Gospel Story Finder

Now, I’d like to say in conclusion a few words to the young men who are here. I do not know how many of you heard Elder LeGrand Richards speak this afternoon. President Lee once referred to Elder Richards as the marvelous work and a wonder. He is now past ninety-six years of age. His feet are giving him some trouble, but there is nothing wrong with his head. Without notes or manuscripts of any kind, he stood before us. He quoted scripture. He recounted experiences. He made us laugh as he talked of his missionary days. He made us pray that each of us might become more powerful in our advocacy of the word of the Lord.
As I listened to Elder Richards this afternoon, I said to myself, “His tremendous enthusiasm, his powerful knowledge of the scripture, his capacity to reason with great persuasion are the sweet fruits of his missionary life.” I want to say to you young boys and young men, prepare for that service. Save money for that purpose. Save it in a secure way so that it will be available when you need it.

It’s a lot like the city boy who went to work on the farm. He was sorting potatoes when someone asked him how he liked working on the farm. He said, “I like the work all right, but these decisions get me down.” It is said that the character can be measured by what one does in his leisure time. That’s when he alone makes his own decisions.

My name is Alan Matthews.* I’m nine years old and have listened to many lessons in church and family home evening. None ever taught me so much about Heavenly Father’s love for me as the lesson I learned through our ducks.
I’m an animal lover. I have a huge collection of small plastic animals from all over the world, and I’ve read nearly every book on animals that our school library has to offer. The fact that I love animals so much is what makes what happened to me so amazing.
My parents, my brothers, and I live in the state of Washington. We have a huge yard with trees, a pond my dad made, and our own little hill. Last spring, my parents surprised us by coming home with two baby ducklings, Samson and Delilah. We raised them in the house until their adult feathers grew in and it warmed up a bit outside. They were cute and cuddly, and we loved to sit and hold them. But once they were old enough to set loose in the backyard, it was pretty hard to catch them when we wanted to hold one.
One day I found myself sitting by the edge of the pond, watching them dive for bugs and bathe themselves. The longer I watched, the more bored I became and the more I wanted to catch one of them to hold. I circled the pond several times, trying to get them to come out of the water. But they knew exactly what I intended and swam away from me. Finally, tired of going in circles, I sat down to try to come up with another idea.
That’s when I came up with what I thought was a foolproof plan. I began to toss small stones into the water beyond the ducks. The splash startled them and made them instinctively swim closer to me. With each stone, I became more confident that I’d soon have a duck to hold. Then the unexpected happened: I looked down to pick up a stone, and there were none left.
Fearful that the ducks would retreat to the other side of the pond, I quickly searched behind me for another rock. I spied one a little way off. Without taking my eyes off the ducks, I grabbed the rock. My fingertips barely had time to feel its smooth edges before I hurled it into the water.
In my hurry, my aim was a little off. Everything would have been fine except that Samson, spooked by my sudden movement, jerked around and headed right into the stone’s path. With a small thud, the rock hit him squarely in the head. For a moment, I sat frozen, shocked at what I’d done and afraid that he’d been badly hurt.
Delilah started beating the water with her wings and screeching at me. Samson jumped out of the water and ran straight across the yard to a little hut we’d built for them. I was relieved that he seemed to be OK, but my heart was beating so hard that I went to lie on my bed for a while.
Two days later the scene came back to haunt me. Mom was out feeding the birds and found Samson nearly drowned at the edge of the pond. Scooping him up and hollering for one of us to get Dad, she rushed Samson into the house. Delilah, who normally set up quite a wail when separated from her mate, followed and stood patiently on the back porch next to the door.
Samson was very cold and could not stand or control his wings very well. Dad wrapped him in towels and put him in a tub under a heat lamp. He showed no sign of improvement after an hour, so Dad brought in Delilah. She nestled right up to Samson.
The next few days, I spent a lot of time by the side of the tub, cleaning up after the ducks and feeding them. I found little comfort in helping them. Everyone tried to guess what had caused Samson’s illness. I felt terrible, knowing what was wrong and that it was my fault.
A week passed. We had seen little change in Samson. It was a warm spring day, and we were all outside enjoying the sunshine. I walked around aimlessly, hitting the ground with a stick that I’d picked up somewhere. I didn’t hear my mother walk up behind me. I jumped as she gently placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Alan, your father felt that I should ask you about Samson.” When I didn’t respond, she continued. “Sometimes we do something we’re not proud of, and it can make us very unhappy inside. It can make us so unhappy that it is like carrying a huge boulder around with us everywhere we go.”
I turned to face her. Tears began to well up in my eyes. I wanted to cry out, “Yes, that’s just how I feel!” but I remained silent.
“When that happens, we need to confide in our Heavenly Father and ask for His forgiveness and for the burden to be removed,” she said.
Finally I mustered up the courage to speak. I asked, “Is that all I have to do?”
“No,” Mother said. “We need to confess our sins, do whatever we can to make the wrong right, and promise that we will never do it again.”
I thought about what she had said. I knew that she was right, and I knew what I had to do. I looked up at her, unable to hold back the tears any longer. “Mom, I hit Samson in the head with a rock. I didn’t mean to hurt him, and I don’t want him to die.”
She pulled me close to her and hugged me tightly. “That surely has been a heavy burden to carry around all this time.”
I nodded. Then, pulling out of her comforting arms, I said, “I need to go to my room for a few minutes.”
She nodded in understanding, and I ran inside.
As I knelt beside my bed, I told Heavenly Father that I’d done something very wrong and that I was very sorry. I explained that despite our efforts, Samson was not getting any better, and I asked Him if He would help make things right. I asked for His forgiveness and promised that I would try to never again do something so careless. Closing in the name of Jesus Christ, I arose, amazed at how much better I felt inside already.
For the first time all week, I joined in the dinner conversation and played with my brothers. I now understood what my mother was saying about the weight, because I felt as light as a feather.
When I awoke the next morning, I hurried to check on the ducks and to get their food and water. As I went around the corner, the first sight that met my eyes was Samson, standing up and preening his feathers! He looked his old self again, and he started quacking for his breakfast. He had been healed! Excitedly I ran to tell my parents the good news. I had been forgiven, and I knew that Heavenly Father had helped make Samson better.
That evening I sat on my bed, writing in my journal:
“I know that I am a child of God, that He hears and answers my prayers, and that even a nine-year-old is important enough for a miracle.”

After Joseph Smith learned that the 116 pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript were missing, he cried, “All is lost!”1 He knew he had failed. He knew he would be rebuked and possibly even cast off. And yet all was not lost. God had anticipated Joseph’s failure nearly 2,000 years earlier and was prepared for it.

There have been many times that Heavenly Father has heard and answered my prayers. My first memory of this happening was when I was four. I had lost the blocks I wanted to play with. So I went to my room and knelt down to pray. I asked Heavenly Father to help me find my toys. My prayer was immediately answered—I found the blocks in the next room.

Just after marrying his sweetheart, Lucy, he was called on a mission to the _______________ _____________. While in Alabama, he was shot at by a mob but was not hurt.

Each Sunday in the Highland Utah 30th Ward, Richard Christiansen and his counselors in the Sunday School presidency go through a routine familiar in almost every unit of the Church. They make sure that each class has a teacher and help students get from the hallways to the classrooms.
However, Brother Christiansen has caught the vision that his responsibilities are not limited to herding students and ringing bells.
One of the primary roles of each quorum and auxiliary organization is to teach members gospel principles essential to their salvation. The role of a Sunday School presidency, such as Brother Christiansen and his counselors, is to assist auxiliary and priesthood leaders in this charge by acting as teacher training specialists within the ward.
As ward Sunday School president, Brother Christiansen has the responsibility to serve as a resource for parents, leaders, and teachers to help improve the instruction that occurs in the home and in the Church.
“Teaching is what it’s all about, and being effective as a teacher helps others be excited to learn,” Brother Christiansen said.

I want to thank each of you—the translators and all those who help publish the Liahona. It is because of you that I have the blessing of holding the words of our prophets and the General Authorities in my hands.
I was baptized as a child but was lost to the Church for a long time. When I heard Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (in October 2004 general conference), he helped me believe that the Savior made it possible for me to be redeemed from my sins. I have experienced that change of heart spoken of by Alma, and my joy is complete.Araceli Arroyo Romero, Mexico

Vetséra Lapierre, 14, also from Quebec City, says she will always remember her first trip to the Toronto Ontario Temple to do baptisms for the dead. “I was so happy just to be with so many young members of the Church; the joy of it filled my eyes with tears of gratitude,” she explains. “It was something I had dreamed of for years, and now my dream was coming true. When we walked in the doors of the house of the Lord, I immediately felt a perfect peace, a spiritual strength that grew and grew as we did the baptisms. That feeling has stayed with me ever since. Now when I face a temptation, I remember how I felt in the temple. I always want to feel that peace, and I want to return to the temple again and again.”

“Congratulations, José,” Bishop García said. He handed me my new temple recommend.
“Thank you!” I said. I shook his hand and walked out of the office, staring down at the white paper. I could go to the temple to do baptisms!
My abuelos (grandparents) were waiting in the hall. My parents didn’t come to church very often, so I usually went to church with Abuela and Abuelo. They both gave me a hug.
“Are you excited for your first temple trip next week?” Abuelo asked as we walked out of the building. “We’ll take a bus to the Santo Domingo Temple.”
“Yes!” I said. But I couldn’t help noticing a funny, fluttery feeling in my stomach.
“It will be so nice to go together as a family,” Abuela said with a big smile.
I smiled back, but the funny feeling didn’t go away.
As the day of the temple trip got closer, I got more nervous. I finally talked to Abuela about it.
She was chopping vegetables in the kitchen, but she stopped when I came in. “What’s wrong?” she asked, wiping her hands on a towel. “You look worried.”
I sighed and sat down at the table. “I’m really excited to go to the temple. But I’m also nervous.”
Abuela nodded, like she understood how I felt. “You don’t need to worry. People will be there to help you the whole time.”
As she spoke, I felt a warm, comforting feeling from my head to my toes. I knew the temple would be special.
Soon the day of our temple trip came. I put on my Sunday clothes and combed my hair. Abuela came into my room.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Excited! I can’t wait to go to the temple.”
Abuela sat on the end of my bed and pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.
“This is a temple ordinance card,” she said. “It’s for my brother. He was very special to me. He died before he could be baptized. Would you like to be baptized for him in the temple today?”
Abuela held out the paper to me. I read the name: Ramon Rodriguez. I could tell Abuela loved her brother, and I was glad she trusted me to get baptized for him.
“Of course, Abuela. Thanks!” I carefully put the card in my pocket.
While riding the bus to the temple, Abuela told about when she went to the temple for the first time with Abuelo. Back then, they had to go all the way to Peru because there wasn’t a temple in the Dominican Republic.
When we got to the temple, Bishop García was already there. My eyes widened as we walked up to the building. It was so beautiful! I paused to read the words above the doors: Holiness to the Lord: The House of the Lord.
As I walked through the doors, I knew I was entering a special space. All my worries seemed to melt away. Everything was quiet and calm. I felt peace.
After changing into white clothes, I stood in the baptismal font with Bishop García. I listened carefully as he said the words of the baptismal prayer. When he said Ramon’s name, a peaceful feeling filled me.
Bishop García lowered me into the water. When I came up, I was smiling. I couldn’t wait to come to the temple again!

Heidi loved animals, especially cats. So she was excited when her cat, Thunder, had four kittens. Two kittens were black as night, and the other two were gray with a touch of marble—just like their mother.
Heidi took very good care of Thunder and her new babies. She made sure Thunder had plenty of food and water. She kept the area of the garage where the kittens had been born clean, safe, and warm.
On a sunny afternoon when the kittens were a few weeks old, Thunder seemed to be a little restless. Heidi thought the cat might enjoy a walk while the kittens were sleeping, so she picked her up and headed outside. But they hadn’t gone far when Thunder jumped out of Heidi’s arms and ran away. Heidi tried to catch her, but the mother cat quickly disappeared.
Heidi was frightened. She searched frantically under bushes, in trees, and through a neighbor’s weed patch. She could not find Thunder anywhere.
Heartbroken, Heidi walked slowly home with empty arms. She kept thinking about the tiny kittens. What would happen to them? Would they die without their mother? Tears were rolling down her cheeks as she neared home.
Suddenly she smiled. “My family will help me find Thunder!” she thought. She ran eagerly inside, calling out for help. To her dismay, she couldn’t find anybody. Now what should she do? She was all alone and scared. Then the thought came to her that she was never all alone. Heavenly Father was always with her.
Heidi ran up to her room and knelt by her bed. She asked Heavenly Father to please help her find Thunder so the kittens would be taken care of and not die. She got up and headed out to look for Thunder again. The first thing she saw was Thunder—calmly washing herself by the garage door! Heidi was so happy that she cried.
At church the next Sunday, Heidi told her friends that her prayer had been answered. She knew Heavenly Father was always with her.

I was nervous because I couldn’t help but think about my friend Danny (name has been changed). For months Danny had been talking about how much he looked forward to serving a mission. But that changed after he met with the bishop.
Because Danny had engaged in unworthy behavior with several young women, he later told me, he had disqualified himself from full-time missionary service. He was no longer free to choose a mission.

The son of Matthew L. Carpenter completes his full-time mission after recovering from a stroke.

Recently, our grandson, Adam, was traveling with Sister Stone and me on a trip to California. About noontime we stopped for lunch. When the waitress brought the bill I didn’t pay very close attention and after she gave me my change, I realized that she had charged me for only two sandwiches instead of three.
I knew that the girl would be short at the end of the day, and there suddenly flashed into my mind the thought of how my father had taught me to be honest. I felt this was a good time to talk to Adam about honesty, and so we sat down and I explained what had happened. I told him we had a problem.
I said we could leave now and keep the extra change and no one would ever know the difference, or we could tell the girl that we still owed her for a sandwich. Our decision wasn’t at all difficult to make when we decided that if we kept money that did not belong to us that we would be breaking the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.” We agreed that our Heavenly Father would be displeased with us and we would be unhappy too because we would know in our hearts that we had not been honest.
Adam and I approached the girl at the counter, and I explained to her that she had undercharged us and that we owed almost a dollar more. Her face flushed in embarrassment for a moment, and then she thanked us for telling her of the mistake. We continued on our way with a good feeling, and I am sure our Heavenly Father approved of what we had done.

Abby: Hayley was 10 and I was 6 when we started.
Hayley: At first it was kind of scary because we had to audition. McKay started a little while after Abby and I began recording. Then came our brother Jacob, who still just reads for the Friend because he’s 10.
When my voice was younger I only used to read the Friend. Now I read both the Friend and New Era. We’ve all gotten better over time at enunciating things well and at making our voices go up and down to keep the sentences from all sounding the same.

Hip, Hip, Hooray for Annie McRae! by Brad Wilcox, illustrated by Julie Olson. Eight-year-old Annie McRae spends most of her days hearing the adults in her life cheer, “hip, hip, hooray for Annie McRae!” But what happens when people are too busy to cheer? Annie learns that the best cheers come from caring for others.

One day I decided to visit my granny who lives far away in the country. She invited me over for lunch and to ride her horses. We had a wonderful afternoon together and enjoyed each other’s company. After we talked for a couple of hours, it was time for me to go. I started up my motorcycle and began my long journey home.
After two hours of driving I was in the middle of nowhere. Suddenly my motorbike ran out of gasoline. I couldn’t believe it! And my grandmother was too far away to help. I put my hand in my pocket to look for my cell phone, but it wasn’t there. I was terrified. Where could it be? I must have dropped it in the road.
I thought I had no way out of this situation. I had no idea what to do. Then suddenly I felt a voice that said: “Pray always, that you may come off conqueror” (D&C 10:5). So I decided to pray. In that moment two of my friends appeared and rescued me.

Paper collage of Sister Gregory by David Green
Blanca Gregory had worked in banking for 27 years, including 12 years as an assistant manager—which is why getting laid off came as a shock. Her surprise, however, was quickly replaced by worry and stress.
Thankfully, Blanca’s husband, Eric, was employed, and the family had savings to tide them over. After recovering from an illness and being out of work more than a year, Sister Gregory began looking for a new job.
She updated her resume, enrolled in computer classes, attended job fairs, and began filling out job applications. As a result, she got several job interviews. With her work experience, she thought that finding a new job would be easy.
“I grew worried when I didn’t hear back from anyone,” Sister Gregory says. “I was like, ‘What is going on?’”
Months passed without a single job offer. Finally, her husband, who was then serving as bishop of their ward in Newport Beach, California, USA, suggested that Blanca check out the Church’s self-reliance initiative and then join a Find a Better Job group.
As part of a Find a Better Job group, Sister Gregory began a 12-week course that helped her learn to network, recognize opportunities, update her resume, present herself professionally, and prepare for job interviews. She also set daily goals related to identifying resources, making contacts, and holding face-to-face meetings.
“A self-reliance class is not like any other class. It’s an inspiration. You feel the Spirit there,” she says. “Our class taught us to exercise faith, be diligent, work hard, and plead with the Lord—relying not just on our own skills and ability to find a job but also on Heavenly Father’s help.”
Thanks to her Find a Better Job group, Sister Gregory gained extensive practice sharing her qualifications and contacting people and businesses using a networking tool called “Me in 30 Seconds.” A Me in 30 Seconds statement helps employers understand the kind of job a potential employee is seeking, the person’s experience, and how the person could help the business succeed.
About eight weeks into her course, Sister Gregory felt impressed one day to kneel and pray continually throughout the day for help.
“I humbled myself,” she says. “I really needed Heavenly Father to help me find something. I wasn’t saying I want to be a manager or I want to make so much money. I just needed a job. I poured out my heart to the Lord.”
As part of her “homework” that day, she applied electronically for five positions. The very next day, a prospective employer called to interview her for a position as a bank branch officer. She was excited her prayers had been answered so quickly.
“I wasn’t nervous about the interview, because I had practiced in the class for so long,” says Sister Gregory. Nevertheless, she prayed fervently before the interview. “Heavenly Father,” she pleaded, “please put words into my mouth so I can answer correctly and so that those interviewing me can see the value of what I have to offer.”
In March 2018, a few days after Sister Gregory’s interview, Mickey and Margaret Foster pulled into a Newport Beach Stake chapel parking lot to visit that evening’s Find a Better Job group. The Fosters, then serving as full-time Self-Reliance Services senior missionaries, arrived early and were surprised to see Blanca already parked there.
“She was so excited that she jumped into our car to tell us she had just gotten a job,” Elder Foster says. “She described how much she loved her Heavenly Father and what the self-reliance initiative and her self-reliance group had meant to her in her quest to find employment.”
Sister Gregory also testified to the Fosters that she had never felt closer to the Savior or felt His personal involvement more in her life. Overcome with gratitude and emotion, all three wept. A year later, Sister Gregory remains grateful for her self-reliance group, for heavenly help, and for her job as a bank officer.
“The pay is good. The schedule is good. The benefits are good,” she says. She is using her skills, developing new talents, and “growing in the company.”
“Joining a 12-week Find a Better Job group is the best investment you could make,” she says to anyone looking for a job or looking to change jobs. “It won’t just help you update your resume and share your skills, but it will also help you learn to exercise your faith and grow your testimony. That’s what makes the difference. The class is only a couple of hours each week, but it will really help. It will change your life.”

For example, one segment shares Sister Pond’s approaches to dealing with a disruptive student. Sister Pond learns that teaching Primary means becoming an example to the children as well as teaching lessons. Viewers watch as Sister Pond obeys promptings from the Spirit to enhance preparation for her lesson and prayers for her students. The online training pauses several times to ask viewers how they would respond in Sister Pond’s situation.

Apple Tree Christmas The apple tree provided good food, shade, and Christmas ornaments. It was also Josie’s playground and Trinka’s art studio. And even the ice storm couldn’t destroy its gift of self at Christmas.Trina Hakes Noble3–7 years