Gospel Story Finder

When we began dating, I learned how strongly Kathy felt about keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Because of her devotion, our family has always tried hard to make Sunday a special day. We don’t watch TV on Sunday or go to sporting events. We listen to sacred music, write letters, and spend lots of time talking together. Our younger children liked to read stories from the Friend and from scripture readers. As a result, we have enjoyed a spirit of peace in our home on the Sabbath.

“I’m not afraid to go to bed,” Billy told the baby-sitter. Mrs. Jones smiled and tucked in the covers.
“But I like to see where I am sleeping,” Billy said.
Mrs. Jones turned on the small night-light.
“And my bear would be warmer if it was under the covers with me,” Billy said.
Mrs. Jones brought the teddy bear to Billy.
“If I had a glass of water near my bed,” Billy said, “I wouldn’t have to bother you in case I got thirsty.”
Mrs. Jones went to the kitchen and brought back a glass of water.
“You must be tired,” Billy said. “Would you like me to read you a story?”
“That would be very nice,” Mrs. Jones said.
Billy read a picture story about Jesus Christ.
“I would read you another story,” Billy said, “but my eyes are getting sleepy.”
“You can read it to me the next time I come,” the baby-sitter said. She kissed him good night.
Billy nodded. He was very, very sleepy. He was also happy that Mrs. Jones knew that he was not afraid to go to bed.

Years ago, while on business in Brazil, I sat next to a man on a flight who had recently lost his only daughter in a car accident. He was heartbroken and without hope. When the moment was right, we spoke of sacred things that can bind families together for eternity. I shared my testimony that through Christ, he and his daughter could be reunited forever. His despair turned to hope, and he wept with this newfound knowledge.
I do not know if this man ever joined the Church, but in that moment, I know he found hope available only through the sacrifice and blessings of Jesus Christ.

4. Another element that leads to success and happiness is to discover early inlife that those things of most importance in life you cannot buy for money. They are priceless. To illustrate, let me tell you about an elder from Austria whom I met at the Missionary Training Center.

I noticed that he seemed to be a little older than the average 19-year-old elder. He and his mother had joined the Church when he was 16. His father, who was a successful banker, was not interested in religion, but he did not care if his wife and son joined the Church.

This elder’s problems began occurring, however, when he would be studying his seminary materials. He would have his scriptures and papers out on his desk, and his father would come in and say something like: “Don’t waste your time studying those things. Get back into your regular school studies so that you can be admitted to the university.” At times, his father would become so upset he would pick up his son’s scriptures or papers and throw them across the room.

At age 18, this young man began thinking more about a mission. In fact, one night he even dreamed that he had been called on a mission to Japan. It was such a warm and good feeling; but when he talked to his parents about it, his father said, “Oh no. You are not going to waste two years of your life in the mission field. You must go to the university.” The father wanted the son to become a banker and follow in his footsteps.

Realizing that he had better do what his father wished at that point, he chose to go to the university. I am not sure he made his father totally happy because he chose to come to the United States and enroll at BYU. He went through his program in business, received his bachelor’s degree, and then received a master of business administration degree. He was soon hired as a junior executive in an international banking firm in Munich, Germany.

By this time he was 25, obviously old enough to make his own decisions. He still had a great desire to serve a mission. He went to his stake president and informed him of his desires. He even told him of his dream. The stake president laughed and said, “Well, I don’t think you will be called to Japan. Nobody is called to Japan from here. They may be called to other countries in Europe, but not to Japan.”

His father was very upset when he learned his son was thinking of leaving his position at the bank for two years. He came over from Vienna and did everything he could to convince his son not to go. His boss flew down from Frankfurt, Germany, and spent time with him, attempting to convince him that he should not leave his work for two years.

“My boy,” he said, “do you realize what this will cost you professionally in terms of salary loss as well as opportunity loss? Sit down and calculate what these two years will cost you.” The young elder did, and found that the mission would cost him a great sum of money.

But tears came to his eyes when he told me, “If it would have cost several times that amount, I would still be here, because I know this is where the Lord wants me to be.”

Well, he was called to Japan. He served a very successful mission, and I suppose there are many international banking firms that would be pleased to hire a well-trained junior executive who speaks German, English, and Japanese—the three major languages of the economic free world. But even if he didn’t earn an extra dime as the result of this additional experience, it still would have been worth it. If you want to be happy and successful, you will come to a realization that there are some values in life you cannot purchase with money.

Where should we come? Who should we follow? The Savior tells us: “Come, follow me” (Luke 18:22; emphasis added). When Harmony left home for trek, she saw the Lord’s hand in her experience. She knew she was following Him.
Harmony’s path to her stake trek was different from others’ paths. At age 15 she learned that she had a rare form of skin cancer. She wasn’t able to participate in her stake trek. “I was devastated,” she recalled.
Four years later, when her stake announced another trek, Harmony was free of cancer. But at age 19, she thought she wouldn’t be able to go. Then she received a calling to participate as a leader. She said, “It’s a testimony to me that the Lord knows who we are, and He knows the desires of our hearts, and if they’re righteous and good, He’ll bless us.”
Harmony offered advice to help us when we face trials: “To anyone who’s struggling, I’d say just to lean on the Lord. He’s always there for you. He loves us, and He won’t let us fall. We just need to reach out our hand to Him, and He will help us on our pioneer journey.”

One day when President Cowley and I were traveling, we arrived at the home of Brother Stewart Meha, a great and wonderful Maori man. He presided over his large family as a true father and leader. President Cowley and Brother Meha spent all afternoon sitting on the porch and talking about the Church and other interesting things.

When it came time for the evening meal, Brother Meha stood on his front porch and, in the Maori language, shouted out to all of his large family, “Haere Mai Ki te Kai.” Then he said, “Haere Mai Ki Te Karakia.” These phrases meant, “Come on home for supper, Come on home for prayer.”

Soon family members came from every direction. We all assembled in his home in the big front room. The room had very little furniture in it, and everybody gathered in a large circle. Brother Meha was at the head of the circle, President Cowley was on his left, and I was next to President Cowley. On Brother Meha’s right was a little child about eight years of age. All around the rest of the circle were the other children, with some adults in between.

Brother Meha said to the little boy on his right, “You start.” I bowed my head in anticipation of the little boy’s prayer. Instead of praying, he quoted a scripture, after first reciting the chapter and verse. Then the young person next to him recited a scripture with the reference. After about four scriptures had been given, I realized that we were going around the circle, with each person quoting a different passage of scripture. One youngster started to quote one that had already been used, and he was quickly corrected.

Eventually it was my turn and then President Cowley’s. Then Brother Meha prayed.

In the Anchorage Alaska Mission in 1980, I was a new missionary. Most branches at that time met in community halls or other churches because there weren’t any dedicated chapels. These small, remote branches struggled with attendance. President Douglas T. Snarr, the Anchorage Alaska Mission President at that time, was inspired that if there were chapels, places to worship, the work of the gospel could move forward. He liked General George Patton’s way of getting things done. He would often say, “If we bring in the tanks the rest will follow.” To him, the tanks were the chapels. Once they were completed, the missionaries would fill them with people. That seemed simple enough. He had the faith.

The action was President Snarr, along with the church building organization, started the plan to have the new church buildings, using volunteer labor for the most part. They were DIY (do it yourself) kits to build log cabins designed to withstand the cold winters in Alaska. During my mission there were several branches that built new meetinghouses, which were dedicated for the missionaries to fill. I got to help on the one in Sitka, Alaska. The meetinghouses came in shipping containers. Each log was marked so we would know how to put it together. It was like a big Lincoln Log set. They started building the first phase, which was a kitchen, baptismal font, cultural hall, and classrooms. The second phase would be the chapel. Sitka, Alaska, was an island with 14 miles of highway where all the contractors leave and go some place warmer during the winter months because no one would build in the winter.

“Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.” [6]

The saints in Sitka were willing. They took the step to act in faith that if the Lord wanted a chapel in Sitka they would do their part, even if it was winter in Alaska.

I was transferred to Sitka on November 28. The foundation and floor were complete on phase one and the walls were just starting to go up. I was assigned to work six days a week along with three other elders and two missionary couples. The Sitka branch members helped when they could take days off of work or after work. They always had breakfast and lunch on the jobsite and a meal in a member’s home each night. We were not required to teach lessons or tract. But, to keep our teaching skills up and because it created a stir as the town people saw a new church building going up in the middle of winter, (I can just imagine them saying, “You can’t build in the winter in Alaska.”), we had appointments most evenings. It felt like we were doing missionary work like some of the first missionaries; our days were filled with physical labor building the Lord’s kingdom and during the evening we were preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. We worked closely with the members and saw baptisms and inactive members reactivated. The baptisms were in the community swimming pool (thankfully not in the ocean; it was winter in Alaska).

The logs used were cedar, about three-by-six inch tongue and groove. The method was to lay one row of logs, leave a space for insulation, and then lay the second row. The walls on the first phase were about three feet high. In Sitka it rains almost every day, but as the season progressed, it would snow and then freeze on the logs. Most of our time was spent scraping and chipping off the snow and ice so the logs would fit together correctly. Our progress on the wall changed from one to two feet a day to maybe one foot a day. At that rate we could be done by summer.

The mission president, Douglas Snarr, was visiting and saw the problems we were having and how it was slowing down the building, so we gathered in the area where the cultural hall was to be and in prayer he asked that the Lord’s work would be able to progress quicker. He asked the Lord to bless us with rain and not snow so the walls could go up. That prayer was answered. It stopped snowing. We just had rain everyday, and in just eight days, the walls on the first phase were completed.

At that time, as a new missionary, I believed that the Lord listened and answered President Snarr’s prayer solely because he was the mission president and had a great connection with the man upstairs and had faith that the Lord’s will would be done.

Once walls were complete, the trusses, which were big beams that would be exposed on the inside, were put in place by a crane. Then, we started to install two-by-six tongue and groove boards that would be the first layer of the roof. Since the walls were done, it had started to snow again. So, we would shovel out the rooms each day one to two feet of snow. We had most of the roof covered and went inside the finished area to eat lunch one day. When we came out it was a full-blown blizzard. I was holding the ladder so it wouldn’t slip. That is so much safer for the elders. It would be bad if the ladder slipped and they fell. As I was holding the ladder, I noticed that the same elder who had just climbed up was going up again. The roof was covered in snow and ice and he had slipped off. Luckily, the snow that had been pushed out the windows each day had become a huge pile that created a softer landing. The decision was made to stop working until the snow had stopped.

The missionaries and members that were working on the building that day gathered again and prayed for weather that they could finish the roof in. Within 30 minutes the snow had stopped and the sun was shining, and we were able to finish the roof that day.

The branch president, President Dave Rasband, was a pilot who flew his floatplane to take Forest Service rangers to different islands and keep them stocked with supplies. That week he had not been able to get supplies to one group because of the snow. So, he left the building site. His airplane was just in the next bay over. He took off and flew north, only to find a storm too thick to fly in. So, he tried flying south, east, and west only to find the storm any direction he flew. He even made a circle. It was snowing everywhere but over the building site.

I realized that the Lord had also answered the elders’ prayer and prayers of all the members who prayed for good weather. The Lord listens to all who call upon Him no matter what their calling is. He is there for each one of us. There were many more small, simple miracles that took place in the construction of the Sitka church building including members becoming more involved in the work, building friendships, reactivating members. Building the chapel in the winter really was the talk of the small community. It didn’t build itself. It was built through the faith and actions of the members of Sitka. Each time there were setbacks and challenges, prayers were offered and then action was taken to overcome each one.

Before and after my mission I worked in construction, so I know how rough the environment can be, but I enjoyed working on the chapel. There was always a spirit of love there. Those were some of my most spiritual times. I discovered that when faced with a challenge, answers come. Sometimes they come right away, like with the prayers offered in the building of the Sitka meetinghouse. Or sometimes they came over time, but they all were answered. We couldn’t have built the log chapel by ourselves, just like we can’t make it back to the presence of Heavenly Father by ourselves; only through Jesus Christ can we return to His presence.

Time has also taught me something about the ebb and flow of our own powers and of how we may not notice that change. At Christmastime one of our married sons stayed with his wife and baby in our basement guest room. He found there a daily journal I had kept as a young father, not much older than many of you. I had forgotten it was there and what it contained. At dinner my son began to recount what he had read there of my experiences with him and his brothers and of my straining to live a little better, to have the Atonement work more fully in my life, and to become what I needed to be. He had read of my working intensely and praying earnestly into the early hours of the morning. As he spoke, I thought of some of you.

You may come upon your missionary journals put away in a closet in your home. You may read and feel a shock as you remember how hard you worked, how constantly you thought of the Savior and His sacrifice for you and for those you tried to meet and teach, and how fervently and often you prayed. The shock will come from realizing how much the cares of life have taken you from where you once were, so close to always remembering and always praying.

Thank you for the articles in the New Era. I’ve recently been having a hard time both at church and at school. The people at school who I thought were my friends are constantly making fun of me. At church, it’s a number of things. But mainly the young women of the ward always act like I don’t exist. Because of this, I feel like I’m growing away from the Church. One of the only things keeping me near the Church is the New Era. Thank you.
Name WithheldIllinois

A recent experience illustrates the importance of each of these little children. One Saturday morning I was preparing for an activity with one of my grandsons. But before we could make our exit out the door, I heard another small voice inquiring, “Can I go too, Grandpa?” Did you ever try to say no to such a request? That activity would not have been the same without that someone else who really wanted to “go too.” Just as surely, heaven will not be heaven if some of our children who want to “go too” are left behind.

My wife, Harriet, is a wonderful example of this. When we were living in Germany, she would find a way to work Church-related topics into her conversations with friends and acquaintances. For example, when someone asked about her weekend, she would say, “This Sunday we had an impressive experience in our church! A 16-year-old young man gave a beautiful talk in front of 200 people of our congregation about living a clean life.” Or, “I learned about a 90-year-old woman who knitted more than 500 blankets and gave them to our Church’s humanitarian program to be shipped to people in need all around the world.”

More often than not, the people who heard this wanted to know more. They asked questions. And that led to opportunities to talk about the gospel in a natural, confident, nonpushy way.

Elder Devere Harris of the First Quorum of the Seventy told me of a recent visit he made to a long-established ward in Utah. He said, “I entered there as a stranger and tried every way that I knew to strike up a conversation, or to say hello, or to be kind, or to be greeted, or to be known. Everyone ignored me; nobody would speak to me—no one!

“Finally, a man recognized me. He said, ‘Oh, Elder Harris.’ The bishop turned around and said, ‘What did you say?’ The brother said, ‘This is Elder Harris of the First Quorum of the Seventy.’

“Well, things changed. It wasn’t long before I was asked to sit on the stand; they wondered if I wouldn’t like to bear my testimony. After the meeting, many people shook my hand. As I left, I thought, ‘What a tragedy! A gray-haired man who was unknown walks into a meeting. Nobody recognizes him, nobody says hello, nobody is kind. Then, because of his Church position, everybody changes and wants to be friendly.’”

Mark Johnson is a young man striving to fulfill his duties as a deacon. But at times, it’s a struggle. Seven years ago doctors discovered that Mark had muscular dystrophy; Mark was given just two years of mobility. But he set a high goal for himself—he wanted to pass the sacrament when he was ordained a deacon. It seemed impossible, especially after Mark was forced into a wheelchair. But because of his undying desire to render service, Mark has found a way to fulfill his duties. His father, Lee Johnson, carries Mark in his arms every Sunday as Mark passes the bread and water.
In addition to deacon’s duties, Mark is earnestly pursuing the Eagle Scout rank. As a member of Troop 101 of the Ventura First Ward in California, he is a Life Scout and is working on the two remaining merit badges left to fill the Eagle requirements. Some of the badges have not come easy; take, for example, hiking, camping, swimming. But he claims his hardest merit badge was music.
Mark’s troop helps him every chance they get. They alternate backpacking with car camping so Mark can participate. He has a special friend in Ricky Johnson who pushes the wheelchair up the trail and through the streambeds on the walk-in camps.
Mark lives close to the Lord, and his diligence is an inspiration to others. He has been helped by many, but when asked how he has achieved his goals, his answer is, “My dad and I do it together.”

Recently, while enjoying a family vacation, Sister Eyring, several of our children, and I attended Church meetings away from Rexburg. We were among many visitors. I was impressed by the inspiring sacrament meeting addresses and an engaging Sunday School lesson.

During that lesson, there was mention made of a family who were among the founders of what had been a small branch of the Church there. This family had deep roots in the area, dating back to the 1880s. After the Sunday School lesson, I wanted to know more.

From longtime members of what is now a ward, I learned that this family made a decent living thanks to a lumber and sawmill business. By the turn of the twentieth century, the family had the good fortune to be granted a homestead by then-president Woodrow Wilson. Their 150-acre operation had a log cabin that served as their headquarters. They also grazed cattle on the property.

The father was blessed with two hard-working sons, and their operations expanded. With the profits of the businesses, as well as property acquisition in the growing town, the brothers could have cashed out. In fact, they were tempted, but they wisely let their holdings grow in value.

Then, many years later, when the family sold the business, the surviving brother walked into his bishop’s office. Without explanation, he presented a tithing check to a member of the bishopric. This bishopric member looked at the check and said, “You have too many zeroes.” The assumption was that the last two zeroes on the check should have had a decimal point ahead of them.

But the donor clarified that his donation stood. There were not too many zeroes—only several lifetimes of hard work, thrift, and good financial investment. The beneficiaries would be countless needy Saints.

Characters
Mariah
Molly
Miles
Max
Simon
[Mariah, Molly, Max, and Miles enter.]
Mariah: I love summer.
Molly: The ice cream!
Max: The swimming pools!
Miles: The sunshine!
Mariah: And no school. This summer is going to be the best ever!
Molly: What should we do first?
Max: We should start a club.
Miles: Yes! Clubs are the best. We can make badges—
Molly: And a clubhouse!
Max: And make up a secret password!
Mariah: We can call it the Mariah, Molly, Max, and Miles club. Hey, all our names start with M!
Molly: That can be part of the club—your name has to start with an M to join. We can call it the M Club!
Max: The Marvelous M Club!
Miles: The Marvelous Magnificent M Club!
Mariah: The Magical Marvelous Magnificent Club!
Molly: This is going to be the best club ever.
Max: And the best summer! [Molly, Max, and Miles exit. Simon enters from the other direction.]
Simon: Hi, Mariah.
Mariah: Hi, Simon. Excited for the summer?
Simon: Yeah! Do you have any plans?
Mariah: Well, Molly and Miles and Max and I just formed a club, and it’s probably going to be the best club ever. It’s called the Magical Marvelous Magnificent Club.
Simon: Wow! That sounds really cool. Can I join? I could bring some of my favorite books for the clubhouse.
Mariah: Sorry. Only people whose names start with the letter M can be in the club.
Simon: You mean I can’t join your club just because my name is Simon and not Mimon? That doesn’t seem very fair.
Mariah: I’m sorry, but club rules are club rules.
Simon: OK. Well, have a good summer. [Simon walks off, looking sad. Mariah goes the other direction, after Molly, Miles, and Max.]
[Max, Mariah, Molly, and Miles are sitting around their clubhouse.]
Molly: Majestic!
Miles: Memorable!
Molly: Majestic!
Miles: Memorable!
Molly: Mariah, which do you think sounds better? The Magical Marvelous Magnificent Majestic Club, or the Magical Marvelous Magnificent Memorable Club?
Mariah: I don’t really care.
Max: What about amazing?
Molly: That doesn’t start with an M.
Max: It can if you say the uh part really soft. Uh-Mazing. See?
Miles: Mariah, why aren’t you helping think up more M words for the club name? Is something wrong?
Mariah: Simon asked if he could be in the club.
Molly: You told him no, right? Because his name doesn’t start with an M.
Mariah: I told him no, but it didn’t make me feel very good. Don’t you think we should include everyone?
Miles: It might be more fun that way.
Max: Simon is a really good friend.
Molly: Simon probably doesn’t want to be part of our club anymore. It’s not as fun as I thought it would be.
Max: There really isn’t much to do.
Miles: We argued about the name, made up a secret password, and made a clubhouse. What do we do now?
Mariah: Maybe our club would be better if we weren’t just thinking about ourselves all the time.
Molly: You mean make a club to help other people?
Miles: I like it!
Max: I think it’s a great idea!
Mariah: And I know just who we can start with.
[All exit]
[Mariah, Miles, Molly, and Max sneak on stage. They set notes in various places, making a trail of notes across the stage. They all exit. Simon enters. He sees the first note and picks it up.]
Simon: What’s this? [Reads it out loud.] “Simon, you are always so kind to everyone you meet. I’m glad you’re my friend.” [Simon smiles.] I wonder where that note came from. [He takes a few more steps and finds another.] Here’s another one! “Simon, you are really smart, and I admire how hard you work in school.” [He looks up and sees the trail of notes.] All these nice notes are about me! I wonder who left them.
Mariah: [entering with Miles, Molly, and Max] We did!
Simon: Oh. Was this part of your moldable, magnetic, macho club that I can’t join?
Molly: Actually, you can, if you still want to.
Max: We decided to change the club rules so that everyone can join, no matter what letter their name starts with.
Simon: Really? But why’d you leave me all the notes?
Max: We want our club to be about more than just us. From now on, our club is all about doing nice things for other people.
Miles: We’re going to pick up trash at the park—
Molly: And make cards for the nursing home down the street—
Max: And cook dinner for someone in the neighborhood!
Molly: So what do you think? Want to join our new and improved club?
Simon: You bet I do!
Mariah: Then welcome to the official first meeting of the Kindness Club, dedicated to making the neighborhood a better place, one good deed at a time!
Max: But can we still have a secret password?
The end

On one occasion I arrived early at a hotel and had some free time before my assignment that night. The hotel had a beautiful, tranquil pool in the patio. It was unoccupied, so I grabbed my scriptures and went out to study. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and soon I was feasting on the scriptures. You know how it feels when you are learning new principles, and your mind and soul are being charged with spiritual truth. It was one of those moments. While deep in the scriptures, I heard a door open and out of the corner of my eye, I sensed a young woman coming toward the pool in a bikini. It was a moment of decision. The common man would turn and take in the sight. On this occasion I simply rotated my chair, turning my back to the pool and continued with my studies.

What happened next is difficult for me to describe. I was already feasting on the scriptures, but it seemed my study and understanding ascended to an even higher intensity. I was taught and given confidence in myself and my spiritual capacities and abilities that I had never before contemplated. I felt, in the words of the Prophet Joseph, "pure intelligence flowing into me." That night as I performed my responsibilities, I was given a personal witness that confirmed in a very real way what I was taught after I turned my back on temptation. The next day, I reread the chapters I had studied out by the pool, to review again what I had learned. The new concepts and principles I had learned were not written in those chapters. In a sweet, miraculous manner I had been taught between the lines. Looking back, I recognize that the principles I was taught that day were of key importance in preparing me for the calling I have today.

I remember very clearly an experience I had when I was about twelve years old. It was a Saturday, and my father and I were at the meetinghouse, preparing the building for meetings the next day. All of a sudden, my father stopped. “I feel that we need to go home,” he said. So we locked up the building and left.
At home, Dad took a shower and put on his suit. Almost immediately the phone rang. My mother, who had left earlier in the day to attend a Primary leadership meeting, had been in a terrible car accident. She and the other sisters in the car had been taken to the hospital. The doctors didn’t expect my mother to live.
My father left immediately for the hospital. I had a paper route and left to deliver my papers. I didn’t understand exactly what had happened, but I knew that my mother was hurt very seriously. During my route, I stopped and knelt in a secluded area. I poured out my heart to Heavenly Father, asking Him to bless and help my mother. I felt a strong assurance that she would be all right.
After I finished my paper route, I stopped to visit my younger sister, who was baby-sitting. We knelt together and prayed for my mother. Afterward, we felt a deep sense of peace.
In the months that followed, we relied heavily on those feelings we had received as we prayed. My mother had sustained very serious brain damage, and she was in a coma for weeks. Even after she returned home, she was never the same. Her physical and mental health was fragile, and her memory had been affected. But she had a profound faith and a deep love for us, her children.
That experience strengthened my testimony that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. When I knelt to pray for my mother that first time, I hadn’t known just how badly she had been hurt. In fact, I prayed that her arm would not be broken. But Heavenly Father understood.

I recently attended a YSA stake conference. I was late, as usual, and felt like all eyes were on me as I slid into an empty seat near the back. I folded my arms and sat quietly, trying to focus on the Spirit and the songs, but it all turned into garbled noise.
This sort of thing—a group of faithful peers singing and worshipping together—should be uplifting and spiritual, right? So why couldn’t I feel it? Why wouldn’t my mind stop racing? And why did this keep happening?
Eventually the meeting ended, and I left in tears.
When I was little, my hyperactive, daydreaming tendencies were written off as childhood quirks. But these struggles persisted into my teens. In Young Women, other girls shared moving experiences and spiritual growth. I struggled to remember to read my scriptures and pray. Others bore moving testimonies, while sharing mine felt like I was reciting a script.
Shortly after starting college, I was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Suddenly a lot of struggles in my life—being constantly disorganized, distracted, and forgetful—made sense. I began treatment, found organizational strategies to help with school, and slowly learned to be more patient with myself.
Despite improvements in other areas of my life, my church experiences didn’t change. I was trying my best, but meetings remained overwhelming. Church should be something I looked forward to, but it wasn’t.
Something needed to change, but I didn’t know where to start.
A few weeks after that YSA stake conference, I listened to general conference. I was hoping to find answers from our leaders but was disheartened when the first day passed without any new direction from the Spirit.
Then, in the middle of the second day’s afternoon session, I had a prompting: start writing.
Somewhat reluctantly, I began scribbling down the thoughts that came to mind. What I ended up with was something I’d never thought to write before: a list of ways living the gospel was difficult for me specifically because of my symptoms of ADHD. Here are a few:
ADHD inhibits the ability to regulate focus. Regular study and worship are key to receiving valuable inspiration and insight, but because they are routine, it can be hard for me to concentrate on the spiritual aspect.
While some people can build a habit after a few days or weeks, someone with ADHD can find it difficult to create routines. Scripture study and prayer are meant to be daily habits. But for someone with ADHD, it can take a lot of effort to keep up with them.
ADHD can make it hard to regulate emotions. Overwhelming emotions can lead to sudden outbursts. For some, it can also be difficult to recognize their own feelings or the feelings of others.
We may desire to be meek like the Savior but find ourselves overwhelmed by frustration. We may have trouble discerning the Spirit, which can make us feel isolated when others seem to recognize the Spirit easily.
Impulsivity can make us feel like our intentions never quite line up with our actions.
The gospel preaches repentance. But sometimes, despite a sincere desire to change, we find ourselves impulsively acting on old temptations. It can be discouraging when our righteous intentions fall apart in the face of split-second impulses.
Often, those with ADHD struggle to plan, organize, prioritize, or begin tasks. Even minor tasks can become paralyzing and exhausting.
Though not in a bad way, the gospel can require more of our time. Serving others and gathering to learn are wonderful opportunities. But balancing these extra priorities can add to the feelings of overwhelm in everyday life.
After writing out how ADHD affects my discipleship, I realized something important—these challenges weren’t moral failings. They were mortal struggles.
President Russell M. Nelson taught, “As you think celestial, you will view trials and opposition in a new light.” I received that light—and with it, a new perspective. From there, I started looking for solutions.
I used to think that spiritual improvement looked the same for every person. Now I can accept that improvement may look a little different for me. The Lord knows me (see John 10:14), and He knows my specific challenges. I began praying for ideas for how to work with my challenges instead of against them.
When I use a fidget toy during personal prayers to stay focused, I know He sees my desire to communicate with Him. When I exercise to clear my mind instead of sitting quietly, I know He sees my desire for inspiration.
There are still days I struggle. Sister Joy D. Jones, former Primary General President, reminds us that “the Lord loves effort. … He doesn’t expect perfection today.” So, when I find myself slipping back into old habits, I know that I can pause and recenter myself on Christ.
With Christ’s help, I’m working to replace feelings of guilt and shame over my shortcomings with kindness toward myself—the same kindness and mercy that the Lord already has for me.
This will be a lifelong battle, but I know Jesus Christ will continue to help me face it and thrive.

Two acclaimed British composers whose recent composition reached Classic FM’s top five selections have been commissioned to write the finale for the highly anticipated ‘Lamb of God’ concert at Manchester’s renowned Bridgewater Hall. The collaboration brings together Sam Petchey, from the Staines Stake, a distinguished military musician whose service included performing at Buckingham Palace, and Abby Twigger, from the Aberdeen Stake, a talented composer and vocalist, whose combined artistic vision will culminate in a powerful new piece titled ‘Awake My Soul’ for the 100-person choir and full orchestra.
The composers’ previous work, ‘The Lamb’, garnered national recognition when it was selected as one of five winners in the Making Music Classic FM carol competition and aired on Classic FM in December 2023. The carol also reached the semi-final of the UK Songwriting Contest and was shortlisted in the Sir David Willcocks Carol Composer Competition, demonstrating the duo’s exceptional musical talent.
Their collaboration came about after Abby started writing music again, following the birth of their fifth child, when she heard about Sam’s professional musical experience from a fellow member in his ward. Sam helped Abby record the songs she had written and they worked together on other compositions, even from opposite ends of the United Kingdom. They have since released a full CD of original Christmas songs, which has also been printed as sheet music for others to use.
In 2024 they were commissioned to arrange ‘The Lamb’ again – this time for a big charity fundraiser, featuring NHS Grampian Hospitals’ Choir, a string orchestra and brass quintet, for performance on 15th December at Music Hall Aberdeen. That same month the solo voice and piano recording of the carol was included on UCB 2, United Christian Broadcaster’s playlist and was played throughout the month.
"For me, music is a fast track to the spirit," shares Sister Twigger, whose background includes music studies at Brigham Young University and performances at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. Abby is married to Ben, they have 5 children, and she is currently serving as stake Young Women president in the Aberdeen Stake. Her collaboration with Brother Petchey, who brings extensive experience from the Royal Corps of Army Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, has already produced numerous successful sacred works, including a cantata celebrating women of faith. Sam is married to Vicky, they have 4 children and he loves writing sacred music.
The performances of ‘Lamb of God’ at Bridgewater Hall, Manchester showcased their newest composition alongside other sacred music, continuing their commitment to creating uplifting, spiritually enriching musical experiences for audiences across the United Kingdom.

A few years ago, when I was meeting with my team captains before the beginning of the year, I asked, “What do you want for this team? What do you want to accomplish?”

Without hesitation they said they had met previously and thought that NCAA regionals were great, but they wanted to compete at the national championship. At the time we were an up-and-coming team. This would be the first year I had my own players I had recruited. I didn’t know exactly what we were capable of. But I knew that if that is what they wanted, we could create a plan to get it. We just needed to work really hard to get it and have complete buy-in from everyone. We talked about the plan of attack and introduced it to the team. The most important part was that this was their desire, their want, and their goal. My job was to show them how to get it and to hold them accountable to the things they said they would do to get it.

Winning in golf is a very difficult thing to do. You can have a long career, make millions of dollars, and never win, and yet you can still be considered successful. Winning once a year as a team is quite a big deal. Those teams who do it more than once are elite.

This particular year, with what we wanted clearly defined and our why as solid as could be, we won five out of nine events, including our first conference championship since 1992. After our conference win, we headed to regionals. There it didn’t matter what you had done previously. You now had to place in the top six in the field of eighteen to advance to the national championship. The teams were put into four regions, and we were sent to Louisiana to play at a very difficult golf course against a very difficult field with conditions that we were not used to. We would play three rounds of eighteen holes to determine our fate.

With one round to go, we were in fifth place. But we had one more day left. On the final day I checked to see where we were after nine holes, which meant we had nine holes to go. We were behind about six strokes. Deep down I knew that anything could happen, and I thought to myself, “Okay, ladies, if you want to go to nationals, then now is the time to take us there.”

As we were playing the fifteenth hole, I saw us make some key mistakes that caused some big scores. I thought, “No, no, no!”

But on the scoreboard we were somehow now even with the team ahead of us. I looked at our girls. They were calm, stoic. They appeared to know exactly why they were there and what they wanted to accomplish. With a look of confidence that they would not be denied their goal, they proceeded to the next hole to play as if the mistakes hadn’t happened.

When we had three holes to go, the team with which we were tied had finished. Now it was up to us. We had to have all four counting players finish one under on the last three holes to make it to nationals. This was no small feat. Our sophomore hit a clutch approach shot on the last hole to secure the birdie that we needed. When I asked her what she was thinking, knowing that she would have to wait forty-five minutes for the rest of her team to finish, she said, “I wasn’t thinking, let alone breathing.”

Now it was up to the next three counting players to finish strong. I was with our junior, who hit her approach in the greenside bunker on the last hole. With a difficult up-and-down, she curled in a ten-foot putt to secure our one-stroke lead.

Now all we needed was our last two players to finish par or better. The entire left side of the finishing hole on this golf course was water. If you missed left, you had to take a penalty and add a stroke to your score. We learned later that the opposing team lost eight shots on that hole alone. Our conference player of the year was up next and had left herself with a nerve-wracking fifteen-foot putt to save par. With a small chance to make it, she willed the ball into the hole.

With our number-one player still to finish, we received a text message that she had a short putt for birdie to give us a two-stroke advantage. But she hit the putt too hard and made an improbable three-putt to put us into a tie. I met her in the fairway on the last hole to discuss the approach. She felt confident in a six iron and let it rip. With what her dad says was the best six iron of her life, she put her approach ten feet or so above the hole. We dissected that putt from every angle to make sure we knew exactly how she should play that putt. The ball just happened to be sitting on a ledge, and from one angle it looked like the ball would go left. From the other angle it looked like it would go right. So we decided to play it straight. When later asked why she smiled before she hit the putt, she commented, “Because I knew I was going to make it.” As the putt dropped and the crowd roared, an opposing coach called it “the most exciting moment in golf that she has been a part of.”

We had now accomplished our goal of qualifying for the national championship. What was unique about this experience is that we were the first BYU team to require the NCAA to move their national championship since one of the rounds was played on Sunday. The girls handled it like pros and put BYU women’s golf on the map. They defined what they wanted. Every day they worked to get a little closer to that goal. They remembered their why each day, and they proceeded with confidence even through adversity to ultimately be awarded their goal. And afterward we celebrated in true BYU fashion by toasting our chocolate milks at a Louisiana Waffle House at 2 a.m.