I love spring! I snapped this pic today on my hike. We’ve got a bigger crew here this week with my mother-in-law, college-attending son and his girlfriend visiting for spring break. Some of us went on a hike today and it was gorgeous!

I shared this story with my kids this morning after our scripture study and family prayer. I love it so much I’m sharing it with you now. It is a true story of the gift of tongues given to a young Latter-day Saint missionary in American Samoa. It comes from the September 2008 issue of the Ensign.

In this story, the young elder was asked to conduct a sacrament meeting in American Samoa when he hardly knew the language. He was humble and prayerful. Here is what happened:

When Sunday came, my companion and I blessed the sacrament in English and passed it. I then stood and looked at the congregation. I knew what I wanted to communicate. I tried to open with traditional, polite greetings in Samoan, but the words didn’t come out right. I stopped and closed my eyes, feeling I’d have to speak in English. As I began speaking again, I had a sensation that my mouth was several inches in front of me, speaking in Samoan. The animated expressions on the faces in the congregation showed they understood my words.

Amazing! But then the elder got cocky and the gift disappeared. You can read the whole story here, after the heading “Speaking Words I Didn’t Understand.”

This is an example of the stories I refer to in my upcoming ebook, The Celestial Guide to Family Devotionals. I love sharing these stories everyday with my family, it helps bring the Spirit in and turns on the brightness of perfect hope in Jesus Christ. I know the gift of tongues is a true gift from Jesus Christ, bestowed on his humble followers when needed to fulfill his purposes. As our Seventh Article of Faith  says, “We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healings, interpretations of tongues, and so forth.”