Laurel Christensen Day

It was November 10, 1985, when I first remember hearing the voice and testimony of Ardeth Kapp. I was 13 years old sitting in a stake center in Louisville, Kentucky. To this day, I have a deep recollection of being stirred by her words at the first-ever worldwide broadcast just for Young Women. “To every young woman throughout the entire Church, … I see the crest of a great wave forming. … I see a wave forming that will move across the earth, reaching every continent and every shore.

We’ve all felt the gut-wrenching feeling that materializes at different periods of life for a variety of reasons. It’s the thought that causes your stomach to sink and tears to fall: “I am not enough.” Laurel C. Day shares her experiences with the concept of “not enough-ness” and her journey to accepting that God’s grace is the only way to bridge the gap between who we are and who we want to become. I got called in to meet with my bishop after being in our new ward for just over two years.

Mission calls have some differences—location, report date, name—but overall most of the language stays consistent with letters beginning with Elder or Sister and ending with the prophet’s signature. One of the similarities in the mission calls is of particular importance for missionaries affected by COVID-19—the word "anticipated" in the phrase “it is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 18 [or 24] months.” So what do you do when the unanticipated happens?