Gospel Story Finder

The fact that President Kasue and other Chyulu Church leaders have hungered to learn more has contributed to the strength of the Church here. When President Brown invited all priesthood leaders to attend leadership meetings in Nairobi, he did not expect those from Chyulu to attend because of the distance and cost of travel. However, 11 brethren from Chyulu arrived early on the morning of the meeting. They had walked 20 kilometers to catch a train at midnight and traveled all night. They attended the leadership meeting that day, with some of them requiring translators. That night they stayed with Church members, and the following day they traveled back to Chyulu, expressing deep gratitude for the privilege of being at the meetings.

"My parents were always very active in the Church and were hard workers. During my childhood, we lived in rather strained financial circumstances. A good part of that time we lived in a four-room home. We had one bedroom and a sleeping porch and one very small bathroom. I now live alone in a condominium with three bathrooms and it makes me chuckle to think about it.
"Many people had a difficult time during the depression. Father was unemployed for about a year and a half, and I remember worrying a great deal. My mother often took me into her confidence, because I was the oldest child. And I knew from the time I was a small boy all about our family finances—how much the coal bill was and how many months behind we were in its payment.

After this call came the other day, I went out into the backyard, and in my mind’s eye I could see hosts of Aaronic Priesthood bearers—young men who are fine and good and true, who are dedicated to the Lord with all their heart and soul, who want to put that same look into their face which we see in the faces of the brethren here before us today. And they were doing it and they were obedient and following their leaders.

And in my mind’s eye, with great sadness, I saw another great group of Aaronic Priesthood bearers who were not able to put this into their faces because they were disobedient; they were being persuaded by friends and peers.

Then I saw a third group that troubled me even more, because these were they who would have been faithful had they had the leadership. If someone had reached out a hand and lifted them and picked them up and cared for them, they could have put integrity and love and purity of heart—all of these fine qualities—into their lives.

In order to hold worship services, the members in Chyulu built a small bowery that would accommodate about forty people. The sides were made from tree branches woven together, and the roof was corrugated tin and palm branches. Each Sunday morning, little children used tree branches to sweep out the building.

Due to the area’s isolation and primitive conditions, special arrangements had to be made for the baptisms. A water tank was brought from Nairobi to serve as a baptismal font. It took five hours to pump enough water from a well and haul it six kilometers to the new font. Then ten adults stood inside the font to raise the water level high enough so the candidates could be immersed. In preparation for the first service, forty people were taught the discussions and interviewed. When they were baptized and confirmed, the branch nearly doubled in membership. By August 1993, there were two branches in Chyulu, with a combined membership of three hundred and fifty.

Here’s a way to learn who the General Authorities are as you hear them speak in general conference. The Brandt family from South Jordan, Utah, takes the General Authority chart out of a conference issue of the Ensign (May and November) and posts it next to their TV. When a General Authority gets up to speak, the children hurry to the chart to see who can find his picture first. If you watch conference from a meetinghouse, you can take the chart with you and quietly point to or circle the correct picture. By the end of conference, you will know many of our Church leaders!

When Joseph and Hyrum were imprisoned in Carthage Jail, John insisted on staying with them, though he didn’t have to. Like the angels he had heard as a child, he had a beautiful voice, and he sang now to comfort his fellow prisoners.
John: “A poor wayfaring Man of grief Hath often crossed me on my way . …”*
A mob burst in and murdered Joseph and Hyrum. Elder Taylor was shot five times, but survived.
One of the bullets was stopped by a watch in his vest pocket. As in the storm at sea, his life was spared because he still had a task to accomplish.

Even in ethnic culture, many traditions can reinforce gospel standards and principles. For example, anciently, Hawaiians had a practice, the spirit of which is still exhibited today by many in the islands. When greeting another person, one would come face-to-face and offer an expression of “ha,” even expelling their breath for another to feel. The literal translation of ha is “the breath of life.” It was a way to give of oneself and show another a deep sense of brotherly love and caring. When foreigners first came to Hawaii, they did not exhibit this same respect for others. They were called haole, ha-ole, meaning “without ha.”
If there is a people who should have “ha”—an intense feeling of charity and compassion toward others—it is members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A true Latter-day Saint possesses a love for others that is consistent with a belief that everyone is a brother or a sister.

Explorers of the Cottonwood Second Ward in Salt Lake City helped fund a superactivity by distributing ads for a local radio station.

All Things Bright and Beautiful, by Cecil Frances Alexander, illustrated by Bruce Whatley. With the words of a traditional hymn, a young girl on a farm appreciates the wonder and beauty of Heavenly Father’s creations.

About four months ago, I received the assignment to serve in Bogotá, Colombia, and moved there. One day, as I was trying to find the way to my new ward’s meetinghouse, I stopped at a park to ask for directions.
I could see many families enjoying a pleasant sunny morning. I stood there for a while watching the children as they cheerfully played in the park. They had a special glow in their countenances; their cheeks were flushed from the sun and from the effort they made to run and play together. They were all very friendly with each other.
I could tell they were really having fun. As I watched them closely, I realized that, more than having a fun time, those pure little children were truly happy.

“I am currently learning a second language in school, and I have recently begun reading the Book of Mormon in that language as well. When I do, it helps me ponder the words of ancient prophets more deeply because I have to slow down and actually think about what I’m reading to understand it. Then the Spirit can more easily confirm that what I’m reading is true.”
Amelia C., 15, Arizona, USA

Robert Nay is only in ninth grade, but he has already written an app that took the #1 spot on the Apple App Store just two weeks after it was released.
Why did you decide to make an app? Late last summer a friend’s dad said that I should try making an iPhone app, because he knew that I was good with computers and stuff. I thought it would be pretty cool, so I made it a goal to come up with an iPhone app and have it on the App Store. And I finally made it.
Do you have any advice for other teens trying to reach their goals? Just try it and go for your dreams, because you can make it. I just tried it and didn’t think it would do nearly this well. I just wanted to do it.

Here in the Africa Southeast Area, we are witnessing the gradual fulfillment of the Lord’s promises as new communication and media technologies roll out across the continent—and as the messages of the gospel of Jesus Christ become even more available in a person’s own tongue.
It is in this spirit of the Lord’s promise that the Africa Southeast Area Communications Council—under direction of the Area Presidency—has launched new online and social media channels in the French and Portuguese languages. These new websites and social media pages will provide members of the Church and our nonmember friends with access to the words of the prophets that previously have been available mostly in English.
The Africa Southeast Area websites are the Area Presidency’s official and primary digital communication channels—and are used alongside social media channels to inspire, strengthen, instruct, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are the main destination for members and our nonmember friends across the area to obtain local information about the Church. These sites also serve as portals to all Church online resources—both produced locally and at Church headquarters. Area websites are now available in English, French, and Portuguese.
Along with area websites, we operate area social media channels—as directed by the Area Presidency—to inspire, strengthen, instruct, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are official messaging channels of the Church in the Africa Southeast Area and are not meant to operate as social communities in themselves. Rather, they are intended to provide high-quality content that you can share into your own social media circles with family and friends. When you follow these social media channels—by clicking “Like”—you will automatically receive content into your own social media feed as it is regularly posted. Click “Share” to share these social media posts with those in your social media community.
Currently the official social media channels operate on the Facebook platform—including Facebook Free—and are now available in English, French, and Portuguese.

I am so happy that we have President Kimball with us this morning. Now in his ninety-first year, he has nevertheless made the effort to come before you. I wish with all my heart that he might speak to us, but that does not appear to be feasible. He has asked that we convey to you his love and blessing. He is our prophet, our seer, our revelator. He was put in place by the God of heaven, and he has been kept there by this same power. He will remain for as long as the Lord wills that he remain. We are blessed with his presence.

When I was in Grade 4, I changed schools. At the new school, things were OK until one day our gym teacher told us that we would be taking swimming lessons. But I had already taken swim lessons at my old school. So after class I told the teacher that. “Oh, lucky you, then,” was her response.
No, I thought. Not lucky me, more like unlucky me. Ever since I was little I had hated swimming lessons. I was terrified of them. So now that I had to take swim lessons twice in one school year, it seemed like the worst thing in the entire world.
The night before swim lessons, after my mom tucked me in, I sat on my bed and asked Heavenly Father to help me somehow, because I really did not like swim lessons and I needed His help.
The next day I was really nervous as we went to the pool and got ready for swim lessons. As I sat on the pool deck, still cold from the showers, they began to call names and put kids in groups depending on their swim level. As they called my name, I realized that I had been put in a group where the swim teacher was a lady who was in my ward.
When the lessons were finally over, I found out that I had not passed the level I had been in. But this did not matter to me because I knew that Heavenly Father had helped put me in the group with that swim teacher in order to help me—and it had. Having that swim teacher there gave me strength.
I know that having that swim teacher there was no accident. Heavenly Father knew my struggles and cared about me. I know that no matter who we are or where we are, Heavenly Father knows us. And if we need His help, all we have to do is ask and He will help us.

Have you ever stood on a high cliff with your toes on its edge and your back to the abyss below? In rappelling, even though you are securely connected to a system of strong ropes and equipment that can deliver you to safety, standing on the edge is still heart-racing. Stepping backward off the cliff and swinging into thin air requires trust in an anchor secured to an immovable object. It demands trust in the person who will apply tension to the rope as you descend. And although the equipment provides you with some ability to control your descent, you must have confidence that your partner will not allow you to fall.
I vividly remember rappelling with a group of young women. I was first in the group to go. As I stepped backwards off the cliff, I began to fall without control. Gratefully, the rope jerked and my too-rapid descent was stopped. As I dangled halfway down the jagged rock face, I prayed fervently for whomever or whatever was keeping me from dropping onto the rocks.
Later, I learned that the anchor bolt had not been securely set, and as I stepped off the edge, the person belaying me was jerked on his back and pulled towards the edge of the cliff. Somehow, he wedged his feet against some rocks. Stabilized in that position, he was able to laboriously lower me, hand over hand, with the rope. Although I couldn’t see him, I knew he was working with all his strength to save me. Another friend was at the bottom of the cliff, prepared to catch me if the rope ceased to hold. As I came within reach, he caught my harness and lowered me to the ground.

Several months later Joseph Smith received a revelation directing him to organize a Quorum of Twelve Apostles. On February 14, 1835 Brigham Young was one of those chosen. His diligence during the march of Zion’s Camp had proven itself to Joseph and to the Lord.

The years immediately preceding the Constitutional Convention were filled with disappointments and threats to the newly won peace. Washington was offered a kingship, which he adamantly refused. Nephi had prophesied hundreds of years before that “this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land” (2 Ne. 10:11; italics added).

Between the critical years of 1783 and 1787, an outsider viewing the affairs of the United States would have thought that the thirteen states, different in so many ways, could never effectively unite. The world powers were confident that this nation would not last.

Eventually, twelve of the states met in Philadelphia to address the problem. Madison said at the beginning of the Convention that the delegates “were now digesting a plan which in its operation would decide forever the fate of Republican Government” (in Records of the Federal Convention of 1787, ed. Max Farrand, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1911, 1:423).

“The Lord knoweth all things from the beginning,” said Nephi; “wherefore, he prepareth a way to accomplish all his works among the children of men” (1 Ne. 9:6).

Four months later, the Convention delegates had completed their work. As Gladstone said, it was “the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man” (William Gladstone, “Kin beyond Sea,” North American Review, Sept.–Oct. 1878, p. 185), and the Prophet Joseph Smith called it “a glorious standard, … a heavenly banner” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1938, p. 147).

The delegates were the recipients of heavenly inspiration. James Madison, often referred to as the father of the Constitution, wrote: “It is impossible for the man of pious reflection not to perceive in it a finger of that Almighty hand which has been so frequently and signally extended to our relief in the critical stages of the revolution” (The Federalist, no. 37, ed. Henry Cabot Lodge, New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1983, p. 222).

Alexander Hamilton, famous as the originator of The Federalist papers and author of fifty-one of the essays, said: “For my own part, I sincerely esteem it a system, which without the finger of God, never could have been suggested and agreed upon by such a diversity of interest” (in Essays on the Constitution of the United States, ed. Paul L. Ford, Brooklyn: Historical Printing, 1892, pp. 251–52).

Charles Pinckney, a very active participant and author of the Pinckney Plan during the Convention, said: “When the great work was done and published, I was struck with amazement. Nothing less than the superintending Hand of Providence, that so miraculously carried us through the war, … could have brought it about so complete, upon the whole” (in Essays on the Constitution, p. 412).

Within ten months, the Constitution was ratified by nine states and was therefore in force for them. Prophecy had been fulfilled.

As his love for the Maori people blossomed, Elder Cowley had even more of a desire to learn their language. Soon after rising, he would turn to his books. “I studied until noon and then had dinner and took a little rest,” he wrote. “The rest of the afternoon was also spent in studying.”5

Years later, Elder John Longden, an Assistant to the Twelve, told how Matthew, when he was only 17, was blessed to learn Maori. “He had only been out for two and one half months, and a district missionary conference was called. … Brother Cowley had an opportunity to speak. … He spoke for fifteen or twenty minutes in a fluent Maori tongue, so much so that it amazed the older Maori people in the congregation.

“After the meeting … the district president said … ‘How did you master this Maori language in such a short time?’ …

“Brother Cowley said, ‘When I came here I did not know one word of Maori, but I decided I was going to learn twenty new words each day, and I did. But when I came to put them together, I was not successful.’ By this time they were passing a cornfield, and Brother Cowley said, ‘You see that cornfield? I went out there, and I talked to the Lord, but before that, I fasted, and that night I tried again, but the words just didn’t seem to jell. So the next day I fasted again, and I went out into that cornfield, and I talked to the Lord again. I tried that night with a little more success. On the third day I fasted again, and I went out into the cornfield, and I talked to the Lord. … I told him that I had been called by this same authority to fill a mission, but if this was not the mission in which I was to serve to please make it known because I wanted to serve where I could accomplish the greatest amount of good.’

“That was the spirit of Brother Cowley. He said, ‘The next morning, as we knelt in family prayer in that Maori home, I was called upon by the head of the household to be mouth. I tried to speak English, and I could not. When I tried Maori, the words just flowed forth, and I knew that God had answered my prayer and this was where I should serve.’”6

“Thanks, Bishop Rowley. We’ll be glad to help.” Brother Hulet, our deacons quorum adviser, took the clipboard from the bishop’s hand and announced, “I have a sign-up list for volunteers at the Church farm. I’m sure the Lord would be pleased if all of us would help out this coming week.”
“What kind of help?” I asked warily. This Church farm idea didn’t sound like it would be very fun.
“Our only assignment this week is moving sprinkler pipe.”
My thoughts returned to volunteering at the Church farm. “Well, I—I don’t think I can come,” I stammered. “I have to go to my own job every morning.”
“That’s no problem,” assured Brother Hulet. “We always go to the Church farm in the afternoons.” Brother Hulet passed around the sign-up list. “When each one of you was ordained to the priesthood, you were given the power to act in the name of God. And when we serve Him by serving others, we are acting in His name. Besides, with all of us helping, the work won’t seem hard at all.”
The list was passed to me. I couldn’t believe that, so far, everyone had signed up to go every day this week. Didn’t they know how miserable this was going to be? I felt a great weight of righteous peer pressure exerted on me. Grudgingly, I signed up and passed it on.
Monday afternoon, I sat in my room recuperating from the morning’s work when I heard Brother Hulet honking his horn outside. I hesitated for a moment before changing back into my smelly, damp work clothes.
We soon pulled into the Church farm. Everyone but me raced toward the field. I lagged behind, head down, kicking rocks, when I was surprised by a hand on my shoulder. “Thanks for coming with us,” Brother Hulet encouraged. “I know you worked hard this morning.” We walked together in silence for a few moments. Then he ran ahead to organize the group.
I watched him and thought about what he had said to me. I had worked hard that morning. I was tired and smelly, and I wanted to go home. But what about Brother Hulet? He had worked hard that morning too. So had all the guys, for that matter. So why did they seem happy to be here?
I caught up to the others, and we began our work. At first, I tried to cheer myself up by thinking of the noble sacrifice I was making. But soon my self-absorbed thoughts ended, and I noticed how quickly we were moving with everyone helping. We laughed and talked, and suddenly I realized I was actually having fun! In a few short hours we had completed our assignment.
As we rode home, I realized that what I thought was going to be an unbearable sacrifice seemed small. In fact, with everyone helping, it seemed like no sacrifice at all.
Brother Hulet stopped his station wagon in front of my house and looked back at me. “Thanks for your help today. Your hard work made it easy for the rest of us.” He smiled and winked.
I grinned back. “Thanks, but all of us helping together was what made it easy.” I climbed out of the car and closed the door.
Brother Hulet put the car in gear and began to pull away. “See you tomorrow, then?” he called through the open window.
“Sure. See you tomorrow,” I said.