Friend to Friend

Dolphins to the Rescue!

By Sister Lisa L. Harkness

First Counselor in the Primary General Presidency

From an interview with Christina Crosland

Illustration by Sarah Keele

When I was about 10, we were on vacation in Mexico with another family. My friend and I made a lunch and took some games. Then we pushed ourselves out into the bay in a little rubber yellow raft. We ate lunch in the raft.

We finally looked up and realized we’d drifted a long way from shore. We were passing the edge of the bay. We thought, Oh no, the tide is going out! We knew we had to hurry and get back. We started rowing and rowing.

All of a sudden I saw a fin pop out of the water. Right away I knew it was a shark!

I thought, We need to tell Heavenly Father we’re in danger. So we said a prayer and kept rowing.

Soon two other fins popped up. But their shape was different, and their color was lighter. They were dolphin fins!

The dolphins swam around our boat until we reached shore. They kept the sharks from coming close. Then the dolphins drifted onto the sand, and we were able to get out of our raft. Our families hurried and helped the dolphins back into the water.

To me, the dolphins were Heavenly Father’s answer to my prayer. I’ve never forgotten that. It’s given me the courage to pray, no matter where I am.

Sometimes we wonder if help is coming. We worry if we’ll make it back to shore and home to our family. Heavenly Father knows when there’s danger around us. He knows when sharks are circling. He will always hear our prayers.

Heavenly Father hears us because we are His children. And because we are His children, He loves us. He wants to protect us and bring us safely home.