Scavenger Hunt

By Jennifer Jensen

I bring you good tidings of great joy (Luke 2:10).

“We’re going to have a scavenger hunt,” Mom announced at family home evening.

Ten-year-old Amy grinned.

“Cool!” said Nathan and Carl, Amy’s older brothers.

Mom continued. “You’ll be able to find most of the things on the list tonight, but some may take all week.” She passed a list to each person.

“Get as many as you can,” Mom said. “Heavenly Father will help you, if you ask.”

Amy scanned the page:

SCAVENGER HUNT—THINGS TO FIND

A picture of Jesus Christ
A story of a missionary experience
A true pioneer story
The name of an ancestor with the same first or middle name as yours

“OK,” Mom said, before Amy could finish reading the list, “be back here in an hour for closing prayer, and then try to complete the list during the week. We’ll have prizes and share our experiences next week.”

While Nathan and Carl whispered together, Amy read the rest of the list:

A story about President Hinckley when he was a boy
A scripture about faith
A picture of a temple in another country
Someone to give a Book of Mormon to

Amy groaned. The first seven wouldn’t be too hard. But how would she ever find someone to give a Book of Mormon to?

“The first one’s easy,” Amy muttered to herself. She took a deep breath, then pulled a small picture of Jesus Christ out of her scripture carrier. One down.

Her class had read Alma 32:21 in Primary last week. It was a good scripture on faith, so Amy put a bookmark there in her Book of Mormon and placed her scriptures by the picture of Jesus.

For once Amy was glad that her middle name was Evelyn. She already knew that it was her great-grandmother’s name, too!

Next, she went downstairs and found old copies of the Friend. As she thumbed through them, she found a picture of the Tokyo Temple. Another issue had a story about President Hinckley growing up, and several magazines had true pioneer stories. By that time, the hour was up. No one had thought of someone to give a Book of Mormon to. In the closing prayer, they asked for help in finding people who were looking for the gospel.

Brother and Sister McKenzie had just come home from their mission in Brazil, so on Tuesday, Amy decided to ask them about their mission. But the last item still stumped her—someone to give a Book of Mormon to.

Amy thought and prayed about it all week long. Whom could she give a Book of Mormon to? And what could she say? “We’re having a scavenger hunt—would you like a Book of Mormon?” They’d laugh at her.

She didn’t feel like being laughed at, and besides, she didn’t think giving someone a Book of Mormon should be a joke. It was a special book. She loved it, and she loved Jesus Christ too much to … That was it! It was a book for people who loved Jesus! Amy knew just the person.

She knelt and prayed quietly for Heavenly Father’s help. Courage, came a whisper in her mind. A calm feeling warmed her, and she rode her bike to her friend Sarah’s house.

But the calm feeling vanished when she got to the door. With sweaty palms and a butterfly storm in her stomach, she prayed silently, then rang the doorbell.

“Hi, Amy,” Mrs. Morgan said, opening the door. “Sarah’s at her grandmother’s this week.”

“I know,” Amy said. “I came to talk to you.” She paused, took a deep breath, then plunged in. “Mrs. Morgan, you love Jesus Christ a lot, don’t you?”

“Oh, very much,” Mrs. Morgan said, her face softening.

“Would you … would you like another book about Him?” Amy held out a blue Book of Mormon.

“The Book of Mormon,” Mrs. Morgan read. “Another Testament of Jesus Christ.”

“It tells some really neat things about Jesus,” Amy said. “About His visit to the Nephites in America and what He taught them. And it has one of my favorite scriptures—’When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.’”*

Mrs. Morgan studied Amy’s face for a moment, then looked back at the book. “Another Testament of Jesus Christ,” she repeated in a whisper. “Yes, Amy, I would like to read this. Thank you.”

Amy grinned, and the warm feeling bubbled over inside her. “I like all of it, but Third Nephi is where it tells about the Savior’s visit to the Americas. I especially like where He blesses the children. That’s Mom’s favorite part, too.”

Mrs. Morgan started turning pages, and Amy helped her find Third Nephi.

Mrs. Morgan settled herself on the front step and began reading. Amy waited for a moment, then smiled and left. Mrs. Morgan was too caught up in her reading to say good-bye. And as the bubbly feeling carried Amy home, she knew she had already won the real prize of the scavenger hunt, and she hoped everyone else in her family would win it, too.

Photos by Matt Reier and courtesy of Visual Resource Library; electronic composition by Charles M. Baird