One way to enrich a gospel lesson is to use an interesting story. Elder Robert D. Hales shows us how to incorporate a personal experience in teaching important gospel principles:

"In the process of preparing to be a pilot, I was required to have training . . . which simulated real flight. There, an instructor would acquaint us with the emergencies which could occur when flying a jet fighter, sometimes at the speed of sound.

"For each emergency, we were taught the procedures for avoiding disaster. We would practice each procedure over and over, so if a real emergency came along we would have an automatic, preconditioned response. We would know exactly what we were to do if there happened to be a technical failure in the airplane. . . .

"I had a dear friend, an outstanding football player. His team earned the opportunity to play Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. Before 100,000 spectators and a large television audience, his team lost by a huge score. It turned out that he and a few other members of his team had not kept the training rules which their coach had tried to teach them. They paid a dear price. They had to live with the consequences of knowing they were not prepared to play the big game; they had to live with the final, very embarrassing score for the rest of their lives.

"Years passed. Two members of this same football team were in my flight training unit. One was an exemplary, well-disciplined student and a model pilot who had learned his lesson well from the Orange Bowl game.

"However, the other had not learned to listen to those with more knowledge and experience. When his turn would come to go to the . . . trainer to learn emergency procedures and to precondition his mental and physical responses so that they would be automatic, even instantaneous, my friend would put his arm around the airman instructor and say, 'Check me off for three hours of emergency procedure.' Then, instead of training, he would go to the pistol range or to play golf . . . or to bask in the beautiful sunlight at the swimming pool. But he never learned the emergency procedures which he should have mastered in preparatory training.

"When he went to advanced bomber training, the instructor on one occasion said to him, 'What are you going to do when there is an emergency and you are not prepared?' His answer: 'I am never going to bail out; I am never going to have an emergency.'

"On an evening mission a few months later, fire erupted in his plane, and it dropped below 5,000 feet, spinning in flames. Noting the fire warning light, the younger pilot who was with him said, 'Let's get out of here.' And with the centrifugal force pulling against him, the younger man, who had taken his training seriously, struggled to get to the door and bailed out. His parachute opened at once and he slammed to the ground, receiving serious injuries, but he survived.

"On the other hand, my friend, who had not felt the need to train for an emergency, stayed with the airplane and died in the crash. He paid the price for not having learned the lessons that could have saved his life."

—Elder Robert D. Hales, "Return with Honor," Ensign, June 1999, 7–8.

Likening the teachings of modern prophets and apostles to us:

1. What principles did Elder Hales teach using this personal story?

2. How was Elder Hales able to liken the real-life experiences of his friend to members of his audience?

3. In using personal stories, what should gospel teachers do to ensure persons are not embarrassed and privacy is not invaded?