During the summer of 2018 I went to the Dominican Republic on a humanitarian trip.
While we were building a school in one of the villages there we talked a lot about the small and simple things.
The first day at the building site we just dug trenches for the foundation. It was a long day of digging and when we thought we had dug enough, they asked us to dig it deeper still. We were getting a little frustrated, thinking that we would never see any progress, but one of my leaders said, “remember it is by small and simple things that great things come to pass.” And then he would say, “now don’t get mad but I’m going to say it again, by small and simple things are great things come to pass.”
Things eventually progressed past the trenches and we started building the walls with cinder blocks. It was a process as we laid each brick and then used the hand mixed mortar and cement that we brought over by bucket. The process was slow but by the end of the two weeks of consistently working we had built a room of the school.
We are taught about many small and simple things in the gospel. President Dallin H Oaks said, “Consider the scripture study we’ve been taught to incorporate into our daily lives. Or consider the personal prayers that are regular practices for faithful Latter-day Saints. Though each of these practices may seem to be small and simple, over time they result in powerful spiritual uplift and growth.”
Scripture Study
While I was on the same trip in the Dominican Republic my group would wake up and have 30 minutes of scripture study. One morning we were going to be on a bus for a few hours and one kid I was with asked if we could wake up later and just do scripture study on the bus. My leader said no because we all need that 30 minutes of quiet undisturbed time to focus on the savior and to build our testimony. I loved having that consistency and had some very meaningful scripture study time. I liked how we had that focus throughout the day and it made me want to take more time to turn my thoughts to Christ.
Prayer
Praying every day, every day, every day like Elder Johnson told us, in October 2019 General Conference, is another small and simple act.
Elder Johnson said, “It is through daily prayer that we can feel the love of God and show our love for Him. This is such a simple thing to do, that it is easy to neglect. When the Israelites were plagued by fiery serpents, many people died from their bites. But the Lord had prepared a simple way by which they could be healed, all they had to do was look to the serpent of brass that Moses held, but “because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished” (1 Nephi 17:41). How often do we forget to pray because of the simpleness of it?
This concept of small and simple things is not new and has been taught over and over again. It can be applied to many different areas of our lives.
“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.”
When I was building the school in the Dominican Republic, if we would have stopped digging when the work was hard and the progress seemed very minimal, then we could not have seen that room finished in the two weeks we were there.
When I let other things get in the way of my daily scripture study and prayer, I think of my leader saying “it is by small and simple things that great things come to pass,” over and over again. And I picture my own foundation of faith being built one brick at a time.
Kaitlyn is a student at Utah Valley University, where she is studying Public Relations. She served her mission in San Diego California and Chile. Kaitlyn loves sports, country music, being in the mountains and eating chocolate chip cookies.
