“Sacrament in the Sahara,” Friend, February 2026, 20–21.

Sacrament in the Sahara

By Elder Christophe G. Giraud-Carrier of the Seventy and his wife, Sister Isabelle Giraud-Carrier

Illustration of a girl kneeling by a table with a glass of water and a plate with small pieces of bread

When Isabelle was a young girl, her dad worked in the French military. Their family moved around a lot. When she was eight, they moved to the Sahara Desert. There were no other Church members nearby, so they got permission to have the sacrament in their home.

Every Sunday, Isabelle and her family gathered in the living room and sang hymns they had memorized. Her dad blessed the bread and water for the sacrament. Then her parents and siblings took turns giving talks.

This showed Isabelle how important it was to live the gospel. Since they lived far away from other Church members, no one would have known if they stopped having church at home on Sunday. But they chose to do the right thing.

Two years later, they moved back to France, where there were more members of the Church. Isabelle was able to be baptized. Seeing her parents live the gospel in the Sahara Desert helped her testimony begin to grow. It gave her faith in God to do the right thing, even when no one was watching.

We promise that no matter where you live in the world, Heavenly Father is aware of you! He loves you and wants to help you become more like Him.

Feeling Small in a Big Desert

The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world! It can be easy to feel small in a big place. But God never forgets us and can always be with us. Can you find the scenes above in the picture?