Gospel Story Finder

The Antelope Island District of the Greater Salt Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America escaped from the frozen, snow-covered hills of a frigid north country last winter. To do so they had to successfully treat cases of frostbite, hypothermia, and snow-blindness; rescue avalanche victims; and build fires in garbage can lids without benefit of firestarters or prepared tinder. In addition, they applied basic first aid for bleeding, splinting, and shock; constructed emergency shelters for the protection of injured patrol members; and cooked bacon and eggs in tin cans over their garbage can fires. To attract the attention of the Air-Rescue Squad, they had to make proper rescue signals using nothing but colored plastic. Not bad for a day’s work!
All the above activities were part of the district’s winter activity and took place on a snow-packed, hilly golf course in Bountiful, Utah. The opening event, “Race for Freedom,” required six patrols to race each other in Klondike sledges they had built themselves. They had to be six feet long and 24 inches wide, but the rest of the details were left up to the boys’ imaginations. This was the first in the ten areas of competition and was introduced in the instruction booklet in the following way: “Your patrol has been kept in a freezing prison in the far north for months. During this time you have been planning your escape and have built a sledge to carry your supplies. You know that the weather and trek across the snowy wasteland will be your greatest threat. You think you are ready. Now comes the test.” Each troop received achievement ribbons and patches, and the winning units received patrol equipment. Although the sky was cloudy and the snow deep, the sun shone big and bright—a reflection of the enthusiasm with which the boys put their Scout skills to work. A real winter escape couldn’t have been better handled!

I was invited to my best friend’s birthday party and was so excited to go. When Mommy told me it was on Sunday, I thought it might be OK to go since she was my friend. Mommy told me I could go into my room and ask Heavenly Father what I should do. I went into my room and asked Heavenly Father if I should go to the party. I felt that I should just go to church that day. We called my friend’s mommy and told her we wouldn’t be at the party, but would like to have my friend come and play. The next Friday my friend came to my house to play, and we had so much fun! I felt good that I did what Heavenly Father wanted me to do.

It was very painful to face failures in my life, especially in my studies. In twelfth standard, I failed in my subjects again and again and again. It was too hard for me to bear. I almost gave up. But the Savior indeed helped me to stay strong and showed His bounteous mercy and grace to me, which helped me not to give up. Having a great hope in my heart, I took a different course and chose to do a diploma in mining engineering in which I was able to succeed. In fact, I was one of the toppers of my college in all six semesters of my 3-year course. It may sound magical, but it was a miracle. How did this happen? I testify that it was because of Christ’s grace that I received light in my life which helped me to have success in my education.

I want to share with you one more personal experience about exercising agency. During my second semester of college at Idaho State University, I attended a stake conference where the speaker told us to make a plan that week. If the plan changed along the way, it was all right but we needed to start moving forward.

I was a bit skeptical, but I chose to put it to the test. So even though I had no idea what I wanted to major in, I determined I would work towards an associate's degree. That way I would have a clean break in school to serve a mission when I turned 21, and if that was not right, I trusted that by the end of the associate's degree the Lord would provide me with more knowledge. Since I was interested in learning another language and about other cultures, I decided to get my Associate's degree in Spanish.

Now I will share with you a great secret—I don't speak Spanish. I went on an English-speaking mission and I still have yet to get more involved with Spanish.

After my mission, I transferred to BYU-Idaho, studied communication, and now I work in Human Resources. Some of you may be tempted to think my plan was wrong or even a waste of time, but I have seen many blessings come from that decision. There may still be more to learn about it but maybe not. Either way, I know the Lord upholds our plans and efforts as we exercise our agency for righteousness.

Everyone in Janet’s family had a job to do on school mornings. Mother cooked breakfast. Janet’s big sister, Sarah, made the school lunches. Janet’s big brother, Kevin, washed the breakfast dishes. Everyone had a job but Janet.
“Can I help you make the lunches?” Janet asked Sarah.
“No,” Sarah answered. “You are too little. You would just be in the way.”
“Can I help you wash the dishes?” Janet asked Kevin.
“No,” Kevin answered. “You are too little. You would just be in the way.”
“I am not too little to help!” Janet said. “There must be a job for me.”
One morning when Mother was ready to drive Janet and Kevin and Sarah to school, Ruffles, their dog, began to bark.
“Wait,” Janet said. “Ruffles’s bowls are empty. He needs water and food.”
“I’m sorry,” Mother said. “Ruffles will have to wait. We don’t have time now.”
Janet watched Ruffles through the car window as they drove away. His tail drooped. He looked sad. Janet felt sad too.
The next morning Janet got up and dressed quickly. After breakfast she went outside and got Ruffles’s bowls. She carried them into the kitchen. Carefully she turned on the faucet and filled one bowl with water. She filled the other bowl with dog food from the big sack in the cup-board. She carried the bowls back outside and put them beside Ruffles’s doghouse.
“There, Ruffles,” Janet said. “Now you will not have to wait for your water and food.” Ruffles wagged his tail and licked Janet’s hand.
Janet came back into the kitchen just as Sarah finished the lunches and Kevin finished the dishes.
“Now everyone has a job to do before school,” Janet announced. “Mother cooks breakfast. Sarah makes the lunches. Kevin washes the dishes. And I take care of Ruffles!”

Liz: When I was growing up, the closest Church member my age lived an hour and a half away, so there were no other members at school. But something I really appreciated was that even though there was just me, my leaders always came to Mutual; they always came to seminary; they always came to teach my lesson—every single time. They never said, “Well, we’ve got just one student so we’re not going to have class today.” I’m sure I learned a lot, but what I really remember is that my leaders were consistent. And because of them, I had opportunities to feel the Spirit.
I think we can never fully appreciate the gift of the Holy Ghost. Even though I had my parents and my family and my leaders, when I was at school I was by myself. But the Spirit was with me. So whatever keeps the Spirit in someone’s life will be a great influence in helping that person keep the law of chastity.

Last year, I had the opportunity to participate in the reorganization of three single adult stakes. During the weekend of each Stake Conference, we spent Saturday morning visiting five apartments in each of those stakes. Not one apartment had a picture of Christ in their living room. Not one was having apartment prayer or scripture study, or family home evening. We taught them the importance of being Christ-centered in every facet of their lives-especially in their apartments.

One of the apartments we visited included one new convert, two returned missionaries, and one student who had been less-active. The new convert saw me in the Sunday session of stake conference and said, "I have never felt closer to my roommates than when we read the Book of Mormon and prayed together last night. The Spirit was in our apartment." Do you want the Spirit to reside in your home or apartment? Do you hold apartment or family prayer? Do you read the scriptures together? This is the perfect time to begin these practices that you will apply in your family and home.

Soweto seminary students know the Lord helps them through the scriptures. Lucky Ndhiela knows his faith spared him a severe beating.
“One day our school teacher was very angry with our class,” says Lucky. “He said he had explained a science principle to us, and the other students said he had not. A still, small voice whispered in my ear, ‘You know it, Lucky—the teacher did teach us that.’
“So I raised my hand and said in front of the whole class, ‘You did teach us that.’ I felt so happy to say it.
“But the whole class shouted, ‘He did NOT!’ The teacher became very angry and started hitting them all, one by one. I sat near the back of the class, and while he was busy punishing the students in front, I bowed my head and began to pray.
“I remembered my scripture mastery, Proverbs 3:5–6 [Prov. 3:5–6], and said to myself, ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
“When the teacher came to my desk, his voice changed. His face changed. He said, ‘Lucky is praying to his God. I forgive him.’ He did not punish me, nor any others that day. That is how I know it is important to apply the scriptures in my life. My prayer was answered!”

I had somebody tell me not to mention his name in this talk, but I have something that I should probably say, so don't worry Sione, I won't say your name. A couple weeks back I was worried about one of my friends back home [in California]. He has not been doing too well and I had been hearing a lot of things. I really started to worry about this friend. I decided to give my parents a break and I went [to a friend] and I asked him what I should do [about my friend back home] and basically I explained my life. What he said shocked me and inspired me. He asked me if I'd shared my testimony with this person [back at home]. Now this friend of mine from back in California, I've known him for a while and he is not the type that you'd just go up to and [say], I want to tell you about the Gospel. But I had somebody there to encourage me; somebody that knew I had the potential to influence someone. Whether I ever find out if it made a difference or not, I listened to this person and I wrote a letter. Now those of you that know me know I write about 20 letters a week, but this one took me a couple of hours. I told him that he does have a great potential, that I hope that he gets back on track. Then I told him my testimony about the Gospel. I am one person, but I am striving to reach my potential. I needed that person to encourage me and in turn I needed to encourage someone else. This is something we must all learn. There is nobody in this world that should be without the Gospel. So in reaching your potential will you build the Kingdom of God?

Faith in the Lord helps us endure well our personal challenges. It also helps us serve more effectively in our callings. In 1837 Heber C. Kimball was called as a missionary to England. President Gordon B. Hinckley said the following about Heber’s call:
It is difficult for us to comprehend the enormity of that call. . . . It meant leaving a family destitute. It meant traveling to New York and crossing the sea when he had no money. It meant that a man with very little schooling, who had grown up and lived in frontier communities, would go to the great cities of the British Isles among a people known for their education and enlightenment.
Heber wrote: “The idea of such a mission was almost more than I could bear up under. I was almost ready to sink under the burden which was placed upon me.” Heber’s response to this call illustrates his faith and belief that he would be strengthened by the hand of the Lord to fulfill this mission. He also wrote:
However, all these considerations did not deter me from the path of duty; the moment I understood the will of my Heavenly Father, I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing that He would support me by His almighty power, and endow me with every qualification that I needed; and although my family was dear to me, and I should have to leave them almost destitute, I felt that the cause of truth, the Gospel of Christ, outweighed every other consideration.
The Lord did strengthen Heber and made him a successful missionary; in eight months 2,000 Saints had been baptized and 26 congregations had been formed. The Lord will strengthen us and deliver us as we wait for Him.

As a young boy, George Albert Smith was very ill with typhoid fever, a disease that killed many people at that time. The doctor advised his mother to give him coffee to drink, but George refused it. Instead, he asked for a priesthood blessing from their ward (home) teacher. The next morning, when the doctor arrived, he found George Albert in the yard, playing. “I was grateful to the Lord for my recovery,” he said. “I was sure that He had healed me.”

A spiritual highlight of Elder and Sister Kearon’s Cebu sojourn was when the couple climbed up a mountain to visit the Secuya family of Busay 2nd Ward, Cebu Stake. From their highland farm, the Secuyas traverse through rocky paths and streams just to reach public transportation that will take them to Church every Sunday.

“We were so happy to see Elder Kearon, he reminded us of Jesus Christ and His love,” said Mitzi Secuya, who with her family heartily welcomed the apostle and his wife. As the Kearons ministered to the family, son Ryle felt strengthened in his commitment to stay active: “We will continue to go to Church, for we know that the Lord loves us.”

“This is a beautiful memory we will have forever,” Elder Kearon imparted to the family at the conclusion of the visit. “You are beautiful, each of you,” Sister Kearon lovingly reassured the Secuya children, who had faced bullying for their situation.

As I mentioned, during my early years we had only one ward in Pleasant View, and all but a couple of families in town were ward members. I really didn’t know that any other churches existed, and later in my life it came as a bit of a shock to me to learn that everyone did not belong to the church that I belonged to. I can’t say that I had a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel because I really hadn’t thought about it much. My parents were good, kind, and loving parents, and I trusted them and their judgment.

Then it happened. One day during a deacons quorum meeting our advisor decided that we would have a testimony meeting; it may have been that he had not gotten around to preparing a lesson. It wasn’t that I hadn’t shared my testimony before; in fact, I was one of those kids who thought that bearing testimony was what one was supposed to do at every testimony meeting. But it wasn’t the cool thing to do at age 12.

I suppose that we had about eight or 10 deacons in our quorum, and slowly (although not slow enough, it seemed to me) one boy after another stood to share his testimony. I was almost panicky because I just didn’t know what I would say. I hoped that maybe the time would run out and I wouldn’t feel obligated to stand, but it did not; a small group of 10 deacons sharing their testimonies doesn’t take more than about 10 minutes, so plenty of time still remained when all of the other boys had finished standing and sharing their testimonies. I stood awkwardly and recited the same basic things most of the others had said: “I love my mom and dad. I know the Church is true. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

The thing was done, but for the first time in my life I realized that it was a lie. The only thing I had said that I knew to be true was that I loved my mom and dad. I really did not know if the Church was true or if Joseph Smith was a prophet, but I knew then that I had to find out. I had to know for myself.

I don’t remember exactly when I finally asked—whether it was that day or the next week or the next month—but I do remember that one night, when my two brothers who shared a room with me were sleeping, I knelt by my bed and pleaded with my Father in Heaven to forgive me for my weaknesses and to let me know if this church that I belonged to was truly His church. I had never prayed with such intent before, and I am not sure I have ever prayed with such fervor since. I did not ask for a vision or visitation; I really only wanted to know that someone was there. I was only about 12 or 13 years old, and yet I can still feel to this day the power of the spiritual witness that came to me that night confirming that this was indeed the Church of Jesus Christ and that my Father in Heaven knew me and loved me. The test had worked, just as the scriptures promised.

My parents divorced when I was young, and when I was five, my father had to return to his home in the United States. Meanwhile, back in England, my mother met the sister missionaries and was baptised into the Church. Unfortunately, she became less active and moved away with my sister and me.
Then, by accident, one Friday evening in the summer of 2004, we saw the missionaries—elders this time—to whom I’m still grateful for following the Spirit’s promptings leading them into a town in the middle of nowhere. They’d been inspired to come to us and were at the end of a very lonely, unsuccessful, disheartening day when we saw them.
Of course, my mother knew very well that young men in suits with badges could only be the Mormon missionaries, so she began talking to them. They gave us weekly lessons in our home, and we began attending church. The following March I was baptised. I have never regretted that choice, and as the only LDS teen in my town, I’m having to set the best example I can to show everyone what Mormons are really like!

A mother of a son with special needs says: “When we moved to a new ward, I called the bishop to see if there was a class for Adam. I called back several times, but no one ever contacted me. My visiting teachers and home teachers began to ask why we weren’t attending. Again we asked if someone could help us with our problem. But as time went on and no one responded, we began to drift away from the Church. My husband and I were divorced, and I began to go to another church because they had a class each Sunday for special children. Anyone of any faith was welcome.”

Fortunately, this good woman later met and married a man who was contacted by the missionaries and joined the Church. The family moved to a new area where the leaders responded to the needs of the son, and the whole family has now been sealed in the temple.

A latter-day example of willful rebellion with a happier ending is the story of William W. Phelps. Phelps joined the Church in 1831 and was appointed Church printer. He edited several early Church publications, wrote numerous hymns, and served as a scribe to Joseph Smith. Unfortunately, he turned against the Church and the Prophet, even to the point of giving false testimony against Joseph Smith in a Missouri court, which contributed to the Prophet’s imprisonment there.

Later, Phelps wrote to Joseph asking for forgiveness. “I know my situation, you know it, and God knows it, and I want to be saved if my friends will help me.”

In his reply the Prophet stated: “It is true that we have suffered much in consequence of your behavior. … However, the cup has been drunk, the will of our Heavenly Father has been done, and we are yet alive. … Come on, dear brother, since the war is past, for friends at first are friends again at last.”

With sincere repentance, William Phelps buried his “weapons of rebellion” and was received once more in full fellowship, never again to fall away.

I had been a member of the Church for about a year when a missionary challenged me to subscribe to A Liahona (Portuguese). I had never read a magazine like A Liahona in my life. While reading the first issue of my subscription, I received a testimony that the things written in it were true. I was able to see what the gospel of Jesus Christ does in the lives of people. Now as I read the magazine I try to find counsel to apply to my own life.
Jeferson Carlos Nogueira da Silva,Aracati Branch, Mossoró Brazil District

When I returned from my mission, I knew next to nothing about marriage or raising a family, nor how to provide a living for them. However, I knew that was what God expected of me.

I prayed with all the faith I could muster and received assurance that He would help me with this, just as He had helped me with the language. So I went ahead.

Now, more than fifty years later, our marriage and our family is strong and fulfilling and ever-expanding and I love my wife, Jean, and my family more than ever. There have been ups and downs, but we have survived and been able to provide the basics and beyond.

We’re Sam and Anastasia, and we try to SHINE OUR LIGHT by sharing with others!
Where we live, in Florida, USA, we see lots of people who are homeless. We wondered how we could help them. Jesus fed people who were hungry, and everyone needs to eat! So we decided to make emergency snack kits.
Our friend Joa helped us shop for supplies at the dollar store.
We put granola bars, bread sticks with cheese, and other yummy snacks in our kits. Sam even tried one!
Sharing our kits made us smile. Some people said, “Thank you!” and “Awesome!”
Our mom put our project on a website from the Church called JustServe.org so other people could make snack kits too. The young adult branch made 100 more snack kits for our local homeless shelter. The shelter used them to invite people to sign up for a program to help them get homes. That made us really happy!

Vienna. What a magnificent, historic city, but what a huge place in which to be looking for a missionary companion! Elder Thomas Biesinger, age 39, just off the train from Germany, looked in vain for Elder Paul Hammer, who was to arrive by train about the same time. November 25, 1883. 5:30 A.M. He waited in the railroad restaurant until daylight, then walked outside the station and from an elevation looked out at the Austrian capital. He was awestruck as he thought about his difficult mission, and in his mind he conversed with Vienna:
“Thou City of Vienna, thou boasteth thyself as being one of the proudest cities of the East and the beauties of thy gardens and parks are perhaps not excelled in the world. Thou also containeth many ancient relics amongst the abode of a monarch who sways his proud sceptre over a dominion containing nearly forty millions of inhabitants.”
Vienna, he recalled, had 20 years before expelled one of the most noble and intelligent Apostles of the Restoration, Orson Pratt. “Again God has extended his mercy unto thee,” he warned Vienna in his mind, “and has inspired his servant the prophet to send to thee other messengers. One of these has just entered the city, though much inferior in wisdom and intelligence to the one thou rejected.” The lonely elder then prayed for God to have mercy on Austria, to “soften the heart of the emperor and officers of the land, that thy servants may be permitted to stay and [be] given liberty to search for the honest in heart.”
His prayer, however, would require decades for fulfillment. For Austria-Hungary, an empire old and mighty, was not a land of freedom. In order to keep its different states and nationalities from breaking away, a police state prevented anyone from preaching new ideas, political or religious.
He rented an inexpensive room with cooking facilities, then checked with the Vienna police to see if his companion had registered with them. No sign of him. Because Elder Hammer was the senior companion, Eider Biesinger did not start his actual missionary labors yet, except to enter into conversations with people he met as he went back and forth to the railway station. They finally found each other on December 3 and discovered that for a week they both had been living in different quarters on the very same street!