The Miracle At Adelaide Lake

I believe in miracles. I believe in miracles with my cars. My first car miracle was when I had my 8 children in our van, and I was driving up to the old Warm Springs Resort in Idaho City about an hour from our home in Boise, Idaho. My husband was out of town, but we decided to have a little picnic and go swimming up to the place where I had many happy memories as a child and teenager when I was growing up. When we were about half-way there, our van quit running, and I had to pull over to the side of the road. Coincidentally, we were listening to the radio, and my kids were singing along to the Bon Jovi song, “Livin on a Prayer,” as we were driving with the chorus repeating: 

Whoa, we're half-way there
Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear
Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer

I pulled our van over to the side of the road and tried several times to start it again, but no luck. This was before cell phones, so I couldn’t call for help. Rarely, a car would drive by us, but nobody ever stopped to help us. Then one of our children suggested we pray. We turned off the radio, had a prayer, and I tried to start the car again. It worked! What a relief for me and our 8 kids who were stranded along this old highway! 

We had another prayer—this one for gratitude— and then continued the second half of our trip as we sang the chorus to the song over and over again until we reached our destination, “Whoa, we're half-way there, Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer….”

I have offered many prayers because of my cars. Sometimes it is because of mechanical issues the car is having. Sometimes it’s because I’m almost running out of gas! Often times, my prayers are answered with a remarkable “Yes!” Sometimes they are answered differently with “You’re going to have to deal with this one yourself today.” 

I do always continue to pray in faith because I know God is going to help me one way or another!

During our July 11-12, 2025, outdoor adventure, my husband and I attended a wedding reception in the Big Horn Mountains near Dayton, Wyoming. Following the evening reception, we found a place to camp overnight.  The next day, after cooking our breakfast over the fire and our lunch on the Coleman stove, we went exploring in our old Suburban. We wanted to see if we could find Adelaide Lake, which we had been hearing about for over a year. After stopping to ask several people if we were going the right way, and driving over the worst, extremely bumpy, narrow roads we had ever driven on, we finally arrived at beautiful Adelaide Lake (elevation 9,252 feet). It was stunning!

We parked off the road and walked over to the lake as we began chatting with a friendly couple who were camping by the lake. After visiting and taking pictures for a while, we returned to our car and tried to drive away. The car would not move. The gear shift lever was not working at all. We were now stuck high in the mountains, we had no cell service, and we were in a spot where a tow truck couldn’t reach us. As we considered our predicament and began to panic a little, we decided we needed to pray. 

I knew that sometimes my car prayers have been answered with a “Yes.” 

However, this time it was not. 

The miracle we had prayed for didn’t happen—yet!

We put up the hood of our car, even though we knew the problem wasn’t under the hood, because we hoped that someone would see we had car problems and offer to help! Fortunately, the couple who were camping by the lake came to our rescue. 

The husband, who just happened to be a very experienced car mechanic, slid under our car and identified the problem as a broken linkage. His wife cheerfully told us that he often helps strangers who have car problems, and he loves to help people! They were both so nice!

After getting his tools (which his wife said he always carries with him), he was able to reconnect the linkage, and then after some consideration, he decided to hold it in place with a zip tie! He told us to drive straight home without stopping. 

Our car was working again! This was the miracle we had prayed for thirty minutes earlier!

Before we drove away, we had a prayer of gratitude for this couple who were so willing to help us. I suddenly felt an overpowering feeling of Heavenly Father’s love for us. I gained an additional testimony that God is truly involved in the “details of our lives.” 

I know that Heavenly Father knew what we were going to be doing that day. He knew that our car was going to break down. He also knew that He could provide a stranger who could fix our car for us! 

I don’t believe this was a “coincidence.” I do believe it was divine intervention!

“CONSIDER THE BLESSINGS”

President Thomas S. Monson

Our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and 
will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. 
I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. 
The Lord is in the details of our lives.