Alma 41:15 says, "For that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored."

I have named that "The Law of the Boomerang."

Ecclesiastes 11:1 says it this way: "Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days."

Someone popularly changed that to say, "Cast thy bread upon the waters, and it will return to you," and another person added, "buttered."

This is a true principle.

A Boy Scout in my son's troop thought that it would be very funny if they would arrive at the high mountain lake after a difficult hike, and if each of his companions should discover a heavy rock in his pack. His plans were foiled when one boy found the rock before they started, and alerted the rest of the troop.

The boys had a wonderful, several-day campout, and all enjoyed it immensely, except for the boy who hatched the plan to give his companions a heavy rock to carry. When he reached the lake he found a rock in his own pack, and sulked for the rest of the trip.

I have participated in countless service projects for people who were ill or moving or who simply needed help with a big job. In the 1990s I was stricken with a sudden attack of rheumatoid arthritis which robbed me of the ability to walk. The elders of my ward gathered one Saturday, went up into my woods, and made eight cords of firewood for our winter's supply. That project was always a week-long job for me. They accomplished it in just a few hours.

I observed one man in the group who never came to church. "Bill, how come you're here?" I asked.

"It's because you helped with my move, and are always doing things for me. This is my way to repay you." That's the law of the boomerang in action.

Every four years our stake sponsors a handcart trek for the youth to commemorate the trek made by the Willie and Martin handcart companies. Each of the 200-plus youth is assigned the name of an individual who was actually in those companies. He or she assumes that person's identity for the duration of the trek.

Four times it has been my responsibility to make those name assignments. It's a huge job. I pray, then I read the stories in the book Tell My Story, Too. I pray again and again. I look at the list of names of the youth, and I say, "That one." I write the name of a pioneer beside the name of a young woman or young man of the stake. Later I make a copy of the story for each young man or young woman. It's a time-consuming and exhausting job.

I followed that routine with one female name, and then found myself worrying over that particular name all night long. I got up in the morning and reassigned the name to another girl. I wrote a note to the stake Young Women's president about what I'd done, and why. She shared the letter with the girl.

It wasn't until several years later that I heard the rest of the story. I was visiting the singles branch in La Grande. The branch Relief Society president came up to me and asked if I remembered making and changing that assignment. I did, vaguely.

She then explained that it had changed her life. She had not intended to even go on the trek. The name she was given turned out to be her own grandmother of some degree, and the trek had a life-changing effect upon her. "I wouldn't even be active in the Church now if it hadn't been for that trek."

That beautiful girl then hugged me. Talk about buttered bread! That boomerang came back and hit me squarely.