My Father-in-Law

It was on a day during the summer of 1970, shortly after I ate my fill of dinner. I was informed, by my future wife, that I was also invited to my first meal with her family, even though I was past full. She told me that her father was a Mormon Bishop and I imagined a stern patriarch filled with self-righteous indignation. The first time I met Walt, he was sitting at the head of the table, enjoying a spaghetti dinner, looking neither self-righteous nor indignant, just hungry.

During the many days that followed and into the early years of our marriage, he never chided or scolded me for my weaknesses, he just aided where he could. He had an engineer’s intellect and was quick with math and could do trigonometry equations in his mind.

Our young family moved many times and he helped us along with car repairs, trailers, home projects and the like. He never claimed to be without fault and did not lean on false pretense or hidden agendas. I always knew where he stood on a given topic. He was forthright and honest and expected others to be the same.

His life was filled with meticulous work and he had struggled at all odds to make something of himself, despite a background that required he be on his own from about the age of twelve, until he married. He repeated many stories of his WWII military days, his struggles and successes. On one occasion, while on a troop ship, he suffered an appendectomy without anesthetic and in still another instance, after cracking some ribs, he acquired whooping cough, suffering intensely.

Walt and and his wife, Floy, were the only relatives that visited us while we were stationed in both the Orient and Europe.

During a beautiful time of year in Germany, we drove about in an old VW bus. Once Walt was hurt when we were sightseeing. After stopping near a roadside park, he challenged our young son, Scott, to a foot race. The ground was loose dirt and Walt fell, scratching his face and breaking his glasses.

The German optical shop took several hours to fix his spectacles, but Walt jokingly said it was worth it, because he won the race. That’s not the only race he won.

As Walt got older, he slowly lost his independence and my last memories of him involved sometimes seeing that he took his many medications, his breathing treatments and preparing his meals, including his routine breakfast of six waffles, covered with strawberry jam, alongside two scrambled eggs.

He often said to me, “Bill, this life sure is hard to leave. Sometimes it seems like the pain is not worth staying for.” Walt suffered his share of physical distress but his new home is much more agreeable. We haven’t seen the last of Walt. When it’s our turn, he’ll welcome us with open arms to the other side.

THE SILENT TREATMENT

The following was told to me by a friend, which I will give in my own words:

While serving in a new area on my mission, my companion and I were instructed to open a new city for the spreading of the Gospel. We began by fasting and prayer. After knocking on several doors, we found one home where the woman of the house said she was interested in hearing our message. She was busy at the time and asked us to come back in a couple hours. We did so and we were instead met at the door by a man who began loudly cursing at us. We attempted to leave but he blocked our path and continued his cursing in the most profane manner.

I was suddenly prompted by the Spirit to rebuke the man by saying, “In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to cease cursing this very instant.” The man continued to open and close his mouth, but no sound sprang forth and it became apparent that he was suddenly struck dumb. He became highly agitated as he tried to speak and yet was unable to do so. I do not know how long he was silent because he ran back into his house and we never saw him again.

Over the course of the next few days we baptized 25 individuals and started a branch of the Church in that city.

A BIT OF INSIGHT

A scripture reads:

“O how great the holiness of our God! For He knoweth all things, and there is not anything save He knows it.” (2 Nephi 9:20)

“Some, who hear that God the Father enjoys ‘eternal progression,’ erroneously interpret that to mean that He is continually learning and gaining knowledge. Such is not the case, as the verse above makes clear. God knows all things. As far as He is concerned, ‘eternal progression’ means His kingdoms are constantly increasing.”

(This is taken from the publication, entitled, Unlocking the Book of Mormon by Daniel Ludlow and others, pg.74).

The Ziggurat of Ur (or Abraham’s Birthplace)

About 4,000 years ago, in present day Iraq, a monument to the moon god, Nanna, was built. The last vestige of the structure, the Ziggurat, was a part of the temple complex. It consisted of a huge stepped platform over 100 feet high. It is still well preserved in many parts, considering its age.

The following information was presented to me by a military member serving in Iraq and I have put his comments in my own words:

“Because of the many historical artifacts that this monument presented, the caretaker was told by the leadership of Iraq that if he would prepare the monument for tourists, the site could be a way to bring visitors into the area and result in a monetary gain for the caretaker. Necessary repairs were made, a safe walkway was constructed, archaeological information was researched and an informational tour presentation was organized. These improvements came at great expense to the caretaker.

The very first visit was to be the Pope and his entourage which was to lead the way for further visits by the general public. Shortly before the arrival of the Pope, Saddam Hussein, contacted the Vatican to tell them that the Pope and his group was welcome to come, but that Iraq’s security team could not guarantee his safe passage. As a result, the Pope cancelled his trip. No further visits were planned to the Ziggurat because of safety issues. The caretaker was now deep in debt and virtually penniless.

During the War on Terror, the U.S. established a base not far away from the monument. The caretaker saw an opportunity to give guided tours to the site and perhaps to earn a little money by asking for donations to go on the tour. I gave him five dollars at the end of the presentation and the man almost broke down and cried. For a time it seemed that the caretaker would be able to win back some of his losses by giving more and more tours to more American military members.

Unfortunately the 'Ugly American' stigma of years ago is still alive and well. Many of the military are discouraged and extremely unhappy to be in Iraq and a few even vent their anger on the innocent. Some of the soldiers urinated on artifacts and desecrated the building. The end result was that the monument was ordered 'off limits' to all American military and the caretaker’s hopes of success were dissolved. So much for our 'good example' overseas. “