The Fourth Nephite

The pain gripped Kelilah, hollow pangs, jagged and fierce, stabbing at her empty stomach.

Is this what it had felt like, all those years ago? To spend the day fasting, using her hunger to turn her heart to God? Or in the days of darkness, waiting until light and the Savior arrived? Once, the memories had felt vivid, but over the centuries they had softened, losing definition and immediacy.

Kelilah tried to ignore the hunger as she shoveled mud out of the basement. Push, scoop, dump. Push, scoop, dump. Normally, service soothed her, but not today. It seemed almost unjust to experience physical pain on top of her ever-present trials: the burden of the endless heartbreak, sin, pain, and anger of the world, and the fear that her efforts weren’t making a difference.