Gospel Story Finder

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

Six young men from the Woodridge Ward, Naperville Illinois Stake, received their Eagle Awards in a combined court of honor last fall. At this time they became the largest number of boys ever to receive the Eagle Award at the same time in Illinois’ Two Rivers Council. Those who earned the awards were Mark Benner, Michael Jacobazzi, Robert Jacobazzi, Gary Lund, Steve Saatkamp, and Charles Worlton. To achieve the Eagle rank, each young man earned six skill awards and at least 21 merit badges; served in troop leadership positions; and planned, organized, and directed a service project involving toys for a nursery, painting fire hydrants, collecting clothes for charity, placing genealogy packets in local libraries, painting house numbers on curbs, or doing yard work for a member who had suffered a heart attack. The six new Eagles join three other Eagle Scouts in the Woodridge Ward, all of whom have been guided in the Scouting program by Scoutmaster Don Benner, a Scouting veteran of 20 years.

I used to think I had to fix all my weaknesses at the same time.
When I was serving as a missionary, I really struggled with this mindset. I spoke with my mission president about my feelings.
He reminded me of a truth I’ll never forget. We read Ether 12:27 together: “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”
This scripture helped me understand that I can change. I decided to start with just one thing and give the Lord time to change my weaknesses into strengths.

Imagine you are a right-handed person and in a blink of an eye you were to start afresh using your left hand. How would that feel? Difficult, right? but not entirely impossible.
That is exactly how I felt when I was to switch from the physical institute class to the online institute class, especially during this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was funny at first, participating in the opening formalities via chats and voice notes but with time, the class seemed normal, except for being physically present. We prayed, discussed, and felt the Spirit as we all shared our thoughts and experiences.

During the Friend to Friend broadcast on March 9, President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, and his wife, Kristen, spoke with seven of their great-grandchildren who are of Primary age about how to hear the Holy Ghost and what the Holy Ghost does—warns, comforts, testifies, guides, teaches, and more.
“Disciples of Jesus Christ listen to Jesus Christ,” President Oaks said. “Sometimes He gives us a feeling, sometimes a thought. Sometimes we hear His voice. President Nelson, our prophet, has asked us to listen to our Savior and hear Him.”

The Alamo This brief story of the Alamo does not glorify war. It tells, simply, the history of this national historic landmark, “not so much as the site of a heroic defense of freedom as for the heroic courage it took to stand up and die for that freedom.”Leonard Everett Fisher9 years and up

A number of years ago I had occasion to attend a convention in Chicago where the speaker welcomed us to the great city of Chicago. After praising its many qualities, he went on to say, “Many of you may have heard bad things about Chicago, that it’s full of gangsters, killings, slums, ghettos, crimes of every sort. Don’t you believe it. Why, I’ve lived in Chicago now for nearly fifty years. I’ve walked alone down the streets late at night, and, let me tell you, no one has shot me yet. Let me give you a tip: whenever you are in Chicago, if you’re where you’re supposed to be, at the time you are supposed to be there, and doing the things you are supposed to, you’ll never get in trouble in Chicago.”

The Baby Sister by Tomie dePaolaTommy is excited about the upcoming arrival of his baby sister. But when the family’s plans change and his Nana comes to stay with him instead of his beloved aunt, Tommy isn’t sure he likes the new arrangement. Find out how Tommy and Nana find common ground. (Ages 4–8)

Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shares a great lesson he learned when he and his wife went to visit his ailing father-in-law. As they arrived, they found the bishop leaving his father-in-law’s home. Elder Rasband discovered that his father-in-law had invited the bishop over because he wanted a temple recommend interview, because, in his own words, “l want to go recommended to the Lord”.3

And, says Elder Rasband, he did.

One year our local school could not find enough volunteers to hold an elaborate holiday carnival. When the event had to be canceled, parents planned small, manageable parties instead.

A little more than a year later, David and Emma Ray were the first couple sealed in the Salt Lake Temple in the 20th century.
During their 69 years of marriage, they were examples of love and kindness to all who knew them. They always tried to be thoughtful and sometimes wrote each other poetry.
David:
Companion, counselor, adviser alway
My wife for eternity, my own Emma Ray.

I also remember once asking two young boys if they could swim. One said, “No.” The other, “I don’t know. I’ve never tried.” Unknowingly, perhaps, their attitudes were showing.

Ben Hancock is a veteran of the British Pageant having performed in the 2013, 2017 and now the 2023 productions. This year, he portrays nineteenth-century Apostle Heber C. Kimball as part of the core cast, in addition to responsibilities as assistant communications lead for the British Pageant.
He auditioned for the part of Heber C. Kimball, and though he wishes he had more acting experience, the directors said, “You are Heber and it’s the way you are.”
Ben recalls the audition for the British Pageant as being quite different from a theatrical audition. “I feel a lot more power in this role because it’s like a calling and not just a part in a play.”
He adds, “I know I cannot do this without the Lord’s help. He will increase my capacity and abilities as I wholeheartedly enter this experience. I feel the truth of the apostle Paul’s statement (I Corinthians 3:6), ‘God gave the increase.’”

Ferdinand Victor Eugene Delacroix (1798–1863) was a French historical painter and leader of the Romantic School. When he first exhibited his works, he caused a great furor because of his departure from the standard classical art of his time. In Delacroix’s painting of the storm, his presentation is more emotional, his brush strokes are more crude, and his colors more extreme than those in Rembrandt’s depiction of the same incident.

When I arrived in Rochester, New York, to serve my mission, the other missionaries in my group and I were taken directly from the airport to the Sacred Grove. Here, said my mission president, we were to “check in” with the Lord.
Although it was summer, the grove was surprisingly empty. I wandered through the grove and found a spot that seemed right. I began to think about what I was doing there. The mission president hadn’t told us exactly what “checking in” meant but left us to determine it on our own.
I thought of how I was a missionary facing two years of telling people that, not far from where they live, in a grove of trees, the gospel of Jesus Christ had been restored. Could I rely on my testimony of what had happened to convincingly teach others that God himself had spoken to a young man and reestablished his gospel in this last dispensation?
Despite my feelings of insecurity, I knew that it was important to share the testimony I had gained of the restored gospel. As I knelt in the grove that day, I felt the Spirit whispering to me, telling me that I could testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that I could teach others that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ had appeared to young Joseph in this grove of trees. The impressions I felt gave me strength to go forward for the next two years.
To remember my experience, and the place where I knelt, I found a stone and placed it where I had knelt so that I would know this spot when I returned. During the next two years, I was blessed with several opportunities to return to the grove to teach discussions, to reflect on spiritual matters, and to have periodic “check-ins” with the Lord. Each time I visited the grove, I would add another stone and ponder over my previous visits and impressions. By the end of two years, the stone I had first placed to remember that place had grown to a small pile, and my testimony had solidified.
“Checking out” was a moving and sacred experience to me. Had I done what was expected? Had I served an honorable mission? Pondering these questions was a very soul-searching experience for me—the ultimate job evaluation. The Spirit again whispered to me, and I departed from that place, which had become like an old friend to me, ready for the next phase in my life. I will never forget those experiences in the Sacred Grove.

That’s a lot like the attitude you find among the LDS youth of Juneau, Alaska. For example, at the lake and at the chapel afterward was a fellow student who was being friendshipped by some of the LDS kids. Having seen them in action, she announced that she was ready to talk to the missionaries. You know that when she does talk to the missionaries, she’s going to have a big team backing her up and teaching her the ropes. Around here, they don’t just jump into life with both feet. They like to take a friend along.

When I was only about four years old, I lived in a small town in the state of Coahuila, Mexico. The town had perhaps a hundred people in it. Here, I first became aware of the Bible. Some men who taught Bible stories to children came once a week. From the very first time I heard the Bible stories, I loved them.

Elder Gary E. Stevenson and Sister Lesa Stevenson traveled with President Russell M. Nelson and Sister Wendy Nelson to Chile for a very important event. A new temple was being dedicated in the city of Concepción!
This beautiful new temple is the second one to be built in Chile and the 18th temple in South America.
Many earthquakes happen in Chile. The Concepción Chile Temple has a special foundation to keep it from being damaged if an earthquake hits.
Laura and Alicia O. helped put the last stone in the outside of the temple. This is called the cornerstone of the temple. Then the temple was ready to be dedicated.
Children came with their parents to hear President Nelson give a special prayer to dedicate the temple.
Now worthy members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are able to go inside to be sealed to their families and serve by doing temple baptisms!
Here’s what Elder Stevenson said about the dedication:

November 1831: William E. McLellin listened intently as he sat in a Church conference with Joseph Smith and a few other elders. Just a few days before, Joseph had given him a revelation that answered five questions that William had shared only with God (see Doctrine and Covenants 66). Now the members at the conference had decided to publish the Prophet’s revelations in a compilation called the Book of Commandments (later called the Doctrine and Covenants).
The challenge: Some elders were not convinced that the revelations came from God. They thought the language was not refined enough. To answer that claim, the Lord issued a challenge: “Appoint him that is the most wise among you” to write something “like unto” the revelations. If one could do that, the elders could say the revelations were not true. If one could not, the elders needed to “bear record” that the revelations came from God (see Doctrine and Covenants 67:5–8).
The result: William, a former schoolteacher, took the Lord’s challenge and tried to write a revelation. He failed.1 William’s failure strengthened his testimony of Joseph Smith as a prophet. Along with other elders at the conference, William signed a statement declaring that he knew “through the Holy Ghost” that the revelations were “given by inspiration of God” and that they were “profitable for all men and are verily true.”2

Even though I have struggled with feelings of hurt or resentment associated with Church members, I’ve realised more and more how much people there care about me. It has helped me to enjoy church because of the joy my ward family brings me. There will always be people there who love you.
Sophia D., 16, Bristol, England