Clear All Filters

Describe what you're looking for in natural language and our AI will find the perfect stories for you.

Can't decide what to read? Let us pick a story at random from our entire collection.

Showing 71,254 stories (page 38 of 3563)

โ€œThem That Honour Me I Will Honourโ€

As LeGrand Richards left for college, his father, George F. Richards, expressed complete trust in him and his brother. The sons felt deep pride and responsibility from their father's words. LeGrand later said that this trust strengthened their resolve not to disappoint him.
When Elder LeGrand Richards left to attend college, his father, George F. Richards, said to him and his brother, George F. Jr., โ€œI would trust you two to go anywhere I would go myself.โ€ Their hearts swelled with love and pride in his words. LeGrand later said, โ€œThey put rods of steel in our spines, and we couldnโ€™t do anything that would disappoint him.โ€
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค General Authorities (Modern) ๐Ÿ‘ค Parents ๐Ÿ‘ค Young Adults
Agency and Accountability Education Family Love Obedience Parenting

Latter-Day Saint Missionaries Give Saint Lucia Youth Something to Smile About

Missionaries David and Theresa Nish noticed poor oral hygiene among children in Saint Lucia and initiated a Dental Hygiene Project. They enlisted Church departments, young Latter-day Saint volunteers, government, and schools to procure and assemble 3,200 kits and teach children. As they organized lessons and distributed kits, school leaders expressed overwhelming gratitude. The Nishes reflect that their service comes together over time through the Lordโ€™s guidance.
When missionary couple David and Theresa Nish, from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, noticed a need for improved oral hygiene for children living in Saint Lucia, they knew it was time to do something about it.
Enlisting the help of the Churchโ€™s Welfare and Self-Reliance Services Department, young Latter-day Saint volunteers, the Saint Lucia Government and local school administrators, the Dental Hygiene Project was born.
The young women were given the responsibility of purchasing the supplies needed for the dental hygiene kits. They began by enquiring at various shops to find the best value for their money.
Eventually 3,200 toothbrushes, 3,200 tubes of toothpaste and 3,200 plastic cups were purchased and then assembled into 3,200 zipper-lock plastic bags for distribution by the Nishes to local primary schools.
The project was funded by Latter-day Saint Charities which receives donations from Latter-day Saints and others around the world.
โ€œThere are few dental facilities or clinics in the communities,โ€ Sister Nish says. โ€œAnd when they get dental decay and their teeth fall out, that is it, they donโ€™t have any more teeth.โ€
โ€œWe found they werenโ€™t brushing their teeth adequatelyโ€ David says. โ€œWe realized if we got involved at the primary school level there was probably a better chance for children to understand about oral hygiene.โ€
The Dental Hygiene Project has been moving forward since January 2020 under the direction of the couple, and now includes primary and special-ed schools.
The Nishesโ€™ work with school leaders to set up appointments to teach the children and distribute the dental hygiene kits.
They delight the younger children with role play and stories that teach why brushing your teeth is important.
โ€œThe response and gratitude from the local school administrators for the Churchโ€™s help has been overwhelming,โ€ David said. โ€œMost were astounded that we gave the dental kits out with no strings attached.โ€
The Dental Hygiene Project is one of many service projects with which the couple have been involved. Missionaries for just over a year in Saint Lucia, the Nishes spend their days and most evenings looking for ways to serve the people.
โ€œWe work with people. We talk to people, we hear what their problems are,' Sister Nish says.
Elder Nish continued, โ€œA lot of what we doโ€”we donโ€™t know why we do it at the timeโ€”but a month or two or three months down the line it just all seems to fall into place. It really is not us, itโ€™s the Lord working through us.โ€
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Missionaries ๐Ÿ‘ค Youth ๐Ÿ‘ค Children ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General) ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Charity Children Education Gratitude Health Missionary Work Self-Reliance Service Young Women

The Stern but Sweet Seventh Commandment

The speaker heard a psychologist on national television argue that society should lower its ethics because behavior no longer fits old standards. The psychologist claimed abstinence was unrealistic and encouraged heavy petting as a substitute, focusing mainly on avoiding pregnancy. The speaker counters by recalling a scriptural warning about justifying sin.
The other day on national television I heard a psychologist pushing the notion that, since the old ethics of our American society are no longer reconcilable with our behavior, we ought to adjust our ethics downward. My mind at once recalled another age and another advocate who pushed the carnally convenient notion that โ€œwhatsoever a man did was no crimeโ€ (Alma 30:17).

This psychologist was saying, in effect, that because young people mature today at 12, on the average, and donโ€™t marry, on the average, until they are 22, the idea of abstaining from fornication and associated wrongs is unrealistic. With the avoidance of pregnancy seemingly being the only real challenge for this psychologist, very heavy petting was encouraged and all the things associated with it as a safe substitute.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Agency and Accountability Chastity Dating and Courtship Sin Temptation Truth Virtue

The Visitor

At age 18, while preparing for a mission, the narrator was called by his bishop to teach the Sunbeams. Through time and patience, he learned to love the children more than himself and to keep seven of them attentive during simple lessons.
When I was 18, as I was preparing to serve a mission, my bishop called me to teach the Sunbeams. I had never before learned to love others more than myself until I had served those children in such a simple assignment. With time and patience I learned how to keep those seven children in their seats and listening to a simple lesson.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Church Leaders (Local) ๐Ÿ‘ค Young Adults ๐Ÿ‘ค Children
Bishop Charity Children Love Missionary Work Patience Service Teaching the Gospel Young Men

Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives

After nearly 60 years of marriage, his wife Dantzel unexpectedly passed away in 2005. He experienced immobilizing grief, but the Easter message and promise of resurrection sustained him.
In 2005, after nearly 60 years of marriage, my dear Dantzel was unexpectedly called home. For a season, my grief was almost immobilizing. But the message of Easter and the promise of resurrection sustained me.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค General Authorities (Modern) ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Death Easter Grief Hope Marriage

Answers to Prayer

As a teenage boy, the narrator found his six-week-old sister, Carol, gravely ill with whooping cough late at night. His father awaited a neighbor to help give her a priesthood blessing; she seemed to have stopped breathing. He watched as the blessing was given and she began breathing again, confirming to him the reality of the priesthood and that their prayers were answered.
As a teenage boy I watched my six-week-old sister, Carol, struggle with whooping cough at a time when there were no antibiotics. I came home one night from having been a grease monkey [mechanic] at a bus depot and saw the light was on. It was about four oโ€™clock in the morning. I knew it meant trouble. As I came in, Carol was laid out on the round dining room table, and Dad was waiting for a neighbor to come to join in blessing her. I thought she was gone. It seemed to me she had quit breathing. Then I watched the power of the priesthood, and I watched her start breathing again. That experience let me know the reality of the priesthood at a very young age. Our prayers for her were answered.

Some prayers are answered dramatically, as with Carol. With others we must wait. But if we do that, in those waiting moments there will come to us special things.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค General Authorities (Modern) ๐Ÿ‘ค Parents ๐Ÿ‘ค Children
Children Faith Family Health Miracles Patience Prayer Priesthood Priesthood Blessing Testimony

Elder Ulisses Soares: A Man without Guile

As a boy, Gustavo disobeyed his parents and slipped away to a neighborhood festival. His father found him in the crowd and hugged him instead of scolding. They later spoke seriously but respectfully, leaving Gustavo feeling protected and loved.
Gustavo, the Soaresesโ€™ oldest child, remembers the night when, as a boy, he disobeyed his parents and slipped away to check out an annual celebration in their Sรฃo Paulo neighborhood known as Festa Junina.

โ€œI was in the middle of a large crowd having a good time when I heard an announcer call me up to the front,โ€ he says. โ€œThatโ€™s when I saw my dad.โ€

His parents had been worried sick, but rather than scold Gustavo, Ulisses hugged him tight.

โ€œWe had a serious conversation about me getting lost, but my parents treated me with respect,โ€ Gustavo recalls. โ€œI felt protected, and I knew that they really loved me.โ€
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค General Authorities (Modern) ๐Ÿ‘ค Parents ๐Ÿ‘ค Children
Agency and Accountability Children Family Kindness Love Mercy Parenting

Take a Stand

Youth from the Anoka and Minneapolis stakes held a joint conference themed after President Hinckleyโ€™s book. Guided by For the Strength of Youth, they served, attended workshops, and bore testimonies. Recognizing challenges in living standards, they decided to firmly take a stand for simple, important standards.
The youth had a recent joint youth conference titled โ€œStanding for Something,โ€ named after the title of President Gordon B. Hinckleyโ€™s book. Using For the Strength of Youth as a guide, the Anoka and Minneapolis youth served, participated in workshops, and bore their testimonies. They agree that although the standards of the Church are good and important, itโ€™s not always easy to live them. But they also agree that the more they obey those standards, the easier it is to have high standards and to form a solid foundation on which to build the rest of their lives. So the youth of these stakes decided to take a stand for some simple, but important, standards.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Youth
Commandments Faith Obedience Service Testimony Young Men Young Women

It Is a Privilege

A Vietnamese refugee received a small card with a picture and address while in a camp near Seattle. Later, he used it to request placement and was instead sent nearby to live with a Latter-day Saint family in Salt Lake City. There he learned the gospel; the card turned out to be a picture of the MTC, where he now was preparing to serve.
An elder told of traveling from Vietnam and arriving at a refugee camp near Seattle, Washington. While trying to learn English so he could live in the United States, someone gave him a small card with a picture and an address on it. He kept it for some reason. Later, when he was asked where he wanted to live he showed this card to the customs official. โ€œI canโ€™t send you there,โ€ he was told โ€œbut I can send you to a place nearby.โ€ He was sent to live with a Latter-day Saint family in Salt Lake City where he learned about the Church. As he finished telling me this story, he showed the card he had been given in the refugee camp. It was a picture of the MTC. โ€œI am here, President,โ€ he said. Like the others, he thought it was a privilege to go on a mission.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Missionaries ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General) ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Adversity Conversion Diversity and Unity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family Missionary Work

Finding My Choctaw Ancestors

While participating in baptisms for the dead and later speaking to a Logan ward during a temple session, the author felt profound gratitude from Choctaw ancestors. She experienced a vivid sense of light and joy and connected her sonโ€™s dream of โ€œbreadโ€ to offering the bread of life through temple work.
I believe that many members of the Choctaw Nation who lived during the early 1800s have accepted the temple work completed in their behalf. As I participated in baptisms for the dead one Saturday morning, I felt their gratitude. During one particular temple session, I was asked to speak to the members of a Logan ward. While we sat together in the templeโ€™s chapel, I told them the story behind the names they carried that night. I remember that temple session as one of the most sacred I ever attended.
I recall feeling a vivid sense of light and joy at one particular point in the session. I thought of my sonโ€™s dream. My friends and neighbors were now giving the โ€œbread of lifeโ€ to those who had asked for it. I again felt that those whose work we were performing, though unseen, were grateful for the opportunity to accept the gospel. Though they had once walked the โ€œTrail of Tears,โ€ now they could walk the straight and narrow path of joy that leads to eternal life.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General) ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Baptisms for the Dead Diversity and Unity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Gratitude Ordinances Reverence Temples

The Tender Mercies of the Lord

A stake priesthood leader memorized the names of all youth using photo flash cards. He later dreamed of one young man serving as a missionary, then approached him and shared the dream. The young man, moved to tears, said it meant that God knew who he was, and they began meeting periodically.
Some time ago I spoke with a priesthood leader who was prompted to memorize the names of all of the youth ages 13 to 21 in his stake. Using snapshots of the young men and women, he created flash cards that he reviewed while traveling on business and at other times. This priesthood leader quickly learned all of the names of the youth.

One night the priesthood leader had a dream about one of the young men whom he knew only from a picture. In the dream he saw the young man dressed in a white shirt and wearing a missionary name tag. With a companion seated at his side, the young man was teaching a family. The young man held the Book of Mormon in his hand, and he looked as if he were testifying of the truthfulness of the book. The priesthood leader then awoke from his dream.

At an ensuing priesthood gathering, the leader approached the young man he had seen in his dream and asked to talk with him for a few minutes. After a brief introduction, the leader called the young man by name and said: โ€œI am not a dreamer. I have never had a dream about a single member of this stake, except for you. I am going to tell you about my dream, and then I would like you to help me understand what it means.โ€

The priesthood leader recounted the dream and asked the young man about its meaning. Choking with emotion, the young man simply replied, โ€œIt means God knows who I am.โ€ The remainder of the conversation between this young man and his priesthood leader was most meaningful, and they agreed to meet and counsel together from time to time during the following months.

That young man received the Lordโ€™s tender mercies through an inspired priesthood leader. I repeat again, the Lordโ€™s tender mercies do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Faithfulness and obedience enable us to receive these important gifts and, frequently, the Lordโ€™s timing helps us to recognize them.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Church Leaders (Local) ๐Ÿ‘ค Youth ๐Ÿ‘ค Missionaries
Book of Mormon Faith Ministering Missionary Work Priesthood Revelation Testimony Young Men

Merry Milly Mollycot

Merry Milly Mollycot decides on May 1 to leave her chores and create May Day baskets. She gathers natural materials from the forest, weaves baskets, fills them with flowers, and hangs them around town. Townspeople admire the surprise, and Milly joyfully reveals herself, dancing as they cheer.
Merry Milly Mollycot,
Upon the first of May,
Shook out her sheets and swept the floor
And then was heard to say,
โ€œMy work is done, Iโ€™ll do no more;
Iโ€™m tired of toil and taskets.
Iโ€™m off into the forest lands
To make some May Day baskets!โ€
And off she went a-tripping light
Where trees stood all around,
And various things and sundry
Were growing from the ground.
She took some bark, she took some moss,
She took some leaves and tendrils;
She took some threads from fern fronds
And tender willow bendrils.
And these she wove this way and that
And shaped them square and rounded,
Then piled them high with posies sweet
That in the grass she founded.
Then Merry Milly Mollycot,
She hung her baskets high
Upon the lamp posts of the town
Where every passerby
Could see them and admire them
And say with smiling eyes,
โ€œThese must be Merry Millyโ€™s workโ€”
A First-of-May surprise!โ€
Merry Milly Mollycot,
She grinned a Cheshire grin
And chuckled so her dimples
Kept ducking out and in.
Then up she danced a hornypipe
And sang, โ€œI am the lady
Who made these bits of handiwork
To welcome in sweet May Day!โ€
And then she bowed and curtsied,
Turned a cartwheel on the spot,
While all the people laughed and cheered
For Milly Mollycot.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Happiness Kindness Music Service

Edified by the Spirit

A newly called institute teacher in Brazil struggled when his first class fell short and he felt inadequate. Determined not to give up, he studied, fasted, and prayed but still felt anxious before the second class. During the opening hymn and prayer, he pleaded for help and then felt the Spirit, becoming calm and able to teach as prepared. He finished grateful, having learned that the Spirit can edify when we persevere in callings.
My first experience as an institute teacher was a disaster. I had taken an entire week to prepare my lesson. But before class began, I forgot many of the things I wanted to say, and my one-hour lesson lasted only 30 minutes.
When the branch president called me to be an institute teacher in the Fatima Branch, Joinville Brazil Stake, I felt uncertain about my abilities. But I did not want to refuse the call to serve. So I prepared myself by studying the scriptures and praying to Heavenly Father for help with my new challenge. But after that first class I wondered if I was cut out to be an institute teacher.
However, despite the discouragement I felt, a voice within me insisted, โ€œDonโ€™t give up.โ€ So I again immersed myself in the scriptures, fasted, and prayed for help to overcome my inadequacies.
When the hour of the second class arrived, my anxiety about teaching had not abated. I wondered why I didnโ€™t feel the comforting influence of the Holy Ghost. I welcomed everyone, and the class sang an opening hymn. During the hymn, a battle raged within me. Would I be able to perform my duties as a teacher? Would the Lord magnify my abilities? Would the students be edified by the Spirit? At the peak of my insecurity, I cried out in my heart: O God, where art Thou? I need Thy help.
A class member offered the prayer, and I arose to begin the class. As I spoke, I felt the Spirit and immediately experienced a transformation within myselfโ€”I no longer felt nervous, my voice became calm, and the words flowed from my mouth. I was able to remember everything I had prepared.
When class ended, I felt happy with how the lesson had gone and grateful to Heavenly Father for His help. I could not stop thanking Him.
I have learned that by the Spirit all members of a class can be edified. When we accept callings and persevere in spite of difficulties, we are not alone in our efforts.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General) ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Leaders (Local)
Faith Fasting and Fast Offerings Gratitude Holy Ghost Prayer Scriptures Service Stewardship Teaching the Gospel

Careers on the Line

After his mission, Bart met convert Michelle Ivins at BYU. They married in the Salt Lake Temple less than two years after his return. They later began raising their two young sons.
Bart is now influencing his own family. Thereโ€™s four-year-old Derek, six-month-old Zack, and, of course the former Michelle Ivins, a convert Bart met at BYU and married in the Salt Lake Temple when heโ€™d been home from his mission just under two years.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General) ๐Ÿ‘ค Other
Children Conversion Family Marriage Missionary Work Parenting Sealing Temples

From Mexico, with Love

Children participated in a drawing contest to design a rug for the templeโ€™s cornerstone service, then each took a turn stitching part of it. The completed rug was exhibited during the service. It now hangs in the childrenโ€™s center inside the temple as a lasting reminder of their labor of love.
The children also had a special opportunity to make a rug that would be used in the templeโ€™s cornerstone services. They first participated in a drawing contest for the rugโ€™s design. From the winning designs, a lovely rug with six colorful panels was created. Each child was able to take a turn stitching a part of the rug. Their finished handiwork was exhibited at the temple during the cornerstone service.
The children will never forget their experience of making a rug for the dedication of the San Diego California Temple. That rug is now displayed in the childrenโ€™s center inside the temple, where many will see their labor of love.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Children
Children Service Temples

What Joseph Smith Wanted for Young People

John Bellows visited the Prophet with his father and felt important because Joseph paid him notable attention during an hour-long adult conversation. The experience illustrates Joseph Smithโ€™s respect for young people.
Examples of his high regard for youths are abundant. When John Bellows and his father once visited the Prophet, the boy felt important because Joseph Smith paid โ€œconsiderable attention to meโ€ during the hourโ€™s conversation between the two adults. William H. Walker told how the Prophet, upon learning that a house guest had insulted one of the hired girls at the Mansion House, ordered the man out without allowing him to pay his bill: โ€œI want none of your money, or any other manโ€™s of your kind.โ€ On another occasion, Emma and Joseph took in some of the ten Walker children when Sister Walker died. โ€œEvery privilege was accorded us,โ€ daughter Lucy Walker recorded. Joseph Smith treated her brother Loren like an intimate and trusted friend: โ€œHe was ever by his side arm in arm; they walked and conversed freely on various subjects.โ€ When the prophet, as a house guest once with the Hess family, tired of studying, he diverted himself by playing with the children in their games around the house, including fourteen-year-old John W. Hess.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Joseph Smith ๐Ÿ‘ค Children ๐Ÿ‘ค Parents ๐Ÿ‘ค Early Saints
Adoption Children Family Friendship Joseph Smith Kindness Service

Heroes and Heroines:Brigham Young:Promises Kept

On a snowy day in April 1832, Brigham Young was baptized by Elder Eleazer Miller near his home in New York and was immediately confirmed. He committed his heart to the cause of the restored Church and remained steadfast to his promises.
April 14, 1832, was a snowy day in Mendon, Monroe County, New York. In spite of the cold, thirty-year-old Brigham Young went down into the waters of the river near his home and was baptized by Elder Eleazer Miller. Immediately after, at the riverโ€™s edge, he was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ. Brigham Young had given his heart to a great cause, and he never wavered from the promises he made that day.
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค General Authorities (Modern) ๐Ÿ‘ค Early Saints
Baptism Conversion Covenant Endure to the End Faith

Conversion Is Our Goal

A young husband makes Come, Follow Me a regular part of his mornings. As a result, his most important priorities become clearer, including the temple, his marriage, and his calling. He expresses gratitude that his home has become a sanctuary where God comes first.
A young husband said: โ€œMy most important priorities at home have become more clear since Iโ€™ve made Come, Follow Me a regular part of my mornings. Studying leads me to think more about the things that matter most to me, like the temple, my relationship with my wife, and my calling. Iโ€™m grateful that my home is a sanctuary where God comes first.โ€
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Young Adults ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General)
Family Gratitude Marriage Scriptures Temples

Q&A: Questions and Answers

A teen talks about her church friends at school, which leads classmates to ask questions. When she brings them to activities, they meet the friends she described and feel more comfortable.
I talk to my school friends about my church friends and tell them how much fun we have together. Then they start asking questions about the Church. When I take them to activities and they meet my friends at church, they say, โ€œOh, so this is who sheโ€™s been talking about.โ€ Knowing a little about who theyโ€™re going to meet makes them feel more comfortable.
Sarah Boardman, 14Dewitt, Michigan
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Youth ๐Ÿ‘ค Friends ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General)
Friendship Missionary Work Young Women

At the Center of the Earth

As a recent convert, Grimaneza knows the importance of support. She sits with new girls at church, gets to know them, encourages them to learn the gospel, and invites them to Young Women. She serves informally through friendship.
โ€œI donโ€™t have a calling,โ€ says Olmedoโ€™s younger sister, Grimaneza, 14, โ€œbut I try to help by fellowshipping. I was new in the Church just 14 months ago, and I know how important it is to have friends support you. When thereโ€™s a new girl at church, I sit next to her, get to know her, and encourage her to continue learning about the gospel. And I invite her to come to Young Women with me.โ€
Read more โ†’
๐Ÿ‘ค Youth ๐Ÿ‘ค Church Members (General)
Conversion Friendship Ministering Missionary Work Young Women