News of the Church
“News of the Church,” Ensign, Aug 1991, 74–80
Elder Stephen D. Nadauld
Of the Seventy
“Elder Stephen D. Nadauld Of the Seventy,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 74
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He was in the middle of rewarding career already marked by high achievement in both business and education. But when he was asked to give it up, there was no hesitation. Elder Stephen D. Nadauld said yes.
His attitude toward Church callings is a simple one: when it comes to helping move the Lord’s work forward, he will serve wherever he is needed and do whatever he is asked to do.
He was one of two men called to serve in the Second Quorum of the Seventy, effective June 1. The other was Elder Han In Sang of Seoul, Korea.
Elder Nadauld (pronounced NAY-dauld) came to the new calling determined to use all the knowledge and experience the Lord has given him in carrying out his assignments. And he has had ample opportunities in life to gain both knowledge and experience.
Prior to receiving his new calling, he was serving as vice chairman and chief financial officer of Bonneville Pacific Corporation, an independent developer of major power projects. Before that, he served as president of Weber State College for five years, helping prepare it to become one of Utah’s state universities. He has also served as the president of a large milk-processing company, the head of the master of business administration program at Brigham Young University, a faculty member in the University of Utah College of Business, and an investment banker on Wall Street.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from BYU, an M.B.A. from Harvard, and a doctoral degree in finance from the University of California at Berkeley.
Elder Nadauld smiles as he recalls the time he gave a speech that was preceded by an introduction mentioning many of those accomplishments. After the speech, a woman approached him to say, “I know who you are—you’re Margaret Dyreng’s husband!” The fact “that I’d had the good sense to marry Margaret,” Elder Nadauld says, “was my highest credential in her eyes.” He, too, regards it as one of his greatest achievements.
Stephen D. Nadauld was born on 31 May 1942 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, a son of Sterling Dwain Nadauld and Lois Madsen. (His mother, widowed in 1964, later married Ira N. Corey.) After serving in the French Mission (from 1961 to 1964), Steve met Margaret Dyreng at BYU. She is a daughter of R. Morgan Dyreng and Helen Bailey of Manti, Utah.
The Nadaulds were married on 19 July 1968 in the Manti Temple. They have seven sons: Stephen, 22; Justen, 21; James, 17; Lincoln, 15; Taylor, 13; and twins Adam and Aaron, 10.
Elder Nadauld pays high tribute to his wife’s accomplishments in the home, in the Church, and in the community. In addition to rearing seven sons and helping each learn to play at least one musical instrument, she has always been active in Church service. She has served as a Relief Society president and as a Young Women president (three times). She is vice president of both the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge and American Mothers, Inc. She is also a woman of great faith and testimony, Elder Nadauld says.
Sister Nadauld says her husband is “quick to grab the kernel of an idea or problem and hone in on that.” Her father noted his exemplary kindness before they were married, she says, and her husband’s natural empathy and ability to help others have been augmented by his experiences, particularly as college president.
“What you see is what you get with him. He has no hidden agenda,” Sister Nadauld comments.
His interests are diverse, she says. He likes to read. “He knows a lot about art and music. And he plays sports—still—and watches them.” As a family, the Nadaulds enjoy being involved in a number of outdoor activities.
The Nadaulds understand how greatly they have been blessed. The blessings they list are not material things, but opportunities and experiences, friendships, and good parents who set examples of selfless service for them.
“King Benjamin tells us that we’re always in debt to the Lord,” Elder Nadauld says. “If there is any small way that we can be of service and help repay the blessings that we’ve received, we ought to be willing to do that. And we are.”
Elder Han In Sang
Of the Seventy
“Elder Han In Sang Of the Seventy,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 75
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When Han In Sang was in school, he was required to learn a second language. He chose to learn German, and the first sentence he learned in German class made him laugh. Translated, it meant: “The sky is blue and life is beautiful.”
“I knew that wasn’t true,” he recalls. With his father in hiding from the government, the young Korean teenager—the oldest in his family—was desperately trying to shoulder family responsibilities.
“At the time, I was barefoot, walking on snow, hunting for firewood. I chased fish through frozen creeks so my pregnant mother could have food. Life was terrible, with no hope, no dream, no future.”
His life has certainly changed for the better in the last forty years. And Elder Han (Han is the surname, pronounced Hahn), called in June as a new member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, attributes that change to the gospel.
“I learned about the gospel from a fellow student in high school,” Elder Han relates. “He invited me to go to church with him.”
The first meeting that the future General Authority attended was an MIA activity. “I was impressed. The people were very nice to me and they were talking of family, love, happiness. Again, I laughed at these ideas, but then I became interested.” In 1957, after a year of investigation, seventeen-year-old In Sang (pronounced In Sahng) was baptized. His parents, who were staunch Buddhists, were not pleased with their son’s decision, but they finally gave their approval. Today, all six of Elder Han’s brothers and sisters are members of the Church, as well as his mother, whom he baptized while serving as the first Korean missionary to serve in Korea. Elder Han’s father is deceased.
Elder Han was born in Seoul on 10 December 1939. A graduate of a junior college in Inchon, he has served for the past seven years as regional manager for temporal affairs in the Church’s administrative office in Seoul. He previously managed the Seoul Distribution Center. He has also served as translation supervisor for the Church in Korea, and he translated the Book of Mormon into the Korean language while serving his mission.
After returning from his mission, Elder Han married Lee Kyn In, a young lady he had met several years earlier while he was teaching a Sunday School class. The two are the parents of five children: two daughters, Po Hee and Sun Hee (born while Elder Han was serving as mission president in Pusan); and three sons, Yong Hee, Tae Hee, and Chang Hee.
“I don’t have many monetary assets,” Elder Han points out. “But I feel as if I’m the richest man in the world because we are living in a happy home in a close family. Those are the things that are important.”
Serving in the Church is also important to Elder Han. He was the first Korean native called to serve as a mission president and was also the first to serve as a regional representative.
As the first Korean General Authority, Elder Han has been overwhelmed at the outpouring of love and support he has received from Saints all over the world. “I was scared and shocked when I received this call,” he explains. “But the support from others has been a strength to me as I realize the trust they feel.”
Elder Han looks back on his ordination as an elder in 1960 as an important moment in his life. At the time, “my relationship with my Savior was not what I wanted,” he explains. As he prepared to be ordained by Elder Gordon B. Hinckley, who was then an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve, “I realized that this man who was laying his hands on my head was a man of God,” recalls Elder Han. “Although I couldn’t touch my Savior, I could touch President Hinckley. So at that time I committed to always follow and obey this man’s counsel. By doing that, I knew I could be loyal to my Heavenly Father and the Savior. Now, whenever I have the chance to see President Hinckley, I quietly shout in my heart, ‘I’m all right. My life is in order.’ I want to be able to do that for the rest of my life.
“The gospel has given me a vision about the future, my family, and happiness,” Elder Han continues. “Because of the gospel, I have hope. Now I say yes, the sky is blue—any time, under any conditions. And life is beautiful.”
New Mission in Bulgaria
“New Mission in Bulgaria,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 76
The First Presidency has announced the formation of the Bulgaria Sofia Mission, the fifth to be created in eastern Europe. As of July, when it opened, there were 268 missions in the Church, thirty-seven of which are in Europe.
The five other missions recently created in eastern Europe include the Germany Berlin, Finland Helsinki East, Czechoslovakia Prague, Hungary Budapest, and Poland Warsaw missions.
Bulgaria has a population of nine million people. Fifty are members of the Church.
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Kiril P. Kiriakov, a native of Preslav, Bulgaria, and his wife, Nevenka, have been called to preside over the new mission. President Kiriakov, a retired dentist, is from the Manassas First Ward of the Fairfax Virginia Stake.
Missionaries have been serving in Bulgaria since September 1990, assigned from the Austria Vienna East Mission. Before the Bulgaria mission opened in July, ten elders, four sisters, and two couples were serving there.
“Missionaries are well accepted in Bulgaria,” reports former Austria Vienna East Mission president Elder Dennis B. Neuenschwander, sustained as a member of the Seventy in April general conference. “They are having a tremendous effect there.”
Great political change in that part of Europe has allowed people to be more open in their curiosity about religion, and many Church members are sharing the gospel freely with their friends.
Elder Neuenschwander adds, “The government ministers are happy for an organization that represents honesty, morality, integrity—the kinds of things Bulgarians are searching for.”
Ivory Coast Grants Recognition of the Church
“Ivory Coast Grants Recognition of the Church,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 76
On April 19, Elder Richard P. Lindsay of the Seventy, President of the Africa Area, announced recognition of the Church in the Ivory Coast, which is the center of French West Africa and a leading nation among its African neighbors. Elder Lindsay made the announcement at a special meeting for Church members in the Ivory Coast.
“What has taken place today is important to the future of the Church in the Ivory Coast, but what is more important is the spirit in the hearts of its members,” Elder Lindsay noted. “I promise that you will see a great outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord if you place first in your lives your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.”
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With the official recognition of the Church in the Ivory Coast, Elder Lindsay observed, more missionaries will be able to serve, and they will also be able to proselyte.
“We will see miracles performed if we are faithful,” he promised. “Be faithful, brothers and sisters, and the blessings of the temple will follow.”
The history of the Church in this small country is relatively short. Elder Marvin J. Ashton dedicated the land for the preaching of the gospel in September 1987. At the time there were sixteen members of the Church there. Today there are more than six hundred members in a country with an approximate population of five million people.
During the last four years, five missionary couples have served in the country, with the first missionaries arriving in April 1988. At the time, the Church was one of seventy-seven religious groups awaiting official government recognition.
Much of the Church growth in the nation can be attributed to member referrals. Several of the early Church members were converted in Europe and shared the gospel upon their arrival in the Ivory Coast.
Tabernacle Organist Retires After Twenty-six Years of Service
“Tabernacle Organist Retires After Twenty-six Years of Service,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 77
The First Presidency has announced the retirement of Robert Cundick, organist at the Salt Lake Tabernacle, effective 1 December 1991.
Born in Salt Lake City, Brother Cundick was called as an organist in his ward at the age of twelve. He studied organ under the late Alexander Schreiner, also a Tabernacle organist, and he studied composition under Leroy Robertson. He received his Ph.D. in composition from the University of Utah and taught at both the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.
Brother Cundick performed as a recitalist in the United States and Europe. His oratorio, The Redeemer, based on scriptural text, has been performed in the Tabernacle and elsewhere in the United States.
From 1963 to 1965, Brother Cundick and his family lived in England, where Brother Cundick served as organist at the Hyde Park chapel. It was from there that he was called as Tabernacle organist twenty-six years ago. Upon receiving the offer, he says, “My dream came true.” He had appeared as a guest performer previously and was thrilled with the full-time assignment.
“It’s been a wonderful blessing to be able to serve the Lord doing the thing I love the most—making music,” Brother Cundick comments. As one of three full-time Tabernacle organists, he has been deeply involved in the Church’s music program, including regular organ recitals at Temple Square and accompanying the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
“I’ve just gone from one day to the next having wonderful experiences,” reflects Brother Cundick. Missionary experiences rank high on his list of memorable moments, whether performing one-on-one for heads of state or for small groups of tourists.
Upon his retirement, Brother Cundick and his wife, Charlotte Clark Cundick, will serve as hosts at the BYU Jerusalem Center.
[photo] Robert Cundick at the console of the Tabernacle organ.
Huge Soviet Plane Picks Up Relief Supplies in Salt Lake
“Huge Soviet Plane Picks Up Relief Supplies in Salt Lake,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 77
The plane might be called a Soviet “space” ship. The Antonov-124 is one of the world’s largest airplanes, and it landed in Salt Lake City on May 27 to fill part of its cargo bay with relief supplies and equipment bound for Armenia.
The materials were earmarked to aid victims of the 1988 earthquake that killed more than fifty thousand Armenians.
Elders Boyd K. Packer, David B. Haight, James E. Faust, and Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve toured the plane, along with Elder John K. Carmack of the Seventy, President of the Utah Central Area.
While the Church has been involved in substantial efforts to aid Armenians since the earthquake, the supplies loaded on the Soviet plane during its visit were not donated by the Church but by Utah businesses that were taking part in a relief project headed by Utah industrialist/philanthropist Jon M. Huntsman, who is also president of the Salt Lake Monument Park Stake.
President Huntsman donated some equipment, which the Soviet plane picked up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that will be used in making houses of precast concrete for Armenians left homeless by the quake.
The four-engine Antonov-124, which flew to Utah from Newfoundland, resembles a huge, almost oval tube suspended from long wings that droop toward the ground. It weighs 420 tons when it is fully loaded with its 120 tons of cargo.
Smith Descendants Improve Nauvoo Burial Ground
“Smith Descendants Improve Nauvoo Burial Ground,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 77–78
Descendants of Joseph and Hyrum Smith are joining together to renovate and landscape the Smith family cemetery in Nauvoo where the Prophet and twenty-six other family members are buried.
An 1867 plea by Emma Smith to fix up the burial site, along with visitors’ limited access to the area, provided family members with good reason for tackling the project, which is scheduled for completion this month. Last year, descendants of the Smith family formed the Joseph and Hyrum Smith Family Foundation with the goal of improving the historic cemetery.
The site overlooks the Mississippi River and is next to the log homestead where Joseph and Emma lived before moving to the Mansion House. Buried at the site, in addition to the Prophet, are his parents, Emma, and his brothers Hyrum, Samuel, and Don Carlos.
Approved plans call for new monuments to be placed on the graves of Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum, as well as a patio and lighted brick walkway. A new sprinkler system will be installed, and additional trees and flower beds will be planted.
Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve, a great-great-grandson of Hyrum Smith, is participating in the scheduled August 4 dedication ceremony.
“I am sure there will be personal joy and satisfaction for each one of us in knowing that we helped provide a pleasing resting place from which these great ancestors of ours can rise on the morning of the resurrection,” Elder Ballard said.
Update: Number of Converts Baptized
“Update: Number of Converts Baptized,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 78
In the last five years, 1,349,826 converts were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During this time, convert baptisms rose from 216,210, in 1986, to 330,877, in 1990. These figures do not include children of record baptized during the same five-year period. The latter baptisms have remained fairly stable—between 69,000 and 78,000 a year.
1986: 216,210
1987: 227,284
1988: 256,515
1989: 318,940
1990: 330,877
LDS Mothers Honored
“LDS Mothers Honored,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 78
Wendy Goodrich McKenna, a mother of five and a Primary chorister in the Farmington Nineteenth Ward, Farmington Utah South Stake, has been named the 1991 National Mother of Young Children in the United States. She was selected as the winner at the 56th annual American Mothers, Inc., National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri. Several other Church members represented their states at the national competition, which also included a Mother of the Year division. Representatives were chosen for their commitment as mothers, the application of their faith in their homes, the training of their children to be good citizens, their personal development, and their community service.
Latter-day Saint representatives in the Mother of Young Children category included:
• Delene Heywood of the Lehi Third Ward, Mesa Arizona Lehi Stake.
• Kathy Tulving of the Mission Viejo Second Ward, Mission Viejo California Stake.
• Donna Davis of the Flamingo Heights Ward, Las Vegas Nevada South Stake.
• Yvonne Wheeler of the Hazeldale Ward, Cedar Mill Oregon Stake.
Latter-day Saint representatives in the Mother of the Year category included:
• Christine Rowley of the Mesa Sixth Ward, Mesa Arizona North Stake.
• Kay Ellen Smith of the Peru Ward, Fort Wayne Indiana Stake.
• Noreen Velma Bishop of the Overton Second Ward, Logandale Nevada Stake.
• Dorothy Stoddard of the Ephraim Third Ward, Ephraim Utah Stake.
In addition, several other Latter-day Saint mothers received awards or were elected as national officers of the organization.
Jan Christensen of the Bountiful Fifty-ninth Ward, Bountiful Utah Mueller Park Stake; Frances Burtenshaw of the Logan Twentieth Ward, Logan Utah East Stake; and Elaine Dransfield of the Wellsville Third Ward, Wellsville Utah Stake, all received motherhood recognition awards.
Those elected as national officers included several Latter-day Saints: Sue Hickenlooper of the New Canaan Ward, Yorktown New York Stake, as first vice president; Afton Alder of the West Hills Ward, Beaverton Oregon Stake, as third vice president; and Nadine Matis of the Burch Creek Ward, Ogden Utah Burch Creek Stake, as national education chairman.
Church Assists in Shipping Medical Items to Mexico
“Church Assists in Shipping Medical Items to Mexico,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 78
Hundreds of surplus items of medical and hospital equipment have gone to health care facilities in Mexico through a joint project involving the Church.
The shipment, which went out on June 6, was a cooperative effort. Intermountain Health Care, an organization with facilities in various parts of Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, donated the equipment, which was stored and shipped by the Church. Distribution in Mexico was handled by a private volunteer organization.
The equipment, all in good condition, ranged from beds and medical examination tables to file cabinets and typewriters. It came from IHC facilities throughout Utah, including some formerly owned by the Church.
LDS Scene
“LDS Scene,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 78–79
PROVO, UTAH—Fortress of Faith, KBYU-TV’s documentary about members of the Church in the German Democratic Republic, won a silver award for excellence in moral quality at the InternationalAngel Awards. The production traces the lives of Church members in the German Democratic Republic from World War II to the reunification of Germany and shares their religious faith and their love for their country.
RICHMOND, VA.—Sister Lee Pratt, a member of the Bon Air Ward, Richmond Virginia Stake, has been installed as president of the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond. Sister Pratt, a member of the council since 1985, is the first Church member to be elected to the position.
PROVO, UTAH—Construction of a new science building on the Brigham Young University campus has been approved. The new building, which will house laboratories, offices, classrooms, and several large lecture halls, should be completed in approximately three years.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—George Romney, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was presented the Points of Light Foundation’s first lifetime achievement award by U.S. President George Bush. Brother Romney, who is a member of the Bloomfield Hills First Ward, Bloomfield Hills Michigan Stake, is also a former governor of Michigan and a former presidential candidate. He was recognized for his lifetime of community service.
MOSCOW, SOVIET UNION—Hyun Soo Choi of the Korean Branch in the New York New York Stake, known professionally as Hans Choi, was named the first-prize winner in the male vocal section of the Ninth Tchaikovsky Competition. The three-week competition included seventy singers from twenty different countries. Brother Choi is the first non-Russian and the first Church member to place in the vocal competition.
PROVO, UTAH—Five Brigham Young University performing groups spent several weeks touring different parts of the world recently. The American Folk Dance Ensemble and the Lamanite Generation toured the east and west coasts of Canada, respectively, and BYU’s Synthesis, Chamber Orchestra, and Young Ambassadors toured Europe and the Soviet Union. All the tours were covered extensively by television and radio in each country.
REXBURG, IDAHO—Leon Parson of the Ricks College art faculty has won national honors for his wildlife art, including being named top wildlife artist for 1990 in the Arts for the Parks fourth annual competition. Parson’s Sunrise at Gibbon Meadows will be featured in a five-city national tour and is one of eight paintings to be selected to go on stamps for the National Park Academy of the Arts.
PROVO, UTAH—Brigham Young University has announced tuition costs for the 1991–92 school year. Undergraduate students will pay $1,000 a semester, advance-standing students will pay $1,170, and law school and graduate school of management students will pay $1,890.
Administrative vice president Dee F. Anderson said the new rates reflect an increase in the cost-of-living index.
Comment
“Comment,” Ensign, Aug. 1991, 79–80
The Lord Does Provide
In “Sermon of Sermons” (March 1991), the author tells us that Jesus’ instructions in 3 Nephi 13:25–34 were meant specifically for his Apostles, who had consecrated their lives to preaching the gospel. But I think that passage can apply to other members of the Church as well. [3 Ne. 13:25–34]
I realize that my husband and I need to provide food, clothing, and shelter for our family—but I think it is more than coincidence that sometimes when I discover a clothing need within our family, a knock comes at the door and I find a sister from the ward with a bag of used clothing to offer us. There are times when a major repair on our home is long overdue and a brother shows up to offer his services. Or I run out of bread and a friend tells me where I can get day-old bread free of charge.
I find that these occurrences come when I am living in tune with the Spirit. I am deeply grateful to Heavenly Father for such blessings.
Cindy Thomas
Springs Valley, California
A Boost to My Spirit
With reference to “Living with Chronic Illness” (March 1991), please accept my gratitude for your offering such an influential and all-encompassing piece of literature to the Church membership. Sister Knapp’s perspectives, insights, and manner of dealing with the subject have been a boost to my spirit. I’ve taken her thoughts to heart.
Sister G. Walton
Cardston, Alberta
Preparing People for the Gospel
I appreciated the article “Do I Know My Neighbor?” in the March 1991 Ensign. I’ve just finished my mission in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, and I’ve seen many people who were prepared by other churches to hear the restored gospel. It is still common in Japan for people to know little more about Jesus Christ than his name. But through the efforts of many Christian churches, people are becoming familiar with his life and teachings and his importance to each one of us.
It would be difficult to count the number of people we’ve taught and seen accept the gospel in its fulness who had their first introduction to Christianity in a Baptist or Catholic college, high school, or even kindergarten. I know the Lord uses all these means to help prepare the hearts of his children to accept him and be blessed by him.
Lisa C. Smith
Anaheim, California
The Blessings of Handicaps
I am writing to thank Elder Packer for his moving talk about disabled persons, and particularly for his recognition that the vast majority of such persons will live with their afflictions throughout their lives. Such trials are part of the human condition.
As the parent of a physically disabled child, I am frequently exhorted by well-meaning people to look for a miracle for my daughter. What these people do not realize is that I have already found a miracle in my daughter. And while we look forward to the day when her body will be made perfect, we thank God for every day we have with her, just the way she is.
Through my daughter I have been exposed to many parents of special-needs children. Like Elder Packer, I look at them and see their heroism. And yet my husband and I do not think of ourselves as being particularly heroic. As someone once said, we are just ordinary people reacting in an ordinary way to an extraordinary situation. What we want most from our brothers and sisters is to be treated as ordinary parents.
Just like any other child, our daughter still had to learn to sleep through the night, still has teething pain, and still occasionally throws food off her tray. Yet I can rarely discuss these ordinary aspects of parenting without having the conversation come back to the ways in which my daughter is different. In response, I find myself trying too hard to convince my friends that she is not a burden. Then, on those rare occasions when I do feel burdened, I feel reluctant to let anyone know.
If you want to help, do your best to see children and adults with disabilities as people first, and their parents and families as just that: parents and families. If you are a good friend, and you remain accessible, they will let you know when they need you. Best of all, when you look past their disabilities, you may be surprised to see how many special gifts those with disabilities have to share.
Alysoun J. Reichard
Milldale, Connecticut
Ensign Art
While serving as missionaries in the Canada Montreal Mission, my husband and I are sharing the experience of many missionaries—living in an adequate but austere apartment. It has been a challenge and a choice experience to leave behind years of accumulation and get back to the basics.
We had many paintings on the walls of the home we left behind—and now, thanks to the Ensign, we can enjoy beautiful paintings in our little apartment. While going through old issues of the magazine, I felt I had found a treasure when I saw the pictures of temples, pioneers, Nauvoo, families, and missionaries inside the covers. The colored borders let me frame the pictures to coordinate with our “beg and borrow” furnishings. My husband said our apartment was beginning to look like a typical missionary apartment—with pictures taped to the walls. I took that as a compliment.
Thanks to all who shared their talents to brighten our home away from home and to remind us of our heritage and our temporal and spiritual blessings.
Helen Wahlquist
Canada Montreal Mission
Sensitive Youth Leader
We loved “The Pinewood Paddle Massacre” by Lanie J. McMullin (April 1991). Mrs. Frost displayed so much sensitivity. Our youth need more examples like that!
Sister Harris
Los Angeles, California
Church Beginnings in Haiti and Jamaica
We received our March 1991 Ensign a couple of days ago, and thoroughly enjoyed the articles on Haiti and on May Pen, Jamaica. My husband was the mission president in the Florida Ft. Lauderdale Mission when the May Pen Branch was organized. They met in a small rented building. And now look at the beautiful chapel they have! How we love the Jamaican people.
The article on Haiti mentioned Fritzner Joseph and showed his picture. He was the first missionary to be called from Haiti. He got lost in two airports on his way from Haiti to Salt Lake City when he went to the Missionary Training Center because he had never been on a plane before and did not know any English. He was several hours late arriving because he missed a plane. Then, when he got to the MTC, he became discouraged at trying to learn Spanish from English-speaking teachers. But he had faith and stuck it out. And look at what he has accomplished since then!
Also, the sidebar on page 37 says that the first branch was organized in Haiti in October 1980. Actually, when my husband, Glen, and I went to Haiti for the first time in September 1979, we found people meeting in the home of Fred Templeman. They continued meeting in the Templeman home, and Glen, as mission president, helped organize a branch in March 1980, not in October. After the missionaries arrived in early June, the membership grew so rapidly that they soon had to find a bigger place to meet.
Mrs. Glen Stringham
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Ensign Bond
As my husband and I traveled down a busy Southern California freeway, the driver of a car in the next lane kept honking, smiling, and waving at us. When we showed no sign of recognition, she reached across the seat and held up an Ensign. We laughed and waved. She had seen our BYU bumper sticker and had found a quick way to communicate her bond with us.
Barbara Seager
Corona, California