Gospel Story Finder

Let me return to my experience as a bishop to help you understand what the Lord is suggesting. My wife and I had been in the ward only about a year, so while we knew who people were, we didn't know them that well. One day I got a call from one of the families in the ward asking if I would come up to the University Hospital and give a blessing to their daughter, Christy. I, of course, said I would be happy to do so, though I had not heard of there being a problem.

When I arrived, I was directed to a room on the third floor. As I got off the elevator, I saw a sign indicating this was the center for Cystic Fibrosis. I didn't give it much thought. I had no idea what cystic fibrosis was, nor did I make the connection to Christy. When I walked into the room, however, a shock awaited me. Christy, who was eighteen at the time, was sitting up in her bed. Her mother was standing over her and pounding up and down her back with her fists. Christy held a cup and was coughing up bloody mucus into it. On the hospital tray beside her there were three more cups, all filled with the same bloody mucus.

I learned later that cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disease that causes a fibrous mucus to form in the lungs. Regular thumping on the back helps break up the congestion so the individual can breathe. That was my beginning experience with Christy. Over the next three years I was privileged to come to know her very well. We spent many hours talking together and many blessings were given. She was amazing. She was always cheerful and happy. There was not one iota of resentment in her about this “burden” which had been laid upon her, or the “labor” it took for her to stay alive.

She desperately wanted to serve a mission. It was not to be. She desperately wanted to be a wife and mother. That was not to be either. One day, she asked if it would be possible for her to be endowed in the temple, even though she was single. Happily, the stake president concurred with my recommendation, and I was privileged to be with her and her family when she received that sacred ordinance. And less than a year later, I was honored and deeply humbled when she requested that I speak at her funeral. She died not long after her twenty-first birthday.

As I thought about her and her life, I felt guilty. My health has always been good. Why was she given such a handicap? Her life seemed so much purer and more righteous than mine. Yet I got to go on a mission. I got to marry and have a family. I got to run and walk and play without even thinking of the gift of breathing.

I can remember thinking one day that if I were Christy, when I got up to the judgment bar, I would be strongly tempted to step forward and say, “It isn't fair. What did I do that I should have been denied these righteous blessings? What did I do that earned me a life of handicap and pain?”

And then one day I found the answer. It comes from Alma, and helps explain what the Savior meant when He said that He had descended below all things.

Anciently, Laie was considered a Pu'uhonua or a place of sanctuary and refuge. In more recent history, Elder Scott D. Whiting said, "Laie is a gathering place and has been since the mid-1800s".[2] I believe it is still today. It's a place that gathers in people like Yee Yee Mon – otherwise known as Olive. Who is from Myanmar
Myanmar is a country of over 55 million people. In spite of this large population, the Church is still emerging, and proselytizing is not allowed. Olive was baptized 17 years ago as one of the first members ever baptized in Myanmar.
Her initial interactions with the missionaries were centered around free piano lessons, but she felt like she should oblige their invitations and listen to their missionary lessons. After one meeting, Olive was given President Hinckley's book entitled "Way to Be." She could not stop reading it. She was impressed by the morals and values covered in the book. It opened her mind, and she was led to answers to her prayers - linking every question she had about the Church, Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith with the answer that they all had to be true.
Olive was the first Sister to serve a mission from her country, despite her mother's apprehension. But it was Olive's persistence and her display of faith by saving her own money and surviving on noodles for months that influenced her mother to support Olive's desire to serve a mission. Olive served in the Pocatello Idaho mission. It was there that further miracles unfolded.
Olive was born with a severe case of Scoliosis. Not only was her spine S-shaped, but it was also twisted. Her life expectancy was projected to be significantly shortened. However, while on her mission, she was able to see specialists and receive corrective spine surgery and therapy, which greatly improved her quality of life.
After returning from her mission, Olive helped with the translation efforts of Church materials and the Book of Mormon into Burmese. She also learned about BYU–Hawaii and worked hard for admission. She majored in Social Work and was known by many for her work ethic and academic success. She turned down an offer to intern with the UN in New York to instead accept an internship in Salt Lake City at the Burmese Refugee Center, where she could work with her people. While a student, Olive not only worked as a carver at the Polynesian Cultural Center but with the Admissions, where she could help and influence others in Myanmar. Because of her efforts, four others from Myanmar are now studying at BYU–Hawaii.
While at BYU–Hawaii, she met and married her husband, Dustin. They now have a baby girl and another on the way. This is a miracle considering doctors told her that she would likely never have children of her own. She is currently getting her Masters in Social Work at BYU in Provo and intends to return to Myanmar to utilize her degrees to help others.

Lukáš cares for a sleepy little hamster named Kikina. He feeds his pet seeds, carrots, potatoes, apples, oranges, and nuts, and keeps the hamster house clean so the small animal will stay healthy. When Kikina is awake, Lukáš talks to him. He used to put Kikina in a toy car and pull him around the room. That was until Kikina jumped out of the car window one day. Lukáš has decided the hamster doesn’t like riding in the car.

A correlation exists between hope and gratitude. To illustrate, let me share a personal experience. Last Thanksgiving, Sister Nelson and I hosted a memorable gathering. All of our locally available daughters, sons, and grandchildren were there, among others. We counted sixty-three people at the feast. As part of our after-dinner program, Sister Nelson distributed a sheet of paper to each individual, headed, “This year, I am thankful for. . .” The remainder of the page was blank. She asked each to complete the thought, either in writing or by drawing a picture. The papers were then collected, redistributed, and read aloud. We were asked to guess who composed each reply, which, incidentally, was not very difficult.

Meanwhile, I observed a pattern. Generally, the children were thankful for food, clothing, shelter, family (and, occasionally, pets). Their pictures were precious, though not likely to be shown in an art gallery. Our youth broadened their expressions to include gratitude for their country, freedom, and church. The adults noted most of those items, but in addition mentioned the temple, their love of the Lord, and appreciation for his atonement. Their hopes were combined with gratitude. Counting blessings is better than recounting problems.

Trustworthiness is a desirable trait that can be passed on to succeeding generations by example as well as by precept. Richard P. Lindsay, who now heads the Public Affairs Department of the Church, is one of the most trustworthy men I know. He can be absolutely depended upon to keep a confidence. He relates an incident that taught him a valuable lesson while he was still a young man.
The newly-married Lindsays were about to leave on a trip to California when they heard the announcement that their ward was to be divided for the first time in its seventy-five year history. Brother Lindsay’s deceased father had been the bishop of the ward for many years, and the young husband felt he had a special interest in what was to take place. But the couple would be out of town and would not be able to learn the details for some time.
Brother Lindsay’s father-in-law was serving on the high council at the time, so just before they were due to leave, Brother Lindsay approached the man and asked if he couldn’t just whisper the name of the new bishop to them moments before they left. After all, they wouldn’t be able to tell anyone else.
The high councilor drew his son-in-law aside and asked with a confidential whisper, “Can you keep a secret?”
“Certainly,” the young man assured him.
“Well, so can I.” End of conversation. But not the end of the lesson learned.

After I graduated from high school, I pondered the words of the Book of Mormon in Enos 1:15, “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it.” I called the temple to put my name on the temple prayer roll and continued to pray personally, asking my Heavenly Father to help me find a job that would allow me to save up money to pay for my mission and also to touch the hearts of my family members so that they could be baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before I left to start my mission.
My desire was to go on mission in 2017.
A few weeks later, Heavenly Father began to answer my prayer. In November 2016, I found a job. It was really difficult at first, but then it became easy. I saved up money to help my mother AND to pay for my mission.
In February 2017, I invited my family to our stake conference, and in April, my mother, one of my sisters, and two nephews were baptized into the Church. What a blessing: four members of my family baptized within a month!
In September 2017, I received my call to serve a two-year mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo Kinshasa Mission.
Through this experience, my testimony has grown. I know that our Heavenly Father loves all His children, He lives and knows us all individually, and He knows our desires. The Book of Mormon is the word of God—the name of Jesus Christ is quoted 558 times in it, which strengthens my belief that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Christ because I read it.

While my daughters were growing up, during the many trips we took in our car, the most often-asked question was, “When will we get there, Dad?” And “How long will it take?” I couldn’t help but think that those questions are much like some that we adults ask. We think we will be happy when we arrive at a certain destination, our schooling is finished, we get a better job, we arrive at a certain income, the baby is born, our bills are paid, we recover from our illness, we own a new car, some disagreeable task is finished, we retire, or we are free from all responsibility.
My father used to teach us that life is a journey, not a camp, and he indicated that too many people are camping. I’d like to challenge all of us, particularly the young people and young couples that are married, to see life as a whole and to enjoy the marvelous journey.
I remember a grandmother who had been widowed early in her life and was moving out of her home. Her granddaughter, about to be married herself, was carefully helping her pack the boxes of dishes and the faded towels. “See that sewing machine over there in the corner?” the grandmother asked. “Your grandfather always left his hat there when he came home in the evening. I used to scold him all the time about it. ‘Just put your hat on the hook,’ I’d say. ‘Why does your hat always have to be on the sewing machine messing everything up?’ Then one day he got pneumonia and died, leaving four little children and me to miss him for a lifetime. How many times through the years I’ve thought, What I’d give to see that hat on the sewing machine, placed there by his own hand!”
Like the grandmother in this story, we too often let trifles cloud our vision. We get caught up in nonessentials or in a multitude of meetings, both in and out of the Church, that have no particular meaning or purpose. We sometimes nag the people we love the best over little inattentions, small faults, mere nothings in the whole scheme of things. Instead of treasuring the all-too-rare moments we share with our dear ones, we pick at faults, imagined or otherwise. How many of us say to our wives, our husbands, our children: “Why can’t you do this?” “Why don’t you do that?” Or “Someday when I have the time …”
Our last daughter left for college this past month, and the eighteen years of daily living with her were suddenly over. Where had they gone? What minute, what hour, what day or night had swallowed up all those joyous, giggling, growing-up years? The first night she was away, I slipped into her bedroom, looked at her record player, and thought of all those times I had mechanically said, “Would you turn down the music!” And I thought, too, how often in the days ahead we’d be longing to hear the music. Thank God she and her parents have many wonderful memories to savor in the years ahead.
Our daughter Janet lies in a hospital bed at this very moment, and she and we know what great moments we have to share. And you know, Janet, our great faith and our feeling.
Why do those sudden moments of clarity, when we realize how precious our loved ones are, come so rarely? How do we let ourselves get caught up in faultfinding, digging, or scolding at those who are nearest our hearts? Is it ever worth it? As C. S. Lewis once advised, “Take care. It is so easy to break eggs without making omelettes.” (Cited in Richard L. Evans, Richard Evans’ Quote Book, Salt Lake City: Publisher’s Press, 1971, p. 169.)
Maybe each of us needs to stop amidst our busy, dashing, breathless lives—even amidst our many meetings. It recalls to mind an experience—perhaps you know it—of a little inquisitive boy who came to church with his father, and as they walked into the foyer, the boy noticed the usual trophy case over which were placed several large plaques. Curiosity got to the little boy. He pulled on his dad’s coattail and said, “Dad, what’s that one?”
The father moved a little closer and read the inscription, patted his boy on the head, and said, “Son, that’s a plaque honoring those who died in the service.”
To which the little boy said, “Morning or evening?”
I appreciate that the Lord has instructed us that there are important meetings, but then there are other meetings which are not well planned or properly structured. Yes, even amidst our meetings and our commitments we need to really see: to see the way his eyes wrinkle when he laughs, see the tilt of her head as the light catches her hair, remember his dash of humor. Maybe when things get in the saddle and ride us, we need to step back for a moment of clarity. We need to remember why we are doing all of this—remember how much we love those we love.
A young mother was running late to a very important meeting one time. As she dashed from her bedroom, her little three-year-old stopped her and said, “Mommy. Mom.”
To which the mother replied, “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“Mom, I need to tell you something.”
“Not now,” said the mother with an impatient wave of her hand.
“Mom,” began the little girl again.
“Oh, what is it?” said the mother.
“I just wanted to tell you I love you!”
Well, life is fleeting at best. We turn around and we’re young, turn around again and we’re old. Minutes rush past. We can’t stop them in all their rush. We’re eighteen; we’re twenty-eight; we’re forty-eight; we’re gray. Is there ever enough time to nag, scold, dig, or complain at the people we love most? We fool ourselves if we think there is. There’s only time to stop, as one has put it, to smell the flowers.
Do you remember Julia Ward Howe who told a senator on one occasion, “I am in need of help for a very special person”?
“Julia, I am so busy,” he said, “I can no longer concern myself with individuals.”
She replied, “That’s remarkable. Even God hasn’t reached that stage yet.” (See Richard Evans’ Quote Book, p. 165.)
Concern yourself first with individuals, with relationships, with loved ones. What else really matters? Don’t imagine yourself, regardless of who you are, busier than the Lord, who puts souls first above everything else.
The other night I was flying home from a distant conference. I had been away only three days, but as the flood lights of the airport loomed up, I welled up with anticipation and excitement. I felt as though I could have been a great hero returning from space—and what caused this excitement? I was going back to my family. Does it have to take flights away from home, a child leaving for college, or the death of a husband who will never again leave his hat in an awkward place to remind us how sweet are the moments with our loved ones and friends? How brief they are in the run of time? Does it take these things to stop us in our picking at trifling faults to realize the beauty of every minute together?
“When will we be there?” “How long will it take?” “How much longer, Dad, will it take?” are questions often asked by impatient children. “When will I arrive?”—a question asked by adults as they face the pressures of life. For all of us, let it not take a lifetime before we realize that we have been there all along, that life does not offer anything sweeter than the love of dear ones and the sharing of time together.
You remember what President Kimball said: “Prevention is far better than redemption.” God grant us the wisdom to know that life is a great journey, and may we have the sense to enjoy it. I bear witness to these truths in the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

On another occasion the Spirit came to my assistance as I was editing a casebook on a legal subject. A casebook consists of several hundred court opinions, together with explanatory material and text written by the editor. My assistant and I had finished almost all of the work on the book, including the necessary research to assure that these court opinions had not been reversed or overruled. Just before sending it to the publisher, I was leafing through the manuscript and a particular court opinion caught my attention. As I looked at it, I had a profoundly uneasy feeling. I asked my assistant to check that opinion again to see if everything was in order. He reported that it was. In a subsequent check of the completed manuscript, I was again stopped at that case, again with great feelings of uneasiness. This time I went to the law library myself. There, in some newly received publications, I discovered that this case had just been reversed on appeal. If that opinion had been published in my casebook, it would have been a serious professional embarrassment. I was saved by the restraining power of revelation.

The institute also spreads its influence through a graduate scholarship program. Hector Solorio was one of Mexico’s top agronomy graduates in 1983. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he gave up a graduate school scholarship to serve a mission. Since completing his mission, he is attending graduate school at BYU under a Benson Institute and Agricultural Economics scholarship. “These young people will return to their countries to become leaders in government and leaders in agriculture,” predicts Brother Brimhall. “We would like to sponsor hundreds more such students.”

A similar desire existed in the hearts of those moving to Puerto Francisco de Orellana. In early January 2009, Marco Villavicencio—now the branch president—and his wife, Claudia Ramirez, were considering a job opportunity that would require relocating to Puerto Francisco de Orellana from their home in Machala, on the other side of Ecuador.
“My first question,” says President Villavicencio, “was ‘Is the Church there?’ My wife and I talked it over with our family, and we prayed to know if we should move. As soon as the offer came, we learned that the Church was being established in Puerto Francisco de Orellana. We moved here in February 2009, and the branch was formed the following September.”

Although it often took an hour to make it through one chapter of the Book of Mormon, Cham Nap Kong didn’t get discouraged. Every Tuesday the 14-year-old Cambodian boy would struggle through a chapter of the first English book he ever tried to read outside of school.
He had received a Book of Mormon for Christmas. When summer arrived and the pressures of school were gone, he asked soft-spoken Delaures Harkness, a sister in his ward, to help him read it. When she met Cham Nap, Sister Harkness “just took a liking to him. He really wanted to study the scriptures,” she says.
“I wanted to know about Jesus and the Mormon church. I wanted to understand it,” explains shy Cham Nap in a suddenly decisive tone.
Progress was slow. It took all summer to make it through 1 Nephi.
Cham Nap’s schooling, before he came to the United States four years ago, was very limited. As a child he attended kindergarten, but political unrest in Cambodia prevented him from attending any more school. In 1979, he went to Thailand with his aunt, uncle, and cousin to escape the war. There they lived in a refugee camp. Cham Nap has not seen or heard from his mother or brothers and sisters since then.
“In Thailand I went to school for about one month and learned to read and write a little Cambodian,” he explains. That’s also where his friends first told him about Jesus Christ and the LDS church.
Before coming to America, he and his relatives were sent to Indonesia for seven months to learn English. “I just learned the first words—‘hello,’ ‘how are you,’ and a few to use in the home.”
They arrived in the United States in 1981 and settled down in Salt Lake City. Cham Nap attended school with many other Southeast Asians at South High School. He had an LDS school teacher who invited him to go to church, and then she sent the missionaries to his home.
His friends in Thailand had told him the LDS church was a good church. “I heard that Mormons didn’t drink, and they went without food and water the first Sunday every month,” he says. “The missionaries taught me about the gospel. It made me excited because it’s so good. I wanted to clean my sins and be a good person.”
He had attended other churches, but he felt strongly that what the LDS missionaries taught him was true. He was baptized on October 23, 1982, in Salt Lake City. About that time he became friends with Delaures and Harold Harkness. Brother Harkness was a counselor in the presidency of the Cambodian Branch of the Salt Lake Park Stake. Cham Nap occasionally ate dinner with them, and they often gave him a ride to church.
During the summer, he would go to their home every Tuesday, and for half an hour to an hour he would struggle to read one chapter in the Book of Mormon. “We didn’t read a lot every time because it just seemed awfully hard for him,” Sister Harkness says. “I tried to explain what the words meant as we went along. Then we’d talk about what we read. It was hard for him to grasp at times.”
When Cham Nap first started going to church, he didn’t understand anything except for sacrament meeting, which was translated into Cambodian. But he kept on going because it made him happy. “Even though I didn’t understand in the classes, I felt the Spirit and I liked to go. Afterward I’d go to Sister Harkness and ask her questions and she would teach me.”
Cham Nap now lives with a foster family in Farr West, Utah. He is an eager eighth grader who wants to perfect his English, so he takes two English classes. It is still difficult for him to read, but he studies the scriptures regularly, usually for an hour on Sundays and frequently after school. “The words I don’t understand I look up in the dictionary,” he notes.
He has three church books in Cambodian, including Book of Mormon Selections, which he studies along with the scriptures in English.
Cham Nap says he likes to study and learn more about the gospel. “I want to be a missionary and teach people and make them happy. I want to share what I have learned.” Just like Ammon, the Book of Mormon prophet he’s reading about right now.

Benson, where are you? It’s time for bed.
I don’t want to go to bed.
Why not?
Because there is a ghost in my room.
There is not a ghost in your room.
Are you sure?
I promise.
Dad, what is the Holy Ghost?
That’s a good question.
The Holy Ghost is a member of the Godhead. His job is to help us feel what Heavenly Father wants us to know and do.
Is He scary?
No, the Holy Ghost isn’t scary at all. We don’t see the Holy Ghost, but we feel Him near. He helps us feel happy.
All right, now close your eyes. It’s time to go to sleep. I love you.
I love you too. And I think I feel the Holy Ghost.

Through the years the Tabangos’ humble home was blessed with 15 children, but only four survived beyond the age of five. The couple’s faith, however, was not shaken. In the fall of 1978 and at great personal sacrifice, Brother and Sister Tabango traveled across the South American continent to Brazil for the dedication of the São Paulo Temple, where they renewed their friendship with President Spencer W. Kimball, who greeted them warmly. Following the dedication, the couple was endowed and sealed, giving them hope and assurance of an eternal family. Later the children they had lost in life were sealed to them for eternity.

I recall a time when I was in a BYU ward where one of the bishop’s counselors was an undergraduate student with what I judged to be fairly ordinary intellectual talents. But he had extraordinary faith and a desire to obey. In a sacrament meeting he told of an experience he had had the previous week. With a deadline for a paper looming before him, he was hard at work writing one afternoon when a knock came at the door. A member of the ward needed his help. This young counselor knew that if he took the time to serve, he would be hard-pressed to finish his paper and do a good job on it. But he chose to serve. He came back to his paper with the deadline now only hours away. He told us he knelt and asked his Heavenly Father to let words flow into his mind. When he went back to work, his prayer was answered in just the way he had asked. Words flowed into his mind, and he was able to complete his assignment on time. He learned not only by study by also by faith.

Even though he seems to have conquered every obstacle in his life, at one time Spence felt his leg would stop him from serving a mission. “I was about 16. I was struggling. I didn’t know if I was going on a mission. I have a fake leg, and I was scared. I thought I’d just rather not go. And I was having trouble with sports. My prosthetic legs were breaking a lot, and things were not good.
“One night, after family home evening, I got a feeling that I needed to read something. I didn’t know what. We have a bunch of Church books up on our shelf. I’d never looked at them before. I pulled out a book by Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone. I started reading it. I got to one story when Elder Featherstone was talking to a kid who didn’t have a leg. He wasn’t going on a mission, but then Elder Featherstone talked to him about it. I put myself into what was happening. The kid came back and told Elder Featherstone that he had a mission call and he was going to go. I just stopped. I realized, ‘That’s me. He’s talking straight to me.’ I set the book down. I had found my answer.”
But that moment was just the beginning of the changes in Spence’s life. For the first time in his life, he started praying on his own. He’d been taught to pray, but up until then, he had only prayed when called on in Sunday School or in his family. “Now I pray all the time in everything, in every sporting event, before every test. I pray for help,” says Spence. “My whole life turned around. Church hadn’t been my main priority, sports were. Now the gospel is the main thing. I have gained even more of a testimony of the Atonement. What Jesus Christ did for me is unbelievable.
“These past couple of years, I’ve been a lot happier. Even people at school can see that I’m a lot happier, a lot friendlier. I talk to everybody. If they say hi to me, I’ll talk to them. I hardly ever get mad anymore. That’s what I try to explain to my friends who aren’t members of the Church. It’s not that we’re out to convert you just to have another member of the Church. We want to make you happier.”
In the end, Spence learned what everyone has to learn for themselves—it doesn’t matter what you have to deal with in this life; if you turn to the Lord, He will listen and guide you in your decisions. And that’s why Spence packed his extra leg and made the commitment to serve the Lord for two years on a mission.

Not long after I had completed the Book of Mormon for the second time, my husband left our family. The seemingly impossible tasks of my new job became extremely stressful, and my son’s chronic health condition left me feeling like I was drowning.
But then I remembered reading in the Book of Mormon about how Amulon had placed great burdens upon Alma and his people. When the people prayed for help, the Lord told them He was mindful of their situation and would deliver them. Until then, He said, “I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs” (Mosiah 24:14).
I had studied that chapter in Mosiah many times before, and I had taught it many times to others in gospel classes. I believed the truth of those verses. Because I had become familiar with the teachings in the Book of Mormon, I knew that personal truth appears when I liken the scriptures to my personal circumstances.
So I began reading that chapter every day for strength and to remind myself that the Lord cared about me too. I still had to experience trials, but He did lighten my burdens.
Those verses in the Book of Mormon carried me through a time of great personal adversity, providing me with peace and a comforting knowledge that the Lord is mindful of all His children.

A priesthood leader wrote to me about a group of young Aaronic Priesthood youth who were baptized by their priesthood leaders for the soldiers: “In almost every case, when the young brother had finished his 14–15 names, he would turn and embrace his leader and shed a few tears of joy. What an example of true priesthood love and service! I had the experience of being a witness at the font and gained, in a few cases, the undeniable witness of the Spirit that those young soldiers who had died had accepted the baptisms that were being performed in their behalf.”

As I mentioned, when my wife and I met in high school, like she said, we were high school sweethearts. I was a less-active member of the Church. I was the nightmare that a lot of bishops and branch presidents have in Hawaii. My mother went to church [but] I think I can count two times in my life that my mother came to church. My stepfather was not a member of the Church. My grandmother was very active, so my grandmother brought me to church. My grandmother had me baptized when I was eight years old, and I went to church with my grandmother every week.
When I was 15, for some reason I decided I didn't need to go to church anymore. I think I might have had... something called a girlfriend might have had an impact on that, but I decided that I wasn't going to go to church anymore. I just stopped going to church. My grandmother went faithfully, she encouraged me, asked me, scold[ed] me, whatever she could do to get me to go, and I just decided not to go. As I look back at that today, there wasn't a home teacher that came to my home and asked if anything was wrong and why I wasn't there. There wasn't a young men's leader who came and wondered why one of the most active members of his teachers' quorum suddenly stopped coming to church. I don't blame them for that. This was my decision, no one offended me, I was not hurt, I was not left out of anything. I just stopped coming to church.
Colleen and I were married, we started a family and in March of 1982, I was out playing basketball on a Tuesday night and our home teacher came by unannounced. Our home teacher was Brother Vance Akinaka. The Akinaka name may be familiar to you. I think four Akinaka's came to school here--Elias, Lea, Michael, and Sam were all students at BYU-Hawaii. But Brother Akinaka came to our home, and he was on a split with the missionaries. (We can't do splits anymore. That was a very popular thing back in those days. So the two home teachers would meet with the elders and one home teacher would go with one elder, and the other home teacher with the other elder, and they'd do splits.) Brother Akinaka came to our home that night with an elder, Elder Paul Larson from California.
My wife had always been afraid of missionaries, something about the white shirt, tie, and nametag that was kind of intimidating to her. She was born and raised as a Buddhist, didn't know much about the Church. Had some seeds planted in her life of the gospel, but not many. They came that night and she was impressed as this young missionary talked about home, family, sports, surfing, high school, and then talked about his love for his Savior, Jesus Christ, talked about a Heavenly Father who loved him and loved her and our family, talked about a plan of happiness and said something that our family could be together forever. That struck a chord with her. So when Elder Larson said, "Well, Sister Wunder, is it okay if we come by sometime?" she said, "Oh, sure, that would be fine." The next night they were back.
Elder Larson [and] his companion Elder Parsons began teaching our family the missionary discussions. We went to church. The first Sunday... was April 14, 1982, and I remember that because it was a fast Sunday. The missionaries said, "Why don't you come to church on Sunday, Sister Wunder? It's a fast Sunday and we'd like to invite you." And I said, "Oh! You don't want to go to church on fast Sunday! The old ladies go up, and they sing these songs, and they cry--you don't want to that." And she said, "No, I'd like to try this and see what it's about."
We went to church on fast Sunday. I remember as they sang the opening hymn, the opening hymn was... "Beautiful Zion, Built Above" (Hymns, number 44). As they sang that song, I felt the Spirit, and for the first time in my life recognized the promptings of the Spirit. I leaned over to Colleen and I said, "You know what, I don't know where your lessons with the missionaries are going to go, but this is where I need to be."
My wife was a golden investigator. The missionaries joked with her and said, "You can't get baptized 'til you read the entire Book of Mormon." She went to them one day and said, "I've read the Book of Mormon. I'd like to get baptized." On June the 6th, 1982, Colleen was baptized. On July 27, 1983, our family came to the Laie Temple and we were sealed for time and all eternity.
The gospel has been a major part of our life ever since. She mentioned that our older son Ray served his mission in the Japan Tokyo South Mission. He returned here, to BYU-Hawaii, met his wife Jenny here. They got married and sealed in the Laie Temple, graduated from BYU-Hawaii. He went on to get his master's degree at the "other" BYU up in Utah. They currently live in Stockton, California. They have a four-year-old daughter, twin five-month-old sons. He served as the elders' quorum president in his ward for nearly three years. When the twins were born his bishop said, "You know, Ray, we're concerned about you. We think you're working too hard. We'll give you an easier calling." So they called him to be a counselor in the young men's presidency. So he's out of the frying pan and into the fire, but continuing to serve well.
Our second son, Kelii, went to BYU [in] Provo, served his mission in Kobe, Japan, returned to BYU [in] Provo, met his wife, Evelyn. They were sealed in the Mount Timpanogos Temple. They have one and one-half children--a little two-year-old and a baby on the way. We're excited for them. He's the elders' quorum president in his ward. We visited them back in December, and I was impressed with his commitment to his calling. One night we couldn't find him. It was 9 o'clock at night. We couldn't find him, and I went outside. There was six feet of snow, it was about 12 degrees, and he was shoveling his neighbor's walk. His neighbor didn't have a husband in the home, and if he didn't do it, the nine-year-old daughter would have had to do it the next morning. So he was out there, the elders' quorum president, a non-member home, shoveling their walk.Our fourth child is our daughter, Becky. She is a chemical engineering major at BYU [in] Provo. She did not serve a mission. She received a call and met up with her eternal companion. They're on their "team-up" right now. They were married in the Mount Timanogos Temple on December 27, last year. Becky's husband is a returned missionary. He served his mission in Manchester, England. They were just called as team-teachers for a primary class.
Each of our children in their lives have been great examples of the gospel. On their missions, Kelii and Ray baptized people, strengthened less-active, and have been great examples.
Our third son, Kevin, was a student at BYU [in] Provo, and he was called to the California Oakland Mission. He was so thrilled to not to go to Japan like his brothers. I don't know why he felt that way, but he wanted to go somewhere different. He went to Oakland and had a great experience there. In his "greeny" area, he met and taught a young man named Ryan Mourelatos. Kevin was soon transferred to the Pleasanton 3rd Ward, and the bishop of the Pleasanton 3rd Ward was Bishop Paul Larson, the very man who served a mission in Hawaii 20 years before, had knocked on our door.Imagine the great joy it was for Bishop Larson to meet this young elder. We'd kept in touch with him over the years, but to have this young elder, whose mother he had taught the gospel before that elder was even born, to have that elder come and serve in his ward. Kevin later became an assistant to the president, and on one of his zone conferences he found out that Ryan Mourelatos had received a mission call to the Salt Lake City Utah Mission. [He] got permission from his mission president to accompany Ryan as he went to the Oakland Temple to receive his endowment in preparation for serving on his mission.
In May of 2006, Kevin and his wife, Salina, were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. We kept in touch with Elder Mourelatos [at] that time. He got permission from his mission president to come to Elder Wunder's sealing. Kevin didn't know he was going to be there. When Ryan walked in, it was a great time of joy.
I have a picture I would like to share and, once it gets up on the screen, if I can see the screen... there it is. This picture is very special to our family:
On the far left is Elder Paul Larson, who later became Bishop Paul Larson of the Pleasanton 3rd Ward and currently is President Paul Larson, second counselor in the Pleasanton California Stake. Next to him is Sister Wunder, our daughter-in-law Salina and our son, Kevin. Next to Kevin is Elder Ryan Mourelatos. This picture strikes a great chord in our hearts because we see how the light of the gospel, brought to our home by Elder Paul Larson, brought our family to the safe harbor of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because he lived his life a certain way, and served with his heart, might, mind, and strength, he was that "lower light" that brought us into the harbor of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. On the far end of that, Elder Mourelatos, who, through Elder Larson's missionary effort, that caused Sister Wunder to want to be baptized, that caused Kevin to be born, sealed to our family and serve a full-time mission, he brought the light of the gospel, was the "lower light" that invited Elder Ryan Mourelatos to the safe keeping of the harbor of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Although temple marriage is associated with eternal promises, a husband and wife need not wait for eternity to experience the blessings of celestial marriage. Many temporal blessings also come from preparing for and being married in the temple. About eight years ago, Lee Hing Chung of Hong Kong lost an arm in an industrial accident. As a result, he also lost his job and became sick and despondent. But today faith fills his heart as he contemplates being sealed in the temple with his wife, Kumviengkumpoonsup, and their children.

“Before we joined the Church,” he says, “I was primarily concerned with making money. Now I have different priorities. … I am so grateful that we are together and that we can be together forever. … The presence of the temple reminds me to be good, to be disciplined, to be worthy” (quoted in Kellene Ricks Adams, “A Dream Come True in Hong Kong,” Liahona, March 1997, 38).

My young friend whom I’ll call Lindsey needed hope. She lived in a home which was devoid of the Spirit and of love. Her friends were wild, and even most of her Young Women leaders looked on her only as a “project.” But deep inside she felt that the Lord loved her, despite her deplorable situation. She focused on always remembering Him. She chose not to participate with her friends when they did bad things. She tried to worship Heavenly Father in the privacy of her own bedroom because she wanted to feel His Spirit in her life. Something in her wanted to be good, to keep His commandments. Even with her limited knowledge and lack of outside help, she was trying to keep her baptismal covenants. She felt hope to carry on, and she felt love from Heavenly Father.

Like the Saints in Missouri, Lindsey knew that in spite of her deplorable conditions, Heavenly Father hadn’t given up on her. His love was firm. She took comfort in the “immutable covenant” of His love—that “all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good” (D&C 98:3). As with Abraham, hers was not an easy path to walk, yet she pressed forward. As she did so, she found help. One special Church leader loved and guided her. She grew closer to Heavenly Father and eventually found a young man who loved her, taught her much about the gospel, and married her.

At last many of the blessings she had longed for earlier in life were poured out upon her. She found she could have the Spirit in her own family and raise righteous children. Where once she was isolated and neglected, she now feels enveloped by love. This has come from pressing forward while waiting patiently on the Lord. Being steadfast in Christ brought hope to Lindsey as it will to each of us as we struggle with life’s challenges. The words the choir sings tonight will encourage us to come unto Him: