Gospel Story Finder

Ellen Joy and Hannah feel it is important to teach their friends how to be aware of allergies. Ellen Joy is currently working on a presentation to teach the girls at activity days more about food allergies. When Hannah’s friends want to hold her hands when playing, she first asks them if they have washed their hands. If they haven’t, they hurry to wash them before touching her.

On vacations, Father would take us to historical sites that were prominent in Church history to build our knowledge and testimonies.
On one occasion, when I was a twelve-year-old deacon, Father asked if I would like to go to the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, and to the Hill Cumorah Pageant near Palmyra, New York. This is where Joseph Smith was led to the golden plates which were later translated into the Book of Mormon. Father also took me to the Sacred Grove, where Joseph Smith had prayed to Heavenly Father and was visited in a vision by God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We prayed together in the grove and expressed our desire to be true and faithful to the priesthood which we held. Father later painted a picture of the place where we had prayed and gave it to me as a reminder of our promises made that day together. It hangs in my office today and serves as a reminder each day of my sacred experience and promises made with my earthly father as well as my Heavenly Father.

During the early days of the Great Depression, six stake presidents from the Salt Lake Valley joined together to grapple with the darkening clouds of poverty and hunger that threatened to overwhelm so many members of the Church.1 Although the economic crisis affected people everywhere, Utah in particular had been devastated.2
At that time, Church leaders had few resources to help those in need. They could use fast offerings, of course, but the chronic need dwarfed anything they had ever experienced. Under the direction of the Presiding Bishopric, a Deseret Employment Bureau had been founded in the early 1900s. But it was not adequately equipped to handle such massive need.
These six priesthood leaders knew that if the people of their stakes were to be helped, they could not wait. They would have to take immediate action. They began by putting people to work. They organized the men and took them to fields where they could harvest crops. In exchange for their labor, grateful farmers generously donated food to the men. The surplus was taken to a storehouse and distributed to others who were hungry. As donations grew, the Saints began canning food to preserve it. This was the beginning of the modern-day welfare program.

Among our keepsakes is a thank-you note from a sister in our former ward. Our sons were only three and five when their dad followed a prompting to take them with him to an early morning roofing project on this sister’s home. She went out of her way to recognize these little boys, to thank them. They tasted of the joy of helping someone in need.

In our family we have an ancestor who joined the Church in Europe in the early days of the Church. One son became inactive. Sister Edgley and I have attempted to track the inactive descendants of this ancestor.
It was easy for my wife and me to conclude that during the following six generations and with reasonable assumptions, there could be a loss of up to 3,000 family members. Now project two more generations. The loss could theoretically approach 20,000 to 30,000 of our Heavenly Father’s children.

“Mom is coming back tonight,” Dad said when he picked up Cassie from school. “That means today is clean-the-house day.”
“Yes!” Cassie cheered. Cassie wasn’t too excited about cleaning, but she was excited that Mom was finally coming home. She had been gone for two long weeks taking care of Grandma, who lived far away.
Cassie had missed her so much that some nights she had even listened to the old cassette-tape recordings that her mom had once made for her. On these tapes Mom had recorded herself reading stories to Cassie. Before Cassie knew how to read, she would listen to these recordings over and over while looking at the pictures in the books. Cassie hadn’t listened to them in a long time—until now.
After the house was sparkling clean, Cassie and Dad went to the airport to pick up Mom. When she got off the plane, Mom was happy to see them, but she looked tired.
“I don’t think I should give kisses today,” Mom said. “I think I caught the flu on my trip. I don’t feel so good.”
Mom went straight to bed when they got home. Cassie came in to see her later, and she had a cold cloth across her eyes.
“Do you want to play a board game?” Cassie asked.
“No, sorry, sweetie,” Mom said. “I have a bad headache, and I need to rest my eyes. But there’s nothing wrong with my ears. Why don’t you sit with me and tell me everything that happened while I was gone?”
Cassie smiled and pulled a chair close to the bed. She talked and talked, and Mom listened.
The next night Mom was still sick. Cassie had to go to school the next day, and Mom would be home by herself. She’ll be so lonely, just like I was, Cassie thought. Then she had a great idea. She went to the bookshelf and got down one of Mom’s favorite stories.
In the morning before she left for school, Cassie brought a shoebox to her mom. “This is for you,” she said. “I also made you a sandwich. Peanut butter with strawberry jam. It’s in the fridge.”
“Oh, thank you,” Mom said. She opened the box and took out the tape recorder. “What’s this?”
Her mom pushed “Play” and Cassie’s voice said, “Dear Mom, I’m going to read your favorite story. Just close your eyes and have fun listening.”
She pushed “Stop” on the recorder and laughed. “This is wonderful,” Mom said. “I’m so excited to listen to this.”
“I did all the voices,” Cassie said. “Just like you used to.”
“Thank you, Cassie! How did you get to be so thoughtful?”
“I learned from you, Mom.”

The Knights moved their family many times to stay with the Prophet, each time sacrificing home, farm, and belongings that they had worked hard to obtain. They moved to Ohio and then to Missouri. Joseph Knight’s wife, Polly, died just a few days after their arrival in Jackson County, Missouri. It has been reported that Knight and his son Newel slept in a chicken coop there while their home was being built. The Knights later moved to Illinois where they helped build the city of Nauvoo. A few years later they were forced to move again as the Saints began the trek across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley.
Joseph Knight died during that trek at Mt. Pisgah, Iowa, on February 3, 1847, at the age of seventy-four.

The Ikpokpan Stake YSA Gathering Place recently brought young adults together for a powerful temple workshop and devotional, held in partnership with the institute program. The event drew attention and hearts upward, inspiring participants to deepen their understanding of sacred covenants.
Elder Akingbade Ojo, an Area Seventy and Regional Director of Seminaries and Institutes, was the featured speaker. With clarity and compassion, he taught, “The temple ordinances and covenants exemplify the plan of mercy our Heavenly Father has for each one of us.”
The spirit of the event was beautifully captured by videographer Emmanuel Otumbari, who interviewed seven participants about their personal experiences. Some expressed excitement as they prepared to enter the temple for the first time. Others came seeking a deeper understanding of temple covenants, while a few reflected on the sacred sealing ordinance of eternal marriage.
What united them all was a shared feeling: love, clarity, and a renewed desire to grow spiritually.
As the workshop concluded, the attendees were filled with a sense of peace and purpose. Everyone left uplifted, with a stronger commitment to make and keep sacred temple covenants—a step forward on their journey of faith and discipleship.

Rebecca Alison Titz, a young adult from Germany who now attends the Winterthur Ward in Switzerland, has a testimony of fasting and of the blessings that come from paying a generous fast offering. Rebecca grew up seeing her parents pay fast offerings, and when she started to earn her own salary, she began contributing on her own.
She says, “There have been times when I could pay a generous fast offering.” And in those times she says, “I was never hungry in body or spirit.” She explains that feelings of hunger from fasting pass quickly, but the blessings of spiritual nourishment that come from helping others are long lasting—even eternal.
Rebecca has always tried to contribute a fast offering freely. “I’ve never had a problem giving it,” she says. “I have never thought, ‘I could use this money somewhere else.’ I have always thought, ‘This is helping people who need it.’”

You complained when your mom asked you to set the table.
She felt sad that you didn’t help her.

Children embrace President Russell M. Nelson and Sister Wendy Nelson following a devotional in Asunción, Uruguay.
Soon after the October 2018 general conference, President Russell M. Nelson traveled to Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chile, where he visited members and missionaries and held devotionals, including a youth devotional in Chile attended by 1,500 and also broadcast throughout the country. He spoke to members in Spanish, dedicated the Concepción Chile Temple, and met with local government leaders.

Recently Sister Nelson and I were in Denmark during the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Church in Scandinavia. Between meetings, we took a few hours to search for villages where two of my father’s grandparents were born. They were among the early converts to the Church in Denmark.
Thanks to a good driver and a superb map, we found each town on our list and obtained treasured information. During the entire journey, my hands were riveted to that valuable map so essential to achieve our goals.
His gift of eternal life is subject to conditions established by Him (see D&C 130:21). Those conditions constitute a plan, or a spiritual road map. And when trouble comes, guidance is needed most. In our journey in Denmark, we met an unexpected detour that led us astray. In order to get back on course, we stopped the car. We studied the map with great care. Then we made the necessary course correction.

Almost all of us have seen a battlefield portrayed in a film or read the description in a story. Over the din of explosions and the shouts of soldiers, there comes a cry, “Man down!”

When that cry sounds, faithful fellow soldiers will move toward the sound. Another soldier or a medic will ignore danger and move to the injured comrade. And the man down will know that help will come. Whatever the risk, someone will run low or crawl to get there in time to protect and give aid. That is true in every band of men joined in a difficult and dangerous mission which they are determined to fulfill at any sacrifice. The histories of such groups are full of stories of those loyal men who were determined that no man would be left behind.

Second, shelter. As a 12-year-old boy I resisted a desire for shelter because of my greater desire to fulfill a Boy Scout requirement to spend a night in the woods. I was one of several boys who left comfortable tents and found a way to construct a shelter and make a primitive bed from the natural materials we could find.

For example, in wartime missed messages between commanders and soldiers at the front have resulted in great confusion and serious loss of life. In World War I the 308th Infantry was ordered to the front in a desperate attempt to take and hold part of the Argonne Forest at any cost. The battle was so fierce that the supporting troops on the right and the left of one battalion withdrew, and the battalion was surrounded and isolated. Because headquarters lost communication with them, they became known as the Lost Battalion.
The battalion communicated with headquarters by carrier pigeons that flew from the battalion’s location to headquarters with messages. However, as soon as these pigeons were released, they were shot down by the opposing forces. The Lost Battalion’s own artillery, not knowing where they were, opened fire on their position and inflicted heavy casualties. The battalion ran out of food and water, but they held their ground and did not surrender despite their great losses. Finally one carrier pigeon called Cher Ami, even though it was shot, got through to headquarters carrying the message that identified the battalion’s location. The survivors of the battalion were rescued because that one crucial message got through.

“One of the Choice and Accountability experiences I completed is a good example of how Personal Progress has changed my life. To complete the project I needed to make a habit of personal prayer and scripture study. I had never been excited or willing to read the scriptures before because they confused me. I decided to try the experience anyway and planned to read a chapter in my scriptures every night.
“When I sat down to read the first night, I was hesitant. I decided to start in the New Testament because I wanted to read about the Savior. At first the scriptures didn’t make much sense. But after a while I opened up my heart and looked for understanding. Suddenly I understood the passages. Every night I kneel in prayer, and I read my scriptures. I know the scriptures are true, and I’m grateful for Personal Progress.”Kristi Hurd, 15Antioch Second Ward, Antioch California Stake

I appreciate the sacrifices made by the pioneers in our behalf. My great-grandfather, James Jack, became converted to the Church while he lived in Scotland. He sailed to the United States and made the trek across the plains to the Salt Lake Valley, where he became the personal secretary to Brigham Young. After President Young’s death, James Jack served as secretary to other prophets as well. I have a great deal of respect for my great-grandfather. He left a comfortable life in Scotland to travel all the way to Utah, and he lived in difficult times. I appreciate his courage, his faith, and especially his willingness to do whatever he was asked to do in service to the Lord.

I am convinced that families, even young children, can learn to love the scriptures. A few years ago when I was in Colorado Springs for a conference, I called on Mark McConkie, son of Elder and Sister Bruce R. McConkie, to address the question: “How did you develop a love for the scriptures?”

As I recall, he said: “I first developed a love for the scriptures from my mother. I remember she would teach me while she did her ironing. I felt how she loved the scriptures by the way she would speak about the prophets. How much she loved them! As I grew older, I would listen to the recordings of the scriptures. I wanted to know the scriptures like my father. Sometimes he would enter the room while I was listening and it would take him just a moment to identify the exact scripture I was listening to. I wanted to be able to do that.”

The women’s clothes store brought back the time I gave Mom money to buy a girdle. The next day she came home very excited. “Come out and see what I got with your money,” she called. It was a Mother’s Day surprise for me when I saw a dwarf oriental tree. From that day we all called that little red tree, “Mom’s girdle tree.”

In Spain, including the Canary Islands, and in Portugal, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles invited members, missionaries, and leaders to encourage those who are less active to return to full participation in the Church.