“Ye Shall Not Fear”

by Marcia Winterton

Monstrous worries can be reduced to pocket-size if you know how to handle them.

When I was called as president of my Beehive class, the responsibility of representing my class at the monthly Bishopric Youth Committee meeting really scared me. I was worried about speaking in front of the whole group. I was afraid I wouldn’t know what to do or what to say, and I was afraid of being the youngest one there, but there was no way out.

The night before the meeting I sat in my room worrying, until I remembered my teachers saying that the answer to any problem could be found in the scriptures. I grabbed my scriptures, but I had no idea where to look, so I checked the Topical Guide under “fear.” There I found a verse that seemed to save my life. It was the last part of Doctrine and Covenants 38:30: “… if ye are prepared ye shall not fear.” [D&C 38:30]

No scripture has ever had such a powerful impact on me as that one did. I thought to myself, “Am I prepared?” Yes, I was. I knew what we would talk about, and I knew my adviser would be there to help me. I knew the Lord would be with me, and I didn’t need to fear, because I was prepared.

This principle has been very important to me ever since. Now I know that I don’t need to worry about tests if I have studied for them. I don’t need to worry about my music recital if I have rehearsed my piece. I don’t need to worry about my talk in sacrament meeting if I have practiced it and know it well. So much worry has been erased from my life through this scripture. Now I also realize that if I prepare myself in this life for the second coming of the Savior, I will not need to fear that either. Instead I can look forward to it with joy and the peace of mind that comes from knowing I am prepared.

Illustrated by Dilleen Marsh