LDS Church News: Boy Scout hero follows the Spirit

Gabe Campbell of the Springville Utah Spring Creek Stake very much looks the part of a typical 12-year-old. He plays electric guitar, attends seventh grade and frequently flashes his bright white smile beneath a head full of dark brown curls.

But Larry and Shirley Bell, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Eureka, Utah, know that Gabe is no run-of-the-mill adolescent, because earlier this year Gabe helped save their lives by following the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

On the afternoon of July 3, the Bells were boating in Utah Lake near Provo. Around 5 p.m., their boat capsized. Enduring one- to three-foot waves, Larry Bell, 61, clung to the boat's hull after discovering his life jacket was rotten and useless. Not knowing how to swim, Shirley Bell, 60, lay back in her life vest and steadily floated away from her husband.

At 6:30 p.m., Gabe and his grandfather, Brian Campbell, entered Utah Lake on jet skis. Because of windy conditions and choppy waves, Campbell suggested to his grandson that they first warm up by riding around in the harbor before heading out into the middle of the lake. But Gabe felt a strong impression that they should immediately head out toward Bird Island, two miles from the harbor and near where the Bells' boat had gone down.

\"I felt really, really strong about it, that we should go out there,\" Gabe said. \"It really hit me like a ton of bricks. . . . I felt that we needed to head out there immediately.\"

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This story is provided by the LDS Church News, an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is produced weekly by the Deseret News.