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FYI:For Your Information

Lezli Peterson and her siblings began running six years earlier and joined a team coached by their father. She set a state and association record in the 440-yard run and competes in multiple events while staying active in church and other interests.
Lezli Peterson credits part of her success to the fact that she comes from a running family—running not away from home or the law but around a track.
She, her brother, and her sister began running six years ago and are now members of the AAU-affiliated Santa Cruz-ers track team, which her father coaches.
Last spring Lezli set a Pacific Association and California State record in the 12-and 13-year-old division of the 440-yard run with a time of 57.3 seconds.
During spring track seasons, Lezli competes in the 100-, 200-, 440-, and 880-yard runs and also enters the long jump competition. Two-mile cross-country running rounds out her season in the fall.
Off the track Lezli finds time to enjoy sewing, gymnastics, and reading, especially from the Book of Mormon. She and her family are active in the Santa Cruz Ward of the Saratoga California Stake.
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👤 Youth 👤 Parents
Book of Mormon Children Family Young Women

Friend to Friend

Around age seven, Elder Wirthlin was sent to a hardware store with five dollars. He received a dollar too much in change and, at his father's insistence, immediately walked back to return it. The experience taught him honesty and the importance of quickly correcting errors.
The incident at the pond was just one of many times that Elder Wirthlin and his father learned from each other. He related the following incident too.
“Once, when I was about seven, Father gave me five dollars to buy some items at the hardware store about a mile away. When I came back, we accounted for the money and found that they had given me a dollar too much in change. Father said, ‘Whenever you purchase anything, make sure that you get the correct change back, and be especially careful that they do not give you too much change.’ He insisted that I immediately walk back and return the dollar, which I did. This was a great lesson in honesty and in promptness in correcting an error.
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👤 General Authorities (Modern) 👤 Parents 👤 Children
Agency and Accountability Children Family Honesty Parenting

FYI:For Your Info

Elaine Jennings shared her beliefs with roommates while at an international student conference in Italy. Later, she invited five of her school teachers to tour the London Temple before its rededication; four attended, and one asked to meet with the missionaries. Although none joined the Church, Elaine felt she had done her part to invite the Spirit and honor their agency.
Elaine Jennings, a Laurel in the Worthington Ward, Crawley England Stake, is excited about missionary work. While attending an international student conference in Italy (where this picture was taken) Elaine shared her standards and beliefs with the girls she roomed with at the conference.
Elaine also knows that the temple is a powerful missionary tool. She recently invited five of her school teachers to tour the London Temple prior to its rededication. Of the four who attended, one asked to meet with the missionaries.
Although none of those teachers has joined the Church, Elaine knows that what she did was important.
“I did what I could,” says Elaine. “I invited them to feel the Spirit, but it’s up to them to make the choice and act on it.”
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👤 Youth 👤 Church Members (General) 👤 Other
Agency and Accountability Conversion Holy Ghost Missionary Work Temples Young Women

Walking in the Winter Woods

A child rides on their father's shoulders through falling snow. The child watches the snow swirl and settle like a warm coat, clinging tightly to their father. They feel safe and hidden, like a snug squirrel.
I rode on father’s shoulders
Through the falling snow.
I watched it swirl through the trees
And softly land below.
It clothed me like a coat of fur.
I held on, oh, so tight
And felt as safe as any squirrel,
Snuggled out of sight.
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👤 Parents 👤 Children
Children Family Love Parenting

Up, Up and Away

A young priest worried he would be afraid of heights on his first balloon flight. While checking the basket, he realized they were already 100 feet up and discovered he wasn't afraid. The experience changed his expectations about fear.
Properly handled, a balloon is a perfectly safe thing to “hang around” in, and it isn’t nearly as scary as it looks. “I’m sometimes afraid of heights, so I was worried about going up,” one priest says. “The day of the first flight I climbed into the basket and was checking everything to make sure it was shipshape and wondering when we were going to launch and what it would feel like, when all of a sudden I noticed that we were about a hundred feet up already. I looked down and I wasn’t even afraid.”
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👤 Youth
Courage

Whang Keun-Ok:

In 1958, Sister Whang pursued further education in the United States at UC Berkeley. Encouraged by Korean BYU students, she visited Provo, studied social work there for three years, and was impressed by Latter-day Saint faith. After returning to Korea in 1962, she found the missionaries and was baptized.
Sister Whang’s work in the camps led her to change her career from nursing to teaching. But after six years, in November 1958, she decided that if she wanted to fulfill her goal to help the poor, she needed more education. Her minister encouraged her to apply for an exchange program at the University of California at Berkeley. She was accepted. Taking the money she had saved from teaching and the promise of a paid sabbatical from her school, she enrolled.
Soon after she arrived in the U.S., Whang Keun-Ok met two Korean students from Brigham Young University who were working at Berkeley for the summer. They encouraged her to go to Provo, Utah. When she visited the BYU campus in the fall of 1959, she fell in love with the mountains and was impressed by the Latter-day Saints’ faith. She spent the next three years there, studying social work. Shortly after she returned to Korea in June 1962, she located the missionaries and was baptized.
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👤 Church Members (General) 👤 Friends 👤 Missionaries
Baptism Conversion Education Employment Faith Missionary Work Service

Following Jesus Together

While studying Saskatchewan at school, Jacob shared that his sister is serving as a missionary there. He told his classmates and teacher about her service.
We were studying about Saskatchewan at school. I was able to share with my classmates and teacher that my sister is serving as a missionary there!
Jacob S., age 7, Alberta, Canada
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👤 Children 👤 Missionaries 👤 Friends
Children Education Family Missionary Work

Senior Missionaries and the Gospel

Elder Lloyd and Sister Catherine Poelman serve in a remote part of Chile, visiting less-active and newly converted members. They read with families, testify of temple blessings, and teach music skills to help branches. In their letter, they emphasize staying close to new converts and share that they have felt constant help from the Lord while their family at home shares in the blessings.
For example, I think of Elder Lloyd Poelman and his wife, Sister Catherine Poelman. Parents of 9 grown children and grandparents of 20 grandchildren, they now serve in a remote part of Chile, working in a small branch. They make frequent visits among less-active members and with families recently converted to the Church. These visits provide opportunity for the Poelmans to read with those families and bear testimony of temple blessings. In their mission branches they have also taught people how to conduct music and play simplified versions of the hymns on small electronic keyboards. Elder and Sister Poelman recently wrote: “Baptism is only the first step in conversion. When the initial excitement subsides and the new converts continue facing the need to work long hours just to put bread on the table, they need others to help them who share the joy of the gospel. That is our specialty. Part of our work is preventive—staying close to new converts. Yet others who rarely attend meetings have not lost conviction and receive our messages gratefully. As we watch the changes brought about in the lives of those we visit, we feel blessed to be receiving constant tutoring and help from the Lord in this work and, at the same time, to know that our family members back home are vicariously sharing our calling and those special blessings.”
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👤 Missionaries 👤 Church Members (General)
Baptism Conversion Family Ministering Missionary Work Music Service Temples Testimony

Letters from Home

During a three-day wilderness camp with youth, participants were sent alone into the woods with letters from home. The speaker took scriptures, felt God's love, and realized scriptures are like letters from home. A young woman, moved by her parents’ letter, expressed how much she felt their love, illustrating how scripture reading can reveal Heavenly Father’s love.
One summer I spent three days in a wilderness camp with 150 young people. We did a lot of hiking and had some hard physical challenges like rappeling down an 80-foot cliff.
On the last day we were given instructions to go into the woods alone. Before leaving the group, each of the young people was given a letter from home which had been written by his or her mother or father for this occasion.
When I went out alone, I took my scriptures with me. I read about my Father in Heaven’s love for all of us and for me. It was then that I realized that these scriptures are like letters from home.
After the time alone, we gathered together to share our experiences. Many spoke of their letter from home. It was obvious everyone had been anxious to open and read their letter. One young woman stood before us, holding the letter from home close—a precious treasure.
In her words, “I bawled my face off when I sat there alone and realized how much my mom and dad love me.”
It can be that same way for us when we read the scriptures. We discover how much our Father in Heaven loves us. Can you imagine being away from home and receiving a letter from your parents and not bothering to open and read it?
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👤 Youth 👤 Parents 👤 Church Members (General)
Family Love Scriptures Testimony Young Women

“No, Thank You”

A child was invited to a friend's tea party and was offered real tea with honey. Remembering a prophet's example, the child declined, repeated the refusal when told tea was good, and accepted water instead. The child felt good about the choice, and the parents said it set a good example for nonmember friends.
One day last year, my friend invited me to his house to have a tea party with him and his sisters. I thought they would have pretend tea at their party. Instead, they offered me real tea with honey. I remembered a story I had read about President David O. McKay. Once when he visited the queen of the Netherlands, the queen offered him tea. He politely refused it. I knew that if tea isn’t good for a prophet, it isn’t good for me.
I told my friends, “No, thank you. Tea isn’t good for you.” They didn’t know about the Word of Wisdom, and they told me that tea was good for me. But I said, “No, thank you,” again. So my friends gave me some water to drink, and we had a good time together.
When I made this choice, I had a good feeling inside. My mom and dad said I had set a good example for my friends who aren’t members of the Church. I know that Jesus Christ wants me to take care of my body, and I am trying to do what He wants me to do.
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👤 Children 👤 Friends 👤 Parents
Children Friendship Health Obedience Word of Wisdom

Finally Understanding What It Means to Be Loved by God

As a youth who moved from Hungary to Germany, the author was bullied, lost self-worth, and sometimes had thoughts of suicide. Turning to the Savior through scripture study, prayer, and discipleship brought peace that helped them endure. Eventually, the family moved back to Hungary, though the lingering effects on self-esteem remained.
When I was young, my family moved from Hungary to Germany. I was excited to move there, but it turned out to be the hardest nine years of my life.
I struggled to learn German, and I have always been pretty sensitive, both of which made me a target for bullying. My self-worth really plummeted. Over time I felt like I was unloved and had little hope for the future. I wondered if the world would be better off without me and sometimes even had thoughts of suicide.
But somehow, through all the suffering, I knew I was given my life for a reason, even if I didn’t fully understand why. I knew I could find the Savior’s light even in the darkest times (see Ether 12:4). When the world seemed to be turning against me, I knew where to find Him and what He could do for me if I sought Him through the scriptures, prayer, and doing my best to be His disciple. It truly was living His gospel that gave me any sort of peace and helped me keep going during this terrible time.
Eventually, my family and I moved back to Hungary. I had graduated high school, and although my bullying days were over, I was still lacking self-esteem. The repercussions from being treated so poorly really affected me, and sometimes I still doubted my self-worth.
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👤 Youth 👤 Church Members (General)
Abuse Adversity Faith Hope Jesus Christ Mental Health Peace Prayer Scriptures Suicide

In Search of Treasure

A poem narrates a person repeatedly postponing a visit to a nearby friend as time passes. A telegram announces the friend's death, underscoring the cost of delay. The lament concludes that the missed opportunity led to a vanished friend.
A poet set to verse the sorrow of opportunities forever lost. I quote a portion:
Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end;
Yet days go by, and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone,
And I never see my old friend’s face,
For Life is a swift and terrible race. …
But to-morrow comes—and to-morrow goes,
And the distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner!—yet miles away …
“Here’s a telegram, sir,”
“Jim died to-day.”And that’s what we get, and deserve in the end:
Around the corner, a vanished friend.
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👤 Friends
Agency and Accountability Death Friendship Grief

Be Grateful

Trace Harding was undecided about serving a mission. After hearing President Hinckley speak about gratitude, he changed his outlook and decided to serve as a way to thank God for blessings. He expressed that he owes two years to the Lord.
When Trace Harding from Spanish Fork, Utah, heard President Hinckley, he decided he wanted to show his gratitude to his Father in Heaven by serving a mission.
“I have been deciding whether or not to go on a mission. When President Hinckley talked about being grateful it changed my outlook on a mission. I feel that I owe two years to the Lord. He has been so kind to offer me many blessings.”
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👤 Youth 👤 General Authorities (Modern)
Apostle Gratitude Missionary Work

The Personal Journey of a Child of God

A 16-year-old expectant mother, unmarried and unsure of the future, chose to give birth and place her baby for adoption. Emily, the child, was raised in faith by her adoptive parents, later married in the temple to the speaker’s grandson, and expressed deep gratitude for her birth mother’s selfless choice as she experienced her own pregnancy.
In our family, we have been immeasurably blessed as two decades ago, a young 16-year-old learned that she was expecting a child. She and the baby’s father were not married, and they could see no way forward together. The young woman believed the life she was carrying was precious. She gave birth to a baby girl and allowed a righteous family to adopt her as their own. For Bryce and Jolinne, she was an answer to their prayers. They named her Emily and taught her to trust in her Heavenly Father and in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Emily grew up. How grateful we are that Emily and our grandson, Christian, fell in love and were married in the house of the Lord. Emily and Christian now have their own little girl.
Emily recently wrote: “Throughout these last nine months of pregnancy, I had time to reflect on the events [of] my own birth. I thought of my birth mother, who was just 16 years old. As I experienced the aches and changes that pregnancy brings, I couldn’t help but imagine how difficult it would have been at the young age of 16. … The tears flow even now as I think of my birth mother, who knew she couldn’t give me the life [she desired for me and unselfishly placed] me for adoption. I can’t fathom what she might have gone through in those nine months—being watched with judging eyes as her body changed, the teen experiences she missed, knowing that at the end of this labor of motherly love, she would place her child into the arms of another. I am so thankful for her selfless choice, that she did not choose to use her agency in a way that would take away my own.” Emily concludes, “I’m so thankful for Heavenly Father’s divine plan, for my incredible parents who [loved and cared for] me, and for temples where we can be sealed to our families for eternity.”
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👤 Youth 👤 Parents 👤 Young Adults 👤 Children 👤 Church Members (General)
Adoption Agency and Accountability Children Faith Family Gratitude Love Parenting Sealing Temples

Hannah Goes to the Temple

Hannah remembers her brother Charley, who died of diphtheria six years earlier and had taught her to make clay marbles. Her mother taught that because their family is sealed, they can be together again if they keep their covenants. This memory shapes Hannah’s understanding of the temple’s purpose.
Hannah thought about her older brother, Charley, who had died six years ago when the diphtheria came. Hannah had been only five when Charley died, but she still remembered how he taught her to make clay marbles and put them in the sun to dry. Mother said that Charley would always be her brother, and if they kept the commandments and honored their covenants, they would be together again because their family was sealed together forever.
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👤 Children 👤 Parents
Children Covenant Death Family Grief Plan of Salvation Sealing

Elder Holland’s Long Trip

Elder and Sister Holland accompanied President and Sister Nelson on a worldwide trip to visit Church members in eight countries. They visited Jerusalem’s sacred sites, encouraged members in Kenya to prepare family history for the forthcoming temple, and sought a location for India’s first temple. The trip emphasized that God guides His people through a living prophet and will not abandon them.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Sister Patricia Holland went with President and Sister Nelson on their trip to visit Church members around the world. They visited eight countries. At each stop they met thousands of people who were so happy to see a prophet and an apostle!
Almost all the places they stopped in either already have a temple or will have one soon!
Their first stop was Jerusalem, Israel. They saw the Mount of Olives, a place where Jesus taught His disciples, and the Old City of Jerusalem, where Jesus walked.
Next they visited Kenya, a country in Africa where a temple is going to be built. Elder Holland encouraged people to gather their family history and come to the temple when it is finished. “Nothing will bless you more,” he said.
President Nelson and Elder Holland were excited to visit Church members in India. They looked for a place to build a temple there. It will be the first temple in that country, which has more than a billion people!
“I have a testimony that God will always be with us. He has given us a prophet to guide us. He will never abandon us. We will never, ever be left alone.”
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👤 General Authorities (Modern) 👤 Church Members (General) 👤 Other
Apostle Diversity and Unity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Jesus Christ Temples Testimony

My Service-Filled Sundays

On a hot Sunday with a 12-hour slate of meetings, the author felt self-pity. Reading about Parley P. Pratt’s suffering changed his outlook. He then reflected with gratitude on his family’s safety, the blessings of worship, and the comforts they enjoy.
It’s Sunday morning. Ahead of me I have a 12-hour schedule of meetings, interviews, confirmations, and ordinations. I will start in one stake center and end in another meetinghouse on the other side of town—all on a very hot day.
I look forward to each meeting, interview, confirmation, and ordination. But yesterday, as I thought about how busy I would be, I indulged in a dose of self-pity—until I opened the Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt and started reading where I had left off.
Closing the book, I pondered the deprivations of the early Saints—some of them my ancestors. Because of their testimony of the gospel and their faith in Jesus Christ, they endured cruelty and persecution. Because of their endurance, today I can serve and worship freely, bound to them in faith and testimony.
As I prepare for this Sabbath day, my family is safe, looking forward to a day of worship in a comfortable meetinghouse. The fellowship of the Saints will brighten our day. We will rejoice with them in confirmations and ordinations performed, responsibilities fulfilled, and faith fortified. We will partake of the sacrament, remembering our Savior and His atoning sacrifice. And tonight we will gather in our home to read the Book of Mormon and pray together before we lie down on comfortable beds and settle our heads onto soft pillows.
My Sundays are full. For that I am grateful and blessed.
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👤 Church Leaders (Local) 👤 Parents
Adversity Apostle Atonement of Jesus Christ Book of Mormon Faith Family Family History Gratitude Ordinances Prayer Priesthood Religious Freedom Sabbath Day Sacrament Sacrament Meeting Sacrifice Testimony

Friend to Friend

In fourth or fifth grade, the speaker chose to report on Joseph Smith, the Church, and the pioneers for an American history assignment. As the only Latter-day Saint in his school, he shared his heritage for a full class period. His teacher asked him to continue the presentation the following day.
In fourth or fifth grade, I had an assignment to give a report on a subject from American history. I gave my report on Joseph Smith, the Church, and the pioneers. I was the only member of the Church in my school, and I wanted to share my heritage. I talked through one class period, and the teacher invited me to take another class period and tell more the next day.
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👤 Children 👤 Other
Children Education Family History Joseph Smith Teaching the Gospel

Staying Unspotted from the World

As a young Navajo boy, the speaker often knelt in prayer in his family's humble hogan during times of trial. His brothers mocked him through the cracks of the hogan while he prayed. Despite their ridicule, he continued praying and was not disturbed by them.
Young friends, it is the will of God that you pray unceasingly. As a young boy on the Navajo reservation, many times I found myself on my knees in our small humble hogan. Many times I’ve been tried and tested. In those moments I asked my Heavenly Father for faith, strength, and courage to withstand temptations. Many times, as I was on my knees, my own brothers made a game of me, laughing and sneering and shouting through the cracks of the hogan, but I was not bothered by them.
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👤 General Authorities (Modern) 👤 Youth 👤 Other
Adversity Courage Faith Prayer Temptation Young Men

“How can the gospel help me with depression?”

A 17-year-old from California explains that when she feels sad, she remembers that Jesus Christ has felt what she has felt, citing Alma 7:11. She teaches that He knows how to help and promises comfort as we turn to Him.
“When I feel sad, I remember that I have Jesus Christ, who has felt everything I have felt. In Alma 7:11, it reads: “And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind.” He knows exactly how to help you because He has felt the same thing. As you turn to Jesus Christ, He will comfort you.”
Makayla F., 17, California, USA
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👤 Youth 👤 Jesus Christ
Atonement of Jesus Christ Book of Mormon Jesus Christ Peace Testimony