Gospel Story Finder

LeAnn Coshman, director of the Santa Maria California Family History Center, writes: “Like most family historians, I have a few great stories of serendipitous experiences and of lost families found. But one stands out to me.
“We had a booth at our county fair, and a large banner proclaimed our purpose: ‘Family History Center, Families Are Forever.’ A disheveled cowboy quietly stood looking at the items on the display table. I approached him and asked if I could help him look for one of his ancestors. His shyness, combined with a significant speech impediment, made it a little difficult to communicate. He indicated he didn’t know anything about any of his ancestors and said, ‘I don’t even know if my mom and dad are alive.’ With that declaration, he gained my full attention. He told me he had left home under bad circumstances as a teenager. He had been ‘rodeoing’ ever since, but he had now ‘settled down some.’ He was married and had two children.
“I invited him to sit with me at one of the computers. I explained that we normally didn’t search for living people, but I offered to help him check the U.S. Social Security Death Index to see if his father had died. Since his father’s name was quite unusual, I felt it would be easy to identify him. When we didn’t find him, we were grateful because it meant he was probably still alive.
“After a bit of Internet sleuthing, I was able to obtain a little information about the cowboy’s father, including a current address and phone number. As he stared at the computer screen, he repeated several times, ‘I can’t believe this. That’s my dad.’ I tried to encourage him to call his father, but he said, ‘I can’t do that. My dad will never talk to me—maybe my mom, but not my dad.’ I printed out the information and handed it to him. I suggested that if he didn’t feel comfortable calling, he could write a letter. I offered the idea that regardless of the circumstances surrounding his leaving, he should ask for his parents’ forgiveness and tell them he missed them. I tried to encourage him by explaining that his parents would be anxious to learn about their grandchildren.
“As he walked away, I said a silent prayer for him. I had no expectation of ever learning the outcome; however, two days later the cowboy was back standing in the same spot. I hurried to him with my hand outstretched and said more than asked, ‘You called!’
“He said, ‘Yeah, and they showed up on my doorstep at 6:00 this morning!’
“He tried to express his gratitude but was having a hard time getting the words out. So I extended my hand once more and told him that he didn’t need to say a word, that I understood completely. He clung to my hand, not wanting to let go, and I moved forward to accept the hug I knew he wanted to give.
“I’m grateful to have played a part in helping this man find his parents. I have gained a fresh perspective of a familiar scripture: ‘He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers’ (Mal. 4:6).”

In elementary school I was overweight. I remember stepping onto the scale every morning, praying that I had lost just one pound. Sometimes I came home in tears because of my schoolmates’ cutting remarks.
In this life we may be criticized and persecuted. That’s part of why we came here—to rise above the persecution and become stronger because of it. David, Shannon, and I are better people today for having been faithful in difficult experiences. I often say that everything given to us in life can be either a blessing or a curse. The strength of one’s heart determines which it is.

Let’s begin with becoming charitable. I will remind you of recent experiences. Many of you participated in a day of service. There were thousands of them organized across the world.
A council of your fellow Saints prayed to know what service to plan. They asked God to know whom we should serve, what service to give, and whom to invite to participate. They may even have prayed not to forget shovels or drinking water. Above all, they prayed that all who gave service and all who received it would feel the love of God.
I know those prayers were answered in at least one ward. More than 120 members volunteered to help. In three hours they transformed the grounds of a church in our community. It was hard and happy work. The ministers of the church expressed gratitude. All who worked together that day felt unity and greater love. Some even said that they felt joy as they pulled weeds and trimmed shrubbery.

Shellee wanted to dance, so in grade school she started dance and gymnastics classes. She has been competing and performing ever since. Someone signals Shellee when to begin, and then she counts through the rest of the piece. As a child, oftentimes she was more on beat than the rest of the children because she counted. “Most judges never even know I’m deaf,” she says.

I am thinking of a young husband and father who is participating in drug abuse. He stands to lose family, employment, personal pride, and his own life. His cries of “I’m hooked” tug at the soul. The use of cocaine and other drugs causes those involved to become totally chained to their addiction. Those who peddle drugs not only provide chains for others, but shackle themselves with the weights of unrighteousness as well. To those not involved, avoid drugs in any form with all of your might. To those involved, seek help to remove the chains that will drag you down and smother you. Drugs are not a “quick fix.” They are a quick exit through a door which too often swings only one way—toward heartache and self-destruction.

When Israel Lutalo, a newly baptized member of the Church, heard about the Book of Mormon for the first time, he read in 2 Nephi 31:17–18 about entering the kingdom of heaven through repentance and baptism.
“When I read this for the first time, it really spoke to my heart,” he reflects. “I wanted to know how to thrive in God’s kingdom, to do His work. I learned that the first steps are repentance and baptism. These verses are close to my heart.”

When I came to my new school I did not have any friends either for a long time. I was very unhappy and began to wonder what I was doing wrong. I read scriptures and learned that Jesus Christ is the very best friend I can ever get. I also began to think in a positive way and said nice things to people. At first they just smiled at me, but now I have a lot more friends than I ever expected.
Naomi Hartzheim, 17,Dusseldorf, Germany

I said something mean to a kid when he laughed at me.
On the way to school, I thought about ways to not get so upset at other people.

When Rachel moved to our town, my teacher picked me to help her learn how our class works. I showed her where the library is and how we take attendance. It felt good to help her.
At recess, I introduced her to my friends. As we laughed and played together, I found out that Rachel and I had a lot in common. She fit right into my group of friends.
We were all getting along great until one day at lunch, a few weeks later. My friends and I are all in the same ward, and Sara was talking to Alexis about something that had happened at church the week before.
“Hey, Rachel,” Alexis said. “I haven’t seen you at church.”
“Oh, I don’t go to church,” Rachel said.
We were all silent. Rachel was so much like us. We automatically thought she would go to our church.
Over the next few days, my friends didn’t talk to Rachel as much.
“I don’t think we should play with Rachel anymore,” Sara said to me. “She doesn’t go to church.”
I knew it wasn’t right to leave Rachel out just because she didn’t go to church. But I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to lose my friends.
One morning at recess, Rachel and I walked over to where Alexis and Sara were playing soccer.
“Can we play with you guys?” I asked.
“You’ll have to choose between Rachel and us,” Alexis said to me.
I didn’t know what to do. “Sorry, Rachel,” I muttered, and left her as I went to play soccer. Looking back, I saw Rachel standing against the wall with her head down.
The rest of the day I had a sick feeling. Over the next week, I tried not to look at Rachel so I wouldn’t feel bad. Each day it got a little easier to ignore her, but I still felt that sick feeling tying knots in my stomach.
One day, Rachel didn’t come to school. I went in the bathroom and cried. That night, I told my parents what happened.
“It’s OK to be friends with people who go to different churches or who don’t go to church at all,” Dad said.
“Could I go to Rachel’s house right now to apologize?” I asked.
“Of course,” Mom said. “We’ll take you.”
When we got to her house, Rachel was surprised to see me.
My eyes filled with tears as I tried to say, “I’m sorry.”
She started to cry too. Then she hugged me.
“It’s OK,” she said.
“I want to be friends again,” I said. “It was wrong for us to leave you out. Please come back to school.”
And the next day, Rachel did come back! We played and ate lunch together. Even though Rachel doesn’t go to church, I’m glad we can still be friends.

Scout Troop 930 may be a long way from home, but they are enjoying the same activities and earning the same awards as other Scout troops. These Scouts are with their parents serving with agricultural development missions in Somalia on the east coast of Africa.
The troop is sponsored by the Mogadishu Branch of the International Mission. Dr. Joe Austin, a Silver Beaver Scouter; Roger McEvoy; and Guy Denton of the Utah State University Agricultural Extension Farm Management Training Project staff have served as the Scoutmasters.
The boys are experiencing all aspects of Scouting and continuing their advancements in rank. A recent highlight was a court of honor where the U.S. Ambassador to Somalia, the Honorable Donald K. Peterson, personally presented the troop with a flag of the United States. He encouraged the boys to carry on representing their country with the Scout oath and law as their standard of behavior.

This flowering would amaze those men with painted faces who, in a cowardly attack, shot and killed the Prophet that sultry June day in 1844. It would amaze Illinois Governor Thomas Ford, who had pledged to protect the Prophet and then left him to the mob. It was this same Thomas Ford who concluded in his History that Joseph Smith “never could succeed in establishing a system of policy which looked to permanent success in the future” (Thomas Ford, A History of Illinois … , quoted in B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, 2:347). Thomas Ford today lies buried in Peoria, Illinois, largely forgotten, while the man he judged a failure is remembered all over the earth.

“It has changed how I see my Sunday experience, but maybe more importantly, it has changed how I see my family experience. We strengthen each other and grow together all week long.” —Kim Peterson, Utah, USA

Still another teacher taught me that the ultimate discovery in growing up is the discovery of oneself, when one comes face-to-face with his own limitations and, simultaneously, has his eyes opened to his talents.
Ellis “Red” Wade helped me make this discovery. He tested my manual skills (and his patience) by having me construct a piano stool and hall tree in a year of shop work. I labored endlessly. Nothing would fit together or vaguely resemble the paper sketches. It was apparent that building things with my hands was not one of my endowments. When I took my handiwork home, Mother positioned my hall tree behind a door where it served a purpose without being seen. My dad, I think, used the piano stool in milking the cow.
Fortunately, Mr. Wade could see I possessed physical skills and coordination. He taught me to respect my body and to strive toward athletic goals. He, and later Coach Staples, transfused me with the desire to strive for excellence in various forms of competition. This was not done in a lopsided fashion. They were always advocates of balance between physical and mental pursuits. I thank them for helping me follow this inspired direction: “Let no man despise thy youth; … Neglect not the gift that is in thee … Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Tim. 4:12, 14–15).

Every time I learned about patriarchal blessings, I felt a confirmation of their truthfulness. There grew in my heart a desire to receive this blessing from the Lord. I tried to do everything I learned in my Church meetings, and I asked for guidance from my bishop to help me prepare for this blessing.

“When I was ten years old, before I joined the Church, I had leukemia,” Bryce says matter-of-factly. “In April 1995 the leukemia came back.”
Now it was Bryce’s turn to be the example. Even though he knew all too well what the relapse would mean—chemotherapy, radiation, fatigue, pain, nausea—Bryce decided he was going to do as much “normal” stuff as he could. So, even though he was still feeling sick from one of his first treatments, Bryce made it to the stake center to be part of his branch’s road show. Now he goes to as many firesides and activities as he can. And he goes to school as much as he can.
“I still don’t like school,” he says with a grin, “but you sure do miss it when you’re gone. You miss seeing other people.”
And that’s where Bryce’s branch comes in, helping Bryce to pass the long hours in the hospital.
“The branch has really taken care of me,” says Bryce. “The Primary sent me cards, the youth sent me cards and came to visit, the Relief Society fed my family when my mom and I had to go to Calgary for special treatments. They made delicious meals with dessert and everything. They had a fast for me, and nothing went wrong.”
Bryce has a lot to teach others about positive attitude and courage. And since Bryce is the only member of the Church in his family, he (with lots of help from members of the branch) has also had the important task of teaching his family about prayer, faith, and LDS beliefs about life after death.
“Bryce has done so well,” says his mom. “I know that a combination of good things has happened to Bryce. It isn’t just the wonders of science, by no means. I just know that Bryce is being looked after.”
Bryce couldn’t agree more. And he knows that the blessings he’s received during his illness can be attributed to the greatest example of all, Jesus Christ.
“I’m not afraid of what might happen,” he says. “Now that I have the gospel and I know about the Atonement and how things work, I’ve learned to look for the good. I have a lot to be thankful for.”
Courage, gratitude, and faith—Bryce lives these principles every day. And who knows? Maybe he’s just the example someone else is looking for.

Ward families are a refuge. I know a young family that lived in south Los Angeles during the violent summer of 1992. They could feel the heat from the fires as they sat terrified in their little apartment. They telephoned their parents in Salt Lake. Their families offered encouragement and their prayers. They could do no more at such a distance. It was a ward member who made arrangements for the Parkins to get themselves and their baby out safely. They stayed with members until they could go back to their apartment. They were safe.

The temple endowment was introduced and established in Nauvoo, Illinois, in May 1842, pursuant to an earlier revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, in which the Lord said, in part,
“… and build a house to my name, for the Most High to dwell therein.
“For there is not a place found on earth that he may come to and restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken away, even the fulness of the priesthood.
“And verily I say unto you, let this house be built unto my name, that I may reveal mine ordinances therein unto my people;
“For I deign to reveal unto my church things which have been kept hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to the dispensation of the fulness of times.
“And I will show unto my servant Joseph all things pertaining to this house, and the priesthood thereof, and the place whereon it shall be built.” (D&C 124:27–28, 40–42.)
Pursuant to his promise, God revealed to his servant Joseph Smith the sacred principles and ordinances of the holy endowment and of eternal marriage into which the endowment leads.
So great and glorious were these principles and ordinances that the Prophet was impressed to share them with a few Saints in a poorly improvised room above a store in Nauvoo, before the Lord’s house (the Nauvoo Temple) was completed. He records in his journal, under date of May 4, 1842:
“I spent the day in the upper part of the store … (… for want of a better place) in council with General James Adams, of Springfield, Patriarch Hyrum Smith, Bishops Newel K. Whitney and George Miller, and President Brigham Young and Elders Heber C. Kimball and Willard Richards, instructing them in the principles and order of the Priesthood, attending to washings, anointings, endowments and the communication of keys pertaining to the Aaronic Priesthood, and so on to the highest order of the Melchizedek Priesthood, setting forth the order pertaining to the Ancient of Days, and all those plans and principles by which any one is enabled to secure the fulness of those blessings which have been prepared for the Church of the First Born, and come up and abide in the presence of the Eloheim in the eternal worlds.” (History of the Church [Deseret Book Co., 1949], vol. 5, pp. 1–2.)

I really look up to Spencer. He has autism, and it’s my job to help him with his chores, like taking out the trash. I love to help tuck him into bed at night. When I learned to read, I started reading to Spencer. It’s something we like to do together, even though we read the same two stories every time! Sometimes I imagine helping Spencer when I’m an adult so my parents can serve a mission. I like the idea of us being roommates!

I just got off my knees from praying to Heavenly Father. I had been pretty tired and frustrated at what seemed to be fruitless efforts at fasting for a testimony of a particular gospel principle. Then I was prompted to read two stories in the January 1997 New Era. I couldn’t have done a wiser thing. The scriptures in the fiction story “Time Balm” truly helped me to see that Heavenly Father was doing his best to instill in me more fully the qualities of patience and faith. I also loved “With a Joyful Heart.” In my pursuit of a testimony I forgot to be happy and grateful for all I already have. Thanks.
Keisha WilksKingston, Jamaica

After President Wilford Woodruff joined the Church he desired to serve a mission.
“I was but a Teacher,” he wrote, “and it is not a Teacher’s office to go abroad and preach. I dared not tell any of the authorities of the Church that I wanted to preach, lest they might think I was seeking for an office” (Leaves from My Journal, Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1882, p. 8).
He prayed to the Lord, and without disclosing his desire to any others, he was ordained a priest and sent on a mission. They went to the Arkansas Territory.
He and his companion struggled through a hundred miles of alligator-infested swamps, wet, muddy, and tired. Brother Woodruff developed a sharp pain in his knee and could go no further. His companion left him sitting on a log and went home. Brother Woodruff knelt down in the mud and prayed for help. He was healed and continued his mission alone.
Three days later he arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, weary, hungry, and very muddy. He went to the largest inn and asked for something to eat and for a place to sleep, although he had no money to pay for either.
When the innkeeper found he was a preacher, he laughed and decided to have some fun with him. He offered Brother Woodruff a meal if he would preach to his friends.
A large audience of the rich and fashionable people of Memphis gathered and were quite amused by this mud-stained missionary.
None would sing or pray, so Brother Woodruff did both. He knelt before them and begged the Lord to give him His Spirit and to show him the hearts ot the people. And the Spirit came! Brother Woodruff preached with great power. He was able to reveal the secret deeds of those who came to ridicule him.
When he was finished, no one laughed at this humble holder of the Aaronic Priesthood. Thereafter he was treated with kindness (see Leaves From My Journal, pp. 16–18).
He was under the guiding, protecting power of his Aaronic Priesthood. The same power can be with you as well.