Fictional Story: Moroni 7:33

Melinda stared at the phone, her finger perched over the "talk" button. Why is this so hard for me? With a sigh, she dropped the phone on the bed where she sat and took another look at her visiting teaching list. None of theses sisters are strangers to me, and none of them are inactive, either. This should be easy. But she continued to sit glancing back and forth between the phone and the list, rehearsing in her mind the things she could say. A few times she picked the phone up; once she even started dialing a number, yet as her hands began to tremble and her heart began to pound, she ended the call and tossed the phone aside like a hot potato.

Tears pooled in her eyes, and the names and numbers on her list blurred. Jackie always made the calls for me, and I taught the lesson. She sighed. Why am I able to teach and unable to make a simple phone call? Her new companion, Kourtney had recently moved into the ward from out of state. Since Kourtney didn't have a home phone yet, and her cell phone had a different area code, all of the visiting teaching phone calls would have been long-distance.

"I know it's crazy," Kourtney had said at church on Sunday. "Here I am living within ten miles of these sisters, but calling them is long distance!"

"Yeah, crazy," Melinda had replied, swallowing hard. "I guess I'll make the calls this month, then."

"Great. And I'll do the message." Kourtney offered.

Melinda wished she'd never offered to call. Maybe I'll just wait until Sunday and talk to all of my sisters at church. She knew the problem with that idea, though. As second counsellor in the Primary presidency, she was often too busy to talk to anyone. Sister Magnes dishes had sat in Melinda's car for nearly two months before Melinda found the time to hunt her down and return them. Phone calls are the only way.

After wiping her tears with the back of her hand, Melinda reached for the letter that had accompanied her new visiting teaching route. In the letter, Sister Paul made reference to Moroni 7:46. Melinda reached for her scriptures to look up the verse. As she was turning the final page to reach the verse, her eyes were drawn to another scripture that she had highlighted in blue: Moroni 7:33. And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.

Melinda sat for a moment contemplating what she had just read. I know that Jesus wants us to fellowship each other and strengthen our sisters. I suppose, that although calling a few sisters may seem like a small thing, that if I have faith, I will have the power to make these calls.

Her heart still pounded, and her hands and voice trembled, but Melinda tried to remember that the calls she was making were important to the Lord, and that He would give her the power she needed to get them done.