“Friends and Best Friends,” Friend, August 2011, 16–17
Friends & Best Friends
It’s nice to be here with you in Primary (Children’s Songbook, 254).
Michael and Logan had been best friends since nursery. They liked to compete. Michael was taller, but Logan was three weeks older. They raced to see who could run the fastest. They jumped on the trampoline to see who could jump the longest. They held their breath underwater in the neighborhood pool. Sometimes Michael won, and sometimes Logan won. Sometimes they would get angry at each other.
“I’m the tallest!” Michael would yell.
“Well, I’m the oldest!” Logan would yell back.
But they always said they were sorry and forgave each other.
When Michael and Logan were in CTR 6 class, their ward boundaries were changed. They had to go to different Primaries.
When Sunday came, Michael didn’t want to go to church. He was upset that his best friend was going to a different ward. When Mom tried to help him put on his white shirt, he ran away. He hid under the kitchen table, behind the couch, and under his bed, but Mom found him every time.
“I don’t want to go to church!” Michael said while Mom helped him put on his shirt and tie. “Logan won’t be there! I bet my class only has girls in it!”
“Michael, you know we always go to church,” Mom said. “We need to learn what Heavenly Father wants us to do so we can be like Jesus Christ. You want to be like Jesus, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Michael muttered. He wanted to choose the right so he could live with Heavenly Father someday. But he knew he wouldn’t be as happy at church without his friend.
Michael sulked during the car ride to church and all through sacrament meeting. He glared at his older sisters, who sat quietly in their seats. When the ward boundaries changed, they got to keep their friends. Michael thought about pinching them so they would be angry too, but he decided he didn’t want to get in trouble.
When Michael walked into his new Primary class, he sighed. It was full of girls. There was not one other boy in his class. The girls giggled and chatted with each other. Michael sat at the end of the row and scowled. He knew he wouldn’t make any friends today.
One of the girls leaned over to him. “Hi, I’m Stephanie,” she said. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Michael,” Michael muttered. He didn’t want to make friends with a girl. He knew no girl could be as good a friend as Logan.
“I’m having a birthday party this week,” Stephanie said. “You should come. It’s going to be a pool party.”
Michael hesitated. He loved swimming. Maybe he could be friends with a girl. “OK,” he said. “If my mom says it’s OK.”
“And I’m going to have a piñata shaped like a dinosaur,” Stephanie said.
“Dinosaurs are my favorite!” Michael was surprised. His sisters didn’t like cool things like dinosaurs. But this girl seemed all right.
Michael and Stephanie talked about dinosaurs until the lesson started.
After church, Michael ran to meet his mom. “Mom! I got invited to a birthday party, and there’s going to be swimming and a dinosaur piñata!”
“I’m glad you made a new friend,” Mom said. “What’s his name?”
“Stephanie,” Michael said. “I told you my class would be full of girls. But she’s all right. Logan is still my best friend, but I think Stephanie will be a good friend too.”
Sometimes ward boundaries change when a ward grows or shrinks.
It’s a good opportunity to make new friends!
Illustration by Elise Black