Gospel Story Finder

I had just finished a round of cancer treatment in San Diego, California, USA, and needed to drive home, more than 600 (965 km) miles away. I was tired and lonely, and I prayed for help and guidance.
I had already made more than 50 weekly trips to San Diego for treatment at the cancer center there, but this trip was harder because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pandemic restrictions prevented my wife from traveling with me, and I could not fly in an airplane because my doctors worried that I might catch the virus. If I got sick, I likely would not survive. Driving by myself was the only option.
My wife and mother called. They were both worried about me. It was going to be a long night.
When my ministering brother, Brother Brough, found out I was in San Diego and was about to drive home, he also became worried. He called to check on me and then organized a phone brigade. He asked several members of our elders quorum to take turns calling and talking to me for an hour. Their calls would keep me company, awake, and alert.
During my 10-hour drive, I enjoyed the companionship of these good brothers as they talked to me. As soon as each hour call ended, we would say our goodbyes. Then my phone would ring again, and I would happily put the new caller on my car speaker phone.
As I thanked each of the callers, they often said, “I am glad I could help. We are here for you, Brother.”
Remembering the kindness of these good brothers who took an hour out of their night to guide me safely home still brings tears to my eyes. It was indeed a long night, but I will always remember our conversations and the love these brothers showed me.

Recently I listened to a courageous sister share how she persevered through difficulties. She had some challenges, and one Sunday she was sitting in Relief Society, listening to a teacher who she thought lived a picture-perfect life—totally different from her own. She was tired and discouraged. She felt like she didn’t measure up—or even belong—so she got up and left, planning to never return to church again. Walking to her car, she felt a distinct impression: “Go into the chapel and listen to the sacrament meeting speaker.” She questioned the prompting but felt it again strongly, so she went into the meeting.
The message was exactly what she needed. She felt the Spirit. She knew the Lord wanted her to stay with Him, to be His disciple, and to attend church, so she did.
Do you know what she was grateful for? That she didn’t give up. She just kept going—with faith in Jesus Christ, even when it stretched her, and she and her family are being abundantly blessed as she presses forward.

After I returned to Samoa, I spoke at a YSA devotional about health. Following the conference, a woman walked up to me to shake my hand and tell me she liked my talk. Lagimanofia had just returned from her mission. From the moment I met her, I felt that she completed me. I had been praying to find someone who could be a companion and who would love and accept me.
As Lagimanofia and I started dating, she cared for me and accepted me, and her family was supportive. We married, and our lives changed forever when we adopted Posenai Jr. God prepared us to adopt him. Having him in our lives has made us very happy.

The hardwood shook to the happy stomping as the boys’ wall swept the girls’ wall into the dance, ending all thought of wallflowers and wallweeds in a magical flash of music.
Cold February moonlight sparkled between pine shadows on the snow outside the rustic dance hall, but inside Hot August reigned as the Mormon dance band by that name made people’s feet itch. The pine trees outside seemed to sway with the rhythm, as happy, well-groomed young men and women all over the floor told a story with their smiles. They had lived the kind of lives that allowed them to meet life with joy, never looking over their shoulders. They were savoring a sweet present unmarred by the past.
The air in Denver, Colorado, is clean and almost telescopic in its clarity, a fitting home for an outstanding group of young Latter-day Saints who, thanks to the gospel, can literally “see forever.” Scattered two or three to a high school, these young men and women are very much in the world, and in order to avoid being of it, they must constantly and steadfastly say no to many things. But they get together often, because whenever they can find a wholesome activity, they lead the world in giving an exuberant, roof-rattling yes! Last February their yes took them into the Rocky Mountains on what they called a winter retreat.
The activity was well named, because winter had retreated deep into the Rockies, pursued by one of the driest years on record. Where snow drifts were normally overhead, they were now underfoot, but the group overtook the elusive white stuff at Snow Mountain Ranch, a YMCA camp about 90 miles out of and up from Denver, and gave it a pounding it will never forget.
The youth of the Denver Colorado Stake met in the afternoon at their stake center, and after a prayer, boarded Greyhound buses. The buses rolled quietly along the freeway for a while through old mining towns, but then they suddenly dropped their tails and soared like eagles on a thermal, back and forth up the face of the solemn old Rockies. At the end of every switchback it was hard to believe how high they were above where they had been seconds before. The night was fueled on song—everything from “Who Are These Children?” to “Granny’s in the Cellar.” There was time for pondering some profound questions too. These young gospel scholars may not know, like their Medieval counterparts, how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but they can tell you with some authority how many young Latter-day Saints can fit on one Greyhound bus seat.
They could tell you some more important things too. One of the young men spoke of President Kimball’s visit to Denver to preside over a solemn assembly in the stake center. This young man had gone early to the center just to see a living prophet as he entered the building.
“I was amazed,” he said. “When President Kimball walked from his car to the building, people just kept driving on by and walking down the sidewalk without even a second glance. They didn’t know who was among them.”
The young Latter-day Saints knew, however, even if most people in Denver didn’t. These young men and women have a great love for their leaders, including the bishoprics and other officers in their own wards.
A sky-high experience was waiting for them at the 10,000-foot camp. They had been scheduled to stay in some dormitories resembling cut-rate bomb shelters, but on arrival they discovered that the camp manager had made special arrangements for them to stay in the nicest accommodations, a lodge that boasted a huge lounge with a fireplace, and comfortable, carpeted rooms. He explained that he had been so impressed with the last group of Mormons to stay at the camp that he knew he could trust LDS youth with the best. The nameless Mormon group who paved the way for this happy surprise will never know the impression they made, but these young people from the Denver area were grateful for their example.
Example is something they know a lot about, because examples are what they have to be at all times. “People expect so much more of you when they know you’re Mormon,” one girl said. “We have to be really strong to live up to our reputation.”
Another young lady said, “I know a lot of guys at school, and you can always tell the active Mormons. They look different. They talk differently. They act differently. They are a lot more concerned and caring about people. They are so much more friendly. They not only don’t do things to hurt people, but they go out of their way not to. They’re not thinking of themselves all the time. Their standards are so much higher. They still have fun, but you can tell that they’re doing what they know is right.”
One young man added, “Once a friend asked me, ‘You can’t drink, you can’t smoke, and you can’t do all those other things. What do you do for fun?’ and I told him, ‘I live! I’m alive and healthy, and I don’t need all that stuff.’”
By constantly living their religion in spite of numerous temptations, they have interested many of their friends in the Church, and as a result some of them have joined.
After checking into their rooms that night (the young men on one floor, the young women on another), the group walked through the moonlight and stillness to the dance hall where Hot August led them in wearing off some shoe leather. When the last dance had ended, the group met in the lounge to sing songs, watch the fire flicker, and eat popcorn. As they sat singing, they could see the snowy hill slanting past their picture window, the cold night washed in moonlight. The scene shimmered like a decanter of distilled Christmas.
Sleep was scheduled next, but it turned out to be a whole new style of sleep, consisting of a lot of radio music, laughing, and visiting with friends. If some of these young people had been around when the English language was being formed, the word sleep might never have been invented.
The next day dawned very cold, and the group began early by standing in line in the snow for what seemed like hours waiting their turn in the cafeteria line, an experience they enjoyed twice more during the day. Fortunately, getting up early was second nature to these young yes-sayers. Every weekday morning most of them start letting their lights shine about 4:30, when the rest of their neighborhoods are dark and silent. At 6:00 they attend early-morning seminary, their favorite class of the day. One of them said: “You’ve got to have a balance. All day long you’re bucking temptation; you’re bucking the world, and if you can start your day with the spiritual uplift of seminary, you feel that you can make it through the day. It gives you the extra momentum you need to get through. Whenever you get down during the day, you can remember what you learned in seminary that morning.”
Between meals the day was spent in several forms of Mormon madness. One was the Wonderful One-Man Plus Team Freestyle Two-Tube Ice-Eating Relays. Theoretically, one man on each team was inserted into the holes of two inflated innertubes, which were then rolled by the team to the end of the skating ice and back again. In reality, once inside the tubes, the man was often grasped by a glove or a boot and dragged unceremoniously over the course in a pretzel-puzzle of man, tube, and flying ice.
While the teams were busy pushing and pulling their hapless tube-jockeys toward the finish line, the spectators took part in a spontaneous Alice in Wonderland sort of ritual that consisted of standing on the sidelines heaving huge snowballs at the contestants as they passed. In between heats the genteel crowd threw snowballs at each other. When the races were over, this pastime degenerated slightly into a general free-for-all snowball fight. Interspersed among these rather formal events, volunteers from the group did freestyle slides on the slippery ice, a hair-raising and bump-raising crowd pleaser.
For a rest there was roller skating at the camp rink and tubing on a kamikaze run about the width of a yawn and a stretch. Hewn out of the thick timber, this chute of packed snow resembled a pinball machine as the riders caromed off mattress-and-haybale-protected trees. They came snaking down in chains of people-heaped tubes, spraying snow and sometimes exploding into tumbles of human snowbanks.
After drying out and warming up that evening, the group listened quietly as three of their bishops and a member of the stake presidency spoke to them of the joy that comes from wholehearted devotion to the gospel. Afterwards, young men and women stood to bear their own testimonies, sometimes speaking frankly of the wrestle they had had with life, and of how the gospel helped them to conquer—sometimes simply of the joy that comes from knowing something so important so surely. They all spoke of their love for one another.
“I have a lot of nonmember friends at school,” one of them said, “and their lives are so different from mine because they don’t know where they’re going, because they haven’t been taught. They’re not aiming for anything. They have no goals. I know what want to do with my life. I know where I’m going.”
As the buses glided down the mountains, back to the mile-high city of Denver, the young people knew they were going back to a world of very real conflicts where they would still have to say no many times to preserve their standards. But they also knew, and everyone with them knew, that whenever the Lord needed someone to vote yes, their voices would be among the happiest and the loudest.

I have a valise which was owned by Robert Redford. (I don’t mean the movie star; I mean my grandfather.) When Grandfather Redford died, Mother and her brothers and sisters gathered together to distribute his personal belongings. Each family member was given a first-choice selection. Unknown to us, Mother prayed that she could have Grandfather’s temple clothes, which he carried in a black valise with the initials R.R. printed on it. Grandfather spent his last years as a temple worker in the Logan Temple.
Mother got her wish.
As a teenager, I thought it strange that Mother would prefer that little black bag to furniture or other items of worldly value. But then I thought of how my mother had taught me the sacredness of the temple long before I could fully understand its meaning. Her attitude about going to the temple and her handling of the temple clothing first caught my attention. Mother was always happy to visit the house of the Lord. What happened inside the temple wasn’t talked about specifically; but I heard parts of the temple vocabulary spoken with great respect, words like sacred, holy, spiritual, pure, celestial, endowments, sealing, the veil.
When I finally went to the temple as a missionary to receive my own endowments, Mother gave Grandfather’s temple clothing to me.
It would be difficult for me to describe my first experience in the temple. It was beyond anything earthly I had witnessed. I didn’t comprehend all that I was taught that night, but the deep feelings instilled in me were sublime. Clothed in the inheritance from my grandfather and accompanied by my mother, I began what was to be a continuum of incomparable spiritual visits to the holy temple. Based upon those experiences, I would like to share with you what I have learned about the temple and what it can mean in your own lives.

This became clear to me some years ago when, as a young father, I needed to purchase some temple clothing. When I entered the store, my attention was drawn to a sign on the counter that read “For Latter-day Saints Only.” The message jolted me. In my mind, an argument ensued. “Why does it say ‘For Latter-day Saints Only’?” I asked myself. “Why doesn’t it say something like ‘For Endowed Church Members’?” Why does it raise this issue of being a “Latter-day Saint”?

The years since have tempered my impetuous nature. That argumentative encounter of long ago has become a treasured, defining moment. The experience taught me that just being a member of this Church is not enough. Nor is merely going through the motions of membership sufficient in this day of cynicism and unbelief. The spirituality and vigilance of a saint are required.

My dream of attending the Air Force Academy was deep-rooted. My father was a career man in the air force, and those summers I spent with him, learning to fly, and becoming familiar with everything about air force life, were some of the greatest experiences I’ve had. My parents divorced when I was quite young, so I didn’t get to see my father very often, and those times when we were together were very important to me.
During my junior year in high school, I made my official application for the Academy appointment. School was going well for me; I was getting good grades; I was active in my priests quorum; and in the spring of that year, I was elected student-body president. The possibility of receiving an Academy appointment looked better and better. As much as I wanted it, though, one thought kept repeating itself in my mind: “You should go on a mission.” I knew President Kimball had counseled that every young man in the Church should fulfill a mission, but I felt my case was an exception. If I accepted a mission call, my chances of ever entering the Academy would be very poor, since most cadets went in immediately after high school graduation. I also felt that living a good LDS life while at the Academy would, in a sense, be a mission in itself. Despite my reasoning, however, the prompting continued, and so did my efforts to squelch it.
After school was out, I flew to Virginia to spend the summer with my dad, who is not a member of the Church. Discussing with him the likelihood of winning an appointment made the prospect even more exciting. Dad’s encouragement was motivating, and I returned to Lewiston even more determined to make him proud of me, his son, the future Air Force Academy cadet! The summer had done a fairly good job of deadening my thoughts of serving a mission, but almost the first Sunday I was home, those old, unwelcome feelings began to stir. I realize now that the Holy Ghost was working overtime on me, and since then I have gained a strong testimony of the power of his influence. Every single day my thoughts were occupied with thoughts of the Academy versus a mission. I began reading my patriarchal blessing frequently; it said that when the time came, I would serve a mission. Still, my desires were with the Academy, and I was becoming more and more confused.
During these months I spent a lot of time talking to my former bishop, Bishop Tolman, trying to sort out my feelings and decide what I should do. He didn’t try to influence my decision, but told me he would support me in whatever I decided. His confidence in me was a great support. As I prayed for guidance in making the right decision, I felt assurance that I would.
Then on October 10, 1976, as I was sitting in testimony meeting, I suddenly knew that I had to go on a mission and that the Academy would have to wait. I had in my jacket pocket a missionary handbook that had been distributed in priests quorum meetings months and months before. I took it out and wrote in Spanish (so no one else would know what I was writing), “When I’m 19, I’ll go on a mission.” I recorded the date, and then I put it away. I didn’t think about it again for a couple of weeks. I’d made my decision, and my conscience wasn’t working quite as hard.
It was just about this time that the nominations to the Academy were being announced. I was named. It was a little hard to explain to some of my friends and teachers that what I had worked for for years, now a reality, was going to be turned down. I talked to Bishop Tolman for about an hour and a half. He said, “Chris, I really think you’ll be happy with this decision. I believe you’ve made the right one.” As we talked I began to have a desire to serve a mission rather than just a feeling of obligation.
Then the time came to tell my dad. I didn’t know what to do. I felt sure that he would never be able to understand or accept my decision. To him the air force was everything, and I knew that when I told him, it would be the last time I’d ever talk to him. I prayed constantly for the courage to tell him, that somehow he would be able to accept it.
When I heard his voice on the other end of the line, I nearly hung up the telephone. Somehow, though, the words came out. After I told him, there was at least a full 30 seconds of total silence. I had expected anger and disappointment, but the silence was even more unnerving. Finally he spoke: “Well, Chris, just what is a mission?” He asked me what I would be required to do, how long it would be, where I was going. After listening to my explanation he said firmly, “If that’s what you really want, then I’ll support your decision.” It completely surprised me; I couldn’t talk. I gave the phone to my mother and went downstairs to my room.
Since that time my dad and I have kept a regular correspondence going, and he has even offered to help support me financially. My gratitude to him has increased tremendously as I have come to realize more than ever before his great love for me.
I’ve had times since our conversation when I’ve thought, “I had the Academy in my grasp, and I let it go, and now I’ll never get it again.” Those times, though, aren’t very long-lasting and are few and far between. I realize that I won’t die if I don’t get to go to the Academy and that serving a mission is what the Lord wants me to do. I’m excited about it, and nothing will keep me from serving the best that I can!
Editor’s Note: This story was written prior to Elder Henderson’s departure for the mission field. He is now serving in the Korea Seoul Mission.

David O. McKay was the prophet of my youth. When I was born, President McKay had served as the President and Prophet of the Church for four years. I was 13 years old when President McKay passed away. I have a very clear memory of my parents taking my siblings and me to Salt Lake City on a cold January evening for the public viewing of President McKay. We stood in a long, winding line, slowly moving forward in order to quietly walk past his casket and have one final look at him. That is a powerful memory for me.

Kelly and her mom walked up to the church building and looked around. It was beautiful, with palm trees swaying outside. The sign on the building said, “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”—in three different languages: Malay, Chinese, and English!
Kelly didn’t know much about Jesus Christ. And she had never been to church before. Her mom’s friend, Liza, went to church here. She had invited Kelly and her mom to come with her.
As they went inside, people smiled and said hello. Everyone was so nice. Kelly and Mom followed Liza upstairs to a big room. Liza said it was called a chapel.
Kelly sat down next to Mom and Liza in a row of chairs, and soon church started. She listened to the music. She liked how it made her feel, even though she didn’t know the words.
At the end of the meeting, a woman got up to say a prayer. Kelly looked around as everyone else folded their arms and closed their eyes. She still felt something really good inside. What was it? It felt different than anything she had felt before!
As they left the church later, Kelly told Mom about the feeling she’d had during the prayer.
“Well,” Mom said, “I didn’t feel anything special.”
But Kelly kept thinking about how she’d felt at church. She had liked the prayer. And she had liked hearing about Jesus.
“Can the missionaries teach me?” Kelly asked Mom. “I want to learn more.”
“If that’s what you want to do, that’s fine,” Mom said.
The missionaries taught Kelly how to pray and how to read the scriptures. They taught her about Jesus and how He loves us. Kelly liked what she was learning.
One day the missionaries gave her a special challenge.
“Will you try to pray during the week?” asked Elder Parker.
Up until now, Kelly had only prayed with the missionaries. But she wanted to try it on her own. She knew Heavenly Father was always listening, and He wanted to hear from her.
“I’ll do it,” she promised.
The next day at school was a special one. Kelly was going to sing in a competition! She had learned a beautiful new Chinese song. Learning all the notes and tones had been hard work! She had practiced and practiced and practiced.
Now that it was time to perform, Kelly was nervous. She pulled out the picture of Jesus she had put in the pocket of her school uniform that morning. She decided to say a prayer, like the missionaries had shown her. “Heavenly Father, please help me let go of my nervousness,” she prayed. “In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”
Then Kelly stepped out onto the stage. She stared at the audience and the judges. She thought about the picture of Jesus in her pocket and felt a little bit better. She took a deep breath and started to sing.
She sang all the words just like she had practiced. As she sang the last note and took a bow, Kelly knew Heavenly Father had heard her prayer and helped her.
With a smile, Kelly walked off the stage. She couldn’t wait to tell the missionaries about what happened! She knew she wanted to keep praying every day.

In 1997, I was serving as the President of the Europe North Area of the Church and was living in England. Elder Monte J. Brough, then of the Presidency of the Seventy and the Executive Director of the Family History Department, was assigned to come to England and together we were charged to go to the Public Records Office in London and there discuss our Church's work with the 1851 British census. We needed to show them what had been accomplished and also conduct some negotiations for some future Family History research work that we, as a Church, wished to do.

Elder Brough demonstrated how to access these data on the CDs that our people had produced. He then asked the several professional English genealogists present if any of them had an ancestor living in 1851 in any of the counties where the census had taken place. None could think of anyone to search for.

Elder Brough had anticipated such an event and so he said that he knew of a man living in England at that time. His name was Isaac Haight, incidentally a great uncle of Elder David B. Haight then a member of the Twelve. The name was entered into the computer and sure enough, it was in the data base. He was identified as an American missionary living in lodgings in the city of Birmingham. Again, Elder Brough asked if anyone had a name that they would like to search. Again, there was no response. I had not seen the data before, but remembered that my great-great grandparents, John and Mary Godsall, should have been living there at that time. I therefore asked that their names be searched and immediately, they were identified. I knew with certainty that these were my ancestors because as I looked at their children, I was able to identify my great grandmother, Susannah, who later was to become a pioneer traveling in the wagon train that accompanied the Martin handcart company.

Not only did I find their names, I learned that my great-great grandfather was a leather worker, something I didn't know, and also the address where they lived in Birmingham, just a few miles from where I was then living. In addition, I learned that there was a missionary lodger living in their home. His name was Isaac Haight! I am sure that our British friends thought that this was orchestrated. I do believe it was arranged for us to learn these things, but it was not done by Elder Brough or by me.

I visited the address we found in the census information and the old, old house was still standing. In the Church records at our English headquarters, I was able to find much about my ancestors' service in the Church before they emigrated to America in the 1850s that I had never known. Again, my heart has been turned to the fathers as the scriptures foretold.

Riiiing!
Tony grinned as he stood up from his desk. It was finally time for recess!
Other kids ran past him toward the playground, but Tony hung back. He was waiting for Sean. Sean was new to Tony’s class. Maybe they could play together.
“Hey, Sean!” Tony said. “Do you like basketball?”
“Like it? I love it!” Sean said.
“Awesome.” Tony grinned. “Come on. Let’s play!”
Tony and Sean spent the whole recess dribbling, passing, and shooting hoops.
“That was fun!” Tony said as they walked back into the classroom. “You’re really good.”
“Thanks,” Sean said. “It’s fun to play with someone who likes basketball as much as I do!”
Every day after that, Tony and Sean played basketball together at recess. They practiced different plays they made up and perfected their dribbling. Tony loved the swoosh the basket made when the ball fell through the net.
“Here you go!” Tony called. He passed Sean the ball. Sean caught it and jumped to score. Tony noticed a flap hanging down from one of Sean’s shoes.
The basketball bounced off the rim of the hoop. “Oh, almost,” Tony said. “Good try!”
“Thanks,” Sean said. “I think I could play a little better if it weren’t for my shoes.” He laughed as he lifted up his shoe for Tony to see. “I’m going to get some new ones as soon as my dad finds a new job.”
Tony smiled. “But if you get new shoes, you’ll beat me every time!” he teased. “I won’t stand a chance!”
As Tony walked home from school that afternoon, he thought about Sean walking home with a shoe that was falling apart. Tony knew it wouldn’t only be hard to play basketball in those shoes. With the weather changing, Sean’s feet would be cold! Tony wondered if there was something he could do to help.
“Ready for bed?” Dad asked Tony later that night.
“Yeah,” Tony said. “I was just thinking. You know my friend Sean, who I play basketball with at recess? His shoes are wearing out. He needs to wait until his dad gets a job before he can get some new ones. I’d really like to help him out somehow.”
“That’s a great idea,” Dad said. “Why don’t we say a prayer? I know Heavenly Father will help you know what you can do.”
Tony nodded and knelt down with Dad to pray.
The next morning as Tony was getting ready for school, he noticed something in his closet. It was a pair of extra tennis shoes from his older brother! Tony hadn’t worn them yet because they were still a little too big. He had forgotten all about them!
I wonder if these will fit Sean, Tony thought. He put the shoes in his backpack, zipped it up, and hurried off to school.
“Hey.” Tony walked up to Sean and held up the shoes. ”I found these in my closet. They don’t fit me, and I wondered if they might fit you.”
“Wow. Thanks so much!” Sean slipped them on and tied the laces. “They fit great!”
Tony felt happy. He knew Heavenly Father had heard his prayer to know how to help his new friend. “Race you to the basketball court!”

I was at the grocery store with my mom and my brothers. We got to the checkout stand, and my mom was paying for our groceries. I saw that my two-year-old brother was holding a bag of doughnuts that my mom forgot to pay for. Before we left the checkout line, I told my mom that she had forgotten to pay for the doughnuts. She was thankful that I had been honest, and I felt very happy that I did the right thing by speaking up.

When I was 17 years old, I had a strong desire to see a Latter-day Saint temple. I lived in Denmark with my family, where at that time there was no temple. For Saints living in Denmark, the closest temples were in Switzerland and England. I didn’t know anyone in those nations, so traveling to either country by myself was out of the question.
But because I had family in Utah, I decided to save money so I could visit and do baptisms for the dead in the Salt Lake Temple. I wrote my aunt and cousins in Utah to see if it was all right if I came for a visit. They were excited to hear of my plans.
A year later I had finally saved enough money for my long-awaited trip. A few days after I arrived in Utah, my aunt drove me to the Salt Lake Temple. I was thrilled to see it in person and excited to do baptisms for the dead. When I got to the entrance, however, a temple worker asked to see my temple recommend. No one had ever told me about a temple recommend! The worker kindly explained what a temple recommend is and told me that I could get one from my bishop.
My heart sank. I would have to be content with visiting relatives and seeing the temple from the outside.
During fast and testimony meeting the following Sunday, I felt the need to share my testimony, telling the congregation how blessed they were to live so close to a temple. I also said I would have loved to have gone inside but couldn’t because I didn’t have a recommend, though I had always been taught to live worthily. I closed my testimony by encouraging the members to attend the temple as often as they could.
After church, my relatives’ bishop approached me and said he would try to help me get a temple recommend, and we set up an interview. During the interview, he asked me if my bishop spoke English. I said no. He replied, “And I don’t speak Danish.” My heart sank again.
But the bishop said, “You have come this far; let’s not give up just yet. I know the Lord will help us. We just have to have faith.”
He then asked for my bishop’s phone number in Denmark, which I happened to have with me. I was surprised to hear my bishop’s son answer the phone. He told me he had just returned from his mission to England. When I told the American bishop, he said, “Perfect. He can translate for us.”
Soon all four of us were on the phone—my bishop giving me a recommend interview, his son translating for the American bishop. Before long I had my recommend and was finally able to enter the temple! I cannot put into words the joy I felt knowing that the Lord had opened the way for me.
I was later married in the temple and have been blessed with four beautiful children. I am so thankful Heavenly Father has given us temples, and I’m grateful to know that I am sealed to my family and that, if we live righteously, we can be together forever.

Kirkland Ward, Seattle East Stake youth were inspired to “learn more” about the gospel when two full-time missionaries substituted in teaching Sunday School. A series of missionary firesides were started with the young people bringing their nonmember friends to hear the missionary lessons. The crowds grew, testimonies were strengthened, and the Church has gained many new converts. “I was taught by the youth and converted by the spirit,” said Mary Trimble, a new member, “and it’s great that this ward is this enthusiastic about their religion.” Sunny Schubert said, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every ward would spread the truth this way also? We youth loved it”

My family and I were on our way to attend my dad’s high school class reunion in Park City, Montana, when the accident happened.
Halfway to Park City, my parents decided to stop and camp for the night. My dad asked my two older brothers, Bob and Dan, to gather wood and start a fire. He gave each of them a couple of matches. When Dan scraped his match against a stone, the flaming tip broke off and hit his eye, burning it badly before bouncing away. He cried out in terrible pain. My dad tried to comfort him, and my mom held ice on his eye to stop the burning.
When my brother had calmed down, my parents looked at his eye. Their worst fears were confirmed when they saw that the color of Dan’s eye was no longer brown, but completely white. They covered his eye and made him as comfortable as possible.
We climbed into the car and headed for Helena, the nearest town, where my brother was immediately taken to an eye specialist. After the exam, the specialist told my parents that Dan was blind in the damaged eye.
He gave Dan some medicine to put in his eye and a patch to keep the eye clean and protected. He told my parents to go to the class reunion and then bring Dan in for another exam on the way home.
After we received the bad news, my dad gathered us together and announced that our family would fast the next 24 hours for Dan’s full recovery. The day went by quickly as we concentrated on Dan and his need for comfort and healing. I believed that whatever the outcome, the Lord loved Dan and would help him.
My dad had tears streaming down his face when he gave Dan a priesthood blessing. It was the most beautiful blessing of healing I have ever heard. My dad told Dan that the Lord loved him and had many things for him to do in this life. He also told him he would need both of his eyes to complete his mission on earth, that his eye would heal, and that his vision would be fully restored. During the blessing, we all felt the Spirit and knew that God was mindful of us, especially of my brother during this trial.
When we returned to Helena, the eye specialist invited us into his examination room, where he again looked at Dan’s injured eye. He asked my parents if they were sure that this eye was the injured one. He said the eye he examined had to be the wrong eye because it was perfectly normal. Perplexed, he then checked Dan’s other eye. It, too, was normal. The specialist told my parents that it was impossible for an eye to heal like that. He had no explanation for it.
But we knew what had happened. The power of the priesthood, coupled with fervent prayer, faith, fasting, and an acceptance of the Lord’s will, had brought down the blessings of heaven.

It’s tough making the right choices when you’re 15 years old. But when your decisions affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, the pressure gets a little greater. That was the situation facing Amy Arreátegui Pozo when she was selected from 123 students to be the mayor of Trujillo, Peru, the third largest city in the country. Mayor for a day, that is.
When Amy was a Mia Maid in the Mousserat Ward, Trujillo Perú Laureles Stake, she attended a secondary school called the Academy of Engineering. “One of my goals,” says Amy, “was to become the student mayor [like a student-body president] from this school, and I did. That was my dream. My next goal was to win the ‘Mayor for a Day’ contest, and here I am. I finally made it. What helped me win was my confidence in myself.”
Of course, showing that she had a lot of great ideas about improving schools and neighborhoods in the city also helped. Coming up with these ideas for the contest was a lot of work, but deciding which ones to include was pretty easy. To decide, Amy used a method she’s come to depend on—a method that has given her the confidence she talks about. It’s the process of asking and receiving answers through prayer.
“Always go to Heavenly Father when you’re making a decision, and you will always make the right choice,” Amy says. That’s one reason she could handle the responsibility so well when the city of Trujillo issued the resolution recognizing her as “mayor for a day.” The city council acted to accept her activities during her 24 hours as mayor. All contracts, decisions, and authorizations would be legally binding.

A little boy and his father were flying a kite on a windy day. As the kite rose higher, it tugged on the connecting string in the little boy’s hand. The boy thought they should cut the string to let the kite rise higher.
His wise father said no. He said the string is what holds the kite in place. If we lose our hold on the string, the kite will not rise higher. It will be carried about by the winds and crash to the earth.
The string is like the covenants, or promises, that connect us to Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. We honor those covenants by keeping the commandments and following Their plan for us. As we do, Their promised blessings can help us soar to celestial heights.
Covenants tie us to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Read each scripture to learn about a different covenant. Then draw a line from the scripture to the matching picture to make a string for each kite!
Mosiah 18:10
Doctrine and Covenants 20:75–79
Doctrine and Covenants 132:19
Illustrations by Melissa Manwill Kashiwagi

Shortly after Joseph F. Smith’s birth, a company of men broke into the Smith home. His mother Mary was ill at the time and his father Hyrum was in jail. Ransacking the house, the men entered the room where the baby slept and, without realizing it, threw bedding on top of him. They would have been surprised if they had known a baby was hidden by their actions.
Everyone was relieved when the men finally left the home. After a few minutes Mary remembered Joseph, and she and her sister Mercy ran to check on him. When they saw what had happened they were fearful the baby had smothered. Fortunately, their frantic efforts to revive him were successful.

Being brought up in the Church, I was always told by my friends and family that this was the true church. I never really denied it, but I never really bothered to find out for myself either. I just assumed it was true because everything pretty much made sense and my parents and everyone else seemed so sincere about it.
I had always planned to go on a mission, partially because I felt I was expected to and also because I felt I needed to. After I had received my mission call and before I was about to enter the Missionary Training Center, I really began to think and wonder about the truthfulness of the Church. I had never prayed to my Heavenly Father about knowing the truth, and now I was so close to going on my mission I felt I didn’t have the courage to ask. It was as if I was denying the truth.
When I entered the MTC, I did so with high spirits and was happy to be there. I was enjoying the knowledge I was gaining, but in the back of my mind the thought still lingered. I needed to know for myself if the gospel was true, but I continued to push the thought farther back in my head.
One day my teacher finished giving a great lesson. He then bore his testimony and challenged each of us to find out and pray for ourselves. I was almost in shock, feeling the lesson was aimed specifically at me. That night after our companionship prayer, I knelt down and asked Heavenly Father to help me know that what I was doing was right and that the Church was true.
I finished my prayer and waited and waited. Feeling nothing, I became discouraged and went to bed.
A couple of days later, I was doing my daily scripture study when I came across this scripture: “Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks;
“Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.
“Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord” (D&C 98:1–3).
These verses really helped me understand the need for patience. A few days later at a fireside, we were talking about our prophets. I’m not the emotional type, but I’ll never forget that night. The Spirit was so strong in the room, and it was the first time I had ever felt the Spirit so strongly. Toward the conclusion, all the missionaries stood and sang “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet.” While we were singing, they had a movie on the screen showing pictures of the prophets. I was overwhelmed, choked up, and warm inside. I knew the Holy Ghost was testifying to me the truth, and that the prophet was leading the true Church.
I recently returned from serving my mission in the Tucson Arizona Mission. I am so grateful for that special day in the MTC. I realized it’s never too late or early to pray about the truth. I learned patience while also learning the Lord will answer our prayers.

In 2018, I was privileged to be assigned by President M. Russell Ballard to visit a stake in Utah. The time I spent in that stake president’s home, and being with him and his wife, truly inspired me.

I was able to hear the life story of Ruth and Lee Hall.

Ruth grew up in the Sugar House area of Salt Lake City. Her parents grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico . . . and came to the United States when they were in their late-teens and early twenties.

Lee lived mainly in Murray, Utah. They met in 1998 when both attended more than two years of Institute at the Salt Lake Community College. They also participated in the Institute Choir. In fact, Ruth didn’t know Lee was in the choir until she met him.

Ruth started to get to know Lee at an activity for a choir group that they both sang in. She asked Lee to a dance that weekend, about five minutes after meeting him. (Lee is convinced that she had a bet with her friends to see who could ask out the biggest loser at the party… and she won for sure. She denies that to this day.) They hit it off quickly and were engaged to be married by the end of July of that year. They were married on December 3, 1998, eight months after they first met.

So yes, for those who are prayerfully seeking an eternal companion, you may get an eternal dividend when you faithfully enroll and attend Institute and all organized activities, just like these two young single adults did. Their love for learning about the Lord brought them together and they were happily married.

Sickness
Less than one year after they were married, Ruth started feeling extremely sick, passing out for no apparent reason. She also had pain in her abdomen. Her gallbladder was removed, and they thought that was the end of her troubles. For the next year or so, they went to dozens of doctor appointments, and had many tests done – but no one could figure out what was wrong with her. The couple recalls that it was a very frustrating experience, and scary at the same time. Finally, they found a particularly good doctor who wasn’t going to give up his search for her diagnosis until he had figured it out.

In 2001, Ruth was diagnosed with a very rare, chronic condition known as gastroparesis, otherwise known as paralyzed stomach.

This condition affects the stomach by preventing it from emptying properly. Food goes in but doesn’t want to move anywhere else through the digestive tract. It’s like a broken garbage disposal.

There is currently no cure for this condition. Ruth must be nourished via IV. In 2003 she had a G-tube placed in her stomach to help drain it. Ruth is nauseous 99.9% of her life . . . She has a hole in her side where a tube drains her stomach and helps to relieve some of the symptoms. She carries a drainage bag with her 100% of the time. It’s about the size of a small messenger bag.

Ruth’s lifestyle changed dramatically. She was homebound and bedridden. She could not cook, she could not drive, she could not do much of anything. She felt like a burden. There were times she felt her faith was not strong enough because she wasn’t healing.

One of the biggest issues with this illness is that Ruth’s immune system is very weak because she doesn’t get proper nutrition. Her body picks up many illnesses that are going around . . . and every year she can count on contracting the flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, sinus infections, and other sicknesses.

Lessons They Learnt Thus Far
Yet, throughout the years, Ruth and Lee have personally witnessed the Lord’s tender mercies. Their hearts have been changed, healed, and the words of faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ have been written DEEPLY into their hearts. They have received the marvelous gift of the Savior’s Atonement. A gift that has no expiration date.

The Savior of all humanity suffered and experienced every infirmity, every heartbreak, and the pain of every sin that each person will experience while here on earth. He has felt EVERYTHING that we all feel. And because of that He has perfect empathy.

Ruth testifies: “I know He sent His Only Begotten and perfect Son to Atone for me; to Atone for all of us . . . and I am grateful to know I am not my illness. I am a daughter of God. [We] are all sons and daughters of God. And He loves us.”

Knowing that Ruth and Lee can choose to be happy is empowering.

Ruth stated: “Heavenly Father has blessed me in the best way. He knows I need a husband who is both compassionate and challenges me. Lee married a healthy woman, and he is so patient with a wife who is now chronically ill.”

Lee has taught Ruth through his actions and words that they can still be happy, even through trials and challenges, because he follows the Savior. He has chosen to be happy rather than feel sorry for himself, and recognizes life is a blessing. They laugh a lot together and appreciate the small and simple things. They learnt from one of Sister Linda K. Burton’s talks, “Being thankful is a much more gratifying way to live – “Thee Lift Me and I’ll Lift Thee, and We’ll Ascend Together”[1]

Lee says: “Ruth is an amazing woman! Despite all that she goes through, she has a fantastic attitude. You will rarely see her down or feeling sorry for herself. She is always thinking about what she can do for others. She brightens up the room with her contagious good attitude. People love being around her. We have been married for almost 23 years now, and we have dealt with this illness for nearly 22 of those years. We have tried to make it so this experience makes us stronger together, versus tearing us apart . . . and it has worked! We have worked very hard as a couple to not let it get us down or define us.”

Ruth is still sick and limited. She’s since had other medical procedures. She still wakes up almost every day feeling nauseated. Ruth gets tired very easily, but they don’t let that get them down. A few years ago, they bought a wheelchair, and Lee rolls her around all over when they travel so they can experience more together. They adapt and make the best of any situation.

Ruth still has bad days. She still can’t eat very much. They still don’t have children, but they have 29 nieces and nephews. They try to be the best aunt and uncle they can. About every other year, they take two of them to Orlando and let them experience the theme parks.

Lee and Ruth feel in no other way could they have received some of their blessings had it not been for this illness, recognizing the tender mercies along the way, never feeling alone, trusting, and knowing that God has a plan. They constantly rely on the Lord because they cannot do this alone. They know if they obey the Lord, He will strengthen them, and everything will work for their good. This brings them peace and comfort.

They are so grateful to know Heavenly Father has provided them with a strong support group, a loving and patient family; and for Ruth, an eternal companion who sees her worth in times when she cannot. They are blessed with friends who are not only pillars of strength, but who are also wonderful examples.

They strive to live as directed in Doctrine and Covenants 123:17.

“Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.” [2]

Called To Serve As Bishop
Lee was called to be second counselor in their ward’s bishopric in 2005, two years after the G-tube was placed in Ruth’s stomach.

Ruth was weak and very ill. An infection had also spread throughout Ruth’s blood stream caused by a PICC line. (It is a catheter that enters the body through the skin at the bend of the elbow, extends to the larger vein, and stays in place – it dwells within the veins).

A friend visited Ruth one day while she was listening to the hymn, “Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd”[3] and gave her a cute wood block with Elder Neal A. Maxwell’s quote inscribed on it: “Faith in God includes Faith in His timing.”[4] This quote changed her thinking to an ‘exaltation’ perspective.

Around the same time, Lee was interviewed by his stake president to be the bishop. Accepting the call, he was reminded, that as an under shepherd, you are dear to the Heart of the Good Shepherd.

Lee was a little worried because he had never heard of someone being called as a bishop who didn’t have children of his own. However, those worries were quickly put to rest as he and Ruth jumped in and served with all their hearts. Not having children helped them relate to members in all kinds of family situations . . . including singles and couples without children. It has turned out to be a tremendous blessing being able to serve as a priesthood leader with his unique circumstances, experiences, and gifts. He is finding ways to “father” the members of their ward, by listening, counseling, and encouraging, one by one, in the Savior’s way.

Ruth wrote in her journal on Sunday June 27, 2010, quote: “I stumbled upon Mosiah 24:14 ‘And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.’ After reading this verse, I knew we were going to be fine. I know that He will ease my burdens and He only asks that I stand as a witness. The Lord does visit His people in their afflictions.”

Sure enough, Christ was there to help ease their burdens through a loving support group, and Ruth was blessed with better health as Lee ministered and served.

Called To Serve As Stake President
In March 2014; 16 years into marriage, Lee and Ruth felt something was about to change in their lives . . . again. On a Saturday morning, Lee had an appointment with two visiting authorities. A little later, that day, Lee was called to be stake president. He was again reminded, as an under-shepherd you are dear to the heart of the Good Shepherd. With her current medical condition, Ruth read a message from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, which perfectly describes her feelings of Lee being called to be stake president.

"I believe we have all been created for greater things than we can comprehend . . . The past is to be learned from but not lived in. We look back to claim the embers from glowing experiences but not the ashes. And when we have learned what we need to learn and have brought with us the best that we have experienced, then we look ahead; we remember that faith is always pointed toward the future."[5]

Lee verbalized his thoughts, “We are all enlisted ‘til the conflict is o’er. Happy are we.” Lee also expressed his enthusiasm of hastening the work of the Lord, together.

Both Lee and Ruth felt gratitude and love, knowing that this is where the Lord wants them to be at this time in their lives, and they move forward with faith and feel blessed to take this journey together.

This story of Ruth and Lee depicts their knowledge and understanding, that despite their circumstances, they are “Dear to the Heart of the [Good] Shepherd”