Don’t Give Up!

When Elder Holland was a young dad, he moved across the country with his wife and two children to go to college.

They packed everything in their little car and started driving. After only 34 miles, the car broke down. Elder Holland looked under the car’s hood, but he didn’t know what was wrong. He walked three miles back to the nearest town to get help.

When he got there, a kind man gave him a ride back to his car. They drove Elder Holland’s car very slowly back to a larger city to get it repaired.

The mechanic checked the car for two hours, but he couldn’t find anything wrong. So Elder Holland and his family set off again. At exactly the same spot as last time, the car broke down again!

Elder Holland started the long walk for help again. The same kind man gave him a ride and helped bring the car back to the larger city. Elder Holland felt worried and discouraged.

Thirty years after this happened, Elder Holland drove by the same spot, this time in a car that worked. He remembered how hard that time was for his family. He wished he could tell his younger self, “Don’t give up, boy. Don’t you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead—a lot of it—30 years of it now, and still counting. You keep your chin up. It will be all right in the end. Trust God and believe in good things to come.”

We all have times when we want to give up. But the gospel of Jesus Christ helps us know that things will always get better.