The following is an excerpt from Sunday on Monday, Come, Follow Me-based podcast where host Tammy Uzelac-Hall and her guests really dig into the scriptures each week. In a recent episode, Tammy and her two guests, Michelle Franzoni Thorley and Miyamoto Loretta Jensen, discuss what a story from the life of the prophet Elisha can teach us about receiving help from people on the other side of the veil and how that heavenly help blessed Miyamoto when she came home from her mission earlier than expected.
This podcast excerpt has been edited for clarity.
Tammy: In 2 Kings 6:13–24, we read how the king of Syria sent a host of men and chariots to surround the city and capture the prophet Elisha and all of his people. Well, early in the morning, one of the servants of Elisha wakes up, and he gets out of his tent and looks around. And in verse 15, let’s read about what he sees.
Miyamoto: “And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! How shall we do?”
Tammy: You can just sense the fear, right? What are we going to do? This is terrible. We love Elisha’s answer in verse 16.
Michelle: “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”
Tammy: And just so we’re clear, that wasn’t true. Elisha did not have more people with him. So what does that verse teach us about the Lord?
Miyamoto: Can I share an experience [to answer that]? I was called to serve a full-time mission in the Japan Tokyo Mission in 2013. I’d been on my mission for about six and a half, maybe seven months, and I was struggling so much with homesickness and depression and anxiety. I realize that now more than ever, my experience is very relatable to a lot of other missionaries who have been in the field and struggled with their mental health.
I remember when I was contemplating whether or not I should return home from my mission, I was kneeling down on the tatami mat in our apartment and just pleading with the Lord to help me know what I should do. And the answer came to me, “You need to go home.” And I didn’t like that answer.
But once I was like, “OK, Heavenly Father, I will go home,” I felt like . . . you know how in football games when someone wins, they start piling on top of each other? I felt that; not a heavy weight, but I felt my ancestors coming to me and almost like laying themselves on top of me, helping me feel stronger to do what I had to do.
It was so scary getting on that plane, coming back home, going through therapy, and facing my community. Even though I knew people loved me, it was still daunting and frightening. Yet I knew I had, like the scripture says, I had more who were with me than those who were judging me or against me. I had these powers of heaven that were with me that just saved my life.
And, honestly, that’s what helped bring me into family history: learning about who those people were that were with me in that pile. Those who helped to carry me through some of the darkest times I’ve ever had in my life. And so, to me, this command from Elisha to not fear, and to remember who is with you, resonates so much with family history and the powers of heaven.
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