Faith Gets Stronger When Questions Are Allowed at Home

A sturdy testimony does not have to come from a house where every answer is tidy. Susanna Cameron, aka Susie, grew up in Rexburg, Idaho, with parents she calls faithful and also open and nuanced. Both served missions, and that matters: serving felt like part of her future long before she left home. But the bigger gift is the way they treated doubt. Questions were not treated like failure. They are part of learning where to turn for answers and how to grow faith in Jesus Christ. That background followed her to BYU, where she studies history, and it gives her a plain way of talking about belief: honest, grounded, and unafraid of saying when something is hard.

The Accident That Interrupts a Mission Does Not End the Calling

The mission call toke her to the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo West Mission, where faith becomes personal because people are not projects; they are children of God with individual lives, needs, and circumstances. Then, halfway through, everything stopped. Susanna got in an accident, suffered a bad third-degree burn, and had to leave the place, companion, and area she loves. Going home was one of the lowest points of her mission. It also became the hinge. While getting a skin graft, she served for three months as a service missionary. That assignment changed the shape of what came next. When she returned to the Dominican Republic for another eight or nine months, she came back with more gratitude and a clearer dedication to the Lord.

Post-Mission Life Has Less Structure, So Faith Needs More Intention

The mission calendar made devotion almost automatic: all day, every day built around Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother, Jesus Christ, study, teaching, and seeing the gospel work in real time. Provo did NOT work that way. Back at BYU, there wasn't an hour of scripture study followed by another hour of companionship study. Classes, relationships, and regular life filled the space. The problem wasn't that faith disappears; it got easier to let distance grow. Susanna named the basics without dressing them up: prayer, scripture study, and church service help her keep the relationship alive. Ward callings matter because they gave her a place to keep doing what her mission trained her to do, which is love people on purpose.

Sometimes the Holiest Goal Is Just Saying Hi

When she returned to Provo in January 2025, she moved into an apartment complex because one old friend lived there, but almost everyone else already knew each other. She felt off balance. Then a summer calling as second counselor in the Relief Society presidency gave her a reason to meet every girl in the ward, ask what is happening in their lives, and learn what matters to them. After she was released in December, she decided not to let those connections fade. Her rule is simple: if she sees someone she knows around town, on campus, or near the apartment complex, she says hi. It is not always a formal gospel conversation. It still counts. People are God’s most important priority, and noticing them is one way to remember Him.