Keywords

Book of Mormon, adversity, faith in Jesus Christ, patience

Document Type

Article

Abstract

About seven months into our service as mission leaders, we attended a district conference on one of the islands in our mission. We flew in on Friday and intended to spend some time with the missionaries after the conference ended. At about ten thirty on Monday morning, one of our assistants called from the mainland. He was very emotional. He told us that while four elders had been playing soccer at the church, suddenly and for no apparent reason, one of them had collapsed. We got a few more details, and we asked him to call an ambulance, get over there, and keep us informed. Feeling helpless being so far away ourselves, we called a senior couple and asked them to go quickly to see if they could help. Twenty minutes later, our assistant called back and through his tears said, “President, Elder ——— is dead. How could this happen?” We were stunned. We looked at each other and just cried. This was a young man we had come to love and respect. He was a leader among the missionaries and had a very bright future. Our assistant’s words rang true: “How could this happen?” We did not know what to do.