Gospel Story Finder

In fast and testimony meeting, Brother Johnson told an experience he had while driving across a lonely stretch of highway. The still, small voice told him to take a different route home, one that would add about 10 kilometers to his trip. Although he had been eager to get home from his business trip, he obeyed the prompting. On his detour, he came across a car accident. A young family had been traveling to visit relatives. When the father, who was driving, fell asleep, the car drifted too close to the side of the road and rolled down a steep hill. Brother Johnson was able to call for help and administer first aid.

Photographs by Ntebaleng Twala and courtesy of the family
She rides her horse. She stands up on top of her horse. But that’s not all. This 12-year-old from South Africa even sails over jumps with her horse!
It takes a special kind of relationship between horse and rider to pull off such feats safely. And Kelly K. truly is quite close with her horse, Delta. Yet if you ask what her most important relationships are, she’ll probably tell you about her family.
“My siblings are really important to me,” Kelly says. Her parents are important to her as well, of course. Kelly explains that sometimes it’s harder for teens to stay as close to their parents when they get a bit older, but she’s found some strategies that help. “For me, it’s just the simple things, like talking with my parents or spending time with them that has improved our relationship.”
That closeness makes a huge difference in her life.
As Kelly says, staying close as a family starts with spending time as a family. One of the ways they enjoy spending time together is to get up close and personal with some of the biggest animals on the planet! “We go on safari rides several times a year,” Kelly says. Plenty of great memories have piled up during these rides.
“The funniest memory is when it was pouring rain one time,” she says. The safari ride was going full speed, which made those raindrops sting. So her family huddled close together, laughing, to form a sort of human shield against the rain. And it worked! “We made each other warm!” she says.
Sports are another big part of her family, especially among her siblings. It’s another way they spend time together, both in playing together and in cheering each other on. As the youngest of five, Kelly has found that the easiest way to bond with her older siblings is to make the effort to learn more about their sports. “I love watching my older brothers play rugby or golf. And I also try and learn their sports a little so that when they’re practicing we can interact and play together.”
Kelly’s older sister is also into riding horses, so that’s a great and natural way for the two of them to connect. Kelly also enjoys running track, and her siblings love to support her.
In addition, the whole family loves playing cards and other games together. As President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, then-Second Counselor in the First Presidency, has said, “In family relationships love is really spelled t-i-m-e, time.”1
With Kelly’s family members being some of her greatest friends, they also help fill in gaps when other friendships hit bumpy patches. For example, there aren’t a lot of Church members where Kelly lives. Sometimes the difference in values between Kelly and her friends has been a challenge for her.
“When I was younger, I kind of got lost in what my friends wanted me to be,” she says. “But reading the scriptures and praying helped. I also turned to my family.
“One time I asked my friends to change their bad music, but that didn’t really work. They just said, ‘If you don’t like it, go home.’ So I prayed and asked Heavenly Father what I should do. He told me to call my parents and go home.”
Come what may, she knows she can rely on her family for help. “My mom and dad, they’re always there.” And so is the rest of her family! One time, two of Kelly’s friends moved away. This was especially tough because Kelly had grown very close to those friends. Once again, her family made the difference.
“My family was there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on or just to talk,” Kelly says about that difficult time. “They always know how to help me and just wrap me up in a blanket when I need it.”
With all she loves about living in South Africa—the weather, the safari animals, the temple in Johannesburg—there are also a few hard parts about living without many other Church youth nearby.
However, she knows the gospel and her faith in Jesus Christ have been her strength. “I don’t know where I’d be without the gospel,” Kelly says. “I am grateful that the Church is there. The scriptures really bless my life. And Heavenly Father is always going to be there. I live my standards because they help me feel happy and safe. And I don’t really want to be like the kids who get into a lot of trouble. I’d rather choose the right, because I know the gospel is true.”
There’s another massive motivation to Kelly for living the gospel—and that’s her love for her family. “I know that I can be with my family forever if I stick to the right path,” she says. “And I want to be with my family.”

Just a little over a year ago, I determined that I would not put off any longer a visit with a dear friend whom I hadn’t seen for many years. I had been meaning to visit him in California but just had not gotten around to it.
Bob Biggers and I met when we were both in the Classification Division at the United States Naval Training Center in San Diego, California, toward the close of World War II. We were good friends from the beginning. He visited in Salt Lake once before he married, and we remained friends through correspondence from the time I was discharged in 1946. My wife, Frances, and I have exchanged Christmas cards every year with Bob and his wife, Grace.
Finally, at the beginning of January 2002, I scheduled a stake conference visit to Whittier, California, where the Biggers live. I telephoned my friend Bob, now 80 years old, and arranged for Frances and me to meet him and Grace, that we might reminisce concerning former days.
We had a delightful visit. I took with me a number of photographs which had been taken when we were in the Navy together over 55 years earlier. We identified the men we knew and provided each other an update on their whereabouts as best we could. Although not a member of our Church, Bob remembered going to a sacrament meeting with me those long years before when we were stationed in San Diego.
As Frances and I said our good-byes to Bob and Grace, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and joy at having finally made the effort to see once again a friend who had been cherished from afar throughout the years.

That leads to the third thing I have seen in the lives of those who have truly come unto Him. They strive to become like Him. They begin to try to do unto others as they know He would do. You and I have seen that in faithful people soon after their baptism and receiving of the Holy Ghost. Once, I went with my missionary companion to visit a family we had taught and baptized just a few weeks previously. The parents took us down into their basement to show us a room. It had been the bedroom of one of their two daughters. But she had now moved in with her sister. The bedroom she vacated was filled with everything the family would need in an emergency.
We had not taught them anything about emergency preparedness. When we asked why they had done something so difficult so quickly, the reply was that they had read in a Church magazine that the Lord would like families to be prepared to take care of themselves and others. They said, “Isn’t that what Latter-day Saints do?”
That simple faith extended to everything they felt the Savior would have them do. And their desire to follow Him lasted. And it changed them. They had always been kind, trying to help others. But that ability to show charity grew. And that has been the pattern in all those I have known who continued to come unto Him over a lifetime.

Sister Beck: Last week I was shopping with my granddaughters. I noticed a sales clerk watching our fun. Later I gave her a pass-along card. She told me, “I’m at a point in my life where I’m trying to take charge, and I don’t know how.” So we talked. My closing comment to her was, “If you want this when you’re my age”—and I pointed to my little granddaughters—“you have to be really careful what you’re choosing now. The choices I made at your age determined who I am now.”

When I was called as president of the Young Women organization in my branch, I was afraid I would not be able to get close to the girls or to help them. I knew I would have to become more sociable and overcome my shyness.
At first, I was overwhelmed and didn’t know how to begin. Quite a few of the girls in my branch, the Simón Bolívar Branch, Valledupar Colombia District, were not active. The small group of active girls was not difficult, but they seemed distant and a little indifferent. I feared that nothing was going to go well.
Then one day, not long after I began serving, Nora, one of the young women, came up to me, hugged me, and told me she was happy that I was going to work with her and the other girls. I felt my Father in Heaven’s love in that hug. My doubts turned to confidence, my shyness to security, and my fears to sincere love for those young women.
Little by little, I learned to understand them, to accept them as they are, and to be proud of each of them. I earned their trust and acceptance, which gave me the courage to reach out to those who were less active and to help plant in them a more positive feeling toward the Church.
Not long ago Nora received her Young Womanhood Recognition award. She has a strong testimony of the gospel and gives unqualified support to her Church leaders. Thank you, Nora, for living so well the principles the Young Women medallion symbolizes!

I feel very blessed that at a young age I was taught the importance of keeping the Word of Wisdom. I committed myself to keeping that commandment. I remember a very prestigious competition in Germany, when I won the vaulting event. As I stood on the victory stand, I received a gold medal, flowers, and gifts. I couldn’t have been more pleased.
Before walking off of the stand, I noticed another individual coming forward with a silver cup, and I thought, “How great! Another prize!” But as the presenter moved closer with this cup, I noticed it was full of wine.
Turning to my German friend and competitor, I asked what it was for, and he explained that tradition calls for the champion to drink out of the cup and to pass it to the next athlete.
I told him, “Well, I don’t drink.”
He responded with: “Then just take a little sip and hand it to the next person.”
Then I explained, “No, it’s against my religion, and I can’t even take a sip.”
My friend proceeded to explain to the officials in German that I wouldn’t drink it, but for some reason they insisted I take the cup.
So I took the cup and held it high in the air for the crowd to see. And then, without taking a sip, I handed it down to the next person. I admit that amidst the laughter of the crowd I felt a bit embarrassed, but I felt proud that it was easy to say no. I believe that if we make proper decisions before we are faced with a temptation, we will find it much easier to resist that temptation.

I have had the opportunity of flying a number of different high-performance jet fighters during my time in the air force, and flying each of them has been a unique experience. However, at one point in the past, I was flying a small two-engine turboprop airplane called the OV-10 Bronco. It was an observation aircraft, and in it I performed forward air controller duties. The OV-10 was fully acrobatic, cruised at speeds ranging from 200 to 400 mph, and looked a lot like a oversized dragonfly with a large, clear bubble canopy protruding out the front. This allowed the pilot to see nearly all the way around the aircraft with an unobstructed view, and it flew slow enough and was maneuverable enough that you could locate and mark the position of targets using 2.75-inch rockets that it carried in pods located under its fuselage.

I not only flew this aircraft into combat but also flew it for two years while I was assigned to Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin, Texas. Although I was assigned to Bergstrom, I was away from home about half of the time, as we supported all of the army and air force units west of the Mississippi.

Shortly after our arrival in Austin, Vicki and I were asked to visit with our stake president early one Saturday morning. He talked with Vicki and me for some time, during which I laid out in pretty graphic detail my travel and temporary duty schedule. Despite that heavy travel schedule, the stake president extended the call for me to serve as the elders quorum president in our ward. As he concluded that interview, he must have sensed my concern over what I thought would be a very difficult assignment made even tougher by my being gone almost half of every month.

He looked me in the eye and promised me that if I would do my best—the absolute best I could when I was home—and attend my meetings, work hard, and pick good men to be my counselors, the Lord would bless me with success in this calling. And then he added that the Lord would protect and watch over me while I was away from my family.

I was buoyed up by his promise of success in this calling in a large and recently organized ward, but quite frankly didn’t think much more about the promise that I would be protected and watched over. I was, after all, young, confident in my abilities, and a combat veteran. I felt I could handle the OV-10 very well.

Several months later I was returning one Saturday evening from a two-week flying training assignment at a western base and stopped, along with a second airplane, in El Paso, Texas, for gas. It was late, and the two other pilots—in the second OV-10 in the formation—argued that we should spend the night in El Paso, get a room, have a good meal, sleep late on Sunday morning, and get home mid-afternoon on Sunday. I was also tired and hungry and agreed it would sure be great to get a good night’s sleep, but I recalled the guidance of my stake president and knew that he would expect me to be at the early Sunday morning priesthood executive committee meeting and the other meetings that would follow. So I convinced the others to gas up quickly and get on our way. I called Vicki. She and our two-year-old son would be at the base in just a little under three hours to pick me up.

Since I had led from California to El Paso, it was the other pilot’s turn to lead our two-ship formation. It was probably about a two-and-a-half–hour flight from El Paso to Austin. About halfway it grew dark, and the weather started to turn foul. I flew in close formation on the leader for the last half of the flight. About 15 miles away from the air base, in darkness and in some rough weather, we let down to just below the clouds to begin our approach to the field. We lined up on initial, which meant we would fly down the runway at about 1,000 feet above the ground. Then, over the approach end of the runway, the leader would execute a 180-degree turn, and I would take five seconds spacing and do the same 180-degree turn, slow down, extend our gear and flaps, and turn to final approach, with us landing one behind the other. We were flying just beneath the ragged edge of some very bumpy cumulus clouds, in and out of rain showers.

The leader approached the runway and gave the signal for me to take five seconds spacing and then do my turn or pitchout to downwind. About the time we were approaching the field to land, a concerned wife and mother looked outside at the impending stormy weather and felt prompted to kneel with her two-year-old son and ask a loving Heavenly Father to protect and bring home a dad who had been gone for two long weeks.

I counted to five and pulled the throttles back on the engines powering the two three-bladed, eight-and-a-half–foot propellers to slow the aircraft down and snapped the airplane into a 60-degree banked turn. I pulled back on the stick to increase the G forces, which are needed to complete a level 180-degree turn to a downwind position parallel to the runway. The G forces also help to slow the airplane down from 300 mph to less than 150 mph in a matter of a few seconds.

Just as I pulled on the stick to tighten up the turn, the main oil line failed on the right engine. Oil pressure is needed to hold the propeller at the precise pitch, based on the throttle position. When the oil line failed, the propeller instantly feathered, causing the three propeller blades to rotate 90 degrees within the propeller hub and streamline into the relative wind. As they rotated, they created extremely high drag loads on the engine, similar to someone trying to pull three large oars through thick molasses. This excessive load caused the engine to fail, followed by an engine fire. This catastrophic loss of thrust on the right engine while I was in a steep left turn caused my airplane to yaw upward into the nighttime storm clouds. A relatively simple overhead pattern and landing to complete the mission had turned into a serious malfunction compounded by the inclement weather.

A key part of our training as we learn to fly is how to handle various emergencies that can occur in flight. With the illumination of the fire warning light, I instinctively followed the emergency procedures—first shutting down the engine and then discharging the fire extinguisher, taking care of the engine problem. However, during the time I was concentrating on accomplishing the emergency procedure, I experienced a severe case of spatial disorientation—meaning I was no longer sure which way was up or down.

During those few seconds in the darkness of the clouds, a few hundred feet above my awaiting family, my brain fought to make sense out of what I saw on the instrument panel. As I struggled to overcome the compelling instinct to follow other sensory perceptions, I recalled the final part of the promise my stake president pronounced as he called me to be an elders quorum president several months earlier. He promised that the Lord would watch over me if I did my duty. In those brief seconds of fear and confusion, I prayed that Heavenly Father would make good on that promise.

Now, brothers and sisters, with a clarity that I cannot explain but with a power I could never deny, I knew with a confidence that defied the situation that I must simply turn left. Despite being in the weather and lacking the visual cues essential to land from a overhead pattern, I followed the promptings and quite easily and quickly maneuvered out of the weather without further reference to the instruments, completing a descending turn to final approach and landing without further incident. The first hint the control tower had that there was a problem came as I radioed them on landing rollout—after saying another short prayer of thanks—telling them that they needed to get the fire trucks and a tow truck out to the end of the runway.

I have thought about that experience many times and marveled at the peace I felt as the situation deteriorated in those brief seconds of frantic action and confusion.

It was only the first day of school, and already the whole fifth grade was talking about the dance that would be held after school later in the year.
Morgan took another bite of her peanut butter and honey sandwich as she listened to her best friend, Leisel, chatter away.
“Did you hear that Bryson already asked Kayla to go to the dance with him?” Leisel asked, placing her tray on the table next to Morgan’s lunch bag. “I heard that Caden is going to ask you.”
“Really?” Morgan asked, surprised. She remembered being taught not to date until she was 16. Would this count as a date? It sort of sounded like it from the way everyone was talking.
The more she thought about it, the more Morgan’s stomach began to feel uncomfortable. She knew something wasn’t quite right. “I don’t think I’m going to go to the dance,” she said. “Why? I think it will be fun,” Leisel said. When Morgan didn’t say anything, Leisel shrugged and kept talking. “Besides, you’ve been friends with Caden forever. What if you hurt his feelings and he doesn’t want to be your friend anymore?”
Morgan quietly swallowed her last bite of her sandwich.
“There’s Kayla,” Leisel said, interrupting Morgan’s thoughts and pointing to the field. “Let’s go play soccer with her.”
Before she could answer, Morgan heard someone call her name. She turned around. Caden was running toward her!
“Hi, Morgan. I want to ask you something,” Caden said. He took a deep breath. Morgan braced herself. She knew what was coming next.
“Will you go to the dance with me?”
Morgan’s stomach did a flip-flop. She glanced over her shoulder. Her friends were watching her and whispering and giggling. If she said no to Caden, would they think she was weird? Would Caden be sad?
For a moment, Morgan thought about saying yes. She could probably find a way to go if she really wanted to. But the uncomfortable feeling came back.
Now it was her turn to take a deep breath.
“I’m going to wait until I’m older to date.”
Caden’s eyebrows shot upward. “It doesn’t have to be a real date,” he said. “We can just go as friends.”
Morgan slowly shook her head. She could tell by the way she felt that it was not the right choice.
“The dance is too much like a date,” Morgan said. “I’m sorry.”
Caden looked at his feet. His voice was quiet as he turned to leave. “All right. I guess I understand.”
Morgan didn’t want Caden to be sad. She quickly started talking again before he had the chance to walk away.
“Caden, I want to be friends with you. We can still do fun things together.”
Caden looked up.
“Really?”
“Sure! Like right now. Why don’t we play some soccer?” Morgan asked, flashing him a grin. “C’mon, they’re waiting!”
As she and Caden ran toward the game, Morgan felt the knot in her stomach disappear. She knew she had made the right choice.
Morgan couldn’t wait to tell her family that there had been a test on the very first day of school—and that she had passed it with flying colors.

The door bell rang. It was late at night. We did not expect anyone that evening, and I was wondering who it could be. I opened the door, and to my amazement, there stood the two missionaries who were teaching in the neighborhood.
The elders asked quickly if my boys were available so they could ask them a question. They were not. This was the time for them to be in bed for they were only 14 and 15 years old. The missionaries looked at each other, and the senior companion, obviously gathering his courage, asked me if I would talk to my boys and tell them to behave well at school because they were teaching one of the boys’ schoolmates. It was important that they, the missionaries, be able to tell their young investigator that my boys were members of the Church and then ask her if she had noticed any difference! What a terrible thing it might have been if my boys had not been behaving well! I promised the missionaries that I would forward the message and discuss the challenge with my boys.
The elders left, reassured, and as I closed the door, a scripture came flashing through my mind. I had used it often in the past years in meeting with the missionaries. “Go forth … that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.” (Alma 17:11.)

I once took my little grandson to a seafood restaurant. They had a large tank full of live lobsters. My grandson watched with awe as the lobsters moved around in the tank, seemingly oblivious to the fact that they would soon be selected for somebody’s dinner. My grandson watched entranced for a while and then asked me, “There is no lid on the tank and it’s not very deep. Why don’t the lobsters just crawl out and go home? And then nobody will eat them.” We watched for a few minutes more, and then I noticed a curious phenomenon. If one lobster began to try to crawl out of the tank, the others would grab, pull, push, or tug to get the lobster back down into the tank. None could escape and go home because they were all too busy pulling each other back into the tank. I wondered what would happen if they ever figured out that if they could lift and help each other, there might not be any more lobster on the menu of that restaurant.

Sometimes people behave like the lobsters. If one gets a little ahead or looks like they might have figured out a way to safety, others clamor to pull them back, and in so doing, no one escapes. Why do people do this? Is it jealousy?

“I used to teach my children the gospel,” says Milena, a widow and mother of five who was baptized in May 1992. “Now, my children teach me.” Milena has held family home evening every week since her baptism, and today she serves as District Young Women president in Praia. Early in 1995 she helped organize shipments of food and clothing when a volcano exploded on the island of Fogo and displaced more than 1,000 people.

I share with you an account described in a mother’s letter to me relating to prayer. She wrote:
“Sometimes I wonder if I make a difference in my children’s lives. Especially as a single mother working two jobs to make ends meet, I sometimes come home to confusion, but I never give up hope.
“My children and I were watching a television broadcast of general conference, and you were speaking about prayer. My son made the statement, ‘Mother, you’ve already taught us that.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he replied, ‘Well, you’ve taught us to pray and showed us how, but the other night I came to your room to ask something and found you on your knees praying to Heavenly Father. If He’s important to you, He’ll be important to me.’ ”
The letter concluded, “I guess you never know what kind of influence you’ll be until a child observes you doing yourself what you have tried to teach him to do.”

When Juliet was a tiny baby, she had severe pains in her stomach and needed two operations before she was even a year old.
One day when she was older, Juliet’s temperature went higher and higher. Her mother tried to make her little girl more comfortable, but nothing seemed to help. Finally she decided to go to the mission home nearby and ask the elders to give her daughter a blessing.
The missionaries did as she asked, and when they returned a few hours later to see how Juliet was feeling, she was sleeping quietly.
Juliet was treated at the Primary Children’s Hospital two different times, but she was never completely well. However, the blessings given helped to make her more comfortable.
Juliet kept urging her family to become members. Finally in March 1968 they were all baptized. Within the Church they found friendship and happiness. They remember with special love Juliet and her testimony and are grateful that she influenced them and many others to join the Church.

The power of the law of sacrifice is often manifested in the willingness of the Latter-day Saints to serve missions to bring others to Christ. One day a student sat in our office and talked about her desire to serve a mission. She was a reserved person. We talked about how going on a mission would involve talking to lots of people. She looked up and said, “Yes, when one agrees to serve the Lord, it will involve sacrifice.”

Our children’s great-grandfather J. Leo Seely received a mission call in 1914 to the British Mission and served the Lord in Ireland. He left his wife and little children for two years. The depth of his sacrifice has become clear to us as we read their letters. Because of the power of this man’s example and that of his noble wife, his son served a mission, and over 50 of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren have gone forth to serve the Lord in missions that cover the world.

Great-grandmother Kathryn Greta Calder was called to serve a mission in California in 1920. Following her example, her daughter, granddaughters, and now great-granddaughters have also served missions. As we watch our children open mission calls, and as you watch your friends and families open theirs, we see the image of God in a person who is willing to follow in the footsteps of the Savior, to sacrifice for the salvation of His children. They have the faith and the courage to go wherever the Lord calls them.

My family, like all of you, has also dealt with both sides of this phrase. In 2012, my twelve-year-old son Brian was diagnosed with an inoperable golf-ball-sized brain tumor. He had a high risk of death, blindness, or permanent one-sided paralysis. Through many prayers, fasting, and over time, due to God’s grace he was miraculously healed and is now a student at this university.

While our family was dealing with the trial of Brian’s brain tumor, we received great help from those around us. Just a few examples include ward members and friends secretly gave us money to help with medical expenses; one ward member picked up a CD with an MRI scan on it in Rexburg and drove it down to the hospital in Salt Lake City so physicians could get it as soon as possible; numerous food items dropped off at our house; family members watched our other young children so my wife and I could be with Brian; many ward members, friends, family members and even classmates and school teachers fasted for him on the day of his seven hour tumor removal surgery; when Brian finally came home from the hospital, ward members lined our driveway to welcome him home; President Thomas S. Monson even became aware of his situation and sent him a personal letter that buoyed him up in between his two surgeries. A quote from this letter still helps me in my daily trials. It states: “Undoubtedly you have had many questions and concerns about your future and what lies ahead. At times it may be difficult to understand why we are faced with certain challenges in this life. While we may not fully comprehend our Heavenly Father’s plan for us individually, we do know if we bear our burdens well, we will be eternally blessed.”[13] Our family was truly strengthened by all these people’s service.

A little over a year ago, I was released from my assignment in the Presidency of the Seventy, a change announced here at general conference. Because my name was read near those of General Authorities becoming emeritus, many assumed I was also finishing my time of service. After the conference, I received numerous messages of gratitude and good wishes for my next phase in life. Some even offered to buy my house in North Salt Lake. It was nice to see that I would be missed and also to know we will not have trouble selling our home when I am done. But I am not there yet.
My new assignment took Monica and me to beautiful Africa, where the Church is flourishing. It has been a blessing to serve among the faithful Saints in the Africa South Area and witness the Lord’s love for them. It’s inspiring to see generational families of all backgrounds, including many successful and well-educated Church members, dedicating their time and talents to serve others.
At the same time, given the region’s demographics, many people of modest means are joining the Church and transforming their lives through the blessings of tithing faithfulness and the educational opportunities offered by the Church. Programs such as Succeed in School, EnglishConnect, BYU–Pathway Worldwide, and the Perpetual Education Fund bless many lives, especially those of the rising generation.
President James E. Faust once stated, “It has been said that this church does not necessarily attract great people but more often makes ordinary people great.”
The greatness of our Saints in Africa becomes even more evident as they face life’s challenges and the demands of a growing Church. They always approach it with a positive attitude. They embody well the well-known teaching from President Russell M. Nelson:
“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.
“When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives.”
They find joy despite their challenges. They have learned that our relationship with the Savior enables us to approach difficulties with smiling faces and grateful hearts.
Let me share some of my experiences with these faithful Saints who illustrate this principle, starting with Mozambique.
A few months ago, I presided over a stake conference for a one-year-old stake that already had 10 units. More than 2,000 people filled the small chapel and three tents that were set outside. The stake president is 31 years old, his wife is 26, and they have two small children. He leads this growing and challenging stake with no complaints—only a smiling face and a grateful heart.
In an interview with the patriarch, I learned that his wife was seriously ill, and he struggled to provide for her care. After addressing the issue with the stake president, we gave her a priesthood blessing. I inquired of the patriarch how many patriarchal blessings he gives on average.
“Eight to ten,” he said.
I asked, “Per month?”
He replied, “Per week!” I counseled him that doing that many per weekend was not wise.
“Elder Godoy,” he said, “they keep coming every week, including new members and many youths.” Again, no complaints—only a smiling face and a grateful heart.
After the Saturday evening session of stake conference, on my way to the hotel, I noticed people buying food along the road late at night. I asked my driver why they were doing it when it was so dark rather than during the day. He responded that they were working during the day to have the money to do it later.
“Oh, they were working today to eat tomorrow,” I said.
But he corrected me: “No, they were working during the day to eat tonight.” I had hoped our members might be in a better situation, but he confirmed that many faced similar challenges in that part of the country. The next morning, during our Sunday session and newly aware of their circumstances, I was even more moved by their smiling faces and grateful hearts.
On the way to a Sunday meeting, the stake president and I saw a couple walking along the road with a baby and two small children. We stopped to offer them a ride. They were surprised and delighted. When I asked how far they needed to walk to the chapel, the father replied that it could take 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the children’s pace. They faced this journey back and forth, every Sunday, with no complaints—only smiling faces and grateful hearts.
One Sunday before a stake conference, I visited two branches using public schools as meetinghouses. I was shocked by the humble and modest conditions of the buildings, which lacked even some basic amenities. As I met a few members there, I was ready to apologize for the inadequate conditions of their meetinghouse, but they were happy to have a nearby place to gather, avoiding the usual long walk. Again, there were no complaints—only smiling faces and grateful hearts.
Following a Saturday of leadership training, the stake president took me to Sunday services held in a rented house. There were 240 people in attendance. Then the bishop introduced 10 new members baptized that week. The congregation was spread across two small rooms, with some members also sitting outside the building, watching the meeting through windows and doors. There were no complaints—only smiling faces and grateful hearts.
I visited this beautiful small country, also known as “the mountain kingdom,” to see a Church district preparing to become a stake. Following a Saturday of meetings, I attended Sunday services in one of their branches in a rented house. The sacramental room was overflowing, with people standing outside the door to participate. I told the branch president that he needed a bigger house. To my surprise, he informed me that this was only half of his membership. The other half would attend a second sacrament meeting after the second hour. Again, there were no complaints—only smiling faces and grateful hearts.
I returned to Lesotho later due to a fatal traffic accident involving several of our youth, already mentioned by Elder D. Todd Christofferson earlier. When I visited the families and leaders, I expected a somber atmosphere. Instead, I encountered strong and resilient Saints who were coping with the situation in an uplifting and inspiring way.
Mpho Aniciah Nku, 14, a surviving accident victim in this picture, illustrated it well in her own words: “Trust in Jesus and always look unto Him, because through Him you’ll find peace, and He will help you in the healing process.”
These are just a few examples where we see their positive attitude because they center their lives in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They know where to find help and hope.

“This assignment will be due two weeks from Friday,” said Mr. Perkins. “I’m distributing a reading list to aid you in your research.”

Hastily, John Salinger jotted down the details of the assignment on the back of the reading list: three-page paper, due on the fifth, world hunger, population explosion, use reading list.

The bell rang, and John made his way down the hall toward the cafeteria. Near the library he passed the locker informally shared by most of the LDS girls at Royal High. As usual, John found most of the LDS boys there, too. By the time they reached the cafeteria, other LDS students and nonmember friends had joined them.

When the “Mormonism-for-lunch-bunch” were seated in their usual places in the cafeteria, John asked Julie Marshall a question:

“Did Mr. Perkins give your class an assignment on population and hunger today?”

“Yes, he did,” replied Julie. “I hope I can find my research notes for the paper I did on this same subject for him last year.”

Soon it was established that not only had Julie’s history class received the assignment, but also Kamio Kamura’s economics class, as well as John’s government class.

“It’s not just Mr. Perkins,” added Lisa Ballard. “It seems as though I’ve received a similar assignment at least once each semester from one teacher or another ever since I started here as a sophomore three years ago. If it isn’t overpopulation, it’s abortion, or capital punishment, or world hunger.”

“I think some of the teachers at this school have a one-track mind,” said Julie. “And the stuff in the reading list makes it pretty clear what your conclusions are supposed to be: ‘The world is overcrowded. No one should have a large family. Abortions are needed to control population growth. We’re running out of food.’ I don’t believe all that stuff.”

“Maybe we’re being unfair to the teachers,” said John. “It seems to me that Mr. Perkins is a genuine idealist. He gives lots of assignments on these subjects because he’s really concerned about them. I think the same is true of the other teachers, too. And many of them agree with what the Church teaches.”

“Maybe so, John,” answered Lisa, “but how do we do the assignment when the teacher’s opinions don’t seem to square with what the Church teaches?”

“Right!” agreed Rick Baker, a recent transfer student from Utah. “I know what the Church teaches, and I believe it.* But how do you disagree with a teacher? Can you just put what you believe in a term paper? How do you go against everything on the reading list? Will Mr. Perkins take a quote from the scriptures?”

These young people have raised some interesting questions. Frequently, the opinions of teachers will differ from Church policies, the statements of Church leaders, and the scriptures.

Teachers are seen as authority figures, persons whose positions are based upon their having considerable knowledge of their subject field and persons who are the judge and jury at report-card time.

In the case of Royal High School, the LDS students found some good guidance close at hand.

“Well, it’s quite a riddle,” said John, “and I don’t have the answer. But I do know where to find the answer. Let’s go talk to Mr. Morgan. He’s taught at this school for a hundred years, and he’s been a bishop and a seminary teacher longer than that.”

Bishop Morgan was in his room in the science wing when the “Mormonism-for-lunch-bunch” arrived. John quickly related the group’s questions.

“I can see that you do have a problem,” said Bishop Morgan, “but it’s not the problem you mentioned. You are assuming that you may use only the sources on Mr. Perkins’ reading list and that you must reach the same conclusions as the authors on that list.

“I have no doubt,” continued the bishop, “that you are welcome to use other sources, and to state other points of view, and to reach different conclusions if that is what your research leads you to.”

“But are there books and articles that support what the Church teaches?” asked Lisa.

“Certainly,” replied Bishop Morgan. “There are few fields of study without controversy. Honest, sincere researchers, working with the same data, may come to widely different conclusions and then publish documented articles and books in support of their conclusions.

“Some scientists are sure that the world is overcrowded with four billion people. Others feel that the earth is capable of providing well for 40 or 50 or even 100 billion people.

“And among social scientists the differences of opinion are probably even greater because they work with the most complex subject of all: people. That’s why you get strong, conflicting opinions on subjects like abortion, capital punishment, mercy killing, and the like. There are no easy answers.

“As Latter-day Saints, we are fortunate to have revealed truth to guide us in these controversial subjects, and we should be grateful for that. And there are also many researchers, both LDS and otherwise, whose writings agree with what the Lord has revealed. Your problem is simply to find these writings and then decide which of them will be useful in your assignments.”

As the bishop concluded, the students were quiet for a moment. Then Kamio asked one last question:

“But what about Mr. Perkins? Are you sure we won’t be penalized if we turn in reports that disagree with his point of view?”

“I know Carl Perkins,” said the bishop. “Yes, he has strong opinions, but he’s a good teacher and a fair man. He won’t grade you down for differing with him. He’d be pleased if you went beyond his reading list. Just be sure that what you do is well written and researched, and don’t automatically assume that everything on that reading list is wrong. Read it with an open mind.”

In the next three weeks John, Julie, and Kamio did a lot of hard work. Working together, they carefully read everything on Mr. Perkins’ reading list and then began digging into both the school and the public libraries.

They contacted Church Social Services in their area and their bishop and obtained some useful materials and references. Both the U.S. Government and United Nations agencies were found to have prepared good statistical summaries. An LDS anti-abortion filmstrip, “Very Much Alive” (available in both an LDS and a worldwide edition), was borrowed from the meetinghouse library and used. Other teachers were consulted.

John and Julie and Kamio received top grades for their work in presenting the Church’s stand. They were invited to present their findings to their respective classes and to answer questions from other students. They were well prepared to defend their positions. They had found facts to back up their beliefs.

Best of all, they learned that there really are good and valid reasons for the Church’s stand on tough moral issues. They discovered that some teachers with strong opinions respect students who do a good job of disagreeing with them. And they learned that the gospel of Jesus Christ is always in harmony with truth from whatever source.

Now go back again with me in your thoughts to the church building about which we spoke earlier with its sign of “Spiritual Fuel Available—No Rationing—No Stamps—No Quotas—Come and Prepare.” Each one of us undoubtedly has a different building in mind. Perhaps yours is the one you attend most frequently—your own ward or branch.
The one I have in mind today is the Masterton Ward in the Wellington New Zealand Stake. We had the opportunity of dedicating this choice house of worship in February. Never have I been in a building so immaculately clean. It looked new. It smelled new. It was beautiful in its appropriate simplicity. It was worthy in appearance to be dedicated to the Lord. It was built by our people.
It was paid for by our people. It was polished to a fine finish by hands that took pride. It was tastefully landscaped and structurally sound. According to the town mayor, a nonmember, it was built by people who are happy. Three weeks before our arrival it was predicted by some that it couldn’t possibly be ready for dedication. Those so inclined to doubt didn’t know this good bishop and his ward family—people of humble circumstances but powerfully committed. Walls were painted, floors waxed, and so on by parents when their children had been put to sleep for the night. Young boys, appropriately encouraged, carried buckets of water to make the lawns green and the flowers bloom around the chapel, because New Zealand had been long without rain. It was not only completed, it was shining! Here was a group of people accumulating oil for their lamps a drop at a time through sacrifice, preparation, cooperation, faith, and works. As these ward members worked together to meet the midnight hour, their love for each other was nurtured. They, too, shined in their triumph.

I opened my Book of Mormon to catch up on some reading. We were supposed to read at the beginning of my fifth-grade class. My teacher asked me what I was reading. I said, “It’s called the Book of Mormon.” She asked me what it was about. I began explaining all I knew about the Book of Mormon. Soon I had almost every ear in my class. I told my teacher and classmates about my testimony and Joseph Smith.
When I got home, I wrote about my missionary moment in my journal. When I talk about that day, I feel the Spirit testifying to me that what I said to my teacher was true. I have had many missionary moments since that day. Some of them have come from taking my Book of Mormon to school. I have always been taught that I can be a missionary even when I am young. And guess what? I am! Anyone can be a missionary!