Gospel Story Finder

One morning Grace’s mom woke her up early.
“I have a surprise for you,” Mom said. “I want to show you something special.”
“Where are we going?” Grace asked Mom.
“We are going to see the temple,” Mom said.
Grace and Mom drove for a long time. Grace sang, “I Love to See the Temple.” She was happy.
Mom stopped the car. Grace got out and held Mom’s hand.
They walked onto the temple grounds. Grace saw flowers and trees. Everything was green and bright. Grace showed Mom a pink flower.
When Grace got close to the temple, she looked up, up, up. The temple was very tall. The sun was shining. Grace touched the white stone. She sat on a bench by a big tree. She was happy.
They walked all around the temple.
“I want to show you something else,” Mom said.
Grace held Mom’s hand, and they walked into the visitors’ center.
Grace felt good inside. It was nice there. The long ride had been worth it.
Grace looked up and saw the biggest statue she had ever seen. She stood very still and looked for a very long time. She saw feet, robes, and hands. When she saw the statue’s face, she smiled. She was happy.
“Do you know who that is?” Mom asked.
“It’s Jesus,” Grace whispered.
Grace held her arms out as far as she could, just like the statue. “He wants to give me a hug.”
Mom hugged Grace. “You are right. Jesus loves you!”

I took my Friend to school to read during free time. My teacher asked me about it, and I told her it was a children’s magazine published by my church. I asked her if she would like to take it home and read it, and she said yes. She brought it back after the weekend and said she liked the magazine very much. She said it was full of good things. I told her that my parents get a magazine for adults full of good things for them. She said she would like one of those. I took her the special Ensign about Jesus Christ. It made me feel warm and sparkly inside to share something that I like so much with someone so special to me.
Emma G., age 9, Pennsylvania

I am only 11 years old, but for the past few years I’ve received a lot of opposition for my decision not to watch PG-13 movies. Several friends, and even some of their moms, have tried to convince me that a particular movie would be OK for me to watch because they had seen it and thought it was good. Once I chose not to attend a birthday party because they were going to see a PG-13 movie. At another party, out of 20 girls ages nine to twelve, only one other girl and I didn’t want to watch a PG-13 movie.
In My Gospel Standards it says, “I will only read and watch things that are pleasing to Heavenly Father.” There are reasons why a movie is rated PG-13. So even though I’ve been laughed at and made fun of, I feel good knowing that I am choosing to do what I feel Jesus would want me to do.

Roger Chung Tien is a grandfather from Tubuai in the Austral Islands. He said, “Cleaning up my daddy’s grave brings back many memories to me. I miss him but know he lives in me through all the strong teachings he taught me. I am grateful and blessed to know that I will see him again with our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ through the Resurrection.”

Grandpa had a great desire to serve, and no matter what the job, he was dedicated to it. He served as stake clerk for many years. When age made the shaking of his hand so severe that it became difficult to write, the stake president asked him if he would like to be released. Without hesitation and with a smile, Grandpa replied, “You know, President, it’s not writing I have a problem with. It’s fishing. Whenever I go fishing my hand gets to shaking so badly that I can’t tell if I’ve got a fish on the line or if it’s just me.” Grandpa continued to serve as stake clerk almost until his death.

One father and his son have severe asthma that is triggered by chemical scents. The son was preparing to speak in sacrament meeting before leaving on a mission. A week ahead of his talk, the bishop told ward members that the young man had severe breathing problems when exposed to heavy perfumes and asked that members keep that in mind when attending church the following week. This resulted in the best Sunday the father and the son ever had at church.

London Bridge is moving.
Moving up record charts across the nation that is. The LDS trio is currently seeing its single “When I Fall in Love” becoming a regular on both middle-of-the-road and soft rock radio stations.
Right now the group has temporarily disbanded while Rex Kocherhans, 20, and Bill Bacon, 19, serve missions. They entered the mission field in January, Bill to the Germany West Mission and Rex to the California Mission. The third member of the group, Jeff Kocherhans, Rex’s brother, hopes to be called in September when he will be 19. The trio plans to reunite when each member returns.
In addition to their contemporary and soft sound, the group tries to project the image each one of them feels is consistent with the standards of the Church.
“When we started over three years ago, we made one non-negotiable rule,” recalls Jeff. “There would be no songs with questionable lyrics and no music, however popular, that might be at variance with Church teachings or be offensive to our LDS brothers and sisters.”
It hasn’t always been easy for them. “It’s difficult to find popular numbers that don’t celebrate sexual immorality, drug abuse, or otherwise advocate a life-style opposed to what we know to be right,” says Jeff.
Rex believes members of the Church will someday take an active lead in contemporary music. “We can see that faithful Church members are achieving excellence in many areas because the Church—the strongest organization in the world—gives them the strength. We think Mormons will lead the way in music, too, and we’d like to be part of that achievement. We know it’s possible to be competitive in modern music and maintain Church standards at the same time.”
The group spent last summer at a Los Angeles entertainment park and had invitations to perform at both Disneyland and Disneyworld.
The trio has traveled more than 25,000 miles throughout Canada and the United States in the past two years on concert tours. They have performed for students at seminaries and institutes as well.
Jeff is attending Brigham Young University, where Bill and Rex were enrolled prior to their missions. Recording work and other appearances were scheduled around university classwork. After returning from their missions the three will continue in school, with recording sessions and concert dates arranged during vacation periods. They met in Provo and started their group while in high school.
Although their sound is described as “easy listening rock,” Bill recognizes that some Church members, especially the “over 30’s,” may not share the group’s taste in music, but he adds, “I believe they approve of what we’re doing. And if they don’t? We want to know about it.”
Realizing that they may be idolized by youth who have longed for a recording career or the possibility to be famous, Jeff recognizes the responsibility they have. “Some of the ‘idols’ around today aren’t the kinds parents want their children to follow. We try to conduct our lives so that any influence we have on people is for good and not for bad. We try to set the right example.”
Next time you hear that London Bridge is falling down—don’t believe it.

It was especially nice the night Columbia Ward hosted a hayride there. The creek chilled the watermelons just right. Big fires scorched the hot dogs, but ketchup and mustard made the charcoal flavor blend in perfectly. In the fading light, some of the young men threw a basketball through a hoop.

“It’s neat when the whole ward comes to your own backyard,” Jason said. “I like them to come here. I have lots to show them. And you don’t worry about being late for a meeting in your own yard.”

After the hot dog roast, when the fire had burned down, Brother Collin McKennon spoke briefly about effective use of time.

“It’s a precious commodity,” he said. “But all hours are not alike in value. How valuable your time is depends in part on what you decide to do with it.”

Brother McKennon, the activities committee chairman, is the kind of guy who can put an arm on your shoulder, maybe tease you a little, and let you know the world’s okay. The teenagers like him, and they listen when he talks.

Just the same, there was a lot of background noise. But it wasn’t kids whispering to each other. It was frogs. Hundreds of them. Croaking, chirping almost. A thousand rusty springs in a chorus of constant squeaking. Perhaps they were warning each other about the catch-and-release frog hunt later that night.

Out on the dirt road, Brian and Jason’s father, Dale Greene, fired up the tractor he’d borrowed from a neighbor. Everyone jumped on the two trailers behind it, and it roared on up Love Branch Road. The night was clear. Stars were bright as they are only when you’re way outside, away from haze and street lamps.

The tractor noise nearly drowned out conversation, but everybody sang songs and told stories anyway. And threw hay. The youth from the Columbia Ward talked about their plans to get up the next morning at 3:00 A.M. to work in the bishops’ regional storehouse and cannery in Nashville.

“The work area is steamy, and you get wet, and you’re sleepy ’cause you get up so early,” said Melissa McKennon, 14, the Mia Maid president. “We work a long, long time. But we enjoy working together, kids with other kids, adults with the kids. It’s good to see everybody working together on something.”

“It makes me feel good to know I’m helping people less fortunate than I am,” said Stephanie Rawlins, 14.

“We usually aren’t doing anything early Saturday morning anyway,” said Deron Sawyer, 18. “Why waste a day when you can be helping somebody instead?”

“I figure every can you put in there feeds somebody. And who knows? Someday it could be you or me,” Brian Greene said.

Like several other Scouts in the area, Brian is doing an Eagle Scout service project at the cannery. Scouts have built concrete ramps, painted yellow lines, and helped organize schedules for canning and warehouse cleaning.

The tractor pulled into the woods, the engine still whining. The road became a snake, winding corner after corner through the dense woods. Every once in a while, at a clearing or up on a hillside, house lights would appear and all the youth would shout hello. Folks on the porch would wave and shout their greetings in return. In the hills, everybody knows everybody.

Another stretch of dirt road took the hayriders beneath an overpass, along a stretch of the Natchez Trace (an early trade route of trappers and Indians), then back to Catheys Creek and the Greene’s house.

Some attempt was made to stage the frog hunt. A few of the hardier souls, armed with flashlights and gunnysacks, did roll up their pant legs and wander in the shallow stream, but mostly the frogs got away.

“We don’t go frog hunting very often,” Melissa explained. “We just wanted to show you what they look like.”

A third experience in the branch came during a discussion the members were having in Sunday School concerning when you should give to those who ask you for aid. One of the members, who had come with his wife from Africa to further his education, raised his hand and told us of the following experience.
As he had been walking home in the neighborhood, he had been approached by a man who put a pistol to his chest and demanded all his money. Our member took the money from his pockets and handed it over to the man and then said, “If you need the money that badly, I have more.” He opened his briefcase and took out additional money, which he gave to the robber, saying, “Understand, you are not taking this from me; I am giving it to you in the name of the Lord because you need it.” He said the robber looked at him in amazement, put the pistol in his belt, and said, “Where do you live? I’m going to walk you home because you’re too good a man to be on these streets, and you are not safe here.”
As they started to walk to the member’s apartment, suddenly they were surrounded by police cars because a woman had seen the holdup from her apartment window and had called the police. The police arrested the robber and took him away. Having been the victim, this member was asked to be a witness later at the trial of the robber. At the trial, he testified that although the robber had demanded his money, he had told him that he gave the money to him in the name of the Lord and that if the robber needed it that badly, he wanted him to have it.
Since then, when I hear the Savior’s words, “Him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also” (Luke 6:29), my mind goes back not only to the Holy Land but also to the hard streets in that eastern city.

Chen Shun Chun, former president of the Hua Lien district, recently drew a diagram to illustrate the far-reaching results of his baptism in 1973. Starting with his name and his wife’s name in the center, he wrote down dozens of interconnected family members and others who have joined the Church, received the priesthood, received the temple endowment, served missions and converted others, and been sealed in the temple. One special area of the diagram lists deceased people whose ordinance work has been done vicariously. President Chen estimates that a whole ward has resulted from his baptism 26 years ago.

When serving as president of the Italy Rome Mission from 1983 to 1986, Elder Cardon started discussing the scriptures during each presidency meeting—a practice he continued in subsequent callings. “Teaching from the scriptures was always on the agenda,” he says. “We would spend a significant amount of time focusing on the doctrine as taught in the scriptures. That was a valued, cherished time.”

My wife’s mother, Barbara Smith Amussen, was an officiator in the Logan Temple for twenty years and a widow for forty years. She was a woman without guile. I loved her so much that I spent a lot of time with her, because she was a widow and there was no priesthood bearer in the home.
This choice woman knew the exact time she was to depart mortal life. Her husband, a Danish convert and Utah’s first pioneer jeweler and watchmaker, Carl Christian Amussen, appeared to her either in a dream or vision. She admitted, “I’m not sure which, but it was so real it seemed that he was right in the room. He said he had come to tell me that my time in mortal life was ending and that on the following Thursday (it was then Friday), I would be expected to leave mortal life.”
Her oldest daughter, Mabel, said, “Oh, Mother, you’ve been worrying about something. You’ve not been feeling well.”
Her mother replied, “Everything’s fine. I feel wonderful. There’s nothing to worry about. I just know I’ll be leaving next Thursday.”
Then she said, “Mabel, when the time comes, I’d like to pass away in your home in the upper room where I used to sit and tell the boys Book of Mormon and Church history stories when they were little fellows.”
As the time drew near, she attended fast meeting in her ward. She bore her testimony, and the bishop said she talked as though she were going on a long journey.
“She was bidding us all good-bye,” said the bishop, “expressing her love for us and the joy that had been hers working in the temple” (which was just a few meters away from the chapel). And then she bore a fervent testimony.
As the days passed, she went to the bank, drew out her small savings, paid all her bills, and went to the mortuary and picked out her casket. Then she had the water and the electrical power turned off in her home and went to Mabel’s home. The day before she died, her son came to visit her. They sat by the bed and held hands as they talked.
On the day of my mother-in-law’s death, Mabel came into the room where her mother was resting on the bed. Her mother said, “Mabel, I feel a little bit sleepy. Do not disturb me if I sleep until evening.”
Those were her last words, and she peacefully passed from this life to the next.

We challenge parents, home teachers, elders quorum presidents, and bishops that from today you show your concern for these young people. Flood them with affection, letters, tapes, cards, packages, birthday and holiday greetings of all types. Give your Young Adults, teenagers, and others in your ward a stimulating project. Sixteen-year-old Debbie Trujillo wrote a serviceman, “Hi. My name is Debbie Trujillo, and I’ve just been baptized in the Church. I don’t know much about you, but our class is doing this project, and I think it’s neat.” The serviceman said, “I hope my reply can be as sweet and uplifting as her letter.”

I’m a landlubber, and to me one life preserver would have seemed as good as another. But not anymore! What changed my mind?
I attended a safety exhibit. The exhibit stressed accident prevention and covered safety in many situations.
The display that intrigued me most was water safety. A beautiful large blue and white boat caught my eye. Over the bow lay a variety of familiar pieces of lifesaving equipment. On each piece was a simple card. The card read YES on the pieces of equipment that were safety approved; NO on those that were not. I was dumbfounded. I thought all life preservers were approved and would save life in an emergency. I expressed my surprise to the gentleman who was in charge of the display.
“Most people think they’re perfectly safe,” he said, “but that’s the tragedy of it. Now take this skier’s vest. It will protect the skier from getting his ribs broken if he should hit the water hard when making a high jump. The belt will aid him some, but he needs this life jacket to be protected from drowning. Ski belts are not approved because of insufficient buoyancy and failure to ensure face-up flotation.”
He picked up an orange, U-shaped life jacket. It had a YES sign. “Inside this life jacket are strong waterproof plastic bags. They’re filled with kapok and surrounded with this heavy water-repellent canvas. You could float for days wearing this,” he said. “It’s designed to save life.” He put it on demonstrating it for me. “It fits securely around the neck. This holds the head up out of the water,” he said.
“Now, let’s compare this approved vest with this piece of equipment over here.” He rested his hand on the familiar khaki canvas vest with a NO sign on it. “This is nothing but a death trap,” he said. “It’s about as helpful as a bucket of cement. It can become saturated with water in 15 or 20 minutes. When it’s saturated it weighs 29 pounds. The weight of the human body is 10 to 11 pounds when in water. You put this 29 pounds around your neck and it just drags you down.”
“That’s terrible!” I protested. “Why are they allowed to manufacture such death traps? They’re worse than nothing at all!”
“You’re right.” he said emphatically. “They are just a money-making deal. There is no guarantee they will save.”
As I drove home, I thought how foolish I had been to assume all lifesaving equipment would do the job. I began to wonder if I was making other incorrect assumptions that were potentially as dangerous. Then a very striking comparison entered my mind. There are many different philosophies of life, but not all are designed to save. Some, like the khaki vest, can even be death traps.

Long ago the renowned author Charles Dickens wrote of opportunities that await. In his classic volume entitled Great Expectations, Dickens described a boy by the name of Philip Pirrip, more commonly known as Pip. Pip was born in unusual circumstances. He was an orphan. He wished with all his heart that he were a scholar and a gentleman. Yet all of his ambitions and all of his hopes seemed doomed to failure. Do you young men sometimes feel that way? Do those of us who are older entertain these same thoughts?

Then one day a London lawyer by the name of Jaggers approached little Pip and told him that an unknown benefactor had bequeathed to him a fortune. The lawyer put his arm around the shoulder of Pip and said to him, “My boy, you have great expectations.”

Saints shows how Amanda learned to trust in the Lord through extreme adversity. It also tells what Joseph Smith learned about God’s goodness even in times of suffering. It shows that knowing the dealings of the Lord gives us eternal perspective, helps us see things as they really are and will be, and helps us exercise faith that the Lord will see us through hard times.

When the Prophet Joseph learned what had happened to Amanda’s family and others on Shoal Creek, he felt he would rather go to prison or be killed than let the Saints be slaughtered. The next day he attempted to negotiate a peaceful solution with the Missouri militia, which was poised to attack the Saints’ main settlement of Far West. Instead, Joseph was captured and held as a prisoner.

Nearly five months later, Joseph remained in custody, confined in a cold, cramped underground cell in Liberty, Missouri. He wondered where God was hiding and how long He could stand to listen to the cries of widows and orphans. He prayed, “O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and thy bowels be moved with compassion?” (D&C 121:3).

Saints teaches us that adversity is not evidence of the Lord’s disfavor, nor a withdrawal of His blessings. Opposition is part of God’s plan to refine us and prepare us for an eternal, celestial destiny (see 2 Nephi 2:11). Joseph learned that the Savior’s infinite suffering enables Him to succor us when we suffer and eventually to exalt us (see Alma 7:11–13). In answer to Joseph’s anguished cry, the Lord listed all kinds of challenges before concluding:

“If the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
“The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” (D&C 122:7–8).

Experiencing these things ourselves can endow us with Christlike empathy for those who are afflicted. “My heart will always be more tender after this than ever it was before,” Joseph realized while in jail. He wished he could be with the Saints to comfort and console them. “I never could have felt as I now do,” he explained, “if I had not suffered the wrongs that I have suffered.”6

I wanted to thank you so much for the story “Angie’s Gray” in the February 1993 issue. I saw it before I went to school, and something told me to read this story. I thought about Heavenly Father’s plan and how glad I am that the gospel is restored and that there is a way to see my loved ones after death if I live the gospel. When I got home from work later in the day, I was told my grandfather had passed away. Thinking about that story helped me greatly in dealing with the pain. Thank you so much.
Richard L. EvansAlbuquerque, New Mexico

Moving to a new place is never easy, but moves overseas can be especially difficult. Kristine Murrow wasn’t sure what she would find when she moved to Landstuhl, Germany, where her father is filling a military assignment.
But as soon as she contacted LDS youth in the area, “I was immediately welcomed, accepted, and brought into the close-knit group. Because we are stationed overseas, people move in and out all the time and no one is ever left out,” says Kristine.
Kristine also discovered that many of the LDS kids in Germany, like other areas of the world, set high standards of excellence in academics, drama, sports, and student council.
“I was astounded that people were involved in so many activities and still had time for Church activities,” she says. “Even early-morning seminary is looked on as a blessing and a joy to attend.”
For Kristine, the move to Germany was one in which she learned about love, friendship, and support. “Because of the love I have been offered here, I have learned the value of true friendship,” says Kristine.

Sharing the Book of Mormon can be scary, but I know that if you pray for help and the guidance of the Spirit beforehand, things will go well. As for the last four copies I have given away, I have marked some of my favorite scriptures (including Moro. 10:3–6) with a red pencil, then placed a note card in the book to mark the page. That way the person I am giving it to will have a place to start. A 500-page book can be intimidating. I also usually explain that the people in the Book of Mormon are the “other sheep” Christ was referring to in John 10:16. Then I share my testimony with the person I am giving it to.Rebecca C., 17, Illinois, USA

1833
During a meeting with the Prophet Joseph Smith, many men smoked pipes and chewed tobacco.
Joseph’s wife, Emma, talked to him about the mess the smoke and tobacco left. These things seemed to take away from the Spirit. Joseph wondered what God thought about it.
Joseph prayed about what Emma said, and he received a revelation about how we can live a healthy life. It also described great blessings for doing so.
The Lord revealed that we should:
Eat fruits and herbs, including vegetables (see Doctrine and Covenants 89:10–11).
Eat meat sparingly (see Doctrine and Covenants 89:12–13).
Eat grains (see Doctrine and Covenants 89:14–17).
The Lord also revealed that we should stay away from:
Alcohol, tobacco, tea, and coffee (see Doctrine and Covenants 89:5–9).
When Joseph shared this revelation, called a “Word of Wisdom,” some men threw their pipes and tobacco into the fire.