Gospel Story Finder

It got rave reviews.
The Shropshire England Star called it “jolly,” “most commendable,” and “excellent!” Sound like a smash-hit musical comedy? Well, it was actually a ham soufflé.
But the ham soufflé did have the help of four other courses and the culinary expertise of nine teachers in the Telford England Ward. The quorum had received catering lessons from their adviser and had decided to put their new talents to the test.
They invited 75 member and nonmember guests to their dinner. For two hours everyone feasted on grapefruit, consommé, fresh vegetables, ham soufflé, chicken chausser, and creamed potatoes, with English trifle for dessert.
The group began at 8:00 A.M. to cook and decorate. The women’s editor of the Shropshire Star wrote, “Most cooks would have flaked out. But that’s the sort of spirit you might expect to find among church members who actually helped with the building of their own chapel. And it’s clear that the youngsters are made of the same stern stuff.”
Besides the press, a local candidate for Parliament also attended the dinner. The newspaper noted that the nonmembers saw “with some envy that none of the church members needed alcohol to enjoy themselves.”
Perhaps the old saying will change to read, “The way to a convert’s ear is through his stomach.”

So it is with our own spiritual experiences. If others do not enjoy them, it does not mean that we do not. I am reminded of an experience with this in New York as a graduate student. I was serving as a seventies stake missionary. The bishop called one evening and told me that some members were involved in a religious discussion with a group of what we would now call “born-again Christians.” The members were challenged by the conversation and had called him for some help. He asked me if I would be available to enter the discussion, which I did. Through that wonderful evening, it became clear that my new friends rejected the idea that Joseph Smith could have had a vision. My response was a question: “What is the highest and most sacred personal experience you could have?”

Their answer was, “A revelation of Jesus.”

I answered, “Why then would you deny another that same blessing?”

I first began to understand the significance of the Atonement when my grandfather was dying. After attending law school, I was studying for the California bar exam when my mother called and said if I wanted to see my grandfather before he died, I better come to Utah. My grandfather, who was 86 years old, was very ill. He was so pleased to see me and share his testimony.
He had three concerns:
1. He loved his 10 children very much. They were all good people. He wanted them all to be temple worthy.
2. His father was one of the young men who had carried members of the Martin handcart company across the Sweetwater River. His father had died when my grandfather was three years old, and he looked forward to seeing him and hoped his father and other family members would approve of his life.
3. Finally, and most importantly, he told me how he looked forward to meeting the Savior. He referred to the Savior as the “Keeper of the Gate,” a reference to 2 Nephi 9:41. He told me that he hoped he had been sufficiently repentant to qualify for the Savior’s mercy.
All of us have sinned, and it is only through the Atonement that we can obtain mercy and live with God. I can remember to this day the great love that Grandfather had for the Savior and the appreciation he had for the Atonement.

Not long ago, Joseph Sr. had an idea. His children, members of the Kaneohe First Ward, Kaneohe Hawaii Stake, had performed on Hawaii’s different islands, and they’d even sung and danced in Utah, where the Ahunas have many relatives. They’d done most of their shows at ward dinners, nursing homes, and hospitals. But Brother Ahuna wanted to take his family to Japan, to the country where he had served his mission.

"I guess we could have gone anywhere," says 17-year-old David. "But since my dad speaks Japanese, that’s where we decided to go."

The three-week trip to seven Japanese cities last summer forced the Ahunas to hone their act and made them decide what they really wanted to do. Entertaining audiences was important, but they wanted something more. They also wanted to take a gospel message with them. They chose the theme "Love at Home," putting together an entire show based on the hymn.

Mission presidents in several Japanese missions scheduled performances in various hospitals and rest homes. But the rest was up to the Ahunas.

Dad would play the guitar and, because of his language abilities, he would introduce his family and serve as the narrator. Joseph Jr., now a missionary, not so ironically, in the Japan Tokyo North Mission, played the ukulele, and David was on the keyboard. The girls and the younger brothers danced.

The Ahuna Adventure began in Fukuoka, where the family performed four shows. By the time they reached Tokyo three weeks later, they had performed 17 shows and given two firesides.

"We all have talents, and although we might not be the best at what we do, everyone still has talents. We felt that as long as we tried our best, smiled, and tried to give our best performance each time, everything would be okay," says Ruth.

"The fact that we were a family," Ruth continues, "and that we were close-knit, I think, attracted many people to us. And that was our message. We were with each other 24/7, and that brought us closer because we were forced to get along. I know everybody has bad days, but we kind of grew on each other."

"I think what we did made us actually live by the words we would sing at the end of every performance. We didn’t want to be fakes or something," adds David. "Before our trip it was like we believed in the teachings of the gospel. But I think from this experience we grew closer as a family. And when we shared messages about the Church, we began to understand it more and believe in it more."

Patricia: My best friend, Francini, and I are some of the only members of the Church in our school in Brazil, and we often find that the small things we do make a big difference.
One such small thing occurred in a Saturday math class Francini and I had together. On this particular day, Francini was absent. During class, the tests we had taken a few days before were passed back. I wasn’t paying much attention when the teacher placed Francini’s test on my desk and asked me to give it to her.
Since Francini and I had already discussed how we thought we had done, I was surprised that her grade was higher than we had expected. I looked at her test and saw that the teacher had failed to mark one incorrect answer as wrong. Without even considering, I told the teacher that Francini’s grade was too high.
What I didn’t realize was that the whole class was watching. As soon as I spoke, the class began to criticize me, saying that I was wrong to do that to a friend and that I only wanted my grade to be higher than hers.
I was confused and upset by the response. I was sure I had done what Francini would have done. But someone said it was impossible for anyone to be honest to the point of lowering his or her own grade. Everyone saw me as a traitor to my friend. I tried to tell them that Francini would have been honest about her grade and that truly honest people still exist in the world.
After much debate, the teacher and class decided that they would test us. The teacher said he would keep Francini’s grade wrong and that we would wait and see her reaction on Monday.
I didn’t like the idea. I felt that testing Francini was not fair. But the teacher had made his decision, and I couldn’t change it.
That weekend I was anxious about what would happen, even though I had confidence that Francini would do what was right. I fervently prayed that she would notice the error on her test.
In math class on Monday, the whole class was alert as they watched Francini pick up her test.
Francini: Shortly after class started on Monday, the teacher handed me back my math test. I was about to put it away without really looking at it, but then I noticed that my grade was higher than I had expected. I raised my hand and went to the teacher’s desk. I asked if he had graded the test correctly, and he answered that he had. I then pointed to my test and said, “But I made a mistake.” At that moment Patricia also came up to the teacher’s desk and told him that he had also left a wrong answer unmarked on her test and with all the confusion on Saturday, she had not noticed it.
The classroom immediately erupted. Some people began to murmur about Patricia telling me, but others gave embarrassed smiles. I was confused by all the different reactions to these events.
Later, Patricia explained what had happened on Saturday. I was surprised to know that I had been through a test unrelated to math and that my classmates had responded to my friend in that way. However, I was happy that I had been honest and that Patricia’s prayers had helped me be prompted to notice the mistake on my test. I am also grateful that my friend believed in me.
Patricia and Francini: Both of us learned a great lesson from this experience. Our testimonies have grown about the important role Latter-day Saints have in being witnesses of Jesus Christ and examples of His principles. We are grateful to the Lord for His gospel, which gives us the opportunity to make a difference.

My Grandmother Jordan was a great example of one who knew her divine nature. In 1909 as a recent convert to the Church, she had to make difficult decisions and took firm action, unlike her typically quiet, timid self. She told me she received prayerful direction, and she was empowered with vision and strength beyond her own. Because she did what had to be done, I had the blessing of being born in the covenant and having a rich heritage. I have many ancestors who have faced life with courage. Their actions have given me great advantages and responsibilities.

The blessings we receive might not always be money. A true story about a man named Edward Stokes Rich shows how we can be blessed by paying our tithing.
When Edward Stokes Rich was twelve years old he went to work to help earn money for his family because he didn’t have a father. He worked at night for a local newspaper. He always gave the money he earned to his mother and she would take his tithing out for him to give to the bishop.
One month his mother said, “Edward, I know that you have no overcoat, and you must walk many miles to and from work each night. With winter coming soon, it’s going to be very cold when you walk home at four or five o’clock in the morning. So I’ll give you your tithing money and you can either pay your tithing or buy an overcoat. I’ll leave the decision up to you.”
He did exactly what she knew he’d do. Edward later recorded, “I took the money, ran immediately over to the bishop’s house, and paid the tithing.”
A week later his Aunt Mary came to visit, and brought with her an overcoat that one of her sons had outgrown. It fit Edward perfectly and “was a better overcoat than he could have purchased.” From that day, Edward recorded, he was always generous in paying his tithes and other Church offerings. (See Carol Rich Brown, Tambuli, December 1982)

The prophet Joel also indicated that old men would dream dreams. This statement caused me to reflect on the experiences that have changed my life. Such an experience occurred when I was about your age. In my late teens a bishop called me to be a Sunday School teacher of eight-year-olds. I will always remember the trepidation I felt prior to the first class and the wonderment that someone believed in me enough to trust young people to my stewardship. I put my heart and soul into preparing for the class. I studied the scriptures as well as the manual and enjoyed the beauty and cogency of the Lord’s word. One day as I was preparing a lesson, a thought came to me regarding the importance of the Lord’s teachings and the scriptures and their applicability in my life. A strong, warm sensation saturated my being as the thought passed through my consciousness. That day I felt the swellings of the Holy Spirit within me, and I sensed the power that comes when one searches the scriptures. It was the beginning of a personal testimony.

The most devastating experience I personally have lived through was Shawna's death in 2005.
Her passing was totally unexpected and a tremendous shock to myself and my kids. Overnight, I found myself a single father with five children. It was a surreal experience that changed me forever. This event took me to the "valley of the shadow of death." Even in the very depths of despair and depression, I found the Lord waiting for me in my personal Gethsemane--fully understanding, loving, compassionate, and willing to strengthen my feeble arms and knees. I had been through the worst thing I could possibly imagine--the loss of my spouse and the loss of my children's mother. But, despite the abject horror of the situation, the Holy Ghost told me everything would be okay and I believed Him. It was during this experience that I learned a very important lesson: There is nothing to fear in this life if we are doing our best to live the principles of the gospel. There is nothing to fear.

It is possible to have personal peace during the most extreme, difficult, and trying of circumstances. The scriptures refer to this phenomenon as "peace that passeth all understanding." The world is simply not capable of understanding the concept of experiencing peace during such times--this is why it passes their understanding. They just don't get it because it isn't logical. The only people who can understand it are the followers of Jesus Christ who have experienced such peace during the most trying of times.

Just as I experienced such peace in my extremities, you can too. Such knowledge allows us to "fresh courage take" even if things don't seem particularly hopeful at the moment. I know that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost will be there for each of us in our personal hour of need. True courage comes from trusting in the Lord no matter what we are presently going through.

Just less than one year after our arrival in Florida, our five-year-old son was diagnosed with a medical condition that would make life significantly challenging for him. We hoped it was a misdiagnosis and prayed for a miracle.
I do believe in miracles! But they didn’t seem to be happening for us the way I hoped. Did we not have enough faith? Did Heavenly Father hear our prayers?
Life was busy as we adjusted to a new place and new schools with a growing family. Elder Homer’s job required a lot of travel. It was a stretching time for sure. I wanted our home to be a happy, comfortable place for our children, yet I felt incapable of providing this for them as I was heartbroken and worried for our son. I often poured out my heart in prayer, and sometimes in those moments, I felt such peace, and I felt known and loved. I arose from those prayers feeling more lighthearted and capable, and this hope carried me through the tough times.
Our son is doing well now, but watching the ups and downs of his life was challenging. The truth that I was known and loved by God, and that, with His help, I can do what once seemed too difficult, deepened my testimony. Life, as President Russell M. Nelson said, did not become easy, but it became easier. [2] I know we are all children of a loving Father in Heaven, and while we may not fully understand what we are capable of, He does.

In a recent newspaper article President Hinckley was praised as “clearly a man for the season. … He’s a hand shaker, a praiser, a man who knows what to say and how to say it, often with a sense of humor.” Brothers and sisters, those are just the things the general public sees. We as members of the Church see so much more. Through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit we know that the true head of this Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, does communicate with us through President Hinckley. It was my blessing and privilege to feel that Spirit when I was called into President Hinckley’s office to receive my call to the general Relief Society presidency one and a half years ago. Before I knew the purpose of my being there, I shook his hand and received a powerful personal witness that I was in the presence of a prophet of God. That witness made me feel exceedingly humble and reverent. If I was kind of quiet that day, President Hinckley, that is the reason.

My husband and I lived in the same ward as my angel mother. Each Sunday, as a member of the Relief Society presidency, I sat at the front of the Relief Society room, facing the sisters. My mother always sat in the same place on the front row.
I enjoyed watching her responses to the lessons and hearing her comments. After each meeting, she kissed my cheek and squeezed my hand. My mother and I were close, so it broke my heart when she passed away unexpectedly.
After her funeral, my emotions remained tender. When Sunday arrived, my husband asked if I would be all right attending church without him. His calling often took him away from our ward.
“I will be all right until I see Mom’s empty chair,” I said. “I don’t know if I can see that empty chair and keep my emotions under control.”
My husband suggested that I try not to look at the chair. I decided to do my best.
Everyone at church was supportive and loving. When it came time to go to Relief Society, I took my seat at the front of the room, but I kept my eyes on the floor.
As the lesson began, however, I couldn’t help but look toward my mother’s usual spot. I expected to see her empty chair, but instead I saw my ministering sister sitting in her place. She smiled at me. I felt relief and gratitude for her kindness. I was able to get through the meeting without being overcome by grief. After the meeting I thanked her.
“Seeing Mom’s empty chair was the one thing I knew I couldn’t handle today. How did you know?” I asked her.
“When I walked into the room today, I had a feeling that seeing her empty chair would be hard for you,” she replied. “So I decided to sit there.”
This kind act meant more to me than she knew. I am thankful she was in tune with the Spirit’s prompting. I know that even small acts can have a healing effect on those we minister to. I believe this is how the Savior would have us minister to each other.

Some years ago our family encountered a major challenge. I went to the temple and there prayed earnestly for help. I was given a moment of truth. I received a clear impression of my weaknesses, and I was shocked. In that spiritually instructive moment, I saw a prideful woman doing things her own way, not necessarily the Lord’s way, and privately taking credit for any so-called accomplishment. I knew I was looking at myself. I cried out in my heart to Heavenly Father and said, “I don’t want to be that woman, but how do I change?”

Through the pure spirit of revelation in the temple, I was taught of my utter need for a Redeemer. I turned immediately to the Savior Jesus Christ in my thoughts and felt my anguish melt away and a great hope spring up in my heart. He was my only hope, and I longed to cling only to Him. It was clear to me that a self-absorbed natural woman “is an enemy to God” and to people in her sphere of influence. In the temple that day I learned it was only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that my prideful nature could change and that I would be enabled to do good. I felt His love keenly, and I knew He would teach me by the Spirit and change me if I gave my heart to Him, holding back nothing.

I still fight my weaknesses, but I trust in the divine help of the Atonement. This pure instruction came because I entered the holy temple, seeking relief and answers. I entered the temple burdened, and I left knowing I had an all-powerful and all-loving Savior. I was lighter and joyful because I had received His light and accepted His plan for me.

Another five years passed, and I came to stay at my parents’ home while I was changing employment. My father was the ward mission leader, and every afternoon the missionaries would visit him briefly to update and coordinate plans. One day they asked him, “Who is that young man there?”
He said, “That’s my older son.”
“Is he a member?”
“No.”
“We need to talk with him.”
But I said, “No, I’m not interested.”
Then one day my father agreed to let the missionaries teach a lady in our home. They came around 5:00 in the afternoon and began teaching her—and they knew that I was in the next room making a sandwich before leaving to see my friends. They taught about a boy prophet—Joseph Smith—and the First Vision. And from the other room, I listened.
When I eventually left the house, the Spirit started to work in my heart and some questions came into my mind: “Why don’t you do what the sisters taught this lady? Why don’t you study the history of Joseph Smith and ask the Lord if he was a prophet?” And I said to myself, “I’m happy. I’m doing good things. I don’t need it.” But the Spirit started to wrestle with me, and I decided not to see my friends that night. I went back home.
I asked my mom, “Where can I read the history of Joseph Smith?” She gave me her scriptures and showed me the Joseph Smith—History, and I read and prayed. I read the first paragraph, pondered, and asked Heavenly Father if what’s there is true. I did this with every paragraph until I completed the whole thing. My heart was anxious for an answer. I read and prayed all night, until 9:20 the next morning.
The Lord revealed to me that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I had a very sacred experience. As I finished praying, I promised that I would find the missionaries and be baptized because I had this sure knowledge.
I told the sisters, “I need to be baptized now.” They explained the lessons I needed to have and commitments I needed to make. But I said, “I don’t want to lose a single day with the knowledge that the Lord has given me that Joseph Smith was a prophet.”
The sisters called their zone leader. He agreed to an accelerated schedule for the lessons. He scheduled the baptismal interview and told me he’d also need to talk to the ward mission leader, and I said, “Don’t worry, I’ll talk with the ward mission leader. He’s my daddy. He’s been praying for years for me to be baptized.”
My baptism was an experience I will remember forever. What a sweet and wonderful feeling. I felt that I was a new man. I was clean. I felt so close to God, and I was very happy.

In the Japanese translation of the hymn “Called to Serve” (Hymns, no. 249), the English words onward and forward are translated as susume (pronounced soo-soo-may). That word has significant meaning for me because of something that happened a few years ago when I was a stake president in Fukuoka, Japan.
The President of the Church, Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008), was visiting, and I was asked to accompany him. During one meeting, 300 full-time missionaries gathered to listen to the prophet. The Holy Spirit filled the chapel, and many of us shed tears of joy. We sang “Called to Serve” in Japanese, repeating over and over again susume, susume. President Hinckley asked the mission president, seated next to him, “What does susume mean?”
“It means ‘go forward,’” the mission president replied.
The meeting was wonderful. President Hinckley encouraged and motivated the missionaries. Afterward, he waved to them in farewell and left the building. As he got into my car to go back to the hotel, he said one word to me, in Japanese: “Susume!”
That word became a motto for me: “Go forward! Be positive! Face the future with faith!” It is the same message given to the youth of the Church in the concluding section of For the Strength of Youth. After reviewing the blessings that come from obedience to the Lord’s standards, in a section titled “Go Forward with Faith,” it says: “As you do these things, the Lord will make much more out of your life than you can by yourself. He will increase your opportunities, expand your vision, and strengthen you. He will give you the help you need to meet your trials and challenges. You will gain a stronger testimony and find true joy as you come to know your Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ, and feel Their love for you” ([2011], 43).

During the summer of 1996, our family hosted two musicians from a Russian folk-dance group. I had recently given my husband a subscription to the Liahona (Russian), and one morning, one of our guests started to look through the June 1996 issue. He got out his reading glasses and closely studied a particular page. Then he shared that page with our other Russian guest. I learned later that the item in the magazine that had caused such great interest was “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” issued by the First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles.
At the end of the week, as they prepared to leave, our guests asked for only one souvenir—the magazine with the family proclamation in it. We gladly gave it to them—hopefully along with good experiences with our own family.
Victoria Morris,Bountiful 41st Ward, Bountiful Utah Heights Stake

Many years ago, in a very difficult time in our lives, I felt under attack from the adversary. At that time the Lord made it very clear to me that I needed to do more and to be better. Let me give you just a little background.
Sue and I had been married at that time for more than thirty years, and we had been active and involved in the Church all our lives. We served in the Church; we attended the temple every week; and we prayed with our children, studied the scriptures with them, and held family home evening. We tried to be good Latter-day Saints. And yet the Lord said to me, “You need to do more.”
One night I had a terrible nightmare. I awoke very anxious and concerned, and I knelt and prayed to my Father in Heaven for help. As I prayed, there came into my mind a passage from Ephesians:
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
In the morning I looked up the scripture and read these words:
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
When I read the words “put on the whole armour of God,” I felt a powerful witness of the Spirit that this was the answer to my prayers. I needed to put on the whole armor of God—every bit of it.
Sue and I talked about what that might mean, and we prayed for guidance. I learned that we needed to ask ourselves two questions. I believe these are the questions whose answers will lead us to do what we need to do to prepare for what lies ahead. Here they are:
As we asked those questions in prayer, we received very specific answers. We changed how we spent our time, what media we allowed into our home, how we served in the temple, how we studied the scriptures, and how we served the Lord. We needed to increase our spirituality. Through this process of repentance the Lord Jesus Christ reached out and changed our lives. We felt His mercy, His grace, His love, and His power in greater measure. Through His matchless power He changed our hearts and our minds and lifted us up to Him. It was a turning point in our lives.

More than 125 years later, a Valiant B class from the Salt Lake Canyon First Ward Rim visited Joseph Daynes’s great-grandson, Skip Daynes, to learn more about his famous ancestor. The class was studying about valiant people of the past and learning how to be valiant themselves.
After talking with Skip Daynes, the class walked to the Tabernacle on Temple Square. They were anxious to see the big pipe organ up close. Robert Cundick, one of the present-day Tabernacle organists, showed it to the young visitors. They found out that now there is a big electric fan to blow air into the pipes instead of men running on a treadmill.
Brother Cundick showed them how some bass notes were so low that their vibrations were felt rather than heard. The highest notes were so soft and high that their ears could barely hear them. He also showed them how to make the notes louder by pressing a pedal on the organ instead of pressing the keys more firmly with his fingers as on the piano.
After playing a hymn for the class on the big organ, Brother Cundick gave them a hint about becoming a valiant person. “Anything you want to do really well you have to work hard at,” he said. “You can’t just try it one afternoon. You have to do it every day for years.”

Weather, distance, and school schedules prevent many Thai members from attending church, so the Ubon Ward decided to set a date and encourage as many people as possible to attend.
A lot of members here in Thailand have difficulty coming to church because of school meetings, bad weather (most of our members travel by motorbike), and distance. The members in my ward, the Ubon Ward, face all of these challenges and more, which makes attending church difficult.
One Sunday, I was wondering how we could help the members recognize the blessings of exercising the faith to worship together more often. The idea came to me, “What if we picked a Sunday to focus on getting every member to church that day?” If we were able to get everyone to come on the same day, it would allow members to really see and feel the strength of the ward.
Other leaders and members in the ward liked the idea and became involved in planning for it. We decided on a date, June 17, 2018—the Sunday closest to the anniversary of when the Ubon Thailand Stake was founded—and started sending messages about it through social media. We named the event “Let’s Come to Church on the Same Sunday! 200 Sacrament Meeting Attendance—Ubon Ward Can Do It.”
Practically the whole ward was involved in encouraging each other to come. Everybody kept sending messages persuading others to join the event. Members also invited returning members and friends who weren’t members. And so many people said yes!
We realized that this was more than just a fun event to see how many people could come. We wanted it to be an especially spiritual experience to help motivate members to make attending sacrament meeting a priority. So in the months leading up to the event, the bishopric encouraged people to avoid any activities that might minimize the importance of the sacrament or the worship of the Lord.
We even made bookmarks to help people remember the event and the Spirit that we knew would be there because of everyone’s efforts to attend. The bookmark had the name of the event and also a scripture: “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High” (Psalm 82:6). We chose this scripture because we wanted everyone to realize that they are children of God and have the potential to be like Him.
Members planned for a long time to all be able to attend on the set day. Finally, the day came. But so did obstacles. It rained heavily the evening before and continued raining all through the night. Another obstacle for some members was that an important school meeting was happening at the same time as church.
We asked everybody to pray for these obstacles to be removed or overcome. At about 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning, the rain stopped. And when we arrived at church, we found those families who needed to go to the school meeting. When we asked them about their other meeting, they said, “We have to come to sacrament meeting first.” It was a great testimony to me of the importance of the Lord’s sacrament.
Members brought a lot of friends and neighbors to the meeting. One sister in the ward brought eight friends who had never been to church before! As more and more people arrived, we needed to open the overflow room. The count of the sacrament attendance was 215 people! All through the meeting, I could feel that the Holy Ghost was with us and that God helped us to be successful in this endeavor.
After this amazing Sunday, the number of people who regularly attend sacrament meeting increased. This included three Melchizedek Priesthood holders who began attending church regularly with their families. One family even had two of their children baptized and confirmed the following month.
Our stake leaders saw what a good experience this was for our ward and decided to hold a similar event. For the stake event, the members in the stake each made a commitment to attend their own wards on the same Sunday. The event also had great success throughout the stake—I know that one ward in our stake had 208 people attend! I am so grateful for the blessings that I and my ward and my stake have received because of these events and for the Spirit we felt preparing for and participating in them.

While I was in graduate school, I had a professor who claimed that there were no "local communities" left in our modern world, that we couldn't really "belong" anywhere any more. I wrote a paper in response, claiming that the Church was a local community. She disagreed and made me defend my point in class. But I won the day, for you see, two weeks after arriving in Pennsylvania to go to school, I was called as the Relief Society president for the ward. So within the first few months, I came to know many people well and to participate in their lives. I used several examples to support the fact that I "belonged" to this community even though I had only been there a short time. For example, within one week I had helped dress the body of a beloved ninety-year-old sister for her burial and held the new daughter of my counselor and her husband just two hours after she arrived on earth.
For you to see, here is a current picture of that beautiful baby, Lici Kanan, seated with her mother, Shannon. How could I not feel that I belonged when I had the privilege to share these most important moments of life with those in my church community? How can you not belong when o share your life and love with children?