cc: file, Tony Hafen, Pauline Nelson via mail, Sara and Des Penny, Claude and Katherine Warner, Lloyd and Luana Warner, Diane Cluff, Maxine Shirts via mail.
"At Priesthood meetings last night President Gordon B. Hinkley announced a new church program called the Perpetual Education Fund. The only other time I have felt this type of excitement about an announcment from church leaders was when blacks were given the priesthood. So for this week's Thoughtlet, I am going to describe why I feel these two announcements are each so significant.
When I was in Corvallis (../1997/9715.html), the young man from Westminister, Colorado told me his parents had told him he should have nothing to do with the `Mormon Church' because they didn't treat blacks right, and `they were going to be socially punished for it.' Having grown up on a farm in Southern Utah, I had seldom if ever seen a black, and certainly was unaware of the unjustices from here in the south. Over the next two years while at the University of Utah, prior to my mission, there was my friendship with Leo the black football player at the University of Utah (../9732.html), events like the riots at Colorado State University when BYU went there for a basketball game, the burning of the ROTC Building at the University of Utah campus with the associated comments about the way the Mormon Church treats blacks, etc.
I did not understand, and watched these events with the wide eyed wonder of a teenager from Utah first seeing the pornographic newstands of Europe. Of course, I experienced this on my mission, along with my first opportunities to teach wonderful, humble, salt-of-the-earth black folks who had immigrated from Jamaica, or other English colonies. In fact, we baptized a Brother Folkes in Ipswitch. I still remember the day he bore his testimony, and the quiet in the Ipswich chapel. I remember his confirmation, and the promise that he would someday hold the priesthood.
Not being shy, I asked questions, I studied all of the scriptures about the `curse of Cain,' along with all of the quotes from Prophets and leaders I could get my hands on about blacks and the priesthood. I built up a scriptural based rationalization for why blacks could not hold the Priesthood. I also found it very interesting in my studies to learn that one of the main reasons the church members were burned out of Missouri, and other places, was because they voted as a block against slavery and treated blacks as regular people. There were black members in the first wagon train to Utah, and there have been strong black members of the church since the early 1830's. Someday they would receive the priesthood, and in the meantime it was up to the members to trust in the Lord and the revelations.
I remember teaching and baptizing Brother Karim Deen Swaray and his family in London. I remember when Cornelia Salomina Struwig from Nigeria walked into the Hyde Park Chapel and asked to be taught. She was a tall beautiful woman, and I remember after her baptism being invited to her home to eat a traditional Nigerian meal with our fingers. It was greasy, and good. I remember coming home, getting married, and our friend who we met standing outside the Salt Lake Temple, Alex Stamper (0015.html), and just staring up at the lights.
So we moved to Dallas, and I was called as the Elder's Quorum President of the Dallas 1st Ward. I served with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength. I home taught a couple in the trailer park in back of Love Field where she was white and he was black, the black man that scared Ben so bad when we left the kids there to be babysat one night (../9814.html). When the `issue' of blacks and the priesthood came up, I would pull out my scriptures and go through my notes. Once the High Counselor working with our Quorum asked me to go to Greenville, Texas and go over my notes with a black member of the church there and his wife. I took Roice with me. We drove for an hour, found the place, and had our discussion. As I finished, he looked at me, and said `I have had a personal revelation. I will live to see the day when all blacks will be given the priesthood.' I was at a complete loss of words, as Roice and I drove back to Dallas. It wasn't too long after that when Grandma Hafen called, and was very excited as she told me about an announcement that blacks will be given the same rights with regards to holding the priesthood as all other male members of the church. It was a really neat experience for me, and I could feel the joy of Brother Folkes in Ipswich, Brother Swary in London, Sister Struwig in Nigeria, Brother Johnson in Greenville, and Alex Stamper even though I did not know if they were all still active in the church, or in Alex' case ever joined the church. Even though I had built a rationalization for the limitations of blacks holding the priesthood, it felt wonderful to personally see fullfillment of personal revelation.
Last night my feelings were comparable. In the frist session of Conference President Hinckley had said he would be making an announcement at the Priesthood Session `which will be liked.' I will quote my notes from Priesthood meeting, and then comment:
So why do I think this is so important? Looking out 30 or 40 years, and thinking through the impact of returned missionaries who have received technical training in the poor countries of the Philippines, Mexico, other places in South America, Asia, and Africa, I can see an army of those who shun evil and strive to do the right making significant differences in their homes, their communities, and their countries. In a single announcement is the creation of the largest privately funded worldwide education program on the face of the planet. With over 60,000 missionaries now serving, and a large percentage of them from poor countries, this will change lives and the world.
This announcement makes my week seem pretty mundane. I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with Swede Nelson and Ted Collins. There is sincere interest in Dynamic, and we still seem so far away from closing a deal. Monday I forgot and almost missed RC-SIG call. They called and reminded me. Dave Ridyard at Continuum loaned me a computer and a projector for the Obsolesence talk at SIPES (Society for Independent Petroleum Exploration Scientists) in Corpus Christi. Andrea rode down with me, and helped drive on the way to Corpus. There were 35 folks in the talk, and it seemed to go well. Quite a bit of discussion afterwards. It was raining pretty hard, and Andrea and I still went over and went on a tour of the Lexington Aircraft Carrier. Between her Dad's military service in World War II and her mission to Japan, there was a deep and sincere interest in all of the exhibits. I have been on a couple of these big ships, and I was somewhat interested. Andrea was really into it. We got soaked going from and to the car. The windshield wipers stopped working on the way back to Houston, and we were able to find a service center where they fixed them for us. We got home about 8:30 Tuesday night.
Wednesday morning Dick Coons called with news that a company with offices in London and Seattle, Bois 'Arc Offshore Ltd., bid $1.2 million on each of the Ship Shoal Blocks we were trying to get $500,000 together to bid for last week. Oh well! We will contact Bois 'Arc and see if we can work with them. Based on Ted Collins schedule, we postponed Monday's Dynamic Technology Meeting #3 until Ted can come to town. I sent copies of the new business plan to Enron and Devan. I was at Hanover Homes at noon, and Blaine Taylor and Steve Joseph arrived about 12:30. We had a good planning meeting, and have an approach for getting Hanover what they need. I made it home just in time to go to Young Men's. We went to the nursing home with the Laurels. Rachel has taken on planting flowers for the Nurshing Home as a Laurel Project. It stopped raining long enough to be a good evening. John Snideman is back from a military school, and he is doing really good. He is calling Rob to talk to him. On the way back to the church Greg Stine drove the Saturn. He had a bit of a hard time with the stick shift and we made it back fine.
Thursday morning, after several phone calls and e-mails, I was at Hannover at 11:00 with Bavinger's Urban Machine plans. There wasn't time to work because I was supposed to be downtown at the Petroleum Club for lunch with Geoffry Pyke, a possible Landman to work with Dynamic. It was a nice lunch. He is just closing a deal similar to Ed Gray's coal-bed methane Ferron Sandstones. I got back to Hanover at 2:00, and Steve wasn't there, so I went to Chroma. On the way home I stopped and saw Rob. He would not come to the door. Marti was home, and we talked. The conversation was weird. `You are just going to blame me for everything.' `No, that doesn't do anyone any good.' `See, you are blaming me.' It was very hard for me. I went home and watched `Meet the Parents' with Rachel. I thought it was gross, and for the most part not that funny. Rachel liked it.
Friday morning I called Taylor High School and learned Rob is failing 3 of 4 classes, and has told them he is dropping out of school. It is a sad fact that I almost become unable to function when those I love are in so much pain and doing things which look to me like they will cause them serious harm. I went to Chroma and spent the day hiding in the Matagorda 3-D seismic survey. When I got home, Andrea could tell I was still in a funk, and we went to the temple to do a session. It gave me a chance to put Rob's and Marti's names on the temple prayer roll. It seems there is not much else I can do, other than pray for them.
Saturday morning started with Choir Practice. We went back at 11:00 for Conference. There was a note from Aunt Sara inviting Rob to come and stay with them, and with an advertisement for a self-discovery adventure in Southern Utah. I took over to give to Marti, and she would not come to the door, "because she was not dressed appropriately." This doesn't make any sense to me, since she was in the house with Rob, who is struggling, and if her choice of clothing is inappropriate for me to see, what message does it send to him? I am so tired of the duplicity and hiding. I passed the phamplet and invite from Sara on to Rob, and he was civil with no response. When I got home, I went out in the back yard and wrote a song for Andrea (and Rob), which yet to be named:
I was late picking up Matt and Jared for the Priesthood Session of Conference because I was writing the song. We ended up going to The Marble Slab afterwards. The first people we saw were Reynolds Calhoon and two of his sons. We were talking about how exciting the announcement of the Perpetual Education Fund was when Greg Stine and his Dad got their ice cream cones and stopped to talk to us. David Swope came in back of us, after talking about the announcement we were talking about Roice's motorcycle and broken collar bone, A.J.'s new baby, etc. The young lady and her date between us wondered why we all had on white shirts and ties. Then Doug Hastings and his sons came in, and we expressed excitement about the announcement. I told him I am consulting for his competition, Hanover Homes, and he said good. As we left, Gary Jones and Seth arrived, and Gary said the words I quoted earlier, that with this single announcement comes the creation of the largest privately funded worldwide education program on the face of the planet. It is nice to feel excitement in the air.
Today we went to Conference, watched a movie on Mormon Battalion, had a picnic between sessions with Colleen Moore and her kids, watched another special broadcast between Conference sessions called something like `The Church News Today,' watched the last last session of Conference, wrote this Thoughtlet, and Matt gave a Family Home Evening Lesson on the importance of choosing good friends. I have notes from Conference, which since it is already 10:00, thanks to Daylight Savings Time, I will summarize in a future Thoughtlet. I hope each of you catch some of the Prophet's vision, that you each have a great week, and that you each consider how we can work together to help Rob get back on track, and possibly create a family Perpetual Education Fund for Ethan, and others who are waiting to join our extended family."