Gospel Story Finder

One of the most precious gifts my parents have shared with me during my childhood, was their love for the temple. Their desire to worship in the house of the Lord was constant and never wavering, despite the long distance and high cost of traveling to the closest temple.
In the late ’80s, during the renovation of the Bern Switzerland Temple, our family traveled to Frankfurt, Germany. I still clearly remember the day we arrived at the temple. I was only nine years old and, even though my brother and I had accompanied our parents to the temple many times, this experience was different for me. As we stepped into the reception of the patron housing, I felt a sense of joy and belonging that I had never experienced before. I remember sitting there with a sensation that was new to me, overwhelmed with embracing love. I remember my mother explaining that those feelings were given by the Spirit of the Lord, who was testifying to me that I was in His holy house. Even though I did not fully understand it then, it was clear to me that what I was feeling was a personal gift from the Lord.

As a new member of the Church, I was taught the importance of gathering family records. I began immediately to keep a journal and research my genealogy. I was surprised and pleased that my parents supported my efforts and showed interest in their heritage. I began to ask them questions about their parents and grandparents.
My father was 71 years old at the time, and his memory of dates and ages wasn’t always accurate. But I learned a lot about his childhood and life experiences. When he passed away two years later, I was so grateful that I had asked him about his life! The little bit of information I received from him was so precious because I was able to research his family’s information and prepare their names for temple work.
With the help of other family members, I also searched for family records. My mother seemed pleased to hear about our heritage, and I believe it softened her heart toward me following my baptism.

Let me cite a hypothetical example of a dear sister in any ward, the one who has perfect children who never cause a disturbance in church. She is the one working on her 20th generation in her family history, keeps an immaculate home, has memorized the book of Mark, and makes wool sweaters for the orphaned children in Romania. No disrespect, of course, intended for any of these worthy goals. Now, when you get tempted to throw your hands in the air and give up because of this dear sister, please remember you’re not competing with her any more than I’m competing with the members of the Quorum of the Twelve in winning a 50-yard dash.

Then Danny remembered the day that his best friend, Robert, had moved away. Brother Green was out trimming his bushes. He’d asked Danny, “How’s everything going?” And when Danny had told Brother Green how much he was going to miss Robert, Brother Green had nodded and said, “It’s hard to lose a friend.” And again Danny had felt a little better when he went home.

Michelle Shephard described what happened: “I was pretty excited …” then she paused, “at first.” Enthusiasm was high among the teams for the first couple of weeks. Then school let out for the summer, and the reading started to slip. It seemed like everyone had trouble keeping on schedule.
Eventually, the Beehives took drastic measures to catch up. They had a party at which reading the Book of Mormon was the planned activity. Maria Dastrup said, “It was the strangest party I ever went to. Who would have thought we would have fun just reading the Book of Mormon?”

One young father came to his bishop for financial counseling and told an all-too-frequent story: “Bishop, I have been well trained as an engineer, and I earn a good salary. It seems that all through school I was taught how to make money, but no one taught me how to manage money.”

You have taught us about the connection between happiness and giving of ourselves. The following quote from Elder Dunstan G. Chadambuka, whilst serving as president of the Botswana/Namibia Mission, captures this connection:
“I have had multiple opportunities to visit members and investigators in our mission, along with senior missionary couples. One observation I have made from visiting these homes, and also my experience from being a local and having a deeper understanding of the cultures and ways of living of our people is [this]: their circumstances may appear to be dire in terms of basic temporal possessions, but I have never seen a happier people who are thankful and content with what the Lord has blessed them with. Even in their supposed poverty they are willing to share the little they have.
“I have witnessed (foreign) senior couples especially, break down in tears [out of sympathy for the dire temporal circumstances of some of our members] and I am often left wondering why they feel so much pity for these brave, happy and content people . . . in fact, a person with a million dollars in his pocket could not be happier.”4

Alien Equation This science fiction play has great special effects, modern music, and lots of action and suspense. The plot involves kids pulling together to save the world from a destructive force—just in the nick of time. A good read as well as an exciting play to perform.Annie Maccoby9–12 years

A few days later, we fasted along with our extended family members. For the first time in a while, I felt like fasting in faith made sense. I had faith in the Savior and knew that whatever His will, we could get through it with His help.
We went forward with the treatment, and, amazingly, we soon found out we were pregnant. We were so excited. I felt with my whole heart that God truly is a God of miracles!
A few days later, we learned we were going to lose the baby. All our joy was suddenly replaced with sadness. But because of the experiences I’d had learning about miracles, I felt a sense of peace. I knew that through the Savior’s Atonement we would get through this—I had felt that strongly just a few days before. And the fact that we could get pregnant gave us guidance in the coming months.

In the 1959 April general conference, President David O. McKay taught this principle, as have the prophets since his day, including President Thomas S. Monson. President McKay related in his closing comments that in 1923 in the British Mission, there was a general instruction sent out to the members of the Church. They were told not to spend money on advertising to combat the bad feelings of the people against the Church. President McKay said the decision was: “Throw the responsibility upon every member of the Church that in the coming year of 1923 every member will be a missionary. Every member a missionary! You may bring your mother into the Church, or it may be your father; perhaps your fellow companion in the workshop. Somebody will hear the good message of the truth through you.”

And President McKay continued: “And that is the message today. Every member—a million and a half—a missionary!”2

Duluth Stake Primary
“Primary Temple Day” was an exciting experience for the Primary children of the Duluth Minnesota Stake. They participated in temple-themed activities, games, and songs, then toured the grounds of the St. Paul Temple and even visited with the temple president.

My life was pretty normal until the winter of 2020. I was sick with what we thought was an infection, so I took a round of prescribed antibiotics. Later, I started feeling headachy, tired, and faint. Soon afterward I woke up around 10 p.m. thinking it was morning and started getting ready for school.
When my sister told me it was still nighttime, I ran to my parents’ room in a state of hysteria. My mom felt my head, and I had an extremely high fever. We went to the doctor the next day, who ran a bunch of tests.
That night my parents came into my room, crying. They told me I had leukemia and that we had to go to a hospital to get more answers. I was in the emergency room all night and started my chemotherapy treatment only a few days later.
My treatment will continue for another year or two, but it has gotten a little more manageable. I have been feeling a bit better recently and hope to be able to go to school again soon. It isn’t easy, though. The chemo has many side effects, including a bone condition called avascular necrosis that makes it difficult for me to walk.
In spite of it all—maybe even because of it—I have grown so much closer to my Heavenly Father. Now I have a deeper understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I used to think of His Atonement as something you needed only when you made a mistake. That’s part of it, but relying on the Savior is also something that has helped me feel less alone.
Jesus Christ has taken upon Himself all of our afflictions and sins, which means He knows exactly how to help me as I experience leukemia. Going through any trial can feel very isolating, but through Christ’s Atonement, we can take comfort in knowing that He truly understands what we’re going through.
Ruby H., Utah, USA

I have fond memories as a boy coming to this Tabernacle. I was baptized here. When I became a deacon, my father brought me here to attend general priesthood meeting. We came 15 minutes early and were easily able to get a seat in the balcony.

While serving as a mission president, I presided over the membership council of a brother that resulted in the withdrawal of his Church membership. This man repented of his sins and after a year was authorized to be rebaptized.
After his baptism, I received an email from him that read: “Dear President, yesterday the ordinance of baptism was performed, and I can assure you that I feel like new. A miracle was performed within me. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ became effective in me. Today, I feel free from the oppression of sin. I know that I would not have achieved this alone. My leaders and my wife helped me keep my sights on the goal. Christ is my Savior. The miracle of forgiveness exists.”

They were married on 4 September 1973 in the Salt Lake Temple. Soon he was attending college full time and working full time while he and his wife raised their young family. He also served as an elders quorum president in the Salt Lake University First Stake, where he met Jon Huntsman, who was on the high council. The following year, Brother Rasband began working for the company that eventually became Huntsman Chemical Corporation. During the next 20 years, he had responsibilities for businesses throughout the world, including Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia.
“The Lord has put in my path great men who have been mentors to me,” he says. “They have had a huge influence on my life.”

I recently attended a fireside with many young people from the Chicago area. In talking to them, I told of a young woman who gave a talk several years ago entitled “The Kind of a Woman I Want to Become.” It was excellent and was later published in the Improvement Era. A minister from the East read it and wrote for permission to publish it in pamphlet form. He said, “I want every mother and every mother’s daughter in my parish to read that article.”

When Quinn was younger, his father, Greg, told him that he would support Quinn in pursuing roping—if he did three things: kept his language clean, kept the Word of Wisdom, and stayed morally clean. Quinn also decided that he would keep the Sabbath day holy by not competing on Sundays. Knowing that he made those commitments early on helps Quinn stay on track. He knows where he stands, and for him doing what’s right is a simpler choice.

Before Richard had left for his mission, a university professor had tried to dissuade him from going; he would be ruining a promising career, the man said. A few weeks after returning from Uruguay, Richard was invited to be interviewed by Captain (later Admiral) Hyman G. Rickover for a job on a top-secret military project involving nuclear energy.
The interview didn’t seem to go very well for Richard. In response to one question, he mentioned his mission. “What mission?” Captain Rickover demanded. “And what do I care about your mission?”
Richard reacted to that, because his mission had been such a precious time in his life. “Everything I really appreciate began to mature in the mission field,” he says. “So I decided to respond vigorously to every question.”
Then the captain asked, “What was the last book you read?”
“The Book of Mormon,” he responded.
At the conclusion of the interview, and feeling that he had no chance for the job, Richard got up to leave. “Just a minute,” said the captain. “I’ve been testing you to see if you could stand up for what you believe. This is not going to be an easy project. We need people who can work with confidence.” Richard got the job working on the design of the nuclear reactor for the Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine.
Later, while checking personnel records, he discovered the name of the professor who had urged him not to go on a mission; the man was now working under Richard’s direction, about three administrative levels down.

In 2023, my husband and I moved to Scotland, where we faced many challenges. Yet God never abandoned us. Church members helped us find shelter and, through faith and prayer, we found joy in adversity. I obtained a visa just before stricter rules were enforced, allowing us to stay in Scotland permanently.

Next we met a father whose young son was ill. He placed his son in a wheelchair so he could have his picture taken with us. One of the sisters gave the boy a pair of blue jeans that seemed to have been made just for him. “When I get out, I will put them on immediately,” the little boy told me very excitedly.
“He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none” (Luke 3:11).