Reset My Faith: A Great Voyage Toward Heaven

Last year was both difficult and meaningful for me. It became the very foundation for a new leap of faith. At the beginning of the year, my family faced a financial crisis. To make matters worse, a medical checkup revealed an unexpected illness.

Though I underwent surgery and received treatment, my recovery was slow, and the aftereffects weighed heavily on my already weakened spirit. Daily worries pressed down on me more and more. I grew weary in my gospel work and even found myself thinking, “What if I can’t continue?” Eventually, I thought, “Maybe it’s time to stop.” While battling this deep spiritual struggle, I happened to learn about Ernest Shackleton, a British explorer—and his story awakened my wavering soul.

In 1914, Shackleton set out with twenty-seven crew members aboard the ship Endurance, aiming to cross the Antarctic. Nearing the continent, their ship became trapped in ice, leaving them stranded. As they waited for the sea to thaw, conditions worsened. Food ran low, and eventually the Endurance, crushed by the increasing pressure of the ice, broke apart completely. Shackleton and his crew managed to salvage three small boats and trekked across a vast ice field, finally reaching an uninhabited island through a narrow break in the ice. They survived by hunting penguins and turning their overturned boats into makeshift shelters—but the situation could not last. Shackleton made a critical decision.

He remodeled one of the boats and set out with five crew members to seek help. Their destination was South Georgia Island, their original base—1,300 kilometers (approx. 186 miles) away. With no proper equipment and only a lifeboat, crossing the Antarctic sea was nearly impossible. Yet Shackleton risked everything and reached the island. After pushing through snowstorms and brutal cold, he arrived at the station after a thirty-six-hour trek.

Without resting, Shackleton immediately began working to rescue the twenty-two crew members left behind. First, he needed a strong ship capable of cutting through the ice. Britain agreed to send one, but it would take too long to arrive. So Shackleton appealed to other nations and eventually secured a rescue vessel. The journey back, however, was anything but easy.

Three times he was forced to turn back due to impassable ice. But knowing that lives depended on him, Shackleton never gave up. After four long months, he finally reached the uninhabited island again.

Meanwhile, the stranded crew had nearly lost hope. The expected rescue date had long passed, and they wondered whether Shackleton had survived. They debated escaping on their deteriorating boat, but the risk was far too great. Just as they were on the brink of despair, Shackleton returned. After 634 days stranded in the Antarctic, every single crew member was rescued—without a single loss. It became known as one of the greatest voyages in history.

The crew said that Shackleton always gave the better sleeping bag to others and kept the worn one for himself. He even shared his biscuits. His care and sacrifice made him a lasting symbol of selfless leadership.

When I pictured Shackleton running tirelessly across snow and ice, desperate to save his crew, I couldn’t help but think of our Heavenly Father—and tears welled up. Just like those stranded men, I had grown weary and discouraged by life’s hardships. Yet Father promised He would come to take us to heaven. Even if He seems delayed, He told us to wait. Remembering that God’s words never fail jolted me awake. I couldn’t remain in discouragement any longer.

How tirelessly must our Father be working, concerned that even one soul might be lost? When I grasped even a fraction of God’s heart, my physical and spiritual health quickly recovered. The tangled problems in my life began to unravel. Hope for heaven rose within me again, and I was filled with joy and gratitude in the love of Father and Mother.

Only now do I understand what Mother meant when She said that blessings are wrapped in the wrapping paper called suffering. Everything I went through was to ultimately bless me. If I had not stumbled under the weight of my cross, would I ever have stopped to reflect on whether I was truly worthy of heaven? I feel as though I have returned to my first love—the time when even just preaching filled me with joy and thanksgiving.

So now, I will begin again—this great voyage toward heaven, with our beloved Heavenly Father and Mother, and with my dear brothers and sisters at my side.