Gospel Story Finder

For example, I wrote my dissertation at the University of California at Berkeley on pion-nucleon interactions. I never saw a pion or a nucleon. I couldn’t touch them. And yet I published a scientific article on them.

“And he had a special job at church on Sundays,” Mom said. “The organ needed to have air pumped into it so it could work. During the songs, he helped pump the air for the organ to play the hymns.”
“I bet it was hard work,” Dad said. “But he loved the music. His favorite song was ‘Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.’”

Now I would like to tell you one more thing. I have served as a bishop three times, and each time I was a different kind of bishop! Not only did I bring different background and experiences according to my age and station in life, but each time I served there were different needs among the individual members of my ward and in the ward as a whole.

There have been times when I needed to show compassion and mercy. There have been times when I had to be firm. Some wards needed help with their finances, some with getting organized, and some just needed a feeling of fellowship. But this I have come to know—a bishop is called of God to meet particular needs during the time he serves as bishop.

For some of the students in Buenos Aires, the weekend’s activities begin with an early morning testimony meeting. And what better place to hold it than in Parque 3. de Febrero, where Elder Ballard dedicated their land.
The park is quiet at 6:00 on this Saturday morning. The palm trees are still dark silhouettes against the pale pink dawn. Sleepy bird calls mingle with the voices of sleepy students as they gather in a clearing, offer prayer, and begin to bear familiar testimonies. As you hear phrases like “I know the Church is true” and “I know Joseph Smith was a prophet,” you realize you could be in a testimony meeting in Montpelier, Idaho. Or Montpelier, Vermont. Or Montpelier, France. And suddenly you realize that it’s not trite; it’s great. The testimonies are as strong as you will find anywhere in the Church.
Afterward, walk through the park with Virginia, Esteban, Carolina, and the others. They clown for the camera. They cluster around a mulberry tree, picking the purple fruit and staining hands and faces. It’s obvious they like each other and spend a lot of time together. As Maria Jose Menjoulou observes later, “It’s easier to do the right things if we are surrounded with people who share the same goals and strive to achieve the same things.”

When I was younger, I visualized myself walking along an upward, vertical path toward my goal of eternal life. Each time I did or said something wrong, I felt myself sliding down the path, only to start my journey all over again. It was like landing on that one square in the children’s game Chutes and Ladders that slides you down from the top of the board back to the beginning of the game! It was discouraging! But as I began to understand the doctrine of Christ and how to apply it daily in my life, I found hope.

I guess it was inevitable. I was spending the evening visiting with friends when two women—Mormon missionaries—knocked at the door. They were friendly. I was uncomfortable. I almost had the feeling of being caught in a trap. I decided to give them an argument.
“Do you believe the Bible?” they began.
“Of course,” I replied, not really knowing what I did believe.
They began by reading Acts 7:55–56, trying to show that there are three separate Beings in the Godhead. Then they worked their way into the story of Joseph Smith’s First Vision. I knew there was an answer to their interpretation of the scriptures, and I knew I needed help to find it. After all, I reasoned, everyone knows that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are manifestations of the same person. Was it okay to bring someone to the discussions who knew the scriptures better than I did? The missionaries assured me that it was.
The next week, I arrived with a cousin who was active in my religion. I became a spectator in the discussion that followed. If I had been impartial, I would have given the victory to the Mormon missionaries. But, of course, I decided that my cousin just wasn’t knowledgeable enough. I would find someone more knowledgeable to confront them.
During the week, I contacted a friend who was studying to become a minister. He could give me the support I needed.
“How do I answer Acts 7:55–56?” I asked, after explaining my situation. To my utter astonishment, he replied, “I’m sorry. I can’t help you. I tend to separate the Godhead more than most members of our church.”
My next source of information was a minister who lived near me. He was a friend, and I had talked with him many times before. His answer to Acts 7:55–56 was less than satisfactory: “How do you know what a person might see while he’s being stoned to death!”
I decided to stop seeing the missionaries. I had heard enough. I told the two missionaries of my decision, whereupon they presented me with a Book of Mormon and decided there was nothing more they could do to interest me in the Church.

One day while studying for my seminary class, I had a beautiful and distinct impression. As I was reading over the lesson for the next day, I saw the face of a friend from school and had the strong feeling that I should share my testimony with her.
Despite the clarity of this impression, I was afraid. I was worried that my friend might reject me, particularly because she didn’t seem to be the kind of girl who would be interested in joining the Church.
I thought back to a talk by Sister Mary N. Cook of the Young Women general presidency in which she challenged us to work hard and be valiant.1 I wanted to be like this, so I wrote this girl a letter and testified of the truthfulness of the Church and of my love for the Book of Mormon. The next day I slipped a copy of the Book of Mormon, together with my letter, into her bag.
To my surprise, my friend was very receptive to the gospel. Starting that day, she would tell me about what she had learned in her study of the Book of Mormon. A few weeks later, I introduced her to the missionaries. Almost immediately, she received a confirmation from the Holy Ghost that what she was learning was true. The missionaries and I cried as she told us of her feelings. My friend was soon baptized, and her parents were amazed to see the changes that had occurred in her.
I am so happy I was able to overcome my fears and help bring the gospel into her life.

In February 2022, the Alnwick Branch of the Church in Northumberland set up free weekly 4-hour sessions for anyone in the local community to come and charge their digital devices, play games, warm-up, eat soup, chat, and access the internet.
President James Perry recalls how the project began, “I felt we could utilise the building and our facilities much more. We have church on Sunday, youth during the week, and then some activities but the rest of the time it is not used. At the same time, our Relief Society president found out that warm hubs were being set up around the country but so far none in our town.”
The initiative first ran for three months, where the local newspaper helped spread the word before residents turned up to attend.
President Perry continues, “It has been wonderful to see people mingle together, especially after these last two years with Covid. We have had a real mix of people attending. Some have benefitted from coming here and not heating up at home. Others have been looking for company to meet new people. We have also had people who have come because they are willing to help others.
“We have also had people being reactivated through this. Some of our Ukrainian members can invite and speak to other Ukrainian people in the area, and the missionaries also use this opportunity to invite the people they speak to.
“Some [visitors are] curious, others just want to be informed. People also want to know what other things are on and then we tell them about our monthly walk, our monthly family history workshops, weekly youth nights and Sunday worship. And we have people attending those too, including on Sunday.
“It is very simple to run. Bring some soup and some buns and some board games. It does require some commitment, but members are committed and practical to do it.
“We are starting it again next month. The need is clearly there, and the cost-of-living situation has only got worse so more than ever there is a need for this.”
Truly, the members of Alnwick Branch can testify of the truthfulness of Elder Quentin L. Cook’s statement, “I have found that most significant spiritual experiences occur when we are helping and serving others and accomplishing the Lord’s purpose.”1

I have always been drawn to associate with older people (now I am one). I remember in the Quorum of the Twelve, LeGrand Richards didn’t walk as fast as the other Brethren, and I would always wait and open the door for him and walk back to the building with him. One day one of the Brethren said, “Oh, you’re so kind to take care of Brother Richards.” And I thought, “You don’t know my selfish motive”—as we would walk back, I would just listen to him. I knew that he could remember Wilford Woodruff, and he would speak. One-on-one teaching is very powerful. Generally one-on-one teaching is what happens when you are corrected.

I remember fondly our entire family’s great joy when two of our children received their calls to serve as full-time missionaries. Excitement and anticipation filled our hearts as they each opened their special letter from the prophet of God. Our daughter Jenessa was called to the Michigan Detroit Mission, and our son, Christian, was called to the Russia Moscow South Mission. What humbling and thrilling experiences, all at the same time!

Raymond Sixth Ward
The Raymond Sixth Ward Primary, Raymond Alberta Stake, had a service project where they filled shoe boxes with small gifts for children in developing countries. Some of the gifts included soap, toothbrushes, toy cars, jump ropes, and pencils. Each child stuffed one box for a girl and one box for a boy. They also wrote the children notes and drew them pictures. Everyone enjoyed the activity and gained a stronger testimony of the joy that can be found in giving service to others.

One night after I came out of the church, my new silver CTR ring fell out of my pocket. My dad and uncle shined the headlights of their cars into the bushes, but I still couldn’t find it. I was feeling sad. My mom said we should have a family prayer. After the prayer, I walked through the bushes and felt a prompting to look down. There was my ring under a bush! I know that my prayer was answered and that yours can be, too.Brian Seegmiller, age 10Fairfield, California

Michelle and I have been best friends since last December, when she moved here. Her family went to a different church until our ward members asked them to come to our church the next Sunday. Michelle really liked Primary. Her sisters, Rachael and Molly, went to Young Women, and they loved it.
The following Sunday, only Rachael and Molly came. On Monday, I asked Michelle why she had not come. She told me that she hadn’t had time to get ready. I told her that she could be late if she needed to be, as long as she came.
I invited her to Achievement Day that week. She asked what that was. I told her that there were different groups, depending on age. She said that she was ten, so I told her that she would be in my group. She was excited and asked her parents if she could come. They said yes. She didn’t know anybody there. I introduced her to everybody. Now we are all very good friends. The next week, missionaries started to teach her family, and they are now baptized!

I’m ever so grateful for the Liahona (Tagalog). I can find great and compelling stories in it that touch my spirit. Whenever I’m sad I read the Liahona for inspiration. I sometimes cry, sometimes smile, and sometimes feel very peaceful when I read it. I wanted to share this overwhelming feeling of peace with others, so I gave my nonmember friends a subscription to the Liahona. I want to share the blessings I receive whenever I open this magazine.
Arjuna Razonable,Sampaguita Ward, Novaliches Philippines Stake

As a side note, unbelievers have always found it difficult to picture the work and power of the Lord on such a vast scale. In the days of St. Augustine, 400 years after Christ, Christian scholars vigorously debated the possibility of people living on the other side of our world! Men debated whether such a land, virtually another world, actually existed, and if it did, whether it was inhabited by men of some form or other. Their speculations and questions about another “world” at the antipodes almost exactly parallel those of our own science about other worlds in space. Augustine himself came to the conclusion that if there were such a place, it could not be inhabited by men.

A similar problem to Augustine’s arose once again in the time of Copernicus and Galileo. At that time the apostate Christian church had accepted the science of Aristotle, which taught that there was but one earth, located at the very center or lowest place in the universe. When Copernicus proposed his new theory of the order of the universe, he placed the sun at the center and the earth in the heavens. It opened the door once again to the question of other worlds.

Centuries later, when Columbus and other explorers found that there truly was a “new world” in the midst of the ocean, and that it was inhabited by men, Christian missionaries lost no time in trying to convert them. Once men had crossed the “impossible” ocean barrier, the “new world” became one with the old world and the problem simply disappeared. The Book of Mormon throws a flood of light on the relationship of the gospel to the ancient inhabitants of America. The Lord could, and did, send angels and revelations of his truths to prophets in America as well as to prophets in Palestine. And though Augustine and the men of his time could not cross the oceans to America, the resurrected Christ certainly could—and did.

When Olivio was seventeen, he played on a team for the Angloan military. All the boys in the country were required to go into the military for an indefinite amount of time. He also made the national team.
That’s when Olivio began to dream of playing ball in Portugal. He was fluent in Portuguese. (Angola is a former Portuguese colony, and Portuguese is the official language.) And what’s more, Olivio heard that they actually paid professional players salaries in Portugal. He would be able to send money home to his family.
It took Olivio a few years to get a visa to go. But once he arrived in Portugal, it took him only a few days to find a professional team that wanted him. At six-foot-seven, he not only had the stature they were looking for, but he also had the skill.

A group of 43 teens in Larimer County, Colorado, were able to help a young man complete his Eagle Project, collect 1,800 pounds of food, take the Christmas spirit to the elderly, gather emergency supplies for disaster victims, and build relationships with each other—all in four days.
Each December these youth plan a special youth conference that focuses on building relationships with each other. Last year the youth decided they wanted to make their conference more meaningful. To do this, Sarah Fenton, 17, says, “We decided to focus on a service project.”
By the last day, the youth had collected 1,500 pounds of food for the local food bank and another 300 pounds to go to 40 families in the community. This was 1,200 more pounds than their goal of 600. They then split into two groups. One group sorted and cleaned supplies for the homeless while the other group put together humanitarian aid kits to be sent to Korea. That evening the group went to retirement and assisted living homes to sing Christmas carols to the residents. The priests quorum president, Tanner Kahl, said it was his favorite youth conference and hopes they can do the same this year.

A similar experience occurred as I was pursuing my career in business. I was offered an excellent job opportunity, but it would have likely required me to work on Sunday. I had committed not to work on the Sabbath day. Ultimately, I had to turn down the offer. I could not compromise my commitment to keep the Sabbath day holy. As with my college commitment, I was later blessed with many other business opportunities that did not require me to compromise and that allowed me to devote Sundays to the worship of the Lord.

President Wilford Woodruff also wrote about the important things he did as a prophet. On April 6, 1893, he dedicated the Salt Lake Temple.
Wilford: After 40 years, this beautiful building is finally completed. Shall we go inside?

In our dispensation, the Prophet Joseph Smith endured all manner of opposition and hardship to bring to pass the desire of our Heavenly Father—the Restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph was harassed and hunted by angry mobs. He patiently endured poverty, humiliating charges, and unkind acts. His people were forcibly driven from town to town, from state to state. He was tarred and feathered. He was falsely charged and jailed.
Imprisoned at Liberty, Missouri, and experiencing deep, emotional temporal feelings that his own hardships and the tests and trials of the Saints would never cease, Joseph prayed: “O God, where art thou? … Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them, and … be moved with compassion toward them?” (D&C 121:1, 3).
Joseph was told, “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment” (D&C 121:7).
Joseph knew that if he were to stop going forward with this great work, his earthly trials would probably ease. But he could not stop because he knew who he was, he knew for what purpose he was placed on the earth, and he had the desire to do God’s will.