Gospel Story Finder

“I have seen the Lord’s hand countless times in my life, but my biggest testimony comes from a trial I have endured for 10 years.
“I became pregnant with my second daughter but miscarried at seven weeks. I remember crying and pleading with the Lord but thought, ‘Surely our Savior has a greater plan for this baby than what I need right now.’ The following year I became pregnant and then miscarried again. I asked, ‘God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ (Matthew 27:46).
“Eventually, we miraculously got pregnant and had a healthy baby girl.
“But this was not the end of this trial. Unfortunately, we ended up having four more consecutive miscarriages.
“After moving to a new area and getting a new provider, I was diagnosed with a blood-clotting disorder. With this information, my doctor and I made a plan. I went on to have two perfectly healthy children!
“The Lord’s timing is perfect. This lesson has been the hardest one I’ve ever had to learn. He prepares the way for you and puts people and experiences in your life to strengthen you.”

Elder Neal A Maxwell (1926–2004), a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, related a similar experience, though much more intense than mine. While he was enduring debilitating treatment for leukaemia, the Lord whispered to him: “I have given you leukemia that you might teach my people with authenticity.”1

“I think this is the best we’ve ever done,” said Johnny Apel, 16. And that’s a pretty big compliment. After all, this is a stake that sponsors memorable activities at the end of each seminary year that correspond with the book of scriptures they’ve been studying. They’ve put on things like a “Nephite Festival” that was their version of a county fair in the land of Bountiful, complete with a realistically simulated earthquake and storm, followed by a beautiful talk on Third Nephi.

July 1
Dear Sarah,
After Lindsay came home, Mom had to spend a lot of time caring for her, and I helped a lot around the house, I didn’t have much time for the garden. I didn’t go all week, and when I finally got over there on Saturday, Mr. Trujillo was really sad. About half of our tomato plants were gone. Gophers got them. They just burrow underneath and pull the plants down—one day you see them, and the next day you don’t. He said he didn’t know how to get rid of the gophers. He was afraid to put out poison because pets might get into it. And he didn’t want to flush the gophers out and bash them over the head the way some people do. He’s really a nice man.
I told him I’d pray about it, and he kind of smiled and patted my head. On Sunday I fasted and prayed for Lindsay to get all well and for a solution to the gopher problem.
Monday morning I thought of Billy Swenson who lives down by the river. Remember him? He’s the kid who has live traps and catches squirrels and stuff up in the canyon. I went to see him, and we made a deal. He said that he’d come and trap the gophers and turn them loose down by the river if I would give him some tomatoes, three pumpkins, and two watermelons when they’re ready.
Mr. Trujillo was pretty surprised and happy. He looked at me in that puzzled way he does sometimes.
It took Billy four days to get all the gophers, but they’re gone. Yesterday we set out more tomato plants.
Love,Angela the Problem Solver

For example, one young man began his scripture study by asking, “How do God’s attributes compare to the characteristics that I possessed in the premortal life? that I possess now? that I hope to possess in the next life?” He wrote down the answers to these questions as he found them in the scriptures and used them to teach others about the plan of salvation.

In 1967 Norman elected to join a religious service fraternity, and I worried that this would be one more barrier to his conversion. Strenuously, I told my objections, telling him it would lead to further prejudice against the Church. When he said he was not prejudiced, I asked, “Are you tolerant enough to go to church with me?” He didn’t answer, but later that day he said that if I really wanted him to attend, he would. So he began attending the investigators’ class in Sunday School, and within a year he was also attending sacrament meeting. Of course, the boys and I were delighted, and we will be forever grateful to the ward members for the way they welcomed him and made him a part of the ward. But through that year I could sense a great struggle going on inside him. He questioned many doctrines. (Later, when we asked him what was most instrumental in his conversion, he said that his family meant more to him than anything else, and this church’s family orientation was a strong appeal. Second, he was unable to prove the gospel wrong, so decided it must be right.) I was also gratified that we were invited to many social activities in the homes of ward members, and Norman found that we could enjoy ourselves without the need for alcoholic drinks. He also supported both boys on missions and gave brief talks in sacrament meeting prior to their leaving.

Usually, we sit in two or three rows for our Young Women lesson, and our teacher stands in the front. But one Sunday our teacher had us move our chairs around a circular table. For some reason sitting in a circle made it feel like we could talk to one another instead of only speaking to the teacher. We all felt like we were actually sisters, not just students. In fact, before the lesson even began, one young woman said, “I feel like we’re family right now.”
That Sunday, the lesson was on the Atonement. Our teacher started by passing out copies of a general conference talk. She asked us to circle words that describe the Savior. We called out the words we were circling so others could circle them. After that, our teacher spoke briefly about the Atonement and then turned to me and asked if I had anything to say. I don’t remember what I said, but afterward all the young women started talking to one another. We had a conversation! We were talking about our Savior and His sacrifice as a group of friends.
After a while, the conversation slowed down and we just sat in silence, enjoying the Spirit.
This lesson was remarkable. Because I participated, I felt the Spirit strongly and the lesson became a part of me. I had a testimony of the Atonement before, but this lesson reminded me that the Savior is real and that the Atonement and the gospel are about love. I now have a stronger love for my peers—Church members and those who are not members—and I want to share the gospel with everyone so they can know the blessings of the Atonement. Doing something about a lesson—whether it’s commenting in class or writing in your journal—changes you.

When I was 15 years old, my beloved older brother, Joe, was 20—the age of eligibility then to serve a mission. In the United States, because of the Korean conflict, very few were allowed to serve. Only one could be called from each ward per year. It was a surprise when our bishop asked Joe to explore this possibility with our father. Joe had been preparing applications for medical school. Our father, who was not active in the Church, had made financial preparations to help him and was not in favor of Joe going on a mission. Dad suggested that Joe could do more good by going to medical school. This was a huge issue in our family.
In a remarkable discussion with my wise and exemplary older brother, we concluded that his decision on whether to serve a mission and delay his education depended on three questions: (1) Is Jesus Christ divine? (2) Is the Book of Mormon the word of God? and (3) Is Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration? If the answer to these questions was yes, it was clear that Joe could do more good taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world than becoming a doctor at an earlier date.
That night I prayed fervently and with real intent. The Spirit, in an undeniably powerful way, confirmed to me that the answer to all three of these questions was yes. This was a seminal event for me. I realized that every decision I would make for the rest of my life would be influenced by these truths. I also knew that I would serve a mission if given the opportunity. Over a lifetime of service and spiritual experiences, I have come to understand that true conversion is the result of the conscious acceptance of the will of God and that we can be guided in our actions by the Holy Ghost.
I already had a testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ as Savior of the world. That night I received a spiritual testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Prophet Joseph Smith.

Recently I visited the Missionary Training Center at Provo, Utah, where missionaries who have been called to serve throughout the world are devotedly learning the fundamentals of the languages spoken by the people to whom they shall teach and testify.
Vaguely familiar to me were the conversations in Spanish, French, German, and Swedish. Totally foreign to me and perhaps to most of the missionaries were the sounds of Japanese, Chinese, and Finnish. One marvels at the devotion and total concentration of these young men and women as they grapple with the unfamiliar and learn the difficult.
I am told that on occasion when a missionary in training feels that the Spanish he is called upon to master appears overwhelming or just too hard to learn, he is placed during the luncheon break next to missionaries studying the complex languages of the Orient. He listens. Suddenly Spanish becomes not too overpowering, and he eagerly returns to his study.

Anything can happen when eleven little turtles hatch one warm day and have to travel a short distance to the turtle pond. This story is easy to read and has lovely soft, realistic illustrations.

“One day as I was praying, the Spirit impressed me to thank Heavenly Father for the prophets who wrote the Book of Mormon,” says Ruth Roess of Castaic, California. “Have you ever been praying and had your heart so full of joy and peace and thanksgiving and humility that you didn’t want it ever to end? And the prayer is so beautiful that you wonder where it came from? And you feel so close to Heavenly Father that your very soul just cries out? Well, that is what happened to me as I gave thanks for the Book of Mormon prophets.”

Elsewhere, members assisted with distribution when the Church’s Humanitarian Services donated 211 wheelchairs to individuals with special needs. The ongoing donation in Brazil now totals nearly 700 chairs.

Even though Alicia Settle must rely on her motorized wheelchair to get around, it didn’t stop her from going to the Oakland California Temple to do baptisms for the dead. She went in response to the bishop’s assignment that all worthy members of the ward participate in temple work on their ward’s temple day. Alicia was able to perform the task with the help of her ward leaders and classmates and some advance planning.
Alicia is a member of the Milpitas First Ward, San Jose California Stake.

When you committed to that high standard and met it, the Lord was building a trust and strength in you that would be there when you needed it, whenever you were called to serve a cause higher than self-interest. I felt it one bright spring day on a lawn. I was being commissioned to defend my country. We were not then at war, but I was heading for an unknown service that I knew would require all I had to offer, perhaps my life. I raised my right hand with the others to pledge that I would defend my country with “true faith and allegiance” and that “I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.”

I have no doubt that the power to keep that promise, which I kept, had been forged in me from the time I was a deacon.

Krishna Carpenter was selected as a member of the NJCAA All-American volleyball team. Kris, who plays on the Ricks College team, was surprised and pleased by the selection. The Ricks volleyball team captured both the district and regional championships. They went on to place sixth in national competition. Kris received all-conference and all-regional honors, but the highlight was being named to the first team All-American squad. She was one of only eight to be so honored in the nation.
Kris, originally from Burley, Idaho, participated in both basketball and volleyball in high school. But when she started her freshman year at Ricks, she concentrated on volleyball and has been very successful.
Kris has been encouraged in athletics by her older brothers, and her younger sister may be following in her footsteps. Kris enjoys tutoring special education students and plans to make that her major in college.

Primary children in the Tlaxcallan Ward, Chiautempan Mexico Stake, set apart two days to visit and serve widowed sisters and other families in the ward. They sang hymns, helped feed the chickens, and did housework in some of the homes.

Esther and her Merrie Miss classmates have a hard time liking Janet. She is a bully and often calls them embarrassing names at school. When they try to fellowship her, she accuses them of trying to bribe her to come to Primary. The teacher realizes that Janet must have a point, so she asks the girls to think about what Jesus Christ would do. Esther’s mother gives her some good advice that she later shares with the Merrie Miss class. Even though it won’t be easy, the girls agree that they need to pray for Janet and to try to make her their friend. However, when Esther invites her to play kickball, Janet walks off, sneering, “That’s a sissy game.”
I flinched and had to remind myself to be patient. I just hoped that it wouldn’t take another ten years for her to change her behavior.
Mandi called to Janet to come and sit with us in the lunchroom. Janet gave her a look of surprise but went to another table.
The rest of the week, we tried to get her to join us in some kind of activity, but she never did.
On Sunday we reported our lack of success to Sister Card. She said, “I’m glad that you are trying so hard. Don’t get discouraged. It may take Janet a while to understand that you really want to be her friends.”
The next week in school, Mrs. Shell moved Janet into the desk next to mine. Janet leaned over and whispered in my ear, “I hope those freckles aren’t catchy. One polka-dot face is enough in this classroom.”
I could feel the red creep up my neck and into my cheeks. “Please, Heavenly Father,” I prayed, “help me ignore this remark and be nice to Janet.”
And the answer came. “Don’t worry,” I whispered back, “I’m not contagious anymore.”
She looked surprised, and then she actually smiled at me! I felt triumphant. That was the first friendly response she’d given me since she’d moved here.
As we began our math assignment, I noticed her drawing pictures instead of doing the problems. “Aren’t you going to do your assignment?” I whispered.
“Me? Do an assignment?” she whispered back. “I don’t do math assignments.”
I was going to ask why, but I saw Mrs. Shell looking at us. I went back to working on my own assignment.
The next day, I again noticed that Janet didn’t even make an effort to work on her math assignment. After school, I touched her arm and, speaking softly, said, “Janet, if you don’t start doing your math assignments, Mrs. Shell may not promote you to the sixth grade. She’s a pretty strict teacher.”
“Oh, I’ll take my chances—I’ve always made it before.”
I was really puzzled by her attitude. That evening I told Dad about it. He said, “Maybe she doesn’t know how to do the math. Rather than admit her lack of knowledge, she might be pretending that she doesn’t care.”
That possibility had never crossed my mind. Maybeshe really doesn’t know how, I thought. I wonder if she would let me help her. “There’s only one way to find out,” I mumbled out loud to myself.
The next day I asked Mrs. Shell if Janet and I could work on our math together. Surprised, Mrs. Shell said, “I’ll be glad to let you work with Janet, provided you work. You can use the table in the back of the room so that you don’t disturb the others.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Shell.” I started to walk away.
“Esther, does Janet know about this?”
“Not yet,” I confessed.
“I hope it works,” she said with an encouraging smile.
I wasn’t sure how I was going to get Janet to do math with me, but it was much easier than I expected. When I told her that Mrs. Shell said we could do our math at the table in the back of the room, she just grinned, got up, and went back there.
I soon discovered, however, that she had no intention of doing math. She was drawing a picture of a horse. It was really quite good, but I knew that she was supposed to be doing math, not drawing.
I didn’t know what to do. Then an idea came into my mind. “Janet,” I said, “I’ll help you get your math assignment done if you’ll show me how to draw a horse like that.”
“Do you like it?” she asked shyly.
I was surprised at her sudden change in manner. “Yes,” I answered truthfully. “It’s really good.”
Again came the shy smile. “I’ll show you how to draw a horse,” she said, “but I don’t think you can help me with math.”
“Why not? Anyone who can draw a horse like that can learn to do math.”
“You don’t understand,” Janet said. She looked embarrassed. “I can’t even do simple add-and-subtract. When I was in first grade, we moved three times. When I was in second grade, we moved five times. It was hard enough for me to learn to read. I didn’t get around to learning arithmetic.”
Dad was right, but I didn’t know what to say next. Then almost as if I could hear someone telling it to me out loud, another idea came into my head. “I’ll help you memorize the math facts,” I said. “You’re smart, I can tell, so it won’t take you long. Then you’ll be able to do the assignments.”
Suddenly the old Janet returned. “Why do you want to help me? I can just hear you telling everyone what a dummy I am.”
“Come on, Janet,” I said. “I wouldn’t do that. Besides, I really do want you to teach me how to draw a horse.”
“Well,” she said, struggling not to smile, “I guess we could try it and see how it goes.”
“I think we ought to tell Mrs. Shell, so she can help too.”
Janet’s face fell. “I’d rather have just you help me,” she said. “Teachers make me nervous.”
“OK. I’ll make some flash cards with addition and subtraction facts on them, and you can be memorizing them a few at a time while I do the math assignment. Then I’ll quiz you to see if you know them.”
That was the beginning. Janet was very quick. She learned all the addition and subtraction facts in two weeks. I told Mrs. Shell what I was doing, and she was excited to know that Janet was willing to learn. She gave me lots of help and ideas.
Janet still called me Redhead-Wet-the-Bed when other kids were around, but somehow it didn’t seem so bad anymore. I knew she liked me, because she actually came over to my house after school sometimes to help me learn to draw, or so I could help her with her math.
Mrs. Shell displayed some of Janet’s drawings in the front hall by the principal’s office. Janet looked proud!
One Sunday as I went to my Merrie Miss class, I heard the familiar greeting—but with a slight change: “Hey, Redhead-Stay-in-Bed!” Janet stood there grinning from ear to ear, pointing at the gold heart necklace around her neck.
I laughed as I walked over to her. “Oh, Janet, now our class really is complete!”
Christina and Mandi were right behind me. We all laughed together.

As a teenager, I didn’t like going to church, so I didn’t know much about the Bible or about God, nor did I want to. When I was 17, a friend of mine told me she was a Mormon. I had no idea what a Mormon was. I told my friend, “If I want to know anything about that church, I’ll find out on my own.”
Seeing that I wasn’t too concerned about religion, she gave me a Book of Mormon and asked me to read it and pray about it. She didn’t pressure me. Later that night as I opened the book, I noticed her testimony written in the front. As I read it, I felt that I should learn more about the Book of Mormon. So I started reading 1 Nephi. I could not put the book down. I needed to know more.
In a family home evening, her family taught me about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everything seemed to make sense. Soon I was taught by the missionaries and baptized and confirmed a member of the Lord’s true Church. The gospel helped me know who I am, where I came from, and where I could go if I am faithful.
As I look back, I can see how the Holy Ghost helped me want to learn more. As I learned more, my attitude about church and God changed. For the first time in my life, I wanted to do what He wanted me to do.
The Book of Mormon changed my life, and I’m thankful for my friend who shared it with me. A true friend shares vital information such as this.
Michael P., Ohio, USA

April told us her mother had died of a drug overdose when April was 14. April lived on the streets and had a baby she placed for adoption when she was 15. She struggled with her own drug addiction, started dealing drugs, and was eventually sent to prison.
“One day I wondered why I was even alive,” April said. “It wouldn’t have made a difference if I died. No one knew I was in prison. No one would even know I was gone.” She then prayed and asked God if He knew who she was.
The following week, a counselor in the prison handed her a letter from the girl she had placed for adoption.
“God must be looking out for you,” the counselor said.
“I write to my daughter now, and she visited me once,” April said. “I don’t know much about religion, but I know that God cares about me because He answered my prayer.”
After April shared her story, we all sat quietly with tears in our eyes.

I think it’s funny
To watch a bunny
Wiggle his ears and nose.
He looks around
On the garden ground,
Then hops—and off he goes!