However, there have always been challenging times. My parents grew up during the Great Depression. They didn't have much in the way of worldly goods, but they had the gospel of Jesus Christ, their bodies and their minds, and a bright future.
When my father received his mission call, Europe was engaged in war, and about a week after his call came in late 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked. He left for his mission in early 1942. By the time he returned, the war had escalated to a world war that many thought would be the end of civilization, one in which about 22–25 million military personnel and about 32–49 million civilians were killed. In addition, nearly 6 million Jews perished in the Holocaust. The amount of property damage is impossible to accurately estimate, but the earth still bears physical scars from Europe to the islands of the Pacific, even though the war ended more than 60 years ago.
Can you imagine what my father thought about his future as the whole world seemed to be spiraling downward? I don't know what his exact thoughts were, but I do know what his actions were. He joined the military on a track that would train him as a dentist, and he continued his education.
My mother came from poor immigrant parents but was able to finish college during wartime, when the ratio of women to men on campuses was skewed since so many of the young men were at war. She went on to raise eight children and lived a faithful life.
I am grateful that my parents pushed forward with faith during challenging times. Their actions were instrumental in their personal development, and our family was blessed because of the type of people my parents became.