Living by the Scriptures: Doctrine and Covenants 64:33
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Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. — Doctrine and Covenants 64:33
My daughter Laurel was called to the England London mission in 2003. While serving in Wymondham she made a joyful discovery. Knowing that my mother had served in 1953 in nearby Southend-on-Sea, Laurel tried to find out if anyone remembered her grandmother, Sister Gillian Halliday. Indeed, Vera Lee remembered Sister Halliday and her companion Sister Tuttle; they had patiently taught her the gospel.
Laurel supplied her grandmother with Sister Lee's address so she could write her a letter. Sister Lee's reply told briefly what had transpired since they'd last seen each other. Brother Lee had joined the Church, along with their three children and they had all been sealed in the temple as a family. All the children had taken their sweethearts to the temple to be sealed, and of the 11 grandchildren three had served full-time missions. Sister Lee estimated there were 50 people who were now members of the Church as a consequence of my mother's missionary efforts.
My mother didn't think she'd had much effect as a missionary and was wondering more generally about her effectiveness in her current role as full-time caregiver to my invalid father. The heartening news in Sister Lee's letter was a joyful discovery for a faithful woman who needed to know just then that her life mattered! Mom waited 50 years for news that her mission bore fruit, and it might not have come at all but for a granddaughter's call to the same part of the Lord's vineyard. Our Heavenly Father knows us and our service, and sometimes through the careful placement of another will touch our lives in return.
— Janai B. Tegland, Akron 1st Ward, Akron Ohio Stake
