Gospel Story Finder

A more recent example, former Eastern States Mission President James H. Moyle, writing in the 1940s, pointed out how his call to be a deacon actually changed his boyhood behavior. When called by his bishop to be a deacon, young James, who had been hanging around with the rougher boys in the ward, hesitated briefly and then accepted:
“I gradually broke away from the roughs, and so devoted myself to the duties of deacon that the bishop said I was the best in the ward. We cleaned out the meetinghouse, swept, mopped, and dusted, filled the coal-oil lamps, trimmed the wicks, made the fire, did all the janitorial work, and put the house in order generally, and looked after the door and entrance. … We took our turns cleaning the meetinghouse and had to do it frequently. I was very conscientious about it, and never thereafter allowed myself to be wayward or irreligious.”

It was a cold day, and I was scared. I shook hard in my speed suit. It was my first ski race since I had been injured. The course was a long blur of blue and red gates. My coach skied by me.
“Noah, are you OK?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said, but I was actually scared out of my skin!
It was time for me to be at the start gate. Oh no! I thought as I skied down to the start gate. But then I remembered something I had learned in Primary: I can pray anytime, anywhere.
So I prayed, Heavenly Father, please help me to be safe and do well. Right then, I pushed out of the start.
What came next was natural instinct. Left, then right, gate after gate, for what felt like days until I finally crossed the finish line. Boy, I was slow! I thought. But I looked at the timer. I was 12th in my category!
“That was so good!” Mom said.
During the excitement, I silently thanked my Heavenly Father for answering my prayer.

I think I was most grateful when I left California to attend BYU. First of all, I was glad that I had earned the grades necessary to enter college. And although I told my roommates I wasn’t interested in getting married because I was going to be a famous journalist, I really was. And I didn’t want to marry a slouch either. I wanted a man who had lived a righteous life and kept himself clean. I did find Mr. Right, and it was sublime not to have any serious transgressions to hide or confess before we knelt at the altar of the temple.

Just as a little child starts to develop a sense of identity as he or she repeatedly hears a name, I believe our names are important to our identity always. As a young mother I returned to take a class from the university I had previously attended and found naturally that things were very much changed from the time when I had begun my studies. I didn’t know anyone. One day one of my past professors came into the room, noticed me, and said, “Janette Callister, how nice to see you.” She turned to my current professor and said she remembered me as a good student. I still remember the good feeling I had that somebody really knew me and remembered me for good.

Young women in Liberia, Africa, taught each other about their divine nature and the Young Women Personal Progress program with a little help from young women on the other side of the world during a special district Young Women conference in August 2009.
Training and preparation began three months in advance for the young women, who live in the Monrovia Liberia Bushrod Island District of the Sierra Leone Freetown Mission. The theme for the conference was “Princess for a Day, Queen for Eternity.” Each branch in the district was responsible to present a workshop on a value and create a short skit teaching another value, emphasizing how a daughter of God would treat others and herself.
“These young women are the future of Africa, the pioneers of their country in this glorious gospel,” said Sister Belinda Wire, a full-time missionary who participated in the conference with her husband, Elder Bill Wire.
After the workshops, skits, and other activities, organizers presented the young women with letters sent by young women from a different country, sharing their testimonies of the gospel and Personal Progress.
“Hearts were united across the world,” Sister Wire said. “As these young sisters held the letters, they knew that those young women believe as they do, read the same books, follow the same programs, are guided by the same prophet, and are loved by the same God.”

The shrieks of delight told me the party had started. Needing a break from studying my Gospel Doctrine lesson for the next day, I went to the living room and looked in. There they were, most of my daughter’s track team, eager to celebrate “taking state.” They had just come from the meet, and some were still dressed in their uniforms.
The ten o’clock news announced the sports, and every eye was turned toward the TV. Yes, there was the announcement that they were now number one. What a pleasure to see our school’s name flash across the screen!
After the news, the coach brought out his part of the evening’s entertainment, a video of the track meet. I watched for a few minutes and then went back to my studies. I could hear the enthusiasm of the team members as they watched the video of the meet. “Look at her go! Run! Run!” “Why did you drop the baton?” “She catches it! Go. go!” “Turn it back, and let’s see that again.” “Wow! You really do know how to pour it on.” “She wins!” “Boy, that looks terrific on color TV.”
I closed my bedroom door, so I’d be able to concentrate. Some time later I suddenly noticed how quiet the house had become. Again I went to the living room and looked in. The track meet video was over, and two of my daughter’s teammates were adjusting another video, this time a movie.
I had picked up my studies once again when Kate burst into my room and closed the door behind her. Her quick, agitated movements told me that something was not right.
“Hello, Kate. How’s the party going? It sounds like fun.”
“Okay, I guess. I’m not at the party anymore.” An apologetic sadness came over her face as she looked away.
“So tell me why you’re not at the party anymore. It is rather late and quiet. Have they gone home?”
“They’re still here. The party’s no good anymore. I’m going to my room to study.” Tears welled up in her eyes.
“What happened? You’re the hostess. This is your party. Why are you going to study now?”
“Mother, I can’t stay in there. They’re showing a video movie rated R. How can I stay there? I have never seen an R-rated movie and never want to. How can I stay there?” she demanded.
Whatever answer I gave I would be responsible for. While her father was out of town I was the head of the family, and I needed help. Should I ask them all to leave? Or should I tolerate this movie in our home? Either way, what would be the implications for my Kate? What should I do?
Stalling for time, I began to question her. “Are you sure that it’s R rated?”
“They told me it is.”
“Do they know that you left? Did you tell them you would not stay and watch?
“Yes, I told them. They didn’t seem to care. No one even asked me to stay or tried to talk me into staying.” More tears welled up. “What shall we do? What do you think Dad would do?”
I agreed that it was a good and heavy question. I said a silent prayer.
“They already know I’m not staying to watch. I’ll just study, and when they’re through they can take their old movie and go home.” Kate seemed decisive.
Voices came from the living room. “‘Bye, Julie. See you Monday.” Kate went to tell her best friend good-bye. I followed her, thinking I should tell them to leave and wishing her father were home.
Then someone began playing the piano. A few voices took up the melody, and then more voices joined in. From the door Julie saw the coach disconnecting the video machine, and she and Kate walked back into the living room.
We sang and told stories and laughed. The track party was a success.
I later asked why Julie had started for home. Kate replied, “Julie said that when I wouldn’t watch the R-rated movie, she decided that she wouldn’t watch it either. She said that when I had the courage to leave, she also found the courage to leave. That’s what made them change their minds about watching the R-rated video. I guess that this was a time when just one person could influence the crowd for good. And, Mother,” Kate cried jubilantly, “I was the one—and I did!”

Thanks for sweeping the front walk so quickly after I asked you to.
Huh? I didn’t do it. I was going to do it right after my homework.
Down the street at Mrs. Foster’s house—
Huh? I don’t remember taking the trash out to the street.
Back in his bedroom hideaway, our hero slips out of his disguise. Once again he becomes simply Matt Cooper, ordinary kid.
Thanks for keeping my secret, trusty sidekick.
Sidekick? Do I get a cape too?

After doing what he could for his family and friends, Daniel’s first words to me were, “Come on, let’s go. We’ve got a lot to do if we are going to report back to Salt Lake by tonight.”
Somewhat shocked by his remark, I explained to him that we could get to the remainder of the cities by ourselves and that he was needed at home.
“My father can take over now,” he said. “My calling is to help the Saints and elders elsewhere. Can I please go?” After such a plea, we consented.
The day was going by quickly and we still had three cities to get to, two of them inaccessible by road because of quake damage. So we decided to split up. Elder Choc and I drew the assignment of going to Comalapa. He was so anxious to reach the city that he suggested we run all the way—17.7 kilometers!
I was sure he was joking. After all, we had to go through a deep canyon that was sure to be dangerously steep because of quake-caused landslides. I was willing to walk around the canyon, but Daniel, already familiar with the terrain, insisted that we would never make it unless we ran through it. He reminded me that with the Lord’s help, we could do it. He asked me if I would pray for physical strength and endurance, and plead with the Lord for a special blessing on the canyon because there were many in Comalapa who needed help but were trapped there because of the dangerous condition of the canyon. Humbled, I did so.
And we ran every step of those 17.7 kilometers! As we did so, he rehearsed with me the words of the Savior to the people of ancient America. Daniel said he had pondered them deeply in his heart and was anxious to know more.
When we got to the canyon, we found it calm and quiet, and it stayed that way the rest of the day. After helping and securing the information we needed in Comalapa, we made our way back to Patzicia, and I left Elder Choc there with his father and surviving family.

As a young teen growing up in Santiago, Chile, Andrea González never had much except for a dream—a university degree that would allow her to support her family if necessary.
To get there, she hoped to graduate from seminary, get good grades at school, and score high enough on her college placement exam (PSU) to go to a university where she could study engineering.
But by the time she had started her final year of high school in preparation for the PSU, she started to wonder if any of that was possible. “All my goals seemed impossible to achieve,” she recalls.
Andrea was trying to break into a competitive and male-dominated field of study. Because of the competition, the top universities were looking for extremely high scores on the math portion of the PSU, scores usually earned by those who could afford to attend private schools.
To try and overcome these obstacles, Andrea kept a daunting schedule her final year. She was up early and studying after school until late, eating when she had a free moment and squeezing in seminary four nights a week.
“It was discouraging sometimes,” she says. “I had to sacrifice a lot. I don’t know how many times my friends heard me say, ‘No, I’ve got to study’ or how often I’ve been teased for being smart.”
But she knew she couldn’t give up if she wanted to secure her future.
Her sacrifices paid off. On the math section of the PSU, Andrea was one of 200 students in the country to earn a perfect score of 850 and one of only two girls from public schools to do so.
She also graduated from seminary, got the good grades she studied so hard for, and was named by her classmates as the year’s “Best Friend” because of all of the time she spent helping others with their own studying.
But Andrea believes her success has less to do with how much she knows than it does with what she knows she must do. In other words, blessings come from following the Lord’s counsel, not our own (see 2 Nephi 9:28–29). “It’s not worth anything to be smart if we ignore God,” she says. “You always have to put God first.”
Learning that principle as she studied for her college entrance exam was critical to the other test Andrea was taking—the test of life that everyone must take.
The Lord Himself explains this test in the scriptures: “We will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abraham 3:25).
“Heavenly Father tests us to see what we will do,” Andrea says, thinking back on the difficult schedule she had to keep and the teasing she sometimes had to endure. “To pass life’s test, we have to be obedient,” Andrea says.
And not just when things are going well but during the hard times too.
“The great test of life,” said President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, “is to see whether we will hearken to and obey God’s commands in the midst of the storms of life.”1
Often her two tests collided. That’s when Andrea learned that putting God first was the secret to passing both tests.
Many times she had to choose between Church activities and school activities, between studying the gospel and studying for her test. She says she learned early on that she felt better if she chose Church first. It strengthened her testimony that Heavenly Father would help her with her concerns if her first concern was Him.
These experiences also taught Andrea another important lesson. “He is capable of helping me with the tests He has given me,” she says.
Or as one of her heroes, Nephi, said, “I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them” (1 Nephi 3:7).
Andrea knows that even though she has passed her first test, there is a lot she must learn before she’ll feel ready to pass the next. But she knows if she puts God first, He’ll help her pass that test too.

It was a hot summer day, that day long ago. I sat listening to the snip, snip of the barber’s scissors around my ears, anxious to have him finish so I could get out of there. And it wasn’t only the heat that seemed oppressive. My barber was some kind of missionary for the Mormon church: a “stake missionary,” I believe he said—whatever that was. He had sensed my negative attitude to his church on previous visits.
“What church was it you said you belong to?” There it was, the subtle remark to pull me into a conversation on religion. Instinctively I knew what was coming, and just as instinctively came my reply. “Just cut my hair and don’t preach to me!”
The next week was a fun one. I hurried to my barber. “Give me a special haircut. I’m going to join the Church.” His mouth popped open, and he couldn’t speak for a short time. When he regained his composure, his reply, in all seriousness, was, “Which church?”
Then I talked with the barber and learned that he would be my first bishop after my baptism. To our mutual surprise and joy, we discovered that we had met once before, two years previously, when he was on a stake mission and a rude person had shut the door in his face and left him standing on the doorstep.

Let me give you an example. One evening a few years ago, I was interviewing adults for renewal of their temple recommends. A middle-aged woman came in for her interview. She had been married in the temple and was active in the Church all her life.
I sensed a deep sadness in her soul. As the interview progressed, I received a spiritual impression. I said to her, “Sister, I have the impression that you made a serious mistake when you were a teenager that you haven’t confessed to a priesthood leader. Would you be willing to tell me about it?”
She immediately began to cry. She told me that was true, but she had always felt too embarrassed to confess it to a bishop. As she confessed what she had done, she shared sufficient detail for me to make a determination of her worthiness.
The confession of her sin to a priesthood leader marked the end of her repentance process rather than the beginning. She had unnecessarily carried the burden and sorrow of that sin for more than 30 years.
Because she had completed the final step of repentance, her guilt was swept away. I would occasionally see her after the night of that interview. Her countenance became bright, and she was happy.
I want you to know that I do not remember her name. The Lord can remove such memories from bishops. What I do remember is that through confession to her priesthood leader, a middle-aged woman was relieved of feelings of guilt that she had carried far too many years.

Sister Portlock sent a copy of the book with Bruce’s testimony to her granddaughter Sherry Siekert in Wisconsin. And a little while later, Sister Portlock got a call from Sherry asking Brother Portlock to come out and baptize her.
“I had been brought up hearing about the Mormons but not knowing anything about them,” said Sherry. “When I got the book, I started to read it—I’ve no idea what made me open the book. I just did. Two elders had come by before and left a pamphlet in the house, and I read it. Maybe that’s one reason I started to read the book.
“After I talked to the missionaries a while, I called my father in Chicago and said, ‘It all sounds so good to me. It’s like everything I’ve always wanted to know all my life.’ My father’s interested in the Church now, too.”
The gospel has had a great impact in Sherry’s life. “I don’t feel like I have to go out and do a lot of wild things to have fun. Fun is being with good friends and family now. I appreciate them more, and I’m not afraid of death anymore. I work in a nursing home, and when I see people dying, I feel like they’re going to something better. I’ve also found that if you stand by your standards and don’t let your peers pressure you into things you know are wrong, they’ll respect you more than if you’d just gone along. This last year since I’ve been baptized has been great.”

One day our Primary visited the São Paulo Brazil Temple. The gardens were more beautiful than any I had ever seen. We learned that through the covenants we make in the temple, we can live with our families for eternity. The president of the temple spoke to us in the waiting room, where we saw beautiful paintings. I had a very warm and happy feeling, and my mother told me it was the Holy Ghost testifying to me that what I was learning was true. I gained a testimony that the temple is the house of the Lord.
Renato B., age 8, Brazil
Renato and his family at his baptism

A fifteen-year-old Korean boy, a teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood, used his allowance each week to buy newspapers. Then he and his friends sold them on street corners in Seoul, giving the money to a classmate who couldn’t remain in school without this financial help. He wanted to know how it felt to be a Good Samaritan rather than just having an intellectual understanding of the lesson he had studied in the scriptures.

I think one of the beautiful pictures that I remember back in the early days of the program was when we looked up and saw a beautiful field, white with cotton bolls, and then saw the Relief Society sisters, the Primary children, the men and women and children in the rows of cotton with their long bags trailing behind them. They were learning to pick cotton. When they went to weigh, they always were disappointed. They thought they had 150 pounds dragging behind them, and it turned out to be only eight or ten. I remember they were happy; they were doing something that was constructive. They were helping others. I remember sometimes in their happiness they would sing songs like “Way Down Upon the Swanee River.”
I have seen them picking fruit, cherries, apples and peaches, and it seems to me there was a new dimension that had been added when they felt they were doing something constructive, something they did not have to do, something they wanted to do for their own people.

Brother Nibley, a concert pianist and BYU faculty member, was asked to write a song about testimony. He wrote quickly because the words and music came at the same time. “I Know My Father Lives” was very simple, so Brother Nibley began adding notes. It became more and more complicated, so he erased all the unnecessary notes. When he finished erasing, the song was just as it had been written the first time!

In 1832 the Savior declared to the prophet Joseph Smith, “Behold, I will hasten my work in its time” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:73). Today, 193 years later, that hastening is evident in the work of the “gathering” occurring every day at the Tema Campus Institute Gathering Place in the Ghana Accra East Mission, where family history, missionary, and temple experiences converge to produce miracles.
The miracles in Tema began in September 2024 with the repurposing of an empty building that had formally housed the Ghana missionary training centre and two anchors: BYU Pathway and the Church Seminary/Institute program. Under the direction of two capable and visionary leaders, stake president Stephen Abu Jr. and Bishop Prince Mensah, multiple enrichment classes were added to the offerings available at the building. In less than a year, the influence of these programs grew tremendously, and the building with its programs became a powerful gathering place for the young single adults in the Tema Ghana Stake.
These offerings of spiritual and temporal instruction have attracted a consistent and increasing flow of students. These young single adults are between 18 and 35 years old, are predominantly male, and roughly half of them are “friends of the Church.” These young single adults come voluntarily every day, most of them at some expense and effort to make the trip, and they spend afternoons receiving this instruction after finishing required school classes or day jobs.
It was into this environment that a newly arrived single sister senior missionary was placed. Sister Betsy Thornton, from Utah, had accepted a calling to serve in the Ghana Accra East Mission. On her arrival, despite not having much experience in the subject, she willingly accepted the assignment to teach an institute family history class, having faith that Lord qualifies those He calls. With the aid of fellow institute instructor, Eric Osei Asare, help from some tech-savvy Pathway students, support from other resources, and by exercising a lot of patience, she put her shoulder to the wheel, and her class began to thrive.
Sister Thornton invited missionaries who were serving at the Tema Gathering Place to come teach about the importance of not only building FamilySearch trees but of also uniting those efforts with the blessings of the temple. As they learned about the importance of family history and began to build their trees, the students experienced great joy in discovering their ancestors and other family members on FamilySearch.org/Africa. In concert with the teachings of the temple, students began to be curious about the gospel of Jesus Christ. That curiosity turned into spiritual affirmations of truth and instilled in the members a desire to be baptised for their deceased loved ones. As for the friends, many of them felt the desire to be baptised themselves.
Recognizing the opportunity to build on this spiritual affirmation, Sister Thornton planned a visit the Accra Ghana Temple, where she would take her students to feel the power of the temple. Initially, 22 of the students signed up to go, but that number grew quickly as recently baptised members in the Tema Stake heard about the excursion and asked to join. From there, other young single adults, not wanting to miss out on such an opportunity, joined the group. Eventually, over 70 young single adults, both members and friends of the Church, committed to visit the temple.
On 13 June 2025, one-and-a-half busses filled with eager students pulled into the Accra Ghana Temple parking lot. The group was received by a crew of supportive area missionaries who assisted in hosting, teaching, and guiding at the temple. Following a group photo on the temple steps, the 22 Church members in the group, including seven new converts, were then ushered into the temple to participate in baptisms for their ancestors.
Plans were to take the remaining 50-plus students, friends of the Church, on a tour of the temple grounds, but in a wonderful and unexpected turn of events, a member of the temple presidency emerged and invited all of them to enter the temple waiting room, where he taught them about the nature of covenants and the blessings of the temple. It was truly a miraculous opportunity for each of them to receive counsel and absorb the peace available in the house of the Lord.
Words are barely adequate in describing the surprise, wonder, and reverence present in that experience. Many of the members and their friends later expressed their feelings about the temple, about how sacred, peaceful, and beautiful it was, and how they felt the presence of Jesus Christ and His love in His holy house.
Although the temple experience was the culmination of the trip, there remained other wonderful experiences for the students. Upon leaving the temple, they walked next door to the Christiansborg Stake Center, where students had the opportunity to hear from area family history and African history specialists. Some students were also able to work with specialists in the FamilySearch IT center.
Following those presentations, they had the opportunity to walk next door to the Ghana Accra Missionary Training Center. The privilege of entering this center was another life-changing experience. The new MTC president graciously greeted the group, bearing testimony about the work taking place there. Then, dividing the students into four smaller groups, MTC staff took the students for a real-time view of life there as a missionary. They toured the cafeteria, saw the outdoor field and exercise space, and peeked into the classrooms, where a number of languages were being taught. They noted the prophets’ names on classroom doors, photos on the walls that captured the history of the MTC and Church in Ghana, and marvelled at the diversity of missionaries there, commenting on the warmth, happiness, and spirit of the missionaries.
After a full and rewarding experience at the temple compound, the students piled back into the busses and headed home to Tema. This life-changing experience impacted both members and friends alike, as members felt closer to their deceased relatives and talked about preparations for serving missions, while friends began contemplating their own faith, many expressing a desire to join the Church. Several were even baptised in the days and weeks afterwards. As a result of the success of the excursion, the Tema center added another family history class for new students wanting to learn about these things, and another temple excursion was planned for August of the same year.
All who participated in this activity affirmed that the hand of the Lord is directing the affairs of the Church through programs such as FamilySearch, the Gathering Place, and other YSA programs. These programs strive to bolster the spiritual, educational, and inclusive community being cultivated at the Tema Campus Institute Gathering Place. The united efforts of all involved furthered the gathering of Israel through increased family history work, missionary participation, and temple ordinances. Those who are a part of this miraculous surge gratefully affirm that this is God’s time and He is directing the work at the Tema Campus Institute Gathering Place.

On August 23, 2008, my family was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in Utah. It was a dream come true for us. We traveled across the world—it was a long, tiring trip, but it was worth it. When we got to Utah, it was night, and the first thing we did was go to see the temple. It was so beautiful in the night with all the lights shining on it. Two days later we were sealed. The sisters who take care of the children in the temple helped my sister and me dress in white clothing. Then we went to be with our parents. I felt like I was going to meet Jesus. We were so happy to be sealed! Now I know that I can live with my family forever.
Dean F., age 5, Sri Lanka

The cool evening air felt good on my face as my companion and I were frantically riding our bicycles back to our apartment to make it home on time. The May weather had been typical for Texas, hot and humid, so the crisp evening air was a welcome feeling.
I began thinking of the success we were enjoying in the city of Brownsville. A family of five was baptized last month and another family of five was to be baptized this month. Suddenly that warm, familiar, and welcome feeling came over me, and I was prompted to look back. Through the trees I saw a row of houses a little way off the road—houses I had never noticed before!
When we reached the apartment I told my companion, Elder Maughn, that we needed to go back to those houses in the morning and meet a few people. Then we planned our activities for the next day and went to bed. I could hardly sleep for the excitement of that day. We had challenged a family to be baptized, and they accepted, and now it seemed that the Lord had more people for us to teach.
The morning came not too soon for me. After a shower, breakfast, and study class, we headed out for the houses I had noticed the last night. It was easy to see why we had missed them before. Somehow between the junkyard and bushes and the low-hanging trees, there was a road. Actually, it was more like an alley. It was so rough that we could hardly get our bikes down it.
There were about seven houses down this road, so we began at the first and worked our way to the last. Yes, number six was the house. We knocked at the door, and a woman answered. Her face radiated with a warm, kind, and protective glow. We introduced ourselves and said we had a brief message about the Lord. She invited us into a small, two-room house.
As we entered the living room, we were greeted by no less than five children, ages ranging from eleven down to two. The children giggled as we spoke to them. We told her we would like to return when the father was home, and she invited us back that evening.
The rest of the day my head was spinning with thoughts of how we would teach the family. We knew with the Lord’s help and consent we would help this family become members of his church.
Somewhere between banging on doors and lunch a fearful thought came over me. Tithing! Reflecting back about that family we visited earlier that morning, I wondered how they would accept the principle of tithing. I thought of that family of seven and their home, which apparently had only the bare necessities. The kitchen had just a table and benches in it. The other room, which was divided in half and separated only by a curtain, was both the bedroom and the living room. The only furniture in this room was one chair and a tattered couch. How would this family be able to budget tithing?
Paying an honest tithe seemed to be a stumbling block to some of the people we had taught before, and I worried about this all day. Silently I prayed that this family would gain a strong testimony before we were to teach the principle of tithing to them.
Again the cool evening air felt good on my face as we rode back to that home to meet the father and begin teaching his family. The father held as many of the children as he could, and the others huddled close by. We felt a warm, familiar feeling as we visited with them and explained our message about the Lord’s true church.
After a brief prayer we started with the filmstrip Man’s Search for Happiness. It would keep the children interested, and parents always seemed to enjoy it. I glanced over at the mother during the part about leaving the pre-mortal existence, and I thought I saw traces of tears in her eyes. I couldn’t help but again glance over at her during the part about death and our spirit returning home to loved ones. Yes, this time it was plainly clear. That sweet mother had tears in her eyes and half way down her face.
The mother was still wiping away the tears when the film ended, so I quickly bore my testimony to the truthfulness of the concepts taught in the film and the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We then proceeded into the rest of the discussion. It was accepted well, very well. After arranging another appointment for the next night, we offered prayer and were on our way.
I noticed that there was no car in front of the house, and again I wondered how they would accept the principle of tithing.
When we reached our apartment, Elder Maughn and I knelt down and prayed. We prayed to our Heavenly Father to bless this family with a strong testimony and to provide a way that they could keep the commandments.
When we knelt for personal prayer I stayed on my knees a little longer than usual before climbing into bed. When the time came, how could we present the commandment of tithing so the Spirit would touch them with a testimony and a desire to keep it?
The family was progressing well. Every lesson was a spiritual experience for all of us. Members visited them and took them to church. Finally the challenge was given to be baptized, and they accepted.
The next step was the lesson on the commandments. I cleverly arranged it so my companion would present the concept on tithing. Yes, I would give the first concept, he the second which was tithing, then I would continue with the third and so on. This way I wouldn’t have to ask the family to keep the law of tithing and wonder about their answer.
That moment seemed to come all too soon. When we entered the home that evening and settled down for the lesson I began the discussion with the first concept. Before I had completed two sentences the father eagerly asked a question, and my companion answered it and continued on with my concept! He then finished the first concept, and now it was my turn—tithing! I said a quick silent prayer and proceeded with confidence.
I explained what the word tithe meant, how it was a commandment anciently and now also in our day. Then I came to the part I dreaded—to ask the family to keep the law of tithing. This fine brother answered back, but I was so worried that I didn’t hear the answer. I hurriedly continued on with the concept and then realized he had answered yes! I was then at the part where the question was to be repeated so I confidently asked again, “Will you keep the law of tithing?”
Again the answer was yes. I then bore my testimony with tears in my eyes that it was a true commandment and that many blessings would follow.
That following Sunday, just a week before the family was to be baptized, I looked eagerly for them. When Sunday School began, the family was not there. I didn’t see them anywhere. Perhaps they had decided they couldn’t keep the commandments after all, I thought to myself. I wondered if the problem was tithing.
Then just before sacrament meeting started, in through the front doors walked the family. I hurried to greet them. I had a smile on my face from ear to ear I’m sure. They explained that they had walked all the way, at least four miles I think, and the father carried two of the little ones.
We sat down in time for the meeting to start, and all I could think about was this family. What an example to me. I loved them already, and I had only known them for three weeks.
After sacrament the mother took me aside and said, “Here, Elder Myers. Here’s ten dollars. My husband gets paid every two weeks, and we wanted to start paying tithing now.” I stood there for what seemed like an eternity and just looked at the mother, with sincerity and humbleness written all over her face. I looked at the ten dollars. Her husband made two hundred dollars a month, and they were willing to keep the law of tithing. What a faithful family.
I guess I hesitated too long, for the mother said, “Isn’t it enough?” I quickly turned my head for tears began to fill my eyes. I found the second counselor in the bishopric and asked him to explain to this good sister about filling out the tithing slip.
As he explained the process to her, I slipped away to an empty room. I tried to hold back the tears, but “Here, Elder Myers” kept ringing in my ears. I thanked my Father in Heaven for this great opportunity and the testimony he had given to this family.
That following week the family was baptized.
Even now that I have returned home from my mission and have continued on with my life, I still think of this wonderful family and the great lesson they taught me about tithing. Every time I pay tithing I can still hear those words from that sweet sister, “Here, Elder Myers. Isn’t it enough?”

In a shady Finnish backyard garden where tall evergreens surrounded an old sauna bathhouse, there lived a little family of hedgehogs. Late in the spring Mama hedgehog gave birth to quadruplets. Now it was August and her brood of lively youngsters was getting fat and prickly in preparation for the long, cold winter ahead.
All of her little ones were obedient—all except Siili! When her other children were full and could eat no more they would curl up into cozy balls and go to sleep but not Siili. He would be poking his paw into an anthill or digging his long snout into a rotten tree stump in search of more food. Mama hedgehog would scold him back into the nest, but Siili never wanted to take a nap.
The garden where Mama hedgehog and her youngsters lived was a small one that belonged to Mrs. Henriksson and her two children, Ulla and Pekka. Ulla and Pekka enjoyed planting the seeds, watering, weeding, and finally eating their very own vegetables. Sometimes while they were weeding or pulling up turnips, they would see a little hedgehog poke its head up and scurry across the garden. Ulla and Pekka tried to catch one but the little animals were always too quick. Even if they had caught one, however, they would not have harmed it because these spiny friends helped keep their garden free from harmful pests.
As the autumn days grew shorter and colder, Mama hedgehog and her little family prepared for their long winter nap. They were all very busy getting fat and fixing their nest—all but Siili—for when the snowflakes fell, they would sleep for the entire winter.
“Who wants to sleep all winter?” Siili asked in dismay. “Just think of what we’ll miss curled up in an underground hole for so long. I’d much rather turn somersaults and play all day!”
When the cold winter came, Mama hedgehog inspected each little burrow to make sure every youngster was warm and fast asleep. When she came to Siili’s burrow her heart gave a thump. Siili was not there!
Frantic with worry, Mama hedgehog stuck her head outside and looked all around for him. She could not see Siili hidden in the wilted strawberry patch, where he was trying to dig a playhouse in the frozen ground.
While he worked, the snow began to fall. Siili shivered with cold. He wished he had listened to Mama and stayed in his nice warm burrow instead of trying to dig in the frozen earth. To keep warm he curled himself into a tiny ball and hid his nose down among his spines. I’ll rest for just a few minutes, he thought, and then I’ll go home. Instead, he felt so tired that soon he was fast asleep.
“Look, Pekka,” said Ulla as she stooped and carefully picked up the prickly little creature from among the strawberry leaves. “Here’s a baby hedgehog!”
“What’s he doing outside in the cold?” asked Pekka, as he took the little animal from Ulla and put it in his pocket. “Let’s go ask Mama what we should do with it.”
When the children were inside the cottage, they placed Siili in a wooden box filled with old clothes. Siili sleepily snuggled up to some soft woolly underwear the children put around him while they waited for their mother to come home.
“Mama, look at the baby hedgehog we found in the garden. He was all rolled up in the strawberry leaves,” said Pekka as he pulled his mother over to the box.
“It was too cold outside for him. May we keep him in the house, Mama?” asked Ulla.
“Well,” said their mother, smiling at the spiny ball, “perhaps we could keep him for awhile, but he probably has a mother and a cozy nest waiting for him in our garden. Don’t you think he would be happier with his own family?”
Ulla and Pekka frowned and sighed. They knew their mother was right, so they wrapped Siili in the woolly underwear and placed him back outside in the strawberry patch.
“Let’s go inside and watch from the kitchen window to see what he will do,” suggested Ulla as they left the garden.
Pekka and Ulla stationed themselves in front of the window and looked out at the snowy garden. It wasn’t long before Ulla said, “Look! Something is moving around out there.”
“It’s another hedgehog,” Pekka answered.
Sure enough, Siili’s mother was searching for her son. She found him still wrapped up in the underwear and sound asleep. She nudged him awake and then the children saw them disappear. Siili’s mother knew that her drowsy baby would be eager to play again when spring came, but now they were both ready for a long, warm winter sleep.