Gospel Story Finder

For the past 17 years, I have had the privilege of spending the majority of my time living and traveling throughout China. I see numerous members participate in monthly temple excursions to Hong Kong to do temple ordinances for those who have departed this world. Many are involved in genealogical projects where long lost ancestral records are found and temple ordinances can be done for them. In 2008, a deadly earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province where tens of thousands of inhabitants perished. Hundreds of church members responded instantly. Many travelled to the areas of destruction to offer lifesaving services. I am proud to say, some of them are among you in the audience. Some recipients were touched by those charitable acts and subsequently accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ. Another young sister was in college at the time of the earthquake. She did not hesitate to make the extreme personal sacrifice. She left school altogether to join the rescue effort to save lives that lasted several months. This remarkable sister from Sichuan, China will arrive here to further her education this coming September.

There is never a situation where good manners are optional. Before his mission, my son would say to me, “It’s okay. I don’t have to have good manners here when I’m just with my friends.” Or my daughter would say, “We don’t have to have good manners here because it’s just us at home. When I go out I’ll do okay.” Then the whole family would be out to dinner and they both would be eating like slobs. I’d say, “I thought you two said that when we go out to dinner you’d have good table manners.” All they could say was “Oops!” They got caught by their bad habits. Good manners need to be practiced.

One who saw such a star and followed it was Boyd Hatch of Salt Lake City, Utah. Deprived of the use of his legs, faced with a lifetime in a wheelchair, Boyd could well have looked inward and, through sorrow for self, existed rather than lived. However, Brother Hatch looked not inward, but rather outward into the lives of others and upward into God’s own heaven; and the star of inspiration guided him not to one opportunity, but to literally hundreds. He organized Scout troops of handicapped boys. He taught them camping. He taught them swimming. He taught them basketball. He taught them faith. Some boys were downhearted and filled with self-pity and despair. To them he handed the torch of hope. Before them was his own personal example of struggle and accomplishment. With a courage which we shall never fully know or understand, these boys of many faiths overcame insurmountable odds and found themselves anew. Through it all, Boyd Hatch not only found joy, but by willingly and unselfishly giving of himself, he found Jesus.

After we had been married six years, I came to a knowledge that the gospel was true. There is no question in my mind that our previous efforts to serve and please one another were at least part of the reason Jim agreed to look into the Church and allow the missionaries to come. I was reactivated, Jim was baptized, and we were sealed in the temple a year later.
The next six years sped by quickly, and our marriage continued to improve with the foundation and application of gospel principles.
Then one night Jim returned home from an institute class and asked me about several terms he had heard there. “Do you know what these mean?” He spoke them, and they bounced against the blank wall of my mind. “I haven’t the faintest idea,” I answered. As we talked, a suspicion arose in us, awesome, even terrible, that we did not fully understand the doctrines of this gospel we professed to believe in—that our knowledge was shallow and unenlightened.
We started a concentrated study program immediately. We went back to the beginning again to understand faith, baptism, repentance, and the Holy Ghost. We chose vacations with the express purpose of studying together, weeks or weekends, in quiet places where we could relax, research, pray, and ponder.
Growth and understanding came in sudden leaps, as well as line upon line. Our efforts again meant selflessness, sacrificing other interests occasionally, in order to keep pace with one another and to share what we learned with our family. To drag a foot was to slow the rest of us, and neither wanted to be guilty of that.
Today, gospel study and service continue to be a central activity between us, a privilege, we hold most precious. As we look back, our first successes seem small now. But we will always acknowledge a certain ray of light that came one late winter evening to two desperate, seeking newlyweds. The gospel has reaffirmed to us that selflessness and service are truly a vital part of our Heavenly Father’s formula for an enduring marriage.

That first week at BYU-I was one of the hardest of my life. I read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. I created a timeline from Adam to the twelve tribes of Israel and ultimately to Jesus Christ.

The Spirit was teaching me the importance of the Abrahamic covenant and what it meant to receive the promises of priesthood, posterity, and promised land. I began to see that it was about eternal marriage, enduring trials, making and keeping covenants, and creating eternal families.

For the first time, I began to see not only the patriarchs of the covenant but also the matriarchs. There is no Abrahamic covenant without Sarah.

I saw a powerful pattern: God often asks His covenant people to move forward in faith long before they understand His purposes.

I have learned that trusting the God who knows the ending does not remove the trial.It changes the way we face it.

That first week at BYU-Idaho was one of the scariest weeks of my life.

Growing up, I struggled in school. I had been diagnosed with ADD and a mild learning disability. I was deathly shy and terrified to go to college. Now my dad was dying of cancer.

How could God ask something so hard of me?

The first morning of the semester, I woke up in my dorm and opened my scriptures. I read Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” [20]

I remember thinking, If God could create the heavens and the earth, surely, He could help me get through college.

I went into the bathroom, turned on the faucet so my roommates wouldn't hear me cry, knelt on the floor, and begged God for help. Then I walked to the Taylor Building to try to add a religion class.

“I'm sorry,” the teacher said. “My class is full.”

I was devastated. If there was one class I needed, it was religion.

Just as I was about to leave the building, I felt a prompting: “Go into that room.”

My first thought was, “Absolutely not.”

Again, the impression came: “Go into that room.”

So, I walked in and asked if I could add his class.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “My class is full.”

I started to cry and said, “My dad is dying of cancer.”

He looked surprised and replied, “You can add my class.”

It was a 9:00 a.m. Book of Mormon class taught by Brother Kinghorn.

That weekend, I went to a dance on campus, but I didn't feel like dancing. As I walked home, all I could think about was my dad. I remember thinking, “This is too hard. I can't do this.”

When I got to my dorm, I fell on the floor. I didn't even turn on the light.

I said out loud, “Dear Heavenly Father, I do not want to be here. I want nothing more than to be with my dad right now.”

At that moment, I felt arms wrap around me. Whether it was physical or spiritual, I felt arms around me and I heard a voice say, “Tiffany, your earthly father can't and won't always be with you, but I am your Heavenly Father, and I can and I will always be with you.”

That moment changed my life.

That first semester was extremely difficult, yet I grew in unexpected ways. I became a better student, began overcoming my shyness, and learned that when I looked outward instead of inward, my burdens became lighter. Most importantly, I learned that God knew me.

Last spring, our golden retriever, Duchess, had seven brand-new puppies. One day, when the puppies were about five weeks old, I brought the puppies to the Tanner Building so the secretaries could see them.

While I was here on campus, I took them out on the east side of the Tanner Building and let them run around on the patio area which leads down to Helaman Halls. It was a neat experience to watch these mature, scholarly students as they would stop to play with the puppies. Everyone who stopped got down on their hands and knees and played with the puppies, allowing the little dogs to kiss them.

It was great to see these college students “reach out and touch” and extend love to little warm puppies. Surely the Peanuts character, Charlie Brown, was right when he said, “Happiness is a warm puppy.”

While Elder Wood and Elder James help Seth operate his grandfather’s dairy farm, they teach him the gospel. He learns about Joseph Smith and begins reading the Book of Mormon. But when Grandpa returns from the hospital, he is unhappy to learn that strangers have been helping take care of his animals.
When the missionaries knocked on the farmhouse door, Seth rushed to open it. He introduced them to his grandma.
She eyed the young city elder. “Are you the young man who baked that cake?”
Elder Wood looked a little nervous but answered clearly. “I am.”
Grandma smiled. “That’s good cake. I was just dying for something homemade. Now, if you remember that recipe, I’d like to write it down.” Seth left them talking as he took Elder James to meet Grandpa.
Grandpa scowled when he saw the missionary. Elder James smiled and held out his hand. Grandpa took it, and the scowl softened. Its strength and roughness identified it as the hand of a farmer. Grandpa recognized another man who loved and served the land.
“You have a fine farm here,” Elder James said. “That Guernsey is a good milker. I wish I had one just like her.”
Grandpa thawed completely, and as Seth left the room, the men were talking of things dear to the hearts of farmers.
It was almost dark when Seth’s parents arrived. He quickly forgot about everything except being with them. They hugged and laughed and talked. Grandpa sat up on the couch, swaddled in blankets. Seth held baby Janet and listened. It felt good to be together again. Later he went out to his bed on the porch. He was going to sleep there that night to make room for his family in the house.
Dad followed him and sat on the porch rocker. He looked very serious. “Grandpa told me about those men who have been here. He and Grandma like them, but he says that they’re Mormon missionaries.”
Seth sat very still. “Yes. That’s right.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? You’ve called every night and never mentioned anything about Mormons.”
“I wanted you to meet them first.”
“Mrs. Bowers says that the Mormons are an evil group who steal children away from their families.”
Seth stared in astonishment. “Mrs. Bowers is an old gossip! Nobody believes a word she says!”
“Seth,” his father said sternly, “you’re talking about a neighbor.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. But the real name of the Mormon church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Families are important to them. I know that they wouldn’t try to take me away from you.”
He grabbed the Book of Mormon by his bed. Grandpa had given it back to him that morning and asked if he could borrow it to study it more when he felt stronger. “See, they gave me this book.” He opened it to First Nephi. “Look at this.”
His father took the book and read out loud: “‘I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father. …’ Hmmm. This doesn’t sound bad to me.” He looked puzzled. “I need to read more. Is it all right if I take it home?”
Seth nodded. “I’ve read some of it and prayed about it. I know it’s a true book.”
His father studied him for a moment. “Is that so?”
Seth nodded again. “I want to be baptized into their church. Will you let me?”
“I need to know more about it first. I don’t want you making any mistakes.”
Every day Seth waited impatiently for the time when he could call his parents. Every day he asked his father the same question. “Have you read the book yet?”
Every day Father answered, “No, I’m still too busy with the haying.”
Seth knew that at haying time, everyone worked till they could hardly stand up. He’d have to be patient, no matter how hard it was.
One day when he asked the question, another voice piped in. “Just what is this book you’re always talking about?”
Seth could hear his father’s soft chuckle. “Well, Mrs. Bowers, he’s talking about the Book of Mormon.”
She gasped. “That book! I heard it’s wicked, wicked! No one should read it!”
“I’ll give you a copy,” his father offered. “Then you won’t have to listen to others talk about it. I’ve read a good part of it, and there’s nothing evil in it. It’s about Jesus Christ on this continent.”
Seth could hardly believe his ears. “You read it!”
His father chuckled again. “Your Elder James stopped in and talked to me yesterday. After he left, I sat down to read.”
“That’s wonderful!” Seth yelled. “Then I can be baptized?”
“Yes, you can.”
“Well, I never!” Mrs. Bowers butted in. “Not a soul in this area will ever talk to you again if you join that church. Well, you’ve been warned. That’s all I’m going to say about it.”
“Thank you,” his father said solemnly.
Seth giggled. He knew that his father was thankful for her promise not to say any more, not for her warning.
The next time the Elders came by, Seth ran out to meet them. “I can be baptized! My folks will let me!”
Elder James smiled and clapped him on the back. “That’s great. Before you know it, the rest of your family will be joining too.”
Seth frowned. “Mrs. Bowers said that no one will talk to us anymore if I join the Church.”
Elder James looked thoughtful. “That happens sometimes. People are afraid of what they don’t understand. What do they think of your family now?”
“We’ve been friends with everyone around here for years.”
“Then that’s how it will stay. If they object, just give them time to see that you’re the same person, only a little better. They’ll warm up to you again.”
Grandma was hanging clothes on the line. She walked over and shook her finger in the air. “You leave Eliza Bowers to me! She won’t dare spread rumors about my grandson!”
The men all laughed at the fierce little woman. She laughed with them. Together they went into the house to plan Seth’s baptism. Seth wanted all his friends and family to be there—Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, baby Janet, and, most of all, Mrs. Bowers.

Artur Tomaszewski could defend himself if the need arose. After all, he was the national jujitsu champion in his native Poland at age 17. But he believes the wisest course is always to seek peace first. That is what he was doing, in a way, when he won his greatest battle—the struggle to find truth.
As a young boy, Artur had studied the Bible and formed questions about his relationship to God and about God’s true Church. No one had answers to satisfy him. Finally, he prayed to God to show him which church was true.
Does this story sound familiar?
Both the answer Artur received and the way it came surprised him.
As a youth, he says, “I liked to study about different religions.” His study convinced him that the Church of Jesus Christ ought to be on the earth. Yet he could not find one that seemed to meet biblical criteria. He was even tempted at one point to wonder if God really existed, but the faith that lived inside him overcame that doubt. He knew that if anyone could provide answers, it would be God. There came a time when he was 18 that Artur prayed, specifically asking to be led to the true Church.
Not long afterward, while he was visiting at the home of his aunt, he saw a dusty book sitting on a shelf. It was titled the Book of Mormon. His aunt had received it from some sister missionaries, then had laid it aside and forgotten it.
Artur picked it up and put it back down three times, struggling over whether to read it. No, he would not; he believed only in the Bible. But this book said it was another testament of Jesus Christ. No, this Joseph Smith story at the beginning was too fantastic. But what if it was true? No, the story in the first 20 pages of the book was simply foreign to all he knew.
Still, what he had read stayed with him all week long. When he returned to his aunt’s house, planning to resume reading where he had left off, the book was gone!
It would be some time before Artur received his own copy of the Book of Mormon.
He introduced himself to missionaries on the street in Katowice. When they did not call him immediately as promised (this is a mistake Elder Tomaszewski the missionary does not make now), he decided to seek them out on a Sunday morning at the meetinghouse address on a flyer they had given him.
It happened to be a fast Sunday, and as members bore their testimonies, Artur felt the same feeling of peace and surety that had stayed with him after his first reading in the Book of Mormon. The feeling was so strong that he wanted to stand and bear his own testimony that the book was true, but he did not know if this would be permitted.
When the missionaries finally gave him his own copy of the Book of Mormon, they asked him solemnly if he would promise to read it and pray for an answer about its truthfulness. Artur laughed. He already knew he could get an answer from God.
He read and he prayed. The answer that came was so strong it seemed to be not only a feeling, but also “like light to my eyes,” giving great clarity to the truths he already knew from the Bible. He laughed out loud once more, wondering if the answer about the Church of Jesus Christ could really be this “clear and simple.” He had thought it might be some complicated thing. He prayed again to be sure and received the same strong answer, assuring him that God’s truths are plain, not complicated.
“When I found out it was true, I went home full of joy,” he recalls. But no one wanted to share the joy. His mother and two younger brothers were not interested. His father was antagonistic. After Artur’s baptism in 2002, he had almost no support from friends and acquaintances either, except within his branch.
Religious tradition is very strong in Poland. No one could understand why he wanted to leave the dominant faith. Still, he says, his parents’ teaching and example were very valuable in preparing him to find the truth. “I’m grateful they did what they knew how to do in teaching me.”
Being alone in living the gospel did not break down his faith. When he determined to serve a mission, he was willing to give up the jujitsu practices and competitions he loved—something that had been part of his life from childhood—to work and save money for a mission. Jujitsu, he says, was an art form for him. “I felt like a painter painting a picture when I practiced.” But working left him no time to practice.
Before leaving his hometown of Mystowice to serve as a missionary, Elder Tomaszewski left a challenge for his younger brother Patryk, who was also deeply involved in jujitsu. “If you want to find out why I’m doing this, why I’m giving up my sport, read the Book of Mormon and pray about it.”
Elder Tomaszewski says some of the qualities developed through the discipline of jujitsu have been helpful in the mission field: patience, humility, and the capacity for hard work.
What does he like most about missionary work?
“Often when I’m really tired, when I feel like I don’t have any strength left and maybe I’m lacking a little in faith, we knock on a door and find someone,” he says. Finding someone who wants to listen sometimes makes him so excited he can’t sleep.
And what has been his best day as a missionary?
The day he learned that his younger brother had taken his challenge to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Patryk Tomaszewski also received a testimony. He was baptized in August 2004.
Now there are two Tomaszewskis to share the joy of the gospel.

Now a little international story that I had forgotten about until I read President McKay’s words. Over twenty years ago, John and I visited Austria, as part of his assignment at BYU over International Education. It was during the time of the Bosnian War. There was an international stake in Vienna where they held a Young Women camp. In that camp, girls from all the factions of the war were included. There were girls from Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Croatia. However, during that camp, they were not there to represent the politics of their nations, but rather, they remembered that they are daughters of a Heavenly Father, who loves them and they love him. They had promised to stand as witnesses of God at all times, in all things and in all places. As they remembered their covenant to follow the Lord. They had a week of complete joy, love, and peace. Like President McKay had stated, “It was the testimony of God and obedience to the gospel plan that are the keys to peace.”

“It was fifty years ago tomorrow that I arrived in this wonderful, free land.” She wiped away a tear and began to chuckle. “I was only twelve years old, and just as I got off the boat, all these splendid fireworks started exploding. I thought they were welcoming me. I didn’t know it was Canada Day. I also didn’t know what a great blessing Heavenly Father had given me by letting me come here, because here I found the gospel of Jesus Christ. My testimony of Jesus Christ and His gospel is my most precious possession.”
…
“We watched the fireworks, and I thought about your seeing them when you first came to Canada.”
“Yes, it was quite a sight for a twelve year old.”

Let me introduce you to two of your fellow students Kathy and Daniela from El Salvador. Kathy was among the first 20 students from her country to enroll in BYU-Pathway Worldwide, while Daniela’s mother inspired her to enroll. "Thanks to BYU-Pathway," Daniela said, "my English improved, I was given a leadership role, and my pay doubled." Both earned BYU-Idaho degrees and traveled here for graduation.
Elder Deiter F. Uchtdorf has said, “For members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea—it’s a commandment.” [1]
Kathy and Daniela are powerful examples of this truth. They show us that pursuing an education isn’t just a personal goal—it’s a spiritual act. Let’s talk about why that matters.

Twenty years ago I was called to be Young Women president in my ward. My hair was brown, and my body was … well, let’s just say, a little more limber. Many years later I was called again to the same position, this time in a new ward. I was being recycled, and I found that exciting. It was my chance to renew my covenant to God that I would serve in whatever capacity He needed me. Now, however, my hair was naturally silver (or mostly so), and touching my toes had become a real strain. But I didn’t feel too old to be blessed again by the lives of remarkable young women who were faithful, bright, and full of fun. I would like to think that by then I had a little more wisdom to give them and a deeper testimony of the gospel, but once again I learned as much from them as they did from me. Our sisterhood includes all ages and backgrounds; we are connected by the covenants we have made.

I met Bill Forrest and Debbie Hutchings when we were students at Brigham Young University. Bill had returned from his mission. He and Debbie fell in love and were married in the Oakland California Temple. They established their home in Mesa, Arizona, and were blessed with five sons and two daughters. Bill and Debbie taught their children to love the Lord Jesus Christ as they loved Him. Their son, Elder Daniel Forrest, currently serving in the Mexico Oaxaca Mission, said, “Every morning without fail we were there at the table before school reading and discussing the scriptures.”

Their daughter Kara, now married with two children of her own, still vividly remembers her father driving her to early morning activities in high school. She said, “My dad enjoyed committing quotes, scriptures, and poems to memory, [and during those early morning drives] we would practice reciting them.” One of his favorite scriptures was “Remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, … [he] shall have no power over you to drag you down … because of the rock upon which ye are built.”40

On the Friday before Easter Sunday in the year 2000, exactly 10 years ago, Bill Forrest was serving as bishop of the Estate Groves Ward in Arizona. On his drive to work, only a mile (1.6 km) from home, his car was struck by a large gravel truck. Debbie and the children left home shortly after Bill and unexpectedly came upon the tragic scene. Bill had not survived the accident. The immortal spirit of this beloved husband and father had suddenly been taken home to Him who overcame death, the Son of God, whose glorious Resurrection they were to have celebrated together that Easter Sunday.

How did Debbie and her seven children (the youngest only 5) find the strength they needed? Kara, 15 at the time of her father’s accident, recently told me: “I am grateful to my [mother and father] for the ways that they taught me [about the Savior]. They opened the scriptures with me, prayed with me, and were examples of [the Savior’s] charity, love, and patience. … Easter [is] a tender time in my life each year as I reflect on the life, mission, and Resurrection of our Savior and am reminded of the life of my earthly father.”

Elder Daniel Forrest said: “I was 10 years old when my father passed away. It was a tough time. … My mother has always been an example of the Savior’s teachings. I carry with me my father’s name badge from his mission to Spain. [Two] of my favorite quotes from my father [are]: ‘Two men can do anything as long as one of them is the Lord’ and ‘The Savior must be our foundation. Without that we flounder.’”

Faith in Jesus Christ has filled the hearts of the Forrest children. On this Easter weekend, 10 years since their father’s passing, they miss him deeply, but the sting of his death is “swallowed up in Christ.”41 They know, because of the incalculable gift of the Savior, they can be with their earthly father and their Heavenly Father again.

I have had many worthwhile experiences since coming to BYU, and I should like to introduce my remarks this morning by telling you of one of these.

A few years ago it was the privilege of many of us on the faculty to represent the Unified Church School System throughout the stakes of the Church at quarterly conferences and to explain what we were doing in the seminaries and institutes and at BYU. We would accompany the General Authorities to these quarterly conferences. What golden hours they were, to spend hour upon hour with the Brethren in their automobiles, talking about the gospel and the challenges and problems of the Church.

On one occasion I went with President A. Theodore Tuttle, of the First Council of the Seventy, up to a stake in Idaho. He told me something about this stake on the way. He said, “I don’t expect to see too much activity here. This stake is one of the poorer stakes of the Church, so far as attendance is concerned. It is a farming community, and the young people are moving out. Primarily the members are older people. The stake is getting smaller all the time; in fact, we have considered combining it with another stake.”

Therefore I was not too surprised when it came time for us to meet with the stake presidency that only one member of the stake presidency was there. However, we began our meeting, and in time all four of them were there.

Then, in the evening, when it came time to have our stake priesthood meeting, there were only seven people present—including Brother Tuttle, myself, and four members of the stake presidency. The stake president turned to Brother Tuttle and said, “What shall we do?”

Brother Tuttle said, “We will go ahead.”

So we did, and we had the opening song and the prayer. By this time there were eleven people there. The stake clerk got up to call the roll. He called the roll—four of the stake presidency, two on the high council. Then he called for the presidency of a priesthood quorum to stand. One man stood up. He said, “I am the only one here.”

Brother Tuttle got up from his seat, went over and stood next to the stake clerk who was calling the roll, and looked over at the man. He said, “Brother, how many is one?”

The man said, “Pardon me. What did you say?”

“How many is one?”

The man stood there, slightly flustered, and did not reply. The seconds turned into about a half-minute or so. I felt a little bit embarrassed. I was about to raise my hand and volunteer the answer, because, although I had not had very much math, I knew enough that one is one.

But before I could get my hand up, someone far wiser than I in the audience raised his hand. Brother Tuttle acknowledged him, and the man stood up and said, “It depends. Sometimes one is a multitude.”

Brother Tuttle said, “Thank you,” and sat down.

I have thought of that experience many times. I am not sure I know exactly what Brother Tuttle was trying to teach, but he taught me something. Since that time, whenever I pick up a biography or an autobiography of a great man or woman, whenever I read the scriptures and study the lives of the prophets and the life of the Savior, I am reminded of the statement of that good brother: “Sometimes one is a multitude.”

Basketball season for the Academia Juarez varsity girls began just like any other season: a winning season was their goal. The Church-owned school in Colonia Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, is unique in that the majority of the sports programs require the players to travel internationally to play their games. Another interesting fact is that the entire 2010–11 varsity girls’ team, the Lobas, are all active Latter-day Saint young women. They stand out because they are just as united off the court as they are on the court.
And they did have a successful season, winning the majority of their games and taking first place in two tournaments. To end their season, they decided to go to the temple together as a team and do baptisms for the dead. Their coach, Bishop Russell Robinson, made the arrangements. He says, “Never have I seen a group of girls who love each other and love the Lord like these girls do.”
As Colonia Juárez Chihuahua Mexico Temple president Robert Whetten met them at the doors of the temple, he said, “I don’t know of anywhere in the world where a competitive sports team makes coming to the temple a priority to cap off their season. This truly is a great group of young women.”

President Nelson, in his address, gave several suggestions3 to help us increase our faith. May I relate how I worked on some of them.
Study. I studied President Nelson’s address during last general conference and was reminded of Alma’s invitation to experiment upon the word and “exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if [we] can no more than desire to believe.”4
Yes, it was easy for me to choose to believe in Jesus Christ. But in order to allow the Atonement to fully apply to me I needed to work harder. This provided an opportunity for me to remember and to ponder upon the Savior’s ministry, and His infinite Atonement. I soon felt my faith growing and my hope increase. And I had an eternal perspective on the events of the last few weeks.
My heart swelled with gratitude as the Spirit helped me to recognize the hand of the Lord in so many details of these events and His perfect timing. Even behind my mother’s request to be brought back home. This allowed my mother for her last few days in her mortal life to be with her loved ones, feel more peace, and see her beloved doctor son taking care of her. Indeed, the Lord blessed me with this unique opportunity to be close to her whilst trying to provide the best medical care I could. I am so grateful for the precious moments of that Saturday afternoon I spent with her a few hours before she died, discussing nonmedical things. My siblings and I have never been as close as we were when we were all united in taking care of my mother and later, of my widowed father.
I remember that when mom was dying, and as I still felt her weak pulse during the resuscitation treatment, I laid my hands upon her head with the intention to give her a priesthood blessing to command her to stay with us, but my mouth could not utter what I intended to say. Instead, I said a silent prayer for the Lord’s will to be fulfilled and the outcome to be the best for her and for all of us.
This was indeed the best option, under the Master’s hand. As taught by Elder Neil L. Andersen, my faith grew as “a gift from heaven that comes as we choose to believe and as we seek it and hold on to it.”5
The “act in faith” part, apart from following President Nelson’s and Alma’s invitation, also consisted of writing and sharing my testimony to my relatives and through social media, and through this article I was invited to write. Yes, my increasing faith in Jesus Christ helped me feel His love and removed the mountain of doubts before me.
I know Jesus Christ loves me and each one of us. I know we can rely upon that love and that “the trial of [my] faith [is] much more precious than . . . gold,”6 as the trials we experience are there to help us increase in faith and be blessed.
May we all have that desire to work on increasing our faith in Jesus Christ to be able to remove the mountains before us, and to receive the blessings our Heavenly Father desires to bestow upon us.
Ifanomezana Rasolondraibe was named an Area Seventy in April 2019. He is married to Felambolafotsy Cardiss Keithy Suman Ratsitobaina; they are the parents of three children. Elder and Sister Rasolondraibe reside in Antananarivo, Madagascar.

I remember well the insecurities I felt as a teenager with a bad case of acne. I tried to care for my skin properly. For years I even went without eating chocolate and greasy foods, but with no obvious healing consequences. It was difficult for me at that time to fully appreciate this body which was giving me so much grief. But my good mother taught me a higher law. Over and over she said to me, “You must do everything you can to make your appearance pleasing, but the minute you walk out the door, forget yourself and start concentrating on others.”

There it was. She was teaching me the Christlike principle of selflessness. Charity, or the pure love of Christ, “seeketh not her own” (Moro. 7:45). When we become other-oriented, or selfless, we develop an inner beauty of spirit that glows in our outward appearance. This is how we make ourselves in the Lord’s image rather than the world’s and receive His image in our countenances. Our bodily temples become lights for others.

On another occasion two of our elders, rather young and inexperienced, had gone to a new city to open up the work. The city was almost totally Catholic and was reportedly under the domination of the Catholic bishop who resided there. As these elders went about their work, making contacts and becoming acquainted, people frequently said to them, “Does the bishop know you are here?”

They would answer, “We don’t know.”

“Well, it will be interesting to see what happens when he finds out you are here.”

So they were “walking on eggs,” so to speak, as they went about their work, wondering when the ax would fall, supposing that a powerful influence might be brought against them. One day the blow fell. A priest came to their lodging and delivered a letter. It said in substance, “We would like to know by what authority you come into this community and teach your doctrine without having first cleared it with the bishop of this area. Therefore, we ask you, to appear at a special meeting that will be held at a certain place and time in the central Catholic church.”

The elders called mission headquarters.

“President, what will we do? Can you come up and help us?”

I answered, “No, I can’t come, but they have offered you an invitation to explain what we believe. That is what you are looking for, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but how do we handle this situation?”

I said, “I’ll have my assistant come and join you. Accept the invitation, but do it on two conditions. You may say, ‘We’ll be glad to come if we are treated with courtesy and if you will assure us the opportunity to explain what we believe.’”

Then my assistant and I worked out a procedure concerning what they might talk about.

In the meeting, the priest in charge, without any formality, stood up and said, “These two young men are here teaching their religion and we have called you together to hear an explanation of their doctrine.” There were two or three hundred people present representing the influential people of the city. The elders were given a wide-open opportunity.

They stood up and spoke of the Apostasy, the Restoration, the need for the gospel to be restored, and then told of the Book of Mormon. Then, as they said, “Now if you people will read this Book of Mormon and pray about it, the Lord will give you a testimony,” a priest in the rear of the hall jumped up and said, “Oh, no, no, no. None of you can read that book.” Everyone laughed when he said that. So the opposition was overcome. There was no problem except that after the meeting a Seventh-day Adventist present got into an argument with one of the priests while our elders had several very pleasant conversations. From then on they had no ripples in their proselyting in that city. So don’t get mad.

When we lived in New England, our home was located in a beautiful little community surrounded by a garden of trees and narrow winding country roads lined with rock walls. When we first moved there, a small flagpole stood in the center of the lovely town green, or park. One summer day during a severe rainstorm, lightning struck the flagpole and it came crashing down.
That night a committee was formed to secure a replacement for the pole. Because the people who lived there were proud of their flag and wanted to see it flying even above the trees, a beautiful white pole was erected as a witness to all who saw it that we loved our country and our flag. It was breathtaking to see the red, white, and blue of the flag waving high in the sky.

One day last summer, Spencer J. was riding home from a summer vacation with his parents and family when he decided that the time in the car was perfect for planning some of his goals for the upcoming year. He and his family came up with a great list of goals that would help him plan for school, work on getting in better shape, and fulfill his duty to God.
His goals for school included working hard to get straight A’s, befriending people at school who seem lonely, and tutoring a student who is struggling in classes. He also wanted to run for an Arizona State President of Student Government, which he was later elected to. That goal could have been intimidating because he had to give a speech in front of 2,000 people. But, as Spencer says, “It would be an awesome experience to talk to other states about what they are doing with their student governments.”
Spencer wanted to get in better physical shape. He decided to make a goal to ride his bike at least four miles about three days a week to prepare for a mission. Then he listed that he would like to run two miles at least once a week. He also would participate with the track and tennis teams.
As a priest in the Aaronic Priesthood, Spencer worked with his quorum leaders to set a goal to help make the sacrament more meaningful by being prepared to bless the sacrament, saying the prayers with more feeling, and inviting others who don’t often participate in the blessing of the sacrament to bless it with him.
Carrying out these personal goals has made Spencer happier, healthier, and more prepared for the challenges and opportunities he will face in the future.