16 November 2023
06 November 2023
A Prophecy Long Foretold
By the deaths of His Apostles o’er a number of years
And authority taken from earth, and truths changed by itching ears
How in Latter-days, Satan’s chain of darkness, with links not a few
Would become dismantled, and then all things again become new
When in the Spring of 1820, a young boy so humble, yet so bold
Would enter a sacred grove, to petition the God of which he’d been told
And humbly knelt, and for the first time began to pray
When immediately darkness bound his tongue, and words he could no longer say
Exerting all strength, the boy within called out for deliverance from evil unseen
While so near to abandoning himself to destruction, as it seemed
Heaven’s windows long ere closed, so sure, and so tight
Had suddenly opened, from which descended a Glorious Light
Two beings before the boy stood in brilliant, eternal flame
When the God of heaven then called him by name
“Joseph, this is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”,
Hear Him”- the boy’s burdens now began to be eased
The boy asked which of all the churches to cast his lot
The reply came back, the Savior’s true church on the earth, at that time was not
But the fullness of the Savior’s Gospel, so peaceful, so pure
Soon would be set inplace, eternally solid, and forever sure
The time of refreshing, prophesied by ancient prophets who sought
Was now to begin, and put an end to centuries of spiritual rot
The Savior’s restored Kingdom would vanquish spiritual dearth
And continue to roll forth, until it has fill the whole earth
Angels with priesthood, and keys to restore
Soon would appear, and upon man’s head place them once more
A prophecy which had long been foretold
Had now come to pass, as the Savior restored His True Fold
20 June 2023
A Retrospection: “Go See Your Friend”
Sometime ago, I was talking with a longtime friend on the phone and listening to him as he described a number of the challenges that he was facing at that time. In my prayers that night I had asked Heavenly Father to please bless this person with the things he stood in need of at that time. A distinct impression of the Spirit then came to me which said: “Go see your friend”.
The next morning I let work know that I would not be in for few hours, and then went to see this friend. When I arrived I found that he was at home alone, which made it easier for us to have a good visit with each other. He once again rehearsed, in more detail, all that he had been going through. As part of this conversation he also mentioned that he previously had some frightening thoughts and had been considering making an abrupt exit from this life, but was now in control of those thoughts, but was still facing some very great challenges otherwise. Drawing upon lessons that I had learned over the years, I was able to offer reassurance and faith in Christ to my friend. I also decided that work that day could wait a while longer, and I stayed an extra hour just so that we could talk about memories from our younger days.
A day or so later, when I called to check in with him, he thanked me profusely for coming that morning, and told me how much it meant to him. He also said that others had also been randomly been stopping in at the perfect moments, all of which served to provide reassurance to him that that his Heavenly Father and Savior were both mindful of him and that all was going to be well!
The lesson: We often pray to be guided to those who may stand in need of our assistance, and then miss, or dismiss the impressions of the Spirit which follow (at least that has been the experience for myself). But, if we were to immediately follow through on a Spiritual impression, we will often find that we were correct in following it!
11 June 2023
Retrospection: My Jobs
Amazon (June 2023-????)
28 May 2023
My Early TV Shows
A list of some of the TV shows that I grew up with during my younger years. Each has an IMDb link, and some also include a link to the shows intro:
Saturday Mornings:
Regular:
22 May 2023
Brother Durrant’s Institute Class
George D. Durrant was a popular LDS fireside speaker back in the 1970s-80s. I personally met him in Kahului, Maui after he had finished speaking at a "Know Your Religion" fireside. Later, after the mission, I had him as an instructor in an Institute "Book of Mormon" class out at UVCC.
Bro. Durrant
Brother Durrant was one day prior to class starting talking with Kam Jarman, a Provo High basketball player from the previous year, about the previous game that he had gone to at PHS as they hosted Timpview. My brother, Don, was a starter on the team and he had the game of his life that night against Timpview, helping Provo to come away with the win. Don also wore #35 on his jersey- the same number as Devin Durrant, whom he idolized, and who was the son of Brother Durrant. Brother Durrant told Kam that he had really enjoyed watching #35 play that night. I piped up and told them that #35 was my brother. From that point onward Brother Durrant and I were buddies! In fact, a year or so later while he was serving as the President of the Provo MTC, and after our family had said our goodbyes to Don who was heading to serve in Hong Kong, our family came across Brother and Sister Durrant in the hallway, and they were nice enough to stop and say hello to my parents. He asked about their missionary and where he was headed to? My Dad, of course, had to throw in that Don had played basketball for PHS and wore the same number as their son Devin. Bro. Durrant then said: "Where's my friend?" and then looked over at me. It made me feel good!
Brother Durrant would only use the scriptures as his teaching source material, and always taught while reading from them. He also had a way of holding your attention as he would slowly sidestep from one side of the classroom to the other, and then quickly walk back to his starting point- just like an old manual typewriter. Also, during each class period he was regularly heard to say: "And now we come to my favorite part of the Book of Mormon", which told us that the entire book was his favorite part!
During that time in my life I was struggling with finding answers to a couple of personal questions- one dealing with a gospel principle, and the other with wanting to know if Heavenly Father was still mindful of me, just as He had been while out on the mission?
In one of the following classes, while he was reading and commenting to the class, he changed gears for a moment and started talking about things not necessarily related to the course of study for that day, and as he continued speaking he had answered my two questions very clearly and distinctly, and then he went back into his regular teaching.
The lesson here is what we've been taught all along- sometimes our prayers are not answered while we are on our knees- but they can often be answered by someone else, even if they have no idea that they are providing the answers for us at the time. The key is to persist in prayer until we receive the answers. Also, if we are in tune with the Spirit, we too can possibly provide answers to another person's prayer.
21 May 2023
My Grandparents
This week I would like to post something about my grandparents- each one of which had an influence upon me during their lives, to one degree or another. Each name has a link to Family Tree
Born the seventh of nine children to Mads and Brighamina Johnson, on 04 July 1902, in Lakeview, Utah. Grandpa often mentioned that it snowed on the day that he was born, which seems an odd statement for anyone familiar with the weather in Utah during July. But I have come to think that what he may have meant is that it was just simply a cold day and that perhaps the top of Timpanogos received a dusting of snow which is not all together uncommon.
I do not know much about Grandpa Johnson’s formal education, and there is no record of him graduating from high school. I do know that from his early teens he was working jobs- especially on the local farms. Other than seeing his signature on a driver license, I have no other documents written in his hand, so I am not too sure just how much he could read or write?
I believe that it was while my grandmother (Edna) was visiting in Lakeview that the two of them met and eventually began courting. They were married civally on 20 September 1923 in Provo, Utah.
Grandpa eventually went to work for the Union Pacific Railroad in the Provo train yard, where he worked as a handyman and was skilled in building tools to assist in the maintenance of the train cars. He worked his entire career with the railroad- eventually retiring in the late 1960’s. I believe that he had a heart attack sometime prior to his retirement.
At least once each month, our family would go up to my grandparent’s house (usually on Sunday evenings) to visit. They in turn would also come to visit us at about the same frequency. When we little, we knew that each time grandpa came to the house that he would have pieces of graham crackers in his shirt pocket to share with us.
At around the age of ten years, each of us boys had our turn at mowing our grandparent’s lawn each week during the summers. Along with mowing, we also had to take the hand clippers and go around the entire yard clipping the edges. In the end, we were treated each time to 7-Up and vanilla wafers, along with a couple of dollars for our efforts.
As my grandpa Johnson aged, his body began to slow down, and his eyesight became diminished. He became a very unsafe driver. Due to osteoporosis, he would sit in the driver’s seat with his upper body leaning forward and towards the driver’s door. He had a daily ritual of going over to the grocery store to get the needed groceries, and to also stop at the snack bar for his soft drink and something to snack on. My dad told my grandpa that he needed to surrender his driver license after having a few mishaps in the grocery store parking lot. He agreed and both went out to surrender the DL and to get him an ID card. Our family then assisted them with these errands. Shortly thereafter, we began to see grandpa again driving to or from the store.
Grandpa had a kind and gentle personality. He was very patient with his grandchildren. I only heard him raise his voice one time, and that was when my grandma was getting on him about something.
On 02 April 1983, after having health issues, Grandpa Johnson died in the Utah Valley Hospital, at the age of 80. As the family had gathered at the hospital, the nurse assisting grandpa that morning told them that he seemed to be in good spirits, and had asked her who the young man with red hair was that had sat with him in his room the during the night? Shortly after that he went into cardiac arrest and was revived but passed away a few hours later. The family believes that it was “Baby Gary” my older brother who had passed away as an infant who was there for grandpa that night.
Grandma always told me that she loved my eyelashes and blue eyes!
Born on 11 October 1905 in Clover/Tooele, Utah, grandma was the second of three children to Lester Nathaniel and Elizabeth Jane De St Jeor. Her dad worked as a miner and was known to be very stern. Her mother died in 1925 at approximately 43 years of age.
As for the marriage of grandma and grandpa, they basically eloped- along with grandpa’s sister and her boyfriend. Soon afterwards, they had to make the visit to Lester so that grandpa could tell him that he had married his daughter.
Four children were born into the family: Khalil (K.V.), Elizabeth (Beth), Burdett (Bud) and Gary.
Grandma was employed by the Tiny Tot Bonnet Co, where she sewed for many years.
On 22 August 1947, grandma and grandpa had their marriage solemnized (sealed) in the Salt Lake Temple at the same time as Aunt Beth and Uncle Dutch Dalebout were being married.
Family History and Genealogy became an interest for grandma, and she compiled a lot of family names over many years. She became a “Daughter of the Utah Pioneers”.
As we would visit their home grandma was sure to always go into a recollection of her family and tell us stories from her early years.
Whenever I had a big dance date, I would stop by their house and ask grandpa if I could borrow their car (Plymouth) for the night. Grandpa would always refer me over to grandma for permission.
One of the most regular letter writers during my mission was Grandma Johnson. She would do her best to keep me caught up on her entire family. Along with each letter she would usually enclose a 5 dollar bill.
On 20 May 1992, grandma died at the Utah Valley Hospital at age 86.
Baby Gary
Grandpa Norton was born 24 May 1917 in Panguitch, Utah, the third of thirteen children to Merritt Lee Norton and Eliza Ann Cameron. He graduated from Provo High School where he was a member of the basketball team.
I don’t know exactly as to when and where grandpa and grandma met, but most likely it was at PHS.
From what I recall my mom telling me, he began drinking alcohol sometime during his high school years and struggled with alcoholism until the end of his life. Grandma and grandpa divorced sometime during my mom’s early childhood years.
Where he worked exactly, I’m not sure. But during the 1960s he did start some kind of a business venture and got my dad to leave his job at Provo City to go to work with him. I believe the business never really got off the ground and immediately crashed.
From that point until probably 1978 my mom did not have any contact with grandpa Norton.
During the 1960s, he met and married a lady named Ellen, whom we called “Aunt Ellen”, and together they had a baby girl that they named Noreen. That marriage did not last long, and they eventually divorced. My mom, and aunt Shurlene, kept in contact with aunt Ellen, and I recall playing with Noreen who in reality was my aunt. Noreen was diagnosed with leukemia, and passed away at around age five. Grandpa Norton did not attend her funeral-claiming that he had been arrested and was in jail at the time.
Around 1978, with the assistance of my mom’s, Norton uncles and aunt, she was able to call and talk to her dad and to invite him down to our home for a Christmas Day visit. I think it was the first time that I had ever really met and got to know a little bit about grandpa Norton.
The next and last time that I saw my grandpa was at the viewing for his dad, Merritt Lee Norton.
He died in 1984 at age 67 while I was serving my mission in Hawaii. My mom later sent me the audio tape from the funeral, which contained a talk by one of my mom’s cousins, who spoke not only about grandpa Norton and his alcoholism, but was also speaking directly to many of the surviving brothers who were struggling with the same issue.
Randy wrote to me and told me that when he went to grandpa’s viewing and stood next to his open casket, in his mind, he told grandpa that he loved him, even though he didn’t know very much about him. Randy then wrote that he felt two arms hugging him, and even though he could not see who it was, he knew that it was grandpa Norton.
Born 29 September 1916 in Escalante, Utah and was the fourth of five girls born to Andrew John Moir and Agnes Young. Her dad left the family while the girls were still young, and I do not believe there was much of any contact with him after that time.
Grandma and Grandpa Norton were married 23 December 1936 in the Manti Temple.
Sometime after the divorce she met and married Charles "Charlie" Edgar Thornton on 26 December 1952 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both grandma and grandpa Charlie worked for the Mountain Bell telephone company – grandma as an operator in Grandpa as an electrical engineer.
Grandma Thornton had been a regular part of our lives from my earliest memories. She never forgot us on our birthdays or Christmas. When we were younger, she would pick us up each summer (those who were old enough) and take us up to Lagoon during the Mountain Bell telephone day at the amusement park.
During my mission, she would occasionally send me letters and would include parts of the Ward newsletter that they would receive (and kept hidden from Charlie), and which had quotes, or anything else she thought I would enjoy.
After retirement, they moved from Salt Lake City down into Arizona for a number of years, and then moved up to Kettle Falls, Washington to be near Shurlene and Gil.
As she begin to age, her eyesight became diminished, and then the memory issues set in. Through it all grandpa Charlie took excellent care of her while he could, and then found the best place possible for her to live during the final part of her life. I was able to travel up to Kettle Falls and provide a priesthood blessing for grandma Thornton, as she was approaching her final days of life.
Grandma died on 30 January 2003 at age 86. A graveside service was held for her at the Provo Cemetery.
Though he is a step-grandfather, I’ve always thought of him as my “Grandpa Charlie”. He was born on 01 June 1916 in White Swan, Idaho, and passed away on 02 November 2017 in Colville, Washington at the age of 101.
He was divorced from his first wife, and they had one daughter (Aunt Pat). He married grandma and the two of them were happy together.
Charlie loved anything to do with electronics and was quite a handyman.
Even though they each had good jobs, they lived life frugally- repairing things themselves and investing every spare dollar they had into stocks. After a lifetime of doing this, they had quite a portfolio, but you wouldn’t have known it as they did not live life too lavishly.
Charlie did write to me one time during my mission when he had received a new Apple computer for Christmas. Being an atheist, he had nothing spiritual to offer but rather talked about how overpopulated the world was, and also about censorship.
I got to go on a fishing trip to Lake Powell with him and grandma when I was about 11 years old. It was a fun trip, and I probably learned a bunch of new swearwords during that trip.
He was very opinionated on most everything, but in his heart, he was a good man, and could be very generous.
He wanted nothing to do with LDS church, or religion in general, but in a few years (2026) he will be eligible to have temple Temple ordinances done, and I hope to be able to do them for him at that time, if not sooner. After that, it will be up to him as to whether he accepts what will be done for him.
07 May 2023
Sunday Evening Memoir 05.07.2023: "UHP Testing and Academy"
While Mom, Jeff and I were one day visiting my parents home sometime during 1989, my dad was returning home that afternoon after working a shift with Utah Highway Patrol. He walked into the house with a UHP application in his hand, handed it to me and told me to look into it!
The thought of working for the Utah Highway Patrol was exciting, but I had some serious reservations about working on the sabbath day. I pondered and prayed about it and was eventually led to an Ensign magazine article which helped me to make the decision to apply. The article spoke of Colonel Dennis Nordfelt who was serving as the current superintendent of the UHP, as well as experiences he had had during his career, and his service in the church (maintaining his spiritual strength).
The following September, I went up to the Rampton Complex and participated in the PT and written test- passed both. The PT consisted of pull-ups, running slalom-like through a bunch of chairs, flexibility, sit-ups and the 1.5 mile run. At that time you did not need to pass each test individually, you just needed enough overall points from the various tests to pass. But, one of my weaknesses was the sit-ups.
I was eventually hired and was assigned to be working in Davis County after passing the POST academy.
On, or about July 9th, 1990, I began the POST academy. The majority of our academy class was made up of UHP Troopers. A new PT standard had been implemented which now consisted of: flexibility, push-ups, sit-ups and 1.5 mile run- and each exercise needed to be passed at a certain level. Sit-ups were still my weakness, but I fully participated during each PT, hoping to strengthen my core more than it had previously been. I was making good headway towards passing everything as needed. But, at the four week mark a PT test is given and each cadet needed to pass it in order to progress into remaining eight week block known as the "Law Enforcement Block", where you get to do all of the fun practical exercises and firearms, EVO, etc. I (and a couple of others) fell short by a few sit-ups, and was told that in two days I could have one more chance to pass. Not knowing the human body as I know it now, I failed to realize that the best thing for me to do was to do nothing during those two days and to just let my body and muscles rest. Rather, I kept trying to pound out more sit-ups thinking that it would help me to be stronger during the test. I failed the sit-ups on the second chance test by two. I was now out of POST!
Along with Kevin Elmer (who also failed the sit-ups) we had to go over to UHP HQ where we met with Lt. Col. Gary Gunrud. Kevin, who had just come out of UHP Protective Services was told that he could go back to his old job. Gary also offer me a position at Protective Services, which I took. He also told me that I would need to test again the following year if I wanted to come out on the road as a Trooper.
At PS, I would work two swing shifts on Monday and Tuesday, and then work two 12 hour graveyard shifts on Friday and Saturday of each week at the Rampton Complex. I hated it, but I did it. Inside of the brief case that I took with me to work each shift, along with my books to read, I had taped a piece of paper on the inside that I would immediately see each time it was opened and which read "TROOPER". This was to constantly remind me to prepare for the next testing opportunity.
After the first of the year (1991) I got busy with running, sit-ups, push-ups and flexibility. My friend, Wade Binks, who lived close by at the time said that he would go running with me in the mornings, which we did until he moved some months later. I reapplied and again had the opportunity to test with the UHP.
The test was to be early on a Saturday morning there at the Rampton Complex POST gym. I was scheduled to work the graveyard shift the night before, and I was nervous that it would leave me physically depleted for the PT. With permission I arranged with another PS officer to cover for part of the shift in order to allow me to go and find a vacant room at POST to sleep for a few hours.
When the PT was administered I easily passed the first few tests, including the sit-ups. The only thing left to do was the 1.5 mile run. As we were moving outside to the parking lot for the test, I now suddenly felt a weak wobbly feeling in the legs. I was now worried, even before the run had started, that I was going to be so drained of strength that I would fail the run after spending all of that time preparing beforehand.
I began to pray! The run started and I kept praying: "Heavenly Father, I have tried so hard to prepare for this test and have done my best to live right. If it be Thy will, please help me now! Suddenly, I found strength coming into my weary legs and body (D&C 89:20), and I felt as though an unseen power had taken over my stride as my legs now felt as lite as air. I passed!
The UHP required me to go through all of the previous interviews and requirements as before. Eventually, I was offered a position to work in Section 8, Tooele County.
POST started on 08 July 1991. This time I went in with more confidence in myself, and also with having some others from PS in the class it made it so that I immediately knew others right off. After the first week, as we were all getting to know one another, the personalities began to emerge- a couple were cocky, some were timid, and most were just plain funny!!! But we got things accomplished and could be serious when we needed to be. But, when you have Ted Tingey in the mix there is never a dull moment! The best part was that he didn't need to be crude to be funny, unlike a few of the others. There was a lady (Sandy PD) who sat directly in front of Ted in our classroom. One particular day she was tired and had put her head down on the desk during class time and fell asleep. Ted had a bunch of loose change in his pocket which he took and gently dropped each coin down the back of her uniform pants which had a wider opening at the belt line since she was leaning forward. At the next class break, and as everyone stood up to go outside, you could hear all of those coins hitting the floor as they slid down her pant legs.
The only struggle that I had during this academy was the nighttime firearms qualification. There were approximately ten of us that had to do some extra practicing in order to get the muscle-memory down. We all got it!
We graduated on 25 September, and then went to two weeks of UHP training before actually going to work out in Tooele Co.
The Protective Services Uniform
Back: Dave Swenson, Ryan Bauer, Wayne Gifford, Eric McPherson, Kevin Bradshaw, TJ, Shane Nordfelt, Kelly Wuthrich, Ross LaRue
Not pictured: Ted Tingey (his Dad passed away)
30 April 2023
Sunday Evening Memoir 04.30.2023: "Discipleship"
Disciple: A pupil or learner; a name used to denote all followers of Jesus Christ.
There came a time during my late teen years when I knew that I needed to change things in my life- not that I was guilty of any great sins, but that I needed to direct my efforts more towards becoming a consistent disciple of our Savior Jesus Christ. It just so happened that I was arriving at the age of missionary service and I still was not too sure that I wanted to go out to some place unknown to me and teach the Gospel. But, the Spirit works in marvelous ways and created for me an opportunity to make my own decision and to fully commit myself to the cause!
An inspired Bishop also helped me along the way and spent considerable time with me in his office getting to know me better and at the same time teaching me by the Spirit. In time, I received a mission call, signed by President Spencer W. Kimball, assigning me to the Hawaii-Honolulu Mission.
After returning home, I knew just how important it was going to be for me to continue doing the things I had learned to do during the previous eighteen months; along with regular attendance at the Temple. I was imperfect, but I always tried to give it my best.
One thing that I have always remembered, and which I attempt to do each day (imperfectly) is to always remember Jesus Christ in every thought. It's so easy for the worldly distractions and concerns to take center stage- so then it requires greater effort to keep Him always in my thoughts.
If we will spiritually tune in and give our very best to be a devoted disciple and follower of the Savior, we can know His voice (by the whisperings of the Holy Ghost), and as many of you have experienced, He knows us each individually and by name!!! (John 10:27). It has been my personal experience that we can maintain this blessing by finding ourselves on "The Covenant Path", and by making the needed adjustments whenever necessary.
Finally, I have heard it said before that a person should never be so sure of himself so as to say something like: "I will never stray off the path for any reason". I took that to mean that pride or arrogance could precede my downfall if I am not careful. Instead, I feel to say: "Heavenly Father, please help me to see and overcome my weaknesses. And if I start to falter please intervene and guide me back to where I need to be". Anyone of us can easily struggle along the Covenant Path as we move through life. It is not always stepping off the path, but sometimes it simply means that we have just stalled somewhere along the path. I have experienced these to one degree or another, but as always there will be a gentle warning from the Spirit to make corrections.
I love you all!!!