This life is a test, it is only a test

I found myself in an interesting position today. I had gone to the ELL Center for Refugees downtown this afternoon for a training meeting and had stopped by the store on my way home. As I was walking out of the store, I was approached by a woman. She asked me if I was from here and then proceeded to tell me of her plight. As she was telling me her situation, I had a feeling that she wasn't being honest with me. In the end she was asking me if I had any money. I usually don't carry any cash on me, but today I had a few dollars on me-the change from my recent purchase. As she told me of her situation, I wondered what I should do as I felt she wasn't being honest with me. The instant I thought that, several verses from Mosiah 4 came into my mind, particularly the phrases 'are we not all beggars?' and the part in verse 24 where it talks about if we have we should give. I also felt, regardless if she is being honest or not, she is in need. I gave her what I had in my pocket, which wasn't much. I felt guilty for even HAVING the thought not to give it to her especially since I didn't have very much to begin with. I haven't been working for this past month, so I felt I needed those dollars just as much as she did. A very selfish thought since everything I have been given is from God and if someone is in need, I should give them all that I can. I know all that thought process may seem silly to some, especially over a few dollars. To me, every life lesson I am given I take seriously and try to learn from it what I need to-regardless how small and insignificant it may seem. I feel like the situation I found myself in today was one of those. This life is a compilation of life tests such as these that test our character. Reminds me of a quote from Sheri L Dew:

"Indeed, this life is a test. It is a test of many things—of our convictions and priorities, our faith and our faithfulness, our patience and our resilience, and in the end, our ultimate desires. Yet there are times when the vision and hope of a Big Finish are dimmed by immediate demands, days when one might wish for a mortal exam that was a little more manageable.
Thankfully, our experience here is an open-book test. We know why we’re here, and we have from prophets ancient and modern an extensive set of instructions. But at the risk of sounding simplistic, may I suggest that the mortal experience is largely about vision—our vision of ourselves and our ultimate Big Finish. And vision is determined by faith. The firmer our faith in Jesus Christ, the clearer our vision of ourselves and what we can ultimately achieve and become." May 1998 BYU Women's Conference