Gospel Story Finder

Sister LaRue Longden, a former counselor in the General Presidency of the Young Women, was a ward Young Women’s president at the time of the serious illness of her little daughter. She and Brother Longden were kneeling in fervent prayer by the side of their bed when word came that the little girl had passed away. They were heartbroken. But after the funeral all the leaders and the young women held flowers and formed an aisle while she, their president, had to walk past them. And during this time of intense emotion she suddenly realized that they were watching her. “I had to live what I’d been teaching,” Sister Longden said. “I had to be an example of what I really believed.” So she lifted her chin and smiled her famous smile upon them.

The Alamo This brief story of the Alamo does not glorify war. It tells, simply, the history of this national historic landmark, “not so much as the site of a heroic defense of freedom as for the heroic courage it took to stand up and die for that freedom.”Leonard Everett Fisher9 years and up

This story happened in Denmark.
Amalie followed her parents through the church doors. The sound of the piano playing hymns filled the chapel. Amalie and her family found a bench and sat down.
Sacrament meeting started, and soon the whole branch was singing the opening hymn. While she sang, Amalie noticed their next-door neighbor, Sister Aisha, sitting nearby. But Sister Aisha wasn’t singing. She was frowning.
Sister Aisha was always so nice to Amalie. But she looked sad a lot. Amalie knew that she lived alone. Maybe she was lonely.
Amalie wished she could do something to help. But what?
The next week, Amalie went on a bike ride down a long road. She rode past big green fields. The sun warmed her skin.
Soon she came to a field of sunflowers. The bright yellow flowers waved slightly in the wind and stretched to the sun. They were so tall and so big!
A sign next to the field said, Free sunflowers! Take as many as you want.
Amalie stared at the field. The flowers looked like an ocean of yellow smiling at the sky.
She parked her bike and picked a bunch of flowers. She could give them to Mom! Mom loved flowers. But there were enough flowers that she could pick more for someone else too.
A name came to her mind: Sister Aisha. Maybe these flowers could help brighten her day.
“I hope she likes sunflowers,” Amalie said quietly to herself. But she was a little nervous. What if Sister Aisha thought it was weird?
Amalie stopped picking the flowers. She rubbed the soft petals between her fingers. Maybe she shouldn’t give flowers to Sister Aisha.
No, Amalie thought. She knew she should give them to Sister Aisha. They might not make everything better. But Amalie still wanted to help, even in a small way. She could give the flowers to Sister Aisha at church tomorrow.
Amalie spent a long time picking the best flowers. She put them together and placed them carefully in her bike basket. Then she hopped on her bike and rode home. The bright yellow of the flowers looked pretty with the deep green of the forest in the background.
When Amalie got home, she tied each bouquet with a ribbon. She gave one to Mom.
Mom smiled big when she saw it. “Thank you! They’re beautiful.” She put the flowers in a vase on the table.
The next day, Amalie took the other bouquet of sunflowers to church. She found Sister Aisha sitting alone on a bench.
“Hi,” Amalie said. “I picked some sunflowers for you.”
Amalie held the flowers out. When Sister Aisha saw them, she smiled. Amalie hadn’t seen her smile in a long time. Her eyes were filled with light.
“Thank you,” Sister Aisha said. She gave Amalie a hug. “These are my favorite flowers.”
Amalie smiled too. She hadn’t known they were Sister Aisha’s favorite flowers! But the Holy Ghost had prompted her to make a bouquet for Sister Aisha, and Amalie was grateful she had listened.

On the last morning of the conference the youth are given “golden plates” and asked to record their feelings. Most of the youth make commitments to continue their study of the Book of Mormon.
But this time it will be different. They won’t just be reading. They’ll be understanding, feeling—and remembering—the Book of Mormon. Perhaps for the first time.
The plates are buried in a box made of bricks, to be “discovered” at a later time. But the youth have already made the most important discovery. They’ve lived the Book of Mormon, and it was anything but boring.

Thank you so much for “Papa’s Song” in the December 1995 issue. As I read it I let my tears flow because that story really touched my heart. It made me realize how important it is to enjoy every Christmas because there will be one day when we will not be there and those memories will be the most precious thing we have. As I read that story, I closed my eyes and imagined my last night in heaven. Like the girl’s father in the story, my Heavenly Father was rocking me in his arms and the angels were singing the song of the story. I read that story almost every night, and it makes me remember how important it is to do the right things so I can someday be back in his presence, to be in my Heavenly Father’s arms.
Elizabeth PadillaMayaguez, Puerto Rico

Tyreece’s progress in the Church has not gone unnoticed. At the end of 2022, he was asked to speak at the Auckland Papatoetoe Stake conference, where he bore his testimony:

“I know this Church is true. I know that when your faith in Heavenly Father is strong, He will bless you and your family for all eternity. I know that when you follow Heavenly Father’s commandments, He will guide you and your family to the right path . . . I have seen it with my own eyes and through experience. Now I want to help guide families towards Heavenly Father, so they can be together forever for all eternity.”

Tell the story of the Prophet Joseph Smith and Jacob Haun (see Primary 5 manual, lesson 31). Explain that the Prophet counseled Jacob Haun to tell the people to leave Haun’s Mill. Brother Haun did not deliver the Prophet’s message, and many lives were lost. Whenever we follow the prophet’s counsel, we move toward safety. Cut out several paper circles. Draw a smiling face on half the circles and a frowning face on the other half. Display pictures of people doing things prophets have told us to do. Also display pictures cut out of magazines or newspapers of people doing things prophets have told us not to do (arguing; stealing; smoking; drinking coffee, tea, or alcohol; and so on). Have the children place a smiling or frowning face by each picture, depending on whether it is something the prophet wants us to do or not do. Sing songs or hymns related to the pictures with smiling faces.

The Valiant 12 Class, Canandaigua Ward, Palmyra New York Stake, stuffed more than 200 teddy bears that their Primary teacher sewed. No two bears were alike. The class sent the bears to other children in Indiana and Kentucky who had lost their homes in tornadoes. They also sent bears to children in New York after Hurricane Sandy.

But one time I found out that the scriptures really can be a lot like my life! It all happened when we went on a backpack trip for a family reunion.
I carried my own backpack and sleeping bag, and I didn’t complain. After all, it was only supposed to be four miles (6.5 km) to the lake. I could make it, no problem.
The hike wasn’t too hard, but I was glad to stop for a rest after two miles (3 km). Then we saw the first trailhead sign. It said that the lake was still six miles (9.5 km) away. My dad didn’t have to tell me that the trail was really twice as long as we first thought. I already figured that out. He did need to remind us to make our water last longer.
My dad’s advice was important but hard to follow. The afternoon sun was hot, and we hardly had any shade on the trail. It seemed like we were never going to reach the lake.
The grown-ups stayed in the back with the youngest kids, and the older cousins went on ahead. I stayed with three cousins my age, and we ended up somewhere in between.
When we couldn’t see anyone ahead or behind us anymore, we started to get nervous. Our backpacks felt heavy, and our water bottles were empty. How much farther did we have to go?
Finally we got so worried and tired that we decided to stop and pray.
After the prayer we picked up our backpacks and trudged on.
Just a little while later, we heard hoofbeats coming up the trail. We waited and saw a man on a horse riding toward us.
He stopped and gave us some water. He explained that our older cousins had hurried to the lake with a water filter to start pumping water to bring back to us. The man heard about how we needed water and had agreed to help. “Do any of you need help with your backpacks?” he asked.
I looked at my cousins, and they smiled back at me. We actually felt pretty good!
“You better go on and help the others,” we said to the man. “We’re fine.”
And it was true! The rest of the way to the lake it felt like angels were lifting our packs and pushing us along.
A week later my family was reading the Book of Mormon. My eyes opened wide when we read these words: “And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs” (Mosiah 24:14).
“That’s what happened on the trail!” I blurted out. I didn’t have to think about how to use this scripture in my life. It described something that had already happened in my life! It was amazing! I could hardly wait to find other scriptures that were like my life.
And that’s how I learned I could liken the scriptures to me, and I could also liken me to the scriptures!

Except for the time his family lived in Hawaii, Elder Bradford spent most of his childhood in Mapleton, Utah. It was there that he learned about animal husbandry and agriculture, interests he pursued as an adult. “When I was a boy, I milked cows, helped raise horses, and did other kinds of farm chores. When I was very small, I would put a bucket of grain down on the ground, and when the horse lowered its head to eat out of the bucket, I would climb onto its neck and scoot onto its back. Later I learned how to break and train horses properly and how to groom and put shoes on them. I also participated in rodeos as I was growing up, and I won quite a few awards.

I was baptized on December 5, 1993, in the city of Minsk. At that time, it was the only city in Belarus with a branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I attended worship services there, but I lived in Borisov, 40 miles (70 km) away. I was 17 years old, and there was sharp opposition in my family. But because of the trials I had at that time, my faith and testimony of the truth were strengthened. I was even fortunate enough to go to the temple twice in Freiberg, Germany, to perform baptisms for the dead. I impatiently awaited the time when I could receive my endowment.

My father died in an industrial accident when I was just two years old. Even though she had seven children to raise—I was the youngest—and very little money, my mother served as Relief Society president, helping others with their difficulties. She taught us the value of service, of always being willing to do things for other people, of giving of oneself and one’s time and talents to other people.
I have always adored my mother. She taught me the principles of the gospel. I have always prayed, I have always been active in the Church, and I have always had a testimony, thanks to my good mother.

For many of the immigrants, Israel is a step up from the situation they have come from, while others must give up many material privileges to come here. Gail Hachstadt came to Israel a few years ago with her family for a vacation. Before long she decided to stay and make Israel her home. Her family returned to New York, expecting Gail to become disillusioned and return to America.
“My family wants me home,” she explains, a slight hint of a Bronx accent still touching her words. “They can’t believe I can work for so little and enjoy it, but I do. Sure I miss them and my friends, but though life is hard here, this has become my home and I love it.”
Gail says a degree from an American university carries a lot more weight in the job market, and so she plans to finish her last six months of social work in the United States. “My parents think that once I go back to the States, my materialistic desires will convince me to stay, but no way.”

Augusto and Myrna Lim were such a couple. When they were baptized in October 1964, they had no idea what the Lord would ask of them in building up the Church.
Brother Lim had graduated with a law degree and by 1964 was well established in his profession. He understood organizations, and he spoke well in public. He also made time for spiritual pursuits, having studied the Bible throughout his life. He had been reared by Protestant parents. Myrna had been reared a Roman Catholic.5
Shortly before the missionaries visited his home, his three-year-old daughter asked why the family never attended church on Sundays like other families. Moved by his daughter’s question, he knelt and prayed: “I feel guilty about what has happened. If you want me to work full time in the church as a minister or do anything for you, just let me know.”6
A week later the full-time missionaries knocked on the door. Augusto’s studies had prepared him to accept the missionaries’ message. “I joined the Church,” he said, “because the doctrine of the Church was what I actually believed in, even before the missionaries visited me, about God the Father, for example, and about revelation. Those are things that even when I was in high school and college I believed in. … The missionaries were teaching me something that I felt I knew.”7
At his baptism in October 1964, Augusto silently made a special covenant with his Heavenly Father: “I will be active, and I’ll do everything that I can to help.” The following week he was called as second counselor in the Sunday School. And before his first year in the Church ended, he had successively served as branch financial clerk, assistant district clerk, district clerk, and first counselor in the branch presidency in Quezon City. In this last calling he served for two years under American serviceman Montie Keller, who taught him “the proper way of running the Church. … I was taught by a great Church leader.”8
Brother Lim’s intensive period of apprenticeship continued when he was called as second counselor in the Luzon District presidency. Nine months later, on 22 August 1967, the Church organized the Philippines Mission with Paul H. Rose as president. Brother Lim was called as first counselor in the mission presidency, a position he held for six years. He also served as president of four different branches. President DeWitt C. Smith, who followed President Rose, often called upon Brother Lim as a trainer.
When the Church organized its first stake in the Philippines, Elder Ezra Taft Benson of the Quorum of the Twelve called Augusto A. Lim as stake president. The Manila Philippines Stake was organized 20 May 1973, only 12 years after missionary work began in Manila and only 9 years after President Lim joined the Church. As the Manila Stake grew and was divided, President Lim was called twice to preside over the new stakes that were organized.
In the years that followed, President Lim served as a regional representative and as president of the Philippines Naga Mission. In early June 1992, a few weeks before his release as mission president, President Lim received a call to serve in the Second Quorum of the Seventy, becoming the first Filipino to serve as a General Authority. His call was a pioneering call. He was to continue his profession but also serve in the Area Presidency, just as Area Authority Seventies do today.
In the summer of 1996, Elder and Sister Lim were called as president and matron of the Manila Philippines Temple. They are the first Filipino couple to lead the work at that temple.
Their years of service have been exemplary, particularly for their eight children. Their sons have served missions, and their daughters have married returned missionaries in the temple.

I was a missionary sent to France in 1949. Missionary work then was much different from missionary work now. There was no Missionary Training Center, so when I arrived in Paris, I had had no language training at all. There wasn’t a set of lessons to teach investigators. Different missionaries used different methods to teach the gospel.
I had been in Paris for just a few weeks when my companion received word that his mother was dying of cancer. Since his scheduled release date was only weeks away, the mission president allowed him to return home early to see his mother. If that had happened today, another elder would have been transferred to my area to be my companion. But in those days I was left to work by myself until transfers for the entire mission were made.
Before he left, my companion and I had scheduled a few lessons. I knew that I would have to take care of those appointments. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know the language, and there were no prepared discussions. I was nervous and frightened.
I began to read the Book of Mormon and to pray as hard as I could. I would pray, and then I would read, then I would pray again and read some more. This went on for several days.
Finally it was time to go to my first appointment—the Alvarez family. They were a lovely couple whom we had just begun teaching. When I went, I didn’t know what I was going to say. I had a testimony of the gospel and the restoration, but I did not know the language.
But when I went to see this family, the Lord took over. For two hours I taught them. I’m sure that it wasn’t in beautiful French, but I was able to communicate with them how I felt about the gospel. They understood the message and were touched by the Spirit.
That night when I returned to my apartment, I knew that there really was a Father in Heaven and that He had called me on a mission. I knew that Heavenly Father had watched over and helped me—had loosed my tongue—and that He watches over all His missionaries. It was the first spiritual testimony that I had received in my life of the truthfulness of this work. One of the greatest blessings that ever happened to me was serving a mission.

Yes, it does. Here’s one way to think of it. What happens to athletes or musicians if they completely stop practicing? Answer: they soon lose the ability to play at their best. While that might not seem like a loss of agency, it truly is. The athlete or musician who fails to work at their skill will no longer be able to make as many choices with how to use that skill. By decreasing their abilities, they can now do less than they did before. Their options become reduced.

Photograph courtesy of Johanan M.
Something that inspired me to change the way I live is Elder Kevin R. Duncan’s talk about forgiveness. When we are forgiving, we learn to tolerate others and to learn from them as well. As we forgive others, we get rid of pain in our hearts and any hatred we may have for them. I am going to try to forgive others and myself as well. From this, I can learn how the Atonement helps us to repent and to forgive.
Johanan M., 15, Illinois, USA

“How do you know Joseph Smith was a prophet?” the investigator asked.
“OK, deep breath. You can answer this,” Tanner thought to himself. Tanner J. was teaching the First Vision with his companion for one of the first times.
Suddenly, the noise faded into the background, and the room became tranquil and calm. In that moment, only Tanner, his companion, and the investigator mattered to him. Tanner related the First Vision and bore a solemn and sincere testimony of Joseph Smith. Since then, Tanner has never been nervous about sharing his testimony of the First Vision.
But this experience didn’t happen while Tanner was on a full-time mission. It actually occurred three years earlier in his ward building with the first counselor in the bishopric as his “investigator.”

My Church assignments require me to do considerable traveling throughout the world. When I arrive in a city, a stake president or one of his counselors usually meets me at the airport. Although seldom if ever have I met him before, I can invariably find him among the crowd of watchers at the gate and can walk up to him and greet him. He can also recognize me among the crowd of deplaning passengers. A certain amount of publicity is associated with our work as General Authorities. Our pictures appear in various magazines and news articles, so I can explain how he can recognize me from having seen my picture. But how is it that I can so readily recognize him?

I’m 16 years old and not a member of the LDS church. I’ve been receiving the New Era for about a year now, and I have grown to love the articles in it. I wait diligently every month for the latest issue, reading my old ones to see if I’ve missed anything.
I thank you for printing “And When the Night Came” by Jack Weyland in the December issue. That story touched me. Like Elder Todd Bradford I was confused. I like my worldly possessions, but I realized I would gladly give them up just to be a member of your wonderful church and help build up the kingdom of God.