Gospel Story Finder

Today,
Dear Lord,
I knelt to pray for one afflicted—
But paused with words unsaid
For I (in my limited wisdom)
Had been about to ask,
As always,
That the sick one be healed;
That all suffering cease.
In short,
That all should have
a happy ending
All the time.
Oh, dear Father, instead I give thanks
That Thou, (in Thine Infinite Wisdom)
Art able to
Edit my prayers,
Lest, in my well-intentioned concern
I should shield those I love
From the very trials
They may need
To bring them
Close
To thee.

For the youth in the La Verne California Stake, the dancing at their high school events has gotten so inappropriate that it’s hard to even be there. “You can go to school dances and have the option to not inappropriately dance, but just being there, it has a bad atmosphere. You can’t have the Spirit with you there,” says Cameron Bodhaine, 17, of La Verne, California.
As a solution, Cameron planned an “Anti-Prom” event last spring. This past fall, he also planned an Anti-Homecoming, that took place on the same day as the school’s dance. He invited friends and their dates to join, and they had fun go-carting, eating dinner, and later watching a movie. They had a blast.
The idea has caught on, and there have been many other “Anti-” activities as alternatives to the school-sponsored dances. Laurel Quinn Alkonis, with some other girls, planned a similar activity for Sadies.
“Make a plan and let people know in advance,” Cameron advises youth who want to plan similar activities. “It’s a great way to get to know each other while upholding your standards, being respectful, and feeling comfortable.”

1 Have you ever wondered how a big tree started its life? The trees growing in your neighborhood were most likely planted there years ago as young trees, after getting their start in a tree nursery. A tree nursery is a garden where little trees are started from seeds or cuttings and protected in their early growth until they can be replanted. Many more trees grow in the country and forests that were not planted by men. They were planted in a natural and random way.
2 Each year a large oak tree will make hundreds of seeds called acorns that have the potential of becoming oak trees themselves.
3 Every autumn the oak tree’s leaves turn red and brown and fall to the ground. And with them fall the acorns. It is good that each tree produces many seeds, because most acorns will never have a chance to grow.
4 After the acorns fall, many are eaten by insects and rodents. Acorns are one of the squirrels’ favorite storage foods. They bury them in the ground to save for the long winter, without realizing they are also planting seeds. Some will sprout the following spring!
5 Autumn turns into winter, and the forest ground is covered with a blanket of white. The heavy snow becomes deeper, compacting moist brown leaves on top of the acorns.
6 With the approach of spring and warmer days, the snow begins to melt. Sometimes the swiftly moving water from melting snow washes dirt over the acorns and moves them to other places where they have a chance to sprout.
7 Weeks of warm sunshine and spring rains cause the acorn to swell, breaking the hard protective outer shell. Soon the tree embryo pushes through the soil to the surface. The miniature oak leaves unfold above last autumn’s dead oak leaves. These new little leaves are still being nourished from the seed’s stored food.
8 Two weeks later, the tiny oak tree’s leaves have grown and turned a rich green, making food for the small tree by a process of absorbing air and sunlight through the leaves. They also absorb water and minerals through the tree’s roots. This process is called photosynthesis. Where there were once three leaves, the tree now has only two. One leaf was probably eaten off by an insect. If other creatures in the forest do not harm the tree, in a century it will become a full-grown oak tree!

That evening we felt a greater need for the strength and power of our Heavenly Father. We needed His Spirit to be with us. So we had a testimony meeting at the chapel. The missionaries thanked the Lord for giving us our daily bread, and they recognized that we had been led, guided, directed, and protected. They knew that many others were not so fortunate and would not see another sunrise. We truly had been “troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we [had been] perplexed, but not in despair; … cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8–9).
All the missionaries testified of the peace they felt. They testified that God had protected them and calmed their souls. They had faced the possibility of death but did not fear. They did not have the water, food, or heat needed to sustain them long-term, yet they were nourished with living water; they were fed by the word of God; they were warmed by the Spirit. Within our little band of missionaries, not one feared. Each missionary felt God’s strengthening power that night and felt closer to God than ever before.

When President Thomas S. Monson was young, people called him Tommy. As a deacon, Tommy watched the young men who were priests in the Aaronic Priesthood as they blessed the sacrament. One of the priests, Barry, had a very fine voice. Often, members of the ward told Barry how inspiring it was when he said the sacrament prayers.
Another young man named Jack was very hard of hearing. When he spoke, it was difficult for people to understand him, and he wasn’t given the assignment to say a sacrament prayer very often. When he did have a turn, the deacons sometimes snickered about the way he spoke.
One Sunday, Barry and Jack sat at the sacrament table together. After the sacrament song they broke the bread, and then Barry knelt to pray. But nothing happened. Barry’s fine voice was silent. Tommy and the other deacons looked up to see what was causing the delay. Barry was frantically looking for the little white card with the sacrament prayers printed on it. He couldn’t find it, and his face flushed pink and then bright red. He couldn’t say the prayer without reading from the little card.
Jack nudged Barry back to his seat. Then he knelt and began to say the words of the sacrament prayer that he had carefully memorized. After the deacons passed the bread, Jack knelt again and offered the prayer on the water. He was prepared and willing to fulfill his calling in the priesthood.
That day Jack’s example touched the hearts of the ward members. Tommy and the other deacons gained great respect for Jack. Barry and Jack became friends. Jack didn’t have the finest voice, but he was prepared to do his duty because he had faithfully learned the sacred sacrament prayers by heart.

When the Rabasto family joined the Church about four years ago, they devoted their whole hearts to it. After moving to the Bahamas from the Philippines, their dad, Adolfo, was called to the branch presidency. They hold regular family home evening. Archie and Roselle, the two high schoolers in the family, both attend seminary every day. They read the scriptures daily as a family. Rinna, the oldest sister in the family, is a student at Brigham Young University.

What the family loves most about the gospel is the Christmas present they received last year. During the holiday break, the family took a trip to the temple in Orlando, Florida, to be sealed.

“I felt really excited to be in the temple,” says Archie. “I remember my sisters crying, and I felt happy and peaceful.”

From Orlando, the family said good-bye to Rinna, since she was leaving for college. They miss her, of course, but they say they feel calm about her being so far away in Utah, since they know they’ll always be a family, no matter where they go.

“Everyone in the temple kept telling us how great we looked with our white clothes and jet-black hair,” says Roselle. “We felt great, too. You could feel the air-conditioning in the temple, but I felt a warmth inside my heart. The feelings I had there were indescribable.”

Some great compensations have come to me in these last few days. Never has my family, the intimate family of mine, been drawn more closely together. One by one these precious children, grandchildren of mine, and my own dear companion have drawn closer, and I have reason to believe that those beyond sight have been very near to us, their families and mine. There has been a unity and a pledge to me that they feel that this is their call. I have said to them, “My sermons will be no better than the lives of the members of my family.” I am pleading with them to set an example before the Church.

Julie Loper, the Mia Maid adviser in the Sunnyside Ward, Yakima Washington Stake, shared this story: “My husband and I concentrated one of our family home evenings on what to do in case of an emergency. Since our children were so young, we felt the most important thing to tell them was to get help as fast as they could. We made up several situations, acted them out, and tested our children to see if they understood.
“Little did we know that the following Wednesday our efforts would pay off. Our daughter, Erin, 15 months old, fell into a four-foot-deep irrigation box that had a great deal of water rushing through it. Three-year-old Ryan was just coming out of the house when he heard her cries.
“All Ryan could see was her fingertips holding onto the cement. He did not take time to investigate further, but immediately called me for help as we had discussed the week before in home evening. Those valuable seconds saved made the difference. I was able to reach her before she was forced down into the pipe which carries water onto other farms.
“Had Ryan waited before going for help, Erin’s strength would have gone before help arrived. If he had attempted to pull her up himself, probably both of them would have fallen in. Ryan said, ‘Family night helped me know what to do.’”

Loic Gomes, age 13, is the deacons quorum president of the Antony Ward. He says what he likes about the Aaronic Priesthood is that “we are truly brothers.”

“We help each other out,” he explains. “If one of us has a problem, the others come to his aid.” In a deacons quorum with two active members and one less-active member, that means the teachers and the priests help out a lot. “The priesthood isn’t just something we talk about,” Loic adds. “It’s something we live.”

And that includes a lot of effort to reach that one deacon who hasn’t been attending meetings. “He used to come; I don’t know what happened,” Loic explains. “So we write letters; we visit him; we let him know we care. We hope he’ll be back with us soon.”

The Winds of Mars This is a science-fiction story of the daughter of a dictator of a whole planet—and the lengths he and the androids of him went to, to stay in power.H. M. Hoover9–12 years

Ninth, charitable service helps us do as the Savior did, for was not His whole ministry one of reaching out and helping, lifting and blessing, loving and caring? Jesus declares, “I am among you as he that serveth” (Luke 22:27), and again, “For I will raise up unto myself a pure people, that will serve me in righteousness” (D&C 100:16). There are good people everywhere giving charitable service. Once, when we were visiting our missionaries and members in Nigeria, our vehicle broke down on a lonely road. Finally a car approached, and two young Nigerians got out. “The Lord told us to stop and help you,” they said. Help us they did, for they knew what the Lord would have them do. And so it should be with us.

I tried that once when I was riding my horse. I grabbed the limb of a tree, and my horse kept going. But then the limb broke and I fell to the ground. I suffered the consequence of that decision with a broken arm. It was very painful.
I gained a little wisdom from that experience. Even though we see other people do something, especially if it is wrong, it doesn’t mean that we should do it. We all have friends, and sometimes they do not always follow the teachings of the gospel.

All the emotional and spiritual pain went away, and I was blessed because when I came back to Church my two younger siblings also joined the Church. Feeling stronger spiritually, my desire to marry my girlfriend in the temple also grew.
I met my wife in 2011 and at the age of 15 I somehow knew she was the one for me. I waited patiently and remained a good friend, growing together in the gospel. We were finally married in the temple on December 15, 2022. It was a very simple wedding since we were barely out of the pandemic, but the peace and joy that we felt was beyond compare.

“When Dad was a little boy, he went to the bird refuge and learned all about the birds—their names, their habits, their calls. He’s loved them ever since.”

Our six-year-old grandson, Oli, who affectionately calls me “Poppy,” had to get something from the car. His dad stood inside the house and, without Oli being aware, unlocked the car door remotely as Oli approached it, then locked it again when he was done. Oli then ran inside with a big smile!
All the family asked him, “How did you get the car door to unlock for you, then to lock again?” He just smiled.
Our daughter, his mother, said, “Maybe it’s like when Poppy does it—maybe you have magic powers like him!”
When it happened a second time a few minutes later, his response to further questions about his newfound abilities was: “It’s amazing! I think it’s because Poppy loves me and is one of my best friends, and he takes care of me!”

At age 25, I found myself in a verbally abusive relationship. I’d become less active in the Church, but when I finally left my boyfriend, I decided to go back to attending church regularly. I wanted to be on the straight and narrow path again. Little did I know, though, that when I made that decision, I was already pregnant.
I decided to stay true to my choice to be active again in the Church, but I didn’t really want to be pregnant and go to church where I lived. I wanted to attend a ward in a different city, so I went there one Sunday. It was the day of the Primary sacrament meeting presentation. As the children talked about how Heavenly Father always loves us, I felt His love too. That message was a great blessing for me that day.
After the meeting, I asked the bishop if I could attend that ward given my situation. He advised me to go to the ward within my boundaries. I didn’t want to, but he assured me I’d be OK, and I was.

Our membership in the Church has blessed our lives so much. When we first joined the Church we could not understand, speak, or read English. We would come to church each week and we enjoyed being there, even though we did not understand English. The branch president would invite us into his office after church was over and explain to us the teachings. We were nurtured by the leaders and other Church members.

When we got home I invited my best friend on the team, Rosa, to go to church with me. She enjoyed the meetings and felt peaceful there. After that, Rosa came to church almost every week. It was so wonderful to see the gospel touch her life.
About a month later I received an unexpected phone call from a young man on the men’s cross-country team, Brendan. He told me that he had taken the missionary lessons and was getting baptized in a week! I was so happy and thrilled for him. Both Rosa and I attended Brendan’s baptism. Rosa also took the missionary lessons and later chose to be baptized.

Freedom
All right team, our goal is freedom. Now let’s get in there and win freedom. We all know what the plays are: congressmen, forwards; judicial branch, guards; legislative branch, center. Now pass that love, dribble that kindness, but most of all make every shot at freedom count. When the game is over, if we win, we’ll really want to hang on to our victory to help our fans live peacefully. The team’s captain is the executive branch. After the game is over we can thank our coach, Heavenly Father. The trophy we will get will be the greatest and most treasured honor that the United States will receive. We will dedicate this game to the freedom fighters of America.
Jim Powner, Age 12Indianapolis, Indiana

Eve W., age 9, Capital Governorate, Kuwait
I love taking care of my pets with my brother. Our guinea pigs like to be outside, and I pet them while they eat the grass in our backyard.