“Katie Finds a Way,” Friend, Mar. 2014, 44–45

“Thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day” ( D&C 59:9 ).

Going to church by herself wasn’t easy, but Katie knew it was the right decision.

Katie sat up in bed and took a deep breath. It was Sunday morning again.

As she picked out the dress she would wear for church, Katie could hear her parents in the kitchen. But she knew they weren’t busy getting ready for church.

“Katie, turn the light off. I’m trying to sleep!” Katie’s sister mumbled, pulling the covers over her head.

“Sorry!” Katie said and quickly snapped the light off. She grabbed a dress from the closet, put it on, and hurried out of the room to let her sister sleep.

Katie could remember when her parents used to take her family to church, but that hadn’t happened in a while. She could tell her house felt different since they had stopped going.

Her mom stood at the counter in a bathrobe, pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Morning, Katie,” she said with a smile. “Is Sister Chang giving you a ride to church?”

“Yup.” Every Saturday night Katie called her Primary teacher and asked for a ride to church. Sister Chang always said yes.

Katie heard her dad’s mug clink as he set it on the table. “Looks like the game’s on at noon,” he mumbled from behind the Sunday paper.

Knock, knock.

Katie looked at the door and grinned. Sister Chang was here.

“See you all later!” Katie said. She rushed to the door and threw it open.

Sister Chang smiled. “Are you ready to go to church, Katie?”

Katie nodded and smiled back. “Yes!” she said. She closed the front door and walked with Sister Chang to the car.

At church Katie took the sacrament and sat reverently while it was passed. She listened to the talks in sacrament meeting. She listened to her Primary lessons and learned about Alma the Younger in the Book of Mormon. Although she didn’t understand everything that was said, she knew that the peaceful feeling she had inside was something she didn’t feel anywhere else.

As she and Sister Chang drove home after Primary, Sister Chang asked if she’d enjoyed church.

Katie nodded. “I always love going.”

“I admire that about you, Katie. Not everyone would go to church if their parents didn’t go. I know it’s not easy for you, but you are making the right decision.”

“I know it’s the right decision,” Katie said, “because I feel happy at church. I love that feeling.”

As Katie walked inside after being dropped off, she saw her family watching TV, talking on the phone, and cleaning the house. She loved them no matter what.

Katie went to her quiet bedroom and sat on her bed. She said a prayer to Heavenly Father asking for the spirit she felt at church to stay with her for the rest of the week. She also asked Heavenly Father to help her family want to live the gospel and go to church so they could feel what she felt. Then she opened her scriptures and began to read.