Gospel Story Finder

Sunday was Eli’s birthday. He was four years old.
In four more years, you will be baptized.
And four years after that, you will be a deacon and you will be able to pass the sacrament.
Later, Mom helped Eli change from his pajamas into his church clothes.
Do deacons wear superhero pants to church?
No. Deacons wear nice pants.
Do deacons wear superhero shirts to church?
No. Deacons wear white shirts and ties.
I want to wear a white shirt and nice pants. I want to dress like a deacon.
Mom helped Eli put on his nice pants, a white shirt, and a tie.
At church, Eli folded his arms as he watched the deacons pass the sacrament.
When a deacon brought Eli the sacrament, Eli took a piece of bread and then handed the tray to Mom.
Mom smiled at Eli. He was happy to help. He couldn’t wait until he could be a deacon.

Illustrated by Don Seegmiller
Early in the year 1884 the beautiful Mormon temple in Logan, Utah, was almost ready to be dedicated. …
While the temple was being built, Bishop Henry Ballard, who had worked on the Temple from its beginning, prayed earnestly that in some way he would receive names of ancestors who had lived in far-off England.
On the day before the dedication of the Temple and while several of Bishop Ballard’s daughters were playing …
Two strange men suddenly approached!!!
Illustrated by Don Seegmiller
One of the men gave the oldest girl a folded newspaper saying … “Give this to your father and to no one else, go quickly and don’t lose it.”
The girl hurried to take the paper …
… to her father.
It was the Newberry Weekly News, printed in his hometown in England just three days before. One full page was filled with birth and death dates of people buried in the Newberry cemetery.
The Temple President said, “Bishop Ballard you are authorized to do work for these people, you received the record through messengers of the Lord.”

When I was walking home from school one day I saw my friend. She was crying because her mom was not home. So I took her to my house. She felt better when I helped her. Her mom came home soon after that, and my friend was happy. I am glad I could help my friend.

“I hate to change horses in the middle of the stream.”
“No. Don’t think of it like that.”
“How else can I think of it?”
“Well, okay, you’re at this corral, see, and there’s all these horses milling around. At first you picked out this rather ordinary quarter horse named Kyle. But then you spot this magnificent Arabian named Elliott. So you turn to the man in charge of the horses and you ask, ‘Would it be all right if I changed my mind and took that Arabian instead of the one I originally picked?’ And the cowboy says, ‘Hey, Lady, it’s no skin off my nose.’ So you pick the Arabian. What I’m trying to say is, don’t think of it as changing horses in the middle of the stream. In the middle of the stream would be if you were officially engaged, which you’re not. But this is still in the corral. I think you should keep that in mind.”
She smiled. “You had to be the Arabian, didn’t you?”

Some years ago a young Primary boy was on a train going to California in the days when we traveled on trains. He was all alone. He sat near the window watching the telephone poles go by. Across the aisle from him was a gentleman who also was going to California. The attention of the gentleman was called to this very young boy traveling all alone without friends or relatives. He was neatly dressed and well-behaved. And this gentleman was quite impressed with him.
Finally, after some time, the gentleman crossed the aisle and sat down by the young man and said to him, “Hello, young man, where are you going?”
He said, “I am going to Los Angeles.”
“Do you have relatives there?”
The boy said, “I have some relatives there. I am going to visit my grandparents. They will meet me at the station, and I will stay with them a few days during the school vacation.”
The next questions were “Where did you come from?” and “Where do you live?”
And the boy said, “Salt Lake City, Utah.”
“Oh, then,” said the gentleman, “you must be a Mormon.”
And the boy said, “Yes, I am.” There was pride in his voice.
The gentleman said, “Well, that’s interesting. I’ve wondered about the Mormons and what they believe. I’ve been through their beautiful city; I’ve noticed the beautiful buildings, the treelined streets, the lovely homes, the beautiful rose and flower gardens, but I’ve never stopped to find out what makes them as they are. I wish I knew what they believe.”
And the boy said to him, “Well, sir, I can tell you what they believe. ‘We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost’” (A of F 1:1).
The businessman was a bit surprised but listened intently, and the boy continued,
“‘We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression’” (A of F 1:2).
And the traveling companion thought, “This is rather unusual for a mere boy to know these important things.”
The boy went on: “‘We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel’” (A of F 1:3). And the gentleman was amazed at the knowledge and understanding of a mere boy—he was yet to be a Scout. But he continued and gave the fourth article of faith and said, “‘We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.’”
“That is wonderful,” said the gentleman. “I am amazed that you know so well the doctrines of your church. I commend you.”
With a good start and with encouragement, Johnny continued. “‘We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof’” (A of F 1:5).
“That’s very solid doctrine, my boy,” the gentleman said. “I am curious now to know how they get called of God. I can understand how they would receive the call and be established with the laying on of hands, but I wonder who has the authority to preach the gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.”
They discussed the matter of calling and sustaining and laying on of hands. Then the lad said, “Would you like to know more?”
The gentleman thought that was very unusual for a boy in these tender years to know what the Church taught, and he said, “Yes, go on.”
So Johnny quoted, “‘We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth’” (A of F 1:6).
That brought some other discussion. “You mean that your church has Apostles such as James and John and Peter and Paul, and prophets such as Moses, Abraham, Isaac, and Daniel, and also evangelists?”
And the boy responded quickly, “Yes, even evangelists. We call them patriarchs, and they are appointed in all parts of the Church where there are stakes. And by inspiration they give to all the members of the Church, as required, what is called a patriarchal blessing. I have already had my patriarchal blessing, and I read it frequently. Now we have 12 Apostles who have the same calling and the same authority as given to the Apostles in the days of old.”
The gentleman came back with these questions: “Do you speak in tongues? Do you believe in revelations and prophecies?”
And the boy brightened up as he quoted, “‘We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth’” (A of F 1:7).
The gentleman gasped. “This sounds like you believe in the Bible!”
And the boy repeated again, “We do. ‘We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God’” (A of F 1:8).
The gentleman discerned that we believe both in the scriptures and in revelation. And the boy quoted, “‘We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God’” (A of F 1:9). And then he continued, “‘We believe [also] in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory’” (A of F 1:10).
The gentleman was listening intently. He showed no interest in crossing the aisle back to his own seat. Then Johnny came in again. He said, “‘We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may’” (A of F 1:11). He then continued, “‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law’” (A of F 1:12).
And then as a final contribution, the boy repeated the thirteenth article of faith: “‘We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.’”
This youngster relaxed now as he finished the Articles of Faith. The gentleman was clearly excited, not only at the ability of this young boy to outline the whole program of the Church, but at the very completeness of its doctrine.
He said, “You know, after I have been to Los Angeles a couple of days, I expect to go back to New York where my office is. I am going to wire my company that I will be a day or two late and that I am going to stop in Salt Lake City en route home and go to the information bureau there and hear all the things, in more detail, about what you have told me.”

As a skinny 12-year-old, I watched through a chain-link fence as my two older brothers earned all-state baseball honors.
Life was exciting because they were my brothers. The guy wearing number eight and striking out three batters in a row, and the player hitting home runs over the centerfielder’s head were the same guys I shared a basement bedroom with. They were the ones who first taught me about putting gel in my hair and how to start a campfire. We were good friends.
The feelings of inadequacy kicked in because as a five-foot-three, 98-pound weakling, I could not understand how I would ever be able to fire an 80-mile-per-hour fastball or hit towering home runs.
On one hot summer afternoon, my oldest brother could see something was bothering me. After he encouraged me to tell him what was on my mind, I said in muffled tones, “How will I ever become a great baseball player like you?”
“Matt,” he said in his usual cheerful voice, “you’ve just got to do the things that great baseball players do.” After thinking about this, I came to realize that great baseball players aren’t only naturally talented, but they make themselves skilled through hours of practice. I committed myself to do all I could.
Three broken noses and six years later, I was a starter on the varsity baseball team and had just signed a national letter of intent to play college baseball.

Corduroy This comfortable “oldie” is a very simple story about a stuffed bear in a department store and about how he gets a home and a friend.Don Freeman3–7 years

“Dad! She left the sink a mess on my kitchen chore day!”
“Hey, I can help.”

I was in the Pago Pago Stake in American Samoa. President Peters, the stake president, invited me to accompany him to one of the ward sacrament meetings. We arrived unannounced, so there were no special arrangements made.
It was a hot, humid day. As we approached the humble, one-room chapel with no air-conditioning, I suggested it might be appropriate to leave our jackets off. President Peters was quick to tell me that they wore jackets in sacrament meeting in their stake—no matter what the temperature—as a means of showing the Lord that they not only worshiped him but they also honored and respected him by being dressed in their very best.
As I took my place on the stand, there sat the priests and deacons at the sacrament table. Each had on a shirt, tie, and jacket. It was so hot and humid.
The normal dress of the islands is very casual, as you know, but in the eyes of these wonderful Samoan leaders and their Aaronic Priesthood boys, participating in the sacred sacrament service was not a casual experience. It was a sacred duty. They felt that their appearance helped show the respect and reverence they had for the Lord. I shall never forget their influence of reverence in that meeting. Surely their understanding of their relationship with Heavenly Father is an important step in magnifying their priesthood.

One Saturday morning in late April the Young Men and Young Women planned a clean-up day in Sister Seymour’s yard. Brad Hunt and Chris Frei came to my house so we could walk over together. On the way I noticed Willard Watts in his backyard putting up a fence.
“Sister Seymour’s going to have more people than she needs,” I remarked, stopping.
“If you stay away from another service project,” Chris grinned, “Brother Loder will have you in to see the bishop.”
“Nobody’s staying away. We’re just changing projects. We can telephone Sister Seymour’s home to let them know we can’t come. Brother Watts needs help.”
“Do you mean old Brother Watts?” Brad groaned. “He wouldn’t let you help him even if you wanted to.”
I started walking into Willard’s yard.
“You’re not serious, are you?” Brad called after me.
I just kept walking.
Brad and Chris hesitated a moment, but their curiosity got the better of them and they soon followed.
“Well, what do you want us to do?” I asked Willard cheerfully.
Willard looked up from the posthole he was digging. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, glancing first at me and then at Chris and Brad. “I can’t pay you anything,” he muttered.
I grabbed a shovel. “What do you want us to do?”
Things were awkward for a moment, but then Willard saw that we weren’t going to leave, so he grumbled some instructions to us and we began to work. Brad and Chris thought I was crazy at first, but they worked hard. It was a bigger project than any of us had anticipated, but we continued to work.
Willard smoked one cigarette after another most of the day and occasionally grunted instructions. Several times he told us we should go, that we’d done all that a person could expect us to do. But we stayed till the work was completed, which was about three o’clock in the afternoon.
As we were helping Willard put the tools away, Brad announced, “Well, I have to get home. I need to do some work on my car.”
“When did that ancient car of yours start working?” Chris asked.
“I didn’t say that it was working. I said that I had to work on it.”
“What kind of car do you have?” Willard asked.
“Oh, it’s an old 1972 model,” Brad said.
“Maybe I could look at it sometime,” offered Willard.
“It’s not a bad car,” Brad said.
“That’s right,” I said, “everything works but the engine.”
That evening Willard stopped at Brad’s house and towed the old car back to his garage.
The following day in quorum meeting, Brother Loder mentioned that he was sorry the three of us hadn’t been able to get to Sister Seymour’s for the service project.
“We found another project that was more urgent,” I explained.
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. We were helping Brother Watts.”
The rest of the quorum began to laugh—except for Brad and Chris. I looked around without smiling. Back in January when I had first mentioned Willard’s name, I would have appreciated the laughs because Willard was just a joke then, but the last three months had made him a person, and finally a friend. I knew then that I hadn’t missed Sister Seymour’s service project just to do something for myself. I had been at Willard’s place because I really wanted to be there.
A week later Willard telephoned me and asked if I’d bring Chris and Brad over to his house. I was amazed. The last person I had expected to call me on the telephone was Willard.
When the three of us arrived, Willard was in the garage. Brad’s old car was parked in the middle of the garage. Willard reached into his pocket, pulled out Brad’s car keys and tossed them to him. “See what you think.”
Brad caught the keys. “Does it work?” he asked.
Willard shrugged and turned away, going to his workbench and pushing a set of wrenches around. “Try it,” was all he said.
Slowly, Brad put the key into the ignition and turned it. The engine gave out a nice, smooth sound almost like a cat purring.
“I don’t believe it,” Chris gasped.
“What did you do to it?” Brad called out.
Willard turned around, his face expressionless, but his eyes beamed with pleasure. “Don’t ever give up on a good car like that.”
“What do I owe you? I mean—how much did all this cost?”
“It didn’t cost me a thing. Some of the automobile wrecking yards around here owe me some favors. They found me the parts.”

The great possibilities of the theater were recognized by farsighted men in the early days of our own church. In Joseph Smith’s time, the theater was not an acceptable institution. In fact, many cities had laws against theatrical performances, feeling that they were the work of the devil. Sometimes dramas, to gain a little respectability, were billed as “lectures.”

However, in direct contrast to this condition, Joseph Smith not only approved of but actually encouraged the theater. Along with all the other developments in his beautiful city of Nauvoo—the temple, a choir, schools—Joseph established a dramatic company. Brigham Young, Erastus Snow, and other of the leading brethren took part in many of the plays. Brigham Young himself played the part of the high priest in Pizarro, a popular drama of the day.

And then when the Saints moved to Utah, hardly had they begun planting crops when Brigham Young began the building of a theater in the wilderness. “If I were placed on a cannibal island,” he said, “and given the task of civilizing its people, I would straightway build a theatre for the purpose” (Harold I. Hansen, A History and Influence of the Mormon Theatre from 1839–1869, Brigham Young University, 1967, p. iii). Utah was not a cannibal island, and his people were already fairly educated. But build a theater straightway he did. The Bowery was built immediately, a large structure made of hewn logs and roofed with brush and willows. It was located on what is now Temple Square and was also used for worship and for general meetings.

The next home of the drama in Utah was the Social Hall, dedicated in 1853, the first actual theater west of the Missouri River. But Brigham’s dream of a theater for his people was not fully realized until the completion of the Salt Lake Theatre in 1862, a theater that would rank for years with the best theaters in the entire country.

It was dedicated by Daniel H. Wells, who prayed that order, virtue, cleanliness, and excellence would characterize the theater, and “‘Holiness to the Lord’ be forever inscribed therein” (Deseret News, 12 Mar. 1862, p. 291). High ideals, excellent musicals and plays, popular support by the community both in attending and acting in the plays, and guest artists from among the best professionals of the day—all made the Salt Lake Theatre thrive. To ensure his stamp of approval, Brigham Young insisted that his ten oldest daughters, known as the “Big Ten,” perform in the plays.

I’ve learned that when you try to do everything, you can become stressed. If you just try to do your best each day, you’ll be fine. If you listen to the Holy Ghost and stay close to the Lord through prayer and scripture study, things will fall into place and soon you will be the person the Lord intends you to be. I tried to be almost perfect and I worried about not being good enough, but that isn’t what the Lord wants. Feeling inadequate and down on yourself is not of the Lord. So just give Him your best, and you will find peace and joy in your life.
Zandi C., age 16, Wyoming, USA

Such a project is ongoing on the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati.
Tamana Natanaera, the local self-reliance manager for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was tasked with finding members with gardening experience and a passion for growing things.
Working with local leaders, Tamana helped to identify seven qualified members whom he refers to as “champions.”
Each champion was given the equipment to set up a nursery tailored to fit in his or her available space.
A simple greenhouse was supplied to hold and protect seedling trays, as well as to offer shade as needed. Seeds were provided for growing nutritious produce such as cucumber, eggplant, capsicum, cabbage, tomato, watermelon, papaya and rock melon.
A watering system is a particular necessity in Kiribati. Although the 33 islands that comprise Kiribati stretch across 3.5 million square kilometres of ocean water, fresh water is very scarce.
The champions were thus each provided with a watering system composed of a small solar pump to draw water from a well, a water tank with a stand, and a piping system.
Tamana Natanaera noted that the water system given to the champions is a big help as it greatly improves their ability to produce more.
With these necessary tools, the champion gardeners are able to do their part. For two years now, they have been planting the seeds in the small trays and nurturing them.
When the seedlings are ready to be transplanted into a garden, the champions begin sharing them with neighbours and friends. They may ask their church leaders to announce to their congregation that seedlings are available. They may also give the seedlings to coworkers or to neighbours in their communities who are interested in growing their own produce.
The Church will provide seeds to the champions for one more year and at the end of that period, the gardeners should be capable of producing their own seeds to maintain growing and sharing the seedlings. The program will continue to bless many people in Kiribati communities.
This project is not just an example of growing seedlings, but also of growing self-reliance, community spirit and neighbourly friendships. Underpinning all of this is a growing faith—among many participants—in He who created all things, and who cares for His children, one by one.

A few months later, I made a decision that raised eyebrows all around me. I decided to serve a full-time mission too. My decision to serve came as a blow to a greater part of my family and my closest friends. Most of them, if not 100 percent of them, counselled me not to, but my desire to serve the Lord and humanity was not thwarted because I knew what foundation I was built upon and my parent’s trust and support kept me going.
Amid the impending situation, I felt so different from everyone else and I remembered the talk by President Monson in which he quotes an old Primary song: “Dare to be a Mormon; Dare to stand alone. Dare to have a purpose firm; Dare to make it known”.1
This ultimately drove me to obtain my patriarchal blessing, and in it I realized the Lord has a greater work for me and that it can be accomplished successfully only if I exercise unyielding faith in Him. That helped me press on to pursue His course.

Although the scriptures are meant for all of Heavenly Father’s children, they can speak to each of us in a very personal way when we ponder them and apply them to our particular challenges. I found this to be the case several years ago when I faced a painful situation.
My husband and I were experiencing a challenging time in our lives. He had recently lost his employment, so we were struggling financially as we tried to survive on my meager salary. Fortunately, our difficulties were tempered by the love we had for each other and by the love of some special friends in our ward.
Then things took a turn for the worse.
One day at work a coworker phoned for me to come to his office. I went, assuming he wanted to see me about some of the projects we were working on jointly. To my surprise, he proceeded to express strong disapproval for an action I had taken. Although I apologized, he continued to berate me, pointing out some of my personal characteristics he said he couldn’t tolerate. I was dumbfounded; I had great respect for this man’s abilities and had thought we had a cordial working relationship. Moreover, I could not understand why he felt he had the authority to chastise me when I was a couple of steps above him in the company structure.
His ranting continued until I was reduced to tears. After the whole experience, I still couldn’t understand what had made him so upset. Apparently his own life had become filled with misery, and I was the unlucky person on whom he unloaded his feelings.
When I reported this to my supervisor, I received little satisfaction. The whole experience left me feeling discouraged, alone, and vulnerable. My husband and I were already worried about his not being employed, and now I wondered what would happen to us if I lost my job.
When I arrived home that evening and explained to my husband what had happened, he opened the scriptures and read from Psalm 37, commenting that he now understood why he had felt impressed to read it that day during his scripture study.
“Cease from anger, and forsake wrath,” the psalm states. “Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. …
“The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow. …
“But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
“And the Lord shall help them” (Ps. 37:8, 14, 39–40).
Although I had read this psalm many times before, I was amazed at how much it seemed to apply to my circumstances. Had my husband not read this passage of scripture to me, I would likely have become angry and bitter because of my experience at work. However, the message Heavenly Father conveyed through the scriptures healed my heart as it taught me that I should be calm and free of bitterness. It gave me great hope to realize the many blessings I would receive if I heeded that message.
I returned to work the next day with joy and forgiveness in my heart and was better able to overlook the shortcomings of coworkers.
The spiritual growth that resulted from this experience has proven to be a valuable source of strength that I have drawn upon many times since. How grateful I am for both the universal and the personal nature of the scriptures!

“There’s a Turkish family that I always see at the interfaith dinners, and they run up to me and say, ‘We’re so happy to see you again!’” Romy says. “In a world where there’s so much persecution of religion and faith, it’s nice that we can all come together and just talk to each other.” During one of the service projects, “the ladies at another church were so sweet,” she says. “They didn’t care about anyone’s religion. They were just there to offer their help. It was refreshing.”

“I was born and grew up in the community of Tooele, Utah, where my father ran a newspaper. As a youth, I worked at the newspaper office and also helped take care of the family cows. My brother, Joel, and I had the responsibility of not only taking care of our cows but, during the summer, also gathering our neighbor’s cows and taking them to the fields on the edge of town to graze on the grass. This is how I made my first money. Later, my brother and I worked on a twenty-acre farm that the family owned on the edge of town. We were teenagers, and my father wanted to keep us busy.
“One day a neighbor came to Father carrying a list of things we were doing wrong on the farm. After the neighbor finished reading the list aloud, Father sat back in his chair, looked at him, and said, ‘Well, Jim, you don’t understand. I’m raising boys, not cows.’”

Veronica Cousino, from Chicago Second Ward, is back for her second year at camp. She worked hard last year to pass her certifications. This year she was asked to come to camp as a counselor in one of the Inspirator tents. She loved learning how to cook outdoors. “The hardest part was speaking English all the time. It was a great experience for me. I loved it. That was the reason I wanted to come back this year. And,” Veronica added with surprise, “they wanted me to come as a counselor.”

Fill one of the balloons with air and tie it off. Explain that the balloon represents one day. Now light the candle.

The candle represents all of the negative things that people can say or do to us. And when you hold the balloon above the candle flame, it’s as if you’re exposing your day to all of the negativity that can and does bombard you. Lower the balloon closer and closer to the flame, and watch out—the balloon will pop! Explain that when we come into contact with negative influences, without the proper preparation and protection, it’s very hard to stay positive, and we can feel like the day was terrible.

Now, take the second balloon. This balloon also represents one day. But before you fill it with any air, add a few ounces of water. The water represents all of the positive ways we can arm ourselves against negativity: we love our families, we pray daily, we remind ourselves of Christ’s love, we serve others, we smile. Now, fill the balloon with air and tie it off. (Be careful not to let go before you tie it off, or you’ll spray yourself with water!)

Hold this balloon above the candle. Now lower it down until it’s touching the flame. Guess what? It doesn’t pop! The water conducts the heat from the candle away from the latex of the balloon and protects it from popping. Cool! This shows us the way that our daily efforts to stay positive can protect us from letting the negative influences of the world ruin our day.

Seito no michi: We appreciate your efforts indeed. If there are any interesting episodes or stories related to the construction of the temple, could you share them with us?
Mr. Nakajima: One unforgettable experience occurred in September of last year when a typhoon hit the Tokyo area. For the five hours until the storm passed over, I raced frantically around the site in raincoat and boots checking things that had been blown down or scattered by the winds and trying to prevent or correct any damage. It was a real struggle. The force of the winds was tremendous and my helmet and glasses were blown away and in the end I found myself clinging with all my might to the building to keep from being blown away. Around four o’clock when the winds had calmed, we faced other problems. We had to scoop out all the water that had entered the structure, a process that required all the workers to labor straight through until nine o’clock that evening without even a moment for a meal. That was one of the few times I have been really exhausted, and the lower back pain that troubled me for three days after was my reminder of the experiences.
Seito no michi: That must have been a painful experience, indeed.
Mr. Nakajima: Yes, it was. But our efforts paid off in the end. After completion of the building, we received the “Progress Award” from the Japanese Labor Standards Bureau. This is an award given to construction offices that meet the agreed upon date for completion of construction and maintain a high level of safety and superior standards of workmanship.