Gospel Story Finder

My twin brother was getting a service dog named Cappy. Cappy got a foxtail seed stuck in his paw. He had to go to the veterinarian and take medicine for his infected foot. We prayed for Cappy every night for two and a half months. Finally his foot healed and we got to take him to start service-dog training. I know God answers our prayers.
Anna N., age 7, California, USA

I thought back to my own childhood, when my mum’s big set of scriptures always sat open somewhere in the living room. Those same scriptures would be passed around as we studied them together, even when I was so small that I could barely read. I wanted my daughter to experience that—to always have a set of scriptures open and close by, ready to leaf through. Now, there is nothing more precious to me than those little moments where I spy my little girl toddle over to the scriptures and flip through. I can only hope that as she becomes familiar with those pages, that she will also grow to cherish the message inside.

When I returned from my mission, I went to Ricks College, where I met my wife, Jill. She grew up on a farm near Rexburg. I remember one time when I went to pick her up for a date, another young man was coming to see her, too. She was on a hay wagon, tromping down a big pile of hay. Jill’s father gave us each a pitchfork and challenged us to see who could get to the top of the pile first. I won!

The Lion King is a classic animated film about the African savanna. When the lion king dies while saving his son, the young lion prince is forced into exile while a despot ruler destroys the balance of the savanna. The lion prince reclaims the kingdom through the help of a mentor. His eyes are opened to the necessity of balance in the great circle of life on the savanna. Claiming his rightful place as king, the young lion followed counsel to “look beyond what you see.”1

Susan Wolf, now of the Vashon Branch, Seattle Washington Stake, remembers when she received inspiration for a special family home evening. “We had just moved, and I was expecting a new baby,” says Sister Wolf. “With two preschoolers, I wanted to find a family home evening on the topic of preparing children for a new sibling. Nothing I read seemed quite right. So I prayed. My great desire was for our children to realize that having more children in our family did not equate to less love for them. And I wanted to emphasize that Jesus Christ is the source of all love. As I got up from my knees, an idea occurred to me.
“That Monday evening after singing and having an opening prayer, I handed each child a paper cup. I poured water into each cup and asked, ‘What happens if I run out of water?’ My son answered, ‘You go to the sink and fill up the pitcher, Mommy.’
“I explained, ‘We are going to have a new baby, and Mommy will be much busier. I won’t have as much time to play with you. But Mommy won’t run out of love for you. Do you know why?’
“This time my son and his three-year-old sister looked thoughtful but didn’t have an answer. I said, ‘I’ll just pray to Heavenly Father, and Jesus will fill up my heart with more love. So everyone in the family will have all the love they need.’ My children broke into happy smiles, as did my husband. The feelings in our hearts confirmed the presence of the Holy Ghost bearing testimony of the truth that God is love.
“My daughter, now 23, recently repeated word for word this family home evening lesson of years ago. That was a testimony to me that even a very small child can be spiritually taught when love is the subject and Jesus Christ is the source.”

“When I think of Grandpa Hunter, I think more than anything else of an example of a loving husband,” says Robert, his oldest grandson, manager of a branch bank in a Salt Lake City suburb. Family members watched with love and admiration for more than eight years as Elder Hunter nursed his beloved Claire through the illness that finally took her life in 1983.
“You could really sense a loving bond between the two of them,” Robert says. Elder Hunter insisted on caring for her as much as possible himself during the years when a series of strokes left her increasingly dependent. Meanwhile, he continued to handle his Church assignments. He suffered a minor heart attack, but it did not seem to slow him down, his sister says. She and others helped care for Claire as he would allow it.
When finally he was forced to leave his wife in a nursing care facility, he called the place often to check on her, even while he was traveling on Church assignments. Stopping to see her was his first priority after leaving the Church offices for the day or when returning from an out-of-town trip. When she could no longer converse with him, he continued to talk to her during visits.
“He was always in a hurry to see her, to be by her side, and take care of her,” Robert says.
“He did so much for her—so much,” Sister Rasmussen emphasizes.

The New Era is my favorite magazine. I eagerly await each issue. I particularly want to thank you for the February 1987 issue on temple marriage. My best friend is getting married in the temple in June, and after I read that issue from cover to cover, I let her borrow it. It was really an eye-opener for us both and answered a lot of questions we had. It also made me realize what a blessing it is to get married in the temple, and it makes it even easier to stick to my goal of going there someday. But when I’m in doubt, you can be sure I’ll sit down and read it all over again!

When the Millers gathered for dinner Saturday night, they were surprised to see flowers on the table and the best dishes set at each place. Dinner was especially nice, and when Mom brought out a fancy cake for dessert, Billie Jo wondered who was having a birthday.
Dad took a piece of cake. “What’s the occasion?” he asked.
“I don’t really know,” Mom said. “I just felt like celebrating. Maybe it’s the happy feeling we’ve had in this house all week without any fights. Or maybe I was remembering our family home evening and wanted to be prepared in case Jesus decided to come for dinner tonight.”
Everyone laughed, but when they bowed their heads for family prayer that night, they all felt in their hearts as if Jesus really had come to visit their home that week.

In 1933 the First Presidency declared: “Celestial marriage—that is, marriage for time and eternity—and polygamous or plural marriage are not synonymous terms. Monogamous marriages for time and eternity, solemnized in our temples in accordance with the word of the Lord and the laws of the Church, are Celestial marriages.”42

My mom was sick. If she was sick, she couldn’t lead the choir. I fasted for her to help her feel better. Fasting means not eating food during the day. This was the first day I ever fasted in my life. I didn’t know what it would feel like. I was hungry. It was really hard to fast, but I didn’t ask for food. I prayed for my mom, too. I wanted her to get better because I love her. After I fasted, my mom felt better. She was able to lead the choir. I think Heavenly Father hears my prayers, even when I whisper.

Robert Allen was a young man who was killed last summer in a mountain climbing accident. His funeral was described by a young person who attended as a sorrowful but sublime experience, an occasion of introspection and rejoicing and edification, “one of the most marvelous experiences of my life.” Sad as it was to lose such a choice young man in a world greatly needing his quality and character, yet the Spirit had born witness of God’s wisdom and of his goodness and his love.
A young friend and companion spoke of the gifts Bob had given to him over the period of their association. They were beyond price to him.
One was the gift of sharing and serving. Possessions, time, talents, knowledge, loyalty, concern, all were freely, graciously given. The sharing was of self—the manner of giving that affects and enriches lives. Few things bring such sweet satisfactions as the knowledge that we have a friend who really loves us, who really cares. God loves every one of his children—of that we are absolutely assured, we know it in our hearts—but God needs instruments of his love. He needs those who can carry his love and make it meaningful and personal in the lives of others. The shepherd’s search for the lost sheep was a mission of grace and so was the joyful journey of the forgiving father when he ran to meet the penitent prodigal who had come to himself and had, with trepidation, started home.
Discipline of self was another gift mentioned at the funeral—the example of a young man seeking and expressing self-mastery, self-direction, self-reliance. The two friends used to go to the university stadium daily and run up and down the stairs until they were exhausted, and then they would try a few wind-sprints. Physical fitness was essential. Educational, cultural and spiritual challenges were approached with the same attitude and effort.
Commitment to excellence was one of the gifts celebrated. It was to be sought in every endeavor. Bob went to the institute of religion nearby his school to practice the piano early every morning. He was entering medical school in the fall and felt he wouldn’t have enough time to keep really sharp, and he wanted to do well.
Bob Allen loved his family and friends, the great people among whom he served as a missionary, the students from afar whom he befriended at school, and he loved the Lord.
The inspiring account of a young man’s life at the funeral taught all present once again the real meaning of gifts and of giving, and that now is the time to begin.

My name is Débora, and my journey with faith has been filled with challenges and blessings. In 1980, shortly after the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints arrived in the Dominican Republic, I visited a friend who had some missionaries from this new church at his home. The missionaries showed us a powerful movie called “Families Are Forever,” and the concept of eternal families touched me deeply. I was taught more about the gospel, and my friend and I were baptized.

When Joseph Smith was leaving Nauvoo for the last time on his way to Carthage Jail, one of the men with him recorded what the Prophet said as he turned to look at the city: “Joseph paused when they got to the Temple, and looked with admiration first on that, and then on the city, and remarked, ‘This is the loveliest place and the best people under the heavens; little do they know the trials that await them’” (History of the Church, 6:554).

Recently I talked to an old friend who has gone through two divorces due to the addictions and unfaithfulness of her husbands. She and her three children have suffered greatly. She pleaded, “I have tried so hard to live righteously. Why have I had so many trials? What have I done wrong? What does Heavenly Father want me to do? I pray and read my scriptures, help my children, and go to the temple often.”

As I listened to this sister, I felt like shouting out, “You are doing it! You are doing all that Heavenly Father wants and hopes you will do!”

1838 My brother Don Carlos and my cousin George A. Smith returned [from missions through Kentucky and Tennessee], having traveled fifteen hundred miles—nine hundred on foot, and the remainder by steamboat and otherwise. They visited several branches, and would have accomplished the object of their mission had it not been for the troubles at Far West.
When nearly home they were known and pursued by the mob, which compelled them to travel one hundred miles in two days and nights. The ground at the time was slippery, and a severe northwest wind was blowing in their faces; they had but little to eat and narrowly escaped freezing both nights.

My grandmother Adena Warnick Swenson taught me to be conscientious in priesthood service. She encouraged me to memorize the sacramental blessings on the bread and water, explaining that in this way I could express them with greater understanding and feeling. Observing how she sustained my grandfather, a stake patriarch, engendered in me a reverence for sacred things. Grandma Swenson never learned how to drive a car, but she knew how to help boys become priesthood men.

A superb stake president told me of a stake council meeting in which they were wrestling with a difficult challenge. At one point, he realized that the stake Primary president had not spoken, so he asked if she had any impressions. “Well, actually I have,” she said and then proceeded to share a thought that changed the entire direction of the meeting. The stake president continued, “As she spoke, the Spirit testified to me that she had given voice to the revelation we had been seeking as a council.”

Sister Winder: I was in Europe when it was announced that women with nonmember husbands would be able to go to the temple to receive their own endowments. There were many whose eyes were moist.

I once saw a sign in a store window that said, “Happiness, $15.00.” I was so curious to know how much happiness I could buy for $15 that I went inside to see. What I found was a lot of cheap trinkets and souvenirs—not one thing I saw could possibly bring me the type of happiness that the sign implied! Over the years, I’ve thought many times about that sign and how easy it can be to look for happiness in items that are cheap or temporary. As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are blessed to know how and where true happiness is found. It is found in carefully living the gospel established by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and in striving to become more like Him.

Children in Tasmania, Australia, had a Primary activity to paint pictures of Jesus Christ. They enjoyed it so much that they had another activity to paint God’s creations.