Feedback

I would like to thank you for your efforts to meet the needs of those who are spiritually hungry. I live in Pakistan, where Islam is the major belief, accepted by 97 percent of the population. Pakistan is the world’s largest Islamic state. There are also some Christians who have churches and missions. In 1978 I first learned about Jesus. In 1980 I came to know about the LDS church. It has been a very wonderful experience for me. As there is no stake, ward, or branch in Pakistan, my whole effort to gain knowledge about the Church rests on the Book of Mormon, the Church magazines, and other books and pamphlets. We should feel the needs of those lands and peoples where the message has not been preached. Please do not miss Pakistan in your prayers.

Imtiaz Hussain
Lahore, Pakistan

The New Era just arrived, and my first thought was “Why did it have to come today?” Today is Thursday. I have to work tonight, Friday night, and Saturday night. Monday I have three tests. Tuesday I have one test. Wednesday I have one test. And sometime soon I have to prepare my Primary lesson. My thought of “Why did it have to come today?” reflects the compulsion I always feel to immediately read the New Era straight through, cover to cover.

Sorrowfully, I must lay the magazine aside till Sunday, my day of rest. Thank goodness for Sundays! I think of my history with the New Era and smile. When I was 12, I read only the Mormonisms. When the Mormonads appeared I began to read them also. Next I started to read the fiction stories. The fiction was followed closely by FYI. To make a long story short, let me say that I now read the entire New Era. I can’t be dishonest, so I must admit that I still have trouble finding the desire to read the (usually lengthy) articles about Saints in other lands.

I’m so thankful for the joy and blessings which have entered my life as a result of my subscription.

Hugh Jacobs, Jr.
Macon, Georgia

I just started reading the New Era a few months ago, and it’s been a great inspiration in my life. I’d just like to tell you that the article called “Grandpa’s Visit” in the April 1984 issue was really what our family needed. It was an outstanding example of the love that a family should share. I used it in a family home evening lesson, and it has helped the love in our family grow immensely! I would just like to thank you for all the great and inspiring articles in the New Era. Keep up the good work!

Wendi Garr
Tallahassee, Florida

Thank you for producing a wonderful publication which serves as a regular reminder to us that we are, indeed, a part of a worldwide, growing Church. Since our numbers are so few, the youth in Emporia, Kansas, are sometimes inclined to feel quite solitary. They seem to get a real boost from recognizing that thousands of young people throughout the Church share a lot of their feelings and trials.

Diane H. Jensen
Topeka, Kansas

As I read “Drama and Religion” by Carol Lynn Pearson in the August 1984 New Era, my mind returned to my youth in the old 16th Ward in Salt Lake City, to Clarence Evans and the Evans Brothers’ Quartet, to Robert Bridge and others who worked so patiently with us. It was like hearing and fondly remembering a favorite song from long ago as I recalled all the fun (some of us had to learn the gospel is fun before we learned it is also true) and the spiritual times we shared through drama. Such feelings continued after marriage in the Holladay 24th Ward and Holladay Stake, where dramatic events were a tradition. In the late sixties many productions were available through the Church, and in Holladay we did them all.

I remember how I felt the first time I attended Saturday’s Warrior. My wife commented on how wonderful it is that Church members are now able to write and produce our own special story and message in a professional manner. My concern is that only once has my oldest son, now 17, been able to be involved in a stage production beyond road show quality. I would hope leaders of youth, both local and general, would read again Sister Pearson’s article and catch the vision it provides. We need our youth to participate in dramatic productions for very spiritual reasons—to help them grow closer to the truths of the gospel.

Phil Boren
Director, Boise LDS Institute
Boise, Idaho

What a wonderful magazine the New Era is! I have been reading it for only nine or ten months, and every time I read it I learn some great lessons which I can immediately take into my daily life. I would just like to say thank you for sending them to me all the way to Japan every month. I am also grateful to Bishop Wight of the Parkland Ward, Puyallup Washington South Stake and the people of the ward for giving me a year’s subscription. I am delighted to receive this great gift. I met these good people while staying in Tacoma, Washington, on the student exchange program.

Takanori Mochizuki
Kanagawa, Japan