Gospel Story Finder

Now I will give you one more. Down in Quitman, Georgia, while I was a mission president, I preached a sermon on the eternal duration of the marriage covenant and the family unit. I had a chart there that listed the churches and what their beliefs were on major things, and those were official statements from the leaders of those different churches. And not one of them believed that the family unit or the marriage covenant would endure beyond the grave. I stood at the door when the meeting was over and a man came up and introduced himself as a Baptist minister, and I said, “Did I misquote you here tonight?”
He said, “No, Mr. Richards, it’s just like you say. We don’t all believe all the things our churches teach.”
I said, “You don’t believe them either. Why don’t you go back and teach your people the truth? They will take it from you; they are not ready to take it from the Mormon elders yet.”
He said, “I’ll see you again.” That’s all I could get out of him that night!
Next time I went there, about four months later, he had read of my coming in the newspaper, and there he was standing outside that little church. As we shook hands I said, “I would certainly be happy to know what you thought of my last sermon here.”
He said, “Mr. Richards, I have been thinking about it ever since, and I believe every word you said, only I would like to have heard the rest.” (We never get talked out; that’s why I’ve asked Brother Benson to tap me on the leg when my time is up!)

Illustrations by Sal Velluto and Eugenio Mattozzi
As mayor of Nauvoo, Joseph often had meetings with Nauvoo city officials. At one such meeting, Joseph looked out the window and saw two boys fighting in the street.
Joseph immediately went down to stop the fight.
Boys! This is no way to stop a problem.
The boys listened to Joseph and stopped fighting.
Joseph then spoke to the people who had watched the fight from the side of the road.
You should have interfered. Take care that such future instances are resolved immediately.
When Joseph returned to the office, he spoke to the men about the incident.
Nobody is allowed to fight in Nauvoo but myself.

The Scouts of the Millcreek Sixth Ward, Salt Lake Millcreek Stake, found a way to help one of their fellow Scouts and good friend earn his Eagle Award.
Kim Berry, 15, was diagnosed as having terminal bone cancer. When he realized the seriousness of his illness, he set three goals for himself: to get his patriarchal blessing, to read the Book of Mormon, and to finish the requirements for his Eagle Award.
Kim completed all his merit badges. But as his strength began to fail, he needed some assistance in completing his Eagle project. He turned to the members of his Scout troop. After receiving permission from the local council, Kim and his mother prepared a flyer announcing that his Eagle project would be gathering canned goods for the state food bank. His friends delivered the flyers door-to-door. Then all the boys in the troop, with the help of adult leaders in pickup trucks, collected the donated goods and delivered them to the food bank. The response was tremendous, and the troop gathered hundreds of pounds of food.
Craig Larson, Scoutmaster, said that the Scouts in the troop were very serious about helping Kim. They worked hard to get his project done quickly. They appreciated the chance to do something for their friend.
Kim received his Eagle Award one week before his death. He also completed his other two goals.

Almost one year to the date I arrived, and a few days after Kivalu, my roommate, left us for his mission in December of 1989, I lost my immediate younger brother in a motor accident in Nigeria. I was devastated! My agony, which lasted for years, didn’t take my own life, was a miracle in itself. That’s where Brother Fisher, my sculpture teacher comes in again! But first, I will tell you that I will always believe that God put him here specifically for my benefit, and I can honestly say that without his friendship and mentorship, I would not be the person that I am today. He was one of my most influential teachers, and the fire he lit in me to be the very best that I could be, still burns brightly today! It was him who taught me that life should be joyful and that the most exciting thing about talent is its capacity to serve our maker! There is nothing nobler!

But there is more. When I was dealing with the heartbreak of losing my brother, no one particular person showed me as much understanding and compassion as Brother Fisher did. It drove me crazy to hear, “Nnamdi, you have the gospel now, so you have to move on. You’ll see your brother again someday.” I wanted so badly to scream at those that thought it would help me to hear that. I knew that but still missed my brother. I guess I just needed some empathy and not some Sunday school lesson! I remember the day I was in his office, feeling as low as a cockroach because of my sadness and pain, and he said to me, with his eyes moist with tears of compassion, “Nnamdi, you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to buy you a return ticket to go back home and grieve with your family, and then you can come back.”I couldn’t believe my ears! Even though I did not take it, I was so moved by his compassion, and I can honestly say that that offer was the greatest sermon on love I’ve ever heard! From that day onwards, Brother Fisher became an Angel to me.

Her dad is the bishop of the Arue Ward in the Pirae Tahiti Stake, is a sealer in the Papeete Tahiti Temple, and is a trusted employee of the Bank of Tahiti, so he is a very busy man. Yet he remembers twenty-six years ago, when he was a young father and the sister missionaries came to teach him the gospel. He refused to take the missionary discussions but agreed to let the sisters come and hold family home evenings. They came, and along with the prayers, the songs, the fun, and the refreshments, they taught him the gospel. Family home evening has held a special place in his heart ever since. He has not let a single week pass without holding a family home evening since he was baptized in 1968.

Which would you rather do: Spend a day cruising the San Francisco Bay on a ship, or clean up a house in your neighborhood so that needy families can use it? Seems like a no-brainer, right? A hot summer day calls for some rest and relaxation. Case closed.
Closed, that is, unless you’re a priest or a Laurel in the Manteca California Stake. They gave up a planned one-day cruise to join with the younger youth to paint and clean a house designated for families that are getting back on their feet financially.
Okay, okay. So they helped. But they probably didn’t have a very good time, right?
Wrong again. Outside, young people doing yard work trimmed bushes into smiley-face designs. Inside, they raced to see who could clean up the fastest. All of the youth made the projects into games and had a good feeling about what they were doing.
“I could really feel the Spirit there, and I knew I was doing the right thing,” says participant Cherie Farnes.
Apparently, town leaders agree. The activity was covered in a local newspaper article, and an editorial urged others to follow the lead of the youth, saying, “The project shows what can be accomplished by volunteers who are committed and organized.”

On a hot summer day, I went to play with a friend who is not a member of the Church. She wanted to go swimming, but I didn’t have a bathing suit. She said I could borrow one of hers. She pulled out a two-piece bathing suit. I said no. Finally she found a modest bathing suit that fit me.
I’m glad I chose the right by not wearing the two-piece bathing suit. I’m glad I was born in the Church and that my parents teach me what is right and what is wrong. I hope I can always choose the right so I can live with Heavenly Father someday.

What are the blessings of a mission? “Can ye tell?” (Alma 26:2).
Maybe Brother and Sister William Keith Clark can. “Dear President Featherstone,” they wrote, “we were happy to receive your letter. I’m sure we love you already.” (Bless them, they didn’t even know me, and yet they could love me.) They continued: “We are not too young anymore. William Keith Clark is eighty-one years old. He has been a bishop’s counselor, a bishop, and a patriarch for thirty-one years. I, Ellen Clark, am seventy-six years of age. I have been a music director and a teacher in all the organizations of the Church, ward and stake. We have had an abundant life and love to teach the gospel. We have ten children, all married in the temple and working in the Church. We had our reunion recently—fifty-six grandchildren and twenty-six great-grandchildren! This is four missions for my husband and three for me. Our happiest moments are teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Every missionary is a story of love and sacrifice. I love them so much. Their great devotion to the cause, their love for the Lord, and their willingness to serve him, whose work this is, will bless their lives and their posterity forever.

When Wilford was 17 years old, his father arranged for him to continue going to school.
Wilford: But Father, I can’t afford to attend school in West Hartford!
Father: If you do chores for my friend, he will pay your room and board.
Wilford went to school but became terribly homesick.
Wilford: I miss my family, and I want to return home!
In order to avoid feeling homesick, Wilford decided that he needed to stay busy by focusing more on his studies. He grew to love history and started reading every history book he could get his hands on.
One day Wilford picked up the Bible and started to read it. Although he began reading it to learn about Christian history, he gained a testimony that the Bible was the word of God.
Wilford: I resolve to diligently seek the Lord, follow the Holy Spirit, and do the will of God as far as I can learn it!

Politicians began worrying over this new phenomenon. Enemies were organizing, and the Prophet’s life was becoming endangered. After months of imprisonment in the dark, damp dungeon known as Liberty Jail, a discouraged Joseph cried out to the Lord:

O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?
How long shall thy hand be stayed, and thine eye, . . . behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, . . .
Yea, O Lord, how long shall they suffer these wrongs and unlawful oppressions, before thine heart shall be softened toward them. [D&C 121:1–3]

Then a loving, answering Savior promised Joseph:

The ends of the earth shall inquire after thy name, and fools shall have thee in derision, and hell shall rage against thee;
While the pure in heart, and the wise, and the noble, and the virtuous, shall seek counsel, and authority, and blessings constantly from under thy hand.
And thy people shall never be turned against thee by the testimony of traitors.
. . . Thou shalt be had in honor; . . . and thy voice shall be more terrible in the midst of thine enemies than the fierce lion, because of thy righteousness; and thy God shall stand by thee forever and ever. [D&C 122:1–4]

You wouldn’t guess polynomials and chlorofluorocarbons were lurking in Syndi’s brain by observing her. Curled up on the family’s couch, 15-year-old Syndi Nettles of Roy, Utah, looks like any other teenager with blonde, shoulder-length hair cropped at the sides, clear complexion, and radiant smile. She chats easily and with quiet assurance. Her mother says she’s always surrounded by boys. It’s easy to believe. But most likely they are talking about science or her inventions.
“I feel more comfortable around boys,” she admits. “I guess we have more in common. Girls are usually too busy worrying about their hair or guys. I like to look nice, but I won’t get up at 4:00 A.M. to do it. My girlfriends often ask who I’m talking to and if this one or that one is my boyfriend.” She rolls her eyes, “Hardly.”
Boys are great, but for now there are more important considerations. Her eyes light up at the mention of future inventions or past science trips. “I can’t wait to get started on this year’s science fair project,” she says. “It’s going to be so neat. But I can’t say what it is.”
It smacks of cloak and dagger, but original inventions must be guarded. Her solar tracker, “The Searcher,” which won first place honors in state as well as international competition, has been the subject of much scrutiny each place it has been displayed.
“I watched people copy down every word I’d written on my display,” says Syndi in amazement. “In Montreal, representatives from some companies came to see it. I should have had it patented, but it costs too much money.”
“The Searcher” is an original creation designed to keep the energy of the sun at a maximum for solar collectors to heat homes. It consists of a satellite dish with a rod in the middle. If the dish is not positioned perfectly to take full advantage of the sun (due to the rotating earth) the shadow of the rod falls on sensors in the dish which automatically correct its position. Keeping the dish aimed directly at the sun produces optimum power.
The reason Syndi is toying with world energy issues while most girls her age are plotting tomorrow’s outfit is partially due to her unconventional upbringing. Her father is a talented engineer. Growing up she hung around the garage with her dad building model planes and go-carts.
When she wasn’t helping Dad, she was and still is expected to shoulder much of the responsibility around the house and care for her four younger brothers and sisters. Syndi’s mother has multiple sclerosis, a disease she’s had since before Syndi was born.
“Syndi’s been forced to become more mature because of my health problems,” says her mother, Wanda. “But we’ve tried to distribute the burden equally among the children.”
“Oh, yeah?” says Syndi, good-naturedly. “When you’re in the hospital, the other kids don’t do anything.” Syndi and Wanda begin to laugh.
It was during sixth grade that Syndi’s interest in science was piqued by school experiments. “We did stuff like grow crystals and turn eggs to rubber in vinegar,” she recalls. “I loved it.” In seventh grade her experiments became a tad more sophisticated. She built a direct current motor as part of an assigned science project.
“Dad was terrified I was going to electrocute myself,” she says with a grin. “I didn’t, but I have come close. See.” Syndi thrusts out her hand to show a tiny scar.
Her mother said, “I had no idea Syndi had all this potential. In seventh and eighth grades, she just exploded.”
But it was in ninth grade where Syndi began leaping tall buildings and winning awards faster than a speeding bullet. Her solar tracker alone won four first-place awards—one at the Utah State Science Fair and three at the International Science Fair in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was invited to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory for a week; the Solar Energy Research Institute for four days; the Colorado School of Mines, Energy, and Minerals Field Institute for six days; the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena, California, for four days; and most recently the World Energy Congress Conference in Montreal for eight days. Her trips were all paid for by the U.S. Department of Energy, NASA, or other government agencies.
Representatives from 93 nations attended the conference in Montreal to which youth were invited. Of the approximately 80 young people in attendance from countries around the world, Syndi was one of only a handful of girls. She also had the distinction of being the youngest in attendance.
“It was great,” she says with excitement, “except I don’t speak French, and they kept serving me wine. Someone finally told me to turn my glass upside down, and I wouldn’t be served.”
According to Syndi, she’s learned far more in the past year than just biotechnology, hydropower, and fossil energy. “I’ve learned a whole lot about everything!”
She returns from each conference ten to fifteen pounds heavier. Not from junk food, but from the reams of printed material she lugs home. “Boxes of it,” says Wanda. “And she really reads it.”
She also enjoys discussing each conference with her father, who is still one step ahead. The other day she and her dad had a heated discussion about the ozone layer while pushing Wanda through the grocery store in her wheelchair.
And it’s her mother who has introduced Syndi to another world—art and literature. Syndi has taken to it just as she has with science. She has won awards at her high school for her poetry.
If it’s not global monitoring Syndi’s batting around, it might be Nephi and the brass plates. Religion seems to crop up wherever she is. After her first few trips she decided there were two things she couldn’t leave home without—her Book of Mormon and Church pamphlets.
“The people I’ve met seem to respect my beliefs,” says Syndi, “and no one has tried to pressure me to do things I don’t believe in. Many have made an effort not to swear around me. One night I stayed up really late explaining the Church.”
Dedicated to the gospel, Syndi has read the Old Testament, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants. She has also read the Book of Mormon three times and the New Testament twice.
Syndi wishes more girls would join her in the math and science arena. Only a small percentage of the nation’s students are going into the technological fields, a fact which has not escaped the notice of many large corporations and government agencies concerned about the nation’s future.
“I know the things I enjoy don’t appeal to everyone,” says Syndi. “But there are girls who are being stopped or who are stopping themselves simply because they’re girls, and that’s not right. I’ve never worried that boys would like me less because I’m good at math and science, but I know a lot of girls do. I have a friend who loves chemistry but can’t handle competing with men. I wish girls would realize there’s a lot they could contribute to the field and that being smart in math and science doesn’t make them less appealing. I think it makes them more so because guys can communicate with them better.”
In addition, women often have a different perspective than men, according to Syndi, therefore their voices need to be heard more. “In Montreal, for example, I noticed during a debate that the men tended to hold the economy above ecology and women vice versa. But I think that’s beginning to change.”
With so much sizzle at such a young age, will Syndi burn out?
“Definitely not!” she says. “Every year it gets more interesting and exciting.” Her mother says that when Syndi gets home from a seminar, she’s literally dancing around the room because she is so excited by what she is learning.
Her long-range goals (not necessarily in order) are to earn an engineering degree at Cal Tech on scholarship, be married in the temple, raise a family, and improve the world’s energy outlook.
“I think I can make a difference,” she says simply.

Our third child, Charlie Ben, was born with one of the varieties of cerebral palsy. He was never able to sit up or stand; while he said words from time to time, sustained speech was beyond him. As his age of baptism approached, we carefully considered whether he was accountable.
We knew from many behavioral clues that he did understand how to be kind, how to give and receive love, and how to make his wishes known. We also worked out how to baptize him—my wife’s brother would hold him in the font as I said the baptismal prayer, and then together we would put him under the water.
We were blessed with an inspired bishop who interviewed Charlie Ben and emerged with a firm belief in his faith and accountability. The baptism went forward as planned.
We were surprised when the baptismal service was packed with people, many of whom we didn’t know all that well. But Charlie Ben knew them all; they were his friends.
When I read the June 2020 issue of the Ensign, with several excellent articles about dealing with disabilities, those events of 1992 came to mind, especially as I read an essay titled, “Is My Child with a Disability Ready to Be Baptized?”
My wife and I realized it would have been a great help and comfort to us during Charlie Ben’s lifetime to have the advice and encouragement provided by these Church magazine articles, and that they could be a resource for the many Church members who face similar quandaries.

Fifteenth President of the Church
During the Great Depression of the 1930s, when few young men were serving missions, Gordon B. Hinckley was called to England. Shortly after his arrival, he became discouraged and felt he was wasting his time and his father’s money. He wrote to his father, who replied, “I have only one suggestion: forget yourself and go to work.” President Hinckley recalls: “[I] got on my knees and made a pledge with the Lord. I covenanted that I would try to forget myself and lose myself in His service. That July day in 1933 was my day of decision. A new light came into my life and a new joy into my heart” (“Taking the Gospel to Britain: A Declaration of Vision, Faith, Courage, and Truth,” Ensign, July 1987, 7).
Years later, he said of his mission: “How profoundly grateful I am. … In the course of that experience, there became riveted into my very being a conviction and knowledge that this is in very deed the true and living work of God, restored through a prophet for the blessing of all who will accept it and live its principles” (“The Question of a Mission,” Ensign, May 1986, 40).

A year later, another child, César, turned eight years old. “We knew from reading Gospel Principles that he needed to be baptized,” Sister Torales says. “So we took him to Encarnación.” But when they arrived at the place where they had been baptized a year earlier—a rented house used as a meetinghouse—they were shocked to discover that the Church was no longer there. “We didn’t know where else to go, so we frantically looked everywhere for another house with the name of the Church on it. But we couldn’t find it. After two days of looking, we had to return home.”
But losing contact with the Church didn’t weaken their testimonies of the gospel. They continued studying the scriptures and worshiping as a family. A year later, Brother and Sister Torales took César to Encarnación again, filled with faith that this time they would be led to the Church so their son could be baptized.
When they arrived in the city, they weren’t sure where to start looking. “Then we saw a milkman with his horsedrawn cart,” she says. “My husband said that since the milkman probably delivered milk throughout the whole city, maybe he would know where the Church met. The man said he didn’t know, but he called to his companion, who did know. ‘Do you want to go there?’ the second man asked. So we got up into his cart, and he took us.”
They discovered that the branch had moved from the small house into a large new building. It was Sunday, and the members were gathered in sacrament meeting. To their great joy, Brother and Sister Torales and César were able to meet many members and to attend their first meeting of the Church. “The branch president told us they were going to have a district conference there in four months. He told us to come back then and we could baptize César.” In four months, the entire family returned to Encarnación, attended the conference, and witnessed César’s baptism.

For example, just last winter while on a real estate development site visit in Hawaii, the President of a California investment bank who would shortly be placed in an adversarial position with my client because of an imminent default I knew my client would commit with respect to a very large loan, mentioned that he had known members of the Church who served as legal counsel to him on other transactions. He showed great respect having previously learned that I was a member of the Church and confessed a genuine curiosity as to what we believed. I felt compelled by the Spirit to meet him the next day before he returned to San Francisco to present him with a copy of the Book of Mormon with my testimony in it. Although he graciously accepted the gift and promised to read it, this meeting ran counter to all of my legal and ethical training. Nevertheless, the Spirit commanded, and I knew I was the salt of the earth in this particular instance and could not live with the thought that I had lost my savor.

A short time after our visit, Luan’s condition worsened, and his doctors found a large tumor at the base of his spinal cord. It could not be removed surgically, so Luan went to the hospital for another round of chemotherapy.
One night when President Soares and I visited Luan in the hospital, we found him in a lot of pain. He asked us several questions, including, “What is death?” and “What is dying like?”
I explained that dying is part of eternity and that death is not a closing door but a door that opens for us as we go back to the presence of God. Luan understood and smiled. He said he was prepared. Then he asked us to give him a priesthood blessing, and we did so.
In the bed next to Luan was a 14-year-old boy named Pedro. Pedro asked us to bless him too. I asked if he had faith in Jesus Christ, and he said he did. We explained what the priesthood is and that we would be blessing him in the name of Jesus Christ. He closed his eyes and smiled as we blessed him. Next an 18-year-old young woman asked us to give her a blessing too.
I found out Luan and his mother had comforted Pedro and many of the other young cancer patients and their parents. As I left the hospital that night, I was edified to see that Luan and his mother, though suffering themselves, found the strength to visit others and minister to their needs.

Q. When did you first become involved in music?
A. My parents always had music around the house, and some of my relatives had been professional musicians. But I started taking legitimate piano lessons when I was seven.
Q. Did you immediately take to it?
A. No! I hated practicing. But taking lessons and practicing was something I was expected to do, with no other options. It turned out to be a smart thing.
Q. When and how did you make the switch from hating to play to loving to play?
A. I think it began when I started getting attention for playing. Aunt Violet would come over, and I’d be asked to play for her, and I enjoyed the attention. What kid doesn’t? Oh, and I started liking it better when I started creating.
Q. How did you start creating?
A. My teacher was great. She would give me a piece by Bach and have me learn it the way he meant it to be played, but then she’d let me improvise. I’d make it a bit jazzier here and there. I guess that was composition in embryo. She’d even let me play it both ways in recitals. That’s when piano started becoming fun.

I have heard the account many times of the arrival of the pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley under the direction of Brigham Young. Although I live in Mexico, my own story is similar. I had been praying to find the true Church and the purpose of my life. A friend of mine, Sandro, introduced me to the missionaries, and soon I was listening to their message. One day while they were teaching me about the Restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ in the latter days, I was suddenly filled with a great joy. I knew I had arrived, or as President Young said: “This is the right place. Drive on.”

Story number 1
is a true story about my friend Doug. I tell you this story with his and his family's permission.
Doug learned there are no shortcuts to repentance or quick fixes.
Much like many of you, Doug was a faithful youth who grew up surrounded by goodly parents, family, and Church leaders. As a youth, he loved the temple and enjoyed going there.
When Doug turned 16, he began his first job, where he worked with people who had values different from those he had been taught. Gradually, Doug turned away from the gospel altogether, and many poor decisions led to various life-threatening addictions. His family realized that after many years of continuous efforts, it would be very difficult to save Doug, who had changed to the point that his countenance was hardly recognizable.
Feeling the deep terror that only parents who have had children take such a path understand, and having exhausted every avenue possible, Doug's parents put his future in the hands of the Lord.
Ironically, the help they were seeking came when Doug was arrested for selling drugs and put into solitary confinement as a suicide risk. Then a miracle occurred! Doug's heart began to change and, much like the prodigal son, "he came to himself."[22] After wading through much tribulation and working hard to overcome his addictions, experiencing the true "godly sorrow [that] worketh repentance,"[23] which involves personal suffering, Doug experienced the change true repentance brings, and he once again began the process of increasing in Christ. Eventually, his countenance began to change.
Doug forgot himself and began serving others in the Addiction Recovery Program. As Doug began increasing in Christ, the Savior's image became more evident in his countenance. Doug began keeping the Sabbath day holy and attending church, where he met a truly extraordinary young woman, whom he married, and they are now raising a beautiful family. Like Alma the Younger, Doug became "[a] new creature."
What a wonderful thing happens, through the Atonement, as we diligently strive to overcome the natural man within us and as we seek to walk after the things of the spirit instead of the things of the flesh. We truly experience "life and peace"[24] as we desire to have the Christ-like attributes that He exemplifies. We can actually become as the Savior commanded us to become-"Even as I am." We can do this.

Martín felt sad when his parents told him the family was moving to a different city in Colombia. He didn’t want to leave his friends, his home, and the place he grew up in. Instead of cool mountain air, Martín would now live close to the ocean with hot, humid air all year round. He would trade hot soups for cold drinks, and coats for shorts. Add to that a new school, a new ward, and a new Primary class. It all seemed pretty scary.
One day Mom and Dad asked Martín how he felt about the move.
“I don’t like it,” Martín said. “I don’t want everything to change.”
“I know moving can be hard,” Dad said. “Lots of things will change, but not everything. You’ll still have us!”
“That’s true,” Martín said.
“And you will still have your things,” Mom said.
Martín thought about that for a minute. He would still have his clothes, his shoes, and other things he was familiar with at his old house—especially his toys. Martín was glad he could take his favorite toys. He packed them away extra carefully when they moved.
After a while, Martín started to get used to his new home and new city. He was glad the move wasn’t as hard or scary as he thought it would be.
Then one Sunday, when his family went to church, Martín noticed a lot of people he had never seen before. Primary was full of new kids. He wondered where they came from. He heard people he knew talk about donating food, clothes, and shoes. After church, Martín asked Mom about all the new people.
“They had to leave their country,” Mom said. “Many of them left everything behind, so now they don’t have anything.”
“So that’s why everyone wants to help them?” Martín asked.
“That’s right. Jesus taught us that we should help people who are in need. We can follow His example and share what we have.”
Martín thought that would be a nice thing to do.
Then Mom said, “Many of the Primary kids only have what they could fit in a backpack. They had to leave their toys behind. Do you think you have some toys you could give?”
“No! Those are my toys!” Martín said. He turned and ran to his room.
Martín looked around his room with tears in his eyes. He didn’t want to give away his toys. He’d brought them all the way from his old house!
He went to his toy box and looked inside. He saw his toy truck, his yo-yo, his trompo (spinning top), his best bag of marbles, and lots of his other favorite toys. He liked them all. He couldn’t give any of them away!
Then Martín thought, “What if I had to leave my home and my favorite toys behind?”
A few minutes later, he came up to Mom with his arms full of toys—not just any old toys—but the ones he always played with.
Mom looked surprised. “You don’t have to give away your favorite toys.”
Martín set the toys on the floor. “The other kids had favorite toys too,” he said. “I want them to have mine so they can be a little happier.”
Mom gave Martín a hug. “I’m so proud of you.”
Martín had a warm feeling inside. He knew giving to others is what Jesus would do, and that made him happy.