Houses of Light—

Bryan Currie of Portland, Maine

By Melvin Leavitt

Children all over the world pray, sing Primary songs, and learn about the gospel—just like you! This month let’s meet …

Each night along the rugged, storm-lashed coast of Maine, lighthouses reach out into the darkness with beacons of light. Right now Bryan Currie (9) and his family are paying a daytime visit to the Portland Head Lighthouse on Cape Elizabeth. They like to sit on a bench here and watch the breakers crash and foam white against dark rocks.

Bryan knows very well that lighthouses can be symbols of higher things. “A lighthouse helps people in boats or ships find their way through the fog, and the gospel helps us get safely back to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ,” he explains.

What Bryan’s Like

“Bryan is a real people person,” Sister Currie says. “He can just meet somebody and start talking to them or playing with them. He gets along with people.”

“Bryan knows a lot about the gospel,” Brother Currie adds. “When the missionaries come by they sometimes ask him questions. He just snaps the answers right off.”

Sister Power

Bryan’s sisters, Rachel (5) and Alicia (7), are fun, kind, and compassionate. “When I’m not feeling well, they both take care of me,” Sister Currie says.

Friends and Gerbils

Bryan’s taste for geography is obvious when he mentions some of his many friends. As he names them, he makes clear exactly where they live in relation to the Currie home. He can explain not only how to find his old friends, but how to make new ones: “Making a new friend doesn’t take just a few days,” he cautions. “It takes more than a week.”

The Curries once had three gerbils—Speedy, Chucky, and Harry. Only Harry still survives. Technically, he is Alicia’s pet, but since the cage is in Bryan’s room, he gets to enjoy the chewing-and-digging show.

Conversion

Bryan’s mom joined the Church when he was five years old. Several years later, Brother Currie also became a member. Bryan waited until he was nine years old to be baptized so his dad could perform the ordinance.

“It feels good to all be in church together,” Bryan says.

Prayer

“When I’m sad, I pray,” Bryan states. “Then I feel a lot happier because for some reason I always remember something happy—like going on a vacation with my family. I think maybe Heavenly Father reminds me of all the fun stuff I’ve done so it can push the sad stuff out of my head.”

The whole family prays when a big storm blows in off the Atlantic Ocean. “It’s scary,” Bryan explains. “We’re afraid the big tree in our front yard will fall down on our house. A tree did fall on our house once.”

Favorite Family Home Evening

Bryan’s favorite family home evening lesson was one his mom gave on repentance. She hid paper footprints around the house. Each footprint had a step of repentance written on it. The children first had to find the hidden steps. “I found some and let Rachel find some,” Bryan recalls. Then the family talked about each one and put them in order on the floor. Then each person walked on the footprints, naming the steps of repentance as he or she went.

Bryan’s BIG Goal

“I want to be a missionary. I’ve been reading the scriptures to prepare.”

A Shining Light

Bryan knows that all Latter-day Saints have been called to be a light to the world and that his home is a “lighthouse” for neighbors and friends. His family is looking forward to going to yet another house of light—the holy temple—where they will be sealed for time and eternity. They want all the light they can get.

Photographs by the author