Gospel Story Finder

Elder M. Russell Ballard: “The Book of Mormon, above all other books that I know of , is the greatest source we have for answers to real-life problems. I remember as a young man serving my mission in England and visiting a nonmember family who were suffering great grief because an infant son had unexpectedly died. The minister of their church taught them that their son was hopelessly confined to everlasting damnation because he had not been baptized.

“When my companion and I arrived on the scene and saw the awful grief that the mother of this little boy was suffering, we read to her from Moroni 8:8: ‘Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore, the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them; and the law of circumcision is done away in me.’ [Moro. 8:8]

“When she heard these words, she wept tears of relief, and peace came to comfort her grief.

Rex couldn’t tie his shoes by himself like Hector Pembroke next door or eat all his string beans or pronounce the name of the mailman—Mr. Stanislaus—or say short prayers. Rex thought all of Heavenly Father’s creatures needed to be blessed, and so he blessed all those he could think of—lions, tigers, bears, elephants, skunks, mice, dogs, and cats. Speaking of cats, what four-year-old Rex especially couldn’t do was run as fast as old Percival did every time Rex wanted to hug him!
But Rex didn’t mind all these things he couldn’t do, because sometimes he had a feeling that he could be anything or anybody, anywhere or anytime he wanted. Rex’s stuffed panda, Freddy, knew about his feeling, for Rex told him everything. What It was, Rex wasn’t sure. Did It have a name, he wondered. He couldn’t see It or touch It or smell It. He didn’t know if It was round or square or had any shape at all. It went to bed with him and Freddy and woke up with him in the morning. Rex was sure that something that special just had to have a name! He asked Freddy one night. But Freddy only stared, like he always did.
One day when Rex just couldn’t keep his thoughts to himself any longer, he talked to his mother and asked her if It had a name. Rex’s mother smiled. Then she put down her work and got a pencil and a big piece of paper and wrote down
I - M - A - G - I - N - A - T - I - O - N.
Rex could hardly believe his eyes! That was the biggest word he had ever seen. In fact, it looked and sounded big and strange enough to be a grown-up word. And what’s more, it looked harder to say than Mr. Stanislaus.
After his mother explained what the big word meant, Rex could hardly wait to use his i-m-a-g-i-n-a-t-i-o-n again. First, he imagined that he was Wonderman. He could save the whole world! And he would have if Mother hadn’t told him that the world would have to wait until after his nap to be saved. Rex yawned and nodded. After all, saving the world was no small undertaking, and even a super hero needed his rest.
After his nap Rex helped Dad pull weeds in the corn patch, but he was really Jungleman. The stalks of corn became an African forest. And it was Jungleman who bravely explored its dark depths, ready and alert for danger.
To Rex, an earthworm easily became a large and deadly snake and Percival became a ferocious lion. But even if Rex couldn’t catch Percival (the ferocious lion), he could chase him out of the garden (jungle), leaving his backyard (Africa) peaceful and safe once again.
Sometimes when Rex became tired of saving his friends in the jungle, he put on the green cape Mother made him and turned into Birdman. In less time than it took old Percival to roll over, Rex could make the change, then all at once the grass beneath his feet became the tops of trees far, far below as Birdman flew daringly among the pirate cloud ships that sailed wildly by in the ocean of a blue summer sky.
Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, Rex’s bath water became fierce ocean waves and Rex became the prophet Nephi, who could calm the savage sea.
There were times, though, when Rex put his i-m-a-g-i-n-a-t-i-o-n to rest—happy times when Dad would hold Rex on his lap and tell him about the sun and the moon and the little creatures. He also liked the times mother bandaged his knee if his green cape didn’t work very well and he fell down. Rex enjoyed the special times when he went with his parents to church and got to shake hands with Bishop Berry.
Rex felt important because he was important. His dad and mother often told him that he was the finest boy in the whole world. Then Rex would think, It’s just as much fun to be myself as it is to imagine I’m someone else.

Carole M. Stephens
(9) A young woman with bipolar disorder summons the strength to testify of the Savior and His Atonement.

Before starting a flight, the crew has to be extremely careful and precise in entering the geographic coordinates of the point of departure into their navigational system. This information has to be true and accurate because it will be the basis for all future references and decisions. In 1979 a flight started with wrong coordinates from New Zealand to the South Pole and crashed into Mount Erebus, killing all 257 passengers.

I once ordained a patriarch who was overcome with the responsibility. For months he could not get himself to give a blessing. Finally, he asked his stake president if he might write a paragraph as a model introduction to any patriarchal blessing. The stake president approved.
Later he told me this: “When the first young man came for a blessing, because I had memorized this prepared introduction, I felt comfortable. I laid my hands on his head, and I did not use one word of it. That day I learned whose blessings they are. They are not my blessings but are dictated by the Spirit.”

Five years ago, I started a journey towards finishing my post-graduate studies in agriculture, specialising in plant breeding. I was offered a bursary from a prominent research institute in South Africa. Despite the challenge of raising a family, I embraced this dream. From a young age I have always been drawn to outdoor activities that had to do with touching soil and planting greens. Growing up in Mozambique, I used to love working with my grandmother on her small plot on the outskirts of Beira where she planted, amongst other things, sweet potato and rice. I cherish those memories and hold them very close to my heart.
When I embarked on the journey to become a plant breeder, I was on track to finish my studies and graduate in the winter of 2020. I had endless dreams of how perfect life was going to be. Looking at the demand for such scarce skills in the industry in previous years, I was really excited for the new possibilities that were unfolding before me. I had been a freelance language and media consultant for most of my working career. I was looking forward to finally being able to work in research and applying the skills that I had been acquiring in my studies.
With the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, it became clear that although I had submitted my thesis at the end of 2019, I was not going to make it for the winter graduation as I had hoped. The most important thing for me was not the graduation ceremony, but to be able to complete the degree and to get a good job. I knew that it would take time to find the kind of job that I was looking for—I sent out one job application, then two—and eventually there were so many sent that I lost count.
This experience taught me some valuable lessons: some of our plans in life do not unfold exactly how we wish them to. Here, a year later, I am still searching for that dream job. This is not just for me, but my immediate family and society in general also have high expectations for someone with an academic degree like mine.
Upon meeting a friend, she asked how things were going in my life and if I had been able to find a job. I replied that I had not yet found one. We talked about several things. As I drove home, I was reflecting upon my lifestyle and my state of mind during the pandemic. I then realized how the hands of the Lord had blessed me. When thinking back I was able to pick up on the many skills that I had gained and the amount of time I had been able to spend with my family. There were simply too many small miracles to count. I had been able to afford my basic needs. I took my budget before COVID-19 and readjusted it. With more time on my hands, I was drawn to my passion of working the land. I planted a vegetable garden, the kids and I learned how to mow the lawn and to trim trees—the list is endless. Today our vegetable garden feeds us most of our greens, such as spinach, lettuce and rocket. We find meaningful time to play and work as a family. We enjoy to going on short night walks in our neighbourhood.
As I reflect upon my experiences in the past nine months—despite not having the things that I dreamed of—I have been generally content. I see more good around me than bad. I have gained a deeper understanding of trusting in the Lord’s timing. He knows what is best and has better plans for me and for my family. As I count my blessings, I have come to realise that the Lord is in control of many aspects of my life. He knows me individually and I matter to Him. He cares for our righteous desires. He wants us to trust Him and to be happy. I have come to know that with all my heart.

“He little intended his last joke with her to turn out as it did. By the way of amusement, he had been telling her before we came to the last canyon, Emigration, that her wagon was going to tip over, in fact, he knew it would. She said that if it did she would tell Brigham. And sure enough it did tip clear over and lifted on the bows. It was a very hard canyon for men to drive down. Riley was awfully surprised. He was only a boy and was terribly frightened. No one worked harder than he to get it righted. With the help of the men in the camp he got it up into the road which was very sideling [steep]. It looked pretty dilapidated with the bows all smashed down, but did very little damage to the contents and as it was our last day before entering the Valley, he managed very well. Riley never heard whether she told Brigham or not.”

As a youth he decided early on reading the scriptures. According to his sister Edith, he had read the Book of Mormon twice by the time he was ten.

“When I was a small boy, too young to hold the Aaronic Priesthood, my father placed a copy of the Book of Mormon in my hands with the request that I read it. I received this Nephite record with thanksgiving and applied myself to the task which had been assigned to me. There are certain passages that have been stamped upon my mind, and I have never forgotten them.”

Nikki SpainhowerNorth Ogden, Utah
At school I was so quiet and I had a hard time making conversation. So I prayed for the strength and courage to talk to people. In seminary I had an awesome teacher who helped me open up. I loved being able to share my thoughts and feelings. He also helped me realize that I am not alone. If I ever need help, or if I feel like I am alone, I pray. I know my Father in Heaven is always there and will always love me.

From the time Reid Newey of Roy, Utah, was six years old he had dreamed of playing basketball. He played in city leagues, in high school, in the ward. He watched games on television and attended games with his dad. Basketball was what he wanted to do with his life.
During his first year at Utah State University, Reid made the NCAA all-freshman team. He was making a real contribution. The following year he would have been a starter. But something else was affecting his life. “My freshman year was the first time I’d read the Book of Mormon all the way through,” said Reid. “And I really gained a great testimony of it then. I loved it. I’d rush home from practice just to read it because I loved it so much. From then on I had a different feeling. I went through a lot of prayer and fasting, and it was a personal revelation for me that I should go on a mission.”
Reid had a tremendous experience in the mission field that made everything worth it. “We met this man who was a retired colonel from the army. He was just a great man. He was baptized a week before I left. He drove me to the airport to go home, and we had the opportunity to walk around the Dallas Temple. As we stood there, he looked at me and said, ‘Thanks for coming, Elder Newey.’ I didn’t know exactly what he was talking about. But then he kind of grabbed me and said, ‘No, thanks for coming on your mission.’ That was the greatest experience of my life. It really touched me, and I can’t bear to think what it would be like if I hadn’t experienced that.”
Reid had one more piece of advice. “I’m a basketball player, but everybody has their own obstacles to going on a mission. Everybody has something to keep them from going. But I know there isn’t anything worth staying home for. My advice would be to get your life in order and go, no matter what it takes.”

During a March visit to Mexico, Elder Gerrit W. Gong met with Adán Augusto López, Mexico’s interior minister. López is the second-highest-ranking official in the Mexican government. In a meeting at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Interior, Elder Gong spoke about the efforts the Church makes to build up families in Mexico. “By doing so, we are contributing to the strengthening of society,” he said.

When our son Marco was three years old, he and I suffered a serious bout of food poisoning. Marco became so sick that he fell unconscious. My wife, Marianela, and I rushed him to the hospital. By the time we arrived, he looked like he was dead. Finally, after about four hours, he regained consciousness.
From then on, Marco suffered seizures off and on for the next five years. When we took him to bed each evening, we wondered if in the middle of the night, we would again have to rush him to the hospital. We had a difficult time sleeping during those stressful years, and we relied on prayer, faith, fasting, and priesthood blessings.
When Marco was about six, Marianela called me at work and told me to hurry to the hospital. Marco had suffered a serious seizure and was in a coma. When she called, I was working on the renovation of the Argentina Missionary Training Center, located adjacent to the Buenos Aires Argentina Temple.
Before I left for the hospital, a friend and fellow worker said, “Since we’re so close to the house of the Lord, why don’t we pray together first?” The temple was closed for renovation and expansion, but we approached the Lord’s house, where I prayed for Marco.
Despite everything we had gone through with Marco, I felt gratitude to God for the time Marianela and I had been able to share with him. As I prayed, I told Heavenly Father that we had tried to be good parents and had taken care of Marco the best we could. I also told Him that we would accept His will if He called Marco home.
When I arrived at the hospital, I didn’t know if Marco would survive the coma or, if he came out of it, whether he would be able to walk or talk again. After a grueling two hours, he awoke. He was exhausted, but he was all right. From then on, miraculously, he improved. Eventually, Marco was weaned off his medication and released for good from the hospital.
Marianela and I look back on that difficult time grateful that we still have Marco and grateful for the things we learned. Our trial united us and made us stronger spiritually. Without it, we might not have learned to recognize the many ways the Lord shows His hand in our lives.
As Marianela says, “We saw a mountain of evidence and experiences that have given us a testimony of the presence of God, that He is with us and that He listens to us. If we endure and have patience, blessings can come when we least expect them.”

A year ago Kim had the opportunity to attend general conference in Salt Lake City with her parents and some other members of her family. Her father is the second counselor in the Kaikohe New Zealand Stake presidency, and her mother is the stake Relief Society president. Like Logan, Kim is learning firsthand how to give love and service to others.
New Zealanders speak English, but while in America, Kim quickly learned that the same words don’t always mean the same things. For example, a cookie is called a “biscuit” in New Zealand, and a piece of candy is called a “lolly.” When Kim makes “a try” in rugby, she is making a goal. And “tea” is the evening meal.
Kim thought that Utah was pretty, but she prefers the lush, green hills of her own country to the deserty mountains of Utah.

What can you tell us about the “Press Forward” song?
I love it! When I first heard it, I got the chills. It was so cool, and I was so excited when I found out I was going to be able to sing it. I just loved it and how it applied to my life. I heard it right at a time where I needed it. I was doing what I was supposed to, but sometimes I didn’t see the positive results from it that I expected. The song reminded me to keep pressing forward, keep doing what I was supposed to be doing, because it will be worth it in the end.

Zulma sat on one of the church benches and smoothed the skirt of her school uniform. Colored light shone through the stained-glass windows, and a cross stood at the front of the chapel. Zulma went to a church school, so she went to worship services twice a day with the other students. Zulma liked her church. She loved Jesus and loved to learn about Him.
She sat quietly as the priest began to talk. But today something felt different. Suddenly a new thought came into her mind and heart: There is more truth out there.
Zulma scrunched her eyebrows. More truth? What did that mean?
The thought came again. There is more truth.
Zulma closed her eyes and focused on what she was feeling. She had learned lots of good things at church. But now she wondered if something was missing. Maybe there was more that God wanted her to know. But how could she find it?
Later she talked to her older brother, Alberto, about her thoughts.
“You think there’s more truth out there?” Alberto asked.
Zulma nodded. “I want to learn about other churches,” she said.
“OK,” Alberto replied. “I’ll go with you!”
For several years, Zulma and Alberto visited different churches. After one church service, Alberto said, “That church taught good things.”
Zulma agreed, but they still felt like something was missing, so they kept searching.
One day Alberto raced up the steps to their house. “I found the church we’re looking for!” Alberto said. He gave Zulma a big hug.
Zulma’s eyes got wide. “Where? How?”
“My friend met some missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” Alberto said. “I listened to them, and I believe what they taught!”
Zulma and Alberto were so happy that they danced all around the house. But then Zulma got some bad news. Mamá didn’t want her to meet with the missionaries. “You’re only 12,” Mamá said. “You’re too young.”
Since Alberto was older, he was allowed to keep meeting with the missionaries. A few weeks later, he was baptized.
Zulma kept asking Mamá again and again if she could learn from the missionaries. Finally, Mamá said yes.
When the missionaries taught Zulma, she felt warm in her heart. One of the missionaries had a hard time speaking Spanish, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was how good Zulma felt. When she learned about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, she knew she had found the truth she was looking for!
Zulma wanted to be baptized. But what would Mamá say? Zulma was so happy when Mamá said yes!
On the day of her baptism, Zulma dressed all in white. She knew God loved her. She knew He knew her. And she knew that He had helped her find His restored Church!
Here is Zulma as a young girl in Uruguay. On the right is a photo of her today with her husband, Elder Walter F. González of the Seventy.

A commercial airplane plunged into the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., earlier this year, and an unidentified passenger gave his life for his “unknown friends.” Bystanders watched in amazement as he caught the life preserver lowered from the helicopter to rescue those in the water. Rather than save himself, he passed the life preserver over to another person; the helicopter returned and he again passed the life preserver to another. “Why doesn’t he hold on and save himself?” someone shouted. After others near him were saved, people on the shore watched in anguish as he slowly sank and disappeared into the frozen waters.

The seeds for this remarkable growth were planted by LDS servicemen. During the Spanish-American War in 1898, servicemen Willard Call and George Seaman from Utah were set apart as missionaries but had no convert baptisms. Half a century later, during World War II, several LDS servicemen moved through the islands with advancing Allied forces. In 1944 and 1945, servicemen’s groups held Church meetings in many locations, and numerous LDS servicemen were still in the Philippines when the war ended. The Korean War again drew Latter-day Saint military personnel to the Philippines.
Over the years, Clark Air Force Base, near Manila, was home to hundreds of Church members, and it was there that President Joseph Fielding Smith dedicated the Philippines for the preaching of the gospel on 21 August 1955.

It was my turn to stop someone and talk about the Church. I had been in Germany only two days, and I was terrified of the people and of my calling as a missionary.
I anxiously searched the street for someone I thought might react positively. I wondered how I was ever going to do this for the next eighteen months.
I didn’t want my companion to know how scared I was, so I held my breath and walked up to a woman in her early forties. But instead of asking her the questions I had intended to, I turned from her and ran. The fear of rejection was more than I could handle—I had to escape.
When I was finally able to collect my thoughts, embarrassment swelled inside of me. I desperately wanted to hide. My fear had been exposed, and it was preventing me from being a good missionary.
Unfortunately, as the days went by, my weakness did not subside, and I began to worry that I would never be a happy, brave, and successful missionary. My weakness became the main topic of all my private prayers.
Nothing seemed to help until I had been in the mission field for about two weeks. It was a chilly spring morning, and my companion was making breakfast. I was sitting on the floor, looking up scriptures on missionary work and reading them out loud.
“Doctrine and Covenants 84:88,” I said. [D&C 84:88] “And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also.” My voice broke. My mind raced as I realized that, as a missionary, I had divine support.
I started again, “And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.”
I had no reason to be afraid of teaching people the gospel. Heavenly Father was on my right hand and on my left, and his angels were around me to make me strong. From that morning on, whenever a wave of fear came over me, I just imagined those angels all around my investigator, my companion, and me. There was no way I could lose with that kind of support.

May I share with you this afternoon an experience that happened to a young couple who were members of the Church in Japan. They wished to be married, and as is the custom in Japan, they sought permission from their nonmember parents for the marriage to be performed. The boy’s parents refused to give permission. With concern and disappointment, the young couple prayerfully sought ways to fill their lives with meaningful Church activities and trusted that permission would be forthcoming later.
At this time Church members were planning a trip to the Hawaii Temple, and much emphasis was made and was being placed on the importance of genealogical research. So the couple joined with others in seeking out their ancestors and in planning to have the temple work done for them. The girl searched diligently through shrines, cemeteries, and government record offices, and was able to gather seventy-seven names. The boy’s uncle, who was a respected and influential member of the family, heard of this and was deeply impressed with and interested in her work. He noted the intense devotion of the girl to honoring her ancestors and suggested that such a young lady would be a good wife for his nephew. Permission was granted for the young people to be married, and the marriage was performed. Later they were sealed in the Hawaii Temple.
It is a Japanese tradition that families gather together for special holidays in January and August. As this young couple joined their family members on these special occasions, they displayed their book of remembrance, and much interest was generated in their work and in the reasons for it. They discussed with those relatives assembled their ancestral lines and the importance of completing the genealogical research. It was difficult for their nonmember families to understand the reasons for a Christian church teaching principles such as “ancestral worship,” for this was a Buddhist teaching and tradition.

One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey. The Viking Press, 1952. The loss of Sal’s first tooth reminds her that she is growing up.