretty sure that I did most of the talking, and Elder Bloomfield did most of the listening.  After we landed, Elder Bloomfield and I went our separate ways.  I got to ride the shuttle to the MTC.  Turns out, Sister Griffin is in my district.

We met our district.  My companion is Sister Jensen.  We have three companionships of Sisters and two companionships of Elders in our district.  Our whole district is going to the same mission.  Our zone is made of two districts.  Both districts are Elders and Sisters who are all going to the same mission.  The other district is two companionships of Sisters and three companionships of Elders.  We have a really great district.

Yesterday was Sunday.  We went to the Sunday Devotional and then watched Sister Monson's funeral service.  The Sunday Devotional was about preparing us for watching Sister Monson's funeral service.  I had a lot on my mind during the funeral.  As I was watching the Pallbearers take the casket to the car, I thought about my mother's funeral.  I thought about Emmett carrying his mother to her grave at the age of 13.  I just thought, "My brother is going to be a strong missionary."  I am sorry that I make everyone cry.  I just have those experiences to share; they are the experiences that have molded my life to what it is now.

Go with God,

Sister Turley

Farewell, Arizona. I shall miss thee.

Today I gave my third "farewell" talk.  I gave a talk in my Singles' Ward in Provo the week before I left Utah.  My topic for that talk was on a gospel principle that I learned about in General Conference.  Last week, I gave a talk on Joseph Smith and the Restoration in my family's ward in Chandler.  And, this week I got to speak with my uncle, Jaden Rosser, and my cousin, Ian Bloomfield.  My uncle is the High Councillor, and I was his companion speaker.  Ian was the ward's speaker.  It was also his "farewell" talk.  He will be serving in the Washington Everett mission, the same mission as my sister, Sister Cherise Turley.  (The link to her blog is also on the left.)  Today I spoke on temples and redemption.

Well, I leave for the MTC in two days.  I will be training for two weeks in the MTC, and then heading to North Carolina.  My contact information is on the left side of my blog.  If you feel like contacting me, please send me a letter.

Love,

Cami

Donating Blood vs. Public Speaking

Yesterday was Sunday.  It was an interesting Sunday.  It was the last Sunday of the semester, so almost everybody was released.  There were a lot of hugs and a tiny bit of crying.  I also gave a talk yesterday.

I was asked on Saturday morning if I would prepare a talk.  I literally had 24 hours to prepare.   Luckily, my talk was supposed to be about a gospel principle from General Conference.  I prepared a 10 minute talk as I was instructed to do.  I had a few things to add to the end if I needed to speak a little longer, and I also prepared in a way where I could cut out some information if I needed to.

Sunday Afternoon
As the first speaker started speaking, my thoughts turned to a few days before when I was donating blood.  When I was donating blood, my heart beat was 60 bpm.  I was wishing that my heart rate could be as low as when I was donating blood.  Apparently, I am more calm watching my blood flow out of my body than when I have to speak to a congregation of people.

Another thought was that I love sharing the gospel with people, but not to that many people at once.

In the end, I had three minutes to speak.  I drastically cut down my talk.  I only remember that my topic was forgiveness and I had quite a few quotes from Elder Craig A. Cardon.  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/the-savior-wants-to-forgive?lang=eng

Love,
Cami

Why Should We Mourn

As many of you know, I opened my mission call on March 1.  I will be serving in the North Carolina Raleigh mission.  I report May 22. 

And, since I will be serving a mission, I have been reading Preach My Gospel.  Today I was reading the second lesson which is about the plan of salvation.  One sentence on page 52 sums up an experience that I had last year.  The sentence reads, "Those who chose to obey God in this life live in a state of happiness, peace, and rest from troubles and care."  The very last part about rest is the part that pertains to my experience.  I will now provide my experience.

Why Should We Mourn

During my summer term at Brigham Young University in 2011, I learned that my brother’s friend had died, and my roommate’s brother’s friend had also died.  It reminded me that my family had known at least eight people who died in the first three months of the year.  I also learned that my siblings were struggling with the new step family.  My dad had only been remarried for a month.  I just felt so much sorrow for my siblings.

 So, as I knelt to pray that night, I was just so sad.  I was crying before I got the second sentence out.  During my prayer, I wanted to ask when my family would get a break.  Why can’t they just go without trial for a few months?  All I could do was think it; the words never came out of my mouth.  The words were impossible to say.  A new thought, or pair of thoughts, repeated in my mind.  The first thought was, “Rest doesn’t come until after death.”  I knew that; I just wanted to fight it.  Couldn’t my family just have a little rest?  The answer is no.  Rest comes after death.

The second thought was the first half of the second verse of the hymn “Come, Come Ye Saints”: “Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?  ‘Tis not so; all is right.  Why should we think to earn a great reward if we now shun the fight?”

This life is not hard; we only think it is.  We are weak mortals, yet our spirits are so strong.  There is no reward in heaven if we give up now.  So, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back in the battle.

That is the one time that I remember actually getting words as revelation.  I always like to then add the last line of the second verse, but with a little twist.

“We will, by golly, have a tale to tell.  All is well, all is well!”

Conclusion

I love all of you.  I have found that if we are obedient in this life, we will have peace.  Peace eventually comes, but don't give up now.  Don't shun the fight.

Love,

Cami