Gospel Story Finder

I knew the reality of the Savior’s compassion when, at the request of my father, the bishop of the ward, I delivered food and clothing to the widows and poor of the ward.

This kind of family closeness can continue even after you grow up and leave home. While my wife and I were on our mission, our married children did a lot to support us. They stuck together and held monthly family home evenings. They published a monthly family letter that we all sent back and forth. None of them ever complained about our absence, and it was evident that their testimonies brought them closer together as siblings and to us.

Martin Harris Farm.
When translation of the Book of Mormon was completed, Martin Harris, a wealthy farmer of Palmyra, mortgaged his farm for three thousand dollars to pay for the printing of the first 5,000 copies. He later became one of the Three Witnesses.

Surprisingly, there are millions around us who are not aware of these supernal gifts. We have made it an Easter family tradition to share and invite our fellow brothers and sisters to be partakers of these special gifts. We prayerfully select three families with whom we share this special knowledge that has the potential to change their whole existence. The results have been phenomenal as we become partakers with our neighbours and extended family members. A new vision of hope and confidence is created as we travel hand in hand with our loved ones towards our eternal home to be reunited with our Heavenly Parents.

In this activity, you can teach your family about building testimonies by showing them how to make butter out of cream. You would never try to spread liquid cream on bread—that would just turn into a soggy mess. But with the right ingredients and some time and effort, you’ll have a toasty treat!
Materials:
A mason jar with its accompanying lid
Heavy cream
Salt (optional)
An important step in developing a testimony is learning more about the gospel. Try asking your family for examples of simple gospel doctrines and principles. Then talk about how it is essential to start out with the right “ingredients” before you try to make the final product, just like in a recipe.
Now you can gather your mason jar, heavy cream, and salt (optional) to prepare for your butter-making journey. When you’re ready to start, pour cream into your jar until it’s about halfway full and, if you’d like, add a dash of salt.
Make sure the lid is screwed on tight, because the secret to turning this liquid cream into solid butter is a whole lot of shaking. Tell your family that the shaking represents acting on gospel principles you’ve learned. While you’re doing this, discuss what it means to “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).
Shake it forward and backward, left and right, or like a maraca. You can sit, stand, or dance around the room, but keep going!
As the cream thickens, it becomes increasingly difficult to shake, so feel free to pass the jar around to give everyone a turn. Plan for the process to take 6–8 minutes.
When you see a solid lump of butter form, open your mason jar to reveal the final product. Don’t worry about the liquid in the bottom of your jar; that’s just buttermilk (which, by the way, is great to use for pancakes).
Making butter from cream teaches you that it takes hard work to achieve your goals. Shaking the cream causes the fat cells to stick together and form clumps. But this would never happen if you just left the jar of cream on the table. You have to pick it up and shake it.
It takes time and effort to form butter from cream, and the same goes for your testimony. Elder Uchtdorf suggested strengthening your testimony by searching the scriptures, keeping the commandments, fasting with a purpose, and praying consistently.2 Make goals with your family that will push each of you to actively strengthen and solidify your testimony.
Nice work! Your family has created butter out of cream. It’s time to toast some bread so everyone can enjoy the result. Top off your buttered toast with your favorite jam, honey, or even cinnamon and sugar for a sweet treat.

Carbon Valley Ward
To prepare for an activity, the Primary children of the Carbon Valley Ward, Longmont Colorado Stake, spent several weeks collecting needed items for military troops. On the activity day, they wrote cards and letters and decorated a “thank you” banner to send with the collected items. They also learned about patriotism.

We also listen to him when he says to go to the temple. Our family was sealed in the Mesa Arizona Temple on 23 May 2002. We can now be a family forever! We do not need to worry about when we die or after we die. The sealing power is forever, like the prophet and Heavenly Father promised.

My mother is from Burma, but because of political unrest, she fled to India with her parents and three sisters. They left everything behind. Unfortunately, after they arrived in India, Mom’s parents passed away. Being the oldest, Mom had to take care of her three siblings.
The children ended up in an orphanage. When my mom turned 18, she decided to go to New Delhi in search of better opportunities for herself and her sisters. There, she was introduced to Ashima Chaudhuri, the principal of a college that helps young women. Ashima took my mom under her wing and became my mom’s mentor. After my mom graduated from college, she became Ashima’s assistant. They became very close.

Growing up on the East Coast, he and his brothers were the only young people in his branch. Because of gas rationing in World War II which restricted unnecessary travel, the branch met in their home, and the dining table served as the pulpit.

Laekin Vakalahi always knew that putting the Lord first in his life would shape his future. He has always loved playing sports, especially rugby and basketball.
As a young man he did not play sports on Sundays, as a rule, and he enjoyed going to church and youth activities, including seminary.
He had an opportunity to play rugby professionally but in 2021, he decided to serve a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the New Zealand Wellington Mission.
Laekin said, “I decided to put God first and serve a mission and then leave things in His hands.”
In 2023, Laekin’s parents and four brothers were on holiday in Hawaii when they met a scout from the Philadelphia Eagles National Football League team.
The scout was impressed with the stature and strength of the four brothers and asked if they had ever played American football.
The parents said, “No, but you really should see the size of our older son who is serving a mission in New Zealand. He is 6’ 5” (196 cms.) tall and weighs 320 (165 kgs.) pounds.”
The Eagles’ scout was so impressed with the stats and photos that he arranged with Laekin’s mission president to have Laekin do a workout in Wellington while the scout observed.
Always concerned about staying on task and following mission rules, Laekin became creative about getting all the scout’s assignments completed.
For example, he demonstrated his ability to lead by recording a class he taught in a zone conference. The Eagles were impressed with his honesty, character, and obedience in following the mission rules.
Following the completion of his mission, he worked closely with the scout on football fundamentals and had an official tryout with the team.
In April 2024, the Philadelphia Eagles signed Laekin to a three-year contract as an international developmental player.
Laekin said, “When you are playing at such a high level you could have a lot of pride or ego, but we need to remember that we are all equal in the eyes of God. Everyone needs to treat people the same, no matter who they are. Praying, reading my scriptures, and listening to Church music helps me to stay connected and grounded.”
Following his football career, Laekin hopes to get a university degree and a career in the film and video industry.

I do Personal Progress with friends. We are starting a Personal Progress club. We sit and do Personal Progress. We all can relate to it and are able to share stories on it. It is so much fun. We take turns reading scriptures and set goals together. I learn so much and am able to spiritually grow. I also am so excited about the ribbons.
Madison R., 14, California, USA

There are some who want to expose the weaknesses of Church leaders in an effort to show that they, too, are subject to human frailties and error like unto themselves. Let me illustrate the danger of this questionable philosophy.
President Brigham Young revealed that on one occasion he was tempted to be critical of the Prophet Joseph Smith regarding a certain financial matter. He said that the feeling did not last for more than perhaps thirty seconds. That feeling, he said, caused him great sorrow in his heart. The lesson he gave to members of the Church in his day may well be increased in significance today because the devil continues more active:
“I clearly saw and understood, by the spirit of revelation manifested to me, that if I was to harbor a thought in my heart that Joseph could be wrong in anything, I would begin to lose confidence in him, and that feeling would grow from step to step, and from one degree to another, until at last I would have the same lack of confidence in his being the mouthpiece for the Almighty. …
“I repented of my unbelief, and that too, very suddenly; I repented about as quickly as I committed the error. It was not for me to question whether Joseph was dictated by the Lord at all times and under all circumstances. …
“It was not my prerogative to call him in question with regard to any act of his life. He was God’s servant, and not mine. He did not belong to the people but to the Lord, and was doing the work of the Lord.” (In Journal of Discourses, 4:297.)

After boot camp and medical training, I was assigned to an air force base in Colorado, USA. One day, I received a letter from my oldest brother stationed in the Philippines. He had joined the air force about a year before I did. He told me that he had become a member of the Church, and he wanted me to meet with the missionaries. I immediately recalled the experience in boot camp with the brave airman. My wife and I met with the missionaries, and we were soon baptized.
A few months later, I had the missionaries visit my younger brother. He and his wife were also baptized. My brothers and I now have large families with grandchildren. We all love the Lord and His Church.

There has been turmoil down in Chile, where we have thousands of members of the Church and almost two hundred missionaries. The word comes to us, from one of the presiding authorities who has been here from Santiago, that there has been no loss of life as far as we know. Our people are holding fast, not taking part in the political turmoil, rising above it, as true members of the Church of Jesus Christ are expected to do, giving allegiance to those who are in command, and not wishing to take sides, but merely to bow their heads and yield obedience to the authority of the government where they are.

One week after the dedication of the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836, which was Easter Sunday and also Passover, the Lord appeared in a magnificent vision to Joseph and Oliver Cowdery. The Lord accepted the temple and declared, “This is the beginning of the blessing which shall be poured out upon the heads of my people.”
After this vision closed, Moses appeared “and committed … the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.”

Four years ago I spoke in this setting about couples serving full-time missions. My prayer was that “the Holy Ghost [would] touch hearts, and somewhere a spouse … [would] quietly nudge his or her companion, and a moment of truth [—a moment of decision—would] occur.” One sister later wrote me about that experience. She said, “We were sitting in the comfort of our family room enjoying conference on television. … As you spoke, my heart was touched so deeply. I looked over at my husband and he looked at me. That moment changed my life forever.”

Alexander Jeffrey, also 12, said his favorite goal was performing baptisms for the dead at the Boston Temple, something he had done only once before. “Doing the Trail of Faith gave me a new understanding and got me better prepared for doing some of these goals and habits on my own,” he says.

Speaking about his parents, Elder Hales said, “My dad is a kind, loving man who has many friends. He also has a great sense of humor and can always find a way to laugh, no matter how bad things are. He taught me how to work, how to be a person of integrity, and how to develop love for people. He taught me responsibility too. Just a few weeks before I left for college, I had to cut up some trees that had been uprooted by a hurricane. There was a lot of wood to cut, but it was my responsibility, and Dad expected me to do it, so I did.

When I was six years old, my family went on a trip to a river. The water was very cold because it came from the mountains in Chile. After playing in the river for a while, I wanted to warm up.
The sun was shining on some nearby rocks. So I put my back against one rock and my feet on the other to sunbathe.
The rocks were covered in slippery moss that made me slowly slide down. It happened so slowly that I didn’t realize I was slipping.
But then I got stuck! My knees were pressed against my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. And I was still slipping! Every second my knees were pushing harder against my chest. My eyes were looking at the sky, and all the light was fading.
Then I saw the face of my brother. He took my hand and pulled me up. I wasn’t stuck anymore! I could breathe and see the light again.

Kim wanted to write that she and her father went to the library and discussed the books that they chose. She wanted to write that no matter how busy he was, her father always stopped to answer her questions, that he always kissed her good night and gave her a big hug.

Instead, Kim wrote the truth. She put down sentence after sentence about how lovingly her father cared for his crops, how his tenderness brought calves into the world, how often he had saved kittens from starvation. She told how he had grieved when disease took half the chickens and a hailstorm destroyed most of the oats. She didn’t write about how she hoped that someday she would know that he loved her too.

Kim and her father made a lovely couple the night of the Daddy-Daughter dinner. Kim wore her favorite orange dress with the lace trim, and her father looked ruggedly handsome in his brown suit.

During the dinner Kim’s father leaned toward her. “Pretty good supper. Not nearly as good as Mother makes, but pretty good.”

As they finished their orange sherbet, the Primary president stood to announce that Kim would now give a talk about her father. Kim’s heart fluttered as she spoke into the microphone.

When she had finished, the Primary president introduced Kim’s father and invited him to speak.

“I’m not used to talking much,” Kim’s father began, “except to my cows. But I would like to say that I’m proud of my daughter. I don’t tell her that often, though. You see, I was raised in a very strict home. My mother died when I was younger than Kim, and though my father was a wonderful man, he believed that showing affection made you weak. I don’t remember that he ever hugged me in his life. I guess that’s why I feel awkward about showing affection to Kim. But I’d like to tell a little story that I hope will show that I do love her.

“Kim was born in the dead of winter, and she caught pneumonia when she was only two months old. I tried to do the household chores because her mother had to care for her constantly. One night it was particularly hard for her to breathe. I took my little girl in my arms and blessed her and prayed for her … as hard as I’ve ever prayed for anything. Then, because her mother was totally exhausted, I sat in the rocker next to the stove and put my baby on her stomach across my lap and rocked her all that night. The doctor came the next morning and said that my rocking her in that position had given Kim’s little lungs a good night’s rest and that he thought that she was going to pull through. So you see, my little girl is very special to me—she always has been, and she always will be.”

Kim’s eyes were full of tears. She wondered why she had never heard about that night before. Running to her father, she hugged him long and hard. When he put his arms around her and hugged her back, Kim felt that her heart was about to burst with joy.