Gospel Story Finder

Illustration by Mark Robison
Bobby bounded down the stairs to his toy chest full of building blocks. It was Friday. That meant there was only one day left of freedom before Saturday.
Bobby didn’t like Saturday mornings. Every Saturday his family had to do their chores. There was mopping and dusting, vacuuming and scrubbing. They even had to clean their bedrooms!
Bobby sat down beside his block chest and started building The Tallest Block Tower in the Universe. He knew it was important to get the house ready for Sunday, but what was the point of a weekend if you spent so much time working?
As Bobby continued building, he heard someone talking in the kitchen.
“But, Mom,” his older sister Charlotte said, “my birthday is on Saturday. Working tomorrow morning will ruin the whole day! Can I do my chores today instead?”
“That sounds like a great idea,” Mom said.
Charlotte left the kitchen and walked upstairs. Bobby stopped building to watch her go. Tomorrow was Charlotte’s birthday. Good thing she could get her chores over with now.
He turned back to his tower, then stopped. He set his blocks down. Maybe she doesn’t have to do her chores at all, he thought.
Bobby raced up the stairs to see Charlotte wheeling the vacuum cleaner down the hall. Before she could plug it in, he ran over to her.
“Stop! Don’t do your chores!” Bobby cried out.
Charlotte shook her head. “I can’t stop,” she said. “If I don’t do them today, then I’ll have to do them on my birthday, and that’s no fun.”
She started to plug in the vacuum cleaner, but Bobby stepped in front of her. “But I want to do them for you!” he said. “I’ll do both of our chores. You don’t have to do any of them.”
Charlotte looked up, surprised. “You would do that for me?”
Bobby winced a little inside. He knew it was going to be a lot of work. There would be two bathrooms to scrub and two rooms to clean. He looked over at The Tallest Block Tower in the Universe. There might not be time this weekend to finish it after all.
But he looked back at his sister and smiled. “Yes. Happy birthday!”
A huge smile spread across Charlotte’s face. She gave Bobby a big hug. “Thank you!” she said as she ran happily down the hall.
Bobby looked over at the vacuum. Plugging it in, he started working on the first of Charlotte’s Saturday chores. His sister was worth it. The tower would have to wait.

Brother and Sister Tsuya were well known for two things. First was the haircuts Brother Tsuya would give the missionaries.
The other thing the Tsuyas were known for was their incredible love and mission spirit. They spoke no Portuguese and spoke English with a thick accent. But they would take a box of copies of the Book of Mormon they bought with their own money to the fruit fair on the street each week and would always come back empty-handed. Their spirit was incredibly powerful.

As I was growing up, I watched my family become strong in the gospel through their solid faith. I followed them, wanting to be strong in the gospel, and learned to live their teachings and work hard to develop faith in God. When I grew up, the time came for me to prove my faith in God. I applied for my passport and sent in my papers to serve a mission. I received my mission call within a month but not the passport. I waited more than 45 days but no result.
I served a mini mission while waiting for the passport. My mission president, President Karl E. Nelson, called me every morning and asked me for my passport status. I kept praying for my passport. I thought that Heavenly Father needed me to put in more effort, so I fasted and prayed. Then I felt inspired to meet the district collector even though I didn’t know who he was. With my mission president’s permission, I went to meet the district collector with my companion and submitted a petition for my passport, as my mission president had instructed. One thing I noticed was that the other officers were expecting a bribe, but I decided not to give even a single penny. I was going to serve God, and I knew that the prophet’s words were true and that what needed to happen would happen.
Now the time scheduled for me to go to the MTC and start my mission was close. There was only one week left. My faith was tested, whether I would be persistent in my decision or whether I would I give up. I never gave up. After much discouragement and many trials and temptations, I remembered the words of God: “Faith without works is dead”1 and “ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith”2. Finally, Heavenly Father blessed me to receive my passport and visa within four days and I was on my way to the MTC in Manila, the very day fixed by the prophet. Many times since, I have had trials of my faith, but I have tried to remain true to God and to what I was taught in my youth.

Showing the movie is, of course, the climax, particularly the premiere showing. We staged a variety show titled “Salute to the Silver Screen.” The whole ward was invited (and came), and the kids did songs, dances, and skits based on great movies of the past. (Unfortunately most of the great movies are in the past.) Then we honored the cast and showed the movie. “The Great Train Robbery” will never get an Oscar, but it was a “ward winning” movie.

Solomon Chamberlin, a preacher on his way to Canada, first heard about the “Gold Bible” from a family he lodged with near Palmyra. Like Thomas Marsh, he had moved from church to church throughout his life but felt dissatisfied with what he saw. Some churches preached gospel principles and believed in spiritual gifts, but they did not have God’s prophets or His priesthood. Solomon felt the time was coming when the Lord would bring forth His church.
As Solomon listened to the family talk about Joseph Smith and the gold plates, he felt electrified from head to toe, and he determined to find the Smiths and learn more about the book.
He set out for the Smith house and met Hyrum at the door. “Peace be to this house,” Solomon said.
“I hope it will be peace,” Hyrum replied.
“Is there anyone here,” asked Solomon, “that believes in visions or revelations?”
“Yes,” Hyrum said, “we are a visionary house.”
Solomon told Hyrum about a vision he had seen years before. In it, an angel had said that God had no church on the earth but would soon raise one up that had power like the Apostles’ church of old. Hyrum and the others in the house understood what Solomon said and told him they shared his belief.
“I wish you would make known some of your discoveries,” Solomon said. “I think I can bear them.”
Hyrum invited him to stay at the Smith farm as a guest and showed him the Book of Mormon manuscript. Solomon studied it for two days and went with Hyrum to Grandin’s printing office, where a printer gave him 64 printed pages. With the unbound pages in hand, Solomon continued on to Canada, preaching everything he knew about the new faith along the way.13

Another way to show your gratitude is to be respectful. Amanda’s mother made her a beautiful dress. When Amanda wasn’t wearing the dress, she carefully hung it up. That showed her mother that she was grateful for the dress. Daniel’s grandfather gave him a book that he had read when he was a boy. By keeping the book on the bookshelf when he wasn’t reading it and by turning the old pages very carefully, Daniel showed his grandfather that he was grateful for the book.

“One thing we did in our town that was a lot of fun was perform three-act plays. When we were on stage, we thought we were the best performers they had—and we were, because we were all that they had! And, of course, half the audience was family! Even so, it was fun to hear the applause.

In February 1959, Elder Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Chile and stressed the need for developing local leadership. One of the first local leaders was Carlos Cifuentes, who was a counselor to the mission president, Robert Burton. Elder Julio Jaramillo, who later became an Area Seventy and a temple president, related this experience: “I received my first impression of Brother Cifuentes when I was invited to a priesthood meeting after my baptism. When the meeting began, he came up to the pulpit and the only thing I saw was his dirty, black fingernails. I thought, ‘How can this man be conducting a meeting alongside the mission president if he has dirty hands?’ That was until he began to speak and I forgot everything else when I felt his spirit. With simple words he delivered profound concepts to us. He was a heavy machinery mechanic and on Saturdays he worked late, then would clean his hands, but with the few means available at his shop was unable to remove all the grease. Then and there I learned to not judge people by appearances but rather to value them for what they really are.”4

There are many true disciples who “do more” than some others of us. I think of a choice lady born with a severely handicapped body and a wonderfully capacious and gracious spirit who, as she accepted an honor for her special contributions to other handicapped persons, spoke of an incident of her childhood. Playmates had called her names that reflected on her physical condition and caused her pain and tears. When she reached home her father held her in his lap in his big strong arms and wept with her as he explained that he had anticipated that day, and that it would be a crucial one for her, and could be an opportune one if she would learn the lesson that could make her life fruitful and happy. “Sweetheart,” he said, “what the children said about you is true, but it wasn’t fair and it wasn’t kind. You do have a hump on your back and some other serious problems. But that isn’t your fault. It isn’t your parents’ fault or Heavenly Father’s fault. It is one of those things that happen in this yet imperfect world. What the boys and girls said is true, but it wasn’t fair and it wasn’t kind. If all your life you will try to be more fair and more kind to others than some of them may sometimes be to you, then you will be happy, and your life will be full and useful.”
““That,” she said, “is what I have tried to do—just be more fair and kind to others than some of them have sometimes been to me.”

He takes advantage of trips to do missionary work, trying to fulfill his father’s challenge of giving away a Book of Mormon every time he travels.
Ed took advantage of a track opportunity to place a Book of Mormon in some of the most prominent hands in the world. He and fellow LDS runner Farley Gerber were competing in the World University Games in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They were excited to see that Prince Charles and Lady Diana were there as dignitaries, and even more excited to learn that the royal couple would be greeting the athletes individually. Ed and Farley decided it wouldn’t hurt to present them with a copy of the Book of Mormon, so they wrote their testimonies in one and presented it to the prince when it was their turn to shake his hand.
“He was very cordial about the whole thing,” Ed recalls. “He said, ‘Oh, you chaps are Mormons, are you? So that’s what keeps you going.’ When he walked off, he tucked the Book of Mormon in the crook of his arm, and seeing him carrying it, if you didn’t know who he was you might have thought he was a representative of the Church,” Ed recalled.

A young woman named Brooke writes: “This past summer I had the opportunity of attending a leadership conference. It only took a couple of hours to find out that the LDS kids were in the minority there. I ended up [rooming] with two girls who were very nice but definitely didn’t have the same standards. At night when I read my scriptures they stared at me like I was some kind of weirdo. While they were talking about their drinking parties, I was talking about [parties] with punch and cookies. They laughed but were always curious.
“Although I was scared sometimes, I never failed to stand up for what I believe in. At the end of the conference, one of my roommates [said], ‘I guess Mormons can be cool,’ and that she would think about our religion and maybe even learn about it. I [learned] that I could make a difference by simply standing up for what I believe.”

Kathy Andersen reads President Russell M. Nelson’s past general conference talks and prays for a deeper assurance of his prophetic role.

As she became a young adult herself, Ioana wanted to do the same and help others feel welcome in the Savior’s Church. Though she felt nervous about reaching out to people she didn’t know, she was learning to listen to the Holy Ghost and trust the promptings she received.
When another young woman joined, Ioana got up the courage to talk to her. They discovered a mutual interest in music, and Ioana offered to teach her to lead the singing. Before long they were spending time together, serving as branch pianist and music leader.
“As I prepared myself to receive the guidance of the Holy Ghost, I started to notice Him putting thoughts in my head, answering my questions, prompting me,” Ioana said. “There were times I didn’t know what to say, and then something would come. It felt right when I said it. I’m learning to trust the Holy Ghost.”
She learned that often the things that help others feel like they belong aren’t big. For her, it was being included in Sunday School or activities, playing sports or crazy games, baking cookies, and having dance nights. “It wasn’t fancy. It was just having a good time or being able to talk. And when it’s connected to something spiritual, that can make it extra special.”

When Hilary Lemon of Utah, USA, returned home from her mission, she had a few months before she would start school again. Looking for ways to productively use her time, she began to help with online FamilySearch indexing. She started indexing in English but soon realized there were indexing opportunities in other languages—including Portuguese, the language she had learned on her mission.
“Since I served my mission in Portugal, I was interested in the indexing projects listed for Brazil and Portugal. My interest spiked when I saw a project from Setúbal, Portugal, one of the areas where I served,” says Hilary.
Hilary is one volunteer who is helping meet FamilySearch’s ever-growing need to index records in non-English languages. Like the other 127,000 active volunteers, Hilary is extracting the names and events of those who have passed on so that members can find the information they are seeking and complete their ancestors’ ordinance work in the temple.
The Portuguese documents Sister Hilary Lemon indexed were baptismal records from over two centuries ago. The pages were faded and the elaborate handwriting was hard to read, but she persevered through the project as she thought of the names on the page as people waiting for their work to be performed in the temple.
“More than once as I indexed, I felt a sweet, firm impression that one day a Portuguese Latter-day Saint would open up that baptismal record that I had indexed and find his or her ancestor,” says Hilary. “Now that a temple is planned for Lisbon, Portugal, I know that there will come a day when the members there will find their ancestors because of the work that’s being done through FamilySearch indexing.”
With the help of volunteers like Sister Lemon, more records will be preserved and the way will be opened for those who have gone before to partake of the full blessings of the gospel.

We heard youth who had never before considered missionary service express an earnest wish to prepare and serve and even one young man who just after returning home from FSY have already filed his missionary application.

When I was preparing for a match the next day, I’d be tired enough so that I could usually get to sleep; but once I’d get to sleep, if I ever woke up, then my mind would start operating and I’d start mentally playing the match, and I just had no hope of further rest. In fact, many nights I’ve lain in bed before a big match and never slept. I figured I got my rest by just lying down. I’ve seen kids who were the same way. As I got older, I got a little bit better, but I was still excitable. I remember playing in the senior finals at Forest Hills. The fellow I was playing was the defending champ, and he was pretty smart. He won the toss but chose to receive, so I had to serve. When I threw the ball up, my hand was actually shaking so hard I couldn’t let go of the ball. Finally, somehow, I got control of myself and managed to play a pretty fair game.

“It has changed the way I study the scriptures. … I’m motivated to read every day. And it is beautiful. [I feel like] the lessons are made for me.” —Maria Eugenia Cervin, Mexico City, Mexico

Brian Jones, the camp leader, spent time one day leading a rope course to prepare us for rock climbing and absailing (rappeling). Brian gained his knowledge from several expeditions in the Antarctic. Later on we tried our skills at a nearby quarry.

Looking for ideas for an Eagle project? Check out what these youths did:
Jared Kawaianuhea of Kaneohe, Hawaii, taught the older youth in his ward how to prepare tax returns. They then offered tax preparation help for simple returns as a free public service.

My family and I are very blessed for having participated in the events preceding the dedication of the temple. We felt the Spirit of the Lord in abundance. At the temple open house, my mother, Mary Noël Kona Bukasa—currently a less active member of the Church—testified: “This temple is truly a House of God, I felt like I was in paradise.” Our neighbors who also attended the open house, said: “It is a perfect house—as if we were in heaven.”