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Spot on

The Message “Your Heart Will Tell You So” in the May New Era was just spot on. (“Spot on” is Australian for great.) I really needed some help to lift me up and get me going again after a hard week. Like most missionaries, we have our bad times when no one wants to listen to the important and eternal message we carry. I looked to the scriptures and to my latest issue of the New Era, and there was my help. The Message by Elder Jack H. Goaslind, Jr., really gave me a lift and helped me to remember the importance and responsibility of this great calling of a missionary. I know, and bear testimony, of the importance of missionary work and the growth that a mission can bring into every young man’s life. The rewards, blessings, trials, commitments, love, and understanding that result from a mission are priceless.

Elder Jed W. Porter
Australia Perth Mission

Don’t turn us away!

I recently moved into a new apartment. The previous residents must have had a New Era subscription, because I received the September issue in the mail. While having breakfast, I started thumbing through it and came to the article “The Art of Liking People Who Are Not Like You.” This article should have been written long ago. I was a “Tammi.” That was the reason I left the Church. After years of being ridiculed (not by everyone), I found nonmember friends who wanted my friendship. Wasn’t love one of the greatest commandments? Isn’t love what the gospel is based on? I know it’s difficult to accept someone who is different, but please, don’t turn any more of us away!

Karen Pisarz
Salt Lake City, Utah

Extra effort

I appreciate the extra effort that is obviously put into the New Era. It is very important to me. I really enjoyed the December issue. It helped me know our Heavenly Father and his Only Begotten Son better. “A Peruvian Carol” in the December issue was especially nice. I’ve heard stories like it before, but I enjoy each of them.

“A Celestial Missionary” in the August issue was special to me also. I think of it often. It has added a lot of strength to my spiritual growth. The New Era has enriched my life many times. Thanks for a super magazine!

Joy Burdick
Glenwood, Utah

I can and will

The article on Elder Michael C. Tolman in the August New Era was one of the most powerful and inspiring missionary stories I’ve ever read. After reading it, I cried, which I do very rarely. I also took a look at my mission and realized that I can (and will) do better. Elder Tolman must have been a tremendous individual. I thank him and his parents for his help in my life.

Elder Dave McCombs
South Africa Johannesburg Mission

Think about it

This summer I discovered what a super magazine the New Era really is, but I have one complaint. I am really involved in music, both in church and school, and would like to see more songs published in the New Era. I feel we get just as much, and sometimes more, from music as from a good article. Think about it.

Laurel Bills
Carmen, Idaho

I’ve been on both sides

Except for the scriptures, I have never in my life read anything that has meant more to me than the July New Era, especially “Young Women Fireside 1980.” It truly brought tears to my eyes and strengthened my testimony of the gospel.

I am a 17-year-old girl who has been a member of the Church for just over two years. My parents are not members, and my family situation leaves a lot to be desired. During the past year I have spent time in the hospital because I was going to kill myself. I couldn’t handle things on my own anymore. With the help of the Church, I have been placed in a foster home and am doing great. I’ve come a long way in the past 4 1/2 months but still have a longer way to go. It really feels great to know that the Church is behind me 100 percent and that my brothers and sisters will always be there when I need them. When the Young Women fireside was broadcast, I was still very confused and didn’t go to it. I really wasn’t ready to hear it then. I’ve found that Heavenly Father only lets things occur when he knows we’re ready to handle them.

As I later read the talks in the New Era I felt as if every single speaker was talking to me personally, and I felt so full of the Spirit that I cried, as I am crying now. The youth of the Church don’t know how lucky they are to have the gospel in their lives and to have parents who love them very much. I’ve been on both sides of the street, and I know what it’s like. I know the Church is true with all that I am, and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for bringing it into my life.

Name Withheld

Cover story

I have just been looking at the cover of the November issue of the New Era, and I love it. In fact, I love the creativity of the covers of all the Church magazines. And if the cover makes you smile, look at the inside!

Martha Patton
Oxford, Ohio

The November cover was accepted by the prestigious Society of Illustrators 23rd annual exhibition in New York City and will appear in the Illustrators 23rd annual book. Editor

Hurrah for history

We were delighted, pleased, and excited by the August 1980 issue of the New Era. The two sections on Latter-day Saint pioneers, “150 Years Later” and “People and Places in Pioneer History,” were imaginatively done, informative, and fascinating to read. Congratulations and thanks.

Leonard J. Arrington
Director, Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History, Brigham Young University

The grinning pumpkin

Many thanks to the New Era for inspiring an exciting and successful event sponsored by our Mutual youth. “Pin the Grin on the Pumpkin,” an article in your October 1979 issue, recounted the happy experiences enjoyed by the young men and young women of another ward who traditionally put on a Halloween party for their neighborhood children. This idea spurred our youth into action, and the result was a memorable evening for 150 children, including nonmembers, whose parents toured our Church building during the celebration. Two spook alleys, a cupcake walk, an obstacle course, a ring-the-sucker booth, etc., were all enthusiastically run by our young people, who reaped their own benefits in providing entertainment for the children. Back issues of the New Era are excellent sources of activity ideas.

Gail S. Jewell
Fullerton, California

Editor’s Note

In the article “A Winning Team” on page 32 in the December issue of the magazine, several photo credits were left off. The still lifes on pages 32–35 were shot by Eldon Linschoten as indicated. The photos on page 33 were by Shannon P. Flynn, the one on page 34 by Janice Ault, and those on page 35 by Jed Clark.