Gospel Story Finder

John was in a dilemma. He wanted a new drum set so he could join a group that was planning to play for school and ward dances. His old drum set was outdated, but the new set he wanted cost nearly $500. How would he ever get the money? Should he ask to borrow the money from his dad? “Nah,” he thought, “Dad thinks modern music is too wild; he would never understand why I want to join a group. I’ll be glad when I’m old enough to get away from home so I can earn my own money and do what I want.”

John’s father also faced a dilemma. He knew his son was brooding and unhappy, and he suspected it had to do with John wanting to play in a group. “I wish he would talk to me,” he thought, “but everytime I ask him about anything in his life he seems to shut me out.”

In this situation both the father and son are making false assumptions about the other. If they could assume that each really has concern for the other and would welcome a chance to talk about matters of real importance, perhaps they could close the gap between them before it is too late.

I am studying the Old Testament for seminary this year. At first it seemed that the gospel was so different back then. But then I read about the dedication for the temple King Solomon built (2 Chronicles 5–7). I felt the Spirit so strongly. I realized how much God loved His children then, just like He does now. Even though the times have changed, God’s gospel has remained the same and so has His love.
Esther D., 16, Georgia, USA

As Sister Johnson and I were raising our children, we encouraged each of them to learn to play a musical instrument. But we would allow our children to take music lessons only if they did their part and practiced their instrument each day. One Saturday, our daughter Jalynn was excited to go play with friends, but she had not yet practiced the piano. Knowing she had committed to practice for 30 minutes, she intended to set a timer because she did not want to practice even one minute longer than was required.
As she walked by the microwave oven on her way to the piano, she paused and pushed some buttons. But instead of setting the timer, she set the microwave to cook for 30 minutes and pushed start. After about 20 minutes of practice, she walked back to the kitchen to check how much time was remaining and found the microwave oven on fire.
She then ran into the backyard where I was doing yard work, yelling that the house was on fire. I quickly ran into the house, and indeed, I found the microwave oven in flames.
In an effort to save our home from burning, I reached behind the microwave, unplugged it, and used the power cord to lift the burning microwave off of the counter. Hoping to be the hero and to save the day as well as our home, I swung the flaming microwave in circles with the power cord to keep it away from my body, got to the backyard, and with another swinging motion flung the microwave out onto the lawn. There we were able to extinguish the fiery flames with a hose.
What had gone wrong? A microwave oven needs something to absorb its energy, and when nothing is on the inside to absorb the energy, the oven itself absorbs the energy, becomes hot, and may catch on fire, destroying itself in a pile of flames and ashes. Our entire microwave went up in flames and burned because there was nothing on the inside.
Likewise, those who have faith and the word of God deep in their hearts will be able to absorb and overcome the fiery darts that the adversary will surely send to destroy us. Otherwise, our faith, hope, and conviction may not endure, and like the empty microwave oven, we could become a casualty.

Molly’s uncle works at the refuge. He controls the water level for the pools according to the needs of the animals and plant life. Molly likes to tell about the time a terrible windstorm knocked down trees, trapping people in the refuge. Her uncle helped get them out.

In the summer of 1828, the Prophet Joseph Smith was working diligently on translating the Book of Mormon. One day his scribe, Martin Harris, asked Joseph for permission to take the first 116 manuscript pages to his home in Palmyra, New York, so his family could see them. Joseph was unsure and asked the Lord what he should do. The Lord told him not to let Martin take the pages. Martin begged Joseph to ask again. Joseph did so, but the answer was the same. Martin pleaded with Joseph to ask the Lord once more. This time the Lord allowed them to do as they pleased.
Joseph told Martin he could take the pages if he most solemnly covenanted to show them only to his wife and certain family members. Martin promised and took the pages home. But Martin broke his promise and showed the pages to others. Later, when Martin went to get the pages, he could not find them. They were lost.
The Lord severely chastised Joseph for not listening when He said not to let Martin take the manuscript (see Doctrine and Covenants 3:5–8). For a time, the Lord took away the plates and Joseph’s ability to translate, but the Lord assured him that he could be forgiven (see Doctrine and Covenants 3:9–10). Joseph repented, and in time the plates were returned. Joseph moved forward with renewed determination.
After this dramatic ordeal, the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation in which the Savior taught invaluable principles that can help us as we progress throughout our lives.
“The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught,” the Lord said.
“For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.
“Remember, remember that it is not the work of God that is frustrated, but the work of men” (Doctrine and Covenants 3:1–3).

About halfway through my last year of high school, the school counselor was calculating my credit hours. After pulling up my class schedule, she turned to me and said, “If you want to graduate from high school, you cannot take seminary during the school day.”
I was shocked. I felt like I was standing at the end of a street looking at two roads, both of which I wanted to take: graduating from high school and taking seminary. I had been looking forward to graduating for a long time. Should I drop seminary so I could get the credit needed to graduate?
I left the counselor’s office feeling upset and frustrated. When I got home I went to my room and got down on my knees. I told my Heavenly Father that I wanted to take seminary very much, but I also wanted to graduate from high school. After praying, I felt calm. I didn’t know how things were going to work out, but I knew everything would be okay.
The next day I was back in the counselor’s room looking at possible class choices. One class caught my eye—Peer Tutoring. I had talked to people who had taken this class and liked it, so I decided to enroll.
On my first day in Peer Tutoring, the teacher went over basic classroom procedures. We would be helping special-needs students do schoolwork. The teacher said some of us would be going with these students to their classes so we could help them. She began to assign us to different students that we would work with. Then she asked, “Are any of you willing to take Tony to seminary?”
“For what church?” asked one of the students.
“For the LDS Church,” she answered.
I was the only Latter-day Saint student in the room, so I was assigned to Tony. At that moment I realized that Heavenly Father had answered my prayer. For the next three months, I went to seminary with Tony and got to partake of the Spirit. I was also able to graduate from both seminary and high school.
I know my experience was not just pure luck. My Heavenly Father heard my prayer and answered it. This experience has taught me that prayer works and is a powerful tool in our lives.

An event of great importance to the entire Christian world has taken place during this conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A new prophet of God has been raised up for this present day!
He is one in a line of inspired men divinely called to minister now and to bring a new revelation from heaven to every man, woman, and child who will hear.
The appointment of this new prophet is of momentous import to every person who believes in God, and particularly to every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is in deep humility, but with great sincerity, that we make this solemn announcement to the world.

In this conference, with our hearts and our hands, we have formally sustained President Lee as our inspired leader for this day.
The mantle of the prophets now rests upon him. He holds the authority in the holy priesthood that they held.
All the keys and powers given by the angels to the Prophet Joseph Smith have been conferred upon President Lee. He is today’s authorized and divinely chosen successor in this long line of prophets.

As our hearts and minds turn at Eastertime to thoughts of our Savior’s suffering at Gethsemane, his crucifixion, and his resurrection, I recall an experience at an open house in the Arizona Temple following a complete renovation of the building. Nearly a quarter of a million people saw the temple’s beautiful interior. On the first day of the open house, clergymen of other religions were invited as special guests, and hundreds responded. It was my privilege to speak to them and to answer their questions at the conclusion of their tours. I told them that we would be pleased to answer any queries they might have. Many were asked. Among these was one which came from a Protestant minister.
Said he: “I’ve been all through this building, this temple which carries on its face the name of Jesus Christ, but nowhere have I seen any representation of the cross, the symbol of Christianity. I have noted your buildings elsewhere and likewise find an absence of the cross. Why is this when you say you believe in Jesus Christ?”
I responded: “I do not wish to give offense to any of my Christian brethren who use the cross on the steeples of their cathedrals and at the altars of their chapels, who wear it on their vestments and imprint it on their books and other literature. But for us, the cross is the symbol of the dying Jesus, while our message is a declaration of the living Christ.”
He then asked: “If you do not use the cross, what is the symbol of your religion?”
I replied that the lives of our people must become the only meaningful expression of our faith. I hope he did not feel that I was smug or self-righteous in my response. He was correct in his observation that we do not use the cross, except as our military chaplains use it on their uniforms for identification.

The assessments will be even more effective when you focus on the gospel doctrines and principles that are the basis of the learning assessment questions. After a seminary class discussed the doctrines behind the questions, one student shared, “It changed the outlook of the test into more of a discussion and a testimony builder. It helped to solidify what you learned.”

David Smith of Spokane, Washington, thinks with his hands and keeps on tinkering with wires, lights, and component parts until he figures out anything from a coin-tossing game to a completely new kind of computer. Dave estimates that his award-winning computer design can solve problems twice as fast as current computers. It is in the process of being patented. His “Tract-Computer,” cited by the U.S. Defense and Space Departments, cost Dave 4,500 hours and $1,200. He built it all from scratch and all on his own. Dave is the son of Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Smith and is quick to claim the blessing of Church membership, because it keeps him “alert and in touch with inspiration.” He’s earned his Duty to God award and has been a cross-country track man for his high school.

Your friend Matt didn’t finish his math homework. He asks if he can copy the last 10 problems from your paper. So you …
Let him copy your paper. He’s your friend, and you don’t want him to think you’re a “goody-goody.” Besides, it’s not like he’s copying the whole assignment. It’s more like sharing.
Don’t let him copy your homework.
B. Don’t let him copy your homework. Matt’s your friend, and you don’t want him to get mad at you. But letting him copy your homework isn’t sharing. It’s cheating, whether it’s one answer or ten. Tell him you’re sorry, but don’t let him bully you into letting him copy.

Charles C. Rich, on April 7, 1863, spoke of the need for a tabernacle in which to meet. He declared: “What shall I say in regard to the Tabernacle? We can see at once that we … need the blessings of such a house at the present time. If we put it off, when will it be built? When that house is built we can then enjoy the benefits and blessings which it will afford. The same principle may be applied to everything we take in hand, and with which we have to do, whether it be to build a Temple, a Tabernacle, to send teams to the frontiers to gather the poor, or to do any other work that is required of us. Nothing that is required will be performed until we go to work and do something ourselves. We have no other people to lean upon, and therefore it remains for us to go to work and perform well our part.”
They went to work!

With the exception of these brethren we have just sustained, and noting the passing of our dear friend and brother, Elder LeGrand Richards of the Quorum of the Twelve, there have been no changes in the General Authorities since the last conference. It is proposed, therefore, that we sustain all of the General Authorities and general officers of the Church as at present constituted.
Those in favor, please manifest it.
Those opposed, by the same sign.

Even before the Caloocan Chapel was finished we bid another chapel—the Clark-Angeles Chapel in 1972. Engineer Avelino V. Tanjuakio was the contractor who won the bid. Ground breaking was held on June 6, 1972 on the very day that the big flood of 1972 started. Construction work started on September 1972. This chapel became a landmark to travellers going to Baguio and the northern parts of the Philippines. It is located along the national road and people now are able to see a Mormon chapel springing up in their midst.
But with all these construction works, the highlight of my stay in this country is seeing the baptism of two fine men who worked with me—Juanito Gutierrez, my first contractor who is now Bishop of the Marikina Ward, and Engineer Avelino V. Tanjuakio who is now Governor Elect of the Kiwanis of Luzon. I will cherish my association with many wonderful people and friends especially my efficient secretary, Miss Nilda Austria.

Jeffrey Holland’s father, Frank, was a different kind of pioneer. An Irish convert to the Church, Frank ended his formal schooling with the seventh grade. But he diligently sought education on his own, becoming a public accountant and civic leader in St. George. Some who came under his influence still speak of the impact of his love of the Book of Mormon and still remember his Sunday School lessons. He was the kind of father who helped organize Little League baseball in the community after his son lamented that there were no baseball teams for boys his age.

Another letter Col. Halvorsen received was from a little boy named Peter Zimmerman who had lost both his parents in the war. He asked the candy bomber if he could find him some people in America who would adopt him. Col. Halvorsen helped to locate a family in Pennsylvania who welcomed Peter into their home.

Going to high school for the first time was so intimidating. No one else in my school was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a lot of my classmates’ standards were different from mine. I wanted to make friends without having to lower my own standards, but that can be hard when you’re living in a country where it’s uncommon to have faith.
I stood out in my school. I didn’t drink alcohol or coffee and didn’t join the smokers during lunch breaks. I was bullied by a lot of my classmates. Sometimes my personal items like my phone or bike keys would be stolen and thrown in the trash or hidden somewhere in the school. I didn’t know what to do. I felt beaten, broken, and worthless.
But things began to change when I decided I would always pray on my knees before going to sleep and pour my heart out to Heavenly Father. I did this for many, many nights. The answer to my prayer didn’t come immediately, but over time I became stronger mentally.
The bullying never really stopped, but it didn’t affect me the same way as before. I felt Heavenly Father’s love for me and knew that He was listening to my prayers. I could feel His arms around me, protecting me.
Rosa-Lynn R., Netherlands

He returned home to Logan from Harvard to serve as chemist of the Agriculture Experiment Station, Logan, Utah. On June 1, 1898, he was married to a beautiful young woman, Miss Leah Dunford, eldest daughter of Susa Young Gates. The young couple went to Germany where he earned the PhD degree in biochemistry at the University of Gottingen. This was followed by postdoctoral studies at the Zurich Polytechnium in Switzerland and the University of London, in England.
While in Europe he was offered the presidency of the Brigham Young College by cablegram from the chairman of its board of trustees. A cablegram from President Joseph F. Smith of the First Presidency followed the next day, advising him not to accept the Brigham Young College presidency but to return to what is now Utah State University where he built up agricultural research, establishing scientific dry farming and irrigation practices to bless the arid lands of the world.

During the weeks before Christmas, my companion and I had been teaching a man of the Jewish faith. Allen already knew a little about the Church. He told us that he wasn’t looking to get baptized; he just wanted to see what “the Mormons are all about.”
In four discussions we had taught him about the Savior, the Restoration, the Book of Mormon, the plan of salvation, plus other material to help him come to a knowledge of Christ. He had finished reading the Book of Mormon and a little more than half of the Doctrine and Covenants. We had fasted with him on Christmas Eve, hoping he would come to a knowledge of Christ and be baptized.
Christmas afternoon came with an unexpected knock on the apartment door. It was Allen. He was beaming with excitement. He had come to tell us that he could testify of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon and Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. Every expression on his face showed the joy and happiness he was experiencing. He was no longer a man looking for a knowledge of Christ, but one desiring to become a member of the Church.
It was through the Book of Mormon and the Holy Ghost that Allen was able to come to a knowledge of Christ. I was transferred out of the area before Allen was baptized, but being able to see his conversion and be a part of it truly was the best Christmas present ever.
Elder Christopher Albright is serving full time in the North Carolina Charlotte Mission.

Brynn also remembers her father as being very thoughtful. Just two days after she left home to attend Brigham Young University, she received flowers from him at her dormitory. The accompanying note said simply, “Have a great semester.”
“While Dad had high expectations of us, he was never preachy. He was very loving and low-key,” she says. “He was very happy, and he wanted us to be happy.”