“On His Errand,” Liahona, Mar. 2026.
Latter-day Saint Voices
On His Errand
I didn’t know how to tell a family their daughter passed away until the Holy Ghost helped me.
Illustration by Briana Kranz
If the most heart-wrenching human experience is to endure the tragic, unexpected loss of a loved one, I think the second most difficult experience might occur when a first responder looks into the eyes of a mother and father and tells them their child has died.
One morning I was dispatched to inform a family that their youngest daughter had been killed while driving home from college. She had fallen asleep at the wheel and died instantly when her car drifted off the road and crashed violently. It was Easter morning.
I dreaded the pain I was about to cause this family. In some odd way, it almost felt as if by crushing the family with this news, I was somehow responsible.
I rang the doorbell, and a man approached. Our eyes met through the window in the door. He froze, strain showing on his face. He knew that my presence explained his daughter’s absence. Suddenly, I received a spiritual prompting:
“Jason, forget yourself. You’re on my errand and are entitled to my power. Use it. Trust it. The Holy Ghost will guide you to bring understanding and resolution to those who are conflicted or confused.”
The man opened the door with a shaky grip. Spiritual confidence replaced my reluctance as I introduced myself and asked to come inside. Though strengthened by the Spirit, my heart ached deeply for him. I wanted to share in his grief, mourn with him, and weep with him (see Mosiah 18:8–9), feeling that doing so might lessen his suffering.
We walked down a short hallway into a room where his wife and children had gathered. Bolstered by the Holy Ghost, I felt confidence and clarity of mind. I answered their questions and then bore my testimony that because of Jesus Christ, His sacrifice and Resurrection, they would see their daughter again.
Through this experience, my faith in the Lord evolved into trust. I hoped that theirs had too.
Elder Paul B. Pieper of the Seventy taught, “Sometimes the best way to learn to trust God is simply by trusting Him.”
Trusting the Lord has helped me have strength to help others. It has also strengthened my testimony and paved the way for countless opportunities to serve others for Him.