Day 192 The Lord Comforts Weary Missionaries

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from, thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for your every success. You may remember that 2 Nephi 4 is one of my all-time faves when it comes to chapters in the Book of Mormon. And I have to tell you, Alma 26 is right there next to it.

There are not many chapters in the Book of Mormon that we just get dialogue. This is one of those as Ammon continues praising the Lord for the success that they've had as missionaries. Welcome to day 192 on our 365 day journey through the Book of Mormon.

And I hope you are taking your time and letting the verses of Alma 26 saturate your life. Today you're going to be reading Alma 26 verses 22 to 37. You're going to finish the chapter and it's been a while since I said it but with a tear in my eye and a smile on my face, you're going to finish Alma 26 today.

And I have a very special verse that I want to share with you. There are several verses in this one. In fact, you know what?

This chunk of scripture, if you've got a missionary out or you know a missionary that's out, just share this chunk of scripture with them. These verses 22 to 37 are missionary picker uppers and that's what I want to get to today. I want to share with you today Alma 26:27.

It says, Now when our hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success. That scripture speaks personally to me because on my mission I was serving in an area I affectionately call the farthest place on earth. I believe I've talked about it before but it's been a while.

It was in Khovd, Mongolia. Me and my companion were sent there to be the first missionaries to live there through the winter time. And it was exceptionally tough.

It was a plane ride. It was several hours' plane ride away from the capital city. But it came to the tail end of winter and the assistants to the president were going to come out for a visit.

And when they came out, apparently we looked a little more ragged than either of us thought, me and my companion, because the assistants took time to sit down with us and just talk to us and hear us out about the experiences that we'd had. And then Elder Thomas jumped into Alma 26 and he shared this verse and it lifted me up. We didn't have things like people throwing rocks at us or hurting us.

We had challenges in a different way, but they were nonetheless challenges that were very difficult. And here he shared a blessing that we should just keep going. We were about to turn back.

We were about to give up. We were on our last leg here. And the Lord comforted us and said, Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give you success.

And it gave us like a new page. It gave us like a new opportunity to go and to continue to serve. And I love it because if I'm not mistaken, I haven't been able to go back to Khovd since I left my mission.

But if I'm not mistaken, I think there's actually a branch building there. I think that there are enough members that are going that they built a church building there if I'm not mistaken. And I love to hear the growth in that area since I've been there because it was such a difficult time.

And yet here the Lord comforted me. I love that! And I hope that all of you feel that comfort from the Lord as you seek it in your life.

That's all for today, my friends. Remember that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass. Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow, and I hope you are too.