Gospel Story Finder

When I was young, I never wondered, “Should I go on a mission?” I always knew that I wanted to serve a mission, and I was called to be a missionary in England. Very early in my mission, I had a very important decision to make. I had to decide just what kind of missionary I was going to be. Was I going to be a really good missionary? Would I follow every rule and always do my best? Or would I just follow most of the rules and do my best some of the time? I decided that I wanted to be a really good missionary. Every day I got up at the time we were supposed to get up, or even a little early. Every day I studied the missionary discussions and the scriptures. And every day my companion and I tried to not miss any opportunities to talk to people about the gospel.
I have always found that when we do the little things correctly, the Lord gives us the strength to accomplish big things. One day my companion and I were walking to an appointment when we both got the feeling that we should go another way. After we changed directions, we noticed a man walking toward us. He was wearing a Brigham Young University sweatshirt. We stopped and asked him about it.
He said that his sister had traveled across the United States. She had stopped in Provo, Utah, and bought him the shirt at the BYU campus bookstore. Neither he nor his sister was a member of the Church, and he knew nothing about it or BYU. My companion and I were able to teach this man and his wife about the gospel and baptize them. Meeting this man was not a coincidence. The Holy Ghost guided my companion and me to meet him. Because we were following the rules and keeping the commandments, we were able to hear the still, small voice.

Our family were the only Latter-day Saints in our town of 60,000 people. We did our best to live the gospel. I felt the Spirit often, and I never really doubted that the Church was true. But while serving in the military, I felt a strong desire to know for myself that the Book of Mormon is true. So I went to a private place and did just as the Book of Mormon counsels (see Moroni 10:4–5). I asked God. And I received a witness—a spiritual feeling of warmth, comfort, peace, and great happiness that I shall never forget.

As we face some of the harsh realities of life and the real obstacles that are there for us to overcome, we often make matters much worse by imagining difficulties that never materialize. We are afraid of what might happen in the future, but it is unproductive to spend time fretting and worrying about what "might" go wrong. I love the story of Abraham Lincoln and the Fox River. Abraham Lincoln, as a young lawyer, was traveling through Southern Illinois on the circuit. In his own words, he tells the story "Many years ago when I was a young lawyer and Illinois was little settled, I and other lawyers used to ride the circuit; from county seat to county seat in quest of business. Once after a long spell of pouring rain which had flooded the whole country, transforming small creeks into rivers, we were often stopped by the swollen streams which we with difficulty crossed. Still ahead of us was the Fox River, larger than all the rest, and we could not help saying to each other, if these streams give us so much trouble how shall we get over Fox River? Darkness fell before we had reached that stream and we all stopped at a log tavern, had our horses put out, and resolved to pass the night. Here we were right glad to fall in with Methodists' presiding elder of the circuit who rode it in all weather, knew all its' ways and could tell us about Fox River. So we all gathered around him and asked him if he knew about the crossing of Fox River. Oh yes he replied, I know all about Fox River. I have crossed it often and I understand it well. But, I have one fixed rule with regard to Fox River. I never cross it until I reach it."
Good advice.

My father clearly taught me the importance of soul-stretching service—of living a sermon. I grew up in Perry, Utah. The stake in which I grew up had a dairy farm and fruit orchards that provided regular opportunities for service. On one occasion it was time to harvest the hay, and our ward was assigned a particular day to work. My dad was always one of the first to volunteer for these priesthood assignments. I recall him reminding me one evening that the next day was our assignment and that we needed to be at the Church farm at 5 p.m. We arrived a few minutes before five. Additional brethren and young men arrived, and we worked together to bring in the hay.

I remember that we had been working for an hour or so when some of the brethren began to leave. Some who had arrived after we had were already leaving. I looked at my dad and suggested that we could go as well. He smiled and said it didn’t matter what the others were doing. We had agreed to serve for the entire time of the assignment, and there was still work to be done. The response was kind and clear; I had better stop watching others and stay focused on my opportunity to serve as I had agreed to do. That example of soul-stretching service has helped me so many times in my life.

When I was a youth, I didn’t know what the Holy Ghost felt like. I was around 12 years old when my mother sat me down and asked me this important question: “Mark,” she said, “has the Lord ever told you through the Holy Ghost that the Church is true?”
I wasn’t in the business of lying to my mom, so I honestly and sheepishly responded “No?”
She then said, “Heavenly Father wants you to know for yourself, but you need to put in the effort. If you will read the Book of Mormon and pray, He will let you know of its truthfulness by the Holy Ghost.”
I had my own copy of the Book of Mormon, but I had never read it on my own. With the determination to take this invitation seriously, I started my own spiritual journey. Each night before I went to bed, I read a chapter or so in the Book of Mormon. As I knelt down to pray, I asked Heavenly Father to let me know that it was true. As I prayed, a peaceful feeling rested upon me. I felt good inside.
Were these feelings from the Holy Ghost? I wasn’t really sure. This was all new to me, and I didn’t know what the promptings of the Holy Ghost felt like. I wondered if an angel was going to come visit me or if perhaps a great divine light would appear in my room. Nevertheless, with sincere desire to receive the promised knowledge from the Holy Ghost, I continued to read and pray night after night. Every time I prayed, I felt feelings of peace, and I felt good inside.
It wasn’t until later that I realized the Lord had been answering my prayers all along, but I had been looking for a different kind of answer. I just didn’t realize that we can “feel” the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Once I went camping on the beach with my family, a few friends, and my dog, Max. We swam and played all day. Then we watched fireworks when it got dark. We all had a fantastic time.
When the fireworks ended, I looked for Max. But he was gone! I panicked and yelled that Max was missing. As tears poured down my face, we all looked for him in the woods. I felt a small voice tell me to pray, so I did. But my whole body felt limp like noodles, and I was scared for Max.
We didn’t find him, so we hiked back to our tent. I kept praying in my head, but I started to lose hope. I cried myself to sleep.
A few hours later, my parents shook me awake. Max was sitting right next to me! My parents had heard the sound of Max’s collar jingling outside our tent. I held him tightly and quietly thanked God for answering my prayers.

I did not want to be at Young Women camp last year. Three weeks earlier my grandpa had passed away, and I just wanted to be alone and away from everyone. By the time we got there, I felt like I shouldn’t have come.
However, on the first day, our ward had a devotional that I’ll never forget. One of the older young women spoke about finding joy. At first I rolled my eyes. How could I find joy if there was none?
But then she said something I had never thought about: When it feels like we can’t find joy anywhere else, we can find it in the Savior. Sometimes our mortal lives are filled with grief, depression, anger, trials, and constant uphill battles. Sometimes it is hard to find joy except in Him.
Although my girl’s camp experience was not perfect, I did find joy. I found it by turning to the Savior—in the scriptures, in nature, and in quiet moments where I could pray to Heavenly Father. This principle has gotten me through many trials since. I’m so grateful for the knowledge that the perfect love of the Savior can reach us even when we feel there is no joy.
Elise B., Missouri, USA

At the beginning of my mission, I served in a small city in South Korea. One rainy day we had not had a lot of success but wanted to keep working until it was time to go home. My companion and I decided that we would knock on a few more doors.
At one door a woman answered, and my companion started talking to her. As a new missionary, I had a hard time understanding, but after a few minutes she began speaking to us in English. We found out that she was from Chicago, Illinois, USA, and had moved here with her family. Her husband was a preacher for a church that did not have friendly feelings toward our beliefs.
The woman was nice but eager to disprove the Book of Mormon and convince us that our church was incorrect. I stood there with my companion as he tried to answer her difficult questions. My companion tried to testify to her that the Book of Mormon is true and that it could help her, but she insisted on believing that he was incorrect.
After about 30 minutes of discussion at the door, she asked my companion, “Where will we go after this life?” I could tell she was eager to refute my companion’s teachings, as she had before. My companion testified of the plan of salvation and that we can live with our families forever in the celestial kingdom. Before he could continue, she stopped him and asked him to repeat what he had just said about families being together. He again replied with the same response. I felt the Spirit so strongly, and I could see in her eyes that something had touched her deeply too. After that short but powerful testimony, she stopped arguing with us, took a Book of Mormon, and asked us to come back to talk with her and her husband about the Book of Mormon.
I remember walking home with my companion that evening, amazed by the effect of my companion’s testimony. I understood then that a testimony accompanied by the Spirit is the most powerful teaching tool we have. I’ll never forget my companion and his testimony that night. After that experience I decided that, even with my limited ability to speak Korean, I would try to bear my testimony no matter what. As I did, I began to feel the Spirit more and more. I learned that the best communication happens when you teach by the Spirit.

There were twelve children in the Cullimore family—six boys and six girls—and Elder Cullimore was the seventh child. Remembering those childhood days, Elder Cullimore says, “Father owned a store in Lindon and also a farm. I think my father got the farm just to keep us all busy. During the day we’d thin and top sugar beets or cut grain. Each fall Father would divide the money from the sugar company among us boys. Sometimes after a hard day’s work the store still had so many customers that we had to help out there until it closed at nine o’clock. And there were chores at home to do as well!
“My father was the most influential person in my life. His life was exemplary. He was a bishop for twenty-six years. When I was growing up, I didn’t even know any other bishop. We had what we called ‘home nights’ every week. And on Sundays it was just expected that we’d all go to church. Whether working on the farm or in the store, our large family always felt very close to each other.”

One day my best friend and I were walking around at recess. We saw a girl from our ward sitting up against the fence with a frown on her face. My friend said we should go talk to her. So we walked over and asked why she was so sad. She said her friends told her that she couldn’t play with them. We asked if she wanted to play with us, and she said that she did. A smile was on her face.
We had a lot of fun that recess and played with her every day. Before we played with her, we hadn’t known that she was so fun. I felt good inside to play with someone who had looked sad.
A few days later, my mom and I rode our bikes to the park. We saw my new friend there too. She and I played on the playground while our moms talked.
After we left, my mom told me what her mom had said. The girl’s friends had been mean to her over the last few days. She and her mom had been praying that she would find some friends, and my friend and I were the answer to her prayers. I felt warm inside and was happy that I had played with her.

When I reached my teenage years, people started calling me “ugly” and “fat” at school. My confidence and feelings of self-worth were very low. I doubted the Church, Heavenly Father, and the whole plan of salvation. I didn’t want to go to church, Mutual, or firesides. I felt depressed and unworthy.
My mom, wanting me to try and make friends, helped me attend a youth camp when I turned 14. During the first session of scripture study there, I had a prompting to start reading the Book of Mormon. As soon as I read the first few words, I felt peace. The Holy Ghost was with me once again.

I used to think my best friend, Chase, would do anything. When I dared him to jump off the top step of my porch, not only did he do it, but he even took a running start!
When I dared him to ride the upside-down roller coaster, he didn’t just ride it, but he actually sat in the front seat!
And when I told him there was no way he would say hi to Julia—the prettiest girl in the whole school—not only did he say hi, but he sat and talked to her for five minutes!
I thought Chase would do anything. Until today, that is.
Chase comes over to my house almost every day. We live super close to each other. There is only one house in between ours. But Chase doesn’t come over on Sunday or Monday. On Sundays he goes to church. On Mondays he has some kind of a family night. He invited me a couple of times. We ate brownies and played games. It was pretty fun.
Chase usually comes to my house to play after school. It’s nice to have him around because my mom and dad are still at work. Playing with Chase is fun. We love to make up jokes. Chase is friends with everybody. I never hear him talk bad about other people—even if everybody else does.
Today Chase and I played basketball. It was pretty hot, so I asked Chase if he wanted a drink.
“Sure,” Chase said, as he rolled the ball into the grass and ran to my front porch.
We walked inside and went to the kitchen. As I opened the fridge, the rush of the cool air made the hairs on our arms stand on end. When I first peeked into the fridge, I just saw juice and milk. Then, an open can in the corner caught my eye.
My dad had left a can of beer open. He would never know if we took a couple of sips. I pulled the can out.
“Want to try?” I asked.
“What is it?” Chase asked.
“It’s beer,” I said. “My dad drinks it all the time. He won’t know if we just take a sip.”
Chase looked at me. He raised his eyebrow and put his hands on his hips. Then he said something I never thought I’d hear him say.
“No way!” Chase said.
“Did you just say no?” I asked.
“Beer’s not good for you,” he said. “We shouldn’t drink it. It makes you do dumb things.”
“Not if you just take one little sip,” I said. “Watch, I’ll show you.”
I raised the can to my mouth, took a small sip, and smiled. It tasted gross, but I didn’t want to look uncool.
“See? Do I look any dumber to you?” I asked.
“I think I’m going to go home,” Chase said. “Don’t drink any more of that stuff. It’s not a good idea.”
As I watched Chase walk out the door and run down the sidewalk back to his house, I couldn’t help but wonder why he would do almost anything but not take even a small sip of beer.
I took another small sip after Chase left. “Blech! This stuff really is gross,” I thought as I put the can back in the corner of the fridge.
Maybe Chase was on to something after all.

An excellent example of this comes from my experience as a missionary in Germany during the 1950s. I first met Walter Krause while serving as mission secretary in the North German Mission office located in West Berlin. Walter, who lived behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany would periodically travel to East Berlin by rail. This was a before the Berlin wall was built in 1961. As secretary my duties included meeting Brother Krause at one of the many train stations in East Berlin and then driving him to mission headquarters in Berlin-Dahlem. Walter brought important news about the Church in East Germany. During these visits he and I became close friends. I learned that Walter Krause was a man who obeyed unwaveringly what he was asked to do by the Church leaders for he firmly believed that it was the Lord’s will. He showed an unwavering commitment to living a profoundly Mormon life while some of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century swirled around him.

Walter was the first Latter-day Saint in Germany to serve as a missionary after World War II. His description of his determination to do so reveals his willingness to do whatever the Lord wanted him to do:

“I prayed about it and set out on the first of December 1945, with twenty marks in my pocket and a piece of dry bread. One brother had given me a winter coat left over from a son who had fallen in the war. Another brother, who was a shoemaker, gave me a pair of shoes. So, with these and my two shirts, two handkerchiefs, and two pairs of stockings, I left on my mission.”

Perhaps the strongest evidence of his willingness to be totally obedient lies in his willingness to remain in Communist East Germany and not emigrate to America. He took seriously the counsel given by Elder Ezra Taft Benson, when he spoke to the Saints in Berlin in the fall of 1946. Elder Benson counseled them to stay in East Germany and build up the Church. Said Walter, “For me it was clear: stay here.” This was not on easy decision. One East German psychotherapist wrote, “Little by little, every citizen of this land was confronted with the question: leave or stay? There was a need for decision that could not be reached conclusively, but rather the question had to be answered daily.”

But for Walter it was answered conclusively. The Lord had asked him to stay. The decision had been made. What the Lord willed, Walter would do.

Walter and other valiant Latter-day Saints not only stayed, but built a vibrant, close-knit community of faithful members of the Church. Their total obedience to whatever the Lord asked eventually led to their having the first temple behind the Iron Curtain. That temple stood as a beacon of light in Freiberg amid the dark surroundings of Communist East Germany.

Walter was ordained the first patriarch in Eastern Europe and served in the presidency of the Dresden Mission. As a dedicated home teacher, he traveled throughout East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary to visit those in his district. As an apostle, President Thomas S. Monson had frequent contact with Walter Krause. As you might remember, President Monson talked about Walter Krause in his recent conference address. In 1990, he described Walter as a “stalwart in the Church and a man of great courage, fearless even when interrogated by government authorities or when passing through checkpoints and controls, surrounded by dogs and armed guards, as he did hundreds of times.”

The court case was troubling for Portuguese labor judge Artur Manuel Ventura de Carvalho. An employer was being prosecuted because he did not pay the legal adult wage to a young man working for him.
But the young man, though in his late twenties, was mentally handicapped and he could not do as much work as the other employees. The employer would have to let the young man go if he had to pay him more, although he was sympathetic to the young man’s responsibility in supporting his mother.
The decision required by federal laws seemed plain. “My difficulty was that I felt something was not right in this case,” says soft-spoken Brother Carvalho. “I prayed, and suddenly the answer came.” He declared that although the young man was legally of age to receive the required minimum wage, his mental age and work capacity did not justify the adult pay level. Therefore, the employer did not have to meet the demands of the law. The young man kept his job, and the grateful employer even raised his wage a bit to help the man better support his mother.

Jedediah M. Grant, counselor to President Young and father to President Heber J. Grant, saw the spirit world shortly before his death and recounted what he saw to President Heber C. Kimball:
Brother Heber, I have been into the spirit world two nights in succession, and, of all the dreads that ever came across me, the worst was to have to again return to my body, though I had to do it. [JD 4:135]
President Kimball shared more of President Jedediah M. Grant’s experience:
He also spoke of the buildings he saw there, remarking that the Lord gave Solomon wisdom and poured gold and silver into his hands that he might display his skill and ability, and said that the temple erected by Solomon was much inferior to the most ordinary buildings he saw in the spirit world.
In regard to gardens, says brother Grant, “I have seen good gardens on this earth, but I never saw any to compare with those that were there. I saw flowers of numerous kinds, and some with from fifty to a hundred different colored flowers growing upon one stalk.” We have many kinds of flowers on the earth, and I suppose those very articles came from heaven, or they would not be here. . . .
After speaking of the gardens and the beauty of every thing there, brother Grant said that he felt extremely sorrowful at having to leave so beautiful a place and come back to earth, for he looked upon his body with loathing, but was obliged to enter it again. [JD 4:136]
President Grant’s experience is strikingly similar to many of the experiences and descriptions given by others, including President Young. No wonder President Young said that it took far greater faith than he had ever before exercised for him to desire to continue to live in mortality (see JD 14:231).
In Doctrine and Covenants 132:8, the Lord declared, “Behold, mine house is a house of order . . . and not a house of confusion.” Order and organization are certainly important characteristics in the spirit world paradise.
President Ezra Taft Benson taught:
Righteous spirits are close by us. They are organized according to priesthood order in family organizations as we are here; only there they exist in a more perfect order. This was revealed to the Prophet Joseph. [TETB, 35–36]
President Heber C. Kimball related how President Jedediah Grant also marveled at the extensive order and organization in the spirit world:
But O, . . . the order and government that were there! When in the spirit world, I saw the order of righteous men and women; beheld them organized in their several grades, and there appeared to be no obstruction to my vision; I could see every man and woman in their grade and order. I looked to see whether there was any disorder there, but there was none. . . . The people . . . were organized in family capacities; and when [I] looked at them [I] saw grade after grade, and all were organized and in perfect harmony. [JD 4:135–36]

I was in a pretty depressed mood when mom picked me up from school today to go to my piano lesson. After the lesson, when I got in the car, I saw I had a letter from a friend plus the June New Era. By the time we got home I was so engrossed in the story “Fifteen Summers” that I stayed in the car to read. Well, one article led to another, and after a few more, I emerged from the car with a completely different attitude. Thanks to the New Era, I’m feeling much better.
Lora WilliamsSylva, North Carolina

Hi, I’m Mikey. I’m six years old, and I have a dog named Truffles. Miles had a dog too, but his dog died.
Miles is angry with me. Dad and Mom say that maybe it’s because Miles’s dog died and I still have one, and maybe that doesn’t seem fair to him. I try to be friendly to Miles, but he calls me names and makes faces at me. Once he even threw a rock at me when I took Truffles for a walk.
A few weeks ago, Truffles had two puppies. My parents said we could keep one of the puppies, but they didn’t know what to do with the other one. They asked me to think about it.
I thought a lot about it. I even prayed about it. And then I started thinking about Miles. I knew that Heavenly Father knows all about Miles and the hard time he’s going through. I thought maybe I could do something to help.
I told Dad and Mom that I wanted to give the other puppy to Miles. They smiled, and Dad asked me why I wanted to be so kind to someone who treated me badly.
“You and Mom tell me that we should love everybody, not just people who are nice to us,” I said. “I want to do what Jesus would do.”
When I took the puppy over to Miles, his parents said he could keep it. Miles looked very surprised and happy, so that made me happy too.
Miles doesn’t call me names anymore. Now he just calls me Mikey. All of my friends call me Mikey, and Miles is one of my friends.

Annet Nankumba of Upperhill Ward in Nairobi, Kenya, first learned about BYU–Pathway from her Mission President in Cote d’Ivoire. Due to her low grades in high school, Annet was very nervous about pursuing a university education. A few months after returning from her mission, she decided to enroll in PathwayConnect and began her journey towards a bachelor’s degree. This will make her the first university graduate in her family. “PathwayConnect has been a great blessing for me. One of my first courses taught me about having a growth mindset. Unlike before, I now look at failure as an opportunity to grow,” she said.
Annet further explained, “Someone with a fixed mindset fears failure, gives up so quickly when things get tough, and sees themselves as not smart. To stay focused on my education path, I have to be positive and trust in my Heavenly Father who will help me navigate the challenges”. Annet says she has also learned better financial management, which is helping her in her small business. “I have learned to prioritize payment of tithing, and I now feel my Saviour’s guidance more in my life. I am inspired by the weekly devotionals and institute of religion classes; all this is helping to increase my faith in the Saviour. I know that I can accomplish hard things!”

The young women of the Stevensville Montana Stake wanted to do more than just camp at their last girls’ camp; they also wanted to do some good. Reaching out to needy children around the world, the young women put together 72 hygiene kits and gathered around 250 toys and stuffed animals to be distributed by LDS Humanitarian Services.
This project helped the girls realize how blessed they are to have what they have. Many talked of wanting to do more and said they were grateful that the Church has the ability to send these items to people who are truly in need.

I received my mission call during a time when prospective missionaries had to take a language aptitude test. When my stake president saw my score, he laughed and said, “You won’t have to worry about going on a foreign mission. I have never seen such a low score.” Imagine my surprise when the call to Japan came. I didn’t even know where it was on the map! Learning Japanese was the hardest thing I had ever done. Yet, as many of you have experienced, the Lord miraculously prepared a way. And it wasn’t long before I knew exactly why I had been sent there. Those language skills, the cultural experience, and the converts I worked with have been blessings in my life to this day.