Keeping Touch

The posts for the next two weeks will be about what is going on in my life and the joy I am experiencing.

KEEPING IN TOUCH    With the Butlers    24 June 2013

This is a newsletter to keep in touch with family, extended family, and friends who have touched my life.  Each post will, I hope, share something of interest and good to know about someone from each of those three categories.

My immediate family ~ the Butlers are just two weeks away from what is the first wedding of one of my grandchildren.  The invitation reads like this:

Mr. and Mrs. Cass Butler request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Elizabeth Sarah to Cameron Jackson Levins, son of Mr. And Mrs. Angus Levins Monday the First of July Two Thousand and Thirteen at Four o’clock in the afternoon, St. Ann’s Academy 835 Humbolt Street Victoria, British Columbia, A Dinner Reception will follow the ceremony Victoria Marriott Inner Harbor 728 Humbolt Street

Here are two links you can click to see pictures of St. Ann’s Academy

http://www.stannsacademy.com/
http://www.stannsacademy.com/weddings/

There will be a rehearsal Sunday, June 30th  at 5:00 p.m.

Lena’s niece, Abby Magalháes from Rio arrived at the Salt Lake International airport Sunday at 2:30.  She will be here for three weeks.  She just graduated from Law School.

Amy and Kevin Anderson’s son Joshua, who will turn 19 on July 4,th will be entering the MTC in July.  He has been called to the Birmingham England Mission: Mandarin Chinese Speaking .

"There Shall Be More Joy..."

                                    "Heaven, the treasury of everlasting Joy."   Shakespeare 


The blog  title for today's post is the name of a poem by Ford Madox Hueffer, a poet from England who lived from 1873–1939.  It was set to music by the American composer, Paul Nordoff.  I first learned it as a song so for me, the music gives the text a sweet, nostalgic emotion.   Soon after the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that took the lives of twenty school children,  I would think of the first line of that poem, and hear the melody I learned to go with it, every time I saw a picture or read something about Emilie Parker ~ the captivating little victim with blue eyes and hair the color of honey. 

                                        THE little angels of Heaven   
                                        Each wear a long white dress,   
                                        And in the tall arcadings   
                                        Play ball and play at chess;   
 
                                       With never a soil on their garments,           
                                        Not a sigh the whole day long,   
                                        Not a bitter note in their pleasure,   
                                        Not a bitter note in their song.   
 
                                        But they shall know keener pleasure,   
                                        And they shall know joy more rare—     
                                        Keener, keener pleasure   
                                        When you, my dear, come there.   
                                         .    .    .    .    .

                                         The little angels of Heaven   
                                         Each wear a long white gown,   
                                         And they lean over the ramparts
                                         Waiting and looking down.   

As I read these lines, it isn’t hard to visualize Emilie as one of those “little angels of heaven.”   Her sparkling personality and the things she said fit precisely the way we imagine someone with a halo playing ball or playing chess.  My experiences as a first grade teacher and elementary school librarian assure me that the traits which made Emilie so appealing in this life, are a sneak preview of what it must be like to be  in the kingdom of heaven.

Today I became aware of a blog that Emilie’s mother, Alissa Parker writes called The Parker Five.  I welcome the opportunity (and privilege) of reading what she is writing.  I want to share vicariously Alissa and Robbie’s “journey through the grieving process”  after losing their daughter. 

My personal identification with the Parkers began the day I realized with a shock of recognition, that Emilie is the great-granddaughter of Leah Griffin Cottle.   Leah and I are cousins.  Technically half-cousins but to us there is no difference between the two.

Thomas Griffin ~ whose picture was featured in the last blog I did, had two wives.  His first wife, Martha Ann Gover (my Aunt Martha) was Leah’s grandmother; his second wife, Ruth Emma Maughan, was my grandmother.  Leah and I grew up in Clarkston and lived just one-half block from each other.  Leah was eight years older than I but the age difference didn’t matter.  She had a wonderful, friendly personality and it was always fun to be around her.

Leah’s sister Julia had a pet hen and they would dress the hen up in doll clothes and hold her wing as she walked along with them.  Leah loved reading and read everything in the small town school library.  She always had good books in her home.  She felt it was important and enjoyed reading aloud to her children.

Leah died ten years ago.  She closed an autobiographical sketch she wrote, with these words:

I would say to our descendants: Remember who you are.  You have a rich heritage as a child of God and a member of a large and loving family.  Be true to what you have been taught. We want you all with us and our ancestors forever.

Emilie was not born until three years after Leah’s death so they would not have known each other in this life.  But I can imagine how ecstatic Leah would be to meet her little great-granddaughter Emilie!

Also sharing that joyful reunion would be (1), Catherine Lovina Myler Griffin, Emilie’s 2nd great grandmother, Leah’s mother, my Aunt Kate.  Aunt Kate was gracious, charming, and pleasant with  beautiful feminine features.  She adored her nine children and knew the sorrow of burying a five-month old son.

And (2), Martha Ann Gover Griffin, Emilie's 3rd great-grandmother, Leah's grandmother, my grandfather's first wife, my Aunt Martha. 

Martha Griffin was "tactful, dependable, and had a sense of humor."  Her tenth child, Lucy was not quite three years old when Martha left her home and family in Clarkston and went to Salt Lake City to study nursing and obstetrics.  She spent the rest of her life answering calls night and day to tend to the sick.  Her family said she was truly "a great example of charity, patience, and enduring to the end."  She taught me what it means to be "tidy."

Because I am familiar with their names and faces and had a personal association with Emilie's ancestors, I can understand the excitement and affection they must be enjoying as they get to know this engaging little princess.  At the same time, I can relate to the profound and poignant sadness they must feel for Emilie's parents, Alissa and Robbie. It hurts; it hurts all of us to know that for Alissa, "Nothing seems to make it feel better.  Nothing seems to take it away." She writes in her blog that one day she wants to be able to remember all of the joy Emilie brought into her life "but without the accompanying feeling of tremendous pain."


If the poet  Ford Madox Hueffer is right, there shall be even more joy when Alissa and Robbie are reunited with Emilie.  They “shall know keener pleasure, And they shall know joy more rare."

 But for now, I hope there is some measure of comfort for the intense pain they are going through just by knowing that Emilie is surrounded by ancestors who are “waiting and looking down” with her.

P.S.  Here is a link to Alissa's blog:


http://theparkerfive.wordpress.com/about/

Or just type the following into Google:

the blog - The Parker Five

The Boundless Joy of Serving Christ

  
The theme at the top of my post today comes from the second verse of a hymn we Mormons sing in our services called “Go Forth with Faith” (#263 Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1985)

                                  Go forth to serve and do your best
                                  With no thought of reward;
                                  Then you shall know the boundless joy
                                  Of serving Christ the Lord.

I think that the text is the perfect way to introduce my paternal grandfather, Thomas Griffin.

 

Last Friday (March 1) was the 157th anniversary of his birth in Naunton, Beauchamp, Worcestershire, England in 1856.  Ten years later, his family sailed for America on the SS John Bright.  Their first home in Clarkston, Utah was a log house without doors, windows, or floors.

In February 1883, at the age of twenty-seven, my grandfather, along with Charles Shumway and Thomas Godfrey, were the first members to be called as missionaries from Clarkston.  All three were married men with families.  Accepting a call to labor as a missionary in the Tennessee Mission meant my grandfather had to leave his wife Martha Ann and their two small children: Henry, not quite five years old and Martha Melissa, their eighteen-month old daughter.

Shortly before the missionaries left Clarkston, a farewell party was held in their honor.  As my grandfather walked home through the town square from the old rock meeting house where the social was held, the moon was shining brightly.  In his words:  “The rays caught something on the ground that glittered and I picked it up.  It was a five dollar gold piece.  Something told me to take it to Brother Shumway as he needed it and that when I was in need I would get it back.  I took the money to Charley who needed that amount and didn't know where he was going to get it.”

Sunday, February 26, 1883,  all three missionaries were set apart in Salt Lake City. The next morning, a total of nineteen elders left together for Tennessee by train.  They nearly had ~ in my grandfather’s words, “a sad train accident while going down to Tennessee.  A switch was left open for our destruction, done as we supposed by some mobocrats.  The train kept the main track, which was a miracle, and we were saved but very badly jarred up." They went directly to Chattanooga where my grandfather received his appointment to labor in East Tennessee.

He baptized four persons and assisted in baptizing others.  He met “with much opposition from the pulpit, but no mob violence,” and was treated “as a general thing very kindly.”  The prospects in East Tennessee were “in nowise flattering”  but were more favorable than in other parts of the State where two elders were assassinated.

One day as he was tracting in Tennessee, walking down a dusty road, his shoes almost worn out, and no money in his pockets to buy a new pair, he noticed a shiny object lying in the road.  When he picked it up, it was a five dollar gold piece. “There was my five-dollar gold piece,” he would repeat as she shared this story with his family.  “My five-dollar gold piece come back to me." 

Thomas was released on Wednesday, March 27, 1884 and arrived in Salt Lake City on Monday, March 31.  On April 1, 1884, it was reported on page three of the Evening News, Salt Lake City  that he “much enjoyed his mission.”

He returned home to Clarkston on the seventh of April 7.  The ground was covered with snow so deep that he walked over the top of his fence to be reunited with his family. .


                                                                 *   *    *

In 1997, a group of Thomas Griffin’s descendants published a history about him entitled The Thomas Griffin Family. Included in the book are the names of  Thomas Griffin descendants who accepted a call to serve as missionaries, the names of the mission where they served, and the dates they served.   As a servant willing to accept a mission call, Thomas Griffin led the way; his posterity have followed in his footsteps.  It didn’t happen overnight.  In the beginning, the numbers who served were few and far between.  Decade by decade, the numbers have increased.

1900-1909     In 1906, at the age of 19, Thomas’ son Albert William Griffin was called to serve a mission to England.  He said goodbye to his family and left for Salt Lake City where he was set apart as a missionary by Heber J. Grant.  His ticket had already been purchased when it was discovered during a physical examination that he had a weak heart and he was  released from the calling.  To his credit, Albert was willing; luck was not on his side.

1910-1010    Thomas’ son, Raymond Maughan Griffin left Salt Lake in January 1917 to serve in the Western States.  He was on his mission during World War I and said it was hard to teach the gospel during the war. Many people told him that he should be in the Army instead of the mission field.

1920-1929     David Ronald Clark was the first grandson to serve a mission.  He served in Northern California from 1928-1930.

1930-1939    Ralph J. Griffin was the second grandson to receive a call.  In 1938, he was scheduled to go to England, but because of the war, was sent instead to the Eastern States Mission.

1940-1949     Seven grandchildren served as missionaries during this decade:

                      Harold J. Griffin                  Spanish-American       1940-1943
                      Edwin Maughan Jardine     Texas Louisiana            1941-1943 
                      Julia Griffin Woolley           Spanish-American       1942-1944.
                      Earl H. Griffin                      New England States    1942-1944
                      Richard Earl Griffin             Northern California     1946-1948.  
                      Dewey Lynn Griffin             California                    1948-1950       
                      James A. Crookston             Argentina                     1948-1950

1950-1959    9 missionaries           
1960-1969    24 missionaries       
1970-1979    63 missionaries       
1980-1989    70 missionaries       
1990-1997    88 missionaries       

 As of the date the book was published, (1997) the total number of  missionaries who could trace their lineage directly to Thomas Griffin and had served a mission came to a total of  267 individuals. 

Those of us who helped compile the history are no longer in touch with each other; consequently, no current figures as to how many descendants have served are available.  But today, twenty-six years later, family members continue to accept mission calls to serve throughout the world.  Their faith and obedience  contribute to the boundless joy that Thomas Griffin deserves for the admirable example he set.

Sister Clark in Sweden

Remember that most adorable blond I talked about in the post I did about a YouTube showing high school graduates receiving their mission calls?  Adelide Christensen, who received a call to serve in Sweden?

The time is getting closer for her to leave and as I think about her and her experiences ahead, I am reminded of a letter I received from another very attractive girl with long blond hair from our ward who also served in Sweden: Cynthia Clark.  Even her return address sounded Scandinavian: Rådjursvägen 2, 137 32 Vasterhaninge, Sverige.  The stamp on the envelope had a sturdy looking Moose with the words Alg Alces alces which I believe translates Canadian elk, European elk, moose.

Just twenty-five years ago this month, (March 1995), Cynthia sent back her answers to a questionnaire I like to send to missionaries. For example:  What surprised you most about your first assignment?  “I served in an area which had not had a baptism in four years!  Welcome to Sweden!”

Stockholm Sweden Temple

Something you do for a weekly service project: “In my last area, we helped out sorting clothes for the Red Cross.  My new area is here in Stockholm and I live across the street (basically) from the Stockholm Temple.  So we help out in the laundry there.  It’s crazy ~ Swedes won’t really let you help out for free – they always want to pay you.  I guess it has to do with the Socialist system here.”


To make things simple, I supply a few options for them to circle. To describe the weather, Cynthia circled “Cold, Pleasant, Overcast and Humid” and added a write-in “Snowy.”
For breakfast she circled Cold Cereal, Cooked Cereal: and added “Musli in Yoghurt.”

Something new you have learned to eat in your mission and now enjoy: “They eat a lot of moose up here in Sweden.  It tastes like beef, just with a stronger flavor.  It truly tastes great!  They also eat pickled (raw) herring for special occasions like Christmas.  I have to be honest though, I don’t really enjoy it yet!”

What do you wish you had brought with you? . . . “My Sony Walkman.”

Laundry:  “I do my own laundry.  We live in an apartment complex which has laundry rooms called ‘tvätt-stuga’s’ in the basement of each building.  They have a great invention: it’s a room full of clotheslines and then there’s this heater-fan machine which heats the whole room.  It’s great!  Our clothes dry within a couple hours and don’t shrink!”

Mode of transportation for getting around: “Bus, Train, and Metro.  We walk a ton!”

Something that has helped you to live with your companion 24 hours a day: “We sing a hymn together before we go out in the mornings.  It totally sets the tone for the whole day!”

What you like best about your present companion: “My companion is great.  She has an incredible testimony and the gift of faith!”

What bugs you most about companions you have had: “Companions sometimes have the spirit of competition ~ which is great out in ‘the real world” but has no place in companionships.”

What is your mission president like: “Pres. Arne Hedberg (pronounced “head-berry”) is the most wonderful, kind, understanding man in Sweden.  He knows exactly when to be strict and when to be understanding.”

A social practice or style of living in your area that you likes so well you wish you could bring it back to Utah and have it for keeps: “Swedes take off their shoes when entering a house.  It was hard to get used to ~ but sure keeps the floors clean!”

Something about missionary life that nobody ever told you to expect: “Nobody tod me that you would be forced to examine, upclose and personal, all of your weaknesses.  You also become quite aware of those strengths you have as well.  But, you learn to use both your strengths and weaknesses well in order to help others receive the Gospel in their lives.  And that feels great!”

Missionaries have permission to make two phone calls home a year: Christmas and Mother’s Day. Two months later, (May 1995) on Mother’s Day, Cynthia told her mother that she was in a difficult mission.  Most of the people had already heard the missionary discussions.  But Cynthia said that they were planting a ton of seeds.  When Cynthia learned that her Mother would be speaking later that day in Sacrament Meeting, she said, “Just please tell everybody that a miracle happened today.  Heavenly Father knows we love the gospel.  He helped us today.”
                                  
Cynthia told of coming home from the Swedish Temple and seeing a lady sitting with her daughter.  Cynthia felt prompted to speak to her.  The lady said, “I’ve just been waiting here for you so long!”  It was exactly what Cynthia had prayed for in the Temple!”


Cynthia said she cannot believe how well she has done with the language and says that she has been blessed abundantly.  She is much more confident in Swedish than she ever thought possible.  Two weeks into the MTC she was able to pray and bear her testimony in Swedish.  She left SLC in December and by the end of March, her Mission President said that she was speaking as well as if she had been there for a year.  “I’m glad I’m here,” she said.  “I love Sweden.  I’ve felt the Lord’s help daily.  I will be grateful if I bring at least one soul unto Christ, even if that one is me.”

A scripture that took on new and personal meaning for Cynthia:

Mormon 9:19-21

9 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.

 20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.

 21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.

Finding Joy in the Midst of Pain

         Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  Matt. 5:4

Since starting a blog about joy in January, I find that each and every time I hear the word joy used or mentioned, I receive additional insight as to just how expansive and all-encompassing this word is.

Not only do I find new and more dimensions for the concept of joy, I feel a wonderfully warm sense of camaraderie towards the person who is willing to acknowledge and talk about the joy in their lives.  In a way that I can’t fully explain, I feel doubly blessed to share that joy with them. 

This morning I felt as if my feet left the ground for a brief interval as I read about Chris and Natalie Jones whose 10-year old son, Mitchell faces a very difficult future as his muscles continue to rapidly waste away.

“While navigating the labyrinth of pain and sorrow, Natalie and I often talk about finding joy … and we believe it is all around us,” Mitchell's father wrote in a post he titled Mourning With Those That Mourn. “Even in the midst of our deep heartache with our son’s prognosis, we have seen God work in our lives for which we are deeply grateful and we can find joy in the midst of our pain.”

You can find the article by clicking on:   Tackling-grief-Former-BYU-football-player-gives-young-boy-a-lift.html

Called to Serve

The joy of being a Mormon that I want to share this week comes from watching a YouTube video about more than 80 Olympus High School Class of 2012 graduates who have received mission calls. 

In a very exciting and emotional way, this video captures the magic slash miracle of young people who interrupt their life’s activities, put their goals on hold, and willingly serve, at their own expense, wherever they are called to go.  They do it because they love the Lord Jesus Christ.

Olympus High School Mission Calls


The video was compiled and uploaded by Danielle Chard, a talented 19-year-old from Salt Lake City.  Danielle herself received a mission call. and is presently in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) preparing to serve in Frankfrut, Germany.  Before she left, Danielle uploaded the video which features more than 80 of her classmates opening their mission calls.  All of the missionaries included are Class of 2012 graduates of Olympus High School here in Salt Lake City.

It’s a becoming a tradition for a prospective missionary to surround him or herself with family and friends to be present when the letter with the actual mission assignment or “mission call” is received.  The room is filled with eager anticipation, heightened suspense, and almost unbearable curiosity as everybody waits for the missionary to open the huge envelope packet and start reading aloud the letter inside:

Dear Elder (or Sister) _______   You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  You are assigned to labor in the . . . .

When the name of the actual mission is disclosed, the group responds with shrieks, shouts, cheers, and applause.  Not showing on the video are the eyelashes fringed with sparkling moisture nor the smiles of former and return missionaries as tears of joy spill over and run down their cheeks. 

Olympus High is part of my neighborhood.  I taught French there 43 years ago.  Both of my two sons are graduates of Olympus High.  I live in the Holladay 2nd Ward, a Mormon ward of over 600 members. Olympus High is the school our high school age members attend.   Four of the young people in the video are from our ward.  I see them at  weekly church meetings and functions in the same chapel.  We know each other on a first-name basis.  It was a source of personal pride and pleasure to see their names and faces in the YouTube:

                              Adelide Christensen   Sweden, Stockholm Mission
                              Angie Boyce               Argentina, Bahia Blanca Mission
                              Brayden Manning,      England, Manchester Mission
                              Andrew Price              Russia, Vladivostok Mission

Adelide is the gorgeous blond who looks as if she could win a Miss Universe pageant.  That’s her mother Sara holding her iphone close to record her own pictures, and her father Doug, looking on from behind.  If Adelide looks like someone from Sweden with her authentic honey-blond long hair, it is because  she traces her pedigree directly back to Sweden.  The hesitation and fingertips to her lips express the overwhelming emotion of learning that she will be serving in the same mission as her father Doug, and her grandfather, Doug’s father.  In fact, Adelide will be a Seventh Generation missionary to Sweden: her ancestors joined the church in Sweden and served as missionaries long before they emigrated to America.

The video ends with a world map with colorful stick  pins showing where the missionaries will serve, followed by Section 4 of the Doctrine and Covenants scrolling down the screen.  Section 4 was a revelation given through Joseph Smith the Prophet.  It spells out the Qualifications for the “labors of the ministry.”  You can find the text online at:
 
D&C Section 4

I hope you will accept my invitation to read this scripture, as well as view the YouTube.

And may you find joy in so doing so.

Families Are Forever

 “To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”   ~ Mark Twain

      I am looking at a honeymoon picture of a couple holding hands across a small table at the famed Copacabana in Miami.  The couple were married January 31, 1947 in Decatur, Illinois.   The groom is Bruce Barton Turner; his bride is my husband’s favorite cousin, Cora Ruth Walker.

Bruce and Cora Ruth

      From 1944 to 1946, Bruce served as a first lieutenant in the 1st Air Command Group 6th Fighter Squadron.  Cora Ruth still has a silk scarf that Bruce wore wrapped around his neck as an aviator.  The scarf is printed on both sides with a map of the China-Burma-India Theater covered by his squadron.  During World War II, silk scarves were printed with maps of enemy territory so that if airmen were shot down, the silk map would help them to avoid capture or find their way to safety.

I'll be home with "Wings"  love, Bruce

         Fortunately, Bruce Turner never needed his scarf map.  He returned home safely on February 26, 1946 from his service, having earned the Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon with two battle stars, the American Theater Ribbon, and the WWII Victory Medal.

         On March 28, 1946, Cora Ruth and Bruce went on their first date and attended a basketball game in Charleston, Illinois.  They had met at a friend’s “coming out” party five years earlier when Cora Ruth was 16, but hadn’t seen each other since.  During the party, there was a Cinderella dance in which the girls each put one of their shoes in the center of the circle of boys.  The boys then drew out one shoe and were paired up to dance with the shoe’s rightful owner.  You guessed it – Bruce drew out Cora Ruth’s shoe!

       The night that I met Cora Ruth for the first time, she was a widow, standing next to the open casket of her husband of thirteen years.  At her side, showing poise and maturity beyond his years, was her twelve-year old son, Keil, the eldest of five children.  It was August 1960 at a mortuary in Mattoon, Illinois.

         I had already met Cora Ruth’s parents and was impressed with their intelligence, good manners, and gracious hospitality.  I soon discovered that Cora Ruth had the same traits to a polished degree.  I think we were both attracted to each other and for many years have enjoyed keeping in touch with letters and pictures, birthday and Christmas cards.  We each have a birthday in the month of August and have rarely missed exchanging cards.  Cora Ruth has come west to be a guest in our home several times and I have been welcomed to her lovely home many times when I traveled east.

       We both are elementary school teachers.  We both love art, music, physical fitness, books, travel, and playing the piano.  We both are dedicated to the religion we have embraced: I am Mormon and Cora Ruth has been a member of the First Christian Church in Mattoon for over sixty years.  We both sang in our church choirs for well past 50 years.  I sang soprano, Cora Ruth was an alto.  We both stopped singing for the same reason: We didn’t like the sound of our voice! There is a special bond between us.

Cora Ruth Turner and Florence Butler

                                                         
                                                           *******   

      Today, January 31, 2013  would have been Bruce and Cora Ruth’s 66th wedding anniversary. There is no picture to memorialize this anniversary but I am observing this date by visualizing Bruce and Cora Ruth as they would look holding hands across the altar in a Mormon Temple if they were kneeling to be sealed, not just for time, but for all eternity. 

    So why do I have this dream for them, and why does the possibility of seeing that dream come true mean so much to me? Let me count the ways.

•     FIRST on the list, the love I have for Cora Ruth runs deep; she is dear to me and she is deserving.  We are part of each other’s lives; we are part of the same family. 

      It is natural to want the best of everything for your family.  It’s an emotion that goes way back through the ages.  Father Lehi, a beloved Book of Mormon prophet had the same feelings 600 years before Christ.  He saw in a vision a tree, a tree whose fruit “was desirable to make one happy.”  He partook of the fruit, found that it was sweet above all that he had ever before tasted, and white “to exceed all the whiteness” that he had ever seen.

      And as he partook of the fruit, his soul was filled “with exceeding great joy.” 

     “Wherefore,” he wrote, “ I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit.”  (1 Nephi 8:12 Book of Mormon)

•    SECOND,  just as it has given me happiness to think of Bruce and Cora Ruth as a married couple in this life, it is an even more exhilarating feeling to imagine the joy that would come if they were still married when they meet again.

      Elder Russell M. Nelson, one of our Twelve Apostles, explains it in words that I like:

       “The noblest yearning of the human heart is for a marriage that can endure beyond     death .”

•    The THIRD reason that I hope for a temple marriage has to do with the wonderful reunion that I think is in store for Bruce, Cora Ruth and their children.  Cora Ruth and her four sons and one daughter have had a lifetime of identifying themselves as a family, living together, and enjoying one another's company. They have been without their father but they have never forgotten him, just as I am certain that Bruce has not forgotten them.  It’s easy to imagine the joy and emotion that Bruce’s family would experience to welcome him back into their lives.  As for Bruce, I think he would be ecstatic to see his family and be with them again!


                                                The Bruce Turner Family

Bryce, Barry, Cora Ruth, Keil, Crystal and Craig

      Spencer W. Kimball, the twelfth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has promised that the  “most beautiful relationships of parents and children can be made permanent. The holy association of families can be never-ending if husband and wife have been sealed in the holy bond of eternal matrimony. Their joys and progress will never end . . .”


Sources

1.  The picture of Bruce and Cora Ruth and information about their courtship and Bruce’s military service was featured in the  KC Summers Family Album, Newsletter, Volume 12, September 2002.

2.   Pictures of Bruce Turner in uniform, and family picture of the Bruce Turner Family courtesy Craig Turner.