“1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.

3 But behold, I am a man, and do sin in my wish; for I ought to be content with the things which the Lord hath allotted unto me.”

These verses were very meaningful to me as a missionary. As I started out I had a great desire to speak o everyone I possibly could and I got frustrated when my companion would try to move us to get us to a meeting in time. I was so worried that I would miss speaking to someone who was ready to listen. This anxiety was very debilitating at first.

Then I went and prayed for guidance and opened my scriptures to these verses. They gave me near instant relief. I realized that what God expected of me was to simply do whatever I can and to leave everything else to him. I would not be able to speak to absolutely everyone I saw. I would not be able to perfectly find anyone and everyone. But I could do my part.

Those who knew me on my mission know that I did not take this revelation as a basis to slacken or stop speaking to as many people as I could. But it did help relieve me of undue anxiety and stress.

This knowledge is important not just for missionaries. God expects us to do what is in our power, but we have to have faith in him and leave things in the hands of God. Anxiety and wishing we could magically solve all of the world’s ills can be debilitating and frustrating.