The Christmas train

I had an unforgettable Christmas as a boy of about 8 or 10–at least I learned some things about “wanting.” I had been studying intensively the Christmas catalogs from Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Wards since their arrival some time before Thanksgiving. The more I studied, the more I wanted a train set. I had such a vision of joy to imagine starting and stopping and watching a little train, all my own, pulling its load of cars around and around a track. I just could not imagine anything more wonderful.

I presented to my mother my need to receive a train set for Christmas on several occasions. Finally she informed me that she and my dad had budgeted $5 each for Dorothy and me for Christmas toys (our grand-children will not even be able to relate to the tinyness of this amount, but times and the availability of money were different then). There were no train sets in either of the catalogs for this amount. The least expensive set cost eight dollars, and was cheap-looking O-gauge passenger train with a short oval track. I was shocked at this news.

Finally my mother bargained that if I wanted to use money I had saved (I had 4 or 5 dollars hoarded away), I could add that to the $5 they would pay and get a train. Even with this arrangement, the O-gauge passenger train wa the only one I could afford. My sadness turned to joy and I agreed to this bargain, even though she warned me that this would be the only present I would get.

The days that followed were filled with excited anticipation. Finally it was Christmas morning. There under our Christmas tree was a box for me that contained my wonderful train set. I eagerly opened it, and soon I was setting it up. I turned on the switch and the train began to go around and around its track.

I watched it for a few minutes, and felt such a sense of boredom and emptiness. There was nothing I could do with this thing except watch it go round and round. Here was the thing that I had dreamed and fanticized about for most of my waking minutes for the last two months and I had no more interest in it.

I think I learned a lesson to be more careful about letting my wants carry away my imagination to make stupid choices about things that were of little nor no value, and that material acquisitions tended to not give much enduring satisfaction.

[Picture: this is definitely NOT a picture of my toy train.]

Journal, December 28

Christmas Eve day we visited Ogden area. It was delightful to see the Christmas preparations made by the Stanfords and Soderquists and to spend a few minutes with each of them. We also went to lunch with Dorothy (my sister). We ate a nice meal at Sandy’s, a little home-grown restaurant on Washington Blvd. The highlight was sharing a piece of their coconut cream pie. (Pictured: Stanfords and Soderquists in their Christmas preparations and a Christmas duet from Trinia and Tricia)

In the evening, we lit luminaries at JoAnn’s and Michael’s graves. The tradition to fill the Spanish Fork cemetery with light on Christmas Eve is on the upswing here, with more families participating each year. And there are new devices. It started with luminaries made with candles in paper sacks or quart jars. Now we are seeing many more manufactured candle holders, and multi-colored Christmas lights battery-powered. In the early nightfall with hundreds of these various kinds of little lights, the Spanish Fork cemetery looked very beautiful. Keeping the memory alive of JoAnn and Michael, who both loved Christmas so much, is meaningful to me.

We started the Christmas day with Skype visits with David’s and Valerie’s families. It was fun to interact in this way with each individual, to see their favorite gifts and feel their excitement. Then we drove to Sandy on this pretty day to see Olivia’s and Jack’s Christmas. It was noon when we got to Wendy’s sister Shannon’s place to leave a present for Annette, Wendy’s mother. Wendy gave her a bunch of home-made bibs, a much needed item. We found them (kids and grandkids) finishing a mid-day breakfast meal of Apple pancakes and sausage, which they we good to share with us. Returning home to Spanish Fork, Wendy and I opened our gifts, and Wendy finished food preparations to take to our family dinner at Matthew and Kim’s.

The family gathered for our Lewis family Christmas at Matthew and Kim’s at about 4 pm. We started the gathering with something unusual that had been requested by Elder Hales in his meeting in the last week or so with Spanish Fork area Stake Presidencies and Bishoprics (as reported to us by President Daines in our most recent preparation meeting at the Provo temple). This was, that st Christmas meetings in families this year, there should be set aside a time for a few gospel testimonies about the family and the importance of the gospel to happy families. We initiated this prior to exchanging and opening gifts and we took about 20 minutes total in expressions of gratitude and testimony. I spoke of my great appreciation for the unity and peacefulness in our family relationships, brought on by our mutual commitment to the Gospel. Bruce, Alison, Quin, and Heidi also spoke briefly, and I felt quite tender about the things said. Quin said that he came from a family who were both “believers” and “doers” and he was happy to find someone to marry who came from a family with that same commitment. Alison spoke of letter from Daniel in the MTC saying that he felt an obligation as a member of this family to serve as others have served.

In the gift exchange, as a major gift from Wendy and me to each family, we presented them with a copy of a book of over 400 pages about our mission to North Carolina. We are grateful to Valerie had prepared this book for publication, using our blog entries stating with the time of our call and continuing through the time when we reported our mission in the Spanish Fork Wolf Hollow 2nd ward.

In the early morning hours of the day after Christmas, we made an unexpected visit to the ER at Utah Valley Hospital, because of some bleeding in my bladder. I am very grateful that I was able to hold off on this, until we had had all of our wonderful Christmas experiences. I had to get a catheter inserted at the ER. The bleeding and resulting blockage probably were a result of the combination of an infection that may have caused a little blood vessel in the lining of the bladder to pop, the Plavix that I have been taking for my heart condition causing the bleeding to continue for a time, and my enlarged prostate limiting the fluid able to exit the bladder. No big deal. The bleeding has stopped. I got the catheter out yesterday, and things are normal and working. I am taking Cipro for the infection, and another new medication to help the flow through the prostate. I am not taking the Plavix and probably go off of it permanently when I see my cardiologist, Dr. Carter, in an appointment the end of January.

I want to say parenthetically that I had an almost identical episode in September 2008 three months before our mission. During the mission, I had perhaps half a dozen times when bleeding like this started, but soon stopped and did not interfere with my functioning. I thank the Lord for this amount of “renewal of my body” that I could serve continually and successfully for the 18 month period of our mission.

Santa Claus house

A number of years ago, Wendy's mother created a miniature Santa Claus house. This took her over a year to complete and required the application of all of her artistic talents.

Wendy's sister, Bonnie, now sets up this display each year at her home in Bennion. Several of our Lewis families were able to see this house on Thursday before Christmas.

Reading the Christmas story

Since the time I was a young man, each year I have followed my own little personal Christmas tradition–I read the chapters on the Christmas story in the book JESUS THE CHRIST by James E. Talmage. Chapters 7 and 8 tell about the events of Christ’s birth. But many years ago, I sensed that to read the full story of Christmas I had to also include chapters 2-6, which provide the background for his birth as the babe in Bethlehem and why his birth is so important. Reviewing these chapters each year has helped to fill me with awe, gratitude, and joy for the blessing of Christmas.

Highlights:
● We lived with God as spirits prior to our coming to earth as mortals.
● In the premortal world God our Heavenly Father presented a plan for our growth and happiness (the Great Plan of Salvation/Redemption), in which we would come to this earth to receive a body and be tested.
● One of the spirits, Lucifer, rebelled and presented an alternative plan which would deprive us of our free agency, but was rejected.
● Jehovah, the most intelligent of God’s spirit children, the Creator of this world under the Father, and member of the Godhead, was chosen and foreordained to be the Savior of mankind.
● The chosen plan anticipated that all who came to this earth would be subject to physical and spiritual death, and of themselves could not overcome these problems.
● The Savior would fulfill the plan by overcoming physical death (the resurrection) and spiritual death (the atonement).
● To do this, he would need to take upon himself an earthly body (be born as a baby with a mortal mother but with God as his father), live a perfect life, fulfill the demands of justice by suffering vicariously for all of our sins, and die an innocent man and take up his body again to break the bands of physical death.
● All of the prophets prior to his birth prophesied of his coming.
● The gospel, when preached and administered in all the ages of the world, relied on his atonement to cleanse from sin individuals who would accept him through faith, repentance, and baptism, so we could once again be with God.
● The situation in the land of Jerusalem was ripe for the Savior’s coming to fulfill his sacred mission.
● There was great joy in heaven that his birth began the consummation of the Great Plan.
(Pages from my mother's copy of JESUS THE CHRIST)

Provo Tabernacle fire

Driving through Provo Friday on the way to the cabin we were diverted away from the fire that burned the Provo Tabernacle. We stopped to take a picture. The fire was a sad loss, both of expensive equipment and irreplaceable facilities, but also of a wonderful pioneer legacy.

I had a little experience with this building. As a member of the Ralph Woodward Chorale prior to our move to Taylorsville, we practiced and performed in that building, including doing a performance of The Messiah, Christmas of 1968. Singing The Messiah with this very excellent group was one of the highlights of my life and left me with a life-long love of this music.

Here is a fun little story about that building that someone told at a choir rehearal. At one time, the building had a high podium and choir seat area that overlooked the regular seating, and to which there was no access from the floor. The entrance to the podium was at the back through a choir entrance. The Provo Stake was holding a conference, and the meeting had some extra time, so the Stake President began to call people to the stand extemporaneously to talk or bear their testimonies. Of course, they had to exit the hall, walk around to the choir entrance, walk up a flight of stairs to the back of the choir area, then descend to the pulpit. This all went well until the President announced a particular brother’s name to be next speaker. People saw him arise from his seat and watched him walk to the exit. Then they waited expectantly for him to emerge from the doorway at the rear of the choir. They waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the Stake President arose and announced a further speaker. Apparently the brother didn’t want to be a conference speaker.

Journal, December 21

We had our last temple shift on Thursday and cleaned out our lockers before the two week closure. We go back in January. After the temple, we drove to Salt Lake for dinner with Wendy’s siblings and spouses.

The old refrigerator in Grandma Evan’s house died last Wednesday. We decided to give the renters (the Potters) our current fridge and get a new one for our place. We had Friday morning to start the switch. Travis Reynolds was home and helped tremendously, as we had lots of trouble getting the fridge out of our kitchen. The island that is in our kitchen blocks going out any way except for the back door which is only a 32" door. After quite a bit of effort we got it out and delivered it to Potter’s porch about noon time. We couldn’t get it inside because they were not home and the door was locked. We finally were able to find time to buy a replacement fridge yesterday, but it won’t be delivered until Thursday. In the meantime, we have a makeshift refrigerator in the corner of the garage. (Picture)

Friday afternoon we hurried for the cabin, to host a party that Heidi wanted, to have a goodbye time with a group of her BYU friends at the end of the semester and before her mission. It was a lot of fun to meet these nice and clean young people and observe how much they enjoyed each other. There was a little light snow both Thursday and Friday nights, but we were blessed that it did not interfere with the travel to and from the cabin. (See pictures of Heidi and her friends.) We stayed to watch the BYU football team win its bowl game handily, then came back home in the late afternoon so that Wendy could help in the kitchen at a wedding reception for the Stamm’s daughter (Sister Stamm is our ward Relief Society President and Wendy is one of her counselors).

We sang several Christmas numbers with the ward choir Sunday. We also heard Cole Hunter report on his mission in Portland OR. The week before, we heard Travis Reynolds report, coming home from his mission in Barcelona Spain. Both of these guys were Priests while I was YM President, and I sure felt a fatherly joy in their faithful service as missionaries. We also finished the last session of the Teacher Development class that we have been attending, by making a 7 minutes presentation on sacrifice, demonstrating the use of discussion techniques. Sunday evening we drove to Salt Lake to attend the annual Christmas party for the family of Wendy’s mother. We brought Olivia and Jack back here to spend a couple of days with us. Last night we took them along with Scott and Emilie and family to Spanish Fork’s Christmas Festival of Lights

We have had almost stead snow here since Sunday evening. There was about 6-7 inches when we got up yesterday morning, light snow throughout the day, and probably another 6-8 inches last night. Wendy measured 16 inches total on the back patio thus morning (and that is after it had settled). Pictured is the crew shoveling the sidewalks yesterday and also how covered the truck and driveway are from last night’s added snowfall.

Journal, December 14

We decorated the family graves Sunday afternoon with some help from Matthew and Kim’s family. Pictured is our decorations committee. Thanks to Matthew for the shot.

The weather has been so un-December like, the last 10 days or so. After a extra cold and snowy November, we have had temperatures well above normal. Yesterday, I trimmed the roses and mowed up the leaves, without a coat. Today, the high was 56 degrees.

This last week may have set a record for doctor visits. Last Monday, we saw our dermatologist, who froze several "sun" spots on my head and face and left me feeling like I had been in a fight with a cat. At the same time I was prepping for a Tuesday colonoscopy. I think this is my fourth time for this procedure, and all I can say is I just can’t stand apple juice and Gaterade anymore–they have such unpleasant associations. On Friday I received the finishing work on the root canal on old tooth #19. Today, I was back at our regular dentist’s office, getting my teeth cleaned to help my gums quit receding. Enough is enough.

We had to wait to decorate for Christmas until got our tree back from the ward after last Wednesday’s ward Christmas party. Apparently it has become the ward Christmas tree. The ward had borrowed it along with many others to decorate four Christmas’ ago. We didn’t know this, but apparently the ward also used it the two years we were gone to NC. This year it was the only tree at the party.

We (mostly Wendy) have been working on Christmas decorations since then. The tree decorations this year combine things from Wendy’s past trees and also Lewis trees. I am grateful to see a number of the three little animal faces still remaining from Michael’s Festival of Trees display. We decided to hang the sequined balls in the hallway, because the tree just did not have enough room on it for all 40 years’ worth. These balls are pictured as hung in year order starting from 1963 through 2003.

Wendy forbade me from putting up lights across the roof this year–and I didn’t put up much resistance. We built a lighted frame around the front door instead.

Our first family radio

I was 4 years old. It was a warm Sunday morning for a Glenwood December. In our back yard the sun was shining, the temperature was above freezing, and there was little or no snow. I don’t know why we weren’t at the Glenwood church for Sunday School–maybe there was a time when my parents didn’t attend regularly.

I was looking for my rope. It was a soft, white, clothesline type about four feet long. I liked it a lot. I carried it around and used it to pull things. Then I spotted it. It was hanging out of my dad's back pocket. And he was high up in a pine tree that was growing at the edge of our yard.

I made a complaint to my mother that Daddy had the rope that I loved. She explained that he needed it. He was trying to hang the end of a clothesline wire high in the tree, and the wire was a foot or two short. So, with the addition of my rope, he could attach the wire to the tree. The wire would serve as an antenna so we could get a radio signal. Grandpa Davenport had given my parents an old radio when he sold his home in Bingen, and my mom and dad hoped that this antenna would help with reception.

Sure enough, the wire antenna worked. When they turned the radio on, an announcer’s voice came through loud and clear. He was saying “All members of the National Guard report immediately for duty. All members of the military on leave, return to your bases. ”

This was the day, December 7, 1941, that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and we were thrust into World War II.

I remember the radio well. It was a pretty piece of furniture. It stood up on four lags with a large oak cabinet. After arising at about 4 am, milking our cows, putting a long day working in the logging for J. Niels, then again milking the cows and finishing dinner, at 9 pm every night my father would turn on Gabriel Heater reporting the news, to hear how the war was going. Both of his brothers and four brothers-in-law were serving in the military. He liked to say that the old radio ran perfectly until the month that the war was ended, in 1945. Then it quit, never to play again.

Picture: Our radio may have been of this type, which is a circa 1935 RCA Victor model C8-20, from Radiomuseum.org

Midway Creche exhibit

Saturday morning we (Nathan-Gloria, the Blakes, the Soderquists, myself–Wendy excused herself to start the cabin-cleaning process) joined the crowd to see the amazing Interfaith Crèche Exhibits at the Midway Stakehouse. I agreed with Alison’s reaction that it was impressive--actually a kind of spiritual experience--that exhibits from so many countries were represented, and especially that so many different peoples have felt impelled to try to recreate this event using their own art forms, material, fabrics, depicting familiar animals from their locales, etc. The birth of the Savior seems to have a universal appeal across very diverse peoples and cultures.

From a report on preparations for this exhibit, from KSL-TV:

“MIDWAY -- Thousands will head to Midway this weekend to experience one of the largest interfaith crèche exhibits in the country. Last minute set-ups still require the delicate touch as volunteers place the familiar figures into the manger scenes. For 12 years, the interfaith crèche exhibit in Midway has grown in size and popularity. Now 900 Nativity sets will be part of the annual family tradition.

“Becky Anderson, the crèche coordinator, unwrapped a metal piece, explaining, "The wise men come on elephants in this one."

“Ninety nations are represented. The African nativity scenes draw a great deal of interest because of the materials their creators use--recycled soda cans, beads and wire. [Also, used auto parts--many different types of carved woods, corn husks, ceramic, metals, etc.] One grouping from Haiti was made from an oil drum. The crèche from the Caribbean Island of St. Martin shows the donkey embracing the Christ child.

“It takes an entire room for the 1,000 piece Italian village. The delicate, hand-painted figurines tell many stories from angels descending on a bustling town of Bethlehem to the sea coast tents of the magi. "

“The exhibit brings people of many Christian denominations together, all of them united in purpose. "We all look at the Savior as the Christ child," said Becky Anderson, "and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas."

"They will welcome from 5,000 to 10,000 visitors. The crèche exhibit is free and part of Midway's 2010 Swiss Christmas, taking place December 3rd through the 5th." (From KSL news report by Carole Mikita, December 2, 2010)

[My pictures taken on Friday, when cameras were not being prohibited.]

Christmas Kickoff

We had warm feelings about family after our Christmas Kickoff gathering on Friday at the cabin. (Some of this feeling may have been hold-over from Thanksgiving and the Sunday Thanksgiving-Birthday dinner.) We just enjoyed these times with family so much.

We started the evening with a spaghetti dinner. While the dessert was baking, I presented a Christmas message to the family. We sang our family carol, O Beautiful Night, then I talked about why it was beautiful. First, that the night when the Savior was born probably a beautiful warm evening in the early Spring. The shepherds could have their sheep grazing on new grass on the hillsides near Bethlehem. This timing is thought by many to have been confirmed by the revelation to the Prophet at the time of organization of the Church which in states that as of April 6th, 1830, it had been exactly eighteen hundred and thirty years since Christ came in the flesh. Second, the night was beautiful because it was the start for the fulfillment of Great Plan of Redemption, which was anticipated with joy from before the foundation of the earth, and of which all of the prophets in all ages testified. The joy in the heavens spilled over into this earth, with angelic choirs heard by mortals, as they said, “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.”

Surprisingly, Christopher found an almond among the cherries in his dessert and became King. (See picture.) He led a march up, down, and around the various levels of the cabin, then helped us distribute first Christmas gifts (socks) to the grand-kids.

Then came the White Elephant gift exchange. With some hesitation, we contributed a can of collards from our mission. We hope that Nathan and Gloria enjoy, and after eating them on New Years Day, that they will prosper in 2011 (NC tradition).

After the gift exchange, we retired to the piano on the mezzanine level, where we did the Hallelujah Chorus with Emilie at the keyboard and all parts represented. Then we sang carols accompanied by Alyssa, Heidi, and others at the player piano.

Saturday breakfast for those staying overnight was Wendy’s famous apple pancakes, with scrambled eggs and sausage.

We finished by touring the Midway Interfaith Creche exhibit.

(Thanks to Matthew for most of the pictures.)

Family blessing

I am so grateful that members of my family are trying to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ and serve responsibly as they are called in his Church. Here is a recent blessing for our family:

“SOUTH WEBER UTAH STAKE: (Nov. 21, 2010) President — Steven K. Peterson, 54, director for temporal affairs for the Church; succeeding David G. Crittenden; wife, Lu Ann Boothe Peterson. Counselors — Craig Lawrence Poll, 57, assistant superintendent for Davis School District; wife, Jackie Lynn McComb Poll. Quin Soderquist, 46, engineering manager for Autoliv; wife, Alison Ann Lewis Soderquist.”. [Church News, December 4, 2010]

Knowing where you stand with God

I have been re-reading Stephen Robinson’s little book, BELIEVING CHRIST. There is a most significant passage, concerning how one who is trying to live the Gospel may know of his/her standing with Heavenly Father:
“...there is a way we can know that our efforts are acceptable, that our covenant is recognized and valid before God. If we experience the gifts of the Spirit or the influence of the Holy Ghost, we can know that we are in the covenant relationship, for the gifts and companionship of the Holy ghost are given to none else [bold my emphasis].
“Do you feel the influence of the Holy Ghost in your life? Do you enjoy the gifts of the Spirit? Then you may know God accepts your faith, repentance, and baptism and has agreed that “[you] may always have his Spirit to be with you.(D&C 20: 77)” (p. 94)

It is extremely comforting to make the connection of experiencing the gifts or presence of the Spirit with having the witness of being presently on God’s path, of having a forgiveness/remission of sins, and that continuing on this path will result in eternal life. It is also freeing, allowing more attention and efforts to be on the needs of others.

The apostle Paul was bold to call this state of standing in the grace of God, being "saved," in the present. However, it seems to me this differs significantly from the Calvinist Protestant doctrine of being "saved" in at least these ways: 1) is is conditional, rather than irreversible; 2) it becomes available through faith, repentance, baptism and then continued repentance; and 3) it is a real, personal, spiritual witness.

Journal, December 3

We had Thanksgiving dinner (11/25) at Matthew and Kims, along with the Blakes. In what has become a tradition, I was in charge of the peeling, cooking, and mashing the potatoes with help from Alyssa and Megan. There was a huge amount of good food, but I ate slowly and a little sparingly, because my mouth was still feeling “beat up” from the root canal of the day before. We all stayed together until about 10:30 pm. We tried to see a movie at the Spanish 8, but it was sold out, so we spent the rest of the evening, visiting, playing games, eating pie, watching the end of an NFL game.

On Friday, Wendy drove up to Midway to pick up Michael and bring him back here. They spent most of the rest of the time that day and next preparing a Thanksgiving-type dinner (which included a belated celebration of Hilary's birthday) for her kids and grandkids which we had on Sunday evening (11/26). See picture. They went to a lot of trouble to get here on a snowy night, and we are grateful for their efforts and enjoyed their company.

I have been on a kind of roll on family history and was able to use Friday and Saturday to find a lot of information on some of the descendants of Mary Adline Lewis (b. 1816 in Henry Co., VA) who married James C. Robertson. (Mary is a daughter of John Lewis and Elizabeth Sams, our ancestors.) They moved to the area that is now Charleston, West Virginia, in the late 1840s and most of their descendants are still in that area it appears. I was fortunate to find several weeks ago that the State of WV has put its vital records (birth, marriage, death) on the web. There are also some good cemetery records available from that area on the web. Combining these with the census records available on ancestry.com, I was able to find and copy all sorts of information about Robertsons who descended from Mary and James.

This current week was a cabin week for us and also 2011 cabin scheduling meeting on Monday night. Wendy and I met with her siblings at Bonnie and Steve’s home in Bennion; then after the meeting drove to the cabin. We stayed two nights and came home Wednesday evening. At the cabin, we relaxed a lot. I spent a number of hours transferring the Robertson records I have been collecting into PAF. Wendy started work on a lesson on temples for the coming Sunday Relief Society.

The weather from before Thanksgiving until midweek alternated with snow storms to very cold. Monday night the temperature was in the single digits. It has been milder since, with days in the 40s in Midway, but very pretty. See picture of Mt. Timpanogos, Heber Valley side, with foothills and valley snow-covered.

We did our temple officiating shifts on Thursday. Then on Friday we headed back to the cabin, stopping at the Provo Temple for a session on the way, then started preparing for having the family at the cabin for Christmas Kickoff.

Journal, Thanksgiving morning

We have had unusually bad weather the last week or so, with a series of storms one after another bringing wind and snow, first to the mountains and benches and then all over. We missed a Temple workers fireside in Provo Sunday evening because it was storming. A serious blizzard (“the storm of the decade”) was forecast starting Tuesday afternoon which caused an unusual number of cancellations of schools, office closures, in anticipation of the storm. You would have almost thought that we back in NC with these kinds of anticipatory closures. It turned out to be mostly a dud of a storm (we got about 2 inches of snow), but it had record Arctic cold behind it. This Thanksgiving morning as the sun rises, our thermometer is reading 3 degrees and there is our usual wind from the Spanish Fork canyon. I wonder what the chill factor might be, minus 10 or 15 perhaps. I am grateful for our warm house.

We had a pre-Thanksgiving family get-to-gether at Matthew and Kims last night (Wednesday) and all of our Utah families came, even those families who are doing something else for Thanksgiving dinner, Soderquists, Stanfords, and Nathan and Gloria. We counted 38 people.

We filled up on pizzas-to-bake from Papa Murphys, played games, and visited.

Matthew and Kim have nearly completed their basement project and their house can absorb at lot of people. They have added some 2400 square feet of finished space in their basement including a large open area. There were people in the one corner watching a movie and in another corner two sets of tables with people playing games at one and putting together a jigsaw puzzle at another, along with Krysta in the new downstairs kitchen making Rice Krispy-marshmallow squares. Upstairs there were people in the kitchen, a group playing a game at the dining table, another movie being watched in the family room, boys playing hide-and-seek throughout the house.

One of my goals for this fall was to get to the point where we could park the Ranger in out if the weather by eliminating the section of furniture and boxes that had been stored in the east side of our garage since mostly before our mission. We are making progress. We were able to pass on some of the things to help Andrew and Britain furnish their apartment in August, and this week we gave the oak dining table and some small furniture that had come from our Taylorsville house to Matthew and Kim to help populate their basement.

This oak table was JoAnn’s pride and joy. She used to joke with family members and say that if they did not do so and so, she would take them out of her will and they would not be in the running to inherit her dining table. Wendy remarked that JoAnn must have been very pleased this night to see a number of her family members again gathered happily around this table.

We left reluctantly while the party was still going strong, because our day had been very long and we were exhausted. Wendy for some reason was not able to sleep on Tuesday night and had spent most of the day in Thanksgiving Day dinner preparations. My face was sore from having a root canal first thing in the morning (Wednesday) at a Provo Dentist, Steve Osmond. (It turned out that my tooth problem over the last several weeks was from an abscess.)

Because of Thanksgiving, we are not having our usual Thursday at the Provo temple this week. We were able to slip in a session on Tuesday early afternoon, between storms.

Monday evening, we attended a production of the musical, Scarlet Pimpernel, at Maple Mountain HS with Matthew’s family. It was lot of fun to see Alyssa in the chorus and cast, especially seeing how much fun she seemed to be having. I sat by Brianna and charged her to tell me every time Alyssa appear on stage (she had a variety of costumes in various scenes and wasn’t always recognizable by me.)

Missionary support, Pt 3

I consider it a great blessing to have been able to provide much of the support for our six children who served missions. (To give credit where credit is due, Aunt Lois generously sent money to help with mission support for some of you.)

It is also a joy to help with the support of grandchild missions.

The debt I incurred on my own mission has been wonderful to try to repay.

Missionary support, Pt 2

Here is way that I have tried to repay a part of the "debt" for my mission support. This is a letter we have used for many years when we give some money to an outgoing missionary:

MICHAEL R. LEWIS MEMORIAL FUND
(February 20, 1975-August 24, 1988)
When Michael Lewis was born, doctors gave little hope for his survival because of a serious heart defect. However, as a small baby he was blessed by the priesthood to "live to fulfill the purposes of his creation," and he did survive heart surgery at two weeks of age, numerous bouts with pneumonia during his first two years, and several other major surgeries and illnesses as he grew older.

Michael loved life! He built a life for himself within the bounds his physical limitations set which was happy and fulfilling for him. He never felt sorry for himself or complained about his health, but accepted each new problem with courage and a maturity beyond his years.

From the time he was four years old he had a great love for scouting, which continued through Cubs and the Boy Scout program. When he became a scout he set a goal to become an Eagle at twelve years of age. If he had a hospital stay coming up, he made sure his requirements were done ahead so he could advance in the least amount of time. He achieved the rank of Eagle in February 1988, just a few days after his 13th birthday, and six month before he passed away. At his Eagle Court of Honor, a friend, a scout leader, a school teacher, and his cardiologist all paid tribute to him for his courage, determination, patience, and persistence.

Michael served in his Deacon's Presidency and as Senior Patrol Leader for Troop 791. As Senior Patrol Leader, he was responsible to conduct Boards of Review for other scouts as they advanced in rank. He would ask each scout the direct question, "Are you planning to go on a mission?" When the scout answered affirmatively, Michael would compliment him on having made that decision. He encouraged the other scouts to commit to serving missions. Michael felt that for an LDS scout to be doing his "duty to God" he should be planning and preparing to be a missionary.

When Michael submitted his application for the Eagle award to the Boy Scouts of America, he stated his own determination to serve a mission for the Church.

Michael was very conscientious in his school work and was on the Honor Roll at Eisenhower Junior High School. One of his favorite classes was Spanish. He wondered whether he would be called on a mission where Spanish was spoken, and was excited about developing skills in that language.

At an early age, Michael learned the usefulness of having money. He always found a way to be earning some. Before he was six years of age, he began selling greeting cards and later had several jobs mowing lawns.

In keeping with a practice we began with Michael's older brothers and sisters, we started a savings account for Michael when he was born. This account was for a mission or perhaps for college expenses. We put a small amount of money into the account each payday; Michael also contributed money to this account from his own earnings. Because of Michael's commitment to missionary work and because of his own contributions to this account, we have consecrated this money as a missionary fund, in his honor, to be used to help others take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all the world as Michael had hoped to do. Please accept this contribution toward your mission expenses in the name of Michael R. Lewis.

May the Lord's blessings be with you as you go about your missionary labors.

Robert and JoAnn Lewis and Family

Missionary support

I was a sophomore at BYU when I decided that I should go on a mission. My parents had very little money and I didn’t think my dad should or would want to provide support. But I worked up a plan. From my talks with other young men who had calls, I figured that I would need about $2000 in the bank to pay for the mission. (Notice how inflation since 1957 has increased that amount 5x.) I had the promise of returning to a job for J. Neils in the logging industry at home, and living at home I could save at least $300 each month, so I calculated that by the first of 1958 I would have enough money.

My plan began to work out as I returned home from school. I was working and saving on schedule. In early August the Branch President (Moz Burles) pulled me aside and said he thought it was time we got started on the call. He (and the branch) had never sent a missionary out before and he wanted to make we got it right. He had read in the Church News (I guess he had a subscription that came in the mail each week, the same as we had in NC) that an apostle, Adams S. Bennion, was going to be at a stake conference in Portland in the next week or so. He had obtained a copy of the mission application forms, which he would fill out. Then on that Saturday, I first would need to drive to The Dalles and get the District President’s signature and then to Portland to the stakehouse to find Elder Bennion. (In those days, a prospective missionary needed an interview with a General Authority as the final step in submitting the papers.)

So, I left Glenwood early on Saturday morning and drove to Lyle, WA where President Burles lived, and picked up the papers. Then I drove to The Dalles and found the District President (I don’t remember whether I had an appointment), got his signature, and then set out for Portland. It was a long drive before the freeway system was completed. It was late afternoon, when I found the Stakehouse in Sellwood (a Portland Suburb). I went there without an appointment or any notice, just trusting in the direction of President Burles to go to the Stake building and try to find Elder Bennion. The building was open, apparently for leadership meetings later in the evening, but only a custodian was present putting the finishing touches on his cleaning. I went back to my car and waited. After some time, a big, black Cadillac pulled into the parking lot near me, and I recognized Elder Bennion in the passenger seat. (He was quite distinguished looking with full head of silver hair and I had seen him in pictures and at a BYU devotional.) I walked over to the car and he rolled down the window and asked how he could help me. I replied that I wanted to go on a mission. He seemed to start with an explanation of all the steps that a person would need to go through, when I showed him the envelope and told him I had all the application papers, but needed an interview with a general authority. He said, “OK, let’s do it now,” and shooed the Stake President out of the car, slid over under the wheel, and invited me to sit in the seat where he had been.

I don’t recall much about the interview except that when he asked me how I would be supported, I went through my plan to have enough money saved to support myself by the end of the year. He said, “Would you be willing to start sooner, if when I get back to Salt Lake, I can find some ways to help?” I agreed, and so he kept the papers, I went back to my car and headed home to Glenwood, where I got home late in the evening.

In about a week and half here came the letter calling me to the North Central States Mission. I reported, as requested, to the Mission Home in Salt Lake (MTC predecessor, located on State Street north of the Beehive House) early in October, still wondering what arrangements Elder Bennion had made for the rest of my support. I had been able to bank about half of the amount needed. When I had some free moments, I walked over to the Church Administration Building to try to find Elder Bennion, but was informed that he was touring the European mission this month. When I explained my dilemma, I was referred to the missionary department and interviewed by the young head of that department, Gordon B. Hinckley. He was very kind. He knew nothing of what Elder Bennion had arranged, but instructed me to meet with my mission president shortly before my own funds were exhausted who would make whatever arrangements that were needed for my continuing support.

So off I went to Minnesota the following week. Along in the Spring of 1958, I had the chance to visit with President Paul Child about the matter of finances. We looked together at the mission application, and, unknown to me, President Burles had completed the section on finances, saying that support would come from the missionary and his family. We then supposed that Elder Bennion and the missionary committee, upon seeing this, had not worried more about my support.

President Child was able to make arrangements for the money I needed. (We were expected to live on $70 a month, which included rent and all other expenses, even purchasing Book of Mormons to give away.) He started by having me sent from the mission a $25 check each month from an anonymous donor. (I always suspected that the donor was President Child himself, but never knew for sure.) A little later, he also made arrangements for the Elders Quorum in the Mid-Columbia District at home to send $45 a month. Most of the strength of the quorum was in The Dalles branch. I learned later that my Uncle Rodney was the quorum secretary at the time and was responsible for collecting the money.

While I appreciated the generosity of whoever was helping provide money for my mission over the last year or so, I always felt a little embarrassed and even maybe a little cheated that I was not able to fully implement my plan to entirely support myself. I resolved in my mind to repay this “debt” by providing support for other missionaries.

Picture: missionary plaque which we had created to hang with our childrens' plaques from the TG1 ward after they started returning from missions.

Late fall color at home and journal

It is surprising how long the fall colors have lasted in spite of some storms and cooler weather. Pictured are one of our flowering Pears, the last Peace and Love roses, and our Hawthorn tree.

We put in our normal double shift at the Provo temple on Thursday and did our usual other temple session on Wednesday afternoon. Wendy also substituted on the early morning shift Friday and did an endowment session after.

I spent quite a lot of time continuing work on the index for the Guy Lewis records that we scanned while still in NC. As I index, I also take a close look at the materials. There is an overwhelming amount of information, occasionally something new of considerable interest, and more often puzzles as to where he got the information, why he interpreted it as he did, what is based on fact and what is based on supposition, etc. I am listing and describing unresolved contradictions as I find them. It sure reminds me of the importance for researchers to leave a clear trail for those who follow about how they reached their conclusions.

This week we started exploring the purchase of a new or newer car to replace our faithful old Town & Country (which is approaching 185,00 miles). We went to some dealers, saw several nice cars, and are finding ourselves still not quite knowing what we really want or need.

I volunteered for a Scouting Committee assignment in the ward yesterday , to be over advancement for the ward programs. I think I will enjoy having a meaningful scouting role again that puts me in contact with the young men with something that comes easy and that I can handle physically. I also attended yesterday the monthly stake Aaronic Priesthood/Unit Commissioners meeting and am still not quite sure what they are up to or what they want of me other than to carry messages to the 12th ward.

We have enjoyed watching (parts of ) five Utah Jazz games this past week in which they have won each won each with big come-backs, the last four while on the road with against tough teams in the Eastern Conference. The most improbable and exciting was the game with Miami Heat in which Millsap, in the last 37 seconds of th game, hit 3 3-pointers plus had a rebound put-back that sent the game into overtime (with 46 points total). We also followed the ups-and-downs of the football Cougars and Utes. BYU is finally rolling and blew out CSU to improve their record to 5-5, while the Utes couldn’t find any offense at Notre Dame and lost their second in a row after starting the season at 8-0.

We had the BYU grandchildren for dinner last night–Andrew and Britain, Staci, Heidi along with cousin Ellyn Soderquist. It sure is wonderful to associate with such nice people and to see them growing and progressing in their lives. We are also on the forwarding list for e-mails from Daniel and Paul, and have received the first two weeks’ worth, which are providing cute insights into their experiences at the MTC and their development at missionaries and as twin-less personalities.

I overdid with some exercises on Friday, that left me with an aching and stiff back. I also have been having a tooth ache, that seems to be the result of lost of gum material that exposes a nerve that is quite heat and cold sensitive. Thank goodness for Ibuprofen that helped me get a good sleep last night.

KIngs Peak

I came across this wonderful picture of Kings Peak, and it brought back some delicious memories. Because of its positioning between other high mountains, it is hard to get a good picture. Kings Peak, in the Uintas, at 13,528 feet above sea level, is Utah's highest point.

I climbed it twice, both on scout 50 milers. The first was with Denton Haueter as scoutmaster. Matthew was a young scout on that trip, and I best remember him taking a nap on a flat rock at the top to recover from the effects of altitude. We slid off the top on a snowfield using our rain slickers.

The second was when I was Varsity Coach with Dave Ricketts and Larry Knowlden as assistants. I am trying to remember if David was on that trip or not--help me David. A highlight of the second trip was Dave Ricketts having the Llama, Nebraska, to carry his pack.

In the picture Kings Peak is the snowy, pointed mountain peaking through a sort of pass between the two closest ridges toward the far right of the picture. The picture appears to have been taken from a little ridge, and has a southward view across Henry's Basin. The route to the top generally starts in Painter Basin which is across the Ridge to the left of Kings Peak through Gunsight pass, which is not shown in the picture but is just out of view to the left (I think). The route continues to Anderson Pass which can be seen at the top of the snowy talus slope up from Henry's Fork immediately in front of Kings Peak. Some brave souls take a short cut to Anderson Pass by scrambling of this slope. The final 1500 feet of the climb is bolder-hopping along the north ridge of Kings Peak. This ridge is clearly shown on the photo.

Happy birthday to Wendy

We spent Friday doing things to help Wendy celebrate her birthday. We went to Salt Lake, where she had lunch with her girl friends, had dessert with all of her sons (also John’s girl friend, Mia), did an endowment session at the Jordan River Temple, and dropped in to see Hilary and her family. On Sunday, she had a nice birthday visit from Emilie and Scott and kids, and dinner at Matthew and Kimberly’s to help celebrate. There were also many calls and birthday cards. The picture shows Wendy with a pumpkin flower arrangement, created by Megan. Very nice.

On a very personal note, the thought came to us that Wendy is now older than JoAnn was, when she passed away. I feel grateful for every moment I had with JoAnn, and am also very grateful for the four and a half years of marriage to Wendy, who is a wonderful companion.

Fenway Park tour

In 1946 when I turned 9 years old, I began to follow major league baseball. The Boston Red Sox won the American league championship that year and became my team. I remember well the stars that year, including Ted Williams (lf), Johnny Pesky (ss), Bobby Doerr (2b, Dom Dimaggio (cf). They famously lost the seventh game of the World Series with the Cardinals, when in the 8th inning the Card’s Enos Slaughter came all the way around to score from first base on a single. According to lore, Pesky double-clutched on the relay throw to allow the score. We had a really fun time touring Fenway Park with David on Tuesday morning. We heard all sorts of trivia and lore about the place:

• It’s the oldest park in MLB (built in 1912 and soon to be on the National Historic Register)
• The name Fenway came from a street that ran through a fen (swampy area)--much of Boston city is land reclaimed from Boston Bay or the Charles River.
  
• The Curse of the Bambino, where the owner sold off (and didn't replace) his star players to New York of all places, including the great Babe Ruth, so that he could finance a production of No, No, Nanette. (His first love was Broadway.)
• Pesky pole (RF foul line marker) supposedly memorializing a home run by the light-hitting shortstop that curled around the pole into the short right field porch and won a game.
• Fisk’s Pole (LF foul line marker) memorializing a 1975 world series walk-off home run by the catcher Carlton Fisk in the 12th inning of the 6th game, in which he was caught on- camera jumping and trying to wave the ball fair on his way to first base. The ball appeared to be going foul but hit the foul pole for a home run. According to legend, a cameraman kept the camera on Fisk rather than the ball as he was assigned to do, because he was distracted by a rat in the camera booth, thus changing the practice of TV to focus on the players rather than the play.
• The Green Monster (short distance–310 feet from home plate– but 37 foot tall left field wall, with antiquated hand-kept scoreboard.) A little man with a step ladder comes out a door in the wall to make changes between innings. Also has the Ladder to Nowhere, which according to the tour guide when a batted ball gets caught in the ladder it’s a ground rule triple–the only ground rule triple in baseball. (It has never happened, by the way.)
• The Lone Red Seat (high in the right field bleachers) commemorating the longest home run ever hit in the park (502 feet), by Ted Williams in 1946. Oddly, it struck a Yankee fan named Mr. Boucher, who was dozing under a straw hat in the warm afternoon sun. Red Sox fans compounded the problem by cheering when they learned that the victim was for the Yankees.
  

Isn't baseball wonderful!