Bridging the Gap

10 August 2018

Change is one of those complicated English words that can serve as either a noun or verb.  To those who are learning English as a second language, I am sure it makes no sense.   Even in the form of a noun or a verb it can bring much confusion.  

I recall in elementary school having to play “cash register” in front of the whole class.    My palms were sweaty and my mind was muddled with the pressure to not cheat the customer nor cost the company even though it was just paper money.   There were no digital cash register computers subtracting for you nor were there even a hand-held calculator to insure your “customer” was getting the correct change.   It was nerve racking!  Obviously, others felt the same pressure.  Through the next decades the minds of the fixers of the world solved this “change” (noun) problem with digital cash registers.  Change as a verb is not so easily resolved. 

 

CHANGE: (CHanj)  verb   1. Make or become different; to alter, adjust, adapt, amend, modify, 

                                                 revise, or refine.

Change is a two-sided coin but to many, change, is a two-headed monster.   Is it a  friend or is it a foe?  Change always involves choice.  You have to decide.  (Therein lies some of the problems).  

Change can bring fear, uncertainty, confusion, challenges.   In the same breath, change can also bring delight, confidence, wisdom, strength, faith and growth.    Either way, change makes you delve into the unknown.   Some people tip-toe into change and some, like myself, just close their eyes and jump in with both feet!  

Change has been a part of my family’s history for many years.   By now, I think I can consider it to be a friend.    We often look back to family or ancestral experiences in hope that we will glean enough wisdom to move forward in the future.  All that wisdom and experience just sits there until someone bridges the gap between the past and the present and tells the story.   My grandmother, Helene Brooks Green, was that bridge for me.  And now …..

Helene Brooks 1920

THIS IS WHAT I KNOW…

Hearsay and family folklore are a part of every family.   Mine is no different.   We continue to tell and re-tell those stories that fascinate one another.   Most of those stories never get documented.   This would be my attempt to have this particular story in written form. (I think I have written it before but I’m telling it again …. just to make sure!)   What makes it even more fascinating is that this story that began in 1836 never surfaced until 1973.  It was told to me by my grandmother, Helene Brooks Green, and it was told to her by her father, George Warren Brooks.   

George W. Brooks 1956

 By the time I knew him, George was affectionately referred to by all his descendants as “Pa”.   I lived with my grandparents, Helene and Wilbur Green, in the beginnings of my life from the time I was 2 years old until I was 6 years old.   Pa lived in the same household but this was at the close of his life.   Four generations of people lived in that household with Pa and I as the bookends.   Gratefully, our lives overlapped even though it was for a very short time.   Pa died when I was 4 years old, but I still have some vivid memories of him.   Still I was far too young to ask the important questions and then sit and listen to the answers!

George was born and raised in Brushy Creek, Iowa the sixth of eight children to Henry and Phoebe (Corless) Brooks.  He was the third generation of the family to be faithfully devout to the Re-organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in his youth.    Most of his siblings and both his parents ended their days in Lamoni, Iowa, the headquarters for the Re-organized Church. 

This story begins in 1836 in Malahide, Elgin Co., Ontario, Canada with George’s grandmother, Nancy Brooks Corless.   Nancy and her sister, Phoebe, had listened to the newly arrived missionaries and converted to their church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.   Nancy and Phoebe had done everything together.  The two Brooks sisters had even married the two Corless brothers, Hiram and Philander.  The two girls had convinced their husbands that they needed to leave Canada in order to live in “Zion” in Jackson Co., Missouri.   Hiram and Philander never joined The Church but they loved their wives so much that they would be willing to leave their well-established home and farms in Ontario in order to help Nancy and Phoebe find their “Zion”.
 

The next year they each loaded up a wagon and their families and off they went toward Zion.   They had 10 children between the two families with Nancy having a babe-in-arms.   After several months they wintered in Quincy, Branch Co., Michigan.    While in Michigan they had heard of the mobs and persecution of the Latter-day Saints in Missouri.  The two families discussed their situation and decided to stay in Branch County.   Nancy and Phoebe remained as faithful as they could with no other church members around.   A few years later after the Prophet Joseph Smith had died several of the dissidents of The Church came to Quincy.   Nancy and Phoebe saw no harm in joining with them since they still believed in the Book of Mormon.   They became members of the Re-organized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (RLDS).  

By 1844, Missouri’s Zion would have to wait for not only Nancy and Phoebe but the entire church.   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had moved from Missouri into Nauvoo, Illinois in 1840.  After the death of the prophet, Joseph Smith, they were soon forced out of their homes again.   By then the Corlesses had lived in Michigan for seven years.   Their farms were well established and profitable.  Nancy and Hiram had three more children in Michigan which now totaled seven children in the family.  Life in Michigan was safe and the Church was similar!  I am sure it seemed like the smart choice to make.  Change had met its match and they were staying in Michigan.

 Many of Nancy and Hiram’s descendants stayed in the RLDS Church and in Branch County, Michigan.   But for many others a migration toward Lamoni, Iowa seemed natural since that was the headquarters for the RLDS Church.   Nancy’s grandson, my great-grandfather, George Warren Brooks

George W. Brooks and Jennie June Taylor (wedding day)

raised his family in and around Independence, Missouri that very “Zion” that Nancy and Phoebe sought after in the beginning. 

Ironically, this is where religious change for Nancy and Phoebe was intended to end but now Independence, Missouri was going to be a new religious beginning for many of their descendants in years to come.

George by profession was a sheep broker.   He would buy and sell herds of sheep, market and distribute them throughout the country.   This seemed to keep him on the road a lot.   

 His wife, Jennie, and their oldest daughter, Helene, seemed to manage the household responsibilities quite well.   Helene seemed to take on the role of “assistant mother” to her four younger sisters with no hesitations. 

Helene (at the top), (clockwise) Thelma, Nelle, Peg, Dorothy

 Sundays were no different.   Jennie and Helene would dress the girls and march off to church together while Pa was out of town.  They attended the RLDS Church until one day everything fell apart! 

Jennie had taken the girls to church.   While there she heard some man say some chauvinistic remark that just did not sit right with her.   I am sure that this was not the first one that she had heard but for some reason this one comment just stuck in her craw and she just couldn’t swallow it down!   Immediate change was in order!   She stood, picked up her belongings and marched she and her little girls out the door and across the street to the Episcopal Church and there they stayed for the next four generations!   Helene chuckled as she recalled this day witnessing her mother’s fury and determination. 

Jennie June (Taylor) Brooks

Hearing this story for the first time in 1973 I was amazed.   I had never heard of any affiliation with The Latter-day Saints or the RLDS church.   I guess she felt I needed to know it because I had recently joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.   

I asked, “What did Pa think about leaving the church that his mother and grandmother were so devoted to?” 

Then Helene out of thin air told this matter-of-fact story.   She began, “You know Pa was very good friends with Joseph Smith III, the son of the founder of the Mormons.   I remember him coming to our home often.   He lived nearby.   I remember seeing him.   He was very tall and thin.  He had a long white beard and he often dressed in a white linen suit.   I remember thinking to myself in my young mind…. If I was ever going to see God, this is what He would look like.”  

Joseph Smith, III

Grandmother then relayed the most remarkable story to me, she explained, “Pa once told me a conversation between he and Mr. Smith.   Mr. Smith told Pa that he knew he did not have the same power that his father had.   He knew he did not have the same gifts.   He knew that he could not do the same things that his father, Joseph Smith, Jr., could do but he, Joseph Smith III, did what he did (meaning leading the RLDS Church) because of his great love and respect of his mother.”  

She continued, “I think this story brought indifference to Pa about the RLDS Church and when his friend, Mr. Smith, died Pa felt no obligation to stay and certainly would support Jennie in her decision.” 

So, I grew up in the Episcopal Church. We changed to the Methodist Church because there was no Episcopal Church in the little community that we had moved to.  And now here I am back to where Nancy and Phoebe started in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and on top of that I live in Canada!  I wonder what they think of that?

THIS IS WHAT I HAVE LEARNED……

I am the bridge or link between the generations before me and the generations following me.   I need to tell the stories.   I am the only one that can connect my grandchildren to my parents, grandparents, and even my great-grandparents.   I am the common denominator.   I connect the generations on either side of me.   I need to talk about the changes and choices that they had to make and the changes and choices that I have had to make.  With those stories, comes all the growth, faith, and strength that has made us the citizens, Saints, and family members we are today.  
  

Tell your stories that bridge the gap!

I'll See You On The Other Side

7 July 2018

I find that I reflect back on Cambodia a lot.  Even now as I sit in the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City in the Headquarters Mission .... learning more every day I find myself engaged in mission comparison thoughts!   We sit here in Salt Lake City at the feet of the Apostles and are taught almost each week by a General Authority.   We have had the privilege of listening to these brethren in many broadcast around the world and here in and around Temple Square.  I try not to begin sentences any more with "In Cambodia....."   but sometimes I just can't help it.   Cambodia was such a magnificent learning ground for me.  Cambodia gave me perspective.  Cambodia has given me a broader view of the gospel and a more simplistic vision of what makes one happy in this life.    It is interesting that 22 months of my 64 years of life seems to  have taught me the most but ..... would I have learned all that I needed to learn without the other 62 years?  Probably not! 

We made many cherished friendships with other senior couples and with the young missionaries too.  It was so hard to take people to the airport and have to say our "good-byes".   No matter how hard it was to be brave and try not to cry, the tears always seemed to leak out!   It got a little bit easier when we learned to say to one another, "I'll see you on the other side!" Meaning this REALLY isn't "good-bye" but instead, I'll see you in the next place in North America.  It was easier knowing that we would see one another state side.  

I have recently been thinking a lot of the Plan of Salvation.  It made me wonder if when we departed from our loved ones in the Spirit World did we leave one another with tears in our eyes saying "I'll see you on the other side"?  

1972 was the first time that I had ever heard of the Plan of Salvation I was 18 yrs old.  With great confidence the Elders displayed their flannel shapes and outlines with picturesque perfectness!  

As I heard that great plan being taught, everything came together in my head.  It brought reason.   It brought clarity.  Especially clarity of the divine!

As a very young girl (maybe 5 yrs old)  I attended the Episcopal Church with my Grandparents.   After the main church service was over,  there would be a designated person who got to carry this tall staff with an ornate cross on the top and usher the congregation into the hall where Sunday School would then commence.   We all dutifully followed him or her.    I WANTED TO CARRY THAT STAFF in the worst way!    I wanted to be the one to lead my family and everyone else into that next room!  I also wanted to do it more like a “bunny hop” to prove that I had total control of the crowd!   I did get to carry it once but I think someone was helping (or controlling me) and I didn’t know it!  This is really my first church experience that I remember.

Once my father completed Dental School I then returned to live with my parents in a new town where he had set up a new practice.  There was no Episcopal Church but there was a Methodist Church which was considered to be very similar!  Every Sunday at some point in the service we would all stand up as a congregation and repeat The Apostle’s Creed.   It begins, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.  And in His Son Jesus Christ, his only begotten son….”  Then it went on to mention Mary, his mother…. Pontius Pilot….  And in 3 days after his death he arose so that he could "sit at the right hand of God the Father".

I had no idea that little paragraph was preparing me to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ in its simplicity and fullness through the Plan of Salvation.  What I was professing to believe each week was that God lives and His son was Jesus Christ. (and I never understood if they were 1 or 2 beings… but I just couldn’t wrap my head around them being only 1 person!)   I felt like that life with God after death was only for Jesus... after all, there was only one chair and it was not designated me.   I thought that this is what church is all about…. Meaningfully reciting this Creed.      There seemed to be something missing but I was too young and too immature to recognize it. 

Many years later when I read Joseph Smith- History and had read that he had been attending the Methodist Church, I understood a lot more in v.19 when Joseph’s life-altering question was answered:  

"I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”  JSH 1:19

Also on a Sundays, communion was served, mostly for the adults.  This is similar to our Sacrament…. Instead its with a wafer that dissolves in your mouth like cotton candy and grape juice.   (I gotta say…. I felt a little cheated when I found out that the Episcopalians had REAL wine!) 

I asked my mother, “when can I do that?”   All I got from her was … “when you’re old enough to understand”…  It was hard to pin her down on that information.   Finally, when I was about 12 yrs old, she conceded that I was old enough!  I asked if she could teach me what I needed to know.  She said NO only the Pastor could do that through Confirmation Classes!   I thought “Oh no! Is there a test with that class?   What kind of percentage do I have to have to pass?”    I knew that whatever number they gave I had to have at least 10-15% points higher to pass in my mother’s eyes! 

In one of the classes I thought I had doomed myself.  I asked, what I thought was a simple question,  (could have been some attitude in there, I was only 12 yrs. old!),  “we see drawings of Jesus all the time, why don’t we see pictures of God?”   You would think that this would be an opportune time for a pastor to teach is little flock some doctrine…. Instead, Reverend Bascom came unglued, he thought I was questioning if there was a God at all and he proceeded to rip a strip off of me in front of the whole class that I can still feel today.  I remember thinking, “Sarah, what have you done?  You are going to fail the class and go to hell all in one question!”   At that moment I was not sure what was going to be worse…. At the ripe age of 12 having already doomed myself to an eternal pit of fire and brimstone or having to tell my mother that I just might not pass this class!!!  Well, I did pass the class but if the truth be known, I think that Reverend Bascom was also afraid of my mother!   But having spent all those weeks in that class, I could not tell you one piece of doctrine.  

Once I heard the doctrines of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and His Plan of Salvation EVERYTHING changed.  

To know that we all began in a Pre-existence with our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and many other family members and friends was liberating.  To know that we stood for truth then and could continue to do so now was strengthening.   We all defended the Savior.  We all understood the plan. That we all came to this earth knowing that it wouldn’t be easy yet we still chose to come to the earth.   And what I have learned through the years is that NOW is NOT the time to abandon the plan due to being alone or family members letting go of that iron rod or illnesses or a lifetime of trials and tribulations or even a lifetime of too much ease in the path.   We all signed up for the WHOLE PLAN not just the parts we liked.

Having a love for Family History has allowed me to continue just as I did as a little girl to carry that staff one more time and figuratively usher thousands of family members into the "next room”.   In the Headquarters Mission we feel we have a direct connection to the Spirit World with all the work that is done in the Family History Library, the Church History Library, Digitizing and Imaging Departments, the Granite Vaults, and all work leading to the Temples within the Mission boundaries.  All the work done here bridges the past and the present.      

 The "next room" has been upper most on my mind of late with a recent call that came from Sloan.   He had great sadness in his voice as he told me that his best friend, Jared Cramp, had died.   Jared, 34 years old, had struggled with Cystic Fibrosis all his life.   The disease finally won the battle and Jared left this earth. 

Unfortunately, within weeks, Sloan and I have had the same experience.   My dear friend, Julie Kathryn (Wiggill) Leavitt, had fought ovarian cancer for 4 years but on Friday 6 July 2018 her little body just couldn't fight any more.   

She was ushered into the "next room" most likely by her father or sister.   In every sense of the word, Julie was my sister.   I will miss her every day.  Of course, people say nice things like, "she's in a better place", "she's now out of pain", "she's with her family".   I understand that but it has not once put a dent into my pain that I am now left with.   I have this big gaping hole in my heart.  After buckets of tears, I just can't say "Good-bye"....it sounds so final!

I realize that I must rise to Julie's level and think of others.  The Plan of Salvation is one of the greatest gifts to help us learn that fundamental principle of the importance of learning to be Christlike on this earth.   I am excited for Julie.   I'm a so curious as to what she is getting to see and learn. So many things I want to ask, How much was true in all those Life-after-death books she was reading? What was it like to get to hug your dad again?  Actually how much weight did you lose just by stepping through the veil?  How old are you?  Are you 62 or did the veil trim a few years too?  These are real questions.   We talked about them often and many other topics.    Oh, the things she could teach me now.   

So to my dear, sweet friend....... I'll see you on the other side!

Hunters and Fishers

27 June 2018

In 1972 about a week after I was baptized, standing in the hallway of the Church the missionaries quickly added a  little verbal "P.S." to the bottom of my baptismal certificate. 

                     " Oh yeah, you also have to do genealogy... four generations".   

They said it very quickly in hopes that I didn't hear it or that I just didn't know what it was.    In their 20 year old minds this could be the "deal breaker" for any new convert.   

But I did understand it.  I did know what genealogy was.   Therefore,  with equal speed I acknowledged the requirement, 
                       
                             "Oh, OK.   I can do that!  My grandmother has been involved in genealogy for 20 years. I can get it from her. "  

Wide-eyed they replied,    "Really? Great!"  Then they walked away in awe wiping beads of sweat from their foreheads.  

My grandmother, Helene Brooks Green, was an amazing woman.   She was one of those kind of people that never found an obstacle that she couldn't hurdle gracefully.   There was nothing that she couldn't do.   I saw her sew, recover furniture, make drapes, garden, run a farm single-handedly (her husband was a dentist... he had the in-town job. They lived out of town on a farm so that she would be most happy!), ran a tractor to mow the acreage,  at 52 years old raised a second family consisting of 3 grandchildren ages 2,3,and 4 (this was while my father was in dental school and my mother taught school... they lived in Kansas while I lived with my grandparents in Oklahoma), and she would die the wool right on the back of the sheep just to please us children.  There was nothing that Helene couldn't do!  

In 1952 her youngest son, James, asked her, not only a life altering question but a FAMILY altering question.  He asked, "Mother, where did we come from?"   Her reply was loudly recorded in heaven, "I don't know.... but I will find out!"    

At that very moment, Elijah and all the forefathers touched the heart of the child!  The heart of the child, Helene, was instantly turned to the fathers!  I can only imagine that we who were on the other side of the veil leaped for joy and felt that the family's journey had been put back on a corrected course!  LDS Member-Ancestors, Nancy and Phoebe Brooks,  in 1838 decided to not go to Missouri to join the other Saints due to the persecutions and mobs.   They stayed in Michigan with their husbands and children and eventually became members of the Reorganized Church.  I often wonder..... at this point, did "the fathers" in the Spirit World have to come up with a new plan to "turn the hearts of the children" on earth?   As a family, those who had lived on the Earth and those yet to be born,  did we gather together to form that plan?   Did several like Helene confidently stand and commit to doing all the research, finding the names, collecting all the documents? 

And how many of us stood and promised to find the Church and the Temple?  I really don't know the answer to any of these questions.   All I do know is that a plan was in place. 

 I have no doubt that our family (me included) behind that veil began preparing the work.  We only had 20 Earth years before I would find the Church and begin submitting names for those sacred ordinances and promises to be fulfilled.  Helene began that genealogy hobby two years before I was born and it seems that all fell into place. 

When I began to duplicate EVERYTHING that Helene had I realized that hours and hours of work was before me.  I filled out 100's of family group sheets.   There were many experts in Cardston that helped me to organize it all.   I recall discussing my genealogy work with Aunt Durraine Leavitt, one of Cardston's seasoned genealogists.   I proudly explained that I had just about finished submitting all the names that were on my 4-generation pedigree chart.  In her quiet way, she pointed to a name on that chart and asked if that couple had any children.   I assured her that they had a large family.   She then brought me to a huge realization when she asked,
               "Don't you think that this mother would like to be sealed to ALL of her children? And what about those children?  Were they married and did they have children?"    

An overwhelming amazement washed over me responding with a question that really did not need answering, "You mean I have to do ALL of these?"   

Aunt Durraine then issued a sweet reminder that I suppose that I had agreed to long, long ago when she asked,
                                 "Well, that's what you are here for, isn't it?!"  

One of the ancient prophets, Jeremiah taught, "Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks."  Jeremiah 16:16  

Since Aunt Durraine's tutorial I began throwing in my Family History nets into the pool of genealogy libraries.   I would pull up hundreds, if not thousands, of ancestral names poised for receiving sacred ordinances.   The task seemed daunting at times but every year I would continue to be the "fisher" for the family.   After 46 years, I no longer seem to be the "fisher" but instead I have become the "hunter".  I no longer bring in hundreds of names at a time.   Now,  I just pick them off one at a time!    I am not saying that I am finished.  It is just harder to find those I'm looking for and I need to be more patient in my researching.   

Now here I am in Salt Lake City at the foot of the Family History Library.   I love going in there.  I can almost hear my ancestors, "Hunt for me today....Cast in your net.... find me.... please!" 

Living Under the Bubble!

5 May 2018 

We have now lived in Salt Lake City for a month.   It surely is a different world, maybe not in a good way for non-believers but for this transplanted now deeply-rooted LDS girl,  it is spectacularly wonderful and different.  I have heard many say that "we" in the Church live in a bubble.    I used to take offense to that but that is no longer the case because "they" are right.   There is this marvelous and welcomed bubble that hoovers over the Church Headquarters and Temple Square

in downtown Salt Lake City.  

Those that are negatively judging the bubble say it is a place where we are shielded and protected from all realities.   Those outside of the bubble claim we are foolish, naive, and in a state of denial about the world around us.   They have surmised we would not know how to take care of ourselves outside of this protective bubble.  They imply that the bubble makes us ignorant or unaware.    That could be true..... but I have found "The Bubble"  to have the most delightful and redeeming characteristics!  

Living in the Bubble in Salt Lake City is a pretty terrific life!   Everywhere I go I am reminded of the Prophet Joseph Smith....

It reminds me of the debt of gratitude I owe him for the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ on this earth.   We frequent the Joseph Smith Memorial Building weekly.   There's not a time goes by that when I walk past one of these stately monuments that in my heart I don't say, "Thank you for your valor and courage".  

There are some days that I clearly feel the watchful eye of President Brigham Young and many other prophets that have walked the courtyards that we now have the privilege of strolling through.  Their watchful eyes and grandeur are still present.    Every Sunday we meet in the Empire Room in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and I marvel at the workmanship that it took to create such beauty. 

I love living in the Bubble!   Every Sunday morning (since our Sacrament Service begins at 1pm) we have been walking over to the Tabernacle on Temple Square to hear the broadcast of  Music and the Spoken Word live.    We listen to the Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra on Temple Square blend their talents in to a heavenly harmony that is hard to describe.   

I had a choice experience one Sunday morning while at the Tabernacle listening to the choir practice before the performance.   You see all sorts of visitors from all over the world on these mornings.  An Hispanic middle aged woman and her friend were sitting behind us.   I felt a tap on my shoulder.   In her best English (it was pretty good English) she said to me, "You have a most beautiful Church here!"  I replied, "Thank you.  It is magnificent, isn't it?"   Our conversation then began.   She and many others were there that morning from Florida attending a convention of some sort.   They were visiting Temple Square on their last day.   She loved Salt Lake City.   She was leaving bright and early Monday morning.   I asked if she had a Book of Mormon.  She had no idea what that was.   I knew I needed to find a Book of Mormon for her.   One of the concert missionary-ushers told me where I could find a Book of Mormon.   I was on the hunt and was determined to find one for my new found friend.    I didn't even know her name!  I could only find a Book of Mormon in English but there was some extra Spanish Pass-along cards and a Spanish Family Proclamation.   I grabbed it all and ran to get back to my seat before the performance began.   I gave it to her and told her if she would call the number on the Pass-along card that she could get a book in Spanish.   She agreed.   As the performance ended and we said our Good-byes she handed me her Music and the Spoken Word program which had her name, address, and phone number on it.     Her name was Georgina.  The next week I took her name back to Temple Square to give it to the missionaries in hopes that they will follow up on my new found friend Georgina.   I'll never know what happens with Georgina but I hope that while she was in "The Bubble" for that day she felt something different from the world.  

We begin each day/work with a devotional at 7:30am.   How many work places do you know that begins with a spiritual thought and prayer?  (With exception to those of my friends that work in the Temple).    As we walk to the Church Office Building we see thousands of people doing the same thing... dashing about to get to their own assignments.  One sister likened it to the Spirit World where she imagined everyone was scurrying to and fro to do the Lord's work.  Everyone seemingly having the same goal.... to do your part in building the Kingdom of God.    This is exactly what living under the bubble in Salt Lake City is like.  I love the Bubble!  And I love my new friends, Sister MacDonald from Lethbridge (left) and Sister Bushman (center) from Arizona that I "scurry about" with each day on the 28th floor in the Interpretation Dept.

The Bubble does not only exist in Salt Lake City on Temple Square.    It surrounds our Temples, our Chapels, and it should embrace our homes.   I pray that my grandchildren can feel that "bubble protection" in their homes.   I pray that their homes will be a sanctuary from the world.   It is my prayer that those sweet children can feel love from family and friends (from either side of the veil) each day as they cross the Bubble's threshold.   

There is an excitement in the air as President Russell M. Nelson's invitation to live a "higher" standard, a "better life" has brought  new changes into the Church.   Not unlike the ancient followers of Jesus' time, the adults of the Church are asked to live a higher law, a more perfect law of "ministering" just as we were this past month.   This time the youth are included in that invitation.   Old programs, that have served everyone well, are now being improved upon and the standard will be lifted.   I recall when the Young Women's Personal Progress Program was introduced and it was obvious that our Young Women were going to leap forward with this new program.   And here we again..... on the edge of the platform, toed to the line many ready to utter the words, "Mother (Father) may I...take one giant leap forward"!   There will be many that will stay toed to that line waiting to see what happens when we let go of the familiar and protecting hand of Home/Visiting Teaching, YW Personal Progress Program, and the Boy Scouts program.  President Nelson has give us all a hardy, "Yes, you may".    Many will have to go back to the "line" and hold out your hand to help others take that leap.  May we all be prepared to do that.

With all these changes comes a multitude of work for our interpreters.   ALL the changes and new training videos need to be interpreted into new languages so that the gospel is elevated in all countries.   The new Ministering Videos have been interpreted into 50 languages thus far.   All of this was done within a month of the Prophet's announcement.  I think the hustle and bustle of the Church Office Building has also enlarged due to the Lord's urgency of going forward with this higher law.  

All this takes place under The Bubble where there doesn't seem to be so many "bubble bursters"!  I love living under The Bubble!  

What's in my view....

15 April 2018 

I have so much to tell you....    So much greatness has happened! I get to see some pretty amazing sights each day. 

We have completed the MTC training and our first week of Family History Training! 

                                  

I am overwhelmed with the experiences that we are having.   I have to say that I was dreading the MTC a bit because I was not so impressed with the training that was provided the last time.   A lot of role plays that just don't work well for me.   But this time it was so different.   The teaching styles and teaching curriculum was delightful.  

Our sweet little trainer, Sister Ritchie, was an excellent teacher.   You can see the influence of "Teaching the Savior's Way" in every step.   
 

We were placed in a District with some pretty remarkable people consisting of 4 couples:  Elder and Sister Chin from Pennsylvania (Utah SLC Headquarters Mission), Elder and Sister Wilson from St. George, Utah (Arkansas Bentonville Mission: MLS assigned to Springville, Missouri),

Elder and Sister Garrett from Gilbert, Arizona (Washington DC North Mission: MLS missionaries), and ourselves.   We were also assigned an "other couple".   This couple were the Munns from Garland, Utah (Illinois Nauvoo Mission: Teamster and Minion(as she put it!))

We were also assigned an "other couple".   This couple were the Munns from Garland, Utah (Illinois Nauvoo Mission: Teamster and Minion(as she put it!)) This is the couple that we were to get to know the best while at the MTC.  We hung out a lot.  We ate together, we walked to classes together, we went to devotionals together.   We knew that at the end of the training they would be the ones that we would teach and visa versa.  They were a delight to get to know.  It was a simulation of part 1 of our training "Get to know" those you teach.   The assignment has turned into a special friendship and now emails, texts, and FB messenger will fly to and from Nauvoo to see how each other are doing!  

I was anxious to see the new completed additions to the MTC that were only under construction when we were there last.   And of course, they are magnificent! 

Beautiful murals have been included on each floor.  They are stunning and give you a sense of reality of the scriptures.  You know that the events and people you read about in all the scriptures were real, in fact, you feel like you are there in the moment.   It is an astounding testament of truth.

Sunday was breath-taking!   Our branch, which consists of 40% of the mission, 400+ missionaries, meets in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, formally known as the Hotel Utah.   It is majestic.   Construction began on the hotel in 1909. 

With horse drawn wagons, they began digging the foundation.   Under the direction of President Gordon B. Hinckley the building went from aging hotel to a multi-functioning Church edifice with a new name of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building (JSMB).  We began with Relief Society in the Empire Room.

Which was originally a grand dining hall and has now been restored to perfection.  It  now serves as Relief Society and Sunday School classroom where learning the Gospel of Jesus Christ fills the hall.

We walk past the classic lobby

And grand hallways

On our way to the single most beautiful chapel I have ever seen.  

 I was in awe.   I couldn't believe that I was here.   I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude.  I get to do this every Sunday for the next 18 months. 


Our FIRST DAY in the mission, Monday 9 April, was a devotional by President Dallin H. Oaks.   Wow!  We met in the Conference Center Little Theater where all of the missionaries of our mission (just under 1000 missionaries) could gather.   He spoke of the value and significance of the Temple.  He taught how we should make note of the actions that accompany the covenants we make.   He re-emphasized simple things like the importance of taking the Sacrament with your right hand.   The hand that you sustain leaders with and the hand with which you make covenants should also be the hand that you renew covenants each Sunday.   Every meeting that I went into I felt this swoosh of emotion that enveloped me letting me know that the Holy Ghost is here and He will testify.  

Then a short walk back to the JSMB's third floor to begin our Family Search Training.  Along the way I had stunning reminders that it was Spring. 
 

I found my desk and computer for the week.  

A classroom full of new missionaries and new friends.   They all have very interesting stories of faith and commitment to the gospel.  

The most amazing thing of all..... the view from what seems to be in every window.   No matter where you are or what window you are looking out of or the street you are driving on the Temple always seems to be in your view.   I know that this can't possibly be true but it sure seems that way.  It is very clear that the Salt Lake Temple is the pinnacle of not only Temple Square but the entire city.  Some people see it and some don't.  My responsibility is to always keep the Temple in my view! 

 

WOW! What a Beginning!

2 April 2018

 

The  Mission "officially" began 2 April 2018 but the real fun began Friday 30 March 2018.   We arrived in Salt Lake City Wednesdy, 28 March to meet our new co-workers, the Bushmans, and to see our new work place at the Church Office Building (COB).  

We went all the way to the top ..... and then some!   The regular elevators go to the 26th floor where many have been to what is called the observation floor.   There you can see all four corners of downtown Salt Lake City and beyond.  Our new offices are on the 28th floor.  The 27th and 28th floors are where all the interpretations take place. 

 On Friday 30 March we moved into our new apartment which is a 7 minute walk to the COB. 

Outside the trees were budding and the flowers were just beginning to poke their little heads out.   It was a welcome change to snow.  Finally, after 44 years in Canada, I am getting to see green grass, daffodils and tulips in March and April.   

The walk was delightful even if it was at 7am on Conference Saturday.   Everything was beginning to bloom.   But  I had no idea of how the Church was about to burst forth and flower with her new directives. 

 Even though (I now realize) that all the interpreters that I met that morning had already read all the talks, yet no one was saying a thing.   There was no talk or idle chatter of all the new and exciting changes that were about to be revealed.   On Sunday there was no talk about the new temples.   There is a contract that they have signed but more importantly an honor code that they all seem to adhere to in regard to not revealing what they read from the talks that they interpret.  It was most interesting.   I have a deep respect for these people.  

Of course, it is always comforting to see the Temple from almost every view. Because the GeneralAuthorities were in and around the Church Office Building and the Conference Center,  the COB was locked down tighter than a tick!!!  Around the noon hour we couldn't even go downstairs to the ground level cafeteria because  the General Authorities and their families were having their lunch there.  

Even in the very early morning we could only enter the building through the "Roundhouse".   As I entered the Roundhouse I thought I was going to have to say something special like "beam me up" but instead a push of the elevator button seemed to transport me to the correct floor.   The Roundhouse leads you through the parkade and down to the cafeteria, then you go past security and up 2 separate elevators to get to the 27th and 28th floors.  

I learned many things during this conference. 

1. I am going to walk many miles each day.   Sister Bushman had her Fitbit on and she walked 21,000 steps and 10 flights of stairs in one day.  I was by her side most of that time.   
2.  It doesn't really matter what shoes you wear.   On Sunday morning I was finally able to sit down for a breather at one point thinking, "My feet are killing me!"   I looked at my watch only to see that it was only 9:45am.   I had only been there 3 hours and Conference hadn't even started yet!  And I had on some very sensible flats! 
3. The people I am going to work with are magnificent.  They all welcomed me with open arms.   They were pleasant, charming and very humble about their gift of tongues.   
4. We ran into 5 of our former Cambodian/Vietnamese Missionaries who were serving as interpreters:  Sister Macy Jeppson, Sister Ryley Spangler, Elder Todd Tran, Elder Shandon Pendleton, and Elder Sears.  This was such a pleasant surprise.   I love them and are so glad to know that I will see them again in October.  I also bumped into Taylor Jensen, another former missionary, that he and his wife Chloe frequented Phnom Penh during our stay there.  It was good to see him too.  
5. We have connections everywhere!   We crossed paths with a multitude of people either knowing someone with the Leavitt name or Alberta connections.   I met Naji an interpreter for the Farsi language.  Naji, a Persian by birth met and married a Leavitt who was a descendant of Dudley Leavitt (brother to Thomas R. Leavitt).  Once we found the connection Naji called me "cousin" for 2 days!   People would ask, "are you REALLY cousins?"  I woud reply, "Absolutely.  Can't you see the family resemblance?"  
6. I don't think it will matter as much to the Saints on the other side of the world that there is no more Home Teaching or Visiting Teaching, or that a quorum has changed, or that young sisters can now learn along side the Relief Society sister how to minister but they will gratefully recognize and sustain a new prophet and new apostles. Southeast Asians will be elated to see Elder Gerritt Gong sustained since he, just a few years ago, visited and taught Cambodians and all other countries around often as being part of the Presidency of the Area Seventies.  
7. The Lord is in charge!   He is at the helm.   I am sure He touches the interpreters lips and voices (they would be the first to admit that).  The Spirit flooded the building the moment interpretations began at the stroke of 10am.   It was very evident.   I didn't get to see very much of the Conference talks but I surely felt it.  It was very clear that mysteries of the gospel were being unfolded throughout the world at that moment.   It was an honor and privilege to be there at that time and at those conference sessions.  And this was just the beginning.....