Gospel Story Finder

I was asked to give a talk in Primary. I was so nervous that my hands started sweating. When I gave my talk, I felt better thinking about Jesus and how He loves us. After I got home, I realized my talk could help teach other people about the gospel.
Davyn M., age 9, Alberta, Canada

Though in good health now, Elder Hales has suffered two heart attacks. At the general conference after his second heart attack, he said: “I’m happy for every day that I am here. I have felt a renewal of my willingness to consecrate everything I am and everything I have as repayment for all the good things that have happened in my life. I have a renewed appreciation for everybody and everything” (Ensign, May 1992, page 63).

Brother Newry’s specialty is carpentry. Twenty years ago, he was offered a government scholarship to attend a technical college anywhere in the United States. He remembers: “I looked through all the catalogs. Then I prayed and chose Utah Technical College. The government officials asked me why I chose Utah. They told me the Mormons didn’t like blacks. But I was set on attending college in Utah.”
At Utah Technical College (now Utah Valley State College), he met some Church members who became his friends. He also discovered that his roommate was a less-active member. Brother Newry wanted to attend a Latter-day Saint Church meeting, so he insisted that his roommate get up and take him to church. Of course, he was introduced to the missionaries.
“I told the missionaries,” says Brother Newry, “that I had some questions I wanted them to answer before we discussed their religion. I wanted to know: Where did I come from? Why are there no prophets? Where am I going? Where did Christ go after his death?” The full-time missionaries broke into big smiles. When they answered his questions, Brother Newry said, “Now I know your church is true.”

Ron Rasband never doubted that he would serve a full-time mission. The only question the 19-year-old had while opening his mission call was where he would serve.
“My dad went on a mission to Germany. My older brother went on a mission to Germany. My future brother-in-law went on a mission to Germany,” he recalls. “I thought I was going to Germany.”
But the Lord had other plans. Ron had been called, instead, to the Eastern States Mission, headquartered in New York City, USA. Disappointed, he took his call to his bedroom, knelt by his bed, said a prayer, randomly opened his scriptures, and began reading:
“Behold, and lo, I have much people in this place, in the regions round about; and an effectual door shall be opened in the regions round about in this eastern land.
“Therefore, I, the Lord, have suffered you to come unto this place; for thus it was expedient in me for the salvation of souls” (D&C 100:3–4; emphasis added).
Immediately, the Holy Ghost confirmed to Ron that his call to the Eastern States Mission was no mistake.
“I went from being disappointed to having my first of many scriptural impressions that this is where the Lord wanted me to go,” he recalls. “That was a pivotal spiritual experience for me.”

In his chubby little hands
He clutched them
As he ran,
Running the lumpy ground,
Lumpy with apples
And crabgrass, behind him,
And under the blossoming trees,
Cupping the smooth,
Blue of them,
He scampered home,
Home to show someone,
While beaming proudly.
Heart beating,
Blood pounding,
Eyelashes fluttering
And blue eyes bright
With excitement.
Then mother scolds
For stealing
What he thought
He had found:
Just strange, funny,
Blue rocks.
She softly explains
That a living thing with
A heart beating,
Blood pounding,
And a faint pulse fluttering,
Sleeps inside.
Confused,
Disappointed,
Holding them gently
Now, looser now,
He carries them,
Walking over the
Cloddy orchard ground,
To the tree,
Where a red-breasted bird
Flits wild and frantic,
Around and down.
Its heart beating,
Blood pounding,
Wings fluttering,
Looking for the children
Dressed in
Eggshell blue.

During his long life of service in the Church, Elder Kimball knew all the presidents of the Church from Brigham Young through Heber J. Grant. His second mission in the South gave him several opportunities to meet President Wilford Woodruff during that period.
"I remember when I was presiding over the Southern States mission: for two years of that time I brought home two emigrations a year, and when I went to the President’s office to report, that great Prophet, the President of the Church, Wilford Woodruff, who was interested in me, said, ‘Brother Kimball, sit down a minute.’ We only had a few minutes—it didn’t take five minutes. He told me more than once: ‘Now, Brother Kimball, I have had visions, I have had revelations, … but the greatest of all is that still small voice.’ Any elder who has gone out and kept the commandments of God, knows he has heard that word behind him saying: ‘This is the way, walk ye in it, when you turn to the right and when you turn to the left’" (in Conference Report, Apr. 1924, p. 70).

The story is told that one Sunday Calvin Coolidge, onetime president of the United States and a man noted for few words, returned from church. His wife asked him what the preacher spoke about. He replied, “Sin.” “What did he say?” she asked. “He was against it,” was his reply.

As soon as Sister McKee was well, we started sharing the presentation with some of the people we were teaching as a supplement to the discussions. Our most spiritual experience was with the Aranda family. The Arandas wouldn’t commit to baptism even though they were praying and reading and asking questions. We decided to make a final effort. We would share our presentation about the Savior with them.
So began one of the most unforgettable experiences of my mission. As we gave the presentation, Sister McKee and I could hardly read our parts because our emotion was so great. When it was over, no one dared to break the silence and interrupt the peace that had filled the room. Brother Aranda had his head down. When he finally spoke, his eyes were filled with tears. “I don’t know what it is that I am feeling here”—he pointed to his chest—“but it is so strong, so wonderful, that I can’t express it.”
When we returned a few days later, the Arandas had decided to be baptized.

Some of you may be familiar with Thornton Wilder’s classic drama Our Town. If you are, you will remember the town of Grover’s Corners, where the story takes place. In the play Emily Webb dies in childbirth, and we read of the lonely grief of her young husband, George, left with their four-year-old son. Emily does not wish to rest in peace; she wants to experience again the joys of her life. She is granted the privilege of returning to earth and reliving her 12th birthday. At first it is exciting to be young again, but the excitement wears off quickly. The day holds no joy now that Emily knows what is in store for the future. It is unbearably painful to realize how unaware she had been of the meaning and wonder of life while she was alive. Before returning to her resting place, Emily laments, “Do … human beings ever realize life while they live it—every, every minute?”

Not too many years thereafter I was called as a junior companion to a home teacher. There were times when it was so cold or stormy that I wanted to stay home and be comfortable, but in my mind’s ear I could hear my little lamb bleating, and I knew I needed to be a good shepherd and go with my senior companion. In all those many years, whenever I have had a desire to shirk my duties, there would come to me a remembrance of how sorry I was that night so many years ago when I had not been a good shepherd. I have not always done everything I should have, but I have tried.

One of the leading box office stars of today lamented: “The boundaries of permissiveness have been extended to the limit. The last film I did was filthy. I thought it was filthy when I read the script, and I still think it’s filthy; but the studio tried it out at a Friday night sneak preview and the audience screamed its approval.”

We were studying the Book of Mormon in seminary, and I had learned many things. I read every night. At first I read just because I was supposed to. Later on it was a habit, and then I was reading because I wanted to.
I learned more from the scriptures during that time in my life than I had ever imagined. I was almost finished with the Book of Mormon, and I knew the big question would be coming soon: Is the Book of Mormon true?
Late one night I finished reading the Book of Mormon. I had read it cover to cover. I knelt down beside my bed and asked with a sincere heart with a desire to know the answer to that one question. After I finished my prayer, I sat there for a minute and waited. Then it hit me. The warm, peaceful answer. Right then I knew the Book of Mormon was true. I ran upstairs to tell my parents. I stood in their doorway, and I started crying because I knew in my heart the Book of Mormon was the true word of God. That was the happiest night of my life. I cannot deny the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon.
Jennifer Harrison,Wellsville First Ward, Wellsville Utah Stake

A few weeks ago I was present as a young woman rose to be sustained in a sacrament meeting as the assistant coordinator of visiting teaching, a position I did not know existed. I wondered if she knew what a tribute the Lord had paid her. Because of a restless child, she had to leave the meeting before I could tell her how much the Lord would love and appreciate her for her help coordinating the efforts of His disciples.

The woman was old and ragged and gray
And bent with the chill of the Winter’s day.
The street was wet with a recent snow,
And the woman’s feet were aged and slow.
She stood at the crossing and waited long,
Alone, uncared for, amid the throng
Of human beings who passed her by
Nor heeded the glance of her anxious eye.
Down the street, with laughter and shout,
Glad in the freedom of “school let out,”
Came the boys like a flock of sheep,
Hailing the snow piled white and deep. …
[One] paused beside her and whispered low,
“I’ll help you cross, if you wish to go. …
She’s somebody’s mother, boys, you know,
For all she’s aged and poor and slow,
“And I hope some fellow will lend a hand
To help my mother, you understand,
If ever she’s poor and old and gray,
When her own dear boy is far away.”
And “somebody’s mother” bowed low her head
In her home that night, and the prayer she said
Was, “God, be kind to the noble boy
Who is somebody’s son, and pride and joy!”
(Mary Dow Brine, “Somebody’s Mother,” in The Best Loved Poems of the American People, Garden City, New York: Garden City Books, 1936, pp. 374–75).

About six years ago, the influence of Jesus Christ entered my heart, and a small sprout of faith began to grow and get stronger each day. Later my Savior gave me the blessing of finding and becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church has been in my city of Saratov, Russia, only a few years. But it has grown quickly, and those who have joined the Church know that we are not alone. We are all part of a big family of loving Church members.
Anna Ulyanova,Engels Branch, Russia Samara Mission

When I was 10 years old, I was on a swim team. One day when I was leaving the pool, I noticed something on the ground. It was a wallet. I picked it up and looked inside. There was about $250 in it.
I wanted to keep it and almost decided that I should. But I prayed for Heavenly Father’s help to guide me to the right decision. The Spirit prompted me to take the wallet inside to the front desk. Even though I really wanted the money, I gave the wallet to the lady at the desk, and she thanked me. I’m glad I made the right decision.

Gaining a Testimony
Brad Barber, 14, Farragut Ward
It was about two years ago, and our family was driving home from Utah. I was talking to my mom. I had heard a bunch of people say that they had this burning feeling and they knew the Church was true. I told her that I had never felt anything like that. I asked her if I was too young to have something like that happen. She said I wasn’t too young. That night at the motel, when I was getting ready for bed, I prayed real hard about it. I asked the Lord if the Church was really true and if it was the right place for me to be. As soon as I was done, I felt that feeling that I had always heard about in sacrament meeting. I felt a warmness and happiness that said, “Everything’s okay.” It was peacefulness. I’ve heard it called a burning inside your chest. I guess that’s what it feels like. It makes you feel at ease with everything.

One day a man in the ward stopped by to sell Spencer’s father a load of pumpkins for pig feed.
Man: Do I hear Spencer singing? Your boy must be happy.
Spencer’s father: Yes, he is happy, clean, and obedient. He will become a mighty man in the Church.

Now, once you receive it, be obedient to the promptings you receive. I learned a sobering lesson as a mission president. I was also a General Authority. I had been prompted several times, for the good of the work, to release one of my counselors. Besides praying about it, I had reasoned that it was the right thing to do. But I did not do it. I feared that it would injure a man who had given long service to the Church.
The Spirit withdrew from me. I could get no promptings on who should be called as a counselor should I release him. It lasted for several weeks. My prayers seemed to be contained within the room where I offered them. I tried a number of alternate ways to arrange the work, but to no avail. Finally, I did as I was bidden to do by the Spirit. Immediately, the gift returned! Oh, the exquisite sweetness to have the gift again. You know it, for you have it, the gift of the Holy Ghost. And the brother was not injured, indeed he was greatly blessed and immediately thereafter the work prospered.

Valeria Pontelli of Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina, didn’t set out to convert her friend. She simply lived her standards with conviction. Because she is a member of the Church, there were certain things she did and certain things she didn’t do, and all her friends knew it. One of those friends was Paula Alvarez, who always watched Valeria closely and was impressed with how faithfully and consistently she lived her beliefs.
Paula had a wonderful family, but they didn’t have the gospel—at least not until Valeria came on the scene. Paula remembers, “Valeria was not ashamed of the testimony she had. She knew who she was. She knew she was a daughter of a royal and eternal King, a daughter of God.”
That knowledge and confidence impressed Paula’s uncle, Moises. He began investigating the Church and meeting with the missionaries. The day he announced he was getting baptized, Paula was a little shocked. She hadn’t expected her uncle to be willing to make such big changes in his life.
The whole family was invited to the baptism, but Paula was hesitant to attend. She didn’t know what to expect. Finally, her family convinced her to accompany them to her uncle’s baptism. Paula remembers, “As we witnessed my uncle entering the waters of baptism, the Spirit touched my heart. The impact was deep, even undeniable. In that moment I also wanted to commit myself to God and do whatever He might ask of me.”