Gospel Story Finder

“I teach a Sunday School class made up of thirteen-to eighteen-year-olds. That is a little strange since I’m only sixteen, but I like teaching. I have many friends who are Catholic. They don’t give me any problem. I am able to defend the Church to them. I find that the members of the Church who have the most problems are the ones who are inactive in the Church. The pressure of their friends really gets to them.
“Missionaries here have the same problem as in the rest of Latin America. People think the missionaries are spies sent from the United States. Every chance I get I explain who they are and that they are here to help the people. I also tell them they receive no pay for the work they are doing. When President McKay encouraged every member to be a missionary, I accepted the assignment and worked with a family and four other people. Our family has ten children, all members of the Church, We have been in the Church for nine years, and we enjoy the missionaries and the missionary spirit.
“By the way, if you see the Prophet of the Church, please give him our love. Our whole family knows that he is a prophet, and we eagerly await his counsel and guidance. We support him as the head of our church.”
Marisol Nabos, 16Santa Ana, El Salvador

Don’t be afraid to look for ways to have fun. One of my apartments had a place where I could look out the window across my area. My companion and I would sometimes sit there after a day of teaching to ponder and stargaze. Taking the time to slow down and enjoy the beauty of my area helped me recharge and maintain my enthusiasm for the work.

“Some of the women libbers who are so mixed up feel that they want to be on an equal footing with men. We’ve always had that in the Church. We’ve always been equal with men because we have felt that the man and the woman are one in the Church. They’ve had the same standard. Men are to be as pure before marriage as the women are. And then they both have the responsibility for raising the children. But today the women go down to the lowest level. They want to use profanity; they want to practice promiscuity. If we become equally rotten, then we’re all down the drain; it’s only if we become equally fine that equality means anything. I was on a program recently on TV, and the interviewer said to one of the women, ‘Are you married?’ She said, ‘That’s completely irrelevant.’ The interviewer asked, ‘Do you have any children?’ She said, ‘That too is irrelevant.’ I took the microphone, and I said, ‘Those are the two most relevant things in my life. If my husband, whom I chose to live with the rest of my life, is irrelevant to my identity, then what is relevant? And if the children, the fruits of our love, are not relevant to my identity, then what am I?”

A number of years later, after Elder Kikuchi was called to serve as a General Authority, he and his wife and son took a trip, tracing the route of the early Church members as they moved from Palmyra, New York, to Kirtland, Ohio, to Far West, Missouri, then to Nauvoo, Illinois. Elder Kikuchi’s family concluded by following the route of the long pioneer trek across the plains to Utah. “Since I joined the Church, I wanted to feel what the pioneers had felt in their persecutions, trials, and hardships,” said Elder Kikuchi. “I had read so much about the early days of the pioneers.”

When John Lewis, the Frederick Stake Young Men’s second counselor, was thinking about what his stake should do for its 1993 youth conference, this thought hit him: Let’s build some houses. Let’s show the youth what their limits are and prove to them that they can accomplish more than they believed possible. He was enthusiastic. He pitched the ideas to other stake leaders. They were enthusiastic. He contacted the Chester Valley Habitat for Humanity, a Christian housing ministry that helps provide decent housing for low-income families in the northern part of the state. They were excited to get the LDS youth involved. Now all Brother Lewis had to do was convince the kids—all 180 of them—that building two houses is what they should do for youth conference.
“When I found out we were going to build a house for youth conference, I was, like, ‘There’s no way. Not in two days,’” said 16-year-old Lindsay Meyers.
Yes way.
Last July, the Frederick youth arrived at the two job sites—located about a block apart from each other—and found the foundation poured for each home. That was it. The materials—the nails, shingles, plywood, two-by-fours, siding, doors, windows, showers, and plumbing equipment had been delivered to each house. Installing it all was up to them.
The youth assigned to each house were separated into 15 different groups, with an adult build-team leader delegated to each team. Each house site also had a professional builder serving as foreman to oversee the project. Everyone was asked to bring a hammer and a pencil. And to control who was doing what, each team wore a different colored T-shirt. Everything was set. Then the weather decided it wasn’t going to cooperate.
For the first time in several decades, three consecutive days in Chestertown were over 100 degrees. Throw in some intense humidity (the 90–95 percent variety), and things heated up considerably.
Nicole Spencer, a Laurel in the Mt. Airy Ward, noticed the heat but didn’t mind it. “Being able to work and drive nails and stuff kind of makes you forget about how hot it is,” she said. “When I first heard what we were going to do, I was kind of excited we were actually going to build a house.”
Edward Rice, 17, and Samantha Gabriel, 15, both got their day started by holding pieces of wood together so it could be measured for door and window openings. Rick Orchard, 15, did his part by moving wood closer to the job site. “Yeah, I’ve been sweating. I also get the feeling that I know what I’m doing is right. I can feel the Spirit with me,” he said.
As for Lindsay, by the time the first day was complete, she was a believer. “I had a few doubts in my mind whether we could accomplish it. Not now,” she said. “Seeing what you’ve made, and accomplishing a goal and seeing a finished product makes it fun. I think the main reason it’s worth it is we’re helping somebody. I feel like this is totally worth my time. Being in the heat and sweating doesn’t matter.”
Working alongside the Frederick youth were several members of the two families who would move into the homes once they were completed. One girl, 16-year-old Chalita Rochester, was excited about the project and enjoyed working alongside the LDS youth. “I didn’t know any Mormons before this. To get kids to go out and build a house is great,” Chalita said. “They could be just sitting home watching TV, but they’re out here doing it. They are very active teenagers.”
With 90 kids on each job site and plenty of adults helping out, it’s amazing how fast a house can go up. One day it’s a barren lot with only a foundation in the middle of it. Twenty-four hours later a house is being built along with testimonies.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here. Every time I come to a youth conference, a piece of my testimony grows. These last two days I have really gained a testimony of service,” said Brooke Sattley, a Laurel in the Damascus Ward.
“The fact that we’re all doing this for the service and not getting paid makes me feel good inside,” said Nicole. “And it means a lot more to me because we’re doing this for someone we have gotten to know.”
Nicole had no trouble keeping busy. One of her first jobs was to help install joists, the horizontal beams running from wall to wall to support the floor. Theron Virgin, a priest in the Monocacy Ward, helped work on the subfloor once the joists were in place. Dawn Rowzee, 16, took some two-by-fours and helped build the frame for the wall, while Jay Wahlquist, 16, helped nail in the support beams before the floor went in. With sweat pouring down his face, Jay sincerely said, “You can have fun doing this, and I have really enjoyed myself the last couple of days. I was able to start new friendships and strengthen others. But the greatest thing was the service that we did. And it isn’t the kind of service we sometimes do because we’re forced to do it. This has really strengthened my testimony.”
By Saturday night, it was time to clean up for a testimony meeting held at a nearby Methodist church. Both sites looked considerably different. Two houses were now standing, where 48 hours before all the youth could look at was a blueprint of what was hoped would be built there.
Everybody was grimy and extremely tired. But the youth of the Frederick Maryland Stake were smiling. They had provided in volunteer labor the equivalent of one man working full time for 18 months. They did that in two days. They built 75 percent of two houses. The remaining 25 percent was completed by other Habitat for Humanity volunteers. Those volunteers included many of the LDS youth, who made the two-hour drive back to Chestertown a few days later so they could help finish what they had started.
“This whole project depended on our attitude,” said Cassie. “We could have sat here the whole time and not worked. But that wouldn’t have been any fun. It’s a really good feeling to know we can do things like this.” Adds 14-year-old April Hough, “This has taken more time and more work, but it has been so useful because we’re helping someone who is less fortunate.”
Maybe Jay said it best. “Ignorance is sometimes good because when you don’t know how hard it is to do something, you don’t think of it as being hard when you do it. Heavenly Father has given me a chance to see things in a wonderful way and to live in a church that gives us so much.”
This youth conference was a chance for these young Latter-day Saints to give something back. The two houses in Chestertown, Maryland, will always stand as testaments to that.

Approximately a month after Nancy’s death, there came a night when the grief I felt was absolutely crushing. I had been in very deep pain and sorrow all of that day. I remembered Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles teaching that “the path of salvation has always led … through Gethsemane.”1 Though my suffering can’t be compared to the Savior’s, that night I was in the midst of my own “dark and bitter hours.”2
After experiencing this for some time and praying for help, there came into my mind something that I had read and bookmarked on my computer several years before. I located the document and scrolled down to what I was looking for. It was an interview with Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (1928–2015) in which he was asked about losing his wife, Jeanene, to cancer in 1995. Elder Scott responded, “First of all, … I didn’t lose her. She’s on the other side of the veil. We’ve been sealed in that holy ordinance of the temple, and we’ll be together forever.”3
That night those words came with a power that I have never felt before. It was like a lighthouse beacon being switched on in a dark night. I have never read something that had such a sudden and profound effect on me. The darkness and the pain were gone. It was like Alma when he could “remember [his] pains no more” (Alma 36:19). This apostolic witness penetrated me to the very core. I marveled that a concept I had understood since childhood could suddenly seem so remarkable. I found myself wondering how it was possible that Elder Scott could know something like this. And in the moment, I realized that I know it too. If I am faithful, I can have all of the hope that Elder Scott had. While there has certainly been sadness and mourning since then, I have never again felt the depths of pain and sorrow that I experienced that night.

It was a cold winter night in London, England, and my first night in the British Mission. Our group of new missionaries was taken to Speakers’ Corner in London’s Hyde Park to experience our first “street meeting.” By the time we sang a hymn and heard a rousing speech by one of the more experienced missionaries, about 100 people had gathered to hear what we had to say. In this crowd were several hecklers with strong anti-Church and anti-American sentiments. The atmosphere was very hostile.
Each new missionary took his or her turn declaring the gospel, standing on a collapsible box, called a soapbox. As a new missionary, I was scared to take my turn. I was fresh off the farm in northern Utah and frightened by the hecklers in the crowd.
The missionary who spoke before me was a wonderful new sister missionary from England. She was verbally attacked by a heckler about a world event that affected the United States but had nothing to do with the Church. The crowd became quite inflamed and unruly.
As she stepped down, the atmosphere was electric. It was my turn to speak. I reluctantly took her place on the soapbox. There, in front of that large, agitated crowd in London, I bore my testimony of the gospel. I declared that God had spoken again and that there was a living prophet on the earth. I added a few other basics of my testimony, and in a state of shock, quickly stepped down before the hecklers could ask me any questions. I would not have dreamed that among that crowd was even one person who had listened to what I said, but I was soon to find out differently.
A young man had been doing his school homework in his family’s apartment located not far from Hyde Park. For some reason, he felt prompted to go to Speakers’ Corner. This was not his usual hangout, so the feeling was a little surprising to him, but he went anyway. Once he got there, he was drawn immediately to our particular street meeting just as I began to speak. He listened to my simple testimony. As he explained later, “I felt something that I had never felt before in my life. I can only describe it as if I were floating about a foot off the ground. I didn’t know what it was, but I felt something, and I needed to know more.”
I was still recovering from my frightening experience when this young man came up to me and asked, “Do you mind if I ask you a question?” I could hardly believe that he wanted to ask me, a brand-new missionary, a question. Of course I was more than happy to talk to him. We began a conversation that led to an invitation for him to come to the mission office and an opportunity for me to teach and ultimately baptize him.
I opened my mouth that night, and this young man felt something. The Spirit had touched his heart. This was evidence of the Lord’s promise in D&C 100:5–6 and D&C 100:8:
“Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men;
“For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, in the very moment, what ye shall say. …
“And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.”

But the Saints could not remain at Quincy, and some wondered if they should even try to remain together as a community. Brigham Young proposed that they settle by immigrant companies, and Joseph Smith wrote from Liberty Jail in Liberty, Missouri, to advise the Saints to find appropriate places of safety; so, a committee was appointed to select a central relocation site. They chose a place called Commerce, Illinois, on the bend of the Mississippi River, and when he joined the Saints that spring, the Prophet named it Nauvoo. Land across the river in Lee County, Iowa, was also purchased and the Saints founded a settlement called Zarahemla.

As a young man I had the opportunity to serve in the British Mission, which was a seminal, defining event in my life. The influence of a valiant mission president is one of the great miracles of the restored gospel. A few weeks ago I received a birthday card at Church headquarters from a woman I helped teach in Gloucester, England, many years ago. I had lost contact with her. She informed me that she and her husband are both very active members and have 6 children and 20 grandchildren, all born in the covenant. It may be the best birthday card I have ever received.

But the man himself—what was he like? The following incident will provide some insights. As a young Apostle, Elder Taylor went to speak to a number of Saints near Columbus, Ohio. Shortly before the hour arrived, some of the Saints reported to him that most of the townspeople were planning to gather at the open-air site. They expected that Elder Taylor would be tarred feathered—and advised him not to go. After a moment’s reflection, he replied that he would go, and that if his friends chose not to go with him, he would go alone.

When he arrived, he began by informing those gathered that he had recently come from Canada—a land under monarchal rule: “Gentlemen, I now stand among men whose fathers fought for and obtained one of the greatest blessings ever conferred upon the human family—the right to think, to speak, to write; the right to say who shall govern them, and the right to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences. … I see around me the sons of those noble sires, who, rather than bow to the behests of a tyrant, pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honors to burst those fetters. …

“But, by the by, I have been informed that you purpose to tar and feather me, for my religious opinions. Is this the boon you have inherited from your fathers? Is this the blessing they purchased with their dearest hearts’ blood—this your liberty? If so, you now have a victim, and we will have an offering to the goddess of liberty.”

At that point, he tore open his vest and said: “Gentlemen, come on with your tar and feathers, your victim is ready; and ye shades of the venerable patriots, gaze upon the deeds of your degenerate sons! Come on, gentlemen! Come on, I say, I am ready!”

No one moved or spoke. Elder Taylor stood there, drawn to his full majestic six-foot height—calm, yet defiant. No one came.

After a pause he continued to preach for three hours! At the conclusion, leaders of the community approached him, expressing displeasure at any hostile intentions of their fellow citizens. (See Roberts, pages 53–55.)

As missionaries we have only so much spare time during our days, so I am gladly foregoing my dinner this evening to have enough time to write and thank you for the December New Era. Many times a missionary tends to feel that he is left out in right field while all the excitement and activities go on without him, even though he understands his special calling and is working to magnify it. These times often come during special family events, the changing of the seasons, and especially during the winter holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. With Christmas coming I found myself in such a state. When I received the December New Era and glanced through it, I felt more left out than even at first. But then I read the articles “The Spirit of Christmas” by Elder Thomas S. Monson and “Give Yourself Away” by Laurie Sowby. These special articles truly brought a great uplifting surge of enthusiasm to my spirit. It was sort of like getting into a spiritual elevator. At once all those negative feelings left, and I realized that I could really participate in the spirit of Christmas by giving myself away more and giving to people the best gift of all, the gospel of Jesus Christ. After that things really started to happen. Each day brought a special Christmas spirit. We are now helping a wonderful family to prepare for baptism as one of their Christmas presents. This has turned out to be one of the most wonderful Christmases that I have ever experienced. I’m sure that you were inspired to put those two very special articles in the December issue.
Elder Julius C. Blackwelder, IICalifornia Oakland Mission

Such a fracture developed between two heroes of the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. Parley and Orson Pratt were brothers, early converts, and ordained Apostles. Each faced a trial of faith but came through with an unshakable testimony. Both sacrificed and contributed greatly for the cause of truth.

During the Nauvoo era, their relationship became strained, culminating in a heated, public confrontation in 1846. A deep and prolonged rift developed. Parley initially wrote to Orson to resolve the rift, but Orson did not reply. Parley gave up, feeling that correspondence was over forever, unless initiated by Orson.1

Several years later, in March 1853, Orson learned about a project to publish a book on the descendants of William Pratt, the brothers’ earliest American ancestor. Orson began to weep “like a little child” as he glimpsed this treasure trove of family history. His heart melted, and he determined to repair the breach with his brother.

Orson wrote to Parley, “Now my dear brother, there are none among all the descendants of our Ancestor, Lieut[enant] William Pratt, who have so deep an interest in searching out his descendants as ourselves.” Orson was one of the first to understand that Latter-day Saints have an obligation to research and compile family histories so that we can perform vicarious ordinances for our ancestors. His letter continued: “We know that the God of our fathers has had a hand in all this. … I will beg pardon for having been so backward in writing to you. … I hope you will forgive me.”2 Despite their unshakable testimonies, their love for their ancestors was the catalyst to heal a rift, mend a hurt, and seek and extend forgiveness.3

When God directs us to do one thing, He often has many purposes in mind. Family history and temple work is not only for the dead but blesses the living as well. For Orson and Parley, it turned their hearts to each other. Family history and temple work provided the power to heal that which needed healing.

“This past summer I went to the temple often to do baptisms for the dead. By keeping my covenants by going to the temple and doing what’s right, I was blessed. I was really stressed with final exams. I went to the temple, and it just made everything better. Keeping my covenants makes life so much easier and a lot happier.”
McKenna M., age 18, California, USA

Last January an earthquake in the central mountain region of Colombia left the city of Armenia devastated. Concerned stake presidents called the Area Presidency in Quito to find out what the needs of the members living in Armenia were. The district president confirmed that many Church members had lost their homes and had found shelter in the four undamaged chapels but urgently needed food and clothing. The Relief Society and priesthood leaders swung into action, and donations from members throughout Colombia poured into a designated chapel in each city. Seven-year-old Neidi had come with her parents to the chapel in the city of Cali and watched as Bishop Villareal received donations from members.
“Bishop, how can I help the children in Armenia?”
“Neidi, your parents have already helped.”
She went to the other end of the chapel and observed that little clothing and no shoes for children were being packed. Neidi came back to the bishop with her shoes in her hand. “Now I know how I can help. Please give these shoes to another little girl in Armenia who has lost hers.” Her bare feet made no sound as she slipped away.

Josh Rohatinsky, a deacon in the Provo Fourth Ward, Provo Utah North Stake, realized a year-long goal when he became the Junior Olympics National Champion in the 3,000-meter run for the 11–12 age group. The games were held in Gainesville, Florida. Josh outperformed the second-place winner by 19 seconds.

Josh is coached by his dad and would like to run in the 2000 summer Olympics. For now, though, he’s just glad the race is over.

"It was hard," says Josh, "but I’m glad I did it."

Recently, a bishop who was concerned about reverence in his ward expressed his concern to the members of the ward council and asked for their suggestions. Hesitantly, the Primary president raised her hand.
“Well,” she said, “one person consistently does a lot of enthusiastic visiting in the chapel just before and after sacrament meeting. It can be pretty distracting.”
The bishop had not noticed anyone being especially noisy in the chapel, but he said he would talk to the offending party. He asked the sister who it was.
She took a deep breath. “It’s you, Bishop,” she said. “I know you’re just reaching out to people, and we all appreciate your desire to greet everyone who comes to the meeting. But when others see you moving around the chapel talking to people during the prelude music, they figure it’s OK for them to do the same thing.”
When others in the ward council nodded in agreement, the bishop thanked her and asked for recommendations. The council soon decided that the bishopric, including the bishop, should be in their places on the stand five minutes before sacrament meeting to set an example of reverence in the chapel. During a follow-up discussion, the council members indicated unanimously that the simple plan had worked and that reverence in sacrament meeting had improved decidedly.

In her last years, Františka “mothered” the missionaries, helped translate missionary tracts, led Sunday School classes until the missionaries could speak Czech, and served as the first Relief Society president in her native land.

Františka Brodilová passed away in 1931. In eulogizing her, President Gaeth wrote that “Sister Brodilová’s Christlike spirit will linger … She was a mother, counselor and an example to us.”

When he was fourteen, Joseph’s family moved to Manchester, New York, where they were soon caught up in the religious excitement of the period. Some of them joined the Presbyterian church, but Joseph could not decide which church was true.
One day he read James 1:5: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him.” He decided to follow this advice.
It was a spring morning in 1820 when Joseph walked to a woods near his home to ask God which church was true. He later wrote about what happened, saying, “I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
“… When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” (JS—H 1:16–17.)
When Joseph asked which church he should join, Jesus answered that he should join none of them.
Joseph’s family believed him when he told them what he had seen and heard, but others in the community began to persecute him because he would not deny that he had seen a vision.

One day I was going to the store with my mom. I saw some garbage on our car. I didn’t want it there, so I threw it on the ground. But then I felt that I should pick it up, and I thought that the feeling was from the Holy Ghost. I picked up the trash. I know that we should keep the earth clean.

Serving others. Bringing them the truth.
Like the times when they’ve talked with Mrs. Wellman about her oldest son, who died in an accident at age four, and where he is now and what he’s doing. Like the times when they’ve shared Church magazines with her, or watched the video Called to Serve.
“Don’t just let her borrow it,” Chris said then. “Let’s have her over here and we’ll all watch it together.”