Gospel Story Finder

A year after I was baptized, I received my mission call and entered the Missionary Training Center in Manila, Philippines. It was there that I made some treasured friends. The first was my companion, Sister Loh, a convert from Singapore. Since I couldn’t speak her language and she didn’t know any Filipino dialects, our only option was to communicate in English.
The 16 days I spent in the MTC were the most spiritual of my life. Although we were far from our families, we still felt loved thanks to a special person—Sister Luda Lee Cottrell, the wife of the MTC president. She was always smiling and happy. She gave us comfort and love and taught me about charity in words and in deed.
On our last night in the MTC, Sister Loh and I wanted to give something to Sister Cottrell as a remembrance and to thank her for all the love she gave us. We didn’t have anything nice to give, so my companion suggested that we sing a song for Sister Cottrell. I immediately agreed. Because we were new in the Church, neither of us was familiar with most of the hymns. We chose to sing “I Am a Child of God” (Hymns, no. 301).
We found Sister Cottrell in her office. We told her of our simple present, and she gladly and patiently listened to us. While Sister Loh and I were singing, a memorable spiritual experience happened. I realized that we were three people of three different races, cultures, and languages. My companion and I were singing in English so that our beloved Sister Cottrell could understand what we were singing.
At that moment I forgot all our differences. The Spirit was telling me that what we are here doesn’t really matter, because the three of us are literally daughters of Heavenly Father. The Spirit taught me why and what brought the three of us there. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the gospel that brought Sister Loh and me to the MTC. It is the gospel that made Sister Cottrell such a wonderful, loving person. It is the gospel that gave the three of us the knowledge that we are all children of God.

I have a cousin, Rodney Moyle, who lives near Boise, Idaho. When he comes to Salt Lake City he usually drops into my office to say hello. I love to visit with him, for he always leaves me with a new gem of thought. On his last visit he asked me, “If you had your heart’s desire and could take it with you out of this world, what would you take?”
The answer for me was obvious: “My family and loved ones!” I can take them with me through obedience to God’s laws. Only through obedience to gospel law is that higher degree of salvation possible which will include both me and my family.
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It is well, then, for you to think of your families and how you can have your inheritance in the Lord sealed upon you and those you love. In Rodney’s words, let me ask you, “If you had your heart’s desire and could take it with you out of this world, what would you take?”

In 1968 a marathon runner by the name of John Stephen Akhwari represented Tanzania in an international competition. “A little over an hour after [the winner] had crossed the finish line, John Stephen Akhwari … approached the stadium, the last man to complete the journey. [Though suffering from fatigue, leg cramps, dehydration, and disorientation,] a voice called from within to go on, and so he went on. Afterwards, it was written, ‘Today we have seen a young African runner who symbolizes the finest in human spirit, a performance that gives meaning to the word courage.’ For some, the only reward is a personal one. [There are no medals, only] the knowledge that they finished what they set out to do.” When asked why he would complete a race he could never win, Akhwari replied, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; my country sent me to finish the race.” (The Last African Runner, Olympiad Series, written, directed, and produced by Bud Greenspan, Cappy Productions [videocassette, 1976].)

In March 1963, a young South African man received a letter from O. Layton Alldredge, who at the time was serving as the South African Mission President. (This was the only mission of the Church operating on the African continent at that time.) President Alldredge was following up to make certain that Louis Andries Francois Nell had received a mission call letter from Salt Lake City. Indeed, Louis had. Weeks earlier he had received a letter in which he had been called to serve a mission in the Netherlands.
While a number of South Africans were serving locally in the Johannesburg mission, Louis was the first native-born African to serve a mission outside the continent of Africa. He was a relatively recent convert, who—along with his parents and two siblings—had been baptized in September 1960.
Missionaries today receive documents with detailed lists of items to bring, arrangements to make, and instructions for travel. However, the letter from President Alldrege simply stated that Louis should get his affairs in order, determine what vaccines were required and receive them, and obtain a travel visa. Louis was also instructed to notify President Alldrege about when he might be ready to leave directly for his mission.
After preparations had been completed, President Alldrege sent Louis a travel voucher for an airline ticket and notified President Don Van Slooten, President of the Netherlands Mission, that Louis was on his way to Amsterdam. Louis travelled to Europe via Rome and arrived in Amsterdam on May 6, 1963, where he was assigned to serve in Assen, a small northern Dutch town. With Afrikaans as his native language, it was fairly easy for him to learn the Dutch language.
Having been unable to receive his temple ordinances before departing—as there was no temple in Johannesburg in 1963—he and his missionary companion received travel permission from President Van Slooten to visit the London Temple a few months after arriving in the mission field so that he could receive his temple endowment.
Louis served in the Netherlands Mission for two and a half years, after which he returned home to South Africa. Later he met and married Lesley Anne Louise Cook, with whom he raised a family. He continued to serve faithfully in the Church until his death in 2003.

One night Sister Linda S. Reeves’s daughter came home feeling upset. Sister Reeves asked what was wrong. Her daughter told her that at a friend’s house, she had accidentally seen bad pictures on television. The pictures made her feel bad inside, and she wished she could get them out of her mind.
Sister Reeves told her daughter that through our Savior’s Atonement she could feel relief and stop hurting. Together they knelt and prayed that Heavenly Father would help her feel better. (See “Protection from Pornography—a Christ-Focused Home” from the Saturday morning session.)

When they were engaged, Sonia Lopreiato Piros and Gabriel Piros of São Paulo, Brazil, talked about the decisions they would have to make when their children were born. But after one year of marriage and the birth of their first child, “everything that was once so simple in theory turned out to be complicated to practice,” Sister Piros says. “We faced the moment of decision, and fear invaded our hearts. My husband was afraid he would not earn enough to provide for our needs, and I was afraid to end my promising career.”
Brother and Sister Piros began reviewing the Eternal Marriage Student Manual (item no. 35311) and attending institute classes together. They felt certain the right decision was the one they had made before they were married—that Sister Piros would set aside her career for now, even though both knew it would not be easy for Brother Piros to provide for the family’s needs.
“We exercised our faith, and as the scripture said, we proved the word of God,” she says (see 2 Ne. 11:3). The couple began to experience many blessings as a result of their sacrifice, including Brother Piros’s professional growth.
“We still face some challenges and fears, but we are certain that God will be there at our side and that He will answer our prayers,” Sister Piros says.

One of them was Walt’s girlfriend, Liz. She was an attractive, cheerful Mormon girl whom I used to tease unmercifully. Liz was the perfect lady, and as we got to know each other better, her good influence began to change me. I stopped swearing. And, most important of all, I became interested in the Church.
It wasn’t easy for me, a Catholic, to consider changing my religion, but good friends like Walt and Liz made it easier for me to investigate the Church. Liz encouraged me to seek out the truth and to do what was right. And when I had gained a testimony, she and Walt gave me the strength and courage I needed to go through with my decision to get baptized.

You and your friends need to invite this girl to spend time with you. I have moved many times, and I almost never feel like I fit in. But when a group of people tries to be my friends, I feel like I fit in at church, school, Mutual, and almost everywhere else. Just invite her to spend time with you and your friends, and she will grow spiritually and get involved in the Church.Nelsen E. Witt, 15, Centennial Park Ward, Syracuse Utah Stake

Is that you, Mandy?
Yeah.
Something wrong?
At school so many kids eat alone. Or stand by the playground alone. People aren’t very friendly.
What can you do about it?
Me? I try to include everyone, but I’m just one person. The student council should be doing something!
JJ says her old school had a friendliness campaign that made a difference. I wish …
Aren’t student elections coming up?
That night …
The next morning …
To be continued …

My new home was in Nakskov, on the island of Lolland. Unfortunately, the nearest ward was several hours away.
After two months in Denmark, however, I learned about a small group of Saints who met closer to my home. To get there, I would have to ride a private railway. The train fare was around 40 crowns, nearly all my spending allowance for the week. It was fast Sunday, and I scraped together all the money I had—about 43 Danish crowns. I figured it would be sufficient if I got the round-trip discount. There would not be any money left over for a fast offering, but I felt the Lord would understand why.
As the train moved away from the station, the conductor came by and said, “Two crowns.” My fledgling Danish had to be mistaken—I knew the trip cost more than two crowns. After offering him most of what I had, he took a bill and gave me change. The fare was only two crowns! I knew the Lord was watching out for me.
In a little attic apartment above a store was a tiny room containing a group of elderly women. One of them smiled, motioned me inside, and knocked on an adjoining door. I was greeted into priesthood meeting. There were about five older brethren and two young missionaries.
I couldn’t understand much of what went on, but some hymns were familiar. There were tears as testimonies were shared.
When I told the missionaries my train fare was only two crowns, they couldn’t believe it. I soon discovered the return trip was also just two crowns. I realized I could pay my fast offering after all. Later, I learned that in celebration of the centennial of the train system the fare had been reduced to two crowns for just that one day.

I grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, in the state of Nuevo León. My parents were faithful Latter-day Saints, and I can’t remember a single time when we failed to attend church. When I was five or six years old, my father owned an old dump truck that he used to haul construction materials and garden soil. Each Sunday my sisters and I climbed up into the bed of that truck while my father and mother climbed into the cab. Then we drove to the home of my cousins, where their family climbed up to join us. Next we picked up the Gonzales family, then the Solanos family, and so on. By the time we arrived at the chapel, the dump truck was filled not with soil but with Saints.
Some people who lived nearby thought it was most entertaining to watch more than 20 men, women, and children in white shirts and ties or Sunday dresses come pouring out of a dusty dump truck. Neighbors came outside each Sunday just to enjoy the spectacle. They laughed at us, but we weren’t a bit embarrassed. We were happy to be going to church. We repeated that performance twice each Sunday all through the 1960s.
When the truck wasn’t available, my family walked. Even if it was raining or cold or sizzling hot, we walked just the same, though it took at least an hour going and an hour coming back. And in those days there were Church services in the morning and the afternoon. We always attended both.
When I returned to Monterrey after many years, every one of my fellow dump truck passengers was still active in the Church. That experience united us and made us strong. I still attend all my meetings. How can I do less now than I did then?
Children, go to your meetings. Go on foot. Go by car. Go in a dump truck. But go.

Greg is a boy at my school who has Down syndrome. One day, some kids were making fun of him and being unkind. Nobody likes to be teased, so I stood up for him. My mom was the nursery leader in our ward, and Nathan, another boy who has Down syndrome, was in nursery. Whenever I see him, it reminds me of Greg, and I realize that everyone wants to smile.

Remember that Christ’s life was one of service to others. This Christmas season would be an ideal time to serve others in ways that shows our love for others as He showed His love for us. Imagine the excitement generated and the lessons learned as a child becomes a secret Santa to friends and neighbors. I can still hear the squeals of delight as my young children showed acts of secret service by placing cookies, fruit, or homemade cards at the door of someone in need of love.

When someone tries to get me to cheat on a test, I look at them like they’re crazy and say out loud, “You weren’t really trying to get me to cheat, were you?” That usually stops them from trying it again.

“One day I visited the hives without my beekeeper suit,” Joseph recalls. “Our prophet, Russell M. Nelson, addressed a regional congregation in Auckland the next day—and I went to fulfil my calling at that meeting with a bee sting on my eye.”

That experience taught him it’s crucial to always keep himself protected, physically and spiritually.

It was Friday night and football season at my high school. As drum major of the marching band, I was having a great time cheering with the band and directing stand tunes. Then things changed drastically when I heard a desperate cry: “Get help! Jeff has stopped breathing!”
I found Jeff, a tuba player, lying across a bleacher, slipping in and out of consciousness and gasping for breath. Suddenly the all-important football game faded from significance. My number-one priority was to get help for Jeff. Paramedics arrived, and it wasn’t until after Jeff was safely on his way to the hospital that I even thought about checking the scoreboard.
After the game I realized that too many times in my own life I have allowed myself to get so involved in a fun yet unimportant event of life that I failed to recognize someone’s spiritual cry for help. During the football game it bothered me to watch Jeff struggle for breath and hear the cheers and laughter of fans that had no idea that anything was wrong.

Last summer, my family and I were on vacation in California. While shopping at a local grocery store, we decided to eat hot dogs for dinner. I was starving, and I love hot dogs, so the first bite that I took was a huge one. I swallowed it wrong and started choking. I had to get my mom’s attention by making the universal sign for choking for her to notice. When she saw me she jumped up and started the Heimlich maneuver. After she tried a couple of times, the hot dog popped out, and I could breathe again. It was a really emotional, scary experience. For a few months after that, I wouldn’t even wear the shirt I had been wearing when I choked, because of the bad memory.

That night, Eliza reflected on her baptism: “I felt an indescribable, tangible sensation, … commencing at my head and enveloping my person and passing off at my feet, producing inexpressible happiness.” She saw in a vision a candle with a long, bright flame, and a voice told her, “The lamp of intelligence shall be lighted over your path.” She was satisfied.6

As a young stake president, I met many of the General Authorities when they came to speak at our stake conference. What a wonderful experience! President Hugh B. Brown came to one of our stake conferences just a week before he was called and sustained as a member of the Council of the Twelve. We enjoyed his warm spirit and his good humor. As I helped him put his coat on and walked out to his car with him, I said, “Elder Brown, do you have any personal advice for me?”
His answer was, “Yes. Follow the Brethren.” He did not choose to elaborate or explain, but he left that powerful message: Have the simple faith to follow the Brethren.

Reading was another enjoyable activity for Elder Larsen. “We had a room in our house that we referred to as the north room,” he remembered. “It was a big room on the main floor. During my boyhood, we had no central heating, so to conserve on heat and fuel, we used to close up the north room in the winter except for special occasions like Christmas. It held a library of books that my father had collected over the years. I used to enjoy putting on a winter coat and going in there to pore over those books.