Gospel Story Finder

“OK,” the counselor said. “Just remember: move your legs and feed the rope through the hitch. If you lose your balance, don’t worry. Your belay partner at the bottom has a hold of the rope. Got it?”
I took a deep breath and nodded. I and another young woman from my class were standing at the top of a 60-foot cliff, preparing to rappel (abseil) down to the bottom. For Young Women camp that year, my leaders had arranged to bring us to a Scout camp in the Uintah mountains. I had only discovered after our arrival that a lot of the activities involved one of my greatest fears: heights.
Even though I was terrified, I’d agreed to give this activity a try. “It’s not that far,” I told myself. “Just don’t look down.”
My friend was way more excited about rappelling than I was and quickly got ahead of me and disappeared over the edge. After taking a deep breath (and another, and another) I decided that I was ready. With one hand on the rope in front of me and one on the rope behind me, which I would use to lower myself down the cliff face, I began to walk slowly backwards down the steep incline toward the ledge that marked where the real work would begin.
I eased myself down onto the cliff so that I stood with my feet on the cliff, nearly parallel to the ground below. It was here that things went wrong: I kept feeding rope through the hitch, but I was so afraid that I completely forgot to move my legs. In a matter of seconds, I was hanging upside-down on the cliff with my back against the rough stone.
I tried pushing myself back out but couldn’t seem to find a way to get upright again. Finally, I decided that the only thing I could do was try to catch the attention of the counselors at the top of the cliff.
“Hey,” I called. “Help! Help me!”
There was a pause, and then a helmeted head appeared over the cliff.
“How did you do that?” the counselor said. He started to laugh so hard that he had to step back and get another one of the counselors to help. By then, I could hear the worried voices of my leaders and fellow young women asking if I was OK and shouting encouragement. I started laughing too—the whole situation was so ridiculous that I couldn’t be afraid!
With the help of the other counselor, I was able to flip myself around. When I reached the bottom of the cliff, I realized that I hadn’t been afraid once on the way down. I even found enough courage to try some other activities that I was normally afraid of during the remainder of camp.

Sexual immorality and impure thoughts violate the standard established by the Savior.17 We were warned at the beginning of this dispensation that sexual immorality would be perhaps the greatest challenge.18 Such conduct will, without repentance, cause a spiritual drought and loss of commitment. Movies, TV, and the Internet often convey degrading messages and images. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and I were recently in an Amazon jungle village and observed satellite dishes even on some of the small, simply built huts. We rejoiced at the wonderful information available in this remote area. We also recognized there is virtually no place on earth that cannot be impacted by salacious, immoral, and titillating images. This is one reason why pornography has become such a plague in our day.

For over three months we had rehearsed dances and songs for “The Heart of Texas,” a jubilee celebrating the dedication of the San Antonio Texas Temple. Now the day had finally come, and we seemed to be getting worse at the polka! About five minutes before the jubilee was to start, I told my friend Emily and our partners, Jared and Preston, that I thought we should pray for help. We did, and we made only one tiny mistake in the dance. I said many prayers of gratitude during the rest of the night.

The young men did not seem to be such an immediate problem, as many were pursuing higher education and becoming well versed in the scriptures and preparing for missions. Others were kept busy in agricultural and industrial pursuits—building homes, stores, ward houses, roads, and working on the construction of the temple.
As Brigham Young watched the Retrenchment Society bless every Mormon community, he became concerned about the general welfare of the young men of the Church, especially during the winter months when time hung more heavily on their hands. In those early days the social structure was simple. There was very little in the way of sports or commercial amusement, and he felt the young men also needed a program of involvement. Junius F. Wells was given the assignment to organize societies among the young men of the Church for their mutual improvement. This led to the organization of the Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Association. The Retrenchment Society thereafter, and until recent years, became known as the Young Ladies’ Mutual Improvement Association.

I grew up in a house on the corner of Main Street in a small Idaho town. Often during the summer we would spend our afternoons and evenings in the front yard, playing on the grass or visiting with our neighbors.
One afternoon while we were playing in the yard, my youngest sister, who was only two years old, bolted out into the street. At the same moment, a truck with a couple of teenage boys from down the street screeched around the corner. My dad acted quickly and pulled my little sister out of the truck’s path. The boys in the truck shouted unkind and inappropriate words as they sped down the street.
I was angry, to say the least. I remember thinking someone should go down to the boys’ house and put them in their place. My sister could have been hurt or killed by their careless, dangerous driving.
I was glad when I saw my mother walking down the street, and I followed her. I was certain that the boys were going to be in big trouble. When we got to the house, the boy who had been driving answered the door. He was angry and defensive. He asked what we wanted and, to my surprise, my mother began to apologize. She said she was sorry that she had allowed her daughter to be so close to the street and told him she would watch my sister more carefully in the future.
Immediately the boy’s countenance changed. He apologized for driving so fast and for putting my sister in danger. He vowed to be more careful as he drove. After the short conversation, we returned home.
I still have never seen such an immediate change come over someone as it did over that boy that afternoon. We lived in that house for 11 more years, and in that time I never again saw the boy drive carelessly around the corner. As Proverbs 15:1 teaches, “A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.” I imagine the outcome of the situation would have been very different if my mom would have approached angrily. Instead, two hearts were changed by the soft words of my mother.

When I was baptized three years ago, I learned about the temple and loved it. Right from the beginning, my daughter, Jessica, just four years old at the time, loved traveling to see the temple. Jessica loves the stories in the Liahona and loves the temple cards, which she collects. Through my daughter, I have been able to strengthen my testimony about the house of the Lord.Petra Longerich, Germany

After high school I joined the army reserve. My commanding officer gave me the opportunity of becoming a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army. He was very gracious but also very large and imposing. People didn’t turn him down. I asked if I could go home and think it over.
I prayed that night, and into my mind came the baptism prayer found in Doctrine and Covenants 20:73: “Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
I went back the next morning and told my commanding officer that I had decided to accept a commission—but that I would be commissioned by Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. I explained that I was going to serve a mission for my church.
The feeling of having that prayer answered was wonderful, and I have felt it again and again as I have prayed about important decisions. I seem to have always known that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ know me and love me. My conversion must have begun when I first attended Primary and felt the Spirit there. It continued in my Aaronic Priesthood quorums and in the mission field. It still continues today.

Unfortunately, many vital decisions are made when we are most inexperienced. Our desire for freedom can be dangerous if we have not followed the proper guidelines. The book Mythology, by Edith Hamilton, tells of a boy named Icarus and his father. Imprisoned on the isle of Crete, they made a pair of wings composed of feathers held together by wax. They hoped that they could use them to fly to their freedom, and the boy was given the chance to try them out. His father warned him not to fly too close to the sun lest the wax melt. But Icarus became exhilarated with his newfound freedom and flew too high. The wax melted, and the wings fell apart, and the boy fell to his death. Our future can be imperiled by freedom left uncontrolled (New York: New American Library, 1969, pp. 139–40).

“My parents were not active in the Church, but they were wonderful people. I remember my mother teaching me how to pray. I also remember her teaching me over and over the principle of obedience. When I received my first pair of roller skates, Mother cautioned me, ‘Now, don’t go down the hill, because it will be difficult for you. The hard, level surface on the east side of the house will be much easier for you.’ But I wanted the thrill of going down the hill, and it was probably only five minutes later that I came in crying, with both knees badly scraped. Mother pointed out that if I had been obedient, I would not have been hurt. I’ve thought about that a lot of times since then, and I think that if we obey our parents and learn to call on our Heavenly Father and obey His prompting, we will avoid many difficulties.”

I may not have met him physically, but spiritually I feel I have. Whenever I read his inspired messages, I imagine him talking to me one-to-one with his hand on my shoulder. A First Presidency Message entitled “Life’s Obligations” (see Ensign, Feb. 1999, 2) helped me understand that although income is important, I do not need to be a multimillionaire to be happy. This message has brought me inner peace and satisfaction.
Encouraged also by the prophet’s counsel in that same message not to waste the great days of preparation for my future work, I decided to enroll in a computer engineering training college for one year. I was undertaking my one year of National Youth Service in Nigeria and resolved to use my time judiciously. At the end of the program, I knew how to repair and install computer systems. Now my first successful appointment after my year of service is based on my added knowledge of computer systems.

I just wanted to express my thanks to the New Era for printing my conversion story in “Scout Camp and Two Missionaries Named Elder” in the May 1980 issue. I really love the New Era. It is just excellent! I’ve been out in the mission field since October of 1980, and I am beginning to have the opportunity to share my testimony, just as I said I was looking forward to doing.

The education Sri received while living with the queen enabled her not only to read the Book of Mormon in English, but also to play a key part in the translation of the book into Thai. The translation effort began in 1970, and Sri was asked to be the lead translator of the translating committee. The project was completed in 1974, and the Book of Mormon was published in Thai in 1976.
“Making this translation brought such spiritual strength to me,” says Sister Sri. “I love my Heavenly Father so much for pouring upon me this gift of tongues and language.”

As returned missionaries, Brother Dante and Sister Liaa Nicolas of Camiling 2nd Branch, Camiling Stake were concerned about missionary work during the pandemic. The family decided to help by inviting the full-time missionaries and their investigators to attend sacrament meeting with them. They also helped invite the Spirit of the Lord as they gathered to worship by playing prelude hymns and eliminating distractions like mobile phones.
“The people the missionary sisters were teaching had no wifi connection or gadgets to access church meetings, so we had them experience the Lord’s day right inside our house,” Sister Liaa relates. The Nicolas family continues to host the missionaries, investigators and new converts until conditions improve and face-to-face worship services can resume fully unhampered.

One summer we visited my Grandpa Joe, who is not a member of the Church. When we were beginning to eat breakfast, I said: “Wait, Grandpa Joe! We forgot to thank Heavenly Father for the food.” He looked surprised but closed his eyes while I blessed the food. I always try to be a good example for Grandpa Joe, and now when I go to his house, he waits for me to say the prayer. I know that others watch what I do, and I hope to always make Heavenly Father happy as I teach by my example.

A single friend of ours who lives alone broke her shoulder and needed help. Word soon spread throughout her ward, and ward members brought dinners by the dozen so that she had to tell them to stop because her refrigerator was overflowing. One of them was a nearly blind sister who crossed a busy street with a hot dinner on a tray. Another sister volunteered to help clean her apartment. Seeing our friend’s reluctance, she countered, “How else can I show you that I love you?” Another sister who helped with grocery shopping saw the bright side of our friend’s accident as she pointed out, “This opportunity has brought us close to each other again!” These sisters all had the vision of the work the Savior had in mind for them to do.

Another couple adopted a rule for their marriage: “Whatever you say to your spouse, make it a gift.” With this in mind, they challenged themselves to discover new, imaginative ways of communicating with each other. With a little effort, they were able to develop new procedures for handling delicate and sensitive issues, procedures which clearly gave the message “I care about you—I care about us.” Together they declared war on all negative, harmful elements that could hurt their relationship.

Florence Chukwurah has a special understanding for children from poor backgrounds—especially those who feel shy because of poverty or lack of education. Visiting the branches of the Ghana Accra Mission as the mission president’s wife, Sister Chukwurah carried a special message to such young people. “We were visiting a small branch,” Sister Chukwurah recalls. Many of the young people could not read, and many were not coming to church. “The Spirit said, ‘Tell them the story of your life.’ So I told them that I grew up in similar circumstances. I told them that I was able to overcome my shyness by studying and by obeying my parents and teachers.”

Illustrated by Mike Eagle
As a child in Boise, Idaho, Howard W. Hunter learned to be a dependable worker. He fed the family chickens and cleaned the coops and roosts. He chopped kindling and hauled coal. He weeded the garden, picked vegetables, and helped to bottle them. He cut grass and brought milk home from the dairy. He also worked at an uncle’s ranch.
Because of young Howard’s dependability, many people were eager to hire him. From grade school through high school, he earned money at an amazing variety of after-school and summertime jobs. He always did his best, and his employers never had cause to complain. To name just a few of his jobs, he was a …
Telegraph delivery boy.
Howard: Your telegram, sir.
Golf caddie.
Howard: Your nine iron, sir.
Soda fountain worker.
Howard: Your lime phosphate, sir.
Bellboy, elevator operator, porter, and janitor in a hotel.
Howard: Your room, sir.
Musician. He played the marimba, drums, saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, piano, and violin in professional bands. His own group, Hunter’s Croonaders, performed at dances and even toured the Orient as the official band of a cruise ship.
Ship’s employee: Your saxophone, sir.
Howard W. Hunter went on to work at many other jobs, including dockhand, shoe salesman, and banker. He eventually attended law school and became a successful attorney. Thanks to the honesty and work habits he developed as a child, Howard W. Hunter could always be depended on to do a job right. He brought even greater commitment and devotion to his Church callings.
If you’d like to learn more about President Hunter, do the “President Howard W. Hunter Crossword” on page 26.

Christina’s story came full circle after the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to return home. One day while visiting her village, she learned that the library at her primary school was infested with termites. With the help of local organizations and the Church, Christina oversaw the construction of a new library, with systems in place that will keep it running for many years.

Understanding that will change the way we try to build fellowship in the quorum. For instance, it might even change the way a teachers quorum plays basketball. The members might hope to build fellowship more than just to win a game. They could choose to invite a boy who is always left out because he doesn’t play very well. If he accepts and comes, the members of the quorum are likely to pass the ball a little more, looking for the open man, especially the boy who isn’t likely to score. Twenty years later they may not remember whether they won that night, but they will always remember how they played together and why—and whose team it was. It was the Lord who said, “If ye are not one ye are not mine.”