Friend to Friend

“I received a call from Grandpa one day. He was very excited about being honored by the First Presidency for seventeen years of his broadcasts, Sunday Evening from Temple Square.“

The son-in-law went on to explain: “We always listened on Sunday night to Grandpa’s broadcast, and then the children would get together and phone and tell him they’d heard him.”

All of the children assembled were happy to talk about their beloved grandfather.

“Tell me about him,” I asked the eager boys and girls. Then from one grandchild after another came the following:

“He tells us stories and tells us he loves us.”

“He calls me his kindred spirit—says we must have lived on the same street in heaven.”

“He plays with me and gives me hugs.”

“He pretends he’s fighting with me.”

“Grandpa tells me he’s glad he has my name and that we have to stick together since our names are the same.”

“He likes to pull my nose and tweak my ear. He pushes me so high in the canyon swing that I almost go over the cabin.”

“I don’t see how anyone could love their grandpa more than I do,” summed up a thirteen-year-old.

“He’s a good grandpa and he works in a high, high building.”

“He gets a smile on his face when he sees our little sister.”

“He’s gentle and loving.”

“Dad’s almost blind now. But he still writes and speaks and is so active that we seldom even think about it.”

“He has such a marvelous memory! It’s like a grand storage vault of poetry, stories, scriptures, and great literature.”

“There’s a building at the University of Utah named after my grandpa,” put in another grandchild.

“Grandpa loves pepper on everything, and he likes blueberry pie, groundcherry jam, and scalloped potatoes.”

“Grandpa has a favorite chair; it’s a big overstuffed chair. You might sit in it for a moment or two, but you move fairly fast when he comes into the room because it’s his chair.”

“Our grandma is losing her sight too. So we all like to be their eyes. We read their mail and stuff like that to them.”

“Pop is a great motivator. ‘Roll up your sleeves and work’—that’s his motto. Some people think he acquired his vast knowledge easily, but he’s worked hard at it—very hard for many, many hours a day.

“He’s a systematic person and goes to bed at the same time each night and gets up at the same time every morning. He’s formed good, productive habits and disciplined himself all through his life. He was always an avid reader. Often when he would come home from work at night and after he’d eaten supper, he would read for two or three hours, sitting in his favorite chair.”

“He has complete honesty in all of his business dealings. He believes that problems are just challenges. He sets a goal and sticks with it until it’s accomplished.”

“He’s unselfish with his time and shares everyone’s problems.”

“He’s in excellent physical health. Sometimes the grandchildren are his eyes when he goes for long walks.”