Gospel Story Finder

As a junior in high school, I played on my school’s varsity ice hockey team. Just weeks into the season, I broke my arm badly during a game against our rival school and was taken to the hospital. Reconstructive surgery was performed on my arm that night, and upon returning to the doctor’s office the next week I was told that I would miss the remaining five months of the season. I was devastated.
In the weeks following the injury, I puttered around using just one arm, trying to function as best I could. I couldn’t bathe myself. Feeding myself was very difficult. I couldn’t play the guitar. And I couldn’t write with my preferred hand. The whole time I thought, “Why me?”
Then about three weeks after the injury, my mom drove me back to the ice rink to get the gear I had left there on the night of my injury. My coach had the gear in his office upstairs, and while we were talking, he said something I’ll never forget: “Aaron, we’ll miss you this year; we sure could use you on the ice. But there’s Someone upstairs who’s watching out for you. This year, there’s something more important for you than hockey.” It had never occurred to me that God had something else planned for me, but He did.
I learned many things that year. I learned to be humble and to accept the help of others, especially Christ and His Atonement. I widened my horizons by becoming more involved in the school choir and learning to play lacrosse. I learned how to forgive people. But the most important thing I learned is that my Heavenly Father loves me and knows what is best for me.

Young Spencer worked hard on the farm, but he knew when to stop. In his youth Primary was held on a weekday.
Spencer: I hear the Primary bell ringing. That means it’s time for Primary.
Spencer’s brother: No, you don’t, little brother. We need you to finish tromping down the hay.
Spencer’s brother: Spencer, what’s going on up there?Spencer?
Spencer’s brother: Look, he’s halfway across the field. He sure likes Primary!

I urge you to see the big picture and cease worrying about the little blemishes. Abraham Lincoln was a gangling figure of a man, with a long and craggy face. There were many who looked only at the imperfections of his countenance. There were others who joked over the way he walked, and kept their eyes so low that they never saw the true greatness of the man. That enlarged view came only to those who saw the whole character—body, mind, and spirit—as he stood at the head of a divided nation in its darkest hour, lacing it together “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God” gave him to see the right. (Second Inaugural Address.)

An unusual baptism took place in the Primary Children’s Hospital a few years ago. Ila Marie Goodey had polio when she was three years old and spent much time in the hospital afterward. She was there for her eighth birthday and the doctors did not think it wise for her to leave even long enough to be baptized.
Ila Marie was so disappointed that the people at the hospital decided to make their little patient have an especially happy birthday by arranging for her baptism in a Hubbard tank. This is the poem she wrote about it:
I couldn’t wait till I was eight
‘Cause then I’d be baptized.
But when I finally came of age
My limbs were paralyzed.
I begged to have the chance to join
The Church I love so dear;
I was the first to be baptized
In the Hubbard tank that’s here.
No other patient has ever had
This opportunity,
To be baptized in the Hubbard tank
Here at Primary.
But the very most important thing
Is now I’ll always be
A member of the Church of God
Through all eternity.

Logan M., age 9, Coahuila, Mexico
My family moves a lot. I’ve learned how to make new friends in new places. I ask people if I can sit by them at lunch. I make friends when I ask questions and talk to others.

Sharing the gospel with someone and helping the person to become a member of the Church can be compared to gardening: First you plant a seed. Then you water the seed and see that it has sunlight. You pull weeds so that the seed can blossom and grow and won’t be crowded out. After much patience and hard work, your garden will ripen and be ready to harvest.
Saying something to a non-member friend that will help your friend want to know more about the gospel is planting a “testimony seed.” Or if someone who knows a little about the Church is closely observing your behavior, your good example is like sunshine and water helping their testimony seed to grow. It may take many people doing many thoughtful things before that seed is finally ripe and ready to harvest. You may never know about the harvest of the seeds you have planted or helped to grow. But “if ye sow good ye shall also reap good,” and you will be happy too.

According to these youth, another major factor in strengthening their testimonies of Christ is going to the temple.
Many tourists come to southern Mexico—dubbed “the land of temples”—to explore the ancient ruins called “temples” because of their apparent religious uses. But for all the ancient temples surrounding them, the youth of Mexico are most excited about having their own Latter-day Saint temples—where they will make covenants with God and be married for all eternity.
One of these is the Mérida México Temple, completed in July 2000. It is only a 10- or 15-minute drive from where the youth in the Canek Ward live.
“Everyone was so excited to find out we were going to get a temple,” says Ismael Herrera, a priest. “Before, we had to travel to Mexico City.”
The youth had made the trip to the Mexico City temple to perform baptisms for the dead, but that temple is located more than 16 hours away.
“Our temple is so close,” says Jorge. “There are so many more opportunities to go.”
“In all the times we’ve been able to go to the Mérida temple, we could have gone to the Mexico City temple only once or twice,” agrees Carmen. “Having a temple here allows us to help a lot more people.”
These Mexican youth have read about the temples of the Nephites. They’ve visited the ruins of ancient temples. Now they have a dedicated temple in their own area. They love going to their modern temple. It’s peaceful. It’s quiet.
Like the ruins of ancient temples, it seems untouched by the outside world. But in this temple, they can feel something they don’t feel anywhere else.
“This is the house of the Lord,” says Jorge.

I lived with my father and family that winter and even attended school. Because of the love they showed me, the prejudices and the hate for Mormons I had grown up with began to fade. Late in the winter my father asked me if I’d thought about being baptized. I told him I didn’t know. He said I could do what I wanted, but that if I believed in the gospel he would like to see me baptized.

He told me that before he had left my mother and Aunt Emily, he had given my brother Isaac and me a blessing. While his hands were on my head he prophesied I would come to the valley of the mountains and afterwards return with my brother. He told me he wanted me to go back in the spring and get my brother Isaac.

Nothing more was said on the subject of baptism for several months, and then I was asked again if I had thought about it. I had felt the healing warmth of the gospel and of members of the Church. I knew it was right. I told my father I wanted to be baptized.

We went up to City Creek. The water was cold, iced over, but I didn’t notice it much. After the baptism my father confirmed me and set me apart for the mission of bringing my brother back.

When I arrived at my old home in May of 1863, my grandparents, brother, and friends were happy to see me. A few days after my arrival, my grandmother and most of the family went to visit some friends for the day. My grandfather was ill and couldn’t go with them. He asked me to stay with him while they were away.

When we were alone he started to ask me questions about my trip to Utah. He asked me if I’d seen my father. I told him I had. He said he was glad I’d seen him. He asked me if I’d been baptized, and I told him I had. To my surprise he also said he was glad for that.

“I have suffered you to be prejudiced towards the Mormons and your father.” He closed his eyes while he talked. “And now I feel it is my duty to remove that prejudice.

“I knew Heber C. Kimball was your father, and I knew he was a good man; but I didn’t want you to know it. I wanted you and Isaac to be the means for my support while I lived. It’s a hard thing to be old and sick. You’ve been to your father now. That’s the way it should be. I’ve been wrong.

“I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and I know Brigham Young is his legal successor. I always did know it. The trouble with me was that I wanted to lead and could not be led. I’ve run my race and sealed my doom. I know what I’ve got to meet.”

My grandfather closed his eyes again and cleared his throat.

“I want you to go back to your father and take Isaac. I know that’s right. I want you to remain steadfast to the gospel, to Mormonism. Never, never yield that point; it will save and exhalt you in the kingdom of God.”

My grandfather wept like a child then.

After hearing the truth about our father, Isaac was willing to go back to Utah with me. We left just a few days after the talk I’d had with my grandfather. When we arrived in Salt Lake City, our father was very happy to see us. He welcomed us into his home, and we contentedly settled down there, feeling more loved and more at home than we had ever felt in our lives.

Elder Neil L. Andersen
(111) President Thomas S. Monson saves a balloon for three years to give back to a young cancer survivor.

Some goals stretch you more than others. And then there are other goals that hardly seem possible at first glance.
The youth planning committee from a stake in Texas, USA, knew they were shooting for the moon on this one.
“We weren’t really sure how we were going to do it,” says Kyle O., 17, one of the young men on the planning committee for their stake’s annual stake youth conference. Even the adult leaders let out a bit of a gasp after the youth proposed their plans.
So, what was the goal? Simply this: to send out 200 youth in pairs to bear their testimony about a gospel message with 100 different nonmember or less-active families. In the families’ own homes. During a single hour.
No point in setting goals that are boring, right?
The annual two-day conference is something the youth in this stake look forward to all year. It takes a ton of planning, praying, and courage to try things that have never been done before.
Each conference starts with the youth planning committee. “We really wanted the youth to have a positive experience in sharing the gospel,” says McKenna F., 17, one of the young women on the committee.
Specifically, they hoped to provide a positive experience for those young men and young women who didn’t think they had the confidence to share the gospel with others. “We wanted to give them a taste that it really is doable,” McKenna explains.
One thing the youth committee didn’t want was 100 doors slammed in their faces. They didn’t want to spend the hour trying to find families to visit.
So they had the adults throughout the stake ask friends and neighbors if they would allow the youth to come share a testimony about Christ. In the end, 115 families accepted the invitation.
As part of preparation, full-time missionaries and other leaders provided tips and advice to the youth during the conference so that when they talked to others, they could say what was in their hearts. Many of the youth were still nervous, but they headed out anyway.
The next hour would prove to be the favorite of the entire two-day conference, hands down.

On February 20, 2016, Cyclone Winston destroyed thousands of homes. It was the largest recorded storm to ever hit Fiji. The next day, President Henry B. Eyring, then-First Counselor in the First Presidency, rededicated the Suva Fiji Temple after a 16-month renovation. He prayed: “We thank Thee for Thy faithful Saints in this beautiful land. We invoke Thy blessings upon them, that they may be blessed with love and peace, that their lands shall be productive, and that they shall be prospered and protected in their righteous undertakings. We ask that they be protected from the storms of nature and from the conflicts of men as they walk in obedience to Thy commandments.”

My great-grandparents buried a child on the trail from Far West, when they were driven to Nauvoo, and another at Winter Quarters, when they were driven west.

Another great-grandmother, a teenager, was pushing a handcart along the south banks of the Platte River. They sang:
We’ll find the place which God for us prepared,
Far away in the West,
Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;
There the Saints will be blessed.

Across the river they could see the sun glinting on the weapons of the soldiers of the army.

In St. Louis my great-grandmother bought a little enameled pin of the American flag. She wore it on her dress for the rest of her life.

This has been especially true when teaching and testifying to my children with Anita within the walls of our home. Our daughter is currently serving a mission in New York City, USA. We have told her, “Go and testify of the Savior on your side of the world. Your Mom and Dad will do the same in our part of the world.” We love updating each other on our service. And now, we have a four-year-old granddaughter. The hope and wish of my heart is that she will often hear and constantly remember her Grandpa testifying of the Savior and His gospel.

Playing the Prophet
After an extensive nationwide search for a temple-worthy member to represent the Prophet, Nathan Mitchell, who previously played the adult Joseph in the recent Church film The Restoration, was again chosen to play the role of the Prophet. Two other actors played the roles of Joseph at age seven and as a teenager.
After receiving the role, Brother Mitchell was struck by a line from the hymn, “Praise to the Man” (Hymns, no. 27): “Millions shall know ‘Brother Joseph’ again.”
“I realized that if this film is to be one of the means by which millions come to know the Prophet, then first I had to know him,” Brother Mitchell said.
He began extensive research of Joseph Smith’s character by reading books and Joseph’s journals and papers and by speaking with Church history professors and others.
“My feelings about the Prophet Joseph are so special to me that I wanted to do him justice,” he said. “I just hope that the audience can have some of those same realizations and that they can start to understand Joseph. Then they will begin to understand his love of the Savior, and they will really feel his testimony.”

Munich, Germany
“Christmas begins for us on December 1. The whole house is decorated. The Christmas markets normally open in the cities on the weekend of the first Advent.
“Everyone begins opening the doors on their Advent calendars on the first of December.
“On December 6, tradition says that St. Nicholas comes. He brings nuts, fruit, and chocolate. He fills boots that the children had cleaned and set out the night before. On Christmas Eve, December 24, we celebrate Christmas together and receive our gifts.
“We light the Advent candle every Sunday in December, and we sing Christmas songs, eat gingerbread, and drink punch. When it comes time to open our gifts, first we have to find a sour pickle in the Christmas tree. Whoever finds the pickle gets to open their gift first.
“During the COVID-19 pandemic, our family celebrated the Advent Sundays over video chats so that we could feel closer together.
“All of the Christmas markets were closed, and we were not allowed to have parties at school. However, we were able to enjoy the Christmas season because we had more time to bake cookies together. At our schools, we wrap gifts for children in need in other countries.
“Every year we watch films on the birth of Jesus Christ.
“Every Advent Sunday afternoon, we sing about Jesus Christ. We set up a Nativity in our living room that reminds us daily of our Redeemer.”
Samara, Saliha, and Sarai S., Bavaria, Germany

As I kneel by the bed
the words come
like the monotonous refrain of a river.
The same words as the night before and
the night before.
I reach down and
slide my fingers under my knee
to stop the itch that’s traveling
up from the carpet.
Look, my child,
I will show you the way.
But I don’t see,
I’m looking down to fix my crumpled nightgown.
Listen, my child,
I will tell you how.
But the whispered words are drowned out
by the confusion of the day’s events
still replaying in my mind.
I climb into my warm bed and roll over
to gaze out my window.
Outside the fresh, unbroken field of white
glimmers in the moonlight.
Thank you, Lord, for beauty.
I roll back over and
slide down to my knees once more,
telling my Father of my thanks.
My heart hears—
Look, my child, I will show you.
And I saw.
Listen, my child, I will tell you.
And for the first time,
kneeling with humble thanks,
I heard.

Quentin L. Cook
(88) Quentin L. Cook and other attorneys at his firm decide to create a family-friendly work environment.

My great-grandpa got sick on the trail west. He was too weak to walk. Two women were sent from the nearby company to help him. They saved my great-grandpa. He got better and walked the rest of the way to Utah with one of the women by his side. They fell in love and got married. He was my great-grandpa Henry Eyring. She was my great-grandma Maria Bommeli Eyring.
Years later, people said it must have been hard for her to travel so far. But Great-Grandma said, “Oh no, it wasn’t hard. While we walked, we talked the whole way about what a miracle it was that we had both found the true gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the happiest time I can remember.”

(33) A full-time missionary renews his commitment to diligently serve God after he learns that his sister has died.

Cassie says she learned a lot of new things about the people she interviewed too, even though they were her own grandparents.
“A lot of what I learned about them was a surprise to me,” she says. “But in learning about their youth, I realized where some of their characteristics came from.”
Cassie has also learned that it is only by understanding her heritage that she is able to understand herself.
“It made me really want to figure out where I came from,” she says. “We’re made up of all these people and we don’t even know what they are, so how can we know what we are?”