Mostly about Utah
I had a number of requests to include Japanese LDS membership data. I have added a chart that gives a visual indication of the growth of the Church in Japan. The membership numbers were gathered from 36 years of Deseret News Church Almanacs.
To see the chart and the accompanying data table, go the the Japan LDS page.
This is the movie that Daniel sent with his last email. I think he wanted to demonstrate that it is wet in Washington. Indeed the western side of Washington receives as much as 160 inches of precipitation annually, making it the wettest area of the 48 lower states (by comparison Utah receives 15 inches annually). Weeks or even months may pass in Washington without a clear day.
If you cannot see the video click here.
Daniel in a Sacred Grove look alike
I included a bonus feature movie this week. It should be on Dad’s blog soon and worth a viewing. It shows the wonderful weather of Vancouver, Washington. This week was great! We met some new people that expressed interest in the church.
The man with the bird is from Moldova. He speaks Russian and Romanian and also English. He always likes to feed us when we come over and we’ve eaten some interesting stuff. Nothing I can’t handle… :) So he showed us his birds in his backyard and it was neat. The other photograph is of Elder Harris and I. The last one seemed to apply to missionary work somehow so we took it.
The best story is of Ryan. We were riding home on our bikes at the end of the day and we passed up someone jogging on the street. We decided to stop and talk to him and he asked us a few questions, but not that much. We were going to give him a card so he could call the number etc, but he said well you can just stop by later my apartment is over there etc.
It was awesome we usually ask if we can come to their house later, but with him we didn’t and he asked us if we’d like to come over. So weeks passed with us trying to contact him. He was busy, but with our efforts we finally met with him. He was really receptive and we also seemed to become instant friends. We told him how we like to hike on Tuesday and play basketball and he’d be welcome to come. So the next day he texted us and said that he was going surfing and that he had some hook-ups to where we could go for free. I’ve always liked surfing so I thought about the offer :). We talked to him and explained we can’t go surfing. Anyhow it was really cool to have someone be interested in being our friend and interested in the gospel.
Moldova with bird and Elder Harris
We also met with Moriaa, another person we just happened to stop by and talk to. He was in a hurry and said he just lived around the corner and is always outside. So we went back later and tracked the houses there and asked his neighbors until we found him. He only really has free time on Saturday so it took about three weeks to finally contact him. He was very prepared for the message we taught. We basically taught how churches became corrupt over time to us and led perfectly to the Restoration. It was truly a great lesson and the Spirit was strong. The Lord blessed us greatly to find these people and we’ve been getting busy.
I’ve been here in the area about six weeks now and its incredible to see how the work has progressed. It has required lots of effort, but I think we’ll have some baptisms really soon. We’re excited to see how it all turns out. I don’t think I need anything. Our new mission president comes near the end of June. Happy birthday Paul! Thanks for all you do family!
To Dad:
I really like telling people about your conversion story. People here, when we say we’re from Utah, normally are like, “Oh… they’re all from Utah…” or “Is that where all Mormons come from?” kind of attitude. So I jump in real fast and say well my dad is from England. I also say, his plan was to come to America, find a wife and then go back to England, but he only got half the deal, my Mom wanted to stay in America. They always laugh at that.
Love, Elder Willoughby
Elders Harris and Willoughby
Elder Daniel Willoughby is serving in the Washington Kennewick Mission. If you want to communicate with Daniel, write in the comments or use one of these addresses.
This photograph was published by Bain News Service between 1910 and 1915. These Mormons were probably refugees from Mexico. In addition to numerous Mexican refugees, nearly 3,000 Mormons sought refuge in El Paso in 1912, going there from Mexico to escape dangers in the border areas during the Mexican revolution that started in 1911. The refugees received a warm welcome from the hospitable people of El Paso—so warm that many of them decided to stay.
When Salazar, a leading revolutionary general, demanded that the Mormons surrender all their guns to his army, they hurriedly made preparations to move their families out of Mexico.
At 7:30 a.m. on July 29, 1912, the Colonia Diaz colonists were informed that they would need to leave in three hours. By 10:30 a.m., 800 colonists were ready to board trains bound for El Paso. The trains contained mostly women and children. Many of the men rode north hoping to avoid militia in an effort to drive their remaining livestock across the border. Many were robbed, some were beaten, and a few were killed. As many as 1,500 colonists found themselves homeless in El Paso during the summer of 1912
Once villages were abandoned, Mexican troops ransacked and burned homes and property. Livestock was slaughtered and left to rot in the street. Furniture was set ablaze within comfortable, clean homes. Machinery was smashed to bits. For a revolution ignited by poverty, such wanton acts of destruction revealed an alarming rage. The Sonora colonies were utterly destroyed never to be resettled.
After 25 years of careful cultivation, the crops and orchards were particularly bountiful that season and the colonists were forced to leave just before harvest. George Sevey wrote in his memoirs of the day the women and children left:
Our gaze is now turned toward the north, there like field after field of corn, oats, and potatoes, clothed in that deep rich verdure which promises abundant harvest of mature products.
Source: The 1912 Exodus of Mormon Colonists from Mexico
Photo Credit: Library of Congress. Here is a high resolution 5784 x 4218 pixels version, in Tagged Image File (TIF) format, that you can download.
New Mormon.org screenshots
The biggest change coming to Mormon.org is the profiles of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The site’s goal is to have 1,000 profiles of Mormons by the end of May 2010. Who’s profile? Your profile.
If you are a member of the Church it is easy to do. It just takes a little bit of thought to write your story in the different sections. Here’s what the new Mormon.org has to say:
Mormons come from diverse backgrounds and experiences who all share a deep commitment to Jesus Christ and to each other. The new Mormon.org is designed for visitors to learn more about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Each profile is a collection of stories and testimonies from Mormons. Participation is optional, but you must be a member of the Church to create a profile. The profiles will be made public this summer when the new site will launch.
I decided to complete a profile. I signed in with my LDS account. I uploaded my photograph and entered links to my blog, Facebook, and Twitter sites. There are a number of sections to fill out. The About Me is simple, I basically said where I was born, that I emigrated and married and what my interests are.
Next was the section called How I live my faith. I wrote about since joining the Church I have improved my life and learned how to serve. In the Why I am a Mormon section I wrote four paragraphs on how I was converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The next two sections you have to pick at least one question to answer and one story to tell. You have a lot of choices from which to choose. When you do this I wouldn’t expect that someone as gifted and intelligent as yourself would have any difficulty. That said, I had a little trouble picking the question I wanted to answer but once I got started I found it easier than I had anticipated. The question I picked to answer was, “How can I know Mormonism is true?”
For my story I chose to write about “In what ways have your prayers been answered?” Perhaps here I should show you what I wrote so that you will have some idea of what is wanted. I’m sure you can improve on my efforts when you write your story.
In 1986 I was laid off from my employment in early December. I had bought a home two months before and my wife stayed home with our three children. In early January I was still out of work. I did not have much savings so getting a job was becoming critical. Our family was eating out of our food storage to help conserve money.After reading the Book of Mormon in just a few days I knelt down and prayed to Heavenly Father. I told Him that it was time for me to go to work. I asked Him with as much concentrated faith as I could to please help me find employment by the end of the month. I rose from my knees with the most absolute surety that I have ever had that my prayer would be answered.A few days later a friend who was laid off at the same time as I was called me and said there were jobs for engineers with a large local employer. I applied and interviewed for the last vacancy. Two days later I was hired with my start date set at February 2nd.I was overjoyed that my prayer was answered but wondered why I was starting work in February. In my prayer I had asked Heavenly Father if I could have work by the end of January. I did not ponder this for long as I was happy to be able to go to work again.Three days later the personnel department of my new employer called me and asked if I would be willing to start on a Friday rather than on Monday morning. They were having some layoffs on Monday and didn’t want new hires being processed in at the same time.Looking at the calendar I realized that my new start date was January 30th.
There you go, that’s it. I saved my profile and eventually it was approved. Hopefully you will see it in all it’s glory on Mormon.org this summer. Now if I don’t see your profile out there I am going to be mighty disappointed.
My son Jake was at the wedding of Jake and Brittney this morning. He took a few photographs afterwards outside the Bountiful temple. Click on the photographs to obtain the high resolution versions.
President Thomas S. Monson
President Thomas S. Monson has served as the 16th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since February 3, 2008.
“As has been said so often, the best storehouse system that the Church could devise would be for every family to store a year’s supply of needed food, clothing, and, where possible, the other necessities of life.” (Thomas S. Monson, “Guiding Principles of Personal and Family Welfare,” Ensign, Sep 1986, 3)
“Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year’s supply of food and clothing and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year’s supply of debt and are food-free.” (President Thomas S. Monson, “That Noble Gift—Love at Home,” Church News, May 12, 2001, 7)
“We do live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties.” (Thomas S. Monson, “If Ye Are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear,” Ensign, Nov 2004, 113)
Yesterday I reviewed the excellent new book It’s In the Bag by Michelle and Trent Snow. Everything you need for a meal comes from a bag out of your food storage. I figured I ought to try one of the simpler recipes so I went for the Uglier than Heck Soup. However, I didn’t have all the ingredients so I chose the Beefy Bean Casserole.
For tonight’s meal I grabbed my imaginary bag and emerged from my food storage with the items in the photograph above. The plants are for decoration, not for eating. The small sandwich bag contains 1/4 cup of dried onions.
Beefy Bean Casserole under construction
I emptied all the contents of the cans, except for the sliced green beans (heat in a separate pan), into a pan and stirred until hot. The recipe calls for the gravy to be drained from the meat but I like to use it in the mix for an extra beefy taste. By the time the meal is heated, the dried onions have reconstituted. Serve with bread. For more about the author and her books see Michelle Snow’s website.
The casserole was excellent — I was surprised at how well it tasted. All the men in the family ate while Jill was with her visiting teachers. We went back for seconds. There was only a morsel left for Jill when she came to eat. No worries, I am bound to cook some more soon. Makes a break from beans on toast.
I purchased a useful little book last week called It’s In the Bag by Michelle and Trent Snow. Michelle is affectionately called “The Bag Lady” because of her Bag Meal System. The book is well laid out with easy to follow instructions. Over a hundred recipes extend its usefulness for as long as you need to store food.
The system is simple. I put everything I need for a meal in a bag. As I read through the first chapter it really does turn out to be simple — even a man could do it. Michelle guided me through 12 advantages of Bag Meals from “having organized meals ready” to “an easy way to rotate my food storage.” There are photographs too for the folks that never read the instructions but want to get moving.
The bulk of the book is taken up with bags of recipes — or perhaps recipes for bags? Now in my home I hardly ever cook and when I do it is beans on toast (now that wouldn’t need a very big bag). But a lot of these Bag Meal recipes look so easy to do that I might consider branching out and rustle up some Pinto Beans (page 68) or Spicy Chicken and Navy Bean Soup (page 79) or perhaps a Beefy Bean Casserole (page 58). But the really must try meal is Uglier than Heck Soup (page 78).
There are some other useful sections in the book. One that took my interest is Trent’s Sprouting Methods. I have yet to try what he says but I at least I have my bookmark in place.
According to the cover, It’s In the Bag will have you storing what eat and eating what you store. After reading the book I would have to agree with the cover, the Bag Meal System is simple and realistic.
For more information, see The Bag Lady’s blogs: Michelle Snow and Welcome To The Food Storage Revolution!
Full disclosure: I purchased the book and was not paid for this review. The Trents are neighbors.