Gospel Story Finder

Two Scouts from the Virginia Beach Second Ward, Norfolk Virginia Stake, received commendations for saving the life of Harvette Kaneakua during a Sunday School class party.
The medals and certificates for heroism were presented after Brad Alexander and Brian Casson endangered their own lives to save their friend’s. At a beach party, the undertow pulled several of the group out into deep water. Brian helped Harvette stay afloat while Brad towed them both to shore.

As a young man many years ago, I was drafted—or as we called it, “conscripted”—into the South African military. I was assigned to a squad of soldiers who were good men but had the roughness of speech and behavior that is sometimes manifested by men serving in the military.

Surrounded by such influences, I discovered that it wasn’t always easy to live gospel standards. But from the beginning of my military service, I was pleased to stand up for my beliefs. I made it clear that I would not engage in conduct that I knew was wrong. I am grateful that the men in my squad—some grudgingly at first—grew to respect my standards.

On one occasion, during a military training camp, a group of us were standing around a campfire on a beautiful, dark, cloudless, star-filled night. Some of the fellows in my squad were drinking beer while I sipped a soft drink. The discussion was pleasant, with no improper talk.

During our visiting, a few men from another unit wandered over to our happy band. One of these men turned to me and, noticing the soft drink in my hand, mocked me for not joining the men in drinking beer. Before I could respond, one of my friends surprised me by rebuking the man.

“We suggest that you leave now, sir,” he said. “We will not have anyone speak to Chris like that! In fact, he is the only man amongst us who lives his life like a true Christian.”

With that, the rebuked man quietly skulked away into the dark night. At that moment, although a little embarrassed by the unexpected compliment, I remembered Paul’s counsel to be “an example of the believers” (1 Timothy 4:12).

From the early days of the Church, the leaders knew the importance of the printed word. As early as 1894, the first President of the Primary, Louie B. Felt, and her secretary, Mae Anderson, had asked the First Presidency for permission to publish a magazine for the teachers and leaders of the children. At first, due to the difficulties some other publications were having, the Brethren were hesitant to give their permission, but it was finally given. No funds were provided, so Sister Felt promised her home to the printers if the magazine failed. Sister Anderson was asked to be the editor for six months, but she served for thirty-eight years!

While preparing things to put in the magazine, the sisters also collected leftover string and scraps of used wrapping paper that they smoothed out with an iron. After bundling up the magazines in the carefully saved paper and string, the women carried them—it took several trips—four blocks away to the post office.

Sister Anderson and Sister Felt soon felt the need to include a few stories and activities for children in the magazine. But the change from being a teacher’s manual to a real children’s magazine took many years.

Living the Young Women Values has helped Joanne Larsen of the Calgary Alberta 12th Ward introduce the Church to a friend. In Young Women meeting they talked about giving a copy of the Book of Mormon to a friend. This class goal got Joanne interested, and she gave a copy to her friend. She also invited her friend to girls’ camp and to ward activities. Now the friend is taking the discussions from missionaries in Joanne’s home.

One way to disrupt God’s plan for you would be to desensitize young women. Give them a small, seemingly innocent taste of something ultimately destructive, next time a little more, and next time even more again, and soon, when it was time for the big whammy, it would hardly be noticed. It is said if you want to boil a frog, don’t throw him in a pot of boiling water. He will immediately jump out. Put him in a pot of cold water and turn the heat up so slowly that he won’t even notice the dangerous increase in temperature. Young women, I fear that the trend in our world is to slowly turn up the heat. Pay attention. Don’t allow yourselves to be desensitized by gradual lapses in good judgment.

The house was a raging inferno.

“It’s no use,” the fire chief muttered, watching the flames leap high into the air. “Pull back!” he shouted. The fire crew moved back from the searing heat.

“Help!” a girl suddenly cried out from a second floor window.

“Oh no,” the fire chief mourned.

The girl’s parents, who had just returned from a movie, were quickly ushered over to the fire chief.

“Help me!” the girl shouted.

“Please save our daughter,” the mother pleaded.

“I can’t ask any of my men to go into that tinder box now—it’d be suicide.”

Randy stepped from the crowd. “Don’t worry, I’ll save your daughter.”

Before anyone could stop him, he ran toward the house, paying only slight attention to the crowd’s horrified gasp as he rushed into the flames.

It’s a good thing I’m wearing this action jacket, he thought as he kicked the door down. Inside, the stairs were still intact, although fire was licking through several of the steps. He covered his face with the jacket and bounded up the stairs.

On the second floor landing, because the jacket was still over his face, he tripped over a tricycle in the hall, but quickly recovered and hurried to her room.

He opened the door and saw her. She was in one of his classes in high school. She had long hair and nice eyes, although for some reason he couldn’t make out any details of her face. Maybe it’s the smoke, he thought.

She threw her arms around him. “I knew you’d come,” she cried.

A loud crash shook the house.

“What was that?” she cried.

“The staircase caving in,” he said calmly.

“How will we ever get out?”

He thought for a second then said, “I have a plan.”

Running to what was left of the hall, he grabbed the tricycle and hurried back to the room. He pulled an adjustable wrench from his jacket pocket and undid the front wheel. Then he kicked out the rubber from the wheel, leaving just the metal rim.

“Anyone else in the house?”

“No—my brother is spending the night at our uncle’s house.”

He hurried to the window and kicked out the screen and looked out. Just as he had noticed earlier—a telephone cable ran from the street pole to within a foot of the window. He leaned out, placing the rim of the wheel over the cable, then asked her to hand him the rest of the tricycle, which he refastened upside down onto the wheel again, the forked brace holding the wheel rim in place on the cable.

It was ready. He motioned for her to climb next to him on the window ledge. Putting one arm around her waist and holding onto the handle bar with the other, he jumped out into space.

They rolled gently down the telephone cable like a miniature cable car, leaving the house just before it broke apart. The crowd below roared its approval.

“Oh, Randy, you’re wonderful,” she sighed, hugging him.

A minute later they were on the ground, surrounded by a TV news crew and several newspaper reporters.

A newsman from the TV station stepped forward, microphone in hand, and asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“Hey, kid, whataya think you’re doing?”

That’s not the right question, Randy thought.

He looked again at the reporter. Somehow he had changed into a store clerk.

…

As he walked home, he began to think.

The house was a raging inferno.

“Help!” Michelle cried out from a second-floor window …

In 2002 I decided to run marathons. Since that time, I have run more than fifty marathons (42.2 kilometers) and ultra-marathons (beyond 42.2 km). The longest was the Comrades Marathon (90 km). Over time, I learned that consistency in my training makes a difference.
Nine weeks prior to the race day, I follow the following weekly schedule: Monday a 10 km run at the marathon pace (6 minutes per km). Tuesday is speed training, made up of an 8 km in less than 40 minutes. Wednesday is hill work. I start with a 2 km warm up, followed by running up and down a 500-­meter hill. Thursday is an easy 10 km run, much slower than the Monday 10 km, finishing at 1 hour 10 minutes. Friday is another easy run or catching up on any training missed during the week. Saturday is a slow run of two or three hours, aimed at building endurance. Sunday is a rest day—an important element of training. I also remember to keep the Sabbath day holy, for if I obey with exactness, I am guaranteed of completing any marathon within an allocated time. I use the same schedule for both standard marathons and ultras.
These daily and weekly activities work together. If one of them is missed, my run will be affected. For example, the speed work helps me finish within the allocated time, but if I don’t do my long runs on Saturday, I would not have the needed endurance. The speed might be there, but I won’t get there. If hill training isn’t done, I won’t finish in time because I would walk hills instead of running.

In Indonesia, Sister Reeves participated in the first stake conference of the new Surakarta Indonesia Stake. “We felt of their humble and loving spirits. What faithful members!” she said.

For some time the rumors had been coming in from Salt Lake City, but confirmation of the facts was difficult. Finally, the official word came in a brief telegram signed “Hinckley.” The word spread quickly amongst the members of the Israel Group—“President Lee is definitely coming. The Prophet will be here in the Holy Land.” And so there we were, at the airport, waiting in the VIP room with representatives of the Ministries of Tourism, Foreign Affairs, and Religious Affairs. With fewer than thirty Latter-day Saints in the entire country, the prospects of a meeting with President Harold B. Lee, Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, and President Edwin Q. Cannon, Jr., of the Switzerland Mission—along with their wives—was exciting, to say the least.

No matter where she lives or travels, Sally shares the gospel with people she loves. Her best friend, Ariel, goes to a different church. Sally’s family and Ariel’s family have talked together a lot about their churches. Once Sally went to one of Ariel’s church services. When missionaries knocked on Ariel’s door, Ariel’s family invited them in to talk.

I find keeping my mind on the Sabbath becomes easier as I fulfill my Church and priesthood callings. As I do my duties as a priest and help the teachers and deacons with their duties, I find I am not thinking about the things I can’t do but remembering everything I need to get done.Andrew S., 17, Montana, USA

Now may I share a few thoughts with you mothers about the special role you play in your daughters’ lives. We have a family friend who travels often with members of her extended family. Her primary observation after each trip is how much the young women behave like their mothers. If the mothers are thrifty, so are their daughters. If the mothers are modest, so are the girls. If the mothers wear flip-flops and other casual clothing to sacrament meeting, so do their daughters. Mothers, your example is extremely important to your daughters—even if they don’t acknowledge it.

On Friday my teacher asked me to read a poem I wrote in front of all the students, teachers, and parents at our school assembly. I was really excited, so I said, “Yes!” But I was also really nervous about it.
As I was sitting on the stage waiting to read my poem, my heart began to beat very fast. I felt very nervous about sharing something I had written with a lot of people.
Then a thought came to my mind. I thought of how my family and I read from the Book of Mormon together in the mornings before school. The thought of reading the scriptures with my family made me think of Heavenly Father. I thought of how He loves me. I felt comforted and no longer alone. My heart wasn’t beating as fast, and I felt reverent.
In the Children’s Songbook on page 31, the lyrics say,
Rev’rence is more than just quietly sitting:
It’s thinking of Father above,
A feeling I get when I think of His blessings.
I’m rev’rent, for rev’rence is love.
When I’m rev’rent, it shows in my words and my deeds.
The pathway to follow is clear.
And when I am rev’rent, I know in my heart
Heav’nly Father and Jesus are near.
I am thankful that I felt Heavenly Father’s love when I was nervous at the assembly. And I am thankful to know that He loves me very much.
I know that in difficult situations, I can choose to be reverent and think of God.

Romero had been looking forward to this day for a very long time. This was the day his mother and he had planned on going to the park. But that morning his mother had been called away to help a neighbor who was very ill. When she left, she promised Romero that they would still go to the park when she returned if he would do some of the household chores while she was gone. Romero told her that he would.
After his mother left, Romero started to do the things she had asked him to do. Then his friend José came by and wanted to play. Romero remembered what his mother had asked him to do and her promise that they would go to the park if he was obedient. He told José that he couldn’t play just then because he had work to do. José went home, and Romero hurried to finish the chores. When his mother came home, she was happy to see that he had done what she had asked. Because he had, she kept her promise and together they spent the afternoon at the park.

I will tell you of an experience I had before I was a General Authority that affected me profoundly. I sat on a plane next to a professed atheist who pressed his disbelief in God so urgently that I bore my testimony to him. “You are wrong,” I said. “There is a God. I know He lives!”
He protested, “You don’t know. Nobody knows that! You can’t know it!” When I would not yield, the atheist, who was an attorney, asked perhaps the ultimate question on the subject of testimony. “All right,” he said in a sneering, condescending way, “you say you know. Tell me how you know.”
When I attempted to answer, even though I held advanced academic degrees, I was helpless to communicate.
When I used the words Spirit and witness, the atheist responded, “I don’t know what you are talking about.” The words prayer, discernment, and faith were equally meaningless to him. “You see,” he said, “you don’t really know. If you did, you would be able to tell me how you know.”
I felt, perhaps, that I had borne my testimony to him unwisely and was at a loss as to what to do. Then came the experience! Something came into my mind. And I mention here a statement of the Prophet Joseph Smith: “A person may profit by noticing the first intimation of the spirit of revelation; for instance, when you feel pure intelligence flowing into you, it may give you sudden strokes of ideas … and thus by learning the Spirit of God and understanding it, you may grow into the principle of revelation, until you become perfect in Christ Jesus.”
Such an idea came into my mind, and I said to the atheist, “Let me ask if you know what salt tastes like.”
“Of course I do,” was his reply.
“Then,” I said, “assuming that I have never tasted salt, explain to me just what it tastes like.”
After some thought, he said, “Well, I, uh, it is not sweet and it is not sour.”
“You’ve told me what it isn’t, not what it is.”
After several attempts, of course, he could not do it. He could not convey, in words alone, so ordinary an experience as tasting salt. I bore testimony to him once again and said, “I know there is a God. You ridiculed that testimony and said that if I did know, I would be able to tell you exactly how I know. My friend, spiritually speaking, I have tasted salt. I am no more able to convey to you in words how this knowledge has come than you are to tell me what salt tastes like. But I say to you again, there is a God! He does live! And just because you don’t know, don’t try to tell me that I don’t know, for I do!”
As we parted, I heard him mutter, “I don’t need your religion for a crutch! I don’t need it.”
From that experience forward, I have never been embarrassed or ashamed that I could not explain in words alone everything I know spiritually. The Apostle Paul said it this way:

Merit and I are both enrolled in the PathwayConnect and West Africa Area Online Institute programs. Our decision to enroll in these programs and our commitment to attending each gathering despite our challenges has been to experiment on the words of President Russell M. Nelson and gain our personal experiences. In the “Welcome to Institute” part from the week one lesson, we learned that President Nelson’s invitation to young adult to participate in institute was comforting. He said:
“Seminary and institute will help you remodel your home to become a sanctuary of faith—a place where the gospel of Jesus Christ is taught, learned, lived, and loved. Wherever you live, that dwelling can become a place where true disciples of Jesus Christ reside. There you can seek refuge from the storms of life and increase your love of the Lord and for each other”.2
Reflecting on the above words from the prophet, we mustered the courage to continue the program through to the end despite our temporal difficulties.
Our favorite part of the program was the gatherings. We both enjoyed them because we had the opportunity to meet with and learn from friends and other Saints. We chose face-to-face gathering for PathwayConnect. Although both classes were held on the same day, institute was held virtually. The allotted time which was 6 pm and 9 pm was challenging for us to participate since we lived on an island that was far from our gathering center. We never made it home before the institute gathering commenced, most of the time we followed up in a bus with our earpieces on, on a motorcycle, in a boat or if we can find a quiet, safe place with electricity, we would stop and continue till the end of institute gathering, then head home. We always got home late; we arrived around 11 pm or sometimes later. One time, we considered stopping over at a member friend’s place to have our gatherings, but we noticed that leaving for work from there the next morning would be quite challenging as one arrives late to work. So, we decided to just go home instead. Our challenges are strong, but our determination is stronger.
Attending both Pathway and institute are important to us because we know that “sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven”3. We are already receiving some of the promised blessings such as having our faith in Jesus Christ increased. Our fears of what the future may hold for us is no longer there. Our love for and trust in our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ have deepened. This does not mean that our challenges have all disappeared, instead, our faith, strength, and resilience to endure have increased. We have learned many principles that can help us to overcome some of life’s challenges. Our desire to engage in a meaningful personal daily study of the Book of Mormon, and our ability to hear Him have increased.
We soon found that accepting President Nelson’s invitation had increased our blessings, and we know that despite our challenges in attending the gatherings, we can continue to grow and improve our abilities to serve our Heavenly Father, our Savior Jesus Christ and our brothers and sisters better.

When I was in the ninth grade, I returned from my first out-of-town game with the varsity baseball team. My father discerned that on the long bus ride home I had witnessed language and behavior that was not in harmony with the standards of the gospel. Being a professional artist, he sat down and drew a picture of a knight—a warrior capable of defending castles and kingdoms.
As he drew and read from the scriptures, I learned how to be a faithful priesthood holder—to protect and defend the kingdom of God. The words of the Apostle Paul were my guide:
“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

When I was preparing to go on a mission, I had an experience which touched my life forever. It had been a particularly bad day as I came home from school that May afternoon, the kind of day that made me want to lock myself in a room, away from the rest of the world. And that’s exactly what I did. I had always planned to go on a mission, always prepared for it. But now that the chips were down, I didn’t know if I actually had the courage to follow through with it.
Prospective missionaries are given a routine exam to try to detect potential problems which could later hinder them in the service of the Lord. It’s really no big deal. But I have cerebral palsy, and I’ve had quite a few major operations to correct problems in my muscles and joints which have been caused by my condition. I had been to one too many “routine” physicals in my life only to be told that major surgery was necessary to correct a problem which had been discovered by the physical.
I desperately didn’t want that to happen again, but I was really worried that something might be discovered which would not only affect my ability to serve a mission but the very quality of my life as well. I was also worried that I just might not be physically able to do the work—that I wouldn’t be able to “pound pavement” and knock on doors for several hours a day for two years, even if nothing else was wrong.
All of these thoughts were swirling through my mind as I lay alone in my room. I was depressed enough that, before long, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I was startled to find that the room was completely dark. I looked at the clock. It was 10:30 P.M. I’d been asleep for six hours. I lay awake wondering what to do when I received the prompting, “Read the Book of Mormon.” I dismissed this prompting three times, and three times it returned.
Knowing that I wouldn’t be able to get the prompting out of my mind unless I obeyed, I went up the stairs, turned the corner into the kitchen, and turned on the light. There on the table was a copy of the Book of Mormon. I sat down, flipped the book open rather casually and began to read. I read three or four chapters. I then began to read Alma, chapter 26.
In verses 8 and 9, Ammon expresses his joy at the success he and his brethren have had as missionaries among the Lamanites. In verse 10, Ammon’s brother Aaron rebukes him for boasting.
Ammon’s reply, in verses 11 and 12, chilled me to the bone, and I knew that I had received revelation from the Spirit: “I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom. But behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God.
“Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength, I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things.”
I knew that serving a successful mission wouldn’t be easy, and it wasn’t. I had many physical challenges. But I also knew that I could rely on the Lord’s strength when my own strength was running low. Together, we accomplished a lot.

Child: Mother*, tell me the story that I love to hear.
Tell me of heaven and why I came here.
Mother, tell how you love me, and gently speak,
And then I’ll go to sleep.
Mother: Child, I am here.
Can you feel that heaven is near?
Sleep, sleep; a lovewatch I’ll keep
to protect you through the night.

I was first exposed to pornography at age 13. I found it accidentally on social media, not knowing what it was and not understanding it. I went from unintentional exposure and curiosity to intentionally seeking it out.
At that time, my leaders’ messages about pornography seemed to be saying that it was something only boys struggled with. This left me feeling a lot of shame. I thought I’d never be able to tell anyone about my struggle. I knew about Jesus Christ’s Atonement, but because I thought that I was the only girl with this struggle, I felt like my situation was out of the Savior’s reach. I felt like the exception.
During those years, in places like seminary or devotionals—wherever the Spirit was present—I often felt prompted to set up a meeting with my bishop. For so long, what kept me from doing this was the idea that I had a reputation to uphold as a good kid from an active family. I thought he would see me for who I was—and I didn’t believe that person was lovable. I thought I would be met with instant punishment.
When I finally set up that meeting, it went very differently from how I expected. Instead of handing out punishment, my bishop told me: “You are still a daughter of God. You are still just as loved, and you are still just as valued.”
My bishop told me: “You are still a daughter of God. You are still just as loved, and you are still just as valued.”
I remember feeling overwhelmed with love. That was the first time I had felt the power of the Savior’s Atonement so strongly in my life. Looking back, I understand why those words my bishop said were so important.
When you’re struggling with pornography, you go through a cycle of shame. For me, I would feel out of touch with my own identity and then use pornography to deal with those negative emotions. Then I would feel shame and isolate myself from others, and the cycle would repeat.
For so long, I tried to rely on my own willpower to “just stop.” But I couldn’t do it on my own. My bishop helped me remember my identity—that I am a beloved daughter of God. As I met with him and remembered that truth, I started to make genuine progress.
Understanding God’s nature also helped me understand Satan and his tools and how they work in direct opposition to God. One of Satan’s most powerful tools is shame, which is different from guilt or “godly sorrow” (2 Corinthians 7:10). When you feel guilt, you realize you’ve made a mistake. But shame links the negative feelings you have about yourself when you sin to your identity, like you are those feelings.
Satan wanted me to believe that I could overcome this challenge on my own. This lie was something that kept me from talking to my bishop about my struggle with pornography. I felt like I couldn’t meet with him until I could say it was something I had struggled with in the past. Satan uses your individual weaknesses to make you feel unworthy to seek the Savior’s healing power.
I learned that Satan works on us when we’re isolated, so our best defense is connection. Sometimes it’s as simple as reaching out to others and spending meaningful time with good friends. Connecting with Heavenly Father, with yourself, and with others (especially with those who see you the way Heavenly Father does) is the best way to remember your true identity: a valued child of God.