Rachel Aubrey | [email protected]

In a time where we are inundated with disparaging news and information, David Stone offers stories of hope and optimism with his self-published book entitled, “Touched by God’s Miracles.” The book is a collection of actual accounts told to Stone by people near and far, comprising nine chapters, 30 stories in all. What started as a simple conversation with a colleague four years ago has become a work that has been sold in 10 different countries.

 “What I wanted to share is a book that spoke to people of different faiths, countries, and cultures,” Stone said.

The miracle stories come from five continents, more than a dozen countries and include at least 10 different accounts of faith. Culture and faith have been an important facet of Stone’s life. Born and raised in New York City, Stone attended high school in the Bronx and later went on to attend Georgetown University, studying and earning a degree in international relations. He met his wife in New York, who is originally from the Philippines. Stone and his family have lived up and down the East coast in New York, Virginia, and North Carolina. The family came to Utah in the late 1990s and then returned to call Utah home in late 2014.

Stone said he had two objectives in collecting the stories for his book. Because he comes from a religious background and has a set of religious beliefs that help guide his life, his first objective was such that he wanted to let people know that he believes that God loves them. According to Stone, in hearing these miracle stories from people, he left it up to the storyteller to be able to recognize God or a Supreme Being however they saw fit. His second objective was to identify ways that community members, neighbors, family and friends can help one another.

“We go through challenges, each person has their own unique challenges,” Stone said. “Miracles are happening today, and we must help each other as best we can.”

Stone worked with Utah-based book consultant Jacob Hansen to help bring the collected stories into the hands of a global audience. Hansen said that despite working with many authors to get their books ready for publication, he was amazed at Stone’s persistence in the mission of the book.

“Even those without a belief in God will marvel at the bulk of serendipitously unlikely ‘miracle stories’ the book presents,” Hansen said. “Perhaps gain a sense that life is not so cruel as we sometimes believe.”

In an effort to live up to his second objective of the book, Stone has also contributed funds to help local charitable organizations as well as organizations in places where the storytellers have been located. The first of these contributions was to the Utah Food Bank. The second was to an organization called City Harvest in New York.

“We have been living through a pandemic, people have been struggling with work,” Stone said. “We are trying to assist those in need.”

In addition to the hard copy and audio version of the book, Stone and his publishing team are currently working on a Korean language edition that is slated to come out in the spring. Since the publishing of the original set of stories, Stone has added two more stories from people who live in Korea.

The book has come to the attention of many different types of people, of different cultures and belief systems. It has been endorsed by academics, business leaders, former professional athletes, healthcare professionals and more.

“To know that miracles happen today, and that they can happen to you and to me, is a reassuring and powerful source of strength in times of challenge,” Stone said.

To order a copy of the book, visit .www.touchedbygodsmiracles.com/