Gospel Story Finder

Genealogy has been one of the slowest programs of the Church in this area. Yet when the priesthood decided a month ago that this too could be changed and then staged a genealogical work kick-off dinner, the response was overwhelming.

The use of medical science is not at odds with our prayers of faith and our reliance on priesthood blessings. When a person requested a priesthood blessing, Brigham Young would ask, “Have you used any remedies?” To those who said no because “we wish the Elders to lay hands upon us, and we have faith that we shall be healed,” President Young replied:
“That is very inconsistent according to my faith. …”
… Of course we don’t wait until all other methods are exhausted before we pray in faith or give priesthood blessings for healing. In emergencies, prayers and blessings come first. Most often we pursue all efforts simultaneously.

“When we left Germany, the country was in the midst of skyrocketing inflation; a million marks wouldn’t even buy a loaf of bread. Upon arriving in America, we found it in the throes of the Depression. My father’s professional skills as a tool and die maker were in short demand, and he couldn’t find work. My mother, however, was able to find housework. Because she was an extremely good cook, she also was able to get a job with a German salad-making company. She worked hard just to put food on the table for us. Then Dad got a job as a maintenance man, and I helped him during much of my growing-up years. We would go early in the morning to about fourteen or fifteen different buildings and shovel coal into the furnaces.

Masha has special feelings for small children—and she simply won’t put up with bullies. Once an older boy threatened a group of little children, yelling that he was going to hit them with a tree branch he was holding. Seeing what was happening, Masha stood up to him and told him to leave the children alone. “When I turned and started walking off with the other kids,” she says, “he hit the back of my legs with the branch.” It stung her bare skin, but Masha didn’t try to get back at him. She was more concerned about getting the little children away from him.

To be honest about it, the seminary students in the Phoenix Park Ward of the Dublin Ireland Stake were a little worried. More than a little worried. Their stake president and their bishop had approached them about something new. Would they be the first seminary class in all of Ireland to try meeting every day—early every day?
Elaine O’Farrell, 15, put their fears into words. “I thought if we see each other every day, we’ll get on each other’s nerves.” And there was that other obvious worry. Pamela Fagan, 15, said, “No way would they get me out of bed that early.” And Farris Bukhatwa, 17, and Louise Byrne, 17, lived the farthest distance away. It was not going to be easy.
But not everyone was worried about the early-morning class. Jenna Gallagher, 15, was a little bit excited about the idea. Of course, her dad is the stake president. But it went beyond supporting dad. This was going to be her first year of seminary. She said, “I used to hear about early-morning seminary in America. I always dreamed of going to seminary that way. I was really pleased when we were told we were going to do it. I knew if I made a sacrifice, the Lord would bless me.”
Then it happened. Things started to work out. Farris got the car in the mornings and could pick up Louise. Pamela even agreed to getting up extra early to be ready to leave on time with her brother Derek. Elaine changed her mind and said that she liked seeing these people every morning. Jenna was happy just to be in seminary. Brett, 18, and Brandt Crowther, 16, the mission president’s sons, were thrilled to be with other Church members their same ages every day. And best of all, their teacher, Rosemary Richmond, was terrific.

Two years ago Kimberly and her brother Christian attended home school. Their mom was their teacher, and they agreed that all the personal attention they received more than made up for the recesses that they missed.

Another visit was to a man long absent from the Church. My bishop invited him back to be with the Saints. I felt my bishop’s love for someone who seemed to me an unlovable and rebellious enemy.

Alexander M. Morris served in WWII as a Corporal in the 181st (Airlanding) Field Ambulance. Born in Northumberland, England, in 1911, Alex was the sixth of ten children and after his schooling started a career in the British military. At age 20 he became a baptised member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and at age 25 he married Ivy Ella Abell in London, with a little daughter being born a few years later.
Corporal Morris saw active duty throughout WWII and at the end of the war participated in Operation Doomsday. This involved the landing in Norway of the 181st Airlanding Field Ambulance, which was a Royal Army Medical Corps Unit of the British airborne forces. On the 11th of May 1945, they entered Norway and established a hospital in Oslo, but they operated within the larger objective of supervising the surrender of the German troops, and maintaining law and order as the soldiers left the country. The medics were also tasked with treating the large number of ex-Russian prisoners of war and many medical personnel were needed to help safely escort both the Russians and the Germans back to their homelands. Once they cleaned up the German buildings, Alex Morris declared them to be quite comfortable living quarters.

When Ruby and I knelt in the Salt Lake Temple at the altar on September 4, 1930, holding hands and looking at one another, little did we ever realize what would lie ahead for us. We were two young people. I had come out of the country in southern Idaho, and Ruby had come out of Sanpete County, Utah. Our fathers were dead, but we had two wonderful widowed mothers, and they were with us in the temple. As we knelt and made covenants and promises, I knew that that was for real.
Now, after we have been married 70 years, I can say to all of you that it gets better, that it gets better year after year, with the preciousness and the tenderness and the realization of some of the eternal blessings that lie ahead for us. And so to all of you I would say, and Ruby would join with me if she could be standing here, that life can be wonderful and so meaningful, but we have to live it in a simple way. We must live the principles of the gospel. For it is the gospel in our lives that makes the difference as we wend our way through life.

“I saw the funniest show yesterday. You should check it out. Then maybe we could watch it together sometime!” Brooke said.
Camille loved chatting with her best friend while they walked home from school together. She loved how much they had in common.
“Sounds great!” Camille waved goodbye and walked in her front door.
After Camille finished her homework, she turned on the TV and found the right show. It would be so fun to talk about it with Brooke tomorrow!
The show was funny. The characters did silly things and told jokes. Camille laughed a lot. But not everything they said was funny. They said some words that made Camille feel like there were frogs hopping in her stomach. They weren’t good words.
What should I do? she wondered. Camille knew these words were not nice. But she wanted to know how the show ended. What would she say if Brooke asked her about it tomorrow?
With a sigh, Camille turned off the TV.
After Mom got home, Camille helped her set the table for dinner. “How was school?” Mom asked.
Camille put out the forks and spoons. “It was really good! Except … Brooke told me about a show to watch. I started watching it, but it had bad words in it. I didn’t feel good about it, so I turned it off.”
“It sounds like you made a very good choice.”
“But Brooke wants to watch it together. We’re best friends! We like the same music, the same ice cream, the same books …”
Mom set a dish of pasta on the table. “True, but that doesn’t mean you have to do all of the same things. Especially if it’s something you don’t feel good about. It’s OK to make different choices than a friend does.”
“What do you mean?” Camille asked.
“Well, we choose to avoid bad words so that we can feel the Holy Ghost,” Mom explained. “But not everyone has the same standards as we do. That doesn’t make them bad people.”
Camille was still worried about what would happen when Brooke asked her about the show. They talked about everything! What if Brooke thought she was being a baby? Or worse, what if she didn’t want to be friends anymore?
Camille said a prayer before going to sleep. Heavenly Father, please help me talk to Brooke tomorrow. Please help me be brave. Camille climbed into bed and hoped that things would be OK at school.
“Camille!” Brooke yelled across the playground. She ran through the grass to meet Camille. “What’d you think of the show? Wasn’t it funny?”
Camille took a deep breath. “I actually didn’t watch much of it.”
Brooke looked confused. “Why not?”
Camille thought for a second. Should she just say she’d been busy? What was Brooke going to say? “Well … I didn’t watch it because they said words I didn’t like. I didn’t feel good watching it.”
“Oh,” Brooke said quietly. Then she said, “That’s OK. We don’t have to watch it together. We can find a show we both like or do something else together.”
“OK.” Camille smiled. Then the two friends walked to class together, talking and laughing the whole time.
You can choose the right even if others don’t. Heavenly Father will help you be strong.

Harold B. Lee served as a stake president during the 1930s. Times were hard—many people had lost their jobs. Worried about the 4,800 families in his stake whose fathers had no work, he called a meeting of all the bishops.
Harold: Every needy family in your wards must be given food and a few small gifts for Christmas. Visit them on Christmas Eve, and when you have finished, report back to me.
On Christmas Eve morning, he was driving to work. He saw a small boy walking in the snow without a coat or gloves.
Harold: Where are you going?
Boy: I’m going uptown to a free picture show.
Harold: Well, hop in. I’m going uptown, too.
Harold: Son, are you ready for Christmas?
Boy: We aren’t going to have any Christmas at our house. Daddy died three months ago and left Mama and me and a little brother and sister.
Harold: Give me your name and tell me where you live. You will have a Christmas. I promise that you won’t be forgotten.
That night, when the last bishop came to report, Harold realized that he had forgotten his promise.
Harold: Bishop, do you have enough to make one more visit? There is another family who needs our help.
Bishop: Yes, I have enough. Give me the address, and I’ll make the delivery.
President Lee went home. He was grateful that the little boy’s family was provided for but felt sad to have nearly forgotten them.
On Christmas morning, President Lee made a promise to himself.
Harold: From now on, I will be more aware of others’ needs. I will know my people better, and I will find out how I can help them.
He developed a welfare program to store food and other necessities for the members of his stake. When the leaders of the Church saw what he was doing, they called him to expand the program for the whole Church. The Church welfare program continues to provide for needy Latter-day Saints today.

On Sunday April 2nd, the morning of General Conference, Sister Deneen Kenchington, Deputy Head of Ferndown Upper School and Relief Society President of Christchurch Ward, Poole Stake, received a phone call from a teacher who was with around 60 students on their way to Europe for a skiing trip.
Mr Howard, the teacher, informed Deneen that they were stuck at Dover Port due to a critical incident. They, along with hundreds of others, had been there for about 14 hours. They couldn’t move forward, and they couldn’t move back.
The students on the coach had run out of food and water, and the teachers that were with the students didn’t know what to do. The situation was turning pretty dire.
Deneen’s first thought was that she would go to the supermarket, fill up her car with supplies and drive the six hours or so to Dover. Then the thought came that as much as she wanted to do that, it just was not practical.
Deneen got on her knees and prayed for some guidance. She then phoned President Steve Cottrell of the Poole Stake Presidency and asked for the phone number of the nearest Bishop to the Port of Dover.
Deneen phoned Bishop Rudloff of the Deal Ward, explained the situation, and without missing a beat he said “We can help, I have people I can call to help”. Deneen gave Bishop Rudloff Mr Howard’s phone number, a phone call was made, and the plan was in place.
Bishop Rudloff said that his first thought was very similar to Deneen’s, that he would load up his car and drive to the port, but then he realised that his son Joshua, who was staying with some friends and their family, was much closer to the Port. He phoned Joshua, who along with his friends Angel, Lou Lou and Ciaran Rickard from the Deal Ward, jumped into action and within an hour they were at the Port of Dover with enough supplies for all the students and teachers.
Miraculously, the group were able to get through Port Authority, find the coach, deliver the supplies, pass on their best wishes, then turn around and leave.
The teachers and students offered to pay for the supplies, but this amazing bunch of young adults would hear none of it, and they left the teachers and students totally blown away by the kindness and goodness of strangers.
Word soon spread around the school community about Bishop Rudloff, the young adults, and the church, and how amazing it was that they served without wanting recompense or reward. The Church is now synonymous with service and generosity within the school. Both staff and students alike will not forget how their lives were touched for good.
Bishop Rudloff said that as well as the wonderful opportunity to give service to those in need, what was also wonderful was the trust that a Relief Society President had in others that she had never met. Deneen knew she could call and ask for help and that the help would be given.

None of us doubted that my son Alan had been seriously injured, just as none of us doubted that Heavenly Father honored our faith and the priesthood blessing Alan received in the mountains that day after his accident. When Alan left the hospital the next morning, we all knew we had witnessed something miraculous.

I’m 13 years old, and I know that when we take care of our bodies, we will receive the blessings promised in the Word of Wisdom that we can “run and not be weary” (D&C 89:20). When I play sports, eat healthy food, and get enough sleep, I grow stronger. When I keep this commandment, I am free of addictive substances, and I am not under their control.
I know that Heavenly Father gave us the Word of Wisdom not to limit our lives but to help us live healthy and happy lives. Satan tries to tempt us into believing that smoking and drinking will make us popular, free, and happy. But that is not true. Sometimes it is hard to keep high standards, especially at school, but when I try to be a good example, I help my friends understand the importance of choosing the right.
The biggest blessing I have received from keeping the Word of Wisdom is the opportunity to have the Spirit as my constant guide. My goal is to be worthy to go to the temple one day.
Sevil V., Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Will and Anna are best friends. At recess, they play tag. Anna pushes Will’s wheelchair. They chase the other kids. Will reaches his hand out to tag them. Recess is lots of fun!
Sometimes it takes Will a long time to say his words. But Anna listens. She wants to hear what Will says.
Will listens to Anna’s silly jokes.
“What’s a pirate’s favorite letter?” Anna asks.
Will smiles and shakes his head.
“Arrr!” Anna says.
Will laughs. He makes a pirate hook with his finger.
“What music are balloons scared of?” Anna asks.
“What?” says Will.
“Pop music!”
Anna and Will laugh and laugh.
At lunch, Anna and Will eat together. Will has a helper. She helps him eat his lunch. Anna likes to talk with her too. Will’s favorite food is peanut butter. Anna’s favorite food is apples. The best food is peanut butter and apples together!
Sometimes Will and Anna play after school. They like to build with blocks. Will builds tall towers. Anna builds castles. Together they build lots of fun things!
Will has a hard time stacking the blocks. But he keeps trying. Anna finds red blocks for him. Red is Will’s favorite color.
Sometimes Will’s arms move funny. But it’s OK. Anna doesn’t mind. Sometimes she knocks a tower over. Whoops! But Will doesn’t mind.
Will and Anna are best friends. They help each other. Will likes to make Anna smile. Anna likes to make Will smile. They are happy to be friends.
Will is a child of God, and Anna is a child of God. God loves them. He is happy they are friends too.

Henry B. Eyring
(69) Mildred and Henry Eyring become unified in their decision to move back to Utah, near her family.

Every year at Easter time, millions turn their thoughts to the Holy Land where the Savior spent his life on earth. One year I visited the Holy Land with the desire to discover for myself the miracle of Easter and the Resurrection. I found much that helped, but I learned that I didn’t really have to travel around the world to discover Easter. When I returned, I found what I sought in my own home.
The Garden Tomb is in a quiet garden away from the noise of the crowded markets and shops in Old Jerusalem. After walking out of the Damascus Gate, a major entrance to the Old City, we crossed the road and walked up a sidewalk to the walled-in garden.
It is a peaceful place. The ancient trees create archways overhead that sway and bow in the afternoon breeze. Flowers of every color line the walkways. A tomb is carved out of the stone hill in one part of the garden. Still visible are the grooves, or trough, where a large stone was once rolled in front of it. This is perhaps one of the loveliest places in Israel.
But as I climbed a hill in back of the garden and looked toward Golgotha or “the place of a skull” (see John 19:17), where Jesus is said to have been crucified, I heard the noises of heavy traffic and the shouts of angry bus drivers, and I smelled vehicle exhaust fumes in the air. The abrupt contrast was disappointing.
I walked back into the garden and sat down on a bench to think. The sun, beginning to set into the western horizon, shined and glistened off the trees and the fallen leaves in the garden.
I began to notice what was happening around me. The leaves that were falling to the ground would decay and become a part of the earth through which new life would emerge next spring. Winter would come, leaving the limbs of the trees dark and bare. But spring would follow, and small buds of leaves would again appear.
I realized that the cycle of life in this garden was an eternal round. The seasons brought changes, but each season was part of a plan of living and dying and living again. And I felt at that moment that I, too, was part of the same plan.
Even though the sun was setting, I knew that the next morning I would see the beginning of a new day: the sun would rise again in the eastern sky, changing the blackness of night into the light of day.
I suddenly realized that whether I was in the Garden Tomb in Israel—or in my own home enjoying the sunset or watching the leaves falling off trees anywhere—the miracle of Easter was going on everywhere around me and within myself every day. The whole earth, indeed, is holy land—a witness of the Resurrection.
As I walked away from the Garden Tomb that evening, I knew—as so many who have visited Israel have come to realize—that the place itself neither provides nor withholds a spiritual experience. Sacred feelings won’t automatically be felt there; in fact, they may come at any place and at any time if we are receptive. For that reason, my family can experience the significance of Easter at home just as deeply as someone who is privileged to spend Easter morning sitting quietly on a bench in that sacred garden.
I don’t need to return to Israel to experience the significance of the event that took place there. The miracles of Easter are evident all around us every day—and most wonderfully, within ourselves.

It was almost Christmas, and the year had been hard for my family. My dad’s job was not going well. At night I could hear my parents talk about Christmas and how they didn’t know what to do. They knew that they could tell us that we would have to go without giving presents to each other, but they didn’t know what they could do about Santa, because most of the kids were still young. I was 13 years old and the oldest of six. At nights I would lie in my bed and try to think of a way that I could help my family to have a good Christmas.
One night I had the idea that I could earn some money, buy gifts for my brothers and sisters, lay them out on Christmas Eve, and say that they were from Santa. The next day, I walked around my neighborhood asking people if there was any work that needed to be done so I could earn some money. For a couple weeks before Christmas, I worked to earn the money I needed.
Two days before Christmas Eve, a friend who was old enough to drive took me to the store so I could finish some Christmas shopping.
As I was walking down the aisles in the store, I was getting excited looking for things that I knew my brothers and sisters would like. Every present was chosen with much love, and I couldn’t wait for them to open these gifts. Spending all the money I earned, I took the gifts home and hid them in my room until Christmas Eve.
When Christmas Eve came, all of my brothers and sisters were excited. After having our Christmas dinner, we got ready for bed and laid our stockings out for Santa to fill. Going downstairs to my room, I set my alarm so I could wake up in the night to lay out the gifts I had bought. I knew that my mom and dad would be setting things up and going to bed late, so I tried to get as much sleep as I could so I wouldn’t be tired for Christmas day.
That night, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t go to sleep. I hoped my parents would go to bed soon. After waiting a few hours, I got all the gifts that I bought and snuck upstairs. A warm feeling came over me as I set out the gifts. I couldn’t wait for morning to come. I didn’t sleep the rest of the night because I was so filled with excitement and love.
When morning came, we all ran upstairs to wake up Mom and Dad and to see what Santa had brought. Watching my brothers’ and sisters’ faces as they opened the gifts that I bought them was the best part of my day. When mom and dad realized there were other gifts, they started to cry.
I will never forget that Christmas and the feeling I felt. It was worth working hard to prepare for that day.

I’m Service Man, here to serve! Any lost children? Cats stuck in a tree?
I guess not.
The Next Day
Hmm. No sign of a hurricane. That would have brought lots of service.
Later
Mamá, do you know of any service I can do?
I’m sure Adriana would love some help on her art project.
Not really what I had in mind, but OK.
Maybe this is service after all. …

I joined the Church when I was 17, and I was both the youngest in my family and the only member of the Church. I believed the gospel of Jesus Christ was true—I had prayed about it and felt so much joy. I wanted to live the gospel, but at the same time, I felt overwhelmingly lonely. I received harsh treatment from my friends and some members of my family for joining the Church. I felt like I was having to choose between my relationship with my loved ones and my relationship with the Lord. It felt impossible for me to convince them that I was following the right path.
One day, I remembered something the missionaries had taught me when I was learning about the gospel: the law of fasting.
They had invited me to pray and fast to ask Heavenly Father to soften the hearts of my parents so they would give their consent for me to be baptized. I followed their counsel and felt so much peace and assurance despite my circumstances. My father signed the permission document, which allowed me to be baptized, although my mother still didn’t approve.