“Should I End My Missionary Service?”

At one point in his mission, Elder Ramirez almost gave up after experiencing a tragedy, but his commitment to the covenant path kept him strong.

In June 2019, a 17-year-old high school student in Mercedes, Camarines Norte named Angelbert Ramirez was invited by two friends, Jessie Jean King and Trishia Mae Juntilla, to enroll in a program called “seminary” and attend a youth party. Curious, Angelbert accepted the invitation.

As he interacted with the seminary students, the young man experienced an indescribable feeling. “I just loved gaining knowledge about Jesus Christ,” Angelbert recalls, “and I really felt loved by the people who surrounded me.” Three months later, on September 7, Angelbert Esplana Ramirez was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Brother Ramirez entered into the covenant path, even if it meant being the only Latter-day Saint in his family. He was called to take care of the baptismal clothes, and assisted with the full-time missionaries as a fellowshipper. Brother Ramirez heeded the Lord’s call to serve a mission—but it wasn’t that easy.

“When I told my family about my desire, they were disappointed,” he reveals. Angelbert prayed hard and approached his parents one last time; miraculously, they agreed. In January 2022, Elder Angelbert Ramirez began serving in the Philippines Antipolo Mission.

Just twelve weeks into his mission, Elder Ramirez received a heartbreaking message: his father had died. Elder Ramirez was permitted to go home for a few days, but, disappointed and discouraged, he contemplated whether to continue serving or to just end his missionary service. “Why, Heavenly Father? Why?” the junior missionary kept asking himself, “Why while I am serving Him?”

As he wrestled with his thoughts, Elder Ramirez remembered what Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve said: “Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead ... It will be all right in the end … Some blessings come soon, some come late … but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.”

“Those words gave me hope and comfort,” Elder Ramirez confides. “I was lost and down, and He comforted me.” Elder Ramirez went back to the mission field. “Knowing the Plan of Salvation helped me recover,” he adds, “and I know that I will see my father again.”

As Elder Ramirez continues serving the Lord, he hopes others will also follow the covenant path: “I know that Heavenly Father has the best plan for each of us.”