Recently, I spoke with Merrie Miss girls about kind people in their lives.
Kate and Laura were best friends. The two of them also included others in their circle of friends. This group of girls planned a party, inviting all in the group except Kate. Laura, after becoming aware of what had happened, simply told the others that she would not be able to accept their invitation unless Kate was included. The kind, loyal act of a friend who followed God’s plan prevented pain and sorrow.
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Kindness—A Part of God’s Plan
A group of girls planned a party and excluded Kate, even though she and Laura were best friends. When Laura learned of the exclusion, she told the others she would not attend unless Kate was invited. Her kind loyalty prevented hurt feelings.
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👤 Children
👤 Friends
Charity
Children
Friendship
Kindness
Feedback
A woman who had stopped subscribing to the magazine after thinking she had outgrown it sees her roommate’s copy. She picks up the September 1998 issue because an article title catches her eye. After reading it, she realizes it describes her feelings and reminds her to keep a spiritual charge.
I would like to tell you how much I appreciate this magazine. I had a subscription to it as a teenager, but I thought I had outgrown it so I no longer subscribed. But my roommate does, and I picked up the September 1998 issue because the article “Out of Power” caught my eye. After reading the article, I realized this is exactly how I feel and have felt at different times in my life. We all need to remember to keep the spiritual charge to be a whole person. Thank you for all you do.
Shannon MastenDeWitt, Michigan
Shannon MastenDeWitt, Michigan
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👤 Young Adults
👤 Friends
Faith
Gratitude
Faithful Laborers
Sister Katie Eliza Hale Merrill, serving in Samoa with her husband, became ill and delivered a premature baby who died the next day. She then peacefully passed away after farewells, and mother and child were buried together. After finishing his mission, Brother Merrill returned their remains to Utah for burial.
In the early days of the Church it was common for young married couples to be called on missions and some of these young couples were called to Samoa. The first person to be buried in that plot was Sister Katie Eliza Hale Merrill. She and her husband had only been on a mission for three months when she took sick and gave birth to a premature child. The child died the next day. The history says the following: “An hour after the death of the child, the mother called Sister Lee (wife of the mission president) to her bedside and, after thanking her for waiting on her during the sickness, said that she was ‘going to die’ that she ‘could not stay because they had come for her.’ She then talked with her husband, kissed him goodbye, and all was over. The mother and baby boy were buried in one coffin.” After his mission, Brother Merrill took the remains of his wife and infant son back to Utah for burial.
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👤 Missionaries
👤 Parents
👤 Children
Adversity
Death
Family
Grief
Health
Missionary Work
Sacrifice
Elder Juan A. Uceda
As they courted in Peru, Maria Isabel's commitment to temple marriage influenced Elder Uceda. They undertook a seven-day journey using many forms of transportation to reach the São Paulo Brazil Temple. Upon arrival, they touched the temple walls to ensure it was real and were later married there in 1979.
When Elder Juan Alberto Uceda Andrade began courting Maria Isabel Bendezú—the woman he would eventually marry—he knew she was someone special. Both had converted to the Church as youth, and both had served missions in their native country, Peru.
Sister Uceda’s conviction to marry in the temple had a great influence upon him. The nearest temple was in São Paulo, Brazil. “It took seven days just to get there, using every means of transportation available,” Elder Uceda explains. “We traveled by bus, car, boat, horse and carriage, train, truck, and even plane. When we reached the temple, we reached out our hands to touch the walls just to make sure it was not a dream. It was a foundational experience for both of us.”
The couple were married in the São Paulo Brazil Temple on April 13, 1979. They are the parents of five children.
Sister Uceda’s conviction to marry in the temple had a great influence upon him. The nearest temple was in São Paulo, Brazil. “It took seven days just to get there, using every means of transportation available,” Elder Uceda explains. “We traveled by bus, car, boat, horse and carriage, train, truck, and even plane. When we reached the temple, we reached out our hands to touch the walls just to make sure it was not a dream. It was a foundational experience for both of us.”
The couple were married in the São Paulo Brazil Temple on April 13, 1979. They are the parents of five children.
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
👤 Church Members (General)
Conversion
Dating and Courtship
Faith
Family
Marriage
Missionary Work
Sealing
Temples
A Prophet’s Life:
On the hundredth anniversary of Joseph Smith’s birth, President Joseph F. Smith dedicated memorials at the Prophet’s birthplace. He dedicated a memorial cottage used as a visitors’ center and a granite obelisk measuring one foot for each year of the Prophet’s life.
On the centennial anniversary of the Prophet’s birth, President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) dedicated the memorial cottage (left inset), which was used as a visitors’ center, and a granite obelisk (background). The obelisk is 38 1/2 feet high (11.7 m)—one foot for each year of the Prophet’s life.
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
Apostle
Joseph Smith
Plant Prospecting
Danish botanist Soren Odum collected soil from a 1,700-year-old archaeological site in Jutland. Using careful procedures, he germinated four ancient seeds and also grew plants from many 600-year-old seeds obtained elsewhere.
This is just one example of the amazing ability of seeds to germinate after long periods of dormancy. There are others, of course. Perhaps one of the most remarkable examples was the study conducted by a Danish botanist, Soren Odum, who took soil samples out of the remains of an archeological site in northwestern Jutland dating from at least 1,700 years ago. With careful procedures he was able to germinate four seeds that produced weeds common to that period of time. He also grew plants from many 600-year-old seeds obtained from other archeological excavations.
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👤 Other
Creation
Education
Religion and Science
Conference Story Index
During World War II, a marine gives his wounded companion a blessing. The act reflects faith under extreme circumstances.
President Thomas S. Monson
(66) A marine gives his wounded companion a blessing in World War II.
(66) A marine gives his wounded companion a blessing in World War II.
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👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Other
Faith
Priesthood Blessing
Service
War
How I and My Family Embraced the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ
She introduced the gospel to her father, an elder in another church who had been denied baptism. He learned, was baptized, felt better despite prior illness, remained faithful despite family opposition, received a blessing from a mission president, and donated his house for a new branch before his death; the Church later provided his burial.
Introducing the gospel to my father was important to me. He attended another church and was an elder in that church but had been denied baptism because he was married three times. My mother was the first wife. He visited us and I told him about the missionaries. He did not think there could be truth anywhere else but in his Methodist church. As he learned more about the Church, he decided to be baptized. He had been sick off and on for a while. After he was baptized, he felt better and went home.
My hope was that he would stay strong in the Church. Every Sunday he would sit with the Book of Mormon and sing hymns. He especially liked hymns 44 and 45— “Beautiful Zion, Built Above” and “Lead Me into Life Eternal.” Some of his family members deserted him because of the truth that he embraced. They said that I took him from the family church. He told them that God brought the Church to him for his sake. He was given a blessing by President Albert Mutariswa, of the Nigeria Enugu Mission.
A branch was established in Ojantell and my father gave his own house to be used for the Church and there were many baptisms because of that. Before his death, he said that the Church would have access to his house for meetings until they no longer needed it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave him a befitting burial. I plan to go to the temple and do the baptism for my mom and seal them together with his children.
My hope was that he would stay strong in the Church. Every Sunday he would sit with the Book of Mormon and sing hymns. He especially liked hymns 44 and 45— “Beautiful Zion, Built Above” and “Lead Me into Life Eternal.” Some of his family members deserted him because of the truth that he embraced. They said that I took him from the family church. He told them that God brought the Church to him for his sake. He was given a blessing by President Albert Mutariswa, of the Nigeria Enugu Mission.
A branch was established in Ojantell and my father gave his own house to be used for the Church and there were many baptisms because of that. Before his death, he said that the Church would have access to his house for meetings until they no longer needed it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gave him a befitting burial. I plan to go to the temple and do the baptism for my mom and seal them together with his children.
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👤 Parents
👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
Adversity
Baptism
Baptisms for the Dead
Book of Mormon
Consecration
Conversion
Death
Family
Miracles
Missionary Work
Music
Priesthood Blessing
Sealing
Temples
Testimony
The Lord’s People Receive Revelation
As a mission president in Australia, he led missionaries to the top of Mt. Wellington for a meeting and visited a television broadcasting station. A young technician explained how broadcasts work, which they later experienced firsthand that night in Hobart by watching TV. The experience illustrates that spiritual truths must be personally received, not merely described.
When I was a mission president in Australia, I once said to those of my missionaries in Tasmania: “Tomorrow we shall climb Mt. Wellington and hold our missionary meeting on the top. We shall there seek to commune with the Lord and partake of his Spirit.”
We made the climb, and while on top of the peak we visited a television broadcasting station. A bright young man explained to us in words I had never heard, and using principles I could not and do not understand, how the sounds and scenes of television were broadcast into the valley below.
That night, back in the city of Hobart, my two young sons and I sat before a television set that was tuned to the proper wave band, and we saw and heard and experienced what had been described to us in words.
We made the climb, and while on top of the peak we visited a television broadcasting station. A bright young man explained to us in words I had never heard, and using principles I could not and do not understand, how the sounds and scenes of television were broadcast into the valley below.
That night, back in the city of Hobart, my two young sons and I sat before a television set that was tuned to the proper wave band, and we saw and heard and experienced what had been described to us in words.
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👤 Missionaries
👤 Children
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
👤 Other
Faith
Family
Holy Ghost
Missionary Work
Movies and Television
Go to the Mission Home!
After returning home to Ghana from his mission, the narrator felt a strong impression to go to the Cape Coast mission home without knowing why. The mission president revealed he had prayed for help communicating with a newly arrived French-speaking missionary from Ivory Coast, and the narrator translated for him. Months later, the narrator shared the experience with his mission president, who taught that the Lord uses us as instruments in His work.
The morning after I returned home to Ghana from my mission in the Ivory Coast, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. My appointment with the stake president to have him release me was not until the afternoon, so I decided to sleep in. While I was falling asleep, an impression flashed through my mind: “Go to the Cape Coast mission home.” I knew the Ghana Cape Coast Mission home, but I had no idea why I needed to go there that morning.
After having these thoughts, I began to feel anxious about the impression, so I headed to the mission home. On my way I worried about what I would say to the mission president. I knew he would ask me the purpose of my visit, so I tried to prepare a suitable answer.
When I arrived, I still did not know the answer. The mission president, Melvin B. Sabey, invited me into his office, thinking that I came there for him to release me. After asking a few questions, President Sabey told me to go to my stake president to be released.
“I know that, President,” I replied.
He paused for some seconds and then asked me the very question I had been striving to answer: “Why are you here this morning, Elder Mobio?”
“President Sabey, I don’t have a suitable answer to that question,” I said. “It’s just that this morning I had a strong impression to come here.”
He paused again for a moment and told me softly, “Elder Mobio, your presence here is the assistance I prayed for yesterday.” He explained that his assistants had just arrived with new missionaries. Among them was an Ivorian, the first French-speaking missionary he had ever received, and he didn’t know how he was going to communicate with him. Then he declared, “I am certain Heavenly Father heard my concern yesterday night.”
I had finally learned the reason for my morning impression. We immediately joined the new missionaries, and I interpreted for the Ivorian elder as he started his mission.
Seven months later I traveled back to the Ivory Coast to renew my passport and to share that wonderful experience with my mission president. He told me, “We are instruments in the Lord’s hands. He knows how and when to use us in His work.”
After having these thoughts, I began to feel anxious about the impression, so I headed to the mission home. On my way I worried about what I would say to the mission president. I knew he would ask me the purpose of my visit, so I tried to prepare a suitable answer.
When I arrived, I still did not know the answer. The mission president, Melvin B. Sabey, invited me into his office, thinking that I came there for him to release me. After asking a few questions, President Sabey told me to go to my stake president to be released.
“I know that, President,” I replied.
He paused for some seconds and then asked me the very question I had been striving to answer: “Why are you here this morning, Elder Mobio?”
“President Sabey, I don’t have a suitable answer to that question,” I said. “It’s just that this morning I had a strong impression to come here.”
He paused again for a moment and told me softly, “Elder Mobio, your presence here is the assistance I prayed for yesterday.” He explained that his assistants had just arrived with new missionaries. Among them was an Ivorian, the first French-speaking missionary he had ever received, and he didn’t know how he was going to communicate with him. Then he declared, “I am certain Heavenly Father heard my concern yesterday night.”
I had finally learned the reason for my morning impression. We immediately joined the new missionaries, and I interpreted for the Ivorian elder as he started his mission.
Seven months later I traveled back to the Ivory Coast to renew my passport and to share that wonderful experience with my mission president. He told me, “We are instruments in the Lord’s hands. He knows how and when to use us in His work.”
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👤 Missionaries
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
Diversity and Unity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Holy Ghost
Missionary Work
Obedience
Prayer
Revelation
Service
Christopher Finds a Treasure
Grandmother Jo describes Great-Great-Grandmother Alice, who drove a horse and cart and won every race, even against tough boys who challenged her. Alice practiced diligently and cared for her horse with kindness, which led to consistent victories.
Her face beamed and she chuckled as she showed Christopher a picture of a big white horse harnessed to a cart. In the driver’s seat sat a girl dressed in old-fashioned clothes. “This is your Great-Great-Grandmother Alice, who won every race she entered with this horse and cart! The roughest, toughest boys were always challenging Grandmother Alice to a race, but she was the winner every time!” Grandmother Jo said. “She practiced hard, loved her horse, and treated it with kindness. She was so careful about its feeding, watering, and brushing that it would do anything for her.”
Christopher smiled as he imagined riding along with his Great-Great-Grandmother Alice as she won a race.
Christopher smiled as he imagined riding along with his Great-Great-Grandmother Alice as she won a race.
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👤 Other
Courage
Family
Family History
Kindness
Stewardship
No Big Deal?
Recalling Arthur Miller's play All My Sons, the speaker shares a moment where a son learns his father compromised ethics. The father minimizes his fault, but the son laments that he expected his father to be better.
I remembered a conversation between a father and son in Arthur Miller’s play AllMy Sons. The son discovers that his father has compromised ethical principles in business. Knowing that losing his son’s esteem is one of the greatest losses he could have, the father says, in effect, “Son, I know; I’m sorry. But really, I’m no worse than anyone else.”
The son replies, “Dad, I know; but I thought you were better.”
The son replies, “Dad, I know; but I thought you were better.”
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👤 Parents
👤 Youth
Agency and Accountability
Employment
Family
Honesty
Sin
Repentance unto Conversion
As a child, the author was taken by her oldest sister to a Christian church, where she received a picture of Jesus and a small New Testament. Although she enjoyed Old Testament picture books later, she did not understand God or Jesus at the time. These early experiences planted seeds she did not yet recognize.
When I was young, my oldest sister took me to a Christian church. I was given a picture of Jesus Christ, and a hand-sized copy of the New Testament, which I still possess. I cannot attest to knowing God or believing in Jesus Christ in those early years. I didn’t understand who They were and why They were important. As an older child, I loved reading Old Testament stories from a set of picture books my father had bought. But the main characters in these stories, God and Jesus Christ, weren’t in my mind.
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👤 Children
👤 Other
Bible
Children
Jesus Christ
Following Jesus Together
Ashlyn describes being treated unkindly by a friend. She chose to forgive and felt peace, knowing Jesus was pleased with her decision.
Ashlyn M., age 9, Indiana, USA
I forgave my friend for being mean to me and felt peace. I knew Jesus was pleased with my choice.
I forgave my friend for being mean to me and felt peace. I knew Jesus was pleased with my choice.
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👤 Children
👤 Friends
👤 Jesus Christ
Children
Faith
Forgiveness
Friendship
Jesus Christ
Peace
We Are!
Thirteen-year-old Maxwell from the Spanish-speaking branch serves as the deacons quorum president in the ward. He meets with leaders to track quorum members, plan activities, and ensure deacons are ready to pass the sacrament. On a recent fast Sunday, he helped collect fast offerings and visited an about-to-turn-12 youth who would soon join the quorum.
Maxwell Guerra, 13, is another example. He’s a member of the branch but serves as the deacons quorum president of the ward. On any given Sunday, he’s meeting with the presidency and the quorum adviser to keep track of the quorum members, plan activities, and make sure all the deacons needed will be there to pass the sacrament. After church on a recent fast Sunday, he helped another deacon collect fast offerings and then visited Alma Parraga, who is about to turn 12 and will soon be joining the quorum.
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👤 Youth
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
Fasting and Fast Offerings
Ministering
Priesthood
Sacrament
Young Men
The Rock of Our Redeemer
In 1946, President Spencer W. Kimball visited Hawaii after a devastating tidal wave. He recounted how one family ran up a hill and watched their home be destroyed, narrowly escaping death. He likened the physical waves to spiritual forces and urged fleeing to higher, safer ground spiritually.
In a general conference address, President Spencer W. Kimball told of his visit to the big island of Hawaii in 1946, shortly after a huge tidal wave struck its coast. More than a hundred people had lost their lives, and thousands had been left homeless. He related how one family narrowly escaped death by running up a hill and watching as their home below disappeared under the pounding waves.
“We, too,” President Kimball said, “are faced with powerful destructive forces unleashed by the adversary. Waves of sin, wickedness, immorality, degradation, tyranny, deceitfulness, conspiracy, and dishonesty threaten all of us. They come with great power and speed and will destroy us if we are not watchful.
“But a warning is sounded for us. … We must flee to high ground or cling fast to that which can keep us from being swept away” (Ensign, November 1978, 6).
“We, too,” President Kimball said, “are faced with powerful destructive forces unleashed by the adversary. Waves of sin, wickedness, immorality, degradation, tyranny, deceitfulness, conspiracy, and dishonesty threaten all of us. They come with great power and speed and will destroy us if we are not watchful.
“But a warning is sounded for us. … We must flee to high ground or cling fast to that which can keep us from being swept away” (Ensign, November 1978, 6).
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
👤 Other
Adversity
Apostle
Faith
Sin
Temptation
Walking by Faith in the Philippines
Abigail wrote to a popular talk show expressing offense at the hosts’ use of the Lord’s name in vain, explaining her family’s and Church’s respect for God’s name. To her surprise, the show read her letter on air. She noticed that for the rest of the program the hosts did not take the Lord’s name in vain, and she felt her action made a difference.
Abigail Moreno of the Burnham Second Ward, Baguio Philippines Stake, tells of an opportunity she had to stand up for what is right. A popular talk show in the Philippines has a regular segment called “By Heart” during which the hosts read letters from viewers. The letters are supposed to include seven “thank-yous.” Abigail wrote a letter, but she didn’t think the hosts would read it on the show because the first sentence of her letter read, “I like your show, but I’m offended.” She explained that the hosts’ frequent use of the Lord’s name as profanity offended her. She wrote that her family and her church believe in respecting the name of Heavenly Father.
One day she and her husband, Bobby, were watching another channel, and she realized the talk show was on. She changed channels and heard her letter being read. She missed the first part—they were already reading her sixth “thank-you”—but she noticed that throughout the remainder of the show, the hosts did not use the Lord’s name in vain. She felt she had made a difference by writing the letter.
One day she and her husband, Bobby, were watching another channel, and she realized the talk show was on. She changed channels and heard her letter being read. She missed the first part—they were already reading her sixth “thank-you”—but she noticed that throughout the remainder of the show, the hosts did not use the Lord’s name in vain. She felt she had made a difference by writing the letter.
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👤 Parents
👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Other
Commandments
Courage
Movies and Television
Reverence
Book Reviews 1985
Corrie ten Boom’s aid to others leads to imprisonment in concentration camps, where she also witnesses her sister’s death. She finds the peace of Jesus Christ as she learns to love her enemies.
Watchmaker’s Daughter For running an underground railroad, Corrie ten Boom suffered in concentration camps and watched her sister die in one. But she gained the peace of Jesus Christ as she learned and put into practice His teaching to love your enemy.Jean Watson11 years and up
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👤 Jesus Christ
👤 Other
Adversity
Courage
Death
Faith
Forgiveness
Jesus Christ
Love
Peace
Racial and Cultural Prejudice
Service
War
Love, Laughter, and Spirituality in Marriage
The author’s aunt and uncle lived on a ranch without running water. One rainy night, the drenched uncle was asked to fetch water; he poured it on his wife so she’d be wet and cold too, then asked her to get it, turning the moment into a family joke that the author now echoes in her home.
There are some family crises that can become laughable lessons. My aunt and uncle, both fond of practical jokes played on themselves and others, lived on a ranch without running water. One cold, rainy evening, my uncle came in drenched to see his wife sitting comfortably by the fireplace. She said, “Dear, since you’re already wet and cold, will you bring in a bucket of water?” He went out and returned with the water, dumped it on her, and said “Now you’re wet and cold. Could you go get the water?” They laughed as they retold the story, and the incident became a family joke. So now when we really shouldn’t ask a favor, or when we realize we are imposing, we start the request with, “Since you’re already wet and cold … ,” and the job usually gets done with a smile.
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👤 Other
Family
Happiness
Kindness
Love
Elder Terence M. Vinson
While walking with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Elder Terence M. Vinson felt Elder Holland put his arm around him and express love. Elder Vinson reflected that walking physically with the Savior would feel similar, with the Savior's arm over one's shoulder. The moment illustrated to him how the Savior's love can be experienced through others' Christlike actions.
Once, while Elder Vinson was walking with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Elder Holland draped his arm around Elder Vinson’s shoulder and told him he loved him. Elder Vinson said, “I believe that if we could have the privilege of walking physically with the Savior, that we would feel His arm draped over our shoulder just like that.”
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
Apostle
Charity
Friendship
Jesus Christ
Love