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Friend to Friend
The narrator’s father was not typically emotional, but he wept when released as bishop, reflecting his love for serving the Lord. His dedication influenced his children to find satisfaction in helping others. He ensured his calling involved the whole family, bringing them closer together.
My father was not an emotional man. One of the few times I ever saw him shed tears was when he was released as bishop. He loved serving the Lord, and he helped develop in all his children a great satisfaction in helping other people. He made sure his Church calling involved our whole family and brought us together.
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👤 Parents
👤 Children
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
Bishop
Faith
Family
Parenting
Service
Latter-day Prophets Speak about Missionary Service
In 1920s England, Elder Ezra Taft Benson and his companion fasted and prayed before speaking at a sacrament meeting with members and nonmembers. Though prepared to speak on the Apostasy, he instead bore testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. Several attendees reported receiving a witness and were ready to consider baptism, teaching him to depend on the Lord.
Thirteenth President of the Church
Missionary work was difficult in England in the 1920s. Thus, when Elder Ezra Taft Benson and his companion received an invitation to speak in a sacrament meeting including both members and nonmembers, they fasted and prayed. “The hall was filled,” President Benson later recalled. “My companion had planned to talk on the first principles, and I had studied hard in preparation for a talk on the Apostasy. There was a wonderful spirit in the meeting. … When I sat down, I realized that I had not mentioned the Apostasy. I had talked about the Prophet Joseph Smith and had borne my witness of his divine mission and of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.” After the meeting, several people came to the missionaries and said, “Tonight we received a witness that Mormonism is true. We are now ready to consider baptism.” President Benson said, “It was while I was on my first mission that I discovered the constant need for dependence on the Lord” (“Our Commission to Take the Gospel to All the World,” Ensign, May 1984, 44).
Missionary work was difficult in England in the 1920s. Thus, when Elder Ezra Taft Benson and his companion received an invitation to speak in a sacrament meeting including both members and nonmembers, they fasted and prayed. “The hall was filled,” President Benson later recalled. “My companion had planned to talk on the first principles, and I had studied hard in preparation for a talk on the Apostasy. There was a wonderful spirit in the meeting. … When I sat down, I realized that I had not mentioned the Apostasy. I had talked about the Prophet Joseph Smith and had borne my witness of his divine mission and of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.” After the meeting, several people came to the missionaries and said, “Tonight we received a witness that Mormonism is true. We are now ready to consider baptism.” President Benson said, “It was while I was on my first mission that I discovered the constant need for dependence on the Lord” (“Our Commission to Take the Gospel to All the World,” Ensign, May 1984, 44).
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
👤 Missionaries
👤 Church Members (General)
Apostasy
Baptism
Book of Mormon
Conversion
Faith
Fasting and Fast Offerings
Holy Ghost
Joseph Smith
Missionary Work
Prayer
Sacrament Meeting
Testimony
The Restoration
Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis
Elder Aidukaitis’s mission deepened his love for the Savior and gave him courage to teach and baptize Luisa, who became the first Church member in her family. Less than a month after he baptized her, they were married, and the following year they were sealed in the Provo Utah Temple.
Elder Aidukaitis was born to Antony Aidukaitis and Maria Dittrich Aidukaitis on August 30, 1959, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. His father, baptized in 1940, was the first member of the Church in his family, as was Elder Aidukaitis’s wife, Luisa Englert Aidukaitis. Elder and Sister Aidukaitis were married on January 13, 1986, less than a month after he baptized her. They were sealed in the Provo Utah Temple the following year. They are the parents of five children.
Elder Aidukaitis, who served in the Brazil São Paulo South Mission from 1979 to 1981, says his mission changed his life. It enhanced his love for the Savior, prepared him to serve his family and his Heavenly Father, and, he says, “gave me the courage to teach and baptize my wife.”
Elder Aidukaitis, who served in the Brazil São Paulo South Mission from 1979 to 1981, says his mission changed his life. It enhanced his love for the Savior, prepared him to serve his family and his Heavenly Father, and, he says, “gave me the courage to teach and baptize my wife.”
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Missionaries
Baptism
Conversion
Family
Marriage
Missionary Work
Sealing
Temples
Camilla and Mandi Rogers of Santa Fe, New Mexico
In October 1991, Camilla’s Girl Scout troop visited the Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque. They slept overnight under dinosaur bones, and Camilla slept beneath a saber-toothed tiger display.
In October 1991, Camilla’s troop—she’s been a Girl Scout for five years—went to the Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque for a field trip. They got to sleep overnight in the museum, under bones of dinosaurs and other extinct creatures. Camilla got to sleep under a saber-toothed tiger!
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👤 Children
Children
Education
The Des Moines Third Ward Primary held an activity to strengthen friendships and learn new things. Children rotated through stations including a talk by the bishop, artwork, writing news, and making a healthy snack.
Des Moines Third Ward
The Primary children of the Des Moines Third Ward, Des Moines Iowa Stake, recently enjoyed an activity to strengthen their friendships and learn new things. They rotated through the following stations based on the Friend: Friend to Friend—the bishop talked about going to Primary when he was young; Our Creative Friends—each child did artwork; Friends in the News—they wrote their own news item; Kitchen Krafts—they made a healthy snack.
The Primary children of the Des Moines Third Ward, Des Moines Iowa Stake, recently enjoyed an activity to strengthen their friendships and learn new things. They rotated through the following stations based on the Friend: Friend to Friend—the bishop talked about going to Primary when he was young; Our Creative Friends—each child did artwork; Friends in the News—they wrote their own news item; Kitchen Krafts—they made a healthy snack.
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👤 Children
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
Bishop
Children
Friendship
Teaching the Gospel
Questions and Answers
Tony felt he knew the Church was true in his mind but sought a confirming witness in his heart. After earnest prayer and fasting, he felt his heart tremble and tears fill his eyes during sacrament meeting. He recognized this as his personal witness and realized he had always known the Church was true.
There comes a time in all of our lives when we question the existence of our testimony. For me it came when I discovered that though within my mind I knew the Church to be true, within my heart there had been no such witness, or so I supposed.
I wanted my own special witness. I prayed and fasted, fasted and prayed. Finally one day, as I sat in sacrament meeting, my heart began to tremble and tears filled my eyes. This is something that often happens to me in testimony and sacrament meetings. I realized then that this was my witness that the gospel is true. I knew that I had always known the Church to be true.
Do not be ashamed to admit you do not know the Church is true. We all must be converted to the gospel spiritually, no matter how many generations our families have been in the Church.
Tony S. RollsWestmead, Australia
I wanted my own special witness. I prayed and fasted, fasted and prayed. Finally one day, as I sat in sacrament meeting, my heart began to tremble and tears filled my eyes. This is something that often happens to me in testimony and sacrament meetings. I realized then that this was my witness that the gospel is true. I knew that I had always known the Church to be true.
Do not be ashamed to admit you do not know the Church is true. We all must be converted to the gospel spiritually, no matter how many generations our families have been in the Church.
Tony S. RollsWestmead, Australia
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👤 Youth
Conversion
Doubt
Fasting and Fast Offerings
Holy Ghost
Prayer
Revelation
Sacrament Meeting
Testimony
Let There Be Light!
Clayton Christensen shared a true account of a professional colleague from another country who studied democracy. The colleague was surprised to find how crucial religion is in teaching citizens to feel accountable to God for honesty and integrity, which sustains unenforceable norms. Without that religious foundation, he concluded, there can never be enough police to enforce honest behavior.
In a commencement address last year, Clayton Christensen, a Harvard professor and Church leader, shared the true account of a professional colleague from another country who had studied democracy. This friend was surprised at how critically important religion is to democracy. He pointed out that in societies where the citizens are taught from a young age to feel accountable to God for honesty and integrity, they will abide by rules and practices that, while unenforceable, promote democratic ideals. In societies where this is not true, there cannot be enough policemen to enforce honest behavior.22
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👤 Church Leaders (Local)
👤 Other
👤 General Authorities (Modern)
Agency and Accountability
Education
Honesty
Virtue
“Praise to the Man”
As a child in New Hampshire, Joseph Smith suffered a severe leg infection. Under Dr. Nathan Smith’s procedure, his leg was saved without anesthesia, while his father held him and his mother prayed nearby. The speaker suggests this intense suffering helped prepare Joseph for later persecutions.
There, before that tragic day at Carthage, the Prophet was at the zenith of his mortal career. As I stood where he once stood and gazed on the city, I thought of the events that had brought him there, reviewing in my mind his inheritance. I thought of his forebears who generations before had left the British Isles and come to Boston; of their lives in the New World, through five generations on his father’s side and four on his mother’s; of their labors in clearing the lands of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont to build farms and homes; of their distinguished service in the War for Independence; of the adversities and the failures they experienced in trying to gain a living from the granite hills among which they lived. I thought of the little boy, born in Sharon, Vermont, in December of 1805, given his father’s name. I reflected on that terrifying period of sickness when typhus fever struck the family, and osteomyelitis [bone disease], with great pain and weakening infection, settled in Joseph’s leg. That was while the family lived in Lebanon, New Hampshire; and how remarkable it was that only a few kilometers away, at the college in Hanover, was Dr. Nathan Smith, who had developed a procedure by which that infected leg might be saved.
But the cure was not to be accomplished without terrible suffering. In fact, today it is difficult to conceive how the little boy stood it as his father held him in his arms and his mother walked and prayed among the trees of the farm to escape his screams while the surgeon made the long incision and broke off the portions of infected bone without benefit of anesthesia of any kind. Perhaps remembrance of that intense suffering helped prepare Joseph Smith for the later tarring and feathering at Kirtland, the foul jail at Liberty, and the shots of the mob at Carthage.
But the cure was not to be accomplished without terrible suffering. In fact, today it is difficult to conceive how the little boy stood it as his father held him in his arms and his mother walked and prayed among the trees of the farm to escape his screams while the surgeon made the long incision and broke off the portions of infected bone without benefit of anesthesia of any kind. Perhaps remembrance of that intense suffering helped prepare Joseph Smith for the later tarring and feathering at Kirtland, the foul jail at Liberty, and the shots of the mob at Carthage.
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👤 Joseph Smith
👤 Parents
👤 Other
Adversity
Death
Family History
Health
Joseph Smith
An Enduring Example
After Luan’s surgery, the author visited his home with the bishop and stake president and felt a strong spirit despite the family’s humble circumstances. They saw the family lacked basics—even a bed for Luan—but when asked what they needed, the family expressed gratitude for the gospel, church friends, and their happiness, saying they needed nothing else.
I approached Luan, and we became fast friends. After his surgery, I visited him in his home, along with his bishop, Ozani Farias, and his stake president, Mozart B. Soares. These good leaders were a blessing in Luan’s life. They were always there to comfort, support, and help him.
I felt the Spirit very strongly in Luan’s home. Luan, along with his mother and sisters, had joined the Church eight months earlier. There was no father in the home, and Luan’s mother worked hard to provide for the family. Their small house was tidy and clean, and I knew that simple home sheltered a very special family.
During our visit, we noticed the family lacked many basic things. Luan had to sleep on an uncomfortable couch because he had no bed. But when we asked what the family needed, they replied, “We have the gospel, our friends at church, and a happy family. Thank you, but we need nothing else.”
I felt the Spirit very strongly in Luan’s home. Luan, along with his mother and sisters, had joined the Church eight months earlier. There was no father in the home, and Luan’s mother worked hard to provide for the family. Their small house was tidy and clean, and I knew that simple home sheltered a very special family.
During our visit, we noticed the family lacked many basic things. Luan had to sleep on an uncomfortable couch because he had no bed. But when we asked what the family needed, they replied, “We have the gospel, our friends at church, and a happy family. Thank you, but we need nothing else.”
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
👤 Parents
👤 Children
👤 Youth
Bishop
Conversion
Family
Gratitude
Holy Ghost
Ministering
Single-Parent Families
The Power of Covenants
After a devastating 2007 earthquake in Peru, Branch President Wenceslao Conde focused on helping others. Elder Marcus B. Nash met the family and learned their home and belongings were destroyed. Despite this, Sister Pamela Conde expressed peace and gratitude for safety, family, temple sealing, the Church, and the Lord. She affirmed they could rebuild with the Lord's help.
On August 15, 2007, Peru suffered a massive earthquake that all but destroyed the coastal cities of Pisco and Chincha. Like many other Church leaders and members, Wenceslao Conde, the president of the Balconcito Branch of the Church in Chincha, immediately set about helping others whose homes were damaged.
Four days after the earthquake, Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy was in Chincha helping to coordinate the Church’s relief efforts there and met President Conde. As they talked about the destruction that had occurred and what was being done to help the victims, President Conde’s wife, Pamela, approached, carrying one of her small children. Elder Nash asked Sister Conde how her children were. With a smile, she replied that through the goodness of God they were all safe and well. He asked about the Condes’ home.
“It’s gone,” she said simply.
“What about your belongings?” he inquired.
“Everything was buried in the rubble of our home,” Sister Conde replied.
“And yet,” Elder Nash noted, “you are smiling as we talk.”
“Yes,” she said, “I have prayed and I am at peace. We have all we need. We have each other, we have our children, we are sealed in the temple, we have this marvelous Church, and we have the Lord. We can build again with the Lord’s help.”
Four days after the earthquake, Elder Marcus B. Nash of the Seventy was in Chincha helping to coordinate the Church’s relief efforts there and met President Conde. As they talked about the destruction that had occurred and what was being done to help the victims, President Conde’s wife, Pamela, approached, carrying one of her small children. Elder Nash asked Sister Conde how her children were. With a smile, she replied that through the goodness of God they were all safe and well. He asked about the Condes’ home.
“It’s gone,” she said simply.
“What about your belongings?” he inquired.
“Everything was buried in the rubble of our home,” Sister Conde replied.
“And yet,” Elder Nash noted, “you are smiling as we talk.”
“Yes,” she said, “I have prayed and I am at peace. We have all we need. We have each other, we have our children, we are sealed in the temple, we have this marvelous Church, and we have the Lord. We can build again with the Lord’s help.”
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
👤 Church Leaders (Local)
👤 Church Members (General)
Adversity
Emergency Response
Faith
Family
Gratitude
Hope
Peace
Prayer
Sealing
Service
The Words We Speak
Dr. Neal Halfon described an 18-month-old dining with his parents. When the mother left, the father turned to his phone, briefly re-engaged, then switched to a phone video, and Dr. Halfon observed a dimming of the child's internal light and connection.
Dr. Neal Halfon, a physician who directs the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities, refers to “parental benign neglect.” One example involved an 18-month-old and his parents:
“‘Their son seemed happy, active and engaged, clearly enjoying time and pizza with his parents. … At the end of dinner, Mom got up to run an errand, handing over care to Dad.’
“Dad … started reading phone messages while the toddler struggled to get his attention by throwing bits of pizza crust. Then the dad re-engaged, facing his child and playing with him. Soon, though, he substituted watching a video on his phone with the toddler until his wife returned.
“… [Dr.] Halfon observed a dimming of the child’s internal light, a lessening of the connection between parent and child.”5
“‘Their son seemed happy, active and engaged, clearly enjoying time and pizza with his parents. … At the end of dinner, Mom got up to run an errand, handing over care to Dad.’
“Dad … started reading phone messages while the toddler struggled to get his attention by throwing bits of pizza crust. Then the dad re-engaged, facing his child and playing with him. Soon, though, he substituted watching a video on his phone with the toddler until his wife returned.
“… [Dr.] Halfon observed a dimming of the child’s internal light, a lessening of the connection between parent and child.”5
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👤 Parents
👤 Children
👤 Other
Abuse
Children
Family
Movies and Television
Parenting
Australian Couple Finds Joy Helping Finish the Lord’s Temples
Working on a temple, Michael and Debbie needed larger stencils late at night and felt impressed to call a certain supplier. The owner unexpectedly answered because he was at the office due to his own project issues and stayed late to recut stencils. They connected this timely help to Michael’s fasting and praying and felt the Lord had guided them.
And, as Michael and Debbie have found, they experience tremendous revelatory moments and attendant blessings when they are working on the Lord’s temples.
“We needed some bigger stencils for a temple we were working on, but since we didn’t know anybody in that particular city we just went to the internet and found two or three stencil suppliers.” Debbie said. “We felt drawn to one in particular, but it was 11 o’clock at night and we needed these stencils as soon as we could get them. We couldn’t find their trading hours on the website but out of the blue the impression came to me, “Why don’t you just call them?”
“We discussed that if we did that maybe their answering machine would give us their hours,” Debbie continued. “So, I called the number and the owner of the business answered.”
He was at the office that night because of some problems his own people were having with a project they were working on. Later, when Michael and Debbie went in to pick up their new stencils, the man told them it was very unusual for him to be at the office at that time of night.
“He said he had to come in to recut all the stencils for his own project and that he was going to be there until two or three in the morning. That had never happened before,” Debbie said. “But Mike had been fasting and praying all day about this, and we believe the Lord led us to the business that could help us complete what we were working on.”
“We’re so grateful for moments like these.”
“We needed some bigger stencils for a temple we were working on, but since we didn’t know anybody in that particular city we just went to the internet and found two or three stencil suppliers.” Debbie said. “We felt drawn to one in particular, but it was 11 o’clock at night and we needed these stencils as soon as we could get them. We couldn’t find their trading hours on the website but out of the blue the impression came to me, “Why don’t you just call them?”
“We discussed that if we did that maybe their answering machine would give us their hours,” Debbie continued. “So, I called the number and the owner of the business answered.”
He was at the office that night because of some problems his own people were having with a project they were working on. Later, when Michael and Debbie went in to pick up their new stencils, the man told them it was very unusual for him to be at the office at that time of night.
“He said he had to come in to recut all the stencils for his own project and that he was going to be there until two or three in the morning. That had never happened before,” Debbie said. “But Mike had been fasting and praying all day about this, and we believe the Lord led us to the business that could help us complete what we were working on.”
“We’re so grateful for moments like these.”
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👤 Church Members (General)
👤 Other
Faith
Fasting and Fast Offerings
Gratitude
Holy Ghost
Miracles
Prayer
Revelation
Temples
Presiding in Our Home Means …
The family reads scriptures for 10–15 minutes after dinner, currently focusing on the Book of Mormon. Even the youngest children follow along and often remind the family when it's time to read. The father enhances understanding with insights, chalkboard notes, and acting out parts, which the children enjoy.
3. Another meaningful experience we have as a family is reading the scriptures, usually for ten or fifteen minutes right after our evening meal. The Book of Mormon is our current project. Each reader takes a turn, and even our children who do not yet go to school have a book and follow along with their fingers. Every once in a while they’ll ask, “Where are we now?” It’s interesting, too, that these little ones most frequently remind us that it’s time to read the scriptures. Neil gives us many spiritual insights at these times. Often he’ll put an idea on the chalkboard or act out a part of the story. The children love it!
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👤 Parents
👤 Children
Book of Mormon
Children
Family
Parenting
Scriptures
Teaching the Gospel
Teach the Children
The speaker once painted the Willard Peaks, inspired by a childhood phrase calling them “The Presidency,” with his son helping photograph them. Years later, trying to paint again was a struggle, but encouragement from a friend and firm support from his wife kept him from quitting, teaching him about reviving dormant abilities.
I relearned something else. Once before I had painted a picture inspired by comments that I heard when I was a boy. It depicted the Willard Peaks. I had heard the older folks refer to them as The Presidency. These three gigantic, solid peaks standing against the sky typified the leaders of the Church.
That was nine years ago. My son had taken me to Willard and photographed the peaks. We went back a second time when there would be more shadow and contrast.
After those years I had to awaken that which I had let go dormant. At first it was a terrible struggle. I threatened to quit several times. One of my friends urged me on by saying, “Go ahead! There’s always plenty of room at the bottom.”
I did not quit, simply because my wife would not give me permission to do so. I am glad I didn’t now. Perhaps, now that I am into it again, I’ll do another painting sometime—who knows.
I suppose trying to get back into painting is not unlike someone who has been inactive in the Church for many years and decides to return to the fold. There is that period of struggle in getting the feel for what has lain dormant but is not really lost. And it helps to have a friend or two.
That is another principle of learning—drawing lessons from ordinary experience in life.
That was nine years ago. My son had taken me to Willard and photographed the peaks. We went back a second time when there would be more shadow and contrast.
After those years I had to awaken that which I had let go dormant. At first it was a terrible struggle. I threatened to quit several times. One of my friends urged me on by saying, “Go ahead! There’s always plenty of room at the bottom.”
I did not quit, simply because my wife would not give me permission to do so. I am glad I didn’t now. Perhaps, now that I am into it again, I’ll do another painting sometime—who knows.
I suppose trying to get back into painting is not unlike someone who has been inactive in the Church for many years and decides to return to the fold. There is that period of struggle in getting the feel for what has lain dormant but is not really lost. And it helps to have a friend or two.
That is another principle of learning—drawing lessons from ordinary experience in life.
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
👤 Children
👤 Friends
Adversity
Apostasy
Conversion
Endure to the End
Family
Friendship
Repentance
The Choice
Mary Haley and her husband, Edward Sayers, had eleven children, six of whom died young. Only Eleanor reached adulthood, became the first in her family to join the Church, and later died of cancer in a London hospital. Their lives were marked by poverty and obscurity.
We found Mary Haley! She married Edward Sayers, and they had eleven children. Six of them died before they were seven years of age, one from burns. To our knowledge, only one of the eleven grew to maturity.
That was Eleanor Sayers, my wife’s great-grandmother. She was born at Pullham, Norfolk, in the Depwade Union Workhouse and was the first of her family to join the Church. She died of cancer in a dismal London hospital.
The lives of those souls, our forebears, were characterized from beginning to end by both poverty and obscurity.
That was Eleanor Sayers, my wife’s great-grandmother. She was born at Pullham, Norfolk, in the Depwade Union Workhouse and was the first of her family to join the Church. She died of cancer in a dismal London hospital.
The lives of those souls, our forebears, were characterized from beginning to end by both poverty and obscurity.
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👤 Early Saints
👤 Church Members (General)
Adversity
Conversion
Death
Family
Family History
Every Man in His Own Place
A university student body president, visibly distressed, addressed regents and trustees who had applauded the abandonment of in loco parentis on campuses. He warned that if schools no longer cared for students as parents would, many would be left with no parents anywhere. His statement required no further explanation.
There are so many great young people. One who comes to mind was a well-dressed, good-looking young man, sharp, well-spoken, and contemporary in every constructive way, but he was obviously deeply distressed as he rose to offer a greeting in behalf of the university student body of which he was president. His audience was made up of regents and trustees of institutions of higher education meeting in conference at his school. The group had listened to a series of speeches from educators, noting with approval the abandonment on college and university campuses of the doctrine of in loco parentis, a term that means, as you may know, “standing in the place of a parent.” The schools, the speakers said, no longer accept the responsibility of standing in the place of a parent to the students who attend them. Knowledge, intellect, reason—these are the goods with which these institutions deal; the private life of the individual is not their proper concern.
The young student president said what many of us were thinking:
“I’ve listened to your announcement of the abandonment of the principle of in loco parentis,” he said, “and feel there is something you should know. If in fact the school is no longer interested in or willing to fill that role—if it doesn’t care about us as persons, as good parents would care—then that leaves a great many of us with no parents at all anyplace.”
No further explanation was made, and none was needed.
The young student president said what many of us were thinking:
“I’ve listened to your announcement of the abandonment of the principle of in loco parentis,” he said, “and feel there is something you should know. If in fact the school is no longer interested in or willing to fill that role—if it doesn’t care about us as persons, as good parents would care—then that leaves a great many of us with no parents at all anyplace.”
No further explanation was made, and none was needed.
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👤 Young Adults
👤 Other
Education
Family
Parenting
Every Window, Every Spire Speaks of the Things of God
Four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, Brigham Young identified the temple site and Wilford Woodruff drove a stake to mark it. Tradition holds that this spot became the center of the completed Salt Lake Temple.
As the Saints left Nauvoo, they carried the concept of the temple with them in their hearts. Only four days after Brigham Young completed the 2,400-kilometer trek to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, he walked to a spot between two forks of City Creek and, waving his hand, said, “Here is the [place] for the temple.” Wilford Woodruff then drove a stake into the ground to mark the spot. According to tradition, that spot became the center of the completed temple.
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👤 General Authorities (Modern)
Apostle
Faith
Temples
Missionary Focus:The Last House
After initial lessons, the missionaries stopped visiting. She continued by studying A Marvelous Work and a Wonder and the Doctrine and Covenants and even gave a school presentation on Mormonism, answering questions confidently despite not being a member.
They taught us for a few weeks, and I really believed what they told me. But Mom was brought up in her religion and thought she was sinful thinking any other way. I don’t know if Mama asked them not to come back, or if the missionaries felt like they shouldn’t baptize an 11-year-old girl without her family, but they stopped coming.
I didn’t know where they had gone. I didn’t know where the church met or how to contact the missionaries. They had given me some books, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder and The Doctrine and Covenants. I sat down and studied these books carefully.
By then I was in seventh grade. I remember my teacher wanted us to give a presentation on any subject we chose, and I picked Mormonism. I remember studying for it so hard. I then got up and gave my presentation in front of all the students and the faculty, and I wasn’t even a member of the Church. I think I answered every question correctly.
I didn’t know where they had gone. I didn’t know where the church met or how to contact the missionaries. They had given me some books, A Marvelous Work and a Wonder and The Doctrine and Covenants. I sat down and studied these books carefully.
By then I was in seventh grade. I remember my teacher wanted us to give a presentation on any subject we chose, and I picked Mormonism. I remember studying for it so hard. I then got up and gave my presentation in front of all the students and the faculty, and I wasn’t even a member of the Church. I think I answered every question correctly.
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👤 Missionaries
👤 Youth
👤 Other
Baptism
Children
Conversion
Family
Missionary Work
Scriptures
Teaching the Gospel
Testimony
Book of Mormon Principles:
While serving as a bishop and feeling overwhelmed by members' serious problems, the author prayed for relief from the heavy burden. Shortly thereafter, he was released as bishop and called to preside over a large stake. The experience taught that sometimes the Lord increases responsibilities to provide experience and growth.
Sometimes our burdens even increase to give us needed experience. I remember an occasion when I was a bishop. There were several members in the ward going through some dire problems; I felt a heavy responsibility on my shoulders. One night I poured out my soul to the Lord, supplicating Him to take from my shoulders the burden that weighed so heavily on me.
It was a special prayer. He heard and answered it. A few weeks later I was released as bishop and called to preside over a large stake.
It was a special prayer. He heard and answered it. A few weeks later I was released as bishop and called to preside over a large stake.
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👤 Church Leaders (Local)
👤 Church Members (General)
Adversity
Bishop
Faith
Prayer
Stewardship
Books! Books! Books!
Welsh fairy folk, pleased by Huw’s harp music, reward him with a silver cow. Huw’s greedy father then decides to kill the magical cow, creating a moral conflict. The narrative highlights the consequences of greed.
The Silver Cow • The Tylwyth Teg—Welsh fairy folk—are so pleased with Huw’s harp music that they reward him with a silver cow. Then the boy’s greedy father decides to kill it!Susan Cooper5–9 years
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