Gospel Story Finder

I have been a member of the Church all my life, and I feel that the New Era and other Church magazines have been of great help in keeping me informed of the activities of the Saints in other parts of the world. While holidaying in Australia I met two 17-year-old girls who have been attending church for nine months in spite of strong family opposition. I discovered that they too love reading the magazines. I had not realized before how much of an influence these wonderful magazines could have on the lives of people who are still nonmembers. It strengthens my testimony to know that these two girls have accepted the gospel and receive the benefits of reading Church publications—benefits that I have received all my life.
Kiri NodaHuntly, New Zealand

I have become a product of that, because when my mother’s family arrived here in Salt Lake City, they were sent out to Tooele to settle. Then later they were sent up into Idaho, where a sawmill and a gristmill needed to be built. My father’s family had settled in Farmington, Utah, part of this colonization that I’m referring to—the colonization that made people stronger and gave them opportunities. Rather than being lost in a big city, they were asked to move to a smaller community where they could develop their ability and where there would be more schools and a need for more schoolteachers and where people with talent would develop their ability. Out of all of this, my family were asked to leave Farmington and Tooele, to sell their green acres, and go out into southern Idaho, where there was nothing at that time but sagebrush.
In a little settlement of that kind, my mother and father fell in love. By the time they were 20 years old and ready to be married, where would they be married? In the Logan Utah Temple. How would they get there? By buggy. How long would it take? Well, five or six or seven days. Highways and good roads? Of course not. They went by roads made by wagons going over the sagebrush and through the bushes and over the rocks. Where would they be married? Where would they be sealed? Only one place—the temple. They went by buggy.
That became part of my heritage. And so people grew up in these little towns. Then the Church decided to open some academies, and they opened some 30 of them out in these areas far away. One of those little academies was opened in our town, and it became an area where many from neighboring areas would move into that little town to get a higher education. Of course, the higher education was only a high school, but it was referred to as an academy.

When I was at my friend’s house, we were really scared because someone told a scary story. I was the only member of the Church, so I asked my friends to join me in a prayer. I asked Heavenly Father to help us not be afraid. Afterward, we all felt better and braver. I felt happy that I chose to do the right thing.
Caitlin B., age 10, Oregon

Thomas Moore joined the Church in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, when he was 83 years old. Brother Moore is a baker, and he enjoys inviting the missionaries into his home “for whatever food they would like. Most of the time, I see them living on sandwiches,” he says. Brother Moore loves to serve the missionaries because he sees them making time “for people like me, whom they don’t even know. What a privilege to help them even just a little!” Brother Moore has discovered for himself the joy that comes from serving others with love (see Mosiah 2:17; Gal. 5:13).

I love having pet stick insects. One of them became very sick. I said a prayer that she would recover. The next morning, I looked into her cage, and she was all better. I know Heavenly Father heard my prayer.
Tahnee C., age 8, Wellington, New Zealand

What makes a job tough often comes down to your preferences. For Mindy F., a couple of tasks at a pizza parlor made her job one of the hardest she’d ever had.
“I absolutely hated talking to people on the phone!” she says. “I always wanted to be in the back making pizzas and let the other people answer the phone.”
However, this was a small pizza parlor. Mindy often worked alone while the one other employee on duty was out on delivery, which meant Mindy had to answer phones. “It’s such a silly thing, but I hated doing it,” she says.
Something else she hated was knocking on doors for deliveries. Even though customers had called for pizza, she still didn’t like approaching their homes. “It was so awkward just knocking on a random stranger’s door,” she says.
Mindy had only taken the job to fill the six weeks between coming home from college and her mission. And yet, it’s amazing how a few weeks of practice can help you improve at something. By the end of her six weeks, Mindy felt much more comfortable on the phone and with door approaches.
At the MTC, Mindy was answering phones in the referral center with confidence. Door approaches were also a big part of her mission. And the pizza job had helped with those skills.
“This job gave me practice with some of the things I’d be doing on my mission,” she says. Talk about an unexpected blessing!

One song that was new to the 1985 hymnal is “Be Thou Humble.”5 This tranquil hymn was written by Grietje Terburg Rowley, who passed away last year. She joined the Church in 1950 in Hawaii, where she was teaching school. Sister Rowley served on the General Music Committee and helped to adapt the hymns into multiple languages. She based her text for “Be Thou Humble” on two verses of scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 112:10 and Ether 12:27. The verse in Ether reads: “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; … for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

I was recently at a park where I met a group of women with mother hearts. They were young, covenant-keeping women. They were bright and had obtained advanced degrees from respected universities. Now they were devoting their considerable gifts to planning dinner that evening and sharing housekeeping ideas. They were teaching two-year-olds to be kind to one another. They were soothing babies, kissing bruised knees, and wiping tears. I asked one of those mothers how it came about that she could transfer her talents so cheerfully into the role of motherhood. She replied, “I know who I am, and I know what I am supposed to do. The rest just follows.” That young mother will build faith and character in the next generation one family prayer at a time, one scripture study session, one book read aloud, one song, one family meal after another. She is involved in a great work. She knows that “children are an heritage of the Lord” and “happy is the [woman] that hath [a] quiver full of them” (Ps. 127:3, 5). She knows that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily mothering is far more lasting, far more powerful, far more influential than any earthly position or institution invented by man. She has the vision that, if worthy, she has the potential to be blessed as Rebekah of old to be “the mother of thousands of millions” (Gen. 24:60).

David M. Kennedy, a former special representative of the First Presidency, made a significant statement when he was called to be the secretary of the treasury of the United States. In an interview with the press, he was asked by a reporter if he believed in prayer. He boldly answered, “I believe in prayer, and I pray,” teaching the entire world that truth can come when one seeks help from his Heavenly Father.

The activities of June Conference meant the end of a year’s work on the Mia Maid youth ad hoc committee for Margaret Anderson of the Salt Lake Foothill Stake. She and other committee members served as a sounding board by filling out questionnaires on activities and lessons and then passing surveys out to friends. “I’ve really learned about the needs of others this past year, especially the needs of other Mia Maids. June Conference gave me the opportunity to present a skit about really getting involved in the Young Women program. It’s also been a lot of fun meeting new people from all over.”

I salute my own beloved companion. It will soon be 60 years ago that we walked from the Salt Lake Temple as husband and wife, with love for one another. That love has strengthened through all of these years. We have faced many problems during our years of marriage. Somehow, with the blessing of the Lord, we have survived them all.
It is becoming physically harder to stand tall and straight as we did in our younger years. No matter—we still have one another and we still stand together, even though we lean a little. And when the time for separation comes, there will be much of sorrow, but there will also be the comfort that will come from the assurance that she is mine and I am hers for the eternity that lies ahead.

One day at church, a sister walked up to my mom and said, “Do you know that Destiny can serve an online indexing mission?” This unexpected question was an answer to my prayers. I was able to serve the Lord for nine months as an indexing support Church-service missionary. This was a mission I could do!*

On a warm July evening, 2,500 young Latter-day Saints from Southern California congregate next to the football stadium at the University of Redlands. It’s 20 minutes before showtime on opening night, and the youth dressed in colorful dance costumes are excited to perform their dance festival show after two years of planning and months of dance practices.
One group of youth begins to clap and chant “It’s dance time” as they cheer. All around them other participants are practicing their parts alone or with partners.
Soon they all line up to go into the stadium, and after the prayer and opening number, all 2,500 of them flow onto the field. The California Dreamin’ dance festival has just begun.
During the next two hours the youth move across the field performing dances like the waltz, cha-cha, and swing to live music performed by other youth and adults. When it’s over, the crowd cheers and the dancers hold their heads high, grateful for the opportunity to participate in this great event.
With more than 2,500 youth dancing on the field, making friends, and strengthening testimonies, the California Dreamin’ dance festival turned out to be just that: something great.

In 1886, Samuel was called to serve a mission in the British Isles and for some of that time presided over the Welsh Mission. He recorded the following experience that occurred in South Wales in 1888. (Although we don’t know the names of the individuals involved, or even the precise location, this record teaches some important truths about the gospel and the power of the priesthood.)
“I was presiding over the Welsh Mission and while at my office one day I received notice from a local elder who lived about eleven miles distant, that there was a man in his town who was very sick, and had been for some months. The doctors could not diagnose his case or give him relief. He wanted me to come and administer to him for his health and [the] relief of his affliction (he was not a member of the Church). The elders stated that there were some men in the neighbourhood representing the sect known as the Josephites. They had told the sick man they had the power and authority to administer to the sick and they could heal him of his affliction, and said the Latter-day Saints were not the true Church of Christ, and they did not have the authority to administer to the sick as they, the Josephites, had.
“They persuaded the sick man to give them a chance and they worked with him for some weeks, and he did not receive any relief or help whatever. He then appealed to this local elder of the Latter-day Saints and he appealed to me as I have stated.
“I considered the matter seriously and prayfully, and finally said I would go, and the will of the Lord be done. I started early the next morning (without breakfast, fasting) and praying on my way that I might go aright and be wise in my procedure. I walked the entire distance and when I arrived at the man’s home. I found him sorely afflicted. He was most pleased to see me and told me of his experience and said he would like for me to administer to him.
“After some consideration and a little rest, I prepared and attended to the ordinance. After anointing with oil, I commenced to confirm the anointing and bless the man and was led to make great promises and say things I had not thought of. I paused in my administration [and] a flash of wonder came to my mind; was I saying too much? And immediately a plain, quiet voice spoke from behind and over my right shoulder, [saying] ‘Quench not the Spirit.’
“I knew in a flash what it was and from whence it came. I immediately continued my administration and said all that was given me of the Spirit. The result of my labours was, the Lord blessed and healed the man of his long and sore affliction.
“This decided all controversy as to where the authority of God lay and was a testimony to the whole neighbourhood of the truth and restoration of the gospel and power of God as taught by the Latter-day Saints. I was not surprised at this. The only object that I had was to be humble and honest and felt in my heart to say, ‘The will of the Lord be done!’
“After a short conversation with the local elder and a few friends, I ate a little food and started on the long journey back to my office, rejoicing all the way to think that I was counted worthy to be called into the service of God and that he had blessed my labours during the day, and directed the administration and healed the man. I arrived safe at my office. Praise and glory to my Heavenly Father for my experience and blessings of the day.”

A few years ago, I was working full-time and finishing an evening program to earn my Master of Business Administration degree. When I finished my MBA, I wanted to use that “extra” time for something meaningful.
The advice from a trusted professor was simple and clear—I needed to find opportunities to serve. While he knew of my Church responsibilities, he suggested I look beyond my regular circle of influence.
I started a prayerful search to know where my skills and talents were needed and where I could do the most good. I was soon led to a community center that needed mentors for their teen program. I began mentoring a teenage girl whose family had left Somalia as refugees. Each week we practiced reading, writing, and math skills. But beyond that, we developed a friendship and learned about each other’s cultures and dreams for the future. When she moved, I was assigned another girl. Her family had fled Myanmar, and she had been raised in a refugee camp in Thailand. Along with studying, we also discussed the challenges of life and how to respond to them.
I’ve found many other opportunities to use my skills in different ways and serve in the community.
Get out of your comfort zone. With mentoring, at first I wasn’t comfortable working with teenagers or with tutoring in all subjects. But sometimes my main job was to provide motivation and encouragement. We don’t have to be the perfect fit to make a difference. Most of the time, our main impact could be being there, listening, and building a long-term relationship of trust and stability.

A few nights ago I had a dream. I saw a piece of white paper with a name on it I did not know and a date I could only partially read. I got up and went to the records of my family. The last name on the slip of paper is from a line which came into my mother’s ancestry 300 years ago in a place called Eaton Bray. Someone is anxious for a long wait to end. I have not yet found that person. But I have found again the assurance that a loving God sends help in answer to prayer in this sacred work of redeeming our families, which is His work and His glory and to which we have pledged our hearts. I so testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

by Deborah J. Lingle
The Young Women of the Battleground Ward, Vancouver Washington West Stake, responded to a challenge. Their advisers encouraged each girl to purchase a Book of Mormon or A Marvelous Work and a Wonder, write her testimony inside, and give it to a nonmember.
After prayerful consideration, Jennifer Goodner, a Mia Maid, felt inspired to place her book with a friend at school. The friend thanked her and said she’d been waiting for Jennifer to approach her because she had so many questions about the Church.

When the emperor of Japan visited the United States some years ago, I attended a luncheon for him in San Francisco, California. I sat at a table with people who were not members of the Church who had lived in Japan where they had known Church members. The topic of conversation drifted to the culture shock experienced by persons who go to live in nations in which they are not reared. A knowledgeable man, who had lived abroad a number of years, said, “I have never seen anything like your people to make others feel comfortable and at home. Whenever a Mormon family came to Japan, a week had not passed before they had many friends. It was different with others. Most of them felt extremely lonely and experienced great difficulty in making adjustments.”

While in the hospital, Peter had a lot of time to think about what to do. He still had a long, painful road back to the point where he could be released. It was during this time that several good friends helped him learn about setting goals and controlling attitude. One man from his ward, Brother Lawrence Oborn, was particularly influential. He came to see Peter often and was always encouraging him to set a goal. At first, Peter didn’t want to try. Brother Oborn insisted by saying, “It is what’s on the inside that counts, not the outside.”
I remember how angry I got. I said very flippantly to Brother Oborn, “Okay, why don’t you get burned and you come here.” I could hear him crying, although it was muffled by the bandages around my head. As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn’t because he had done so much for me. He said, “Peter, if I could, I would.” This was when I realized that this man truly loved me, like his own son. That was when I committed to do everything he asked.
They decided on a goal. Peter would count the stitches he had during each surgery and enter it in the Guinness Book of Records. The doctors and nurses asked to be allowed to quit keeping track just short of 2,000 stitches.
Peter set another goal to count every needle that would enter his body. After seven weeks he got so bored he quit counting at 1,252. Together they set a third goal to be the most enthusiastic patient in the hospital. Even though he was often angry at the world, Peter tried to keep his goal. When he left the hospital, the staff presented him with a plaque naming him the most enthusiastic patient in their care.

Another example of a true disciple of Jesus Christ is a dear friend of ours in Côte d’Ivoire in West Africa. This wonderful, faithful sister suffered terrible emotional, and even some physical, abuse from her husband over a sustained period of time, and eventually they divorced. She never wavered in her faith and goodness, but because of his cruelty to her, she was deeply hurt for a long time. In her own words, she describes what happened:
“Though I said I forgave him, I always slept with a wound; I spent my days with that wound. It was like a burn in my heart. Many times I prayed to the Lord to take it away from me, but it hurt so bad that I strongly believed I was going to spend the rest of my life with it. It hurt more than when I lost my mom at a young age; it hurt more than when I lost my dad and even my son. It seemed to expand and cover my heart, giving me the impression I was going to even die at any time.
“Some other times I asked myself what the Savior would have done in my situation, and I would rather say, ‘This is too much, Lord.’
“Then one morning I looked for the pain that comes from all this in my heart and went deeper, looking for it in my soul. It was nowhere to be found. My mind quickly passed to review all the reasons I [had] to feel hurt, but I did not feel the pain. I waited the whole day to see if I was going to feel the pain in my heart; I did not feel it. Then I knelt down and thanked God for making the atoning sacrifice of the Lord work for me.”6
This sister is now happily sealed to a wonderful, faithful man who loves her deeply.