Gospel Story Finder

“Who discovered America?” the teacher asked. “Columbus,” answered all the students but one. He answered, “I did.” The children laughed. Nevertheless, a point worth noting had been raised. The one had, in truth, discovered all he knew about America:

After Paulo came up out of the water, he and Dad got dressed in dry clothes. Then Dad and Grandpa and the bishop laid their hands on his head and confirmed him. Now he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“I feel so great,” Paulo said. He touched his heart. “In here.”
Mom hugged him tight. “That’s because you received the gift of the Holy Ghost when you were confirmed.”
Paulo nodded. He didn’t want to do anything to make that great feeling go away.
But the very next day, his little brother Carlo broke Paulo’s toy plane. Paulo had saved up for a whole month to buy it!
“Look what you did!” Paulo yelled. “Why can’t you leave my stuff alone?”
“I’m sorry,” Carlo said. Tears rolled down his cheeks. “Maybe we can fix it.”
“It won’t be the same!”
Carlo ran out of the room crying.
Paulo felt awful inside. He knew Jesus wouldn’t have yelled or gotten angry. Would he ever feel the way he did after his baptism again?
“I promised I would try to be like Jesus,” he told Mom, his voice shaking. “But I’ve already messed up.”
“You did something wrong,” Mom said gently. “But Jesus also gave us a way to have the Holy Ghost with us again after we mess up.”
Paulo knew what she was going to say. “I know. Repentance. I have to ask for forgiveness.”
Mom nodded. “Then when you take the sacrament, you’ll renew the promise you made to follow Jesus. And you’ll be just as clean as you were right after you were baptized and confirmed.”
Paulo went to find Carlo. “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” he said. “Let’s fix the plane together.”
Carlo smiled, and Paulo felt like he had done what Jesus would do. When he said his prayer that night, he asked Heavenly Father to forgive him and to help him be nicer to Carlo. A quiet peace settled in his heart.
That Sunday at church, Paulo paid extra attention to the sacrament prayers. He listened carefully to the words. As he took the bread and water, he felt Heavenly Father’s love for him. Mom was right. That great feeling was back!

“But, Mom,” Kendyl cried, “I have to go to Achievement Day. Sister Reed wants all of the girls there. She takes pictures of us at our activities to put in our scrapbooks, and I don’t want to be left out.”
“I know it’s important to go to Achievement Day, honey, but we have such a long drive ahead of us to Grandma’s! I don’t want to get a late start.”
“Can I at least go for an hour? Marie and I already planned to ride our bikes together.”
Kendyl’s mom looked down at the pleading expression on her daughter’s face and sighed. Even if it meant a delay, she was pleased that Kendyl didn’t want to miss the Achievement Day activities. “OK, honey, you can go for the whole time, but why don’t you and Marie walk so that we can pick you up from Sister Reed’s house on our way out of town.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Kendyl called over her shoulder as she ran to finish packing.
“Dad, is this the longest road in the world?” Kendyl’s six-year-old brother, Weston, asked.
“No, Son. It just seems that way because it’s flat and straight.”
This was a trip the family made at least once a year, and Kendyl had remembered how long and boring it was. Her backpack was full of things to keep her occupied—books, colored pencils, a drawing pad, and some braided cord for a key chain she was making as a gift for Grandma.
Weston was busy playing with action figures, making all sorts of growling and fighting noises. A few of the figures were missing arms or legs, but he didn’t care. He didn’t go anywhere without his Galactic Gorillas.
The family had long ago finished the sandwiches Mom had packed, and Kendyl’s stomach was starting to growl. The chips were gone, too, thanks to Weston the “chip monster.” “How much longer, Dad?” She didn’t want to sound like her little brother, but this trip seemed longer than any of the others. Wasn’t there supposed to be a town soon?
“Oh, we still have a few more hours. Try to get some sleep. That will make the trip go faster.”
She didn’t like sleeping in the car. Her neck always hurt on one side when she woke up. It was getting too dark to do anything else, though, so she rested her head against the back of her seat and shut her eyes.
A sudden drop in the car speed threw Kendyl forward against her seat belt, jolting her wide awake. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“It’s OK, honey,” Dad said. “The engine cut out a moment, that’s all.”
“Are we there yet?” Weston sat up, stretching.
“Not yet, Sport. I think the car’s getting as tired of this trip as we are, that’s all.”
Kendyl and Weston sat back. The only light outside came from the stars spread across the velvet black sky, and the two bright funnels from the headlights. Suddenly Kendyl felt very small and a little scared, so she shut her eyes to say a little prayer. Just as she started her prayer, the engine cut out again. Dad steered the car over to the side of the road as it slowed to a halt.
“What’s going on?” Mom asked.
“I’ll get out and take a look. Thank goodness the lights still work.” Dad got out of the car and checked under the hood. “I don’t know what it could be,” he said, climbing back inside. “Everything seems to check out. Maybe we just need to let the engine rest for a minute.”
Kendyl’s throat tightened. She didn’t want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere.
“I’m hungry,” Weston said with a whine in his voice. “I want to go to Grandma’s.” The whine changed quickly into sobs. Hearing her brother cry made Kendyl’s own eyes water.
“Sweetie,” Mom said, “everything’s going to be fine.”
“But I’m hungry and cold.”
Kendyl’s stomach wasn’t only hungry—it was tied in knots.
Half an hour went by. Dad tried to start the car again. No luck. The more he tried, the more tired the battery started to sound.
“Mommy,” Weston said, “I’m really hungry, and it’s really cold.”
Then Kendyl remembered. “Mom, guess what?”
“What, honey?”
“I put our old camping blanket in the trunk.”
“You did?” Dad asked, his voice sounding happier.
“Sister Reed told us to at our last Achievement Day. And today she helped us make emergency kits. Mine is in the trunk.”
“Is there food in it?” Weston asked.
“A little bit. Peanut-butter sandwich crackers and fruit snacks.”
“Yes! Hurray for Achievement Day!” Weston shouted.
“Hurray for Sister Reed,” Dad added.
“Hurray for Kendyl,” Mom said.
Within minutes, they had the blanket, some jackets, extra clothes to keep them warm, and the canvas tote bag containing Kendyl’s emergency kit.
“Look—a candle and matches,” Dad said. He struck a match and touched it to the wick. The tiny flame bathed the inside of the car with its glow. Kendyl felt a lot better now that there was light.
“Bandages and a bottle of water,” Mom said, going through the rest of the bag. “And toilet paper, and wet wipes—and here’s the food.” She handed a fruit snack to everyone, and they shared a four-pack of crackers with peanut butter.
“This is the best food I’ve ever eaten in my whole life,” Weston said. “Mom, will you buy this kind of crackers when we get home?”
“Of course, Son,” Mom said. “Kendyl, it’s a real blessing to have this emergency kit. And to think that I almost didn’t let you go to your activity!”
“Sister Reed told us that if we were prepared, we didn’t have any reason to be afraid.”
“She’s absolutely right,” Dad said.
“You know what my teacher told us?” Weston said.
“What, Wes?” Mom asked.
“She said that when we need help we should pray.”
“Your teacher is also right,” Dad said. “Why don’t we have a prayer right now?”
They folded their arms, bowed their heads, and Dad said the prayer.
They had not sat there long after the prayer, when Weston called out, “Look—headlights!”
Sure enough, a tiny, bright circle was coming toward them. It quickly grew into two powerful tunnels of welcome light.
The whole family cheered as Dad flicked the headlights on and off to signal to the driver.
Not only did the car stop, but to everyone’s delight, the driver was a highway patrolman. He called a tow truck, and soon they were snug and safe in a hotel room.
Before going to bed that night, the family knelt in prayer. Weston reminded Dad to thank Heavenly Father for peanut-butter sandwich crackers. Dad also thanked Heavenly Father for watching out for them that night, for the power of prayer, and especially for Sister Reed, Kendyl, emergency kits, and Achievement Day.

Now imagine that you have no eyes. Instead, you have eyelike organs all over your body. You live in the soil, and tunnel endlessly. You are an earthworm. In your underground world, you don’t need to see. You find your way by touch. Your skin is moist and delicate. Beneath it, instead of bones, there is a layer of liquid. Your liquid skeleton can make your body long and thin or short and fat, or make it ripple like a wave. These movements help you tunnel through the ground. You love the cool underground darkness. Too long in the burning sun, and your body would sizzle and shrink, like a drop of water on a hot grill.
One day as you tunnel through the dirt, you come too near the surface. Your back pops out into the sunlight. Tiny cells in your skin detect the light, as eyes do. But they don’t see it, as human eyes would. Instead, they send a message to your muscles, as human skin does when it touches a sharp knife. “Pain!” they say. “Danger! Go away from the light! Dig down into the dark!” Your muscles obey. You burrow down, and the cells send a new message: “Now it’s cool and dark. You’re safe again.”

After my older sister had surgery, she couldn’t walk or eat on her own. I would get things she needed and helped her eat and drink. Just like Jesus helped people, we can too, even when we are little.
Brittian M., age 5

Quentin L. Cook feels love and peace in the Oakland California Temple.

Fourth and finally, may I remind you that you cannot give yourself poor in this work; you can only give yourself rich. I have satisfied myself regarding the truthfulness of the statement made to me by Elder Melvin J. Ballard as he set me apart for my mission in 1920: “A person cannot give a crust to the Lord without receiving a loaf in return.”

My message tonight is directed to the young men of the Aaronic Priesthood. I will admit before all of you: get me to a good football or basketball game, and I’m a happy man. I have four favorite teams. Three of them are professional, and one is a college team—the Jazz, the Nuggets, the Broncos, and the Cougars. When they win, my wife has a hard time keeping me in my seat. When one of these teams loses, I’m not very friendly (and with some of these teams, I’ve had a lot of practice being unfriendly this year). But, after a night’s sleep, I find it doesn’t really matter—not really.
But when a young man loses in his preparation for life, that really matters—because that has lasting consequences.

John, then eleven, was extremely bright and a quick learner. Soon he was fluent in the new language. The little family’s plans suffered a setback one day soon after their arrival, when John was attacked by a rabid dog and confined to his bed for six weeks. After his recovery, he continued his education and worked part-time. His mother worked at her dressmaking, and she helped support the boys’ schooling with her sewing and with small earnings from some property that she had managed to buy.

We’ve learned of a remarkable, peppy, saintly, 60-year-old woman. She lives in Czechoslovakia. She is one of the handful of Saints who has remained active during the forty-year slumber when that country was denied full religious opportunity. The sister shares the gospel’s living water as she takes an 83-year-old branch president for a walk each day and does his shopping for him. He requires two canes for walking, and shopping in Czechoslovakia is no small task.
Through their daily acts of service, these women partake of and pass on to others the water springing up into eternal life.

My companion and I, serving in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, were working in an area known as Kasuga, located near the Kumamoto Station. The people who lived in this area were very skeptical about religion. But knowing this, our mission president told us, “There are a thousand people in Kumamoto who have been prepared by the Lord. Please find them.”
One rainy day we decided to try to find Noboru Yamagata, a less-active member we had never met. Approaching his house, we noticed a sign that read, “No religious solicitation”—a common warning in Japanese culture. But heeding the promptings of the Spirit, we knocked on the door.
Brother Yamagata’s mother answered the door and informed us that her son was out of town. She went on to say that she would be friendly to anyone who had ties to him, as is traditional for Japanese families, and she consequently invited us in. But despite her surface hospitality, her face wore a threatening expression.
As we sat down, she warned, “I don’t want to hear anything about religion.” She then began to talk about herself and expressed how strongly she felt about certain values in her life.
To our surprise she talked about faith, love, and the Beatitudes, and we took the chance to tell her that these principles were also important to us. We recounted the glorious vision that resulted from Joseph Smith’s faith, and we described the importance of the Book of Mormon in the Restoration of the gospel.
It was interesting to observe the change that took place in Mrs. Yamagata as she listened to our message. Tears ran down her cheeks as we testified of the divinity of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith. She replied, “Joseph Smith was a lucky man.”
When we said good-bye at last, her face shined and her eyes sparkled with happiness. She said, “Thank you for coming today. My son must have led you to me.” We shook hands, and she jokingly said, “I won’t be washing my hand today!”
As we walked home we realized that this woman was one of the people our mission president had described as being ready to receive the gospel. Clearly, the Spirit had prepared her heart for our message, and we knew she was the first of a thousand souls we needed to find.

When I wanted to get my patriarchal blessing, I studied the subject, using conference talks and the True to the Faith book. And I prayed. Doing those things really helped me understand the sacred nature of patriarchal blessings. As long as you’re willing to trust in the Lord and desire to do His will, then you’ll know you’re ready. Trust in the Lord. Listen to the Spirit and ponder the scriptures. Fast and pray for humility. God loves you, so trust in Him.
Rachel S., 16, Idaho, USA

I just felt I had to express how much I enjoyed the August 1981 contest issue. All of the poetry was excellent. The verses painted pictures in my mind and brought color to my dreary life of studying as a college student. I will refer to them often when I need to remember that there is another life besides chemistry and physics.
The article on the youth in Santiago de Compostela was also quite uplifting. I am glad to know that the gospel brings such love into the lives of God’s children. This love certainly makes the world seem all that much smaller.
Alison CuylerClaremont, California

Another letter came from a woman who had been divorced. Although she said that the ten years that followed her divorce were a time of trial, heartache, struggle, and loneliness, she described that experience as “a blessing”—“a refining process.” She expressed gratitude “for what I now have. It has brought me so close to my Heavenly Father and particularly to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a feeling that I’m not sure can be expressed in words. I literally came before the Lord with a broken heart and a contrite spirit. No physical pain I have ever experienced has been as painful as the emotional pain I have felt. But each time I feel it, it draws me so close to the Lord because I think of all He suffered, and it makes me so grateful. I love Him with all my heart and soul for His sacrifice and for all He represents.”

Following a hurricane and severe flooding in Houston, Texas, USA, an elderly woman saw Latter-day Saints dressed in yellow Helping Hands T-shirts on their way to assist victims of the devastation. “I knew the Mormons would come!” she said.
This event, reported in a Facebook post by the president of the Texas Houston South Mission, Aaron T. Hall, represents how the Church comes to the aid of both members and neighbors during times of trouble. “There is no challenge too great for the members of the Lord’s Church!” President Hall wrote.

Shortly before my marriage, I was talking to my father-in-law to be. He asked me about how I developed my testimony of the gospel. I related to him the story about the article “Tell Him,” and he said, “Do you know what, James? I think my cousin wrote that article.”
It turns out that his cousin, Ken Barker, was the author. Wow! This is one of the most amazing things that has ever happened in my life. This whole experience has shown me how much Heavenly Father is watching over me and all of his children. I also developed a deeper understanding of what the Lord meant when he said, “And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33).

A few weeks ago, just before 6:00 a.m., my wife and I boarded a taxi to begin the last lap of our trip to Salt Lake City from Australia. Our driver, who had been on duty since 3:00 a.m., was anxious to talk with us, his first passengers of the day. We learned his parents were born just outside of Mexico City. They moved to Chicago, where he was born, and then moved to New Mexico. Twenty years earlier our friend had come for a short visit to San Francisco and had never left. During our trip to the airport, this man related a few incidents from which some great truths were reemphasized.
One other important point was made by this unusual taxi operator. He told us that some of his unmarried friends who are also taxi drivers are often out of money. They come to him to borrow. He indicated that he is generally able to help them over tight money spots. When his companions asked how he is able to support his family on his salary when they can’t even keep themselves, he said, “I tell them I don’t waste money at the races or on liquor or tobacco. My wife fixes our meals at home, and we don’t have to pay for expensive restaurant food.” He smiled when he added, “We do our partying with our family.” This man’s objectives are family-oriented, and he has learned the folly of serving the gambling, drinking, and momentary expensive habits.

Almost three years ago a devastating fire gutted the interior of the beloved, historic tabernacle in Provo, Utah. Its loss was deemed a great tragedy by both the community and Church members. Many wondered, “Why did the Lord let this happen? Surely He could have prevented the fire or stopped its destruction.”
Ten months later, during the October 2011 general conference, there was an audible gasp when President Thomas S. Monson announced that the nearly destroyed tabernacle was to become a holy temple—a house of the Lord! Suddenly we could see what the Lord had always known! He didn’t cause the fire, but He allowed the fire to strip away the interior. He saw the tabernacle as a magnificent temple—a permanent home for making sacred, eternal covenants.4

The 2022 For the Strength of Youth theme4 perfectly describes this pattern. My wife, Ailsa, and I had the privilege of being part of the Manchester Scotland session of FSY in 2022. We witnessed this pattern playing out in the lives of many participants. One young woman brought many difficult questions to FSY, with no expectation that they would all be answered. She recounted in joyful tears that, during this Christ-focused event, every one of her questions had been answered. She knew that He knew her. This young woman has recently been called to serve Him in the Frankfurt Germany Mission.

Brigham also learned to be brave. Years later, after his conversion and baptism, his bravery kept the Church strong.
Man: Joseph is a fallen [now false] prophet. David Whitmer should take his place.
Brigham: Joseph is a true prophet, and I know it. You cannot destroy the authority of a prophet of God.