Mirthright

In bearing his testimony in fast and testimony meeting, one of our members mentioned the counsel given by President Spencer W. Kimball to clean up our yards, fix our barns, and rehang the gates. He went on to say that Brigham Young had given the same counsel to the Saints in his time. And then he concluded: “The Lord also gave us this same counsel when he said ‘strait is the gate.’”

Karl Waterman
El Cajon, California

It always hurts to see choice members leaving our small ward. At a sacrament meeting recently, the bishop had asked a couple to speak who were soon moving to northern California. Shortly before the meeting he discovered that another young couple would also be moving within the week. They were also asked to share their testimonies before leaving. As the bishop stood to announce the closing hymn, he said, “The closing hymn will be changed from ‘Come, Follow Me’ to ‘God Be with You till We Meet Again.’”

Lynn Thurman
Temple City, California

The speaker at our sacrament meeting was a young man, a member of the Tabernacle Choir on temporary military assignment in our area. As he spoke on his genealogy, he referred to his mother’s side of the family and his father’s side of the family. I had no idea how attentively my nine-year-old son was listening until he snuggled up to me and very earnestly asked, “Mom, am I on your side or Dad’s?”

E. Hamelin
Rohnert Park, California

We deserved to be chastised by our stake leaders at a conference leadership meeting. However, we didn’t realize how slothful we’d become until one of the speakers remarked, “Why hide your light under a bushel when a thimble will do?”

Sherry Ann Miller
Granger, Utah

When my niece was expecting her fourth child, my sister was curious about the name they would choose since the three oldest had been given Book of Mormon names—Nephi, Jared, and Ammon. So she asked six-year-old Nephi. “Well, Grandma,” he said wisely, “if it’s a boy, we’re gonna name it Helaman, and if it’s a girl, we’re gonna name it Shelaman!”

Evelyn J. Barlow
Glendale, California

My six-year-old was sitting next to me in sacrament meeting as our bishop read names to be sustained to ward positions. She listened, then looked at her hands, then at me. She whispered, “This is my right hand, and this is my left hand. Where’s my ‘uplifted’ hand?”

Sandra Allen
American Fork, Utah

Our family of five daughters and no sons has received many teasing remarks from ward members. One day our youngest daughter answered the telephone. The party on the other end of the line asked for “Brother Bellows.” She grinned, “We don’t have any brothers here,” and promptly hung up.

Lynn Bellows
Orem, Utah

A small group of children were walking to Sunday School when a car suddenly stopped alongside them and the gentleman inside offered them a ride. “No thanks. Our daddy told us not to ride with strangers,” they all chimed at once. Then, as the car pulled away, they waved and shouted, “See you, Brother Underwood.”

Oneita B. Sumsion
Springville, Utah