Gospel Story Finder

Here’s a question you’ve probably already heard, especially if you’re not 16 yet. “Why can’t you date until you’re 16?”
You might tell your friends that your church leaders and parents have counseled against dating before 16, and that you have decided on your own that that’s pretty good advice.
Then your friends will probably ask, “Why?”
“Well,” you can reply, “I think a lot of it has to do with timing. I think I’ve got plenty of time to date before I get married, so I’m in no hurry.
“And it boils down to trust and obedience. I trust my parents and Church leaders enough to think that they want what’s best for me.”

Vivian Alvarez, also 17, says, “I was doing horribly in my math classes. I wanted to improve myself.” And she did. She studied harder and participated in the mentoring program to get a good score on her standardized tests, and now she’s preparing to attend college in the fall. She encourages all youth to continue their training after high school, whether at a college, technical school, or other institution.
Eventually, Vivian wants to be the one giving the grades. At stake youth conference she attended a class that taught her what it’s like to be a teacher. She and the other youth attended other career orientation classes, including accounting, military, culinary, medicine, graphic design, law enforcement, and others. Professionals in these fields taught these classes and told the youth about their lines of work.

One cold day years ago, two missionaries spent hours contacting people on the streets of Nagano, Japan. They talked to a few people, made even fewer teaching appointments, and saw all those appointments fall through.
At the end of this tough day, the missionaries met a young man, only 15 years old, who was interested in learning about the Church.
That young man was me.
I met one of the missionaries that day on my way home from school. He taught me about the First Vision and testified that it was true. I did not understand everything at the time, but I wanted to learn more.

One of the experiences that has reached the deep center of my soul in recent years was to hear a choice bishop share with others in a meeting the tender feelings of his heart concerning the loss of his wife to cancer, an experience many other husbands and wives and families well understand.

Twenty years earlier he had watched his mother pass through severe suffering before she died, and he had carried with him through the years a sense of resentment for the anguish she had endured. With his wife’s ordeal, however, harsh as it was for her and in a measure for her family, his anger sublimated into a closer spiritual relationship with the Lord, and he was able more gracefully to share her burden.

Shortly before she died, his wife asked him to give her a blessing for relief from the intense pain. They both wept as he laid his hands on her head and talked with the Lord, “and,” he said, “I felt the spiritual presence of our Father in Heaven. I had the strongest sensation that someone else was there weeping with us!” Near the end, severely physically debilitated, she said, “Never have I been more whole!”

They had felt the strong sensation that He was there, “weeping with us.” Of course; why not? Jesus wept at the grave of Lazarus; he wept over Jerusalem’s portending afflictions; and he wept when he came to the American continent and knelt with his people, and especially when “he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them” (3 Ne. 17:21; see also 3 Ne. 17:22; John 11:35; Luke 19:41).

My wife practiced law for over 20 years. As an attorney, she often worked with others who explicitly advocated opposing views. But she learned to disagree without being rude or angry. She might say to opposing counsel, “I can see we are not going to agree on this issue. I like you. I respect your opinion. I hope you can offer me the same courtesy.” Often this allowed for mutual respect and even friendship despite differences.

“As I walked into the chapel I felt at peace. That peace became stronger as the prophet and other Church leaders began to speak. I felt my Heavenly Father near telling me that this was the right place to be—not just on this night, but that this was the true gospel to live.”
Jenny WestEllisville, Missouri

I had seen a picture of President Kimball hanging on the wall of the barbershop, and so I said: “I assume that you cut his hair.” The barber, Ross Pyper, replied: “Yes, I do.” I said: “Does he have to make an appointment also?” He replied: “No, not any more, but he used to. Often when Brother Arthur Haycock, his personal secretary, calls, the person who had an appointment has either called and cancelled the appointment or is late. So I tell Brother Haycock to tell President Kimball to come right over and I will arrange to cut his hair immediately upon his arrival.”
In a few minutes, the telephone rang, and I heard the barber say: “Yes, Brother Haycock, I can take him right now. Send him right over.”
The barber completed my haircut and I stepped out of the barber chair and sat down. I was determined that Melissa and I would not leave until President Kimball came and we could meet him. Melissa, my little daughter, who was spending the day with me, was so excited at the thought of meeting the prophet that she could hardly contain herself.
Soon President Kimball walked in, accompanied by a security man. The president shook hands with the barber, and then walked over and shook hands with us and was very congenial. He then got in the barber chair and the barber proceeded to cut his hair. During this time he conversed very warmly with those in the room. Melissa was so excited and spiritually touched that tears came to her eyes on several occasions. As I looked into his countenance, I knew that he truly is a prophet of God.
“Daddy, do you think we could get a picture of President Kimball?” Melissa whispered to me. I said, “I think it would be all right. Why don’t you rush out to our car and get your camera before he leaves.” I could see that the president was almost ready. In what seemed like five seconds, Melissa rushed in the front door with her camera at the same time President Kimball stepped down from the barber chair.
“President Kimball, I hope you don’t mind, but would you allow me to take a picture of you and my little daughter, Melissa?” I asked. “Not at all,” he said. I then adjusted the camera as President Kimball, with his arm around Melissa, and Melissa, with her arm around President Kimball, posed for the picture. He was then very gracious in allowing her to take a picture of him and me together, with my arm around him and his arm around me.
After this President Kimball bid all of us good-bye and shook our hands again. When he shook Melissa’s hand, she reached up and kissed him on the cheek and he responded by kissing her on the cheek. He then left, and Melissa and I were left marveling at the experience we had been so fortunate to have.

Illustrations by Garth Bruner
Hey, Macy, race you to the slide!
OK, Monroe!
Beat you! I get to go down first!
What’s wrong?
I’m so cold!
Where’s your coat?
I forgot it today.
You can wear my coat.
Then you’ll be cold!
We can take turns! That way we’ll both be warm!
Thanks for sharing.
That’s what friends are for!

Last year President Nelson announced that a temple will be built in Russia. Members of the Church in Russia were very excited! It will be the first temple in that huge country.

This method has been field-tested on hundreds of students with different learning problems and needs. A young girl who got four Fs and a D one quarter was on the honor roll the next quarter using this five-minute plan. While not all results will be this dramatic, nearly everyone who uses the method consistently sees improvement. A college freshman started using it after he saw how much his younger brothers improved their high school grades.

One Easter my family and I went to an Easter egg hunt. I was so excited because I had found so many eggs. My basket was full! Then I saw my friend. She only had a few eggs. She had hoped to find more. I thought it would be nice to give her some of my eggs. I felt glad I was able to share with her. I know I can be like Jesus by sharing and being kind.

As a young boy, President Gordon B. Hinckley heard President Heber J. Grant speak of Nephi, who proclaimed, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplishthe thing which he commandeth them” (1 Ne. 3:7).
President Hinckley says that “there came into my young heart on that occasion a resolution to try to do what the Lord has commanded. … I believe that if we will walk in obedience to the commandments of God, if we will follow the counsel of the priesthood, he will open a way even where there appears to be no way” (Liahona, June 1995, 4). A lifetime of experience has convinced President Hinckley that “the happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the peace … , the eternal salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in obedience to the counsels of the priesthood of God” (Liahona, June 1995, 6).

Recently, Lesa and I attended the viewing of a dear friend, a woman of faith whose life was cut short by illness. We gathered with her family and close friends, exchanging fond memories of this beautiful soul who had enriched our lives.
While standing away some distance from the casket, conversing with others, I noticed two young Primary-age girls approach the casket and stretch up on their tiptoes—eyes just reaching its edge—to pay their final respects to their beloved aunt. With no one else nearby, Lesa slipped over and crouched down beside them to offer comfort and teaching. She asked how they were doing and if they knew where their aunt was now. They shared their sadness, but then these precious daughters of God, with confidence brimming in their eyes, said they knew their aunt was now happy and she could be with Jesus.
At this tender age, they found peace in the great plan of happiness and, in their own childlike way, testified of the profound reality and simple beauty of the Resurrection of the Savior. They knew this in their hearts because of thoughtful teachings of loving parents, family, and Primary leaders planting a seed of faith in Jesus Christ and eternal life. Wise beyond their years, these young girls understood truths that come to us through the Easter message and ministry of the resurrected Savior and the words of the prophets as told in the Book of Mormon.

The Lord also helped me to push myself and grow when I was encouraged to attend a three-year program at the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO). I was unsure I could join the program because no one in a wheelchair had ever applied. However, circumstances ultimately allowed me to be able to attend the CSPO in Cambodia. I graduated there as the first student with a disability in the program’s history.

A few years later, I learned how essential sacrifice is to living the gospel. If we want the Lord to give us purpose and direction, we have to be willing to take that direction.
After school, things didn’t go according to plan with the company I was working for, so my wife and I had two choices: stay in the United States or return to Chile. We both clearly felt that we needed to return to Chile. It might seem normal to want to return home, but this was at a very difficult time. There weren’t a lot of jobs in Chile. I was having trouble selling our home. Financially and logistically, it was not the most intuitive thing to do; even our families thought we were being unwise.
What do you do when revelation comes into conflict with common sense? Although it was hard, my wife and I knew what to do. We reminded ourselves that the gospel had gotten us this far. Without the Lord, I wouldn’t have had the inspiration that helped me serve a mission, receive my education, and meet my wife. We just had to trust that whatever the reasons were, we were needed in Chile.
We left our house to our bishop so it could be rented until he could sell it, and we moved away. It was difficult, but we experienced so many blessings and miracles when we heeded the Lord’s call. The Lord knows where we are needed and where we can best serve His purposes, and He blesses us for our obedience.

When a fire swept through Santa Barbara, California, and destroyed over 500 homes and businesses, the Young Women in the stake were on hand to help clean up the ashes.
At least 14 LDS homes burned, including that of Young Women president Bobbi Boden. In the six inches of rubble that had once been her two-story home, the young women donned air masks and gloves, then with shovels and sifters began searching for Sister Boden’s wedding ring. They found an heirloom ring that had been in the family for over a century.
The young women spent many hours helping LDS and non-LDS members alike rebuild their lives and homes. “It really makes you realize that earthly things aren’t very permanent,” they agreed.

Life couldn’t have been finer for Carlos Espínola in 1967. Baptized at age seventeen, he had served a mission in Uruguay and was now pursuing a degree at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He was also earning what he considered to be an enormous salary, writing and preparing materials for the Peace Corps on how to teach the Guaraní and Spanish languages—both of which are spoken in Paraguay.
To make the dream complete, Nelly, his fiancée from Uruguay, was ready to join him. They would marry in the Salt Lake Temple, he would finish his degree, and they would settle down to a wonderful life in the United States.
But, unexplainably, Carlos felt that something wasn’t quite right. Seeking spiritual direction, he asked for a patriarchal blessing. “My blessing said that I was to help my own people to know the Church, and that I was going to be a leader among them,” he says. “When I received that blessing, I thought a lot about those words.”
He fasted and prayed to know how to interpret the blessing. Finally, “after receiving the confirmation of the Spirit, I felt that this was not the place for me. I felt that the Lord really needed me in South America. So I made the decision to return.”
Even though his visa was good for another year, he gave it up—along with his apartment, his furniture, his schooling, and his job—and went home. He and Nelly were married in Uruguay. There he continued his schooling and earned two degrees—one in business administration and another in construction. And he got a job for less than a third of the salary he was making in the United States.
“My friends told me I was crazy. But I said, ‘No, I am happy, because I want to do it.’ And I knew the reasons I was doing it. The blessings we have received by staying here have brought to pass many promises in my patriarchal blessing.”
In 1979, Carlos became the first stake president in Paraguay. Nearly ten years later, he became the second Paraguayan to serve as a mission president. (He opened the Chile Antofagasta Mission.) And he has been blessed professionally. For twenty years, he has worked for the Presiding Bishop’s Office in Uruguay and Paraguay. He is now regional manager for the Presiding Bishopric in Paraguay.
“We are very satisfied with our lives here,” says Sister Espínola. “For us, the brothers and sisters in the Church are like family. The Lord has greatly blessed us and our children spiritually.” She and Carlos were sealed in the temple and have four children: Alejandra, 22; Alvaro, 20; Ariel, 16; and Arturo, 14. They speak of rich experiences they’ve shared as a family, both on their mission and at home.
“Our children are our best inheritance,” says Carlos. “They are having experiences that are helping them gain their own testimonies. I can see that they are living on their own light.”

There was not always a Primary in the Church. During the first 48 years of its history, boys and girls did not have their own organization. Then a very dear woman whose name was Aurelia Spencer Rogers thought that the little boys ought to have their own organization where they could be “trained to make better men.”
Her suggestion was taken to the President of the Church, who at that time was John Taylor. He thought that if an organization would be good for little boys, it would also be good for little girls because they would make the singing sound better. And so, way back 125 years ago, the first Primary met with 224 boys and girls “to be taught obedience, faith in God, prayer, punctuality, and good manners” (in Daniel H. Ludlow, ed., Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 5 vols. [1992], 3:1146).

One day I was with President Spencer W. Kimball as he affixed his signature to these special calls to full-time missionary service. Suddenly he noticed the call of his own grandson. He signed his name as President of the Church and then penned a personal line at the bottom that read, “I’m proud of you. Love, Grandpa.”

I can make two promises to those who offer the gospel to others. The first is that even those who reject it will someday thank us. More than once I have asked missionaries to visit friends far from where I lived, learned that the missionaries had been rejected, and then received a letter from my friend with words like this: “I was honored that you would offer to me something that I knew meant so much to you.” My second promise is that as you offer the gospel to others it will go down more deeply into your own heart. It becomes the well of water springing up into eternal life for us as we offer it to others.