Gospel Story Finder

I witnessed such an act of service one Sunday as I attended the sacrament meeting of a small branch which consisted of patients in a nursing home. Most of the members were elderly and somewhat incapacitated. During the meeting, a sister called out aloud, “I’m cold! I’m cold!” Without a moment’s hesitation, one of the priests at the sacrament table arose and walked over to this sister, removed his own suit coat, placed it around her shoulders, and then returned to his duties at the sacrament table.

After the meeting, this young man came to me and apologized for blessing the sacrament without his suit coat. Quietly I said to him that he was never more appropriately dressed than he was that day when a dear widow was uncomfortably cold and he provided the warmth she needed by placing his jacket around her shoulders. A simple act of kindness? Yes, but much more: a genuine love and concern for others.

When Shirley Sun of Taipei, Taiwan, joined a new ward, her bishop called her to teach the Gospel Essentials class in Sunday School. “I had a lot of opportunities to talk to members in the class and get to know them better,” she says.

Of course, fitting anything more into Sarah and Cristina’s busy lives is a challenge. But they have managed to work things out and have found that prayer is the key to making things fit.
A long time ago they freed up some time by deciding not to relocate to Los Angeles but to take parts that are filmed primarily in Utah. That way Sarah and Cristina could still attend their own schools and be near their friends and family. The decision to do so was based on prayer, as are the decisions to read a script or go to an audition.

Lucía was at the boat ramp when Mariano pulled his boat out after the race. She had her own race coming up to think about, but when she saw his disappointed tears, she broke down herself.
“I knew how hard he had worked,” she says. “I couldn’t bear seeing him so disappointed. I had never seen him like that.”
Together, the twins sorrowed in Mariano’s disappointment. Finally, Lucía’s coach separated them, worried that she wouldn’t be able to focus on her own race. But when the time came, Lucía and her teammate won their pairs race and later the South American championships, earning the right to compete in the 2004 Olympics.
And just as they had shared sorrow in Mariano’s disappointment, they rejoiced together in Lucía’s success.
“I was so excited when she won the opportunity to compete in the Olympics,” Mariano says. “She earned it.”
At the Olympics, Lucía and her teammate ended up ranked 17th. Like Mariano’s results, her finish wasn’t exactly all she had dreamed about. Still, their goals remain high. In the short-term, they want to qualify for an Olympic medal. In the long run, they want to qualify for eternal life.

Once, when we were still new converts and were living in my father’s house, the bishop came to visit. My father threw him out. He said he did not want members of the Church in his house. The bishop was inspired to call us in for an interview. He said that members and missionaries were not going to visit us in our home for a while so as not to antagonize our family. He said that we needed to be strong and that we would receive many blessings if we continued on the strait and narrow path.
We could not move to a house of our own due to my employment situation. I could not find good work as I had done before. I worked a little at jobs that didn’t pay much, but we managed to pay our tithes and offerings, attend church, and buy the food we needed. The Lord multiplied our blessings, and we were truly happy.

Kirk Cox, a student from nearby Emery County, says that he, like Jennilee, will also stay in touch with friends he met in institute. For Kirk, it isn’t hard to keep in touch with Hailey, his best friend from institute, because last summer Kirk and Hailey were married for eternity.

Not every student has had an institute romance, but all would agree with Kirk that “institute is a place where you are going to meet the right type of person to marry.”

In her Primary class, Sister Andress said to the children, “When we’re quiet, we can hear interesting sounds. What are some interesting sounds you hear at your home?”
“My brother’s just a baby, but you know what? He can hum,” Teddy said. “He goes, ‘Hmmm.’ It’s cool!”
Frieda raised her hand. “When my cat, Gretchen, is happy, she purrs. It’s a nice sound.”
“I like scary music in a TV movie—if I’m watching it with my dad.” Joachim smiled.
“I like it when my mom calls me for supper,” Franz said. “That’s the best sound, I think.”
There are interesting sounds at your home. Could you tell Sister Andress some of them?
Next Sister Andress said to the children, “There are wonderful smells all around us. Tell me your favorite.”
“The best is my dad’s aftershave lotion,” Marla said.
Paulie said, “I like the smell of rain.”
“My sister Hilda—she’s in high school—sometimes makes cocoa for our family home evenings. I like that smell,” Ursula said.
“My favorite smell in the whole world is a Christmas tree,” Mary Margaret said.
You have some favorite smells. What would you tell Sister Andress?
“Now,” Sister Andress said, “think of something special that you like to touch.” “It’s fun to touch cotton because it’s fluffy,” Patrick said.
“I have lots of pretty rocks,” Fouad said. “I think it’s fun to touch them. Some are real smooth.”
“Sand is fun to touch, too,” Frieda said. “But I like to feel my dolly’s hair. It’s soft.”
“I like to touch my mama’s face,” said Teddy. “And I love the hugs that we give each other after family prayer.”
What would you tell Sister Andress are things you like to touch?
“There are lots of different things to taste,” Sister Andress said next, “like apple juice and crunchy celery and tuna-fish sandwiches. What tastes do you like the most?”
“That’s easy,” Joachim said. “Bubble gum!”
“My mom and I like the taste of tomatoes. We eat them in salads and sandwiches and sometimes just by themselves,” Franz said.
“Anything orange,” Ursula said. “That’s what I like most. Orange juice, orange pudding, orange gumdrops, orange cake, orange lollipops.”
“I like vanilla ice cream,” Marla said. “We always go for ice-cream cones after we help Brother Garcia in his yard. That’s when they taste the very best.”
There are many things for us to taste. What would you tell Sister Andress that you like to taste?
“There is one more way that we sense things,” Sister Andress said. “When we look around, we can see beautiful things everywhere. Tell me what you like to look at.”
“I have a picture on my wall of three horses running around,” Mary Margaret said. “I like to look at it just before I go to sleep. I pretend that they’re real.”
“Our new puppy. I look at him all the time,” Paulie said. “He makes me laugh.”
“The pictures that the clouds make in the sky,” Patrick said. “They look like cats or trees—things like that.”
“My Book of Mormon Stories—especially when I read it with Mom and Dad,” Fouad said. “There’s a big picture in it of Jesus Christ coming from heaven to visit the Nephites—that’s my favorite!”
There are many, many beautiful things to look at. What would you tell Sister Andress are some of your favorites?

I recently traveled around the world, more than 25,000 miles, visiting Alaska, Russia, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, and Nigeria, where in this last place we dedicated a new temple. We then dedicated the Newport Beach California Temple. I have just been to Samoa for another temple dedication, another 10,000 miles. I do not enjoy travel, but it is my wish to get out among our people to extend appreciation and encouragement and to bear testimony of the divinity of the Lord’s work.

My life changed forever when my husband and I went to the doctor to check the gender and development of our unborn baby. I cried with joy when we discovered that I was expecting twins. But my tears turned to ones of despair as the doctor explained that a series of complications made it unlikely that the twins would survive until birth. The doctor suggested terminating the pregnancy. She said proceeding would be risky and that I would have to be hospitalized at some point.
Despite the dangers, we decided to continue the pregnancy.
On the drive home I realized the severity of the situation. I wondered how I could leave my husband and our three children and stay for an extended period in the hospital. Knowing that our babies would likely be delivered prematurely—and might not live—became overwhelming for me. I wasn’t sure I could endure this trial.
Only after I received a priesthood blessing from my husband and father-in-law did I feel peace. I realized that no matter what the outcome was, my family and I would be all right. I felt my Savior’s love and knew that He would be with us in joy or in sorrow.
Some time later, I said good-bye to my family and entered the hospital for an indefinite stay. The babies’ heart rates were monitored constantly to make sure the babies were safe. It was difficult for me to see their heart rates drop, and I wondered if they would make it to the delivery goal of 34 weeks. At 25½ weeks, one baby’s heart rate dropped to a critical level, nearly stopping. The doctors decided that if his heart didn’t start beating normally, both babies would be delivered by emergency cesarean section within minutes. I panicked when I heard the nurse call my husband and tell him that I was being prepared for surgery and that the neonatal team was standing by.
I knew that to get through this trial, I needed Heavenly Father’s help. I prayed silently, pleading that our baby would recover, thus allowing both twins the much-needed time to develop in utero. I also prayed for comfort. Once again I felt peace, just as I had when I received the priesthood blessing. I didn’t know if our babies would live or die, but I knew that no matter what, if I turned to the Lord, He would help carry my burden. As it turned out, the baby’s heartbeat returned to normal, and surgery was no longer necessary.
My stay at the hospital continued for the next two months, and there were many times we worried about our babies’ fluctuating heart rates. But fortunately, neither of the twin’s heart rates dropped as low as before. Our sons, John and Jacob, were born at 33 weeks. Their cords were intertwined with eight knots, and John—the son whose heart rate had dropped so low—had his cord wrapped around his neck twice. Our twins stayed in the hospital’s intensive care unit so their body temperatures and breathing could be regulated. Despite the potential problems associated with premature births, John and Jacob were able to come home after only 19 days.
Our twins are now toddlers, and they have no negative effects from being born prematurely. I am grateful that what began as a trial became one of the greatest blessings of my life. I was given two healthy sons, and my testimony of the power of priesthood blessings and prayer was strengthened. I am also grateful to be able to recall the peace and love I felt in knowing that the Lord was aware of my situation. I learned then that, with the Lord’s help, we will have the strength to endure our trials.

A recent survey of returned full-time missionaries provides definite evidence that a mission does make a difference in a young man’s life. Over a thousand missionaries answered questions on their attendance at Church meetings; obedience to certain key commandments; and service in the Church; and the results were impressive:
97 percent of the returned missionaries attended at least one sacrament meeting a month, and 91 percent attended at least three sacrament meetings a month. This is far ahead of overall Churchwide attendance figures.
89 percent of the returned missionaries had a current Church calling.
95 percent of the returned missionaries who were married were married in the temple, again far ahead of Churchwide figures.
Why was the survey conducted? Elder Carlos E. Asay of the First Quorum of the Seventy, executive director of the Missionary Department, explained that for some time stories have persisted in the Church claiming that a high percentage of returned missionaries became inactive. “Even one or two missionaries falling away concerns us greatly, but we found it hard to believe that such large numbers were being lost!” So, to find out if there was a great problem, and, if not, to squelch such stories, Eric Ott of the Missionary Department and John Madsen of the Priesthood Department administered the survey.
The questionnaires were mailed to 1,757 returned missionaries. More than 65 percent of those who received questionnaires returned them—an unusually high percentage for mailed surveys. But to reduce the possibility of error even further, the bishop of every fifteenth returned missionary was called, to see what relationship there was between the missionaries’ self-assessment and their bishops’ view of their activity in the Church, and also to see if those who returned the questionnaire were significantly more active than those who did not.
The results of the follow-up survey reinforced the original results. Though missionaries who failed to return the survey tended to be slightly less active, the difference was almost negligible—three percent.

About 65 years ago, Sister Mary Kimball, wife of Crozier Kimball, watched a small boy climb into a buggy driven by his father, Andrew. As they drove away, she turned to her husband and was inspired to say, “That boy will some day be the prophet of the Lord.” That boy sits here today, presiding over this conference as the President of the Church, President Spencer W. Kimball.

There are scores of others, each one a lesson to all in the principle of obedience and sacrifice. A young lady with a great desire to fill a mission was counseled to buy ingredients, make cookies, and sell them at school during lunchtime. She did so. Then she bought more flour, baked more cookies, and continued this process for weeks, making a small amount of money each day to help toward her mission.

One day during morning playtime at school, my friends and I were practising for our school’s sports day. I was taking part in the 80-meter sprint. All of a sudden, a little girl came marching up to me.
“Can I play with you?” she asked.
I wanted to say, “You’re a bit small,” but she looked kind of lonely, so I said, “OK, then.”
My friends gave me a weird look, but I remembered that Jesus did not turn anyone away. I started to feel good inside, and, do you know, I enjoyed that playtime very much. So did my friends.
Leila Robinson, age 10Hedon, East Yorkshire, England

1
Green River crossing not completed because of high winds (no miles)
2
It was decided to send back guides for the next company (no miles)
3
Finished crossing; men were chosen to go back for next company (3 miles)
4
Sabbath day; twelve former Mormon Battalion members joined company (no miles)
5
Many still suffering from Mountain Fever (20 miles)
6
Beautiful prairie wildflowers in bloom, camped in field of wild flax (18.5 miles)
7
Passed Fort Bridger and camped just beyond it (17.5 miles)
8
Camped entire day; fixed wagons; many went to fort to do some trading (no miles)
9
Descended almost perpendicular hill (13 miles)
10
Cleared trail of huge rocks to make road passable; spotted three bears (18 miles)
11
Sabbath day; oil discovered and used on gun stocks, shoes, and wagon wheels (no miles)
12
Brigham Young and others became very ill; main group traveled on, leaving sick behind to rest (16.5 miles)
13
Orson Pratt took small advance company to find pass through mountains (main company no miles)
14
Hunted antelope; Brigham Young’s health improved (no miles)
15
Brigham Young and those with him rejoined main group of pioneers (4.5 miles)
16
Passed through narrow gap between high canyon walls where every sound echoed (16 miles)
17
Had special prayer for the sick; rolled rocks down mountain for fun (2.5 miles)
18
Sabbath day; decided to split company again to allow sick to stay behind and rest (no miles)
19
Very difficult traveling through mountains; made first sighting of valley (14 miles)
20
Repaired wagons; trail very rough—spent time improving road (7.5 miles)
21
Spent much time getting wagons down steep mountain ridges (14 miles)
22
Advance group and main group entered valley; seven men searched for place to plant crops (8 miles)
23
Plowed and began work on irrigation system (2 miles)
24
Planted crops; last members of company arrived in Salt Lake Valley with Brigham Young (no miles)

In Hong Kong, Sister Reeves promised the youth, “If you will stay clean in your life, you can stand with confidence before anyone!”
Inspired by her words, 12-year-old Tang Kak Kei commented after the meeting, “I know that I need to read the Book of Mormon every day. Learning to repent and live righteously is what For the Strength of Youth has taught me to do so the Light of Christ and true happiness can radiate through me.”

My friend gave me an invitation to her party! I was so excited—until I noticed it was on Sunday. My mom called her mom and explained that we made a decision many years ago that Sundays are a day of worship and a day to spend time with our family, and that I wouldn’t be able to go to the party. Then my friend’s mom changed the day of the party to a Saturday, just so I could come! I love my friends!
Emma F., age 8, Ohio, USA

Thirteen-year-old Florence Onyejekwe reached her usual spot in the crowded outdoor market in Onitsha, Nigeria. The street was packed with sellers calling out to busy shoppers. Women balanced bundles on their heads as they walked. School had just ended for the holiday, and Florence knew her friends were enjoying the break from class. But Florence spent her holidays selling bitterleaf here at the market. It was her only chance to earn money for her school fees.
Florence did not complain, though. After all, her mother spent long hours at the market every day selling yams to buy food for the family. Mama worked so hard. Her parents both did. But without much education, there was only so much they could do. Florence was almost finished with primary school. Perhaps if she could continue her schooling, she could get a good-paying job and help her family.
When she returned home, Florence found her parents and asked, “Do you think I could go to secondary school? And maybe university?”
Mama looked at Nnam (dad) and shook her head. “University costs so much more than we have,” said Nnam. Florence looked down at her shoes. She didn’t want Mama and Nnam to see how disappointed she was.
A few days later, Florence stopped at the hospital to pick up some medicine. The hospital was almost as busy as the market, though not as loud. Florence stared at the nurses in their crisp, white caps. She pictured herself in a uniform like that, helping the sick and taking care of babies in a big hospital. Perhaps she could become a nurse.
Florence knew her parents were right—getting an education would be hard. But Florence knew how to work hard. She decided to try.
No matter how many chores filled her day, Florence made time to study. She passed the tests for secondary school, and Nnam borrowed enough money for her to go. Later she found out that the government would help pay for nursing school. Her dream was within reach!
But when it came time to begin nursing school, Florence felt a little doubt. What if it was too hard? What if she was lonely? Florence bowed her head and prayed, “Dear God, please give me the strength to go to nursing school and work hard.”
At nursing school, Florence learned how to give medicine and keep tools clean from germs. Sometimes her patients got better, but sometimes they didn’t. Florence prayed often for courage. After three long years, Florence graduated with the award for best student in her class. Her dream had come true! She got to wear the white nurse’s cap, and she was able to earn enough to help her family.
Many years later, Florence visited a small branch in the Ghana Accra Mission. Her husband, Christopher Chukwurah, was the mission president there. Florence met some children in the branch who couldn’t always go to school. They weren’t sure what to do with their futures. They reminded Florence of herself as a child. “What can I say to help them?” Florence prayed silently.
Then she felt a clear prompting: Tell them about your life.
Florence thought about her life. She had worked in hospitals in Nigeria and the United States. She had married a good man, and together they had found The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She had become a mother. Now she was helping missionaries stay healthy and work hard. Heavenly Father had helped her become a nurse. He had helped her do so much more than she had imagined. He could do the same for these children.
Florence looked at the children and smiled. “You know those white caps that nurses wear? I saw a cap like that and decided to become a nurse …”

Sometimes Simee, the Kurzer cat, lies next to Kendon when he reads. He loves the Oz books. He has read so many of them that when the library was going to discard one that was too old to be checked out anymore, they gave it to him. He loves this antique treasure and takes good care of it.

We do not know when fasting was adopted in the Church as a regular observance, but there are records that indicate that some fast meetings were held in the Kirtland Temple on the first Thursday of each month in the year 1836. There is no indication that these fasts were associated with donations to the poor, except a remark made by Brigham Young more than thirty years later in the Old Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. He had this to say:
“You know that the first Thursday in each month we hold as a fast day. How many here know the origin of this day? Before tithing was paid, the poor were supported by donations. They came to Joseph and wanted help, in Kirtland, and he said there should be a fast day, which was decided upon. It was to be held once a month, as it is now, and all that would have been eaten that day, of flour, or meat, or butter, or fruit, or anything else, was to be carried to the fast meeting and put into the hands of a person selected for the purpose of taking care of it and distributing it among the poor.” (Journal of Discourses, 12:115.)
Although Brigham Young indicated that this was the decision that was made, there is no record that it was ever observed.

Here in Ghana, you’ll experience good culture, good food, and most importantly, good friendships with other people. Many of my friends are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and my best friend was baptized just a few years ago. She likes to joke with me and say, “Why didn’t you tell me to join the Church earlier?” And she is right! So now, I’m doing more to bring people to church, help them participate in activities, and help them see what it’s all about.