Gospel Story Finder

Throughout my youth, my Church leaders watched out for me. Because my mother died when I was 15 years old and my father had a serious illness, I needed to work at night to earn money and go to high school during the day. I wanted to serve a full-time mission, but I didn’t know how I could save enough money for it. Then the elders quorum president of my ward told me that the quorum would help support me on my mission. I was happy and grateful that they would help me be a missionary. With their help, I served a mission in Brazil. Years later, my wife and children came with me to Brazil while I served as mission president.

Before I started kindergarten, I made a goal to learn how to tie my shoes. I practiced every day. Whenever I notice a classmate with untied laces, I offer to help them. I am thankful that I can use my talents to help my friends, like Jesus did.
Creighton D., age 5, Indiana, USA

I remember an incident in my home growing up when my mother’s sensitive spirit was affected by a physical indulgence. She had experimented with a new sweet roll recipe. They were big and rich and yummy—and very filling. Even my teenage brothers couldn’t eat more than one. That night at family prayer my father called upon Mom to pray. She buried her head and didn’t respond. He gently prodded her, “Is something wrong?” Finally she said, “I don’t feel very spiritual tonight. I just ate three of those rich sweet rolls.” I suppose that many of us have similarly offended our spirits at times by physical indulgences. Especially substances forbidden in the Word of Wisdom have a harmful effect on our bodies and a numbing influence on our spiritual sensitivities. None of us can ignore this connection of our spirits and bodies.

I love this gospel and I love street art, so I decided to combine the two. I packed my scriptures, a sketchbook, charcoal pencils, permanent markers, and cans of spray paint in my backpack. My companions laughed and asked, “What are you doing with spray paint?” I explained, “I may not speak the language yet, but I can show others my testimony.”
For the remainder of my mission, I used street art—on paper, not on buildings—and the Spirit to teach others about Christ. And as crazy as it sounds, it worked. Many people didn’t want to hear my message, so I sketched it. Doors and eyes opened when I told them that I did graffiti. They didn’t believe me. They timed me for three minutes, and I sketched the word faith while teaching them about it. Among them were many who felt judged and unloved. I could testify that with faith in Christ we can feel of His love and forgiveness, and He can help us change for the better. He did for me.

I saw someone sit alone at the playground, so I played with them, and I felt good inside. What I learned … when you do good, you feel good too!
Haley P., age 9, Texas, USA

When I was in high school, I got offended about some of the Church doctrine. It eventually led me to become less active. I attended some activities at another church that helps people spiritually, and yet my joy was not full, as if there was something missing.
It took me time to find what was missing, but one day after I prayed, I opened my eyes and I saw my Book of Mormon on my table. I was about to go to sleep when a thought came to me, saying, “I was born a Mormon. How come I haven’t finished the Book of Mormon?” So that day I decided to finish reading the Book of Mormon, and after many years, I have finally found the missing piece of that happiness here in the mission field.

Recently, during a hospital visit to a dear friend, she asked me to read the scriptures to her. You see, she was full of fear. Well, I planned to spend the evening in final review of materials for a test the next day at school. However, I knew that my friend had not been very close to the Lord lately; so I decided to stay and read to her.
I left the hospital much later than I had planned, and I was worried about my test. Still, I felt I had made the right decision in staying and helping my friend become closer to the Lord by reading the scriptures to her. That night I prayed that the Holy Ghost would bring back into my mind those things which I had previously read in my textbook and studied in class, for now there was no time for further study. A warm and comforting spirit came over me. I had no fear during the examination the next day, and I was blessed with the ability to remember information that otherwise might not have come back into my mind. I believe that if we truly seek God and try to live worthily, we will be blessed with the ability to accomplish all our goals and we will have the power to be what we should.

I think of dear Sister Amy Gent, whom I was privileged to visit for several years as branch president, home teacher, and friend. The first time I visited her, she was 87 years of age. Widowed twice, she was the only member of the Church in her extended family. Was she lonely? Never!

She read the scriptures every day. Once she asked me to bring her some missionary tracts, which I thought were to vary her reading. I gave them to her saying, “You will enjoy reading these, Sister Gent.”

“Oh, they are not for me,” she replied. “I visit an old lady, and I want to share the gospel with her!”

Reaching out, helping, serving, this is the way we overcome the fear of loneliness.

“When I saw in my mission call that I was assigned to Japan, I was completely shocked. But after hearing Elder Kearon’s counsel, I was reminded that the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. Despite my lack of background, it strengthened my testimony that He indeed qualifies those whom He calls.”
Sister ZafraJapan Tokyo South Mission

1 Ooooh! The meteors are falling in swarms! And there must be millions of stars in the sky tonight!
2 The stars are always there. We usually just can’t see most of them because of the city lights. I’m glad we came to Grandpa’s farm.
3 How many stars are there?
I don’t know. Heavenly Father told Moses, “Worlds without number have I created.”
4 Without number! So nobody knows how many.
Almost nobody. Heavenly Father meant that we can’t count His works. But He can. He went on to say, “All things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.”
5 It’s nice knowing somebody’s in charge.
Yes, Someone Who knows every person as well as every world.

1 It’s Primary day! After school a friend invites you to go home with him to play. What would you do?
Forget Primary and go with your friend.
Tell him you can’t and go straight to Primary.
Tell him you’d like to go to his house another day, then ask him to go to Primary with you.
If you have chosen the following answers, 1. c, 2. a, 3. b, 4. c, 5. b, you have strong convictions, know how to stand up for what you believe is right without hurting the feelings of others, and can be a good missionary by your example.

Thwap, screeee!
Christine froze in her bed. Her heart beat so hard she could feel it squeezing in her chest. What was that noise?
Very slowly, she turned to look at the window. The blinds were closed, so she couldn’t see what was making the sound.
She kept hearing the scraping noise, and she kept imagining scarier and scarier things.
Her heart beat even faster.
She could just go into Mom and Dad’s room again. She knew they wouldn’t mind. But she was always so embarrassed the next day when she did that. I’m too old to be scared at night.
But she was scared. It could be anything, she thought. It wasn’t very loud, but she kept hearing it.
She closed her eyes and said what seemed like her hundredth prayer for the night. Heavenly Father, I can’t go to sleep. I’m too scared. But I don’t want to go to Mom and Dad’s room. I want to be brave. Please help me not be afraid.
She finished her prayer and took a deep, slow breath. It’s OK, she thought. I can do this.
Thwap, screeee!
Yeah, she was pretty sure it was something trying to get through her window. She was so scared she didn’t dare move a muscle. She didn’t know what to do.
I could ask David, she thought. That isn’t as embarrassing as sleeping in Mom and Dad’s room.
Carefully she peeled off the covers and jumped off the bed, landing as far as possible from the window. Without looking back, she tiptoed quickly to her brother’s room.
“David,” she whispered, shaking his shoulder.
“Gmmmblll.” David slowly turned over and opened one eye. “Hmmm. What?”
“Uh, there’s a noise outside my window. Will you check what it is?” she asked.
“Sure.” David got up and shuffled to her room.
When they reached the window, he pulled up the blinds and looked outside. It was too dark to see.
“I don’t hear anything,” he said.
“Just wait a minute,” Christine said.
Sure enough, there it was again. Thwap, screeee!
David opened the window and reached out. Snap! He pulled a small branch back in.
“It’s just the tree outside. This was scraping against your window,” he said, handing her the branch.
I was scared of a stick? She felt really silly. “Thanks for looking,” she said. “Sorry I woke you up.”
David smiled. “You can always ask me for help.”
“Thanks.”
“I can stay for a little while if you want,” he said.
Christine nodded. She jumped into bed and pulled her feet away from the edges. David sat on the end of her bed and scooted back to the wall.
“I wish I could be braver at night,” Christine said.
“You know what’s brave?” said David. “Asking for help.”
“No it’s not,” she said. “I was scared.”
David laughed. “Everyone gets scared—even me! But being scared doesn’t mean you aren’t brave. It takes courage to ask for help when you’re afraid.”
Christine smiled. It was still dark, but she didn’t feel as anxious anymore.
“I’m OK now. You can go back to sleep,” she said.
David gave her a hug and walked out. He stopped in her doorway. “Night. Sleep well,” he said.
“Night, David,” she said back.
Christine closed her eyes. There were no more scary sounds. Heavenly Father, she prayed silently, Thank Thee that David could help me. I’m glad I was brave enough to ask.

After the meeting, several students shared how they heard about the Church from Pavel Agafonov.
Pavel learned of the Church in March 1990, while studying engineering and psychology in the United States. Previously, he had visited many other churches, asking hard questions. “None of the churches I visited could answer the questions I had,” explains Pavel. “I wanted a real church, one that knows God today.”
He was baptized in April 1990, then began bringing his friends. Since then, his two roommates, Andrei Chromovskich, another engineering and psychology major, and Vladimir Shestakov, a semi-professional basketball player and athletics major, have both joined the Church. Another friend of Pavel’s named Valeri Pomazanov, who studies at the institute of teachers, has also joined the Church. These young men agree that there is no other place where they’ve found as much closeness, both emotionally and spiritually, as they’ve found in the Church.

Under the inspiration of the Lord and the courageous action of Joseph Smith, the first Latter-day Saint missionaries ever to serve beyond North America brought the restored gospel to the British Isles in 1837. Heading that first group of elders was Heber C. Kimball, who set a great example for all newly called missionaries. Humbled by the responsibility and fully aware of his limitations, he poured out his heart in prayer.
“O, Lord,” he cried, “I am a man of stammering tongue, and altogether unfit for such a work; how can I go to preach in that land, which is so famed throughout Christendom for learning, knowledge and piety; the nursery of religion; and to a people whose intelligence is proverbial!”
But rising from his knees and accepting his duty, he said, “The moment I understood the will of my Heavenly Father, I felt a determination to go at all hazards, believing that He would support me by His almighty power, and endow me with every qualification that I needed” (Life of Heber C. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1945, p. 104). Surely God responded to the faith of that young elder, because Brother Kimball and his companions were endowed, “with every qualification” they needed.
Following the arrival of these first elders at Liverpool, England, and their first proselyting efforts in Preston, England, the work took root and flourished. Over the next decade, the efforts of men such as Brigham Young, John Taylor, and Wilford Woodruff brought the restored gospel to thousands.
Some of the greatest men in Church history established the gospel in Great Britain. Clockwise from above: Heber C. Kimball, Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff.

Not all of Kevin’s helpful plans turn out quite so well. Once, he made a birthday cake with two packages of cake mix. The cake overflowed its pan and cooked in a pile on the bottom of the oven. What a mess! Kevin and his family still chuckle over that mistake. “I haven’t made a cake since,” he admits. But he does volunteer to cook other things for the family—especially hot dogs and ravioli—and he feeds Belle twice a week.

“A fine chance I have to win,” Alan mumbled to Jerry as they each read the poster in the library that announced the pet contest.
“The sign says that the boy or girl who brings the most unusual pet will win swimming tickets for the summer,” Jerry reminded him. “It doesn’t say that the pet has to do any tricks or anything.”
“I know,” Alan grumbled. “But Karen has a talking parakeet, Jimmy has a talking parrot, you’re bringing your talking myna bird, and Susan is sure to bring her singing canary.”
“Why don’t you enter Pokey in the contest?” Jerry asked.
“Pokey?” Alan questioned, surprised that Jerry would even mention such a thing. “Who ever heard of a talking turtle?”
“How about that owl your father found in the woods?” Jerry suggested. “His broken leg is healed now.”
“Who-Who can’t talk or sing,” Alan complained. “That bird can’t do anything!”
“Well, you’d better think of something quick,” Jerry advised as he turned the corner and headed toward his house. “The contest is tomorrow.”
Alan didn’t answer. He just kicked at a rock and walked on home.
All evening Alan tried to think of a pet to enter in the contest. He didn’t have much money for swimming this year, and winning the contest would be a big help.
When Alan went to bed, he still had not thought of a pet for the contest.
Early the next morning Alan had an idea. He quickly jumped out of bed, and before long he was on his way to the pet show carrying a cage that was covered with a cloth. He didn’t want the other children to see his surprise pet until the right time.
Soon Alan arrived at the library where the contest was being held. He sat on the front row and placed the covered cage on the floor beside him.
“May I show my pet first?” he asked Mr. Simpson, the man in charge.
“Everyone wants to be first,” Mr. Simpson laughed. “There are twenty-three entries. We’ll draw numbers from this box. The person getting number one will be first. Number two will be second, and so on.”
Alan drew number twenty-three. He would have to be last!
Susan was first, and she carried her singing canary to the front of the room.
“Tweet-tweet,” sang the canary. “Tweet-tweet-tweet.” The boys and girls all clapped.
Karen took her talking parakeet to the platform.
“Pretty boy,” said the parakeet. “Pretty boy,” he repeated again and again. The children laughed. They liked the parakeet.
Next Jimmy carried his parrot to the front of the room.
“Help! Help!” squawked the parrot, hopping about his cage. “Help, I’m hungry!” The children cheered. “The parrot will be the winner,” someone said.
Jerry was fourth. His myna bird glanced about the room.
“Stop the traffic!” the myna bird shouted like a policeman. “Stop! Stop!” he repeated. Everybody cheered and laughed. They had never seen a police bird.
At last it was Alan’s turn. He carried the cloth-covered cage to the front of the room.
“I wonder what it is,” someone whispered.
Quickly Alan pulled back the cloth. Some boys in the back of the room stood so that they could see better.
“But Who-Who can’t talk,” Jerry whispered out loud. Everyone giggled.
“I know who you are,” Alan said to the owl.
“Who,” said the owl, and a roar of clapping filled the room. Jerry’s eyes grew large and round—almost as big and round as the owl’s eyes.
Alan turned to the owl, “Tell the boys and girls who you are.”
“Who-Who,” said the owl, and everyone cheered and laughed louder than before.
“Alan’s the winner!” shouted the boys.
“Alan and Who-Who!” shouted the girls.
The judges agreed, and a big smile spread across Alan’s face as he accepted the swimming tickets.

Earlier I mentioned Sister Andersen and her Beehive Girl’s Handbook. She is the wife of Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Presidency of the Seventy [now a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles], a mother, and a grandmother. I love the thought that even though she has moved so many times, she has always known where to find her Beehive Girl’s Handbook and achievement bandlo. Sister Andersen has stood by her husband and taught the gospel all over the world. She has also exemplified womanhood and goodness as a faithful member of the Church.
As an 11-year-old girl, Sister Andersen couldn’t wait to enter the Young Women program. When her birthday finally arrived, she was given the Beehive Girl’s Handbook. Sister Andersen explains:
“In the beginning of the book it said, ‘As a Beehive girl, and for the rest of your life, set your goals high’ (Beehive Girl’s Handbook, 12). I could tell this was going to be a great adventure for me. I took my book home and immediately read it from cover to cover to see what goals I should complete during the next two years.
“I discovered that there were 80 possible goals to choose from. In my excitement, I determined that if I worked hard, I could complete all of the goals in my book—well, all except one: to go to the temple … and be baptized for the dead (Beehive Girl’s Handbook, 140). I [could not] be baptized for the dead because there [was] no temple in Florida.”
Sister Andersen decided to tell her father about her situation. Her letter continues:
“My father hesitated only a moment. We had no family in the West and no other reason to travel to Utah. He thoughtfully said to me, ‘Kathy, if you [will] complete all of the other goals in your Beehive book, we will take you the 2,500 miles [4,000 km] to the temple in Salt Lake City so that you can do baptisms for the dead and complete your final goal.’
“I worked on the goals in my Beehive book for two years and completed 79 goals. My father worked during those two years to save enough money to make the journey to the temple. My father kept his promise to me.
“Air travel at that time was too expensive for our family, and so we traveled 5,000 miles [8,000 km] by car to Salt Lake City and back so that I could complete my last Beehive goal. What joy I felt as I entered the Salt Lake Temple and in proxy was baptized by my father. It was an experience I will never forget.
“I will forever be appreciative for my mother and father’s willingness to make the temple an important part of my life. … They wisely understood that as I worked on my Young Women goals, my faith would be strengthened. My parents’ faith and sacrifice in making the long journey to Salt Lake City significantly impacted me and the generations that have followed” (“I Can Complete All of the Goals—Except One,” unpublished manuscript).
As a young girl, Sister Andersen strove to do the small and simple things that would help her become an exemplary woman— “an example of the believers”— and that is what she has become. Each of you has the same opportunity. The small and simple things you choose to do today will be magnified into great and glorious blessings tomorrow. Living each day as “an example of the believers” will help you to be happy and more confident. It will strengthen your testimony, help you to keep your baptismal covenants, and prepare you to receive the blessings of the temple so that eventually you can return to your Heavenly Father.

When my husband, David, and I found out we couldn’t have children, I wept. Then, in 2016, my doctor called me back to her office after a routine medical checkup and mammogram. After more testing, what she at first thought was a small problem had become a big one: cancer.
That was a shock, and we had some bad days. Before we knew how things would turn out, I told Heavenly Father, “If this is the end for me, please take care of David.”
I was able to hold on emotionally during the day, but when nighttime came and all was quiet, the tears would come. But that was also when I would sense through the Holy Ghost that everything was going to be all right—not necessarily because I was going to live but because Heavenly Father was there. So, during my treatment, we went forward one step at a time.
Certain hymns and scriptures became more meaningful. Doctrine and Covenants 122:8 really struck me: “The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater that he?”
No, I realized, I am not greater than He. If going through infertility and cancer enabled me to better appreciate the Savior and His atoning sacrifice, then I was willing.
We kept our eye on the Lord so we could see our blessings, including an amazing support system.

All-Star Fever, by Matt Christopher, illustrated by Anna Dewdney. Bus is working hard to get picked for the all-star baseball team, and things look even better when his parents give him a new bike. But when Bus breaks his parents’ rules, he can’t concentrate on the baseball field. Will Bus be the best player—and person—he can be?

Long years ago when I was in the stake presidency in the St. Joseph Stake in Arizona, one Sabbath day I filled an assignment in the Eden Ward. The building was a small one, and most of the people were sitting close to us as we sat on the raised platform about a foot and a half above the floor of the building itself.
As the meeting proceeded, my eye was attracted to seven little boys on the front seat of the chapel. I was delighted with seven little boys in this ward conference. I made a mental note, then shifted my interest to other things. Soon my attention was focused on the seven little boys again.
It seemed strange to me that each of the seven little fellows raised his right leg and put it over the left knee, and then in a moment all would change at the same time and put the left leg over the right knee. I thought it was unusual, but I just ignored it.
In a moment or two, all in unison would brush their hair with their right hands, and then all seven little boys leaned lightly on their wrists and supported their faces by their hands, and then simultaneously they went back to the crossing of their legs again.
It all seemed so strange, and I wondered about it as I was trying to think of what I was going to say in the meeting. And then all at once it came to me like a bolt of lightning. These boys were mimicking me!
That day I learned the lesson of my life—that we who are in positions of authority must be careful indeed, because others watch us and find in us their examples.