PERSONAL JOURNAL OF JESSE LYNN MELLOR

from AUGUST 5, 1920

I was born August 5th 1920 at Manti Sanpete County, Utah in a large house at 205 East 2nd South. My mother Vivian Margaret Anderson and Father Roy Delbert Mellor had moved to this house only a few years before. I was the 4th of six children (Ramona, Keith, Carol, me, Elaine and Shirley). I had a very happy childhood. All of the children got along well although some times we all had to gang up on Keith especially when Mom and Dad would spend the evenings as temple workers. I was the first child blessed in the Manti Center ward chapel after its completion.
I grew up in Manti and my first boy friend was Don Keller who lived 2 houses North of us. Later this house was purchased by Uncle Arch and Aunt Vie my father's younger brother.
I remember several experiences as a child which I suppose were only normal for young boys. One day Henry Christansen, a painter was hired by my parents to paint our house. He had an old Model T. Ford that he was very proud of which he parked in our driveway. While he painted the house, Don and I proceeded to paint his car both inside and out. He was not too understanding and our parents felt obliged to pay the damages. Another time Mrs. Stott who lived in between us had just baked 8 loaves of bread and had put it out on the porch to cool. My friend and I proceeded to hollow out each loaf leaving only the crust. She was upset but much more understanding than the painter. Her husband was the bishop of our ward.
I started school at the age of 6 and attended the Old Red Building. This building was made of red sandstone and was 5 stories high. It was later condemned as a fire hazard and torn down. I was a fair student but soon learned that I would rather play marbles than go to school or attend Primary. I played nearly every free minute and soon became the marble champion of the school. Many times on Tuesday nights I would skip Primary to play marbles. I could never get by without punishment because my sisters would always attend. Over the years I learned to hate Primary. My teachers were always about 100 years old and I would just rather do something else. Many times when I would miss my Dad would always make me get a switch from the Lilac bush in front of our door to use for punishment. I think I eventually cut switches faster than the bush could grow.
My mother wanted me to learn to play the piano and started me on lessons. This always interfered with other activities so I quit - an action that I have always regretted. I did learn to play the trumpet and continued through High School and Snow Jr. College. I was never really very good even though I did end up as 2nd chair.
I attended Jr. High School in the old White Building on the same block as the Old Red Building. I was active in sports but we did not have very good facilities. In fact we didn't have a gymnasium for basketball so we played on the dirt. I guess our biggest sport was still marbles and I ended up being the school champ.
I was always anxious for summer to come so I could go with Daddy to the sheep camp or to the farm at Gunnison. After I was 12 years old I would spend the summers on the mountains helping tend the sheep with one of my uncles (Lester, Lee, or Wells). I took the place of one of the hired man and was supposed to be paid $15 per month. I never did get paid but I didn't mind too much because it was fun even though it was hard work. I loved the mountains and I had my horse my dog and my gun. I had saved up $3.50 and had gotten my future brother in law Winston Crawford to buy it on one of his trips to Salt Lake City. It was a single shot 22 rifle. I learned to tend camp which included cooking, caring for 6 to 8 horses and moving the camp. This last was a big job since I had to put all the camp on 3 pack horses and then make a new camp at the next site. We would hobble the horses at night so each morning I would have to go find them. Sometimes this would take 3 or 4 hours just to follow their tracks and bring them back. I didn't mind the work since I could always spend time fishing or hunting. Deer were plentiful and easy to kill. Even though it was illegal, we lived on deer meat most of the time.
In the winter time I looked forward to each weekend when I could go with my Dad to the farm which was west of Gunnison about 15 miles away. We would feed the cows and after this I would take Dad’s old model 97 shot gun and go hunting. I would always get some rabbits and most usually get some pheasants. At first I couldn't lift the gun by myself and my Dad would hold it up for me to shoot. Soon I could manage it by myself and spent many hours hunting rabbits, ducks, and pheasants. I think every week we would eat something I shot. We didn't seem to worry much about the hunting season. Dad said I guess I fed them all year so I should be able to harvest a few. If we didn't eat the rabbits we would take them back and feed them to the chickens. In about 30 minutes the rabbit would be nothing but bones.
The winters were not as enjoyable as the summers. It seems like we had lots of snow and cold weather and I didn't much like milking cows in all the mud and mire. We always had two milk cows and about 500 chickens. My brother Keith and I split the chores so we each milked one cow and took care of one pen of chickens. In the winter time it seemed like we had to do everything in the dark both morning and night. I always said that when I got older I would never milk another cow or do anything to a chicken but eat it.
I was baptized Nov. 13, 1928 by my Dad.
I was ordained a deacon Oct. 2, 1932 by I. Pratt Allrec
ordained a teacher Jan. 5, 1936 by Alphonse Henry
ordained an elder Oct. 5, 1939 by Merritt Paulson
ordained a priest Oct. 17, 1937 by J. Gerald Carpentar.
Church was a regular part of our lives and most of the social and recreational activities were centered around the church. We had seminary class each day at 10:00 AM in the center ward which was next to the High School and Seminary graduation was so important an occasion as High School graduation.
Scouting wasn't very interesting to me. I went to my first meeting at age 11 1/2 and the Scout Master Ferd Aldin kicked me out for being too young. I would never go back while he was there. I though that my summer activities in the mountains made me a great scout.
During High School I was active in sports especially basketball. I was on the Varsity team for 3 years and one year we placed 2nd in all state play. I was also active in the band with my trumpet and also the FFA. Our judging team included Henry Miller, Dean Frischnicht and myself. We were selected from the state to go to the national 4H and stock show at Kansas City for livestock judging. It was a great trip and we made a good showing for the state. Ferd Alder was my coach and I still didn't like him.
My love life was Helen Bailey and we went together for over 2 years. My sister Carol, Bob Poulson, Helen and I took several great trips and enjoyed each other very much. This all broke up after High School.
Home was a very happy place and mother always made it very comfortable. She always made cinnamon rolls for us when we came home from school or else hot bread with honey or jam. Our house didn't have central heat and every room but the kitchen and living room would get real cold in the winter. We would all undress around the living room stove and get real warm before making a mad rush to our beds upstairs. We always had so many quilts on we couldn't even turn over and we slept 2 in a bed to keep warm. The summers were nice because the canyon breeze would blow through our windows at night and in the day the house was always cool due to the 10 ft high ceilings.
Christmas time was especially fun at our house. Mother always bought gifts for every one even though she had very little money. Daddy didn't take much interest in special events. He left all the planning and preparation up to mom who did a great job.
My love life was Helen Bailey who was one year younger than I and we went together for 3 or 4 years. The foursome of my sister Carol, Bob Poulsen, Helen and myself had many good times. We even spent a few days camping out in Bryce Canyon of Southern Utah.
In the spring of 1938 I graduated from Manti High School. That summer I worked on the Pea Factory for $.38 per hour to earn money for school. Later I worked for Jimmy Munk our neighbor hauling hay. In the fall my brother Keith and I went to Utah State University to school. We stayed with Gene and Pete Peterson from Gunnison and a little English man named Alex Alchin in a small apartment off campus. Alex was the cook and a real good one. His meals were great especially his pies. He worked in the school cafeteria and every once in a while he would scavenge a couple of pork chops or something else so we really ate pretty well. One spring we all ran out of money so we lived on what we could scavenge from people’s gardens. I remember getting so tired of eating rhubarb.
I enjoyed the school and all the activities since money was a real problem I had to work every spare minute. Sometimes on the farm and sometimes on the NYA (National Youth Authority) program which was a government work program. We made $0.27 per hour and I hated it cause other people sort of looked down on the workers. I did fairly well in school this year but nothing outstanding. Keith graduated the next spring in Forestry and left me for Washington DC for a job in the Geological Survey Branch of the government.
I worked in Manti for the next summer. Just before school started I had an appendicitis operation so I stayed home and went to Snow Jr. College at Ephraim that year. It was fun and I enjoyed being a big frog in a little pool. I played in the band and was active in everything. The next year I returned to Utah State and finished my junior year.
At this point I was undecided as to what I wanted to do so Preston Peterson and I decided to go to California and enroll in a Government sponsored trade course. We went to a Jr. College in Reedley Calif. for about 8 months to learn the machinist trade. From here we went to San Louis Obispo California where we attended the college to finish training as a machinist. During my stay here War with Japan was declared. I soon went to work as a machinist in the McClelland Air Force Base at Sacramento Calif. making precision aircraft parts. I worked there for a few months then decided that even though I was exempt I wanted some of the action and would join the Armed Service. Preston and I took the Navy Cadet and Army Pilot tests. He failed both so I decided to join the Navy in the Officer Cadet program at San Francisco. My first training was at Grand Junction Colorado where I learned to fly Cubs. Then to Nutchinson Kansas where I learned to fly Cessnas. Following this I went through Boot camp at Saint Mary's in California then to Corpus Christi Texas where I learned to fly SNJ's. I graduated from Corpus Christi as an Ensign in the USNR with my Pilots wings. From here I went to Green Cove Springs Florida to learn to fly Navy Fighter Planes and to learn to land on Navy Carriers. We flew over the swamps continuously and on one occasion my plane went down in the swamp.
I stayed in the plane until I was rescued mainly cause I was afraid of the snakes and alligators. From here we went to NorthWestern University at Chicago which was the last training step where we experienced catapult launching and aircraft landings. After a 3 week vacation I reported to San Pedro CA aboard a ship to be taken to the Hawaiian Islands for combat duty. The trip to Hawaii took 10 days which was very enjoyable. I loved the ocean and never did get sea sick like most of the other men. At Barber's Point air field in Hawaii we had more training then left in another vessel for the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. We crossed the International dateline on ???. This was quite an experience to be initiated into “Davy Jones' Locker” and the “Ancient Order of The Deep.” I took nearly a whole day of torture and ended up with running the length of the deck through 2 lines of sailors beating you on the rear end as you ran. It was the one time that the enlisted men could get back at the officers so they really took advantage of it.
We landed on the Island of Manus and stayed there for several weeks before being assigned to a carrier. It was great sport on the Island. We swam, shot skeet, flew some and attended some courses in Japanese Aircraft recognition. It was here that one of my best friends Dutch Jensen was killed in a plane that crashed in the ocean.
Soon I was assigned to a Jeep Carrier Kadashan Bay CVE 64. It was a small carrier only 365 ft. long so landing was very tricky especially at night. We flew escort to a convoy headed for Manila in the Philippines. Sometimes we flew in pairs with another fighter plane and sometimes as escort to a torpedo plane on submarine patrol. It was always a worry not knowing if we would be able to get back to the ship. The first patrol was launched before daylight in the morning and the last one came aboard after dark in the evening. One night as we were under attack I was in the last patrol. They would not light up the deck to let us come aboard so we were instructed to fly toward Manila about 700 miles away. We had enough fuel for about 100 miles so we refused to leave. Just before our fuel ran out the attack was over and they gave us 2 minutes to land 3 planes. What a relief to get down - with the alternative as almost certain death.
I had several exciting experiences onboard the carrier. During an attack a Japanese suicide plane hit our ship at the water line and blew a hole in it about 20 ft. in diameter. We managed to stay afloat but we had to fly the planes off and land on another carrier. I also had several encounters with Japanese airplanes. Once my wingman was shot up pretty badly and had to crash land on the deck. I also lost my landing hook on one occasion and hit the crash barriers. Generally I enjoyed being aboard the carrier. The food was good except during alert when we lived on pineapple juice and Spam. We always had clean beds and the roll of the ship was quite restful at night.
There were 6 Mormons on the ship and each week we should hold our services - I was not as faithful as some of the others.
After several months in the South Pacific we came by vessel back to San Francisco. I was then assigned to a squadron at Paco Washington for a few months, then as an instructor at Miami Florida. Following this I was assigned as safety officer at the Air Force base in Alameda Calif. This was merely a holding spot until they would let me out of the service. I was discharged at San Francisco California in Nov. of 1945 and returned to school at Logan to finish my B.S. degree in Agronomy.
In the fall of 1946 I got one of friends, Beverly Tirpp, ??? to introduce me to the prettiest girl in the school, Barbara Jean Forrest. She was queen of everything and president of the Alpha Chi Sorority. I was a Sigma Nu and a pretty wild one so I didn't think I had much chance. We dated once or twice and I knew she was the one for me even though I didn't want to get married. We went together until spring then she took my Sigma Nu pin and we were engaged. We graduated in June with plans to be married in October. Barbara went to teach school in Tooele Utah and I went to a job as Asst. Prof. of Agronomy at the Colorado State Univ. at Fort Collins CO. It was a long summer but we made it and were married in the Logan Temple Oct. 1, 1947 by Elray L. Christiansen ???. This was my greatest accomplishment and she has always been my greatest asset. We spent our honeymoon night in the Washington Motel in Ogden, Utah. It had been properly prepared by Winston Crawford my brother in law. The next day we loaded everything we could into our old Studebaker automobile and started out for our new home in Fort Collins. I had rented 2 rooms from Mrs. Curtis on East Locust Street. We also remodeled a basement room for a kitchen and lived here the first 2 years. It was very inconvenient, but it only cost $25/mo. so we managed. Barbara worked as a secretary for Mr. McBurney and I worked on research in the Agronomy Dept. Ann, our first child was born Dec. 3, 1948 at the Laramie Co. Hospital. We spent nearly 3 days getting her here but she was worth it. We had saved up enough money to buy a new Studebaker and would take Ann for a ride each night to get her to sleep.
I attended school part time for the next 3 years and graduated with a Masters Degree in Soil Chemistry in the Spring of 1952. We decided to go on for a Doctors Degree so we took leave of absence from the college and accepted a Scholarship at the North Carolina State College in Raleigh, NC. We left in August pulling a one wheel trailer with everything we owned in it. We traveled down to New Orleans then east to Florida. It was so hot we nearly died especially in Louisiana. We tried to drive at night and sleep in the day but Ann didn't like this schedule so we just didn't sleep very much. Just outside of Tallahassee Florida our trailer broke down and we had to unload everything in the rain and get the trailer fixed. We were glad to get to Raleigh. Since apartments were hard to find we had made arrangements with some friends to get us an apartment and we had paid for it all summer.
When we got there it was way outside of town in a house that had been used in House of Ill Repute. We soon moved into Vetville, a veterans housing development made up of Army Quanset huts. When we arrived in Raleigh we were nearly broke. Barbara took a job working nights in a hamburger stand and tried to tend Ann in the day time.
This only lasted a few weeks then she got a job as manager of a nursery where she had 24 children from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM for a salary of $100 per mo. This with my scholarship of $2700 per year left us live in relative luxury. We made some wonderful friends here and enjoyed it even though it was a lot of strain and hard work. I finally ended up with an ulcer.
Barbara was always active in the church and practically ran the Primary. I was a back slider and seldom went because of work schedule and my studies.
We loved the Christmas times. We would make butter mints with our neighbors Bob and Maple Rabb and would borrow band instruments and play Carols. It was pretty bad but fun. Barbara on French Horn, me on trumpet, Mabel on Trombone and Bob on Saxophone. Even the dogs and cats joined in.
Jean, our second daughter was born April 16th 1952 in the Budge Hospital. She came 3 days before our hospital Insurance was valid but the doctor wrote a letter to the company so they would pay.
I did my research work in the movement of radioactive carbon (sugar) in tobacco and tomato plants. I was granted the E.G. Moss Fellowship which was quite an honor, admitted to Phi Kappa Phi National Scholastic fraternity, and graduated with straight A grades. We left Raleigh in March of 1953 for a job in Laramie Wyoming as Asst. Prof. of Agronomy with the University and Soil Scientist with the Agricultural Research Service. The following year I went full time with the university as Head of the Soils Department and State Experiment stations. We loved Laramie except that it was always cold and windy. We bought our first house at 2024 Sheridan by the city park. Bob was born here on Nov. 13, 1954. We were active in the church here. I was Asst. ward clerk and Barbara was involved in both Primary and Relief Society.
In 1955 Olin Corp. made us an offer to go to work as an Agronomist at Phoenix Arizona. We left Laramie the last of November in 8 inches of snow and ice for sunny Arizona. It was quite a change and we loved it. We rented for a while then bought a house on 4624 East Pinchot. It was a beautiful little house in a date grove. We had 9 big date palms around our house plus orange, lemon, and tangerine trees.
Here our life became extremely complicated. Barbara was active in all church groups including the Stake Primary Presidency and I was inactive at first then was Asst. Ward Clerk, then Ward Clerk, then counselor in the elder’s quorum presidency, then asst. Stake clerk, Stake clerk, then counselor to Bp. Hakes in the Bishopric of the 15th ward. We were also very active in several church social groups in the stake and ward - all of it fun.
Roy was born here on Oct. 25th in the Memorial Hospital. He was named Roy Delbert II after my Father. When he was about 9 months old Bob had a serious accident. He was playing in the alley and Dale squirted some charcoal lighter fluid in his mouth while he was lying on his back. He came to Barbara in the house and he couldn't breathe. I was at work and our second car was in the repair garage that day so Barbara ran to the neighbor’s and got Marge Kearns to take them to the doctor. It was noon and the Doctor (McArville) was just leaving out the back door. He said something made him go back in his office and open the door. When he saw Bob he put him in his car and had Barbara give him oxygen while he raced to the hospital. Bob turned blue and Dr. McArville stopped several times to see if he was still breathing. At the hospital he went right into emergency in an oxygen tent. About this time I had arrived and also our Bishop Walt Rogers. We gave Bob a blessing and in it Bishop Rogers promised him that he would recover because he had a mission in life not yet completed. After this I knew everything would be all right but for 10 days he was more dead than alive. One lung filled completely with water and the other about 3/4 before he finally began to recover. This was a very humbling experience for our whole family and I made a promise to the Lord to change my ways. It was then I became real active in the church. We tried to go to the temple each Monday.
Angie and Angelo Marrinelli lived across the street from us and they were dear friends. He did all the things for Bob and Roy that I didn't have time for. He also helped me remodel our house by adding a utility room, a screen porch and a den. He was retired from Pennsylvania. They were Italian and we loved their spaghetti. He also helped me build a tree house for Bob and Roy. We built it on 4 telephone poles so it was all enclosed by a big lemon tree. They loved it and spent many wonderful days and nights in it with their friends.
Our back yard was beautiful. We had a large cement patio surrounded by palm trees and roses. Bouganvilles and Poinsettas bloomed all along the back of our house. We were making arrangements to put in a swimming pool when my boss Sam Madsen asked me if I would come to Little Rock to be Assistant General Sales Mgr. for the U.S. In Phoenix I had been Agronomist, Sales Manager and then General Manager of the Western district for Olin which included the Western part of the U.S. We talked it over with the family and finally decided that it would be good even though we hated to leave Phoenix. We sold our pretty little house and left Phoenix by airplane early one morning in January of 1965. Many of our friends were there to see us off even though the plane left about 5 AM. It was a sad departure particularly for Ann who was a sophomore in High School and had a lot of boy friends.
Little Rock with its trees, hills, and water and negros was a great deal different from Phoenix. The boys and I loved it because of the fishing, hunting, and water sports, but the girls didn't think much of it. Ann never did like it and Jean and Barbara just tolerated it. We found a rental house close to the Little Rock branch chapel and rented until we could build our home at 8317 Leawood. When the house was finished we moved ourselves on July 3rd when the temperature was 104 degrees and the humidity was 95%. Our new house was very comfortable and we are still living in it.
In Little Rock I advanced rapidly in the company from Asst. General Sales Manager to General Sales Manager of Northern U.S., General Sales Manager of all U.S., Director of Sales, Director of Marketing, Director of Plant Tools and Animal Feed Supplements Worldwide and then to Senior Adviser of the Agricultural Division. The last position was in preparation for retirement.
When we arrived in Little Rock we were part of the Gulf States Mission and there was one branch in Little Rock. Barbara was made Mission Relief Society president and I was put in as a counselor to Pres. Rulon Christiensen in the Branch. Soon the branch was divided and I was made President of the Little Rock branch.
In May of 1970 we were made a stake by Pres. Harold B. Lee and I was put in as 2nd Counselor to Pres. Dean Andrew in the Little Rock Arkansas Stake. After about 5 years I was made 1st Counselor. In April of 1977 I was made Stake President by Paul Dunn of the First Council of the Seventy. I had hoped to be released after 10 years as a counselor.
There were 21 units in the stake and they went from Batesville to Magnolia a distance of over 300 miles. This was the largest stake in the church for number of units. In Oct. 1977 we split off 7 units and made the El Dorado district under the mission.
Soon after we moved to Little rock our 5th child, John Forrest was born June 6, 1966. He had a hard time getting here and was finally take cesarean. He was our last and a very special spirit.
Ann and Jean both graduated from Hall High School and attended Brigham Young University. Ann graduated in English and taught for several years at Provo High School. She married Dr. Ronald Woolley in 1976 and they have a daughter Susanna. Jean graduated in Dietetics and is the diagnostic dietitian at the Dee McKay Hospital in Ogden. She was the 1977 Dietitian of the year for Utah. She is now married to Rick Weinert and they live in Layton Utah. Christopher John born Aug.5 (???), 1977.
Bob graduated from Hall High School with honors and gave one of the Valedictorian addresses. He attended BYU for a year then went to Columbia S.A. on a mission. He returned and finished in premed at BYU. He married Claire Ezell in 1978 and is now waiting to get into medical school. Roy graduated from Hall High in 1975 as Student Body President and a National Merit Scholar. He is attending Brown University Medical School as a Junior.
John is now our only child at home and is really a joy. He loves to hunt, fish, hike and camp. He also loves all kinds of sports and has played baseball, football, soccer and loves basketball.

Journal of Jesse Lynn Mellor
January 1, 1980 - June 15, 1985

Jan. 1, 1980
This is the beginning of a new year. I am now officially retired from Olin Corp. and we are going to live on our retirement income. It is a little bit frightening not knowing how much we are going to have to live on each month. We are well prepared in all ways for a good retirement. It is a great feeling to know that we have all the time necessary to work in our church assignments. Jean, Rick and Ricky spent some of the Christmas holidays with us and it was great to have them.
On Jan. 26 about 1:30 PM Aunt Marvel died. She had been living in a rest home near us for nearly four years. We made arrangements for her body to be sent to Utah Saturday and we left Saturday night so we could be there when the body arrived. Barbara made all the funeral arrangements. It was a beautiful funeral - one that would have made Aunt Marvel proud. She looked like she did 20 years ago in her casket. Practically all of her family came. Ann was one of the speakers and she really gave a good talk. She brought back many wonderful memories of Aunt Marvel.
After the grave side service we all went to the bank and the will was read. After this there were bad feelings with Dee and Grandma and Grandpa Forrest. Barbara will take the brunt of many insults before it is all over.
We did every thing we could at Aunt Marvel’s house (which is now Barbara's) and left for home in time to arrive Saturday night. Bob and Claire had stayed in our home with John so all was well.
Feb. was an interesting month. We are preparing our people for the new consolidated church schedule. Our ward will meet from 1 PM to 4 PM. John can hardly wait.
We started the new meeting schedule on Mar. 2nd in our stake. Everyone loves it and our attendance figures should increase greatly.
On Mar. 9 Barbara, John, and I went to Mountain View to look for a potential chapel site. We found an old Church of Christ building that would be great but we may not get it since it is not in our 5 year plan. Barbara and I spoke at Sacrament meeting since their speaker did not come. It was a great experience.
On Mar. 16th I finalized the purchase of a 15 acre plot and small building for the Glenwood branch. They have 45 members and will make a great unit. On Mar. 23 we met at Hot Springs and created the Glenwood Branch with James Constantino as Branch President. He will do a great job.
I now have approval to purchase additional land around the LR chapel. There is still some legal problem with the highway dept. I hope we can get resolved soon. This will give us enough land to make this a stake center when the stake is divided.
I felt it was necessary to reorganize the stake presidency at the next conference. This has been a difficult decision to make but I know now that it is right. I have approval from the First Presidency to replace Cobb with Charles Beyers. I will also replace our stake clerk George Wing and executive secretary Niel Littlefield. These brethren all have been great but need a change.
April 1, 1980
Jean is about 5 months pregnant and began having real problems with her Crones disease much like she did last time. Barbara flew out on Mar. 16 to help her and stayed one week. She brought Jean’s baby Ricky with her so we really had a good time for 2 weeks. On Friday April 4th I flew out to Salt Lake for conference and took Ricky with me. It was fun but eventful. He threw up all over me and him in the Denver Airport but we recovered. Jean met us at the Salt Lake airport and she was really glad to have her baby. I was kinda glad too. I spent Friday night with she and Rick and then went to Conference in Salt Lake on Saturday with Rick. It was great but the First Presidency is getting very feeble. I doubt that the Lord will let them spend much more time with us.
I flew back home Sunday after having a wonderful Easter dinner at Ron and Ann’s. Our daughters are about the sweetest ever and are such great joys and blessings to us. We all pray for both of their pregnancies to be successful and give us 2 more grandchildren.
John and Barbara met me at the airplane. It was great to get home. This week I decided to start substitute teaching in High School. My first day was at Parkview in Chemistry. It had been so long I didn't even know the terms. I will catch up soon. Barbara also taught at Parkview. This will keep us busy and also give us some cash flow while our stock is so low in Olin. We don't want to sell until it gets higher.
We gave John title to our house on Lehigh St. for his $4000 that we borrowed. He has $16,000 equity in the house and it should be enough to put him on his mission when the time comes. Dave Gonce still owes us $10,000 on his note due in Jan. I hope we don't have any trouble with this.
At our PEC meeting on Thursday I called Charles Beyers to be a counselor in the stake presidency. He was thrilled and so was his wife Cissy. On Wednesday April 9 I told Pres. Cobb of his release. He was shocked but it will be good for him to get back into the ward and spend more time with his family. I also interviewed Robert Field for Stake executive secretary and Gary Keeler for stake clerk. They both were very gracious in accepting. I slept better that night than I had done in weeks due to worry about this change. I wanted to be sure it wasn't personal.
Saturday and Sunday was our stake conference with our Regional Rep. M. Lee Miller as our conference visitor. Everything went very well and I made all the changes as planned. I think that I was the only one who felt bad.
Right after conference we loaded our car and went to Utah to be with Jean. She had been real sick with her Chrones disease and also we went to be with Ann. Her second daughter "Jessie Lynn" was born on Thursday and we wanted to help as much as possible. We took John out of school since it had been so long since he had seen the folks in Utah. We had a great visit even though the trip was long. Friday night we had a program at Ann and Ron's home and Ron blessed and named Jessie. Ron's parents and his sister's family (the Grundalls) were there. It was a special occasion and Ann gave such a sweet talk. We also had a great dinner. Saturday morning we left to come back home to Arkansas.
May 1980
It's springtime here now and the yards are just beautiful. Our yard is especially pretty. Barbara and I spent this week teaching school. She is in great demand and has agreed to finish the year for a person who has quit. Thursday was PEC meeting and I set apart both Seely and Wing for the High Council. I had previously (on conference day) set apart Bros. McChesney, Beyers, Wing, Field and Keeler.
Sunday we had ward conferences at Russellville and Marillton. These went very well and all the stake people did a fine job.
An area conference was held in Jackson, Miss. May 3rd and 4th for the stakes in this area. We went down early Saturday. Barbara and I were both asked to sit on the stand with the General Authorities at all meetings and I gave the opening prayer at the Sunday Morning session. It was a real thrill to sit by President Kimball and shake his hand. Pres. Tanner, Bros. Assay, Peterson, Faust, and Pinegar were also there along with two women from the R.S. and Y.W. organizations.
This was a good week. John, Bob, Wayne Smith and I went on a fishing trip Wed. May 8. We had a great time and caught lots of fish as we floated down the Fouche La Feve River. Saturday John and I went fishing at Conway lake. It's great to be with him - he is such an enthusiastic.
Saturday was also Seminary graduation. I spoke to the graduates for a short time.
May 11, 1980
Today Sunday May 11 is Mothers Day. I am so grateful for my mother and the great heritage she has given to me. I am also grateful for Barbara. She is the greatest and I love her very dearly. She is the perfect example of what the Lord wanted a mother to be. After church we are going out to dinner and get Mexican food. That is her favorite.
Sunday May 25th was branch conference at Pine Bluff. The pervious Sunday had been a regional planning meeting at Memphis. These are all day meetings and are very exhausting since we travel about 300 miles to and from the Memphis stake center.
We left Tuesday May 27th to go see Roy graduate at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. We left in the evening and drove all night so we could see Washington DC in the daylight. John loved to see all the things he read so much about- the White House, Capital Arlington Cemetery, The Smithsonian, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, etc. We stayed at Bethesda Maryland that night and went to see the temple early the next morning. John said "It looks like part of heaven.” We went on through New York to Connecticut and saw the Olin offices. Then to New Haven to see Yale and then on to Providence. Roy had reservations for us in a beautiful motel in Massachusetts. That night he took us to a Chinese restaurant which was very good. Next day was Sunday and we went to the Baccalaureate exercises. It was very good. Next day was the graduation and we enjoyed it even though it was long. After the main exercise we went to see Roy gets his diploma in his own college. That night Roy’s friends cooked dinner for us and the other parents - turkey and all the trimmings - we really enjoyed this as well as meeting his roommate’s parents. Next morning we left for Boston to visit Harvard campus then started our trip west toward Utah. We spent some time in Niagara Falls and went a short distance into Canada. Our next major stop was the Black Hills of South Dakota. We really enjoyed Mount Rushmore and this whole area. We slept in John’s tent at one of the local parks and really enjoyed it. John would much sooner sleep out than stay in a motel. The night before we stayed in a motel because it was raining and we stayed late visiting the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota.
Our next big stop was Yellowstone Park. We got there on John's 14th birthday. On the way we went through a snow blizzard that was one of the worst I have ever seen. In Yellowstone they told us to be prepared to stay in our cabin for 3 or 4 days until the snow stopped. Next morning it was beautiful- about 6 inches of snow and a beautiful sun shinny day. John got lots of pictures of lots of animals. We tried fishing but it was not good. We caught 4 all together in 2 days of hard fishing.
We went from here to Lehi. On the way we picked up little Ricky and took him with us since Jean was going in the hospital next day to have her "stitches" removed so she would start labor. John went to the BYU "Boys World" with his cousins Jimmy and John Willardson. This was supposed to last until June 28. On June 25th Jean still didn't have her baby so we decided to bring Little Ricky back to Little Rock since I had to be here for a Regional Meeting in Memphis. On Saturday June 28 we made it okay and I gave a talk in the meeting.
On June 29 we held a court and disfellowshipped Bishop Danny McElderry of the Jacksonville ward for moral transgression.
On Friday and Saturday Youth Conference was held in Hot Springs. Barbara and I went down for the Saturday evening activities. It was Johns first one and he really enjoyed it even though he had spent the previous week at Boy Scout camp in the heat and the chiggers.
The next week we left for Utah to take Ricky back home. We met Jean and Rick at Manti about 4 o'clock. We all were glad to get the family back together. That night we attended the "Mormon Miracle" pageant. It was one of the most beautiful and inspirational productions I have ever been to. Carol and Elly my sister and brother in law got us seats on the 3rd row in the VIP section so we really enjoyed it. We went to Lehi that night and got there about 3 AM after driving straight through from Little Rock (1500 miles). Next day Wayne and Chris Smith from Little Rock came to stay with us. He and I spent the next 10 days building a bathroom in the front bedroom of Aunt Marvels house. It was a big job but it turned out great and we really enjoyed it.
July 27th was a missionary farewell for Carol and Elly. They were called to a mission in Michigan. We attended the meeting and I had to speak. Afterward we had a big get together at the park above Sterling.
The next week we left for Little Rock and brought Jimmy Willardson back with us to spend 3 weeks. It was hard to find things to do because it was so hot. We caught lots of fish but this stopped when one day John hooked Jimmy in the head with a fish hook. I cut the hook off and Jimmy fainted. John and I both thought he was dead. After we revived him we took him to the emergency room of the hospital and had the hook removed. It was funny for everyone but Jimmy. He flew home on Aug. 21st.
Sept. 1980
We had branch conference in Benton on Aug. 24th and in Arkadelphia on Aug. 31st. These small branches are doing well even though they have every few people.
On Sept 7th I went to Batesville to put in a new Branch Presidency. Pres. Wilkinson is leaving for Yakima Washington. Pres. Joens is the new pres. He will be very good.
On Sept 14th I went to Searcy to change the Branch Presidency. Bro. Prince was released and Pres. Gary Hall was sustained. He has been the YM pres. in the stake and will do a great job.
Sept. 12th was a party for all stake leaders and their wives at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs. We had barbecued chicken and beans, salad, fruit, and all the trimmings. It was very successful and all 55 who came had a great time.
Barbara and I have both been doing substitute teaching in the Little Rock public school district. We wanted to each teach about 10 days per month but it seems like we could go every day if we wanted to.
Sept. 21, 1980
Our weather if finally beginning to moderate. It has been 100 degrees or over nearly every day since June 1. Our last general rain was in May and we are nearly 11 inches of rain below normal. Bob and Claire ate dinner with us today but I had to hurry off to a stake Presidency meeting at 1 p.m. Our meeting schedule is from 9-12 am and today is the first time I have been able to attend Little Rock 1st Ward for 3 or 4 months. I feel nearly like a stranger in my own ward.
Sept. 28, 1980
This has been a beautiful week our weather has moderated and the rains have helped everything to revive. Our yard is beautiful both front and back. From now until Christmas and then in March and April are beautiful times in Little Rock. On Thursday night we had all the ward PEC's come in for training. The hardest job of all is for Bishops to raise money. We are $130,000 behind in our stake building fund.
Saturday was the Volley Ball playoffs. John plays for LR 1 ward and has a great time. They didn't win but had fun. He passed 2 more merit badges and now only has two to go for his Eagle Scout award. He was also chosen to be Teachers Quorum president. I'm sure that he will do a great job. He loves seminary and gets up at 5:30 Tuesday to go. We usually spend our family home evenings working on his lesson. Last week however we went out to Bonanza for dinner. Earlier he had taken us to the movie "The Empire Strikes Back.” He loved it but Barbara and I never did get the message.
Oct. 4, 1980
Today was General Conference. We listened to all sessions on the radio at the chapel. It was great and we enjoyed it all. Oct. 1 was our 33rd wedding anniversary. I gave Barbara a gold chain with 5 gold beads on it. She is great and I love her more each year. Friday night we had an open house at our house for Dianna and Garry Power who are leaving for Texas. She is one of Barbara’s best friends. Saturday John took us to the state fair. We love to see all of the exhibit and the animals. Saturday night John, Bob and I went to the General Priesthood broadcast. Pres. Kimball and Romney are getting very feeble. Pres. Tanner didn't even speak. The women’s broadcast was the Saturday night before. I was the only man there since I had to preside.
Sunday has been a fun day - we listened to all the conference then Bob and Claire came over for dinner. It was like Thanksgiving - turkey, dressing and all the trimmings. That night we rode out west of town and bought 2 big sacks of apples. They are delicious. Barbara and I both taught school all week. we are substitutes but we really go more than we want to. I taught Math at Central High and Barbara Reading at McDermott. It keeps us active and we both make $59 per day - so it gives us mad money.
Our renter in our house at 3103 Lehigh left on Oct. 3. We ran an ad in the paper and the first lady who saw it rented it on Oct. 4. We will sell the house as soon as the financial situation improves. We have given this house to John for his mission and college fund. We have also put our lot in St. Charles up for sell- we don't want to build on it so we may as well sell it. We put 800 shares of Olin stock up for sale - we must raise $16000 for inheritance tax by Oct. 29 - This is because Pleasant Grove Finance Co. with $21,000 of our money has gone into bankruptcy. We had intended to use this money to pay the tax.
Oct. 12, 1980
This was a good week although busy. Barbara and I taught all week. I interviewed Jim Shook for a mission. He has a few problems but I'm sure he can overcome them in a short while. Our missionary program is not going as well as it should. Our structure is OK but we can't seem to get the members enthused. We had meetings all day long today in Jacksonville. 3 courts were held. Bro. Rowell man from Hot Springs was disfellowshipped. Bro. Stone man from Hot Springs was excommunicated for apostasy. We were to hold another court on Bro. Mourten from Searcy but he was not present so we decided to wait. It is a real trying experience to have to make the decision to remove some ones name from the church records but it must be done for their sake and the church.
Oct. 19, 1980
I spent nearly all day in Memphis at a regional council meeting with our new Regional Rep. J. Boyd Eskridge. He is new and very enthusiastic. He is the eighth one we have had in about 3 years. When all reports are supposed to be cut down I have to make 3 more to him each month. He and Elder Rex Pinegar of the 1st Quorum of Seventy are going to stay with us for stake conference on Nov. 1 and 2. Friday night was a ward dinner L.R. 1st. Dave Gonce and I barbecued all the chickens then John, Bob and I put on a duck calling exhibition as entertainment. Bob is good but John and I are fair to poor. John is doing great in school and in church. He is teachers quorum president and senior patrol leader of his scout troop. He loves it but will be Eagle with 2 more badges. He is doing great in school and loves to be and "A" student. We talked to all of the kids this week and they are all doing great. Barbara and I can hardly wait to move back to Utah and live so we can be by Ann and Ron, Susan, Jessie, Jean, Rick, Ricky and little Barbara Jean. We're determined to be good grandparents. Claire and Bob don't need us here any longer and Roy has no ties in Arkansas. John has lots of friends here but he also wants to be by family. He went on a Scout camp out Friday night. It was cold but he loved it. Any kind of outdoors play is fun for him.
Oct 26, 1980
Our weather has finally cooled off and is really beautiful - cold nights and warm days. Arkansas is really beautiful and Barbara and I get worried when we think of leaving our lovely home and this beautiful state. John and I will really miss the duck hunting and the fishing but I guess we can also find this in Utah. Thursday night was the night we bring in all the ward and branch leaders. I am really pushing the units for money. it seems like this is the biggest overall problem we have. Thursday night I set apart Jeff Dean as a full time missionary - It seems like we keep about 30 out from our stake. This should improve as the young boys and girls we have now get older. John already had about $15,000 in his mission/college fund. I hope we can continue to keep him interested in the church.
This is the week we prepare for stake conference. Elder Rex Pinegar of the First Council of seventy will be here and so will Elder J. Boyd Eskridge our regional representative.
Nov. 2, 1980
Today and yesterday were filled with stake conference meetings. Bro. Eskridge came in Sat. at 9:30 and Bro. Pinegar at 1:30. We had meetings all afternoon and ended with a leadership meeting Saturday night. They were excellent meetings. Saturday night both of these men stayed at our home. This is a real hassle for Barbara because she never knows what their schedule will be and I don't either. Sunday morning we had a missionary meeting at 8 o'clock then the conference at 10 o'clock. We filled the building with about 1500 people. This was about 200 more than we could seat. I guess we will have to do something different next conference. Bro. Eskridge wants to divide the stake but it is too early.
After conference Barbara had prepared a beautiful buffet luncheon. Bro. Pinegar changed his schedule so Barbara fixed him a sandwich to eat on the way to the airport. We had Pres. and Sis. Jones the Mission Pres. Pres. Beyers my 2nd counselor and 7 of his family and friends, Pres. McChesney my 1st counselor and 2 of his family, Bob and Claire and John. It was a great luncheon and done in Barbara's beautiful gracious way. The stake is doing real well but I think now it is time for someone else to take over. I have been Stake Pres. 4 years in April and was a counselor for 10 years before that. Barbara and I are both ready to go back to Utah and enjoy our grandchildren.
Nov. 9, 1980
Barbara and I have both taught school this week. it's fun but it gets tiresome when you do it every day.
John was out of school so we all decided to have a vacation. Thursday morning John and I played 18 holes of golf then we came home and packed our camping gear. We went down to southern Arkansas and decided to stay in our tent at some campground. We found a place above Crystal Arkansas that was really out in the Ozark Mountains. it was dark when we got there but we could see that it was beautiful country. The leaves were bright orange, red and yellow. We set up our tent and cooked a big steak with baked potatoes and all the trimmings - it was delicious. We slept in our new sleeping bags and were really too warm. Next morning we had a great breakfast of sausage, eggs, toast, and hot chocolate. Then John and I went squirrel hunting. We saw some and had lots of fun but really weren't interested in shooting any. John is a great outdoors man. He loves to camp out and hike in the mountains. I think he would have been much happier as a pioneer. Friday we went to Murfreesburo and hunted for diamonds in the diamond mine. We found lots of pretty rocks but no diamonds. We had a great time.
Nov. 16, 1980
Today (Nov. 9) was our stake meetings in Jacksonville Stake Center. I didn't get home until about 7. Barbara had kept dinner waiting so we had a big celebration and dinner for Bobs 26th birthday. We gave him a sleeping bag like ours and John made him a cut little desk ornament with his name burned in it. Bob and John are so cute together. I can hardly wait for us all to go duck hunting together - these two are so much fun.
Wednesday night Perry Lynn Turnbull came home from his mission and I released him. Also this week Jerry Henley came home from his mission and I released him. We need to send some more missionaries out real soon.
Saturday, John, Bob and I went out in the mountains and got a load of firewood. That is a real job but we surely do love to burn the fireplace. Today I went to Hot Springs for some interviews. It was a dreary trip and rained all day. It has been raining since Thursday. Its about 40 degrees outside and this fireplace surely does feel good. I missed our sacrament meeting this morning. John was to give a talk. He was very confident and not one bit afraid - I can hardly wait until he comes home to find out how he did. He loves his seminary program and is doing great in it.
Nov. 23, 1980
Today was ward conference for LR1 and LR2. It makes for a very long day but it reduces travel for the stake people. They were both good conferences and were well attended. This past week Barbara and I have both taught school every day. We do this to keep busy and also get extra money primarily to help the children - ours that is. Tonight John and Bob and I are going to take our tent and sleeping bags and sleep down at the duck hunting place. The season opens tomorrow and we are all anxious. This is one sport we all love to do. Some people here have said that Pres. Kimball says we shouldn't hunt. We know that if it's not good to kill things for sport but we really use the ducks to help our meat supply.
Nov. 30, 1980
We went duck hunting Monday and had a great time. We love camping out and even though it looked like rain, the weather was pretty good. Bob is a great duck caller and John is an expert shot. Monday we shot 6 and Friday 8. Saturday was a bad day- we had fun but only shot 2 ducks. In order to get into the duck woods by 6:15 we leave home at 3 o'clock. We drive 65 miles then get in our boat and ride about 35 minutes down a big canal. Then we walk into the woods about 30 to 40 minutes to be all set when it gets light enough to shoot. It makes a long day but is one thing we all love to do.
We had a great Thanksgiving. It snowed about 4 inches and got real cold. Bob and Claire came over and we had turkey with all the trimming. After dinner we sat around the fire and played. John has been called as president of the teachers quorum. Bob and I set him apart last Sunday. He was real proud and we were proud of him. He is doing so well in all of his work and is such a good guy. He is growing so big and fast - I'm sure that he will be even bigger that Bob. We have to keep buying him clothes because he grows out of them so fast. At 14 he now wears my shoes and is about the same size as Roy. He is starting to notice the girls now - they have been noticing him for a long time. We hope that we can keep him interested in hunting and fishing for a while yet. Claire (Bob's wife) is pregnant, expecting in June. We are thrilled for them.
Barb and I are getting real worried about leaving our beautiful home in June and moving to Utah. We know that the Lord will put stumbling blocks in the way if we're not supposed to go. One of our big concerns is finding a house we can be proud of and be comfortable in where John will be happy. It probably wouldn't be Lehi.
Friday night we held a PEC meeting at Jacksonville and attended the stake Christmas after this. It was a great party which was concluded by showing the film "Mr. Kruger's Christmas.” This was a great way to start out the Christmas season.
Dec. 14 , 1980
This week was spent teaching school during the days and preparing for Christmas at night. We are planning to have a great holiday with everyone home.
Dec. 21, 1980
Jean, Rick, Ricky and Barbara Jean came in on the 24th. They flew in from Salt Lake. The children are so cute and well mannered. Jean and Rick have done a wonderful job with them. Christmas was really fun. We gave Ricky a little pull dog and he loved it. He pulled it around all day. Ron, Ann, Susanna and Jessie flew in on the 26th. What a fun time we all had. Four children under four and I don't think all four of them were ever asleep at the same time. Ron had to leave Sunday for Alabama on a business trip and came back Thursday. We were so happy to have all of them here. We can hardly wait to be closer to them. Barbara did a wonderful job with the food -it was great and every one appreciated it.
Dec. 28, 1980
We all went to church this morning and it was special. Ricky and Susanna wouldn't go in their class so Ron and I tended them in my office.
Ricky had an ear infection and was real cross. Dr. Jim Griffin stopped by and took a look at him. Jean and Rick took Ricky to Hot Springs Tuesday and Jim fixed his ears. He is fine now.
New Years Eve we went to the dance for a short time. Jean and Rick left the day before with Ann and Ron. They were worried about being able to fly into Salt Lake because of the fog. We called and they made it OK. Roy came in on Monday the 29th. He is doing great and had a good ski vacation in Utah with his friend Ty. Roy is finally beginning to enjoy his family. He even helped tend the young ones and liked it. The weather was great and they spent a lot of time outside.
Jan. 4, 1981
This week we held PEC at Jacksonville then attended a reception for Marilyn and Bill Henderson who just got married. Bill is a stake clerk who is going to be on the High Council. Saturday was Super Saturday for the Seminary. Barbara and I were in charge of one part called the Celestial Kingdom. Barbara did a great job. She has a way of getting real close to every one and they love her. She is such a great help to me in my church job. I could never do without her. In fact she is the real strength in our home. She is a real living example of love and charity the way I think the Savior meant.
This week we again discussed our possible move to Utah in the summer. After much prayer we have decided to do it. We wrote a letter to Pres. Ezra Taft Benson explaining our situation and asked his advise. We still have great concern about leaving our lovely home and this beautiful place. Also we think it might be wise to let John go to High School in Little Rock. I'm sure the Lord will guide us.
Jan. 11, 1981
Barbara and I both taught school all week. It's kinda fun especially in chemistry and math and it gives us a way to keep busy and do some good. John and I went fishing one day when the weather was 25 degrees - we didn't do much good. Saturday was a special interest party for the stake. Barbara and I were guests and both had to speak. We talked about temple marriage. These people are really lonely and need lots of help.
Jan. 18, 1981
Today we had ward conference at Hot Springs and Glenwood. They were both real spiritual experiences especially Glenwood. We set up this branch about nine months ago. We bought 10 acres of land with a small house on one corner. They have refinished the house for a small chapel and it is beautiful. They now have 52 members and 22 families. They are now planning for a new chapel. With their faith and determination I'm sure that it won't be long until they get one. Pres. Constatino was inactive a year ago.
We just signed a purchase agreement for a building at Mountain View. This little branch is about 9 months old and is really doing great. We are buying the building from the "Church of God" and can move in as soon as they finish building their new one.
This week we should finalize and agreement to buy some additional land around our Little Rock Chapel. This will allow us to use this as a stake house when we divide the stake which should be in about 2 years. We already have 15 units which makes administration very difficult. Our regional rep. wants us to divide in April but I'm sure we couldn't do this yet.
Tuesday 20th was Inauguration Day for Pres. Ronald Reagan. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was the final float in the parade. They sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic in front of the review stand and it was very impressive. It was great coverage for the church. Also, Donny and Marie Osmond performed at the Gala Event Monday night.
Today also was the release of the 52 American hostages who have been held 14 months in Iran. Thursday 22nd was our regular meeting where we bring in all the bishoprics, Branch presidents, Elders Quorum presidencies and group leaders to Little Rock. It was a great meeting but requires lots of time and effort for the leaders of our 15 units to come in each month.
Jan. 25th was Regional Council Meeting in Memphis. We left at 6 am and got home about 6 p.m. When I got home Barbara had prepared a great birthday dinner for Claire.
Feb. 1, 1981
This was a busy day. I traveled to Benton in the morning and changed the Branch Presidency. Pres. Keith McKell was put out there for two years since we didn't have strong enough local leadership. I released him and set apart Marvin Green as the Branch President. He is a fine young man and should do a good job. I used to teach him in cub scouts and Primary years ago.
In the afternoon I released Bishop Charles Butler as bishop of the North Little Rock ward. I had sustained him 5 years previously to the day as Bishop. I ordained Craig Moline as the new bishop and set apart Dan Steele and Ken Omer as his two counselors. This was a very spiritual experience. I thought maybe I had made a mistake on Bp. Moline but after fervent prayer I received confirmation that the Lord was satisfied with this choice.
John and I had shopped this week for a deer rifle for him. We finally settled on a 30.06 with a 3x9 scope. He is really proud of it. Saturday we went out to the rifle range and sighted it in. John shot within 3 inches at 100 yards and was satisfied with that. Saturday John played basketball for the L.R. ward. They got beat by Searcy by a score of 107 to 21 but they all had a good time and John made some points.
Feb. 8, 1981
I replaced the bishopric of the L.R. 2 ward. Bishop Show was put in 5 1/2 years ago. I ordained Louis Ducret as a bishop and ordained Jerrell Wilkins and Perry Bone as High Priests and counselors. This was really a choice experience. Perry and Jerrell are both potential bishops and are real special spirits.
Gary Power and his family (5 children) stayed with us over the weekend. He was a former High Council member who moved to Texas. They had twin daughters about 3 mo. old.
Our neighbor Ralph Hipp died this week I was pall bearer at his funeral on Friday. He was a fine man but had lung problems from smoking in his younger years.
Friday 13th was the stake Gold and Green Ball. It was a beautiful dance. The Young Adults were in charge and presented a program of "Alice in Wonderland" with all the appropriate decorations.
Sunday Feb. 15, 1981
Our Regional Representative J. Boyd Eskridge was in town and we met all morning to discuss stake and regional problems. He seems to think that the stake is doing very well. In fact he would like to divide it in April but I told him this would be impractical at such an early date. Relief Society leadership meeting was on Saturday. I went over to interview Sr. Suzie Bohn as possible Relief Society president for Little Rock II ward. She and her husband are really great people. Otto is our Senior High Council member.
Sunday Feb. 22, 1981
We had ward conference at North Little Rock in the morning and Jacksonville in the afternoon. These were great meetings and the Lords spirit was really strong in both conferences. Thursday we had a special welfare meeting with all Bishoprics and Relief Society presidencies in the stake. The whole chapel was full with 14 units completely represented. This should help the program to move forward as it should.
Sunday Mar. 1
I had my regular stake presidency meetings. Barbara, John and I had decided to fast and pray about our possible move to Utah and getting an answer from Salt Lake City regarding my release as stake president. Sunday evening Barbara and I spoke to a stake young adult fireside at Jacksonville on the Celestial Kingdom. It was a great experience - we were both dressed in white and spoke for about 30 minutes.
Monday Mar. 2, 1981
I didn't get a call to teach so I worked at home. We received a letter from the First Presidency stating that we would be released as Stake President at our Stake conference on April 12. It gave both of us a funny feeling since I have been in the stake presidency 14 years but we know that this is the way the Lord wants it. We're not going to tell anyone but family until it happens. It has been a wonderful experience for our whole family but now it's time for us to move on to other things. We are going to Utah for 2 weeks beginning Mar. 20. Bob and John are both out of school for a week. In fact Bob finished on Mar. 6 and doesn't go back until some time in May. We are going to drive the Lincoln and pull our trailer. It's an 18 ft. self-contained camper that the whole family will use when we get to Utah.
March 8, 1981
Spring has come to Little Rock. The flowers are blooming and the lawns are beginning to get green. We really haven't had any winter - no snow and very little cold. John and I are now getting ready to go fishing. He loves the outdoors and all kinds of sports. We feel that we will be able to keep closer to him if we move to Utah than in Little rock but we are finally going to leave the choice up to him. At least we will spend all of our summers there.
March 15, 1981
This week we are preparing to go to Utah for a spring vacation. Bob is through school until mid-May and John has the next week free so we will take John out of school one week and spend two weeks in Utah. Bob and John want to ski and I would like to rewire the Lehi home so it would be electrically sound. Barbara and I will teach school all of this week.
Mar. 22/29, 1981
We left for Utah Saturday morning and arrived in Utah Sunday afternoon after driving straight through. Our only stop we in Oklahoma where we were afraid the wind would tip over the trailer. We pulled the trailer (18 ft. camper) with our Lincoln and also drove our little Toyota. The Lincoln got 7 mpg and the Toyota 37.
The weather in Utah was beautiful. It was sunshining some days and snowing others. We cleaned the house real good then started to redo the electric wiring. We ended up adding 16 circuits and a whole new inlet system. It was a tough 4 day job. Bob and John really worked and we finished up on Saturday. John and Bob went skiing with Steve Ezell on Friday. They had a great time. Sunday, Ann, Ron, Jean, Rick and all the rest of us went to church in Lehi. After church we came home to a big turkey dinner with all the trimmings. It was kind of Jean's and Jessie's birthday party.
I received a confirmation from Pres. Kimball that I would be released from Stake Pres. at our stake conference April 12. Elder Mark E. Peterson was given the assignment so I went to his office in Salt Lake and discussed it with him. He is really a wonderful person.
Friday April 1, 1981
I attended a meeting with the First Presidency and other General Authorities where they announced that we would have 9 new temples. Of most interest were the ones in Dallas and Chicago. We will be in the Dallas Temple district. I also attended a meeting Friday April 3 for Bishops and Stake Presidents where our duties were discussed. The main points were for us to be very careful about holding down the cost of assessments to the Saints. This was stressed several times.
We listened to the welfare meeting Saturday morning and the first session of conference Saturday then left for Little Rock since we had to be back by Monday morning for John's school.
Mar. 29/ April 15, 1981
Our trip back to Little Rock was long but uneventful. I forgot to mention last week that we attended the temple on Wednesday at Provo and then looked at homes for sale up by the temple. We found some that looked pretty good and within $100,000 range.
This week we are preparing for the stake conference. This will be the last one where I will be stake president. I have been in the stake presidency 14 years and stake president 4 years. We feel now that someone else should have the blessings. Our conference visitors were Elder Mark E. Peterson a member of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles and J. Boyd Eskridge our Regional Representative from Birmingham, Alabama. They arrived Friday evening and we picked them up at the airport. They spent the night at our home and we started our meetings at 9am on Saturday. We had meetings at 3, 4 and 7 p.m. which were all great. Robert McChesney my 1st Counselor was chosen as Stake President, George Wing and Jim Griffin were from the Stake High Council and chosen as counselors. Charles Beyers my 2nd counselor was put back as senior member of the High Council. He was disappointed but it was best for him.
Elder Peterson was very concerned about hurting his feelings so he talked to him a long time and made him realize how special his calling was.
At the dinner Saturday evening the High Council and Clerks gave me an oil painting of 3 Pin Tail ducks as a present. They had planned this long before they knew that I was leaving so it was great. They certainly are a wonderful group of men.
Barbara and I both talked at stake conference. She did a wonderful job and I just kinda took up the time. I also talked in the two meetings Saturday. They were 1501 people present at stake conference - over 38% of the stake. This is remarkable since some have to drive over 150 miles away.
April 12, 1981
This week has been kinda relaxing. The phone is starting to cool off and we are starting to wind down. It really feels good. On Wed. April 15 our neighbor Bill Barbie died. It was really a surprise he had been so active and had not really been sick.
Wed. evening I gave Roy Millard a blessing. He is having health problems and felt that a blessing was necessary in order for him to carry on with his church calling of counselor in the Elders Quorum Presidency. Barry Cannon, the Elders Quorum president assisted me.
The remainder of the spring in Little Rock was rather uneventful. I spent much of the time working on our yard and getting our house all fixed up. This is such a pretty place and also pretty time of the year.
We had planned to leave for Utah and stay for summer as soon as John’s school was out, but decided to wait until after Bob's and Claire's baby came. It was due April 9 but did not come until April 28th. It was a beautiful baby boy and Mom, Dad and Michael Lynn are doing real well. We left for Utah on the 29th since John had to be at a BYU summer camp in early July.
We arrived in Lehi OK. We had taken 2 cars and pulled our camping trailer behind the Lincoln. We will leave it in Lehi for summer vacation.
We spent the early part of the summer remedying Aunt Marvel’s house. We had put in a new bathroom the year before and also completely rewired it early in the spring. Also we refinished the small bedroom in the east end. This time we cleaned out the attic on the east end and finished two cute bedrooms upstairs. The house is now in real good shape for us to enjoy in the summer time. It is very comfortable even though some of it was about 125 years ago.
This was a great summer - we enjoyed mainly our visits with Ann's and Jean's families. Jeans children Ricky 2 and Barjee 1 stayed with us for nearly 2 weeks while Jean was sick. We also kept Ann's children for a while (Susanna and Jessie).
We left to come back to Arkansas the last week in August. When we got back here we really suffered from the heat. John and I don't mind it so much but Barbara really doesn't like it.
We had a real good fall. Barbara was teaching most of the time and I taught about 3 or 4 times most weeks. Barbara was called to work in the Primary and I was called to ward finance chairman and finally as the ward Aaronic Priesthood young men’s president.
John, Bob and I had great plans for duck hunting but there was very little water so the hunting was bad we only went about 6 times and shot only about 25 ducks the whole season.
We had a wonderful Christmas. Bob, Claire and Michael were with us and on Christmas Eve Roy and his girlfriend Patrice O'Donohugh came in and spent a week. Roy is doing great but still not close to the church. Patrice is cute but not a member and apparently not interested.
Jan. 1982
As the new year began we got back into the swing of things. Barbara is now taking over a reading lab for a teacher who is on leave to have a baby. She loves it and is very good at it. John is playing basketball and is really the star. He has grown to nearly 6 feet tall and weighs over 150 pounds. He is bigger than Roy and will probably be bigger than Bob. He had a program (Eagle Scout Court of Honor) in early Feb. to get his Eagle Scout award. He really finished last May but we couldn't get it set up until now. He was really proud and glad to get this behing him.
Feb. 1, 1982
We have had real bad weather this winter - in fact the month of January was the coldest on record. Our house is real comfortable because of our fireplace. We build a fire and all stay in the den. We are kinda disappointed in the activity of the ward. The High Priests group finally took over and had a real good ward dinner. Barbara and I did the spaghetti. It was great and about 200 people came. We are going to continue this to see if we can get some fellowship going.
Feb. 8, 1982
My hearing is still bad in my right ear. Last Fall Dr. Griffin (2nd C in Stake Presidency) put in a stainless steel hammer but it didn't do any good. I may have to get a hearing aid.
Feb. 15, 1982
Monday afternoon about 4 o'clock we received a call from Salt Lake City. The lady said that Pres. Elden Tanner 1st Counselor in the first presidency of the church wanted to talk to Jesse Lynn Mellor. He asked about my health, job, family and about Barbara then said he would like to issue the call for us to be called on a 3 year tour as Mission President. We were both thrilled to death and felt like this was the answer to all of our prayers. He said not to say anything until we received the formal call signed by all of the First Presidency. He also said that someone else would be giving us more information. We spent the next several days wondering where we would go especially since we knew how important it was to Johnny to get in a nice area. He said he didn't want to have dirt floors and ride a camel to school.
On Friday, Elder Asay one of the Seven Presidents of the Seventies called and discussed more about our calling. He said that it would be an English speaking mission and would be for 3 years. He also said that he would send us an information packet but that he may not know where we were going for several weeks. He also said to tell Barbara that she was a big reason why we had received the call. John is now feeling good about the whole thing and is really anxious to know where we will go.
Feb. 28, 1982
We put our house up for sale for $123,500 this week. The "for sale" sign on the front lawn makes us feel bad. We have been here 17 years. We built our house and dearly love the way we have fixed it and the yard up. This whole week I have been cleaning out closets and putting things in boxes. We plan to move all of our things to Lehi for storage until we get back. We are going to take one load out in June. We also have a rental house we are trying to sell and 3 boats to do something with. I think we will take one to Lehi, give one to Bob and sell one. We have packed 56 boxes already and are a long way from finished. The word is out now of our calling. It was announced today in church so everyone knows most people are happy for us. Our neighbors can't understand how we would ever accept such a thing and not even know where we are going to be sent. I guess that's the difference between the true church and the false ones.
Mar. 7, 1982
This week we have been trying to get things done that will help us on our mission. We both had our eyes examined for new glasses and Barbara had some small lumps out off her eye lids. We also showed our home to several prospective customers. Everyone loves it but no one yet has the money to buy it. Barbara is still teaching school and I am spending lots of time getting things packed in boxes for the move. Also I am rereading the 4 standard works.
Mar. 14, 1982
Barbara and I have decided to go to as many wards and branches as we can before we leave. This week we went to Mountain View Branch. We bought a chapel for them last year and this is the first time we had been able to meet with them. Pres. and Sr. Carr are great people and so appreciative of our efforts. The building is beautiful and just what they need.
We're still packing and showing the house. We all went to the dentist and had our teeth checked and are all in good shape. Still no word on when we will go. Any place will be fine with us as long as John is happy. So far he has been great - in fact he seems to really be thrilled about the whole thing. Many people have written and called to say how happy they were.
Mar. 21, 1982
We have had several calls from the missionary dept. We are scheduled for some orientation on Mar 31 and April 1 in Salt Lake City. We are still packing and getting ready.
Mar. 28, 1982
We rented a UHaul 24 foot truck on Thursday March 25 and started to load our things. I had packed 93 boxes full of things- we loaded these plus the other furniture that we wouldn't need Thursday night. Bob, John, and a man from Brandon House loaded the truck. I also hooked our ski boat trailer behind the truck and we started out about 6:30 am Saturday morning. I drove the truck and Barbara followed in our 1982 Toyota. We drove about 600 miles and spent the night in a motel in Amarillo, Texas. On the way we had a very bad experience. The wind was blowing very hard directly across the road and when the big transport trucks would pass it would really cause a wind pressure. While we were on a long bridge in Oklahoma when the trailer slipped off the ball hitch on the truck. All that held the boat and trailer was the safety chains. By the time I got stopped the trailer brace had punched a hole in the front end of the boat and Barbara was frantic. The trailer was whipping badly because the big trucks were pasing so fast and the wind was terrible. I was a real blessing that someone was not hurt. We decided that the Lord just wanted us to get to Utah more than Satan wanted to stop us. I chained down the hitch after working for about an hour and we continued on our way with no more problems. We stopped again in Monticello, Utah and didn't get to Lehi until about 2 p.m. Monday. From Price to Provo we drove in the worst winter snow blizzard I have ever seen. In addition to the snow and wind it was real foggy and several cars had accidents. We thanked our Heavenly Father for safe arrival after several bad incidents.
April 4, 1982
We unloaded the trailer on Tuesday and put the furniture into our Lehi house. Rick and our neighbor Lloyd helped. In the afternoon we took a bed, two couches, a dresser and a desk up to Jeans house for their basement. We turned the truck in at Orem and I was really glad to get rid of it.
Wednesday, we went to Salt Lake City for our meetings. We met first with Elder Udell Poulson who explained the budget and the financial procedures to us. Three other couples were there. Following this we met with Elder Goaslind. He gave us a pep talk and told us how great the mission was. He was very inspiring. He also told us to go down to Mr. Mac's and buy any clothes we needed. After his visit we went to Mr. Mac's. He is Mac Christensen from Ephraim and we knew all the same people. I bought 4 suits, shoes, ties, socks, shirts and rubber boots. Barbara bought 2 suits and 3 blouses. We were well pleased and he really discounted everything about 2/3's. We were really amazed. My suits were Swedish knits that won't wrinkle and Barbara got a Camel wool one and a Navy linen one - beautiful.
Thursday we went back to Salt lake and met first with Elder Millet, then with Elder Hawkins and finally with Elder Durrant. Much time was spent with the Lamanite program. We have some reservations in our mission including Crows and Sioux.
We found that we are going to the Montana Billings Mission - we are really pleased. Everyone who has ever been there says it is really wonderful. The mission home is really large and we will have a full time cook and housekeeper. We called the kids and told them and everyone is happy. Apparently we had been scheduled for Equador but for some reason it was changed and we are really happy.
Thursday night we took Ann and her family to dinner. Barbara and I had previously gone through the new Jordan River Temple. It was really a wonderful experience. Friday I had to do some plumbing in the house due to freeze damage and Friday night we went to a reception for my Sister Shirley’s daughter.
We say my sister Elaine and she showed us the finished painting of Aunt Marvel's house. She has done a masterful job and we are so pleased.
Saturday morning we left for Little Rock since Barbara has to be at her school by Monday.
While we were going to Utah John had been on a skiing trip to Colorado with "Young Life" he had a wonderful time and got home Friday night. We were all really tired but it was a wonderful week and we are really excited about our call.
April 11, 1982
Today was Easter. After church we had Bob and Claire over for dinner then went for a ride to western Arkansas to see the daffodils. They were beautiful. That night Barbara and I spoke at a missionary fireside in Searcy. It was a very spiritual meeting.
We talked to Pres. and Sr. Milne of the Billings mission and got more information. We are getting more thrilled each day. they said that we needed to find a cook to bring with us. After several days of prayer we asked Sister Brenda Lowe. She is a single lady who is a convert and has been a Relief Society president. We went up to ask her this week and she was thrilled and said she would be thrilled to take the job. We are really happy about it.
April 18, 1982
We are still preparing. I have read nearly all of the 4 standard works and Barbara is also studying. She is still teaching school and working hard. I taught the institute class this past week and enjoyed it. I went to Hot Springs to Dr. Griffen to see if the second operation on my ear worked. It didn't so he fitted me for a hearing aid which I should get some time in a couple of weeks.
April 25, 1982
Jean called and said that she is pregnant and having problems with her chrones disease. She wants another baby so badly.
May 2, 1982
Ann is expecting her 3rd child just any day now. She called and said that the baby had shifted positions and is now breach if it comes. She's sure everything will be OK by "B" day. Jean came home from the hospital yesterday. She had her uterus sewn up so the baby could not abort. She is still not feeling good and will have to be on a liquid formula 6 more months to control her problem.
May 9, 1982
Ron called Wednesday morning to tell us that they had a son Russell John Woolley born at 1:30 May 5. They are really thrilled. We talked to both of them Wednesday night and they can hardly believe it. Ron is on cloud 9. This is the only Woolley son in the whole family.
My sister Carol called to tell us that a park and monument of the resurrected Moroni was being planned at Manti to be dedicated by July when the "Mormon Miracle" play is done. We sent her a check for $100 as our part. Our home has been up for sale about a month now. The real estate market is bad and no homes are selling. We prayed earnestly that the Lord would help us sell the house so we could go on our mission and not have this worry. Sunday, at 3 am I waked up and the waked Barbara and told her that we had just sold the house for $120,000. That afternoon a couple with 2 children came in and looked at the house and by 3 p.m. they offered us $120,000 and we sold the house. It seems like the Lord has blessed us so greatly that we can never repay - Our only hope is to serve in this new calling with all the diligence and strength we have.
May 16, 1982
Barbara is still teaching school and doing a wonderful job. The reading classes she has been teaching have made more progress than any in the city according to the recent tests. She will surely be a good missionary mother. John is doing well in school - He is exceptional in his ability to learn the things that he is interested in. His interim grades are all A's and a few B's. The B's are only cause he doesn't particularly care for the classes. Bob finished his exams and is now a Senior Medical student. Roy is also a senior after 2 more weeks. They are both doing real well. Carol Ann Braithwaite called this week from California. She is so sweet. She sent 4 books as reference for us to have on our mission. They are supplements to the Old Testament, Book of Mormon and the New Testament and are really good. We will both use them a great deal in understanding more about the scriptures. We are getting anxious to leave and get started on the work. Also it is beginning to get hot and humid in Arkansas. The spring so far has been very pleasant and our yard is simply beautiful. Montana had 15 inches of snow this week and our temperature has been in the 80's. It will be a real change but we will be prepared.
May 23, 1982
This week has been one of preparation. We continue to pack in boxes the things that we can. We are all getting much more prepared to go mentally than we ever have been before. Even John is looking forward to the move. Saturday evening we had a neighborhood party at the Wood's house. They have been our backyard neighbors for 17 years and our children have all grown up together. The ones that came were Dorothy and Dan Woods, Maxine and Roy Bass, Ade and Martine Funk, Pete Hipps, Jeanette Barbec, Betty and Chick Luten, Tom and Bobbey Dennis, Alvin and Marge Reap, David Bass and Anna Nicholson. Jane Sherrod, Mrs. Kroger, and John Robert Bass and wife. Bob and Claire and John went with us. John and Carol had a great time recalling memories. John and Carol had a great time recalling memories. John and Bob also took a lot of pictures. It was a great party and everyone was very complimentary. We told them about the mission and the missionary program. Some of them sometime may be interested in the church.
May 30, 1982
This week I spoke to the potential missionaries at the stake center on Thursday. Pres. Tenny our mission pres. also spoke. It was a good experience and I think that the spirit will strengthen these boys. Saturday night was a special stake party to honor the Mellors. It was held at Jacksonville and over 150 people attended. We also had many calls and letters from people who couldn't come. The program was held in the chapel. Pres. George Wing 1st C. gave the opening prayer. Bob Mellor then gave some reflections on family situations. He did a great job and set a very happy mood for everything. Then Pres. Jim Griffin gave a tribute to the Mellor family and it was very good. He told something about each member. Sr. Smith, Whitney and Blight from Jacksonville and North Little Rock sang "Love at Home" as a special number and it was very good. John then bore his testimony, then Barbara and then me. Stake Pres. McChesney then spoke briefly and gave the prayer. We then went into the cultural hall and had a reception. It was very well done. Charles and Missy Beyers from Hot Springs were in charge and they had done a fabulous job. Their daughter had baked 3 big cakes and decorated them in the shape of the Billings Montana Mission. There were also poster displays of the mission and pictures of all our family at all stages. Several of our neighbors and nonmember friends came and were very impressed. Our Regional Rep. Bro. Eskridge came all the way from Alabama. It was a great success and we appreciated it very much. We thought that it might get teary eyed but it didn't.
Sunday the Mellors put on the Sacrament meeting program in the First Ward. Bob spoke then Claire then John. Five missionaries then sang "Ye Elders of Israel.” Barbara talked next and I finished up. It was a very spiritual meeting and everyone was complimentary. Our theme was "testimonies" and everyone talked around the subject.
Friday night we met with our scripture study group who are studying the D&C. We started the group and this will be our last meeting so we bore our testimonies.
Today is a typical Arkansas summer day. About 85 degrees and 85% humidity. Barbara says it is an icky, sticky, muggy, yucki day. Even John said now he is ready to go whenever we can. I think the Lord has prepared each of us for this time. We love Arkansas and all of our friends - our beautiful house and yard but now we are ready.
June 6, 1982
Today was Johns 16th birthday. The day he has been waiting for a long time. We went to church where John was ordained a priest by me. Bob also assisted. Later that day we took John to Hot Springs where Patriarch Dedrickson gave him his blessing. It was great and I have never seen John so touched by the spirit. Bob and Claire and Michael were over for dinner and we had a great day.
June 13, 1982
This has been a very exciting week. Barbara and I spent all week packing and getting all of our things ready to move. Thursday morning I got a big 24 foot UHaul truck and got everything fixed. Friday morning, Bob, John and I loaded the truck. It was filled completely. In fact we even brought our cement lawn furniture. We couldn't load several boxes that Sr. Lowe (our cook who is going with us) so I put them in our neighbors garage and sent them by the moving co. Friday afternoon Bob and John went to youth conference at Russellville until Sunday afternoon. Barbara and I ate out and slept on the floor. Friday morning also we signed over all the papers to sell our house. We were extremely lucky to sell it since the market was so depressed. We had to take $24,000 down and a note for $78,000 for 10 years at 10%.
Sunday morning we went to church in Little Rock for the last time. The Relief Society presented us with a shadow box which was really precious. Everyone was really good to us but we were ready to leave.
Monday morning we left. Me driving a big UHaul truck pulling our Lincoln and Barbara and John driving our 1982 Toyota.
The first night we stayed in Amarillo, Texas and the second night at Moab, Utah. We arrived at Lehi Wednesday afternoon and unloaded all of our furniture into our Lehi house. It was really full of everything but we felt that this was better than storage. Thursday we went to Salt Lake for orientation and Friday we were set apart for our mission by Elder Boyd Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve. Franklin D. Richards set Barbara apart. Jean and Rick were there and also John. It was a great experience. Saturday we worked at getting the house straight and getting our things packed that were to be shipped to Billings. Sunday Ann and Jean had an open house for us at Ann's house and it was really wonderful. Over a hundred of our friends came. Monday we went to Salt Lake for more orientation and Tuesday we entered the mission training center at Provo and stayed there until Thursday. We then went to Salt Lake city and stayed at Hotel Utah for general meetings on Friday. This was a very spiritual experience to be with practically all of the General Authorities. Pres. Kimball tried to speak at the luncheon but couldn't do it very well. He really didn't need to speak because the spirit was so strong that everyone knew what he was trying to say.
Saturday we spent with Barbara's folks. Grandma Forrest is really special but Grandma doesn't have a very good spirit.
Monday morning we left for Billings. We drove to Yellow Stone Park and stayed at Old Faithful that night. Next morning we left at 5:30 and drove to Billings. That was the most beautiful country I have ever seen. We arrived at the mission home at 10:45 in time for "brunch" with the staff and Pres. and Sr. Milne. Brenda Lowe was already here.
Sunday night was a reception for us and people came as far away as Lovell, Wyoming. We have never seen such a beautiful place. The mission home is gorgeous and the grounds are beautiful. We have a lovely apartment and John has his own private room and bath. Four elders plus the two assistants and Sr. Lowe also stay here.
Elder Stucki and Elder Ashcroft are the assistants and are spiritual giants. Mature way beyond 19 years.
Elder Spencer is the secretary.
Elder Macriss the recorder.
Elder Ollerton the financial secretary.
Elder Hinchcliff the supply manager.
These men are really dedicated, efficient and wonderful young men.
John fits in perfectly and is really happy. Wednesday the 30th the Milne's left and we assumed responsibility.
At 2:30 we went to the airport to pick up two new elders. Elder Pottberg and Elder Bortesky. We orientated them the evening of the 30th and morning of the 1st of July. The afternoon of July 1st was transfer day. Elder Pottberg was having difficulty - he was homesick and not feeling very well. He had great difficulty in fitting in the program. He was 25 and had been a real rough character before his girlfriend and mother talked him into going on his mission. I also learned that his brother was to enter the mission home the same day as he did but was killed in a gun accident.
We were transferring Elder Pottberg to Great Falls. He was to drive a new truck and follow the district leader to Great Falls. On the way out of Billings he missed a turn on the road and lost the leader. The district leader waited for about and hour and then returned to the mission home. We did not hear from Elder Pottberg so after 3 hours we assumed that he had deliberately left and was on his way back to Colorado. I called the Highway Patrols of both states and had our missionaries in the towns on his way all standing on alert. After 4 hours I called the emergency number in Salt Lake and reported to Bro. Strong and later called his Stake President. About 9 o'clock Elder Larson who was to be Pottsberg’s trainer called and said that quite by accident that he came to an intersection in Great Falls and saw and white truck with an elder in it. He stopped the car and found the elder to be Elder Pottsberg. Needless to say we all knelt and thanked the Lord for the pleasant outcome of the experience. I said that I was not sure if I could take it if all days were like the first one.
July 2, 1982
This was a beautiful day. Everyone says that the weather is normally much warmer. We received our things that were shipped from Lehi and were glad to get some other clothes. We still haven't received our Little Rock things.
I interviewed Mona Hunt for a mission call and decided to hold up processing her for about 5 mo.
The staff here is really great. I have never seen 6 stronger and more spiritual young men. They are really a good influence for John. He is really happy and will fit in very well.
July 3, 1982
We attended a devotional for the mission home and Rimrock districts beginning at 6:30. It was held up on the Rimrock overlooking the city of Billings. The sun was just coming up and Elder Ollerton had placed a flag in the top of a pine tree that was waving in the breeze. Bro. Paulson of the 4th Ward Bishopric spoke also as did Sr. Freeman a lady missionary. I closed with a testimony. All of the staff was there as well as Elders Cordner and Wygant. Sr. Roeller was also there with us. Barbara and I said afterward that it was just like a little bit of heaven. We love the people and the country. In the evening John, Barbara, and I went for a ride up on the Rimrock before coming in and going to bed.
July 4, 1982
Today is Sunday. Barbara and I went to all the meetings at the Billings 4th ward. We sat up on the stand and were each called to speak. Bro. and Sr. Brobert, the mission pres. of 1964 were also there and spoke. We had such a good visit and know many of the same people in Arizona. At 1 o'clock we all went to the Billings 5th ward which is our regular ward. It was good but not as good as the 4th. John rated it 3 on a scale of 10. Sr. Lowe really is happy and enjoying her work. She fits in beautifully with the missionaries and everyone else.
July 5, 1982
Today was preparation day for everyone. We decided to go on a ward outing with the Billings 3rd ward. We went to Emerald lake which was about 100 miles away. It was up in the mountains above Red Lodge and was really beautiful. We took all of the elders from the mission home and also all the ones in this district. They got fried chicken from a member who owns Churches Fried Chicken for everyone. The member freezes the chicken that isn't sold and gives it to the missionaries. We took the drinks and the chips, etc. Everyone really had a good time. The elders hiked up to the another lake. Someone cooked a fish and they cooked and ate it. We got home about 5 o'clock and spent the rest of the day getting ready for Tuesday. We really do have some wonderful missionaries.
July 6, 1982
We drove to Miles City about 150 miles east of Billings to prepare for a Zone Conf. of the Lewis and Clark Zone. We stayed at the Super 8 motel.
July 7, 1982
I started interviewing missionaries at 7:30 and with 15 minutes each finished at 12:00 just in time to start the conference. It was a wonderful conference and lasted until about 4:30. After this the Relief Society of the Miles City branch fixed dinner for us. We have 3 couples working in this branch on the Indian reservations. The Anderson’s from Moroni, the Turners from Bluffdale, Utah, and the Davis’ from Washington. They are all really frustrated because of the problems with the Laminates. They won't take responsibility, are extremely undependable and have a major alcohol problem. Many are not legally married and see no need for it. They just start living together and don't see the need for a "word marriage.” We drove home in the evening after dinner. I met with Pres. Flower the district Pres. who is really a great leader.
July 8, 1982
We left about 7 am to drive to Hardin and a Zone conference on the Custer Zone. This includes the Cheyenne and the Crow reservations. We have 3 couples and 4 elders working this area. This is a much more productive and progressive Lamanite area. In fact the Buell couple baptized 16 converts this month. It was a great conference and the spirit is really good. The Robins from Tulsa and the Burnsides from Mt. Pleasant are also in this area. We make the husbands all presidents of the local Branches because the Lamanites are not able to take the responsibility. The elders in the district are Horne, Vary, Nelson, and Sisemore. The summers are not very good for missionary work because all the Lamanites go on Pow Wows which may last a week at a time.
July 9, 1982
We drove to Worland Wyoming for a zone conference of the Wyoming Zone. On the way we stopped at the Cody visitors center where we have 2 missionary couples. It is going to be a wonderful missionary tool for our mission and should be dedicated in August.
July 10, 1982
We held the Wyoming Zone Conference in Worland. We have 16 elders, 4 sisters and 1 couple. I started interviewing at 7:30 and finished at 12:00. The conference was really great. They all have a wonderful spirit and want so much to do a great job. Elder Stucki and Elder Ashcroft the assistants to the President do a fabulous job in preparing and presenting their material. The zone leaders are also fine outstanding elders. After the conference they presented us with a large cake decorated in the form of the mission and saying congratulations and welcome to the Pres. and Sr. Mellor. It was the most beautiful cake we had ever seen. We hated to cut it. They also had cartons of milk so we had cake and milk. The couple was the Larsons from Roosevelt Utah who are doing a great job on the Wushaki reservation by Lander Wyoming. The elders were Parks, Arnold, Henrie, Shumway, Brown, Nelson, Jorgensen, Harvey, Golightly, Smith, McGuire, East, Borlacker, and Griesmer. The sisters were Butler Hartog, Chinn and Wise. The couple were the Larsons. We drove home to Billings after the conference.
July 11, 1982
John went to Ft. Collins yesterday with the explorer post to attend the explorer Olympics. He was a little worried but I think he will have a good time. The elders helped him pack.
They treat him as a brother. He really relates to Elder McCriss the historian and Elder Spencer the sec. He gets along well with Elder Ollerton the financial sec and Elder Hinchcliff the supply manager also but he and McCriss and Spencer are great together.
We went to the Billings 3rd ward this morning and had a great day. All the people are so nice and friendly. In the evening we went to a baptism where Elder Ashcroft baptized Sr. Rust a Lamanite. Later Bro. Welsh came over and we planned a fireside for Aug. 25that the mission home.
Barbara is really doing a great job. She creates an atmosphere of love and everyone feels it. She also does a great job at the Zone conference in visiting with everyone and also in speaking.
The mission staff here are really outstanding. They are the finest example of missionaries and young men in general that I have ever seen. We are so glad that our son John can associate with them.
July 12, 1982
We drove to Great Falls in order to be ready for a Zone Conference of the Judith Basin Zone Wed. morning. The assistants drove in their car and Barbara and I drove in ours. We kept in contact by CB radio. I can see where a CB radio in the winter would be necessary particularly in bad weather.
July 13, 1982
The zone conference began at 7:30. I interviewed all the elders and sisters from 7:30 to 11:30. The formal program began at 12:00. Elder Heder and Frost were the zone leaders and had planned the program. They had special programs printed with a welcome to Pres. and Sr. Mellor. The missionaries present were Frost, Heder; Rowlings and McComber; Sr. Harrast and Harrison; Larson and Pottberg; Wade and Madsen; Gunn and Meschke; Hatcher and Rix; Byers and Therum and the Assistants Stucki and Ashcroft.
It was a very spiritual meeting. Barbara did a great job. She visited with each missionary while I was interviewing and then wrote a personal letter to each parent.
The assistants do a wonderful job of carrying out the programs. They are really respected and looked up to by the missionaries.
July 14, 1982
We left Great Falls about 7:30 and traveled up through Glacier National Park on our way to our next conference in Missoula. The park was absolutely breath taking. We stopped in Kallispell to see the stake Pres. Wendt. He was not home so we visited with his wife. This part of Wyoming to Missoula is really beautiful. It's great fruit country (cherries and apples) especially around the Flathead lake area.
That evening in Missoula we spoke at a 2 stake fireside on Missionary work. We thought it was to be a few people in one of the homes but it turned out to be more like a stake conference. The spirit was great and Barbara and I gave them a good message. The stake pres. Pres. Hill and the Regional Representative of the Twelve Bro. Loflgren were both there.
July 15, 1982
Interviews started at 7:30 and finished about 12:00. The missionaries interviewed were Carson and Chapman; Smith and Flynn; Sr. Davis and Shumway; Wheelwright and Jarvis; Neville and Clark; Wicox and Drioer; Stanley and Wenson; Krusi and Shelbourne; Olson and Ritchie; Goss and Morris; Walter and Brown; and Seamons and Johnson.
These missionaries were really great with the exception of two. Elders Clark and Neville. Elder Neville had had a permanent wave on his hair and did not look like a missionary. He also had a really rebellious spirit. I reprimanded him rather severely. Elder Clark didn't wear his name tag and had on an old fashioned suit. This was a sign of rebellion rather than need. I told the zone leaders to watch them carefully until I can get them separated. The rest of the zone conference went very well. The spirit was great and the missionaries are dedicated to the work.
July 16, 1982
We traveled from Missoula to Butte for a Zone Conference with the butte Zone. The drive from Missoula to Butte was really beautiful. We stopped on the way in Anaconda. This is the home of the big Anaconda Copper mine. We have small branch there. The mine has been closed down for about a year and the economy is really in bad shape. The big copper mine at butte has also been closed down and the economy there is also very bad. We visited the mines, the mineral museum and also the mine museum. This was very interesting to see all of the minerals as well as all of the old mining tools and pictures. We stayed at the King Copper Inn which was a very nice motel- in fact too nice and too expensive ($48.00).
July 17, 1982
The interviews started at 7:30 and lasted until about 12:00. The missionaries interviewed were Buttars and Lott Zone leaders; Plumb and Wall; King and Shearer; Pierson and Grover, Callen and Dye; Bleazard and Boretsky; Sr. Morrihew and Harmon; Prebble and Robison; Chipman and Hiatt; Sr. Kaufusi and Howarth; Homer and Anderson. The missionaries here are really great. It seems like every zone is better than the last. The zone leaders are excellent and as usual the Assistants Stucki and Ashcroft did an excellent job. Elder Boretsky who just came out June 29th is having a hard time with the work. He is a bit lazy and even though he is a sweet spirit he can't quite speed up enough to suit Elder Bleazard his trainer. Elder Pottberg who came out with him is doing pretty good. He looks much better and is starting to adjust. I hope they both make it.
July 18, 1982
We got home last night about 9:00 from Butte. John came in about 9:30 from Ft. Collins where he had participated in the Explorer Olympics. He really had a good time although their teams didn't do very well.
Barbara and I attended a special meeting on the Rimrock above Billings at 6:30 am. I took charge and the meeting was to dedicated the Billings area to the Lord for missionary work. It was a very spiritual experience and one that I hope will stimulate missionary work.
At 9:00 am (John, Barbara and I) attended the Billings 3rd ward meetings and spoke to them in sacrament meeting. We all talked about missionary work and how we needed to do it. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.
July 19, 1982
This was P. day for all the missionaries. John had reservations for us to play ball at the Rocky Mountain Health and Recreation Club. All the missionaries in the house plus the Zone leaders went and had a great time. They have racket ball courts, a big gym, weight rooms, tumbling equipment and lots of other things. John really beat me but it was fun. I bought a family membership and made arrangements for all the elders in the area to use it. They will have a great time every week. I hope that Barbara and I can go swimming in the mornings. Tuesday we had a zone conference for the center zone. It was really great. Barbara did a good job. She can get really close to the missionaries while they wait for an interview from me. Monday brother Orin William Hollum came in from eastern Montana and I set him apart to go on a mission to Arizona Tempe Spanish. He was a branch president at one time of one of the Lamanite branches. Tuesday was the last of 7 zone conferences. Each one was better than the mission and the spirit is really good. I think they will get stronger as time goes on.
Wednesday I met with Pres. Thueson district Pres. of the Glasgow district. I haven't been out to see him yet but will do soon. Today we began planning for transfers. We will move about 30 missionaries. We are getting in 7 elders, 2 sisters and one couple. This is really a big job to get everyone in the right slot. Friday also was a planning day. Sr. Holly was transferred in here from a mission in Oklahoma. She has had some emotional problems. In our first interview I could tell that she was very defiant, defensive and had a poor attitude. She wants to make her own rules. I hope that she will mellow and be able to stay. Saturday was the 24th of July. We went to the north park to a picnic with the 4th ward and had hamburgers and hot dogs. Bp. Anderson is a good bishop. I met with Pres. Erekson my 2nd counselor who is over the Indian districts and also acting district pres. over the Custer district. He is a great guy. We had to change district conference from Aug. to Oct. since the Indians won't go to church as long as there aren't any Pow Wows going on. We hope to be able to go to the Crow Fair in Aug. It is really a big event in this part of the country. I had a call from Pres. Buell who is Br. Pres. at Lame Deer. They have a great attitude and are doing a good job. Last month they baptized 16 Lamanites. He said that some young boys came to his trailer to steal some gas. He scared them away and later they came by and threw a rock through his window. I had a letter today from a boy who wants to go home. He is having real problems. I will drive to Livingston tomorrow to see him. This week I let Elder King go home a week early since his folks were coming by to pick him up. They were going to Idaho for a family reunion.
July 20, 1982
Today we held the zone conference for the central zone (Billings area) we held it in the Institute building and it was really good. I started interviews at 7:30 and finished at noon. The conference lasted until about 5:30. The spirit was really great and everyone was touched by it. Wednesday I met with Jerry Burns the institute director and we discussed the church educational system programs. We decided to have institute for all local missionaries plus the house staff each Tuesday at 7:30 am. The subject will be "The Book of Mormon.” We planned transfers all day. In the evening I met with Pres. Thoreum who is district President of the Glasgow district. He is a good man but feels that he is worked to hard.
Thursday and Friday we planned transfers again. It looks like we will move about 30 elders and 3 sisters. We will receive 7 elders and 1 sister. Today we had a sister transfer. Virginia Holly from Arizona came in. She is very pretty but seems to be mentally disturbed and has some physical problems. I put her as a threesome with the two sisters in Billings, Sr. Freeman and Sr. Ruler.
July 24 , 1982
Letters were sent out to all transfers today. In the evening we had our 24th of July celebration. John and Elder had gotten a lot of fire works and we really had a good back yard show.
July 25, 1982
Barbara and I spoke in sacrament meeting at the Billings 3rd ward. John wanted to attend the 4th ward so we excused him. We held a fireside Sunday evening for all the young adults in the 2 stakes. Barbara and I both spoke, we showed a film strip on missionary work and then some elders bore their testimony. It was a good meeting and a lot of cute kids came. At 3 o'clock I got a call from the Zone leaders saying that Sr. Holly was in trouble and was leaving. I had them bring her up to the mission home. She was really in bad mental shape so we put her right to bed. I also got a letter today from Elder Anderson (from Riverton Utah) who said he had a personal problem.
July 26, 1982
I drove to Lewistown this morning to interview Elder Anderson. He has strong homosexual tendencies so I told him that I would make a decision after he called me on Wednesday. I called Bro. Hawkins in S.L.C. and he suggested that I send both Anderson and Sr. Holly home on a medical release.
July 27, 1982
Elder and Sr. Terry from southern Utah came in today to serve a 1 year mission. I sent them to Ashland to serve in the Lamanite area. I called Sr. Holly's mother and told her that she was coming home. She really needs rest and better emotional health before going on a mission. I think she felt good about leaving.
July 28, 1982
We went to the airport to pick up the new missionaries and found that they had sent 8 instead of 7. This caused some real transfer problems, but we were glad to have the missionary. (Elders Cox, Roy, Hathaway, Anderson, Williamson, Clifford, Elmer, and Hickey plus Sr. Trew). They will be great missionaries especially Trew, Anderson and Co. xWe had a great dinner then an orientation meeting.
July 29, 1982
Today was real transfer day and we must have had at least 35 elders come through the mission home on the way to somewhere. It was hectic but the assistants had done an excellent job so everything went well. The only hitch was that we had to get a car to Great Falls and get a truck from there to here. John and Elder McCriss finally did this. John got a ticket which cost him $5 for speeding. I sent Elder Anderson home today.
July 30, 1982
The elders decided to have a Luau this week so I let them buy a 60 pound pig. They dug a pit out back and lined it with rocks. They built a fire to get coals then slept outside and put the pig in at 2 am. They took it out at 4 p.m. and it was done perfect. We had all the trimmings and it was great. The elders made a sign "Swine and Dine."
Saturday was the big Luau and we had all the missionaries in the area. I signed patriarchal blessings to Jerry Johnson and his wife and Connie.
Aug. 1, 1982
Sunday Barbara and I left real early to attend the Lamanite Branches at Danmore, Lodge Grass, Lame Deer and Ashland. We visited each one but only attended meetings at Lodge Grass. There were about 40 present most of them Lamanites. It was a real experience. A big chapel with a cultural hall and all the trimmings. There were 320 members and about 20 active. It was the same way at Dunmore and Lame Deer. Ashland has a trailer for a chapel and it works great. With the new financial program the Lamanites will never be able to pay even 1/10 of their utilities. I hope will have to get an exception from Salt lake City before it gets cold or we will have to shoot some of them down.
Saturday night we went to a stake High Priests party at the Larsons. We took steaks and had a good time. Tuesday we drove to Glasgow to visit the district pres. Pres. Thueson who is manager of the JC Penny store. When we arrived at Glasgow I found that I had left my jacket at home. This was real embarrassing since I had to go around in my shirt sleeves for 3 days. At Glasgow we had to eat in a saloon. The food was good but the atmosphere wasn't. The chapel was really nice. We then drove to Wolf point to visit with the Anderson's who are a missionary couple there. The branch is small and the building is really in bad repair. It even has a fence around it (6 ft) to protect it from vandalism. We then went to Fraser and visited the Burns. They are a missionary couple who work with the Lamanites. They are doing a good job. When we got there, they were preparing 3 young Lamanites for baptism. The older Lamanites are really hard to talk to. Two older ones were at the Burn's house and they just wouldn't talk. We met Sr. Red Elk who is relief society pres. and she is really great. Her husband is a real scoundrel but a member of the church. We went from there to Poplar where we met with the Turners. He retired as warden of the Utah state penitentiary after 15 years. They are also doing great but get discouraged with the lack of interest by the Lamanite people. The branch has over 300 members and they may get 20 to church. Their building is in real bad shape and will require about $70,000 to fix. If I can't get the church to change their policy on paying utilities I may have to close down this building. Sometimes in the winter their heating bills are $1500 per month. The total budget donation will be about $20. It is amazing how much money the church has spent for buildings on the Indian Reservations. They all have big gymnasiums and are really hard to maintain. In the past the church has paid 95% and the local unit 5%. We know that they will be a delightful people some day but now the large majority of them are lazy, alcoholics with no real sense of responsibility. I know the Lord loves them but the couples say that it is real frustrating to work with them. We went to Glendive and attended the District Council meeting with Pres. Flower the district president. This was very interesting and it reminded me of the small districts we have in Arkansas. The problems are the same all over the church.
Aug. 5th was my 62nd birthday. The staff had decorated up my office with ribbons and balloons and it was really cute. They had made a large poster with pictures of each of them. Johnny had fixed a picture board with pictures of all of our family. It was really cute. Barbara gave me an apron that said "Sexy Senior Citizen."
We had a very sad experience this week. Elder Baretsky from Arizona went home. He had been here just one month and decided that he just didn't want to put out the effort to be a success. He had been in the mission home 5 days so that I could try to get him to commit himself to the work but he just wouldn't do it so I sent him home. We felt so bad because he was in the mission home the same time we were and we felt that he was really going to be a success. Elder Pottberg who came out with him and who didn't look like he would make it, is really doing great. He has had a baptism already and is thrilled to death.
Aug. 8, 1982
Sunday we went to church at the 2nd ward. It was really great. The Bishop (Comish) is doing a great job and is thrilled about missionary work. He asked us to speak next week at Sacrament meeting. In the evening we attended a baptism at the 4th ward. Seven people were baptized - four Lamanite children and three Laotians. I confirmed Brother Yang and ordained him a priest. The missionary work seems to be going better now but for a couple of weeks, it appeared that Satan was really having an influence. I had to send 3 missionaries home in one week and the baptisms for July dropped down from an expected 30 to 45.
Aug. 9, 1982
This was P day and I spent most of the day weeding the garden. We have squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, beans, beets, coluhabiel(?), and letters. The peas are all gone. The 4th and 5th wards also have about 5 acres of sweet corn next to our garden. It is the best corn I have ever tasted and we can have all we want.
Aug. 10, 1982
We have our institute class at 7:30 every Tuesday at the institute building. Bro. Burns teaches it and does a great job. All of the elders in this area attend plus the 3 sisters and the people in the mission home. We are studying the scripture program set up for the missionaries which is the Book of Mormon.
Aug. 11, 1982
Pres. Reagan was in town and spoke at the fair grounds at noon. I didn't attend but others who did said that it was great. His aid Bro. Stoddard spoke at a fireside that night. Sr. Mellor and Lowe attended but I spoke at the stake PEC meeting at the Billings East Stake. They are really gung ho on missionary work and Pres. Ferrell is doing a great job. I wish all the stakes were so committed. Today was Grandma Forrest’s 80th birthday. Barbara sent a big cake through Jean and flowers through Ann. I will never be able to understand her. I hope the Lord can. Barbara really has a cross to bear and I'm sure will gain great blessings for her patience, love and compassion in a situation that is very difficult to understand. She is a living example of the Saviors counsel "Do good to those who despitefully use you" and also "go the 2nd mile.” She has gone way beyond that.
Aug. 12, 1982
Bro. Ricks of the Church Social Service group came in today for conference. He said that the problems I am having with missionaries is common throughout the church i.e. masturbation. At least 10 of our missionaries still have problems. We are going to set up a special "couple" conference in October to discuss the Lamanite problems and how we can best help them.
Aug. 13, 1982
The missionaries (Elders Stucki and Ashcroft) who had been on a mission tour got home and brought a 6 ft. blow snake with them. They named him Clark. They put him in John's room to scare him and he got out and we don't know where he is. We think that he is still in the house somewhere but we can't find him. They were real cute about it but are real worried they can't find him.
Jimmy Willardson flew in today to spend a few days with John. He will be good company and will give John something to do.
Aug. 14, 1982
Today I helped Sr. Mellor and Lowe can corn. We picked about 12 dozen ears and cut it off the cob so it could be frozen. Much of the corn is used at the State Fair. The 4th and 5th wards have a food booth and sell corn for 75 cents per ear as well as all kinds of other foods. Sr. Mellor and Lowe worked at the booth Saturday night until I picked them up at 12:15 am. They said that the booth took in about $2200 in one shift. The wards use this to pay their welfare budget.
Aug. 15, 1982
Sunday Sr. Mellor and I spoke at the 2nd ward in the Billings East stake. This is a good ward with a good Bishop. It must be a young ward with about half of the members in Primary. We met a family by name of Luther. She was from Brigham City and he was from Jerome, Idaho where Ron Woolley’s parent live. They have just moved to Billings and are looking for a home. Tonight I have to speak to the missionaries and leaders at the 2nd ward.
Aug. 16, 1982
Today was P day at least for the elders. Barbara and I spent the morning in the garden picking corn. We cut it off the cob and froze 13 quart packages. We also picked all the beets and bottled them. Our tomatoes aren't ripe yet but should be soon. It froze late and killed everything this spring.
Aug. 17, 1982
We had our institute class today at 7:30 in the home Elder Macriss gave the lesson and did a great job.
Aug. 18 & 19, 1982
Planned transfers for the month. I will be moving about 35 elders next week. It is really a jigsaw puzzle to make sure everyone gets where they should and everyone travels with someone else and everyone ends up with a partner. So far everything has gone okay.
Paula Dustin came in for a temple recommend. She is going to the temple with her foster son Troy Woodward who is a Lamanite and is going on a mission.
Aug. 20, 1982
Today we went to the Crow Nation Indian Fair. It was out on the Crow Agency about 65 miles east of Billings. Barbara, John, Jimmy and I went early so we could see the float that the Elders and the Robin's (couple at Dunmore) had made. It was a flat bed truck all covered with red paper roses. On the back it had a shawl saying "They shall blossom as the rose.” In the front was a large teepee and a model of the church was coming out of the teepee door. On it were several pretty little Lamanite girls and on the back in a chair with a little umbrella was Marie Pretty Paint Wallace. She is a great member of the church and was crow princess in 1932, 33, and 34. It was a beautiful sight. The couples (Robins, Burnsides and Terrys) had a food booth and served Buffalo burgers, Indian fry bread and Indian tacos. It was good. The crow tribe had turned over all the money handling to the Mormons so they wouldn't lose any. Last year they lost $25,000. All of the Indians came for miles around to stay a week. Many of them spend all summer going to fairs and rodeos.
We came home about noon to bring John and Jimmy since they were tired. Barbara, Sr. Lowe and I went back in the evening for the dances. It was really authentic Indian dancing in full costumes. We really enjoyed it and took lots of pictures.
Aug. 21, 1982
Spent in the office - no special events. I brought Elder McCaffery in to replace Elder Hinchcliff and Elder Hess to replace Elder Macriss. This should be a good change. Hess is a great Elder and McCaffery will be good.
Aug. 22, 1982
Barbara and I traveled to Lovell, Wyoming and spoke in the 2nd ward at 10:30 and the 3rd ward at 2:30. Later we dropped in to see Pres. Abraham Stake Pres. of Lovell Stake. He has a huge house and 10 children. They are a wonderful family.
Aug. 23, 1982
This was P day but we worked all day getting ready for a trip to Denver.
Aug. 24, 1982
Held Institute at 7:30 - it was great. Held a District Leaders conference at 10:00 for the Central Zone. We have some good leaders here.
Met with Pres. Robert Erickson 2nd C in the mission pres. since I won't be here to release the missionaries, I have asked him to do it. He will do a good job.
Aug. 25, 1982
Met the incoming missionaries Elder Hankins and Elder Armstrong. They are great elders and should do a good job. The ones leaving are Elders Olson, Waiter, Prebble, Scott, Bleazard, and Sr. Merrihew. We had to close up 2 districts because of the lack of elders. Barbara and I left at 4:50 p.m. to go to Denver for a mission presidents conference. We stayed at the Marriott Hotel. Others present were Pres. and Sr. Rasmussen of Denver, Greene of Canada, Barker of Missouri, Greenwood of South Dakota. Bro. and Sr. Loren C. Dunn of the 1st council of Seventy was our leader and Elder Bruce R. McConkie was our trainer the last 2 days. It was really a great conference.
Aug. 26 & 27, 1982
We were instructed in detail on our responsibilities for these 2 days. It was really great. Barbara and I see that we need to make a number a of changes as soon as we can. Bro. McConkie was really great. He gave us several discourses on the conversion process - strictly from the scriptures. He knows so much that he makes us all look like dummies.
Aug. 28 & 29, 1982
We left Denver at 8 am and rode back to Billings with Elder McConkie. He was going to Canada. It was great to be able to visit with him. Saturday afternoon we went to Cody for a stake conference. Tyler Wealley was the Regional Rep. We stayed at the Gagon's (the stake pres. of the Cody stake) and they were very gracious. It was a great weekend. Barbara and I both spoke Sunday morning about 5 min. each. We really should have had about 20 minutes. We were disappointed since the Regional Rep. saved 50 min. for himself. We later met with Pres. Gagon, Bro. Woolley and Glenn E. Nielson regarding the Cody visitors center. Bro. Nielson just sold Husky Oil Co. - he is a multimillionaire but is as sweet and humble as anyone I have ever seen. He was stake pres. and is now a regional rep. We also met with our two couples at the visitors center (Checkets and Evans). They are really choice people. We have 4 other missionaries in the area (Webb Kooseman, Driver and Parkes). They are doing good. I had to move Elder Williamson to another area. He created some very bad feelings.
Aug. 30, 1982
P day today but we worked all day preparing for Zone Conferences next week. Johnny had his first day of school. He didn't say much but I think he likes it.
Aug. 31, 1982
Elder Driver called and said that he had proposed to a young girl and she had accepted and they were to be married right after his mission. He has until April. I chastised him very severely and will find all of the particulars before making a decision on what to do. Luckily, I just transferred him out of the area.
I set apart Troy Martin Woodward to be a full time missionary in the Arizona Halbrook mission. He is a Lamanite from the Crow Agency. His foster mother and her father came with him as well as Pres. and Sr. Robbins of Dunmore. His foster mother was upset with him and didn't think he was worthy to go.
We left in the afternoon to go to Great Falls for Zone Conference.
On Friday Elder Ashcroft and Elder Ollerton brought to the mission a young girl about 23 who had said she was interested in the church and was on her way home to Seattle, Wash. They taught her the discussions and she stayed with us overnight. She wanted to be baptized right away. The whole situation sounded fishy so we looked on the mug shots sent around by the church and there she was. She had about 10 different names, had been baptized 23 times and lived by borrowing money from the missionaries. She also had been in a halfway house and was wanted on bad check charges. When I confronted her with all of this she became very indignant and made a fake phone call to her dad. Then she threatened to sue me. Anyway I had the elders take her back to the bus station.
Sept. 1, 1982
We had a zone conference at Great Falls for the Judith Basin Zone. It was great and all of the missionaries are doing a good job. We finished about 5 o'clock then Barbara and I drove some beautiful mountain country that was almost completely covered with pine trees. We saw lots of deer.
Sept. 2, 1982
We held a zone conference for the Flat Head Zone. The spirit was not very good - everything seemed to be down. The motivation seemed to be completely lacking. Right after the meeting I changed Hiatt from a Jr. Companion to a district leader and changed Wilcox from a district leader to a Jr. companion. I had received a phone call from Elder Driver who was just transferred from Polson to Cody, Wyoming saying that he had proposed to a girl and they were going to get married as soon as he finished his mission. The girl is a Jr. in High School. This really upset me - several people know about it and they fondly embraced in the Bus station when he left. He refused to give me the girls name. I called the Bishop and got the story. Driver was even belligerent with the Father and called the girl against his wishes. I'm not sure yet what I will do.
Sept. 3, 1982
We held the Butte Zone conference and it was really great. Everyone was "up" and the spirits are all high. The demonstrations that were given were excellent. Macriss put on a slide show on temptations that was really good. It was all set to music. The others were equally good. Sr.’s Harrison and Harmen and Harmon also did a great job on "discouragement.” We stopped and had Kentucky Fried chicken at Butte then drove home about 200 miles.
Sept. 4, 1982
We got up real early and drove to Hardin Mt. about 50 miles for a zone conference of the Custer Zone. It was pretty good. There were 4 couples and 2 sets of Elders. The elders are not really motivated and are breaking the rules, i.e. driving to Billings, not getting up, going to drive-in movies. Elder Nelson has only one month left. I just may send him home early. We stopped for hamburgers and then drove home.
At 9:50 Roy came in and we picked him up at the airport. He surely is a sweet guy. We really enjoyed talking to him. He is quite thin and really not as big as John.
Sept. 5, 1982
I got up at 5:30 and talked to the Billings Stake Missionary correlation meeting on the Conversion process. I though it was pretty good and I hope they get motivated to go out and do the work. Barbara, John, Roy and I all went to the 4th ward meeting after that. John likes that ward better even though he should be in the 5th. I spent most of the afternoon trying to decide what to do with Driver and how to replace Macriss who has to leave 2 weeks early. This always creates a real problem. Either you have to have a 3 some or else send someone else home early.
Sept. 6, 1982
This was P day but we don't really get a rest day we just do the catching up for the week. Today was different. Roy was here so we left real early and drove to Cody, Wyo. There we went through the Cody visitors center and showed Roy all of the church history of the area. It is really interesting especially about the "Prayer Rock.” This great big rock stopped the work of the "Sidon Canal" that was to water the whole valley. The leader went to the rock one night and after prayer said that the rock would be removed in 24 hours. In 23 hours 55 min it split in half and the canal went right through the middle. The rock is still there. We also went through the Buffalo Bill museum and then went on through Yellowstone park and back to Billings over Bear Tooth pass. This is the most beautiful drive we have ever been on. Roy was quite impressed. When we got to Billings we went to the Black Angus for steaks. We loved having Roy and he enjoyed the visit.
Sept. 7, 1982
We drove to Casper, Wyo. and took the two A.P.'s with us. We met with the stake mission presidency and N.C. member over missionary work. I hope they get started doing the work. While there we bought a print by Mr. Hopkinson a famous Wyoming Artist. It was the first crossing of the Pioneers over the Platte river. We love it. We also attended a baptism. The Bishop was Wayne Madsen who grew up with me in Manti.
Sept. 8, 1982
We held the Wyoming Zone Conference at Casper. This was a great conference and I think we inspired the missionaries. They all seemed to be motivated to go out and work hard. There were no particular problems. We drove home after the Seventies in the Ward fed us a gumbo-rice dinner.
Sept. 9, 1982
Elder Macriss who had been in the mission home for 10 months and who had been in Helena for about 3 weeks came in the Mission home for his farewell dinner. He is a great missionary and will be a great asset to any school or church.
Sept. 10, 1982
We left for Glendive, Mt. and got there about 8 p.m. I interviewed a young lady for baptism for Elder Pottberg and Marianna. She had transgressed but was fully repentant and ready for baptism.
Sept. 11, 1982
We held the Lewis and Clark Zone Conference at Glendive. It was really great. All of the missionaries were there including the 3 couples in the Lamanite Branches (Andersons at Wolf Point, Davis' at Frazer and Turnes at Poplar). It was a great conference and everyone did well. After the conference the Glendive Relief Society served us spaghetti and salad for dinner. It was really good. We left about 5:30 to drive to Glasgow. We stopped at Sidney and looked over the new chapel. It is beautiful and should be ready to dedicate soon. We arrived in Glasgow about 9:30 and stayed at the Buckheard Inn.
Sept. 12, 1982
We held the district conference at Glasgow. The meeting for Saturday evening was held at 8:30 Sunday am. There were about 175 people there. The speakers were not very good and took way to much time. I was supposed to talk 30 min. on tithing and I ended up with 5 min. The regular Sunday meeting was held at 10:00. I wasn't very impressed. Pres. Thewson the district Pres. is in poor health and doesn't do a good job of planning. I will change him as soon as I can find someone else. They had a lunch of sandwiches and cupcakes after the noon meeting. Barbara about went nuts because all the little children spilled food all over the room. After the lunch we held a leadership meeting. The leadership is really thin. They have only 3 H.C. members. Only one Lamanite (Red Elk) on the H.C. He is a real back slider and from all I can gather should be excommunicated for apostasy. After the dinner was over we had a priesthood leadership meeting. There were very few in attendance but they really don't have a lot of priesthood.
Sept. 13, 1982
This was P day and we had about 4 inches of snow. It was beautiful and really not to cold. It didn't even freeze over tomatoes. Barbara and I went shopping and she planned the menus for the week. We took our print down to be framed and bought some gifts for several people.
Sept. 14, 1982
This was zone conference for the central zone. We held it at the Institute building. It was really good, although some people were late due to the snow. It was reported as 27 inches in Red Lodge. I guess the ski areas will start soon. I received a call from the MTC saying that they were sending us Elder Dyer. He had been scheduled for Arizona but due to some allergies he was coming to Montana.
Sept. 15, 1982
We planned transfers all day - Elder Dyer came in about 3:30. We fed him and gave him the orientation treatment that lasts about 2-3 hours.
Sept. 16, 1982
Planned transfers again. Put Elder Dyer on a bus for Helena about 11:30 am. About 3:30 I had a call from the stake pres. at Baseman. Elder Dyer had gotten off the bus at Baseman said he couldn't talk and had written notes for a cab to take him to the church. I told the Pres. to hold him there and I would come and get him. Barbara and I drove about 140 miles to the church in Baseman to find out that he had gone some place else. Someone in the Genealogy library remembered that he had ask about a Buckholtz family. We finally traced him down only by a miracle and found him in a trailer house about 5 miles outside of Baseman. He wouldn't or couldn't talk and said he wasn't coming back with us. He had already purchased a ticket and was waiting for the plane next morning to go to Oregon. I called his father who told him to come home with me which he finally did and we got home about midnight. Next morning about 10 o'clock I called him in the office and told him that the hoax had gone far enough and he had better start talking. I said I will leave you in here alone for 5 min. - about 4 min. later he was ready to talk. He said that he was dishonest and had done so many bad things that he had never confessed that he just couldn't talk. I called Salt Lake City and his bishop and finally decided to send him home to get straightened out. We put him on the airplane about 3 o'clock. His stake president called me later and said that he wouldn't come back so I told him to release him but stay close until he got his life back in order. This was a real different experience. This is the second missionary with real bad emotional problems that I have had to send home.
Sept. 17, 1982
I spent this day preparing for the Montana East District conference and recuperating from the problems with Elder Dyer.
Sept. 18, 1982
We drove to Glendive, Mt. about 230 miles for the district conference and leadership meetings. The AP's went with us in our car. We arrived about noon and checked into the Super 8 motel. The meetings started at 1 o'clock. The first hour the Assistants and I presented a missionary workshop to the Priesthood leaderships. At 5 o'clock we held the regular Saturday meeting. I was poorly organized and everyone took way too much time. Pres. Flower took 30 min. for a 5 min. introduction and then a Bro. Anderson who was the former District Pres. spoke about 30 min. on finance. He was just rambling most of the time. I spoke about 10 min. on tithing. After the meeting we went to Eric Jensen's place for dinner. He is Eugene Jensen’s brother. Eugene was a missionary in Arkansas and was one of the best. It was very humble but wonderful.
Sept. 19, 1982
The conference started with a priesthood meeting at 8:30 Pres. Flower’s Counselors took up most of the time as they did in the 10 o'clock meeting. It seems like that anyone who gets a chance to speak really just can't quite once they get started. It was a good conference and the spirit was great. Pres. Griffin, Erickson, Sr. Griffin and Barbara all spoke and did a great job. I finished up. After the meeting I interviewed a man, Bro. Cashe Burrows who had transgressed several years ago and had now decided to confess. I will have to hold a court on him. He is on the H.C. and has been in a branch presidency and has had 12 years of good service to the Lord.
Sept. 20, 1982
P day again. The weather is beautiful and the elders are out playing touch football. I am trying to decide what to do about transfers. A lady who was coming this month now won't be here until next month and we also have a triple since Elder Dyer went home.
Sept. 21, 1982
Interviewed Gina Rizzitcello a young girl for baptism. She had had an abortion about a year ago but was very sincere about repentance so I approved her baptism.
The Moon's arrived today. They are a couple who will take place of the Andersons at Wolf Point. They will do a great job. She is a sister to Millie Warner who we knew in Phoenix.
Sept. 22, 1982
The Christensen's arrived today. They will replace the Buell's at Lame Deer. Also arriving today are Elder Madsen a new missionary, Elders Wade Shumway and Larsen who are going home. Elder Larsen's parents & grandmother came so we had a house full for dinner. Barbara and Sr. Lowe did a great job.
Sept. 23, 1982
Transfer day and we must have had 35 elders come through the home right at lunch time. We decided the kitchen would be closed from now on during transfer day. Everything went smooth. The AP's had done a great job. Elder Arndt came in today. He was a transfer from Germany who had difficulty with the language. He looks like a great elder.
Sept. 24, 1982
Barbara and I left for Helena to attend a stake conference. It is about a 6 hour drive. We left soon enough so we could go through the Charles Russell museum Sat. afternoon. It was great and we bought a print of an Indian Hunt to bring home. The conference was good - Rex Pinegar was the visitor.
Sept. 25-26, 1982
I spoke for a few minutes but they didn't call on Barbara. After the conference I helped ordain the 70's then we went to visit the missionaries apartments. They were both clean and neat.
Sept. 27, 1982
P day again. We just rested and did some shopping. When John came home from school we bought him some snow boots, socks, etc. Barbara also bought some warm snow boots. The weather had been fairly warm but snow is expected soon. We harvested all of our green tomatoes and stored them to see if they will ripen. The elders spent all day cooking - this must stop.
Sept. 28, 1982
Spent the day planning for a Zone Leaders conference and a couples conference to be held this month.
Sept. 29, 1982
Worked in office on new report forms so I can compare the activity of Zones and districts. The missionary work seems to be picking up and the commitment seems to be better for the missionaries. Many of the ones who are about ready to leave are trunky and unmotivated. Four have asked to leave a month early for various reasons. I have considered it carefully and feel that it would be unwise.
Sept. 30, 1982
Spent the day in the office. John Slader the Stake Mission Pres. from Stevensville cam in and we discussed their missionary program. Our weather is now cooler. In fact, it is beautiful. It's clear and about 60 degrees in the day and in the high 30's at night.
Oct. 1, 1982
This is our 35th wedding anniversary. We decided that the painting we bought at Helena by Charles Russell would be our to each other. I bought Barbara a 2 lb. box of chocolate covered nuts and I also bought 7 prints by Charles Russell of Indian scenes in Montana. They were in a close out sale at a local variety store. They are beautiful and will go in our home when we get one. We will have them framed sometime soon. We got a card from Bob but he was the only one who remembered. We went to a 4th ward dance in the evening and they sang "Happy Anniversary."
Oct. 2, 1982
We watched General Conference on television in our apartment. All of the mission home elders were there. It was really good. In the afternoon I gave a temple recommend to Anthony Runs Through. He is a Cheyenne Indian who is going on a mission soon. In the evening I went to the Billings Stake Center to watch the General Priesthood Broadcast. It was really good. The leaders are all really old and I wouldn't be surprised if Pres. Kimball, Tanner and Romney will all die before the next conference. They certainly have been great leaders.
Oct. 3, 1982
We watched General Conference again in our apartments for both sessions. It was again very inspirational. Elder Packer announced that the Book of Mormon from now on would be printed with the words "Another Testament" on the cover.
Elder Wall called and said that Elder Williamson had blacked out and they had taken him to the hospital. They felt that it was a "cop out" for attention.
Oct. 4, 1982
This was P day. I spent most of the time repairing things in the mission home and catching up on things in the office.
Oct. 5, 1982
Held a Zone Leaders Conference beginning at noon. Fourteen zone leaders were here and we held our meetings in the institute. I was a very spiritual time. These leaders are all real good. The theme was on stewardship. We had dinner at the mission home and finished with an evening session until 9:30.
Oct. 6, 1982
The Zone Leaders Conference continued until about 12:30 and ended with a testimony meeting. Everyone left with a firm desire to make this the best mission in the world. In the afternoon I met with Jerry Burns and Bro. Curtis to discuss the seminary program for the Lamanites. They seem to be interested only in the sports. We decided to hold seminary in an area where they didn't have a gymnasium so that the emphasis could be made on the spiritual aspects of the program.
Oct. 7, 1982
Elder Pottberg called from Sidney saying that he was having a bad time. Barbara and I got in the car about 10 o'clock and got there by about 2:30. We talked with him for a couple of hours and took he, Marianna, Wilkins and Chipman to dinner and then drove home. He was just homesick and needed some reassurance that he was needed. He has been out now about 5 months and has only passed off one discussion. He is really a sweet elder and will make a good missionary.
Oct. 8, 1982
Met with Jim Mears and Pres. Erekson (2nd C) regarding the chapels in the Lamanite districts. We have 6 chapels that are big and inefficient to heat. The members cannot pay the utilities so a decision must be made as to what we should do. The chapels involved are Lodge Grass, Dunmore, Lame Deer, Frazer and Ashland. Wolf Point can survive and Ashland’s Trailer can be converted to wood heat with no other utilities.
Oct. 9, 1982
Elder Williamson called and is out of the hospital. I talked to his mother and his Bishop. He has a strange personality and needs lots of attention but also a firm hand. I will move him this transfer.
Oct. 10, 1982
This was Custer District conference. We left about 7:30 and drove to Lame Deer. Pres. Christensen is Branch Pres. He has only been there about 2 weeks but is doing a good job. The meeting was to start at 10:00 but no one was there. We finally started at 10:30 with about 10 people. By 11:30 there were 31 people in attendance. 13 were from the district and branch leadership. 5 were visiting from the Cosltrip ward, the rest (13) were local people. 5 adults and the rest tiny children. Robert Shotgun a Lamanite elder and the only one married in the temple came to me and had committed adultery. This is just a way of life for them even though he was very repentant. He has 4 little children and was married in the temple 2 years ago.
After the conference we ate lunch with the Christensen’s. We drove them to Dunmore to start the next meeting at 1 o'clock. No one was there at 1 o'clock so we waited until 1:30. There were only 2 Lamanites present along with the District Leaders and the leaders from Lame Deer and Lodge Grass. By the time the meeting had gone on for about 1 hour the Lamanites came drifting in just in time for the dinner that was planned. We finally had about 8 Lamanite women and about 15 little children. The children are completely uncontrolled. They run all over the place and make all kinds of noise all during the meeting and the parents think nothing of it. I'm sure that the Lord loves them but they have a long way to come before they can "Blossom as the Rose."
Rick called last night and Jeannie had a little girl 4 lb. 14 oz. named "Mary Ann.” She started into labor but the monitor showed that the babies heart was slowing down so they quickly performed a c-section and delivered the baby. They are really thrilled. The baby was about 5 weeks early.
Oct. 11, 1982
We called Jean this morning and they are doing just fine. Little Mary Ann stayed with her all night and seems to be doing just great.
Oct. 11, 1982
This is P day for the missionaries. They go to the gym and play basketball all morning then play touch football on our lawn in back. They have Elder Hess then cook them a gourmet dinner. One day it was lobster, one day pepper steak, etc. They love to spend Monday afternoon in the kitchen even though it is against the rules. They eat like horses but are good kids. I brought Elder Rix into the home to be trained as Elder Spencer’s replacement (asst. to the pres.). He is a good elder but not as peppy as I had hoped. Barbara and I went shopping and bought some things for the house. A plant and planter for my office, some plants for the kitchen and some things to make Indian yarn dolls. We bought some fried chicken for our dinner and a can of crab meat for John.
Elder Pottberg called again. He calls every day for some moral support. I surely hope that he makes it. Next month I'll move him closer so I can be closer to him.
Oct. 12, 1982
I spent most of the day planning transfers. We have 12 missionaries going home and 6 coming in. That means I have to close three areas for a while. Some of the elders going home are not very good missionaries especially for the past few months. It seems like some of them get "trunky" and may as well be home. I had a call from Elder Moore regarding Elder Smith. Elder Smith wants to go home. His mother called and talked about 30 minutes. She said that they talk together often. I finally told her that if she would leave him alone and tell him not to call that we would make a missionary out of him. He's been here nearly a year and hasn't learned the lessons or gained a testimony.
Oct. 13, 1982
Barbara and I drove to Lander, WY. about 300 miles to visit with Elder Smith. I talked with him about 2 hours. He will stay and says that he will commit himself to do the work. He likes Elder Rix so I will send Elder Rix to be his companion to see if he can get him on the right track. That means I will have to get a new replacement for my sec. I will bring Elder Madsen in right after transfers. We also visited with Elder and Sr. Larson who are on the Forth Washakie reservation. They have actually built a beautiful little chapel out of a house trailer. It is very adequate and really comfortable - plenty big enough for this branch. They are leaving the end of the month even though a replacement does not come in until next month some time. This was a big day and we drove nearly 650 miles but it was all worth it. Elder Smith says that I must have truly been inspired to come cause he was already to go home. As we went through Worland we saw Sr. Trew and Sr. Butler doing street contracting. They were really great and are good missionaries. I will change Sr. Butler this month.
Oct. 14, 1982
Today I finished planning the transfers. This is a big job to get everyone in the right slot - several are having companion problems and my policy is to never transfer anyone until their companion problems are solved. We are doing great. Our weather is really beautiful. It's cool at night and warm in the day. The trees are simply beautiful with yellows, oranges, and red leaves. It's almost like a story book. We had an explorer fireside on Tuesday for the Billings East Stake. I talked to them for about an hour and showed them around the home. They seem to all want to go on missions. We fed them cookies and punch.
Oct. 15, 1982
Spent much of the day getting the "Mission Bell" out. This is our monthly publication. Got a telegram from Elder Dunn (Loren C.) saying that our area was number 1 in the U.S. and no. 6 in the world for increased baptisms over last year. We are doing pretty good but if I could get all the missionaries to work we could do twice what we are now doing. Some of them are complaining about my automobile mileage policy but it really made them plan. The total mileage for the mission dropped from 100,000 miles in July to 70,000 miles in Sept. and our baptisms wet from 45 to 60. To meet our goal now we have to have 75 per month for Oct-Dec. This will be 835 and about 15% over last year. We can do it easy. I am giving prizes (Books) for the best baptisms in each zone for Oct. This will be 14 books but it should be a good incentive.
Oct. 16, 1982
Saturday was kind of a lazy day even though it wasn't supposed to be. I planned a talk for a meeting in Missoula with Elder Dunn on Oct. 29. Barbara and I will then stay for stake conference. We will hold a mission couples conference Oct. 22-28 for all the couples (10). They all work with the Lamanites and have special problems. This is really a labor of love and most of them don't do much missionary work - They act as chapel care takers rather than proselytizing missionaries but this is not their fault. I put out the agenda for the meeting which should be good. I am going to change the reporting so that all couples are in one Zone. Elder Checketts will be a zone leader. He and his wife are a great couple.
Oct. 17, 1982
Barbara and I left early to be at a stake conf. in Lovell, Wyoming. Elder Vaughn Featherstone was the speaker. It was a great conference. He spent the whole time telling stories. In fact they were the same stories he had told when he was in Little Rock about 2 years ago but they were good. I spoke for about 10 minutes on missionary work. Barbara said it was good but it was the same talk I have given in nearly every ward.
After the meeting I met with Elder Elmer. He is having problems and isn't to enthused about the work. He has lost 50 pounds in 2 months and it has had an emotional effect on him. I visited with him about an hour and then gave him a blessing. I think that he will be OK now. After this we took he and Elder Hughes out to dinner. We then drove back to Billings. The stake choir was absolutely beautiful. A Bro. Assay was the director. Pres. Abraham wanted us to stay for dinner but we begged off.
Oct. 18, 1982
P day was a work day as usual. I fixed John's sink and shut off the furnace vents to all the unused rooms. Barbara and I went shipping and bought several things for the home - plants, etc.
Oct. 19, 1982
Planned for couples conference and missionary meetings.
Oct. 20, 1982
We met the new MTC arrivals at the usual 2:20. There were five elders (Bates, Chang, Keele, Orrack and Robinson) and one sister (Rhees). They all look like great missionaries. After we got to the mission home I interviewed each one of them to decide where they go. We had a great dinner and then the usual orientation. This lasts about 2 hours and ends with a testimony meeting. They all had great testimonies and will do a good job. Sr. Rhees is about 36 and she is about 4 ft tall and weighs about 160 pounds. She is a real sweet spirit.
Oct. 21, 1982
This was transfer day and was quite hectic. We fed 55 elders at noon time and for dinner we had 8 elders and 4 sisters. All of the transfers went smooth due to good planning by the assistants. This is always a big hectic day. After a beautiful dinner of turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings we had a brief meeting. I had interviewed everyone before hand so the meeting is primarily a talk by Barbara and I followed up by a testimony meeting. Some of these were not dedicated missionaries and I was kinda glad to see them go. Elder Fuits gave us a 2'x3' rug or wall hanging that he had made and Sr. Harrast gave us a pencil drawing of a deer. They were both real sweet. They had a real party that night late and I made up my mind that this will never happen again. Nelson was the real problem. He short sheeted the beds and put chocolate in the showers. During the last interviews one of the sisters told me about an underground newspaper that some of the elders were printing. This was a real shocker.
Oct. 22, 1982
I found out more about the newspaper. Elder Krusi was the editor and chief pusher. He would get elders to write under code names and he would put the paper together and mail it out. I immediately got in the car and drove to Miles city 150 miles to see him. During the interview he was real arrogant and would not tell me anything about it. He finally broke down but never did tell me the names. He thinks he has done a great thing but was worried when I told him that this might be his last few days for a mission. We (the assistants and I) got home about 9 o'clock.
Oct. 23, 1982
I started putting things together about the paper. It had about 3 editions of one page and contained articles by several elders. In fact by the time I had finished with the investigation there were 11 elders heavily involved and 2 more on the fringes. This was Billings East stake conference and I visited Elder Russell M Ballard about it. He was amazed and took copies of the paper back to the missionary department in Salt Lake City. "If you have any trouble with any elder call their stake president and tell him to get them straightened out.” This was welcome advice. I spoke in the Sat. night session but I didn't have my heart in it. I hadn't slept since I uncovered the paper scheme.
Oct. 24, 1982
We went to the conference and I had to speak again. I had the assistants stay home and call all eleven of the elders in for interviews Sunday afternoon. I finished interviewing about 9 p.m. Some of the elders were very innocently involved but others were the real underground dissenters. I told them all to go home and write me a letter that I could send to their stake pres. and when I received his answer I would decide whether or not they could stay on their mission.
I called Krusi the editor and told him to come packed ready for home by 10 p.m. I had him a reservation on the 6:30 am plane for Salt Lake City. He wasn't very sorry except that he had been caught. Both his mom and dad called and pleaded his case but my mind was made up. I also called his Stake Pres. and Bishop. I sent him to the missionary dept. for further interviews. They sent him home after interviewing him all day.
Oct. 25, 1982
This was P day again but I was really uptight about this mess. I also called in Elder Driver who had been a real problem and very rebellious. After a long time he finally broke down and I really got to him. I called his Bp. and Stake Pres. and set up a telephone interview. After this I think he can forget his past and start over. I am beginning to think that the missionary dept. are sending me all of their problems.
The ones involved in the paper were Krusi, Hess (my historian) Moore, T. Smith, R. Smith, Webb, Clark, Neville, Kussman, Flynn, Horne and Driver slightly. The one that really made me feel bad was Hess who was on my staff. His name was "Buffalo bob" others were "J Wanger", Son of Cain, B. Chen, The Ghost Writer, etc. I will replace Hess next week.
Oct. 26, 1982
John and I and Elder Spencer went deer hunting. I bought John an out of state permit for $102 so he could hunt legally. We left about 5 o'clock to go up to a friends ranch by Round Up. On the way up we must have seen 15 deer. We got lost and didn't get to Alan Jensen's place until after it was light. We then went into the mountains in his 4 wheel drive truck. We hunted until after 2 p.m. and didn't see a deer. We finally came home and decided to go again later. John is real excited and we have nearly a month to get our deer. John was the only one hunting. Elder Spencer and I just went along to pack the deer.
Oct. 27, 1982
This was the first day of the couples conference. I had 9 couples come into Billings for 2 days. The program started at noon after we had fixed them all lunch at the mission home. They are all working with the Lamanites except the Evans who run the visitors center at Cody. The first day we spent on record keeping and finding. Elder Checketts is an assistant to the Pres. in charge of Lamanite records. He is setting up a program to find and map every family. This will be a great help. I moved him up from the visitors center at Cody during their off season.
That night we had a prime rib dinner at the Billings East Stake Center. Pres. Griffin my 1st Coun. furnished the whole meal and he cooked the meat. We had prime rib, baked potatoes, salad, French beans, and fresh apple pie and ice cream. After the meal we showed a film. "Go Ye Unto All The World."
Oct. 28, 1982
We began at 8 o'clock. The seminary people Jerry Burns, Jerry Giles and Dale Anderson, explained their program and Bro. Mark Ricks explained the student placement and other welfare programs.
Barbara talked on education and we passed out copies of all their manuals. The assistants gave demonstrations on the "How to" of missionary work. I ended on the note that they all have other callings but they really put their heart into their missionary responsibility. Everyone said that it was a great conference.
Oct. 29, 1982
Barbara, Pres. Eredson and I drove to Missoula 350 miles to attend a special meeting called by Elder Loren Dunn on the Lamanite situation. We have 8 Lamanite reservations and 7 Lamanite Branches. Most of them have buildings that they can afford to pay utilities for since the new program where local units have to pay all utilities. We have been wondering about closing some of them down. The general time of the council was (1) Don't close down buildings, fill them up with people (2) Start fresh and plan for big increase in activity (3) Interview and commit each family to help (4) Pray and work for success and fulfillment of the prophecies regarding Lamanites.
Later on we had a meeting of the two region leaders on missionary work. All leaders were present. I spoke, the regional rep Merlyn Lofgren spoke and then Elder Loren Dunn spoke. We hope that missionary work will be stimulated.
Oct. 31, 1982
This was stake conference at Missoula. Elder Kukuchi was the conference visitor. He spoke for an hour and a half and said about the same things he had said the night before. It was good and emphasized love and our need to live the commandments. He also told of his call to be a G.A. We went to see Elders Henrie and Parks and Sr. Howarth’s apartment. They are small but adequate. Sr. Howarth has a stake missionary staying with her - at least she did. When we got home I had a call from Pres. Hill the Stake Pres. saying the stake missionary didn't want to do it anymore. I may have to move Sr. Howarth.
Nov. 1, 1982
Today is P day but we work just as hard as ever. Barbara washes all the sheets and then washes and irons all of our clothes. Jeannie and her 3 children are with us and have been for a week. She needed a rest for a while. They get along real well with the Elders in the mission home. Ricky is wild but real cute. Mary Ann her 2 week old baby is doing really well. She only weighs 5 pounds but is doing great.
Nov. 2, 1982
We drove to Lame Deer to meet with Bro. Miers regarding the upkeep of the Lamanite buildings. They want to spend $200,000 in each to bring them up to standard. I will never approve this. I could take the interest on the money and pay the utilities from now on. We missed Bro. Miers but had a good trip. We went by Colstrip and back home. We really only wanted to show Jean the Lamanite areas.
Nov. 5, 1982
We met our son Bob at the Airport and had a good visit with him. Later that evening Barbara and I drove to Great Falls to attend a Zone Conference and Stake Conference. We (I) drove too fast and got a $25 speeding ticket. We stayed at the Super 8 and got there about 10 p.m.
Nov. 6, 1982
We had the Great Falls Zone Conference until 4 p.m. Then attended a special missionary meeting conducted by Hartman Rector Jr. It was very good. The zone conference was great and the spirit was good although Elder Carl Anderson said that he was going home after being home only 2 mo. After the missionary meeting he talked to Bro. Rector for about 2 hours and still said that he was going home. He promised to try it a little longer if I would change his partner and area. I put him down with Elder Hess. The missionary meeting was good. I spoke briefly.
Nov. 7, 1982
This was conference. It was good. I spoke for about 10 min. After the conference we had a correlation meeting with the stake leaders.
It was good and I think we got some good things started. Elder Rector said that we could baptize 156 converts per quarter in this stake by asking 2 questions twice a week. (1) Do you like to read? (2) If I sent you a book describing Christ's visit to America would you read it? We are going to try this. We met John and Bob in the evening. They had gone deer hunting and then driven to Great Falls to spend with night with us. It was fun - we brought a big bucket of chicken. Bob flew from here.
Nov. 8, 1982
P day. I replaced the disposal in the upstairs sink and rewired it.
Nov. 9, 1982
We held the Custer Zone Conf. at Hardin. At noon time Anthony Runs Through a Lamanite was set apart to go on a full time mission to Japan, Osaka mission. It was a great experience and we did it before all the Zone Conference. His family and a number people from Billings attended.
The conference was great but Elder Hankins seems to have a problem.
Nov. 10, 1982
We held the central Zone conference in Billings. It was really good and every one did a great job. In the evening I gave temple recommends to Joe Acre and his intended wife who were on their way to Idaho Falls for the wedding.
Nov. 11, 1982
Reviewed transfers all day. This is a big job to get everyone in the right slot and try not to hurt feelings or to have some elders feel that they are not progressing fast enough. My stand has been that leadership positions do not depend on tenure but on leadership. In the past it was all based on time.
Nov. 12, 1982
We drove to Casper to attend the Wyoming Zone conference and the Casper Stake Conference. The zone conference was great and everyone is doing a good job. Elder James Smith is the exception. He has all kinds of music tapes and a big radio tape player. I told him to send them home by Wednesday. He has lied previously to me and the other leaders about this.
The conference was great. We ate dinner and lunch with Pres. Steed, his counselors and the Reg. Rep. Tyler Woolley. The building is small so we held 2 meetings. After this we held a correlation meeting on missionary work. They are really going to go ahead strong. We both spoke at conference and left about 3 p.m. It had snowed about 6 inches and was blowing terribly. We made it OK and enjoyed it all.
Nov. 15, 1982
P day. John and I went deer hunting out on Zane Parker’s ranch. John shot a big doe. He was thrilled to death. We brought it home and hung it in the shed. Zane gave John a beautiful hunting dog. She is a puppy 3 mo. old and a cross between a Chesapeake and a black Labrador. She is a beautiful red color. John and his friend Jay went hunting on Sat. and he shot another big doe. He was also thrilled about this. I skinned it and spent the day boning them out. We ended up with about 90 lbs. of great hamburger. We are going again on Thanksgiving. He wants to get a buck.
Nov. 16, 1982
We drove to Miles City to have the Lewis and Clark Zone Conf. It was great but Elder Hankins confessed some previous sins that were bad and unconfessed to his stake Pres. and Bishop. He later called and said that his mom had taken his girlfriend to the doctor and she was 3 months pregnant. I sent him home.
Nov. 17, 1982
The new MTC arrivals came and they look like great elders. Elders Turley, Pace, and Elder are really good. Elder Pasco will have to have a lot of help. We had a great meeting and I assigned them to good trainers.
Elder James Smith called and said that he would not send home his music so I told him to pack his things and take the next plane from Casper to Salt Lake City. He left the next morning. This makes 8 missionaries I have had to send home. This makes me feel really bad but I feel that the mission is now cleaned up and will really start to move ahead. Everyone seems to be dedicated and have a great spirit.
Nov. 18, 1982
This was transfer day. I am moving my assistant Ashcroft and my Sec. Spencer into the field. Elder Greg Madsen who has only been on his mission 2 mo. is to be my new Sec. and Elder Parker my new Asst. They are really great elders and will do a good job. Transfers went really smooth thanks to the good planning of the Assts. The elders going home are Horne, Hatcher, Homer, Greer and Wilkins. Wilkins was the only real good elder. The others have not been committed to do the work or to really keep the rules. Wilkins is from England and has been a hard working dedicated elder.
Nov. 19, 1982
We left for Missoula to attend a Zone Conference of the Flat Head Zone. This was a 6 1/2 hour drive.
Nov. 20, 1982
The zone conference was great. The spirit has completely changed and is now up. The Z Ls. Elder Henrie and Parks have done an outstanding job. The only elders who do not have a good attitude are Webb and Neville. Elder Williamson still has real problems. I had to pay a $50 bad check in Glasgow and he has a $150 debt that he left in Cody. I hope he makes it. We drove home after dark in a real Montana snowstorm - got here about 10:30 p.m.
Nov. 21, 1982
Today was Sunday and we went to the 4th ward with John. He is really doing a great job. He went skiing over the week at Red Lodge. In the evening Barbara and I talked to the Young Special Interest for the stake. It was good but there weren't many there.
Nov. 22, 1982
P day. I tended John's dog. She is a beauty. I worried about her last night since it got down to 10 degrees, but she is doing great out in the shed. She is a 1/2 Lab and 1/2 Chesapeake - a great hunting dog. I also helped Barbara with the shopping.
Nov. 23, 1982
We left at 6 am to drive to Bozeman to hold the Butte Zone conference. This was the best conference we have had. The whole zone is on a spiritual high and eager to do the work. The spirit was really great. Anderson (who wanted to go home) is also doing great with Elder Hess. The demonstrations by the missionaries were outstanding. Elders Gunn and Robison used boxes with bananas for phones to demonstrate phone contacting. The sisters (Harrison and Brodt) used bags of pop corn to demonstrate getting missionary spirit. It was just a great conference. Elders Carson and Jarvis are doing a wonderful job as Zone Leaders. They gave out a beautiful Walnut plaque for the best District and the best companionship. The sisters won it. We had a missionary correlation meeting with Pres. Coil and his SM Pres. after the conference. They are really going to promote the missionary effort.
Nov. 24, 1982
I cut our 48lb turkey in half so we could get it into the oven - it was just too big. Bro. Wells gave it to us. I spent the day trying to sort out unpaid telephone bills by the elders. The last group left $450 unpaid - I won't give them an honorable discharge if their bills aren't cleaned up from now on.
Nov. 25, 1982
John and I went deer and rabbit hunting down by Wyoming south of Bridger. We didn't even see one deer but we shot 6 rabbits. They were cotton tails so we cleaned them and brought them home. It was a great day and we had lots of fun together. We got home in time for the big Thanksgiving turkey dinner. It was really great. We invited the Zamora family (6) to eat with us. She has just had a baby the day before and wasn't feeling too good. He has been a great missionary since his baptism about 1 year ago. He has brought 7 people into the church. Some of our missionaries had dinner appointments so we didn't have a great big crowd.
Nov. 26, 1982
Barbara and I went to Dunmore to visit some Lamanite families. Barbara had baked little cakes to give to each family. We went into 8 different homes and had prayer with each of them. They really are in a bad state of affairs. Dirty, lazy, and no desire to better themselves. One house had 8 people and it wasn't much bigger than our kitchen. Drawings all over the walls - beds unmade and junk piled all over the place. I guess they are all on welfare - no one works and they are kind of proud of it. The women seem to be real sweet but most of the men are a mess. We got home about 5 o'clock after visiting 8 homes.
Nov. 27, 1982
John and I and Barbara went deer hunting out east of town. John had gone all day Friday and hadn't even taken a shot. We left about 2:30 p.m. and rode out by Zane Parker’s ranch. About 4 we saw some does so I stopped the truck. Pretty soon a 2 point buck came out of hiding and John took one shot and got it. We dragged it up to the truck and gutted it. We got home for dinner at 5:15 p.m. John was really proud. He had killed 3 deer now but the important thing was that he had killed a buck. We skinned it and cut off the horns for him to mount. He is really a great outdoors man. He loves to be a boy and is really a sweet one.
Nov. 28, 1982
Sunday Barbara and I went out to Laurel to go to church. It is a small ward about 15 miles west of Billings. We had a good time. We got home about 1 p.m. Barbara cooked the deer liver and then we made candy mints. We are going to give cans of mints to each companionship for Christmas. Also we are making Christmas cards about the mission to send to everyone. There was a fireside at the home in the evening for some fellow shipping families. The missionaries are doing great - we have a goal of 75 baptisms for Nov. and 100 for Dec. We should make it if plans go as well as they look. Elder Parker the new AP is really doing great. In fact all the house elders are great. We love them all.
Nov. 29, 1982
P days are usually as busy as any other. In fact we use these to catch up on all the things we haven't been able to do during the week. We decided today to continue our visits to the Lamanite families. Today we went to Lodge Grass. The only family we could find was the "Backbones.” He is the only one in his family that is a member. He was very nice and we had a good visit and a prayer. We then went out to a Hooterite Colony where one of the ladies makes Down coats. We ordered one for me and one for Barbara I hope they are OK cause they will cost about $150 each.
Nov. 30, 1982
Monday we also went to see the Marshals at Busby and the Christensens at Lame Deer. These couples all leave on P day and go to Billings to shop or visit. Busby is a small Indian village of not more than 2 or 300 people. I would hate to be stuck there like the Marshalls for maybe even 5 or 6 years.
Dec. 1-3, 1982
Spent much of the time working on transfers for next month and general problems. Many of the elders have gone home without paying their phone bills. Last month we paid about $500. Now I have to write to the stake presidents to collect it. I am going to make a rule that unless their bills are paid I won't issue temple recommends or Honorable release certificates.
Dec. 4, 1982
We left early to drive to Stevensville for a stake conference. This is close to 400 miles. We got a hotel room at Missoula and drove down to the meetings about 30 miles. Saturday night we met with the stake presidency and others of the stake involved in missionary work. We explained the "Open Your Mouth" program proposed by Harman Rector Jr. It is to ask two questions (1) Do you like to read? (2) If I gave you a book describing Christ’s actual visit to America would you read it? Then you get their name and address and give it to the missionaries. We have presented this program to nearly every stake in the mission and feel that it will result in great missionary success. It allows everyone to be a "finder missionary" without putting anyone really on the spot. This stake accepted the program and will move ahead with speed.
Dec. 5, 1982
We attended the conference Sunday morning and I spoke for about 15 minutes. It is really a great stake and they had a good conference. Their presidency is really on the ball and should go ahead rapidly with the missionary program.
As we were going in for the meeting Barbara was carrying my book with all my talks in it. She went to the restroom and accidentally dropped it in the toilet - I waited about 10 minutes before she came out and she couldn't stop laughing - I didn't see the humor since my book was ruined and most of the speeches washed out. - I guess it was a memory and we both laughed. After the conference we met with our elders for a while. We had made a box of our famous "butter mints" for each of them. Then we drove home and got here about 8 p.m.
Dec. 6, 1982
Today we shopped for John some ski equipment. We bought Olin Mark IV skis, boots and bindings. The total amount was about $600 but we figure that it's a good investment to keep John interested and happy. He is doing really great. He works at a car preparation place nearly every night. He wants to be independent and have his own money to spend. We also made butter mints for the missionaries and went shopping. WE ordered most of our Christmas from the catalog and had it sent directly to the grandchildren.
Dec. 7, 1982
Our weather has been beautiful. It is cold but not any worse than Utah. Most days are clear and beautiful for traveling. The roads get bad when the snow and ice doesn't melt. I worked on transfers and other paper problems that always keep building up. The mission is doing real well now after all the bad apples have been cleared up. We had 71 baptisms in Nov. and are well on the way to our 801 goal for the year. Everyone is all fired up to give a gift to the Savior of 100 baptisms for Dec. - we should do it.
Dec. 8, 1982
We drove to Glendive for a meeting with the Montana East district leadership. I presented the "Open Your Mouth" program to them and I think they will respond. We met with Elders Pottberg and Griesmer. Pottberg is a real problem. He calls at least once a day and wants praise and pity. He says that Satan continues to bother him for all his bad problems. Last week he had a cold and thought he had Hepatitis. It turned out that he doctor gave him some Iron pills for his blood.
Dec. 9, 1982
We drove back from Glendive and got home about 1 p.m. Elder Pasco called and wanted to go to the hospital for a cold - I told him to go see a doctor. He is an older elder who has had real problems in his background - drugs, alcohol, and all that goes with it. I hope he makes it. His Bishop is McLoyd Erickson who grew up in Manti across the road from where I grew up. He is being supported by the ward.
Dec. 10-11-12, 1982
Elder Tisdel called from Bozeman and said that he had some real problems. We left at 7:15 am to meet him at 10:00. He is a real good elder and his problems are minor. We then drove to Kallispell for a stake conference. This is up in the NW corner of the state next to Canada. It is a beautiful area and is quite a fruit growing valley. They have wonderful cherries. The conference was really great. I spoke for about 15 min. After the conference we met with all of the elders, the Bishoprics, ward mission leaders and stake missionaries. We presented the program "Open Your Mouth" to them and they were thrilled with it. They should go ahead rapidly. Their H.C. member over missionary work is a former mission Pres. from Argentina so it should go great. Pres. Wendt will move the work forward.
After this meeting we drove to Missoula and had a meeting with their stake presidency, H.C. and mission pres. We presented the same program and they committed to follow it through. Pres. Hill is not very enthusiastic but he was kind of forced into the stream because everyone else was so enthused. The AP's presented the program in Missoula and the ZL's presented it in Kallispell.
After the meeting we decided to drive home and got here about 12:15 p.m.
Dec. 13, 1982
P day. John had gone fishing over the weekend and caught 5 trout that weighed over 2 lb. each. He was thrilled to death - He is going to take me sometime this week. He is really doing great and loves Montana. He can hardly wait to use his new ski equipment.
Dec. 14, 1982
A correlation meeting was held with Billings stake in order to stimulate their missionary program. They have a new stake presidency and I think they will be more supportive of the missionary program. Pres. Elliott is sick but is doing a great job as Mission Pres. John went duck hunting with his friend out by Laurel. He brought home 2 ducks and 2 partridges. He really has a great time. He really wants to buy a 4 wheel truck so he can do all these things in style. - I'm not sure we can afford him. He works 3 nights a week and makes about $70.00 each 2 weeks. This isn't near enough for his wants.
Dec. 15 & 16, 1982
Planned transfers. Nine elders are going home and we are getting in one elder and three sisters. This is a real job to get every one in the right place at the right time. The assistants do a wonderful job. Both elders Stucki and Parker want to extend 30 days - this will help.
Sister Hartog has had a real problem with her back - she is bedfast except for treatments everyday. She still has 9 mo. to go on her mission and I hope she makes it.
Elder Pasco has also had problems. He has been sickly for a month and wants to go into the hospital for one thing or another. He is now taking "breathing treatments" everyday and I hope he makes it.
Dec. 17-18, 1982
We traveled to Worland for stake conference today. We also went to Lander to see our new couple "The Terrys" and Elders Rex and Rayl. The elders wrecked their truck this week and it did $3000+ damage.
The Terrys are doing great and they love it. They cooked dinner for us and then we drove back to Worland to attend the Sat. night meeting. Elder Woolley the Reg. Rep. took charge.
Dec. 19
We attended the Worland conference - I spoke - then had dinner with the stake presidency at Pres. Horsley's home. He is 2nd C. and is an MD He has a lovely country estate home on about 20 acres. Pres. is the stake Pres. and Smith is the 1st C. They have an "on the ball" group. After the dinner we had a missionary correlation meeting. I presented the Book of Mormon program on asking the 2 questions. They were enthused and are going to support the program.
Already this program has resulted in a big increase in teaching. In fact the teaching standards have doubled in the past 2 months. We drove home late to be here for all day Monday when the new M.T.C. arrivals get in.
Dec. 20, 1982
Three sisters (Thomas, Ficklin, Earnshaw) and one elder (Rosenhan) came in. They are really great and will be good missionaries. We had dinner about 5 o'clock and after this had their orientation program. Most of them have already passed off their discussion.
Elder Wall called and is having problems with his heart. I decided to let him go home a month early so he can get some good care. He will be in on leave out Friday 24th.
Dec. 21, 1982
Roy came in about 6:30 from Denver. He had been to Seattle, Wash., Salt Lake City and Gainesville, Floriday for interviews. He has already had an offer from Florida but really wants to go to the Univ. of Utah. He looks good but is real small compared to John.
Dec. 22, 1982
Roy and John left to go skiing up at "Bridger" near Bozeman. They will have a great time. John has new skis, boots, poles and all the trimmings. Roy sent his skis, boots, poles, etc. by UPS.
Today the elders going home started to come into the home. The ones going home are Moore, Rawlings, Pierson, Goss, Neville, Byers, Hughes, and Spencer. We had a debriefing meeting and testimony meeting after dinner which was real good. These are really good missionaries although Byers, Goss, and Neville have been problems at times. They have all grown greatly.
Dec. 23, 1982
The elders left early today and everything went smooth. I sent them home one day early so they would sure get home for Christmas.
Madsen the new Sec. is doing a great job. He is really on the ball and is a good influence in the home. Harvey and McCaffery are also doing great. Ollerton as usual is superb in everything he does. We have a great staff and I hate to think of having to let any of them go. The assistants planned every detail so that the transfer would go smooth.
Dec. 24, 1982
This is Christmas Eve. Cathy Colberg came in for an interview for a blessing. We worked all day then had an open house starting at 6 p.m. All of the missionaries in the area were here. They started singing carols about six and continued for about an hour. Many people came. We had invited especially those who had been so good to the missionaries. The Ereksons and 8 of their children and families came, also the Bracklebanks, Elliotts, Paulsons, and others. Barbara and Sr. Lowe had set up a large beautiful buffet for every one. At 7 p.m. we showed the film Mr. Kruger’s Christmas and after this we had a series of skits. One by each district and one by the home family. They were just excellent. Ollerton had written the skit and it was the Night Before Christmas in the Mission home portraying the Mellors and Sr. Lowe. Madsen was Barbara in her robe and curlers. Stucki was me and Parker was Sr. Lowe. McCaffery was Santa and they had Rudolph as Johns dog Suzie with bells on and Johns deer horns tied on to her head. Ollerton was a white angel on the fire place with a halo. We laughed so hard we almost were sick. The other district did a take off on Scrooge and a bad elder. It also was good. We did one on the 12 days of Christmas using cards (John, Roy, Barb, Sr. Lowe and me).
Dec. 25, 1982
We all gathered in the living room and opened presents. We each had brought one unmarked present. One at a time we opened them and the one opening could chose to take some one else's or his own. It was really fun. After this we had German pancakes which weren't the best. Every one had a good time and no one was overly homesick. Roy enjoyed himself and had some good presents. We had given him $100 and $250 cash plus a Seiko watch and a beautiful sweater. He tried all next day to trade his watch in for a gold one. We're hoping he matures soon.
Dec. 26, 1982
Sunday and Barbara and I spoke in the Billings 5th ward. They seemed so unresponsive we wonder if we did any good at all. At least Roy was impressed. In the afternoon we drove to Lodge grass and picked up our down coats from the Hooterite lady. She charged $225 for Barbara's and $125 for mine - Mine is great but Barbara's is too little. She is going to do it over.
Dec. 27, 1982
Barbara's birthday. I gave her a statue of "The Woman Praying" from the Relief Society. She loved it. John gave her a pretty scarf and gave me a wonderful pair of hiking boots. He is working most days although he and Roy went skiing up to Bozeman for 2 days just before Christmas. He also went skiing at Red Lodge today. He loves the winter sports.
Our missionaries are really working hard to get the yearly goal of 801 baptisms. At the end of last month we had only 714. Every one is working and praying for miracles.
Dec. 28, 1982
Elder Williamson called and said he hurt his back and has been in the hospital. His companion and the doctor both think he is faking it. He is also running up another big phone bill. He still owes $176 phone bill and $150 drug bill from his last area. I have talked to his Bishop and further asking for help.
Elder Pasco also is a problem. He wants to go to the hospital also for a lung problem. He spent 2 days in there this week and the doctor says nothing is wrong with him. He has had some bad problems in the past and doesn't seem to want to accept the responsibility of missionary work. Sr. Hartog also has a bad back and has been in bed for 2 weeks. She goes to the hospital for treatment every morning. I think her problem is for real. I will bring her to Billings as soon as I can get someone to stay with Sr. Harmon.
Dec. 29, 1982
The elders are really working to get the goal of 801. I really hope they make it. We attended a baptism for Bryan Sullivan - He was one that just came to the mission home and wanted to be baptized (16 yrs old). I helped teach him the first lesson.
Dec. 30, 1982
Everything is going well. Bob called and got the TV we gave them. Jean hasn't yet received the horse for Ricky but they will get it by the time they get into their new. We may have to buy these since they have had a big fight with Rick's mother.
Dec. 31, 1982
The missionaries worked hard all day and so did every one. The goal of 801 seems a long way off - only 772 to date. After they all got home at 10 p.m. we got in our P day clothes and had a New Years Eve party. They showed all their old slides and we had chips and dips until 12 p.m. then we cooked hot cakes, eggs, etc. for breakfast. It was a great time and we ended up praying for miracles for baptisms.
Jan. 1, 1983
This is the last day of the year for baptisms. At 9:30 they still only had 772. After this the calls started coming in. At 11:57 p.m. they waked us up and said that the final call came in and the total was 802. They had made the goal. We had a big cookie and ice cream party and took lots of pictures. We ended up by a prayer thanking the Lord for the Miracle that had come about. It truly demonstrated to me that "faith proceeds the Miracle.” The elders knew it could be done and they did in spite of many adverse odds. They are a great group.
Jan. 2, 1983
Every one is still excited over getting the goal of 802 baptisms. We recounted the events of the last 6 baptisms and they were really miracles. Bryan Sullivans mother called from New York and gave her permission for Bryan to be baptized. They Terrys had a Lamanite walk into their house with his daughter who had been taught but would not give his permission. They took her to Lame Deer and baptized her that night. The Davis' were coming home from Poplar when they passed a Lamanite house of a young girl who had been taught. They turned around and went back several miles to get to the house. The little girl threw her hands around Sr. Davis and said Mom says I can get baptized. They turned around and went back to Poplar to get it done. We had a call from a small branch in western Montana saying they had just had a baptism. All of them were really miracles. Barbara and I drove to Sidney to attend the special dedication of their building. I said the dedicatory prayer and spoke briefly. Pres. Griffin and Erickson also attended. We stayed in Glendive.
Jan. 3, 1983
We held our Lewis & Clark Zone conference in Glendive. It was really great. The biggest thrill was the improvement Elder Driver has made. He is doing great and will be a good missionary. We drove home after five.
Jan. 4, 1983
Spent the day trying to catch up.
Jan. 5, 1983
Left about noon to drive to Great Falls. We held a correlation meeting with the East Stake and later presented our "Open Your Mouth" to the Great Falls Stake. I think it went over well. Elders Stucki and Parker did a great job.
Jan. 6, 1983
Had our Great Falls (Judith Basin) Zone Conference. It was a great conference - very spiritual.
Jan. 7, 1983
We drove to Missoula from Great Falls. It is about 5 hours and is a real pretty drive through the mountains. The roads were bad with ice and slush but we enjoyed it.
Jan. 8, 1983
We held the Flathead Zone Conference and it was great except for Williamson. He has a real bad spirit and wants to go home. I have tried every way to stimulate him but I haven't been able to do so.
I also got a call from Elder Hinchcliff. Elder Pasco had a fight with Elder Nelson and is in real emotional trouble. He was on Heroin before coming out and has flash backs. I sent him to a Psychiatrist in Kallispell for evaluation. The Dr. says he is really emotionally unstable and may have to go home. I told them to send him to Billings.
Jan. 9, 1983
We went to church in Missoula then drove to Bozeman about 4 hours. This is also a real pretty part of Montana.
Jan. 10, 1983
We had the Butte Zone Conference in Bozeman. This was a great and spiritual conference. They have really come a long way. We were really happy with Elder Anderson. He wanted to go home about 2 months ago and is now really happy. We drove home to Billings after 7 p.m.
Jan. 11, 1983
We held the Couples (Custer) Zone Conference in Billings. 10 couples were present. It started at noon and went to about 5. I started interviews about 9.
This was a good conference - Elder Checketts took charge and every one took a part. That night we had a special dinner at the Mission home. After the dinner we had a little party. The Elders sang several songs and then every one told about their miracle baptisms. It was a very spiritual occasion.
Jan. 12, 1983
The zone conference continued until about 10 o’clock after a testimony meeting. The couples all went back with a determination to be better missionaries.
Jan. 13, 1983
Left at 9 o'clock for Independence, Missouri for a Mission Presidents Seminar. All the mission Presidents and Regional Reps. from Loren Dunn area were present. We had a dinner at the mission home and then Elder Lofgren and I stayed with Pres. Ballard’s home. We took a tour of the Reorganized Church's property and then went through the Liberty Jail. This was a great experience to see the terrible circumstances the Prophet Joseph had to endure.
Jan. 14, 1983
The seminar was good. I presented our results to date and plans for 1983. Our baptisms increased 12+% in 1982 and we are planning a 12% increase for 1983 even though our missionaries are going to decrease from 136 to 104. It was great to hear what the other mission presidents are doing. I got home about 10 o'clock.
Jan. 15, 1983
John and I went fishing on the Big Horn river about 2 o'clock till 6. We caught 3 big trout about 2 pounds each. It was cold but this was really a beautiful river. It really is on Indian land but you can fish it as long as you stay in the river. John is really doing great. He loves the outdoors.
Jan. 16, 1983
We went to church in the Billings 3rd ward on Wicks lane. It was a good meeting. I spoke briefly in Sac. mtg. and in Priesthood meeting. They are beginning to do some missionary work.
Jan. 17, 1983
I sent Elder Pasco home today. He would not commit to be a missionary - He insists that he has mental problems and needs professional help. I agreed but I tried every way to get him to stay and work things out.
Elder Williamson's phone bill came and it is $1275 for 3 weeks. This was after I had given him instructions to not use the phone. I sent him to Sidney for a week and then will send him home on Friday. We kept Williamson, Pasco and Sr. Hartog in the home all week and are really glad to get them out. It was very disruptive.
We drove down to Casper in the afternoon for a Zone Conference. This is about 6 hours.
Jan. 18, 1983
Held the Casper (Wyo.) Zone Conference. It was really good and every one seemed to be "up.” We finished the conference about 5 o'clock. The Casper no 6 fixed a dinner for us that was really good. After this we came home and arrived about 10:30 p.m.
Jan. 19, 1983
Planned transfers today. I had to replace 6 Zone Leaders. Many of the mission leaders are going home this and next month. It may be a real disaster in the mission. In fact all of the Zone Leaders and assistants will be going home. I will have Elder Parker to train a new AP but no experienced Zone Leaders.
Jan. 20, 1983
Held the central zone conference. It was good and every one seemed up but there seems to be a let down after the end of the year. I brought Elder Elder in to take Harvey's place as Historian and Recorder. I'm not sure if he is going to work out. He is very immature and not too ambitious.
Jan. 21, 1983
Spent most of the day again planning transfers. It seems like I have to move nearly every one. Eleven are leaving and we are getting 5 new ones in. Next month will be even worse.
In the evening we watched John's basketball game. He plays for the 4th ward and really does a good job.
Jan. 22, 1983
John and I went fishing out in the Big Horn river. We caught several beautiful trout but only brought home 6. They all weighted about 2 lbs. each. It is a beautiful river that doesn't freeze cause it comes out of the big yellow tail dam. Lots of ducks, geese, etc. flying all over. The river runs through Indian land so you can only get onto it in a very few places. Your OK as long as you stay along the river and don't get on the Indian land.
Jan. 23, 1983
Barbara and I went to Dunmore Branch to attend church. It was nice but few people came. After church we went to Lodge Grass and then out to "Hutterites" who made Barbara and I each a down coat. Barbara's wasn't too good so we traded it for a down comforter ($250). After we left there we had to go to Cody so we went across the Big Horn range. The roads were really covered with ice and snow and the mountains were filled with snowmobiles. It was really pretty but we really had to hurry since I had to speak to the High Priests at 6 p.m. We arrived about 5:45. I spoke to the annual High Priest meeting (about 200) and then to the whole PEC on their missionary responsibilities. I hope it helps cause we really need it. After the meeting we drove home. The Gagons (State Pres.) had made us a real nice lunch which we gave to the Assistants. We got home about 10:30.
Jan. 24, 1983
Monday was P Day but we don't get much time to relax. Barbara cleans the house and I catch up. Brenda Lowe feels quite excited and will not do anything but just what she has to. She wants to be involved in all the activities but very little of the work. She does a good job of cooking and the Elders love her. She would like to take over Barbara's job of Mission Mother. Barbara is real kind and patient.
Jan. 25, 1983
The AP's have done a good job of planning the transfers. It's always a problem especially if the weather is bad. Fortunately we have had excellent weather about 25-30 degrees at night and 35-40 degrees in the day time with beautiful sunshine and no snow.
Jan. 26, 1983
We met the new elders from the Missionary Training Center: Elders Hill, Deering, Baker, Brinkman, and Nielson and Sisters Evans and Johansen. It is a mixed up group. Hill has a nervous problem, Nielson has no testimony, Deering is very effeminate and may be a little crude. The others look like potential leaders - especially Brinkman. Sr. Evans is a doll and very enthusiastic. Sr. Johansen is a real sweet spirit but heavy and shy. Baker is shy but should be great with some experience. Our orientation went very well. The Staff does a great job.
Jan. 27, 1983
This was transfer day which is like Grand Central Station. Everything went fairly smooth however one of the bus lines had changed schedules which fouled things up a little. The nine elders going home all stayed with us here and Barbara and Sr. Lowe had fixed tacos. Elder Ashcroft who was one of the AP's requested this for his last supper. Things went rather smoothly in spite of the large group.
Jan. 28, 1983
We spent most of this day getting back to normal. Barbara washed 30 sheets. In the evening we had a missionary fireside for all the seventies and stake missionaries in the Billings Stake. Barbara and I went to Dunmore about 50 miles to an open house in preparation to dedication of the Dunmore chapel. We stayed from 6 to 8 p.m. and not one soul except the missionaries showed up. They had spent many hours preparing all kinds of displays. We felt really bad for them. All of our couple missionaries from this area were there.
Jan. 29, 1983
John and I went fishing and had a great time. (8 big ones).
Jan. 30, 1983
This was Sunday and we went to Dunmore for the dedication. It was supposed to start at 11 am. At 11 am no one was there. It started at 11:30 and people started coming in from then until 2 p.m. The meeting lasted until 2:30 p.m. I said the dedicatory prayer. 105 were present and many of them were Lamanites. There musical sales and 4 pretty young Lamanites in full costume did the sign language to the Lords Prayer while another one sang. It was beautiful. Pres. and Sr. Robbins had really worked. After the meeting dinner was served of Buffalo steak and short ribs, baked potatoes, salads, etc. and special deserts, i.e. wild plumb and buffalo berry puddings. They also served Indian fry bread that was really good. Indian children were everywhere. They do not control them one single bit. They run around, sing, play and everything else even on the stage and in front of the pulpit. The Indians don't even seem to see them.
In the evening we had a fireside at the home for the college ward. Barbara and I both spoke. They didn't leave until nearly 10:15 p.m. Following this we had a party for Elder Stucki (21). We gave him a photo board and Barbara had baked a pretty cake. It was fun but tiresome.
Jan. 31, 1983
This was P day. Our baptisms for Jan. were a disaster -30- The lowest month the mission has ever had. I am going to make some drastic changes, i.e. no phone calls out of their district, and maybe cancel P days for a time. We are also going to declare war on everything that hinders progress in the mission. I hope we can recover the loss of mission leadership.
Feb. 1, 1983
Today we held a special fast over the whole mission in support of missionary work. I guess the reduced missionary force and loss of leadership is being felt worldwide. This month we will lose all of the 24 month missionaries. 6 of our 7 Zone Leaders are leaving. One of the AP's and several other good leaders. The new emphasis has to be on member missionary work.
Feb. 2, 1983
Today and tomorrow we are having a Zone Leaders Conference to help train all the new leaders. 6 of the Zone Leaders are new and next month we will have 4 more new ones. I am starting to promote the young missionaries with only a few months service. I brought Elder Elder into the home to replace Harvey as Historian and I can see now that he is to young and immature for this job. I will change him on the next transfer. The Zone Leaders Conf. started at noon and was real good. Everyone seems to be enthused and really ready to go to work. I hope this enthusiasm can be taken to the filed. We all had dinner at the mission home and then had an evening session till 9:30. The assistants did a great job.
Feb. 3, 1983
The conference ended about 12:30 after a good testimony meeting. I feel much better about the leadership now. In the afternoon Todd Kasner of Glendive came in to be interviewed for a mission. He is a fine young man and is the only one of his family who are members. He will make a great missionary. I received a call from the Missoula Zone Leaders that Elder Dye had been in a fight with his companion Elder Taylor. When I called, Elder Dye would not get out of bed to talk to me. He also wouldn't get out of bed to talk to his parents. He had taken off the shower head so Elder Taylor couldn't shower because he said that it splashed water on the floor. This is the 3rd time or 4th that I have had real trouble with him. In fact he wanted to go home twice before. He has always been a problem with all of his companions. I finally talked to him. All his bags were packed and he was going home. I finally talked him into coming to the mission home for a while. He got in at 12:30 am.
Feb. 5, 1983
I spoke in Conference and gave them both barrels of the "Open Your Mouth Program.” This is where everyone asks the two questions "Do you like to read?" and "If I gave you a book that talked about Christ’s actual visit to this continent would you read it?" After this you get the name and address and give it to the missionary to deliver the Book of Mormon. It really works and I feel will be a great help to the mission. Already we have had many referrals. After the conference we drove to Helena where we held a special missionary meeting with all of their missionaries and stake leaders. Pres. Sharp conducted and I spoke for about an hour. I think they were enthused - at least they said they were.
Feb. 7, 1983
We drove from Helena to Butte to attend a tri-district development meeting. The Zone leaders Jarvis and Hiatt did a great job. Also the assistants did great. We presented the "Four Month Success Program" for January through April and also tried to create enthusiasm. The program is Jan: "Personal Preparedness" Feb: "Declare War against everything hindering our success" Mar: "March to Victory" 115 baptisms, April: "Month of Miracles.” We made a large poster on Declaration of War and are having everyone sign it. Also we have individual sheets that each companionship signs and puts in their room. I also put out a new policy on the use of the telephones. "No calls outside of their district except with approval.” The phones have been grossly misused. We drove back to Billings that night and arrived about 6 p.m.
Feb. 8, 1983
We have Institute class every Tuesday morning and Barbara takes a Book of Mormon class every Tuesday night. Bro. Burns teaches these and does a great job.
Elder Dye was still here but was determined to go home. We talked with both his parents and his brother but it did no good - He still says "I am going home.” Finally I had him pack his bags and go back to Missoula. He agreed to do this since I wouldn't give him the money to go home and neither would his folks. I feel sorry for him because he has had nothing but failures all of his life and he just hasn't grown up yet.
Jan. 9, 1983
I worked most of the day doing transfers. This is going to be a difficult one since 14 of the good leaders are going home. Our missionary force will be down to 107 by months end and to nearly 100 by next month. Our Quota is 150 but I doubt we will get to that level during our team. Elder Dye says he is doing OK. I hope he decides to stay.
Elder Dunn (Loren C.) is our Executive Administrator and he is planning to tour the mission on March 8-11th. I worked out a schedule for him that will keep him busy. We start at Missoula then to Great Falls and finally to Billings. Each area we will have a general missionary meeting with all the stakes in the area. Zone conferences will be held in Missoula (3 Zones) and Billings (4 Zones). This should be a big boost for our "March to Victory" problem.
Feb. 10 and 11, 1983
Barbara and I had intended to visit the couples in Northern Montana but we had so many other things that we just couldn't go. Elder McGuire called from Casper saying that Elder Chang had some savior stomach pains and was going in the hospital. Later Friday night he called and said that his appendix needed to come out. I called Bro. and Sr. Chang and got permission and then called back to give OK for the surgery.
Feb. 12, 1983
Barbara and I left for Casper to drive 300 mi. so we could see him when he came out of the anesthetic. We got there about 11:30. He was still groggy but doing OK. All the elders and sisters were there to visit him as well as some local people. He will be OK. We left to drive back to Cody for their stake conference. Elder Loren and Dunn was their visitor. The Saturday night meeting was on Missionary work so I fit right in. I spoke for a few minutes on the work. We stayed at the Super B motel even though several members had ask us to stay with them.
Feb. 13, 1983
This was Cody stake conference with Pres. Howard Gagon as the stake president. He really did a great job. I spoke again on our missionary responsibilities. They had 44 baptisms and I challenged them for 150 in 1983. I think they can do it. Everyone really seems enthused. After conference we went to the Gagons for lunch. They are really sweet people and are doing a wonderful job. Elder Dunn and Tyler Woolley the Reg. Rep. were also at the dinner. We left about 3 o'clock to drive back to Billings.
Feb. 14, 1983
This was Valentines Day. I gave Barbara a new set of scriptures. In the afternoon we drove to Lodge Grass to attend the ward Sweet Heart Ball. As Barbara was going out of the room she slipped and fell all the way down the stairs. Nothing was broken but her heel on her shoe but she was real bruised up. She could hardly walk. The dance was nice for Lodge grass. The missionary couples were there and a few other Anglos. There were also quite a few Lamanites. None of the Lamanites danced although some of the children sang and they did the crow sign language to "The Lord's Prayer.” I think there were about 50 people total. We took Pres. Erekson and his wife. He is counselor to the mission.
Feb. 15, 1983
Elder Mark Ricks of the Church Social Service Office in Helena came in for a visit. We decided to request an Alcoholic program for the Crow Agency. This is really a big problem in both members and nonmembers alike. The church should be able to help with their programs.
Feb. 16, 1983
Bro. Gardener of the Church Building Committee came in to discuss the Lamanite buildings. The church has decided to remodel the buildings at Lodge Grass, Lame Deer, Dunmore and Poplar. The beginning estimate is about $400,000. It seems like throwing good money after bad but the church wants to get all of the old Lamanite buildings in shape again. We need to raise locally $16000 or else do that much work.
Feb. 17-18, 1983
These two days were spent entirely on planning transfers. 13 elders are going home and 6 are coming out. After this month, all of the old leaders are gone except Parker who is an AP. I guess the mission will survive.
John called and said that he had been involved in an accident. Some kid turned left in front of him and hit his right front light and fender. The estimate is $900 to repair. This is really the first accident in 5 children except for Roy's in Providence.
I have brought a new elder "Tisdel" into the home to replace "Elder.” He was just not mature enough to handle the job of Historian. All of the others are doing fine.
Feb. 19, 1983
John and I spent the morning putting in forms to lay a cement pad for "Suzie" his dogs pen. We have her chained up now on a 15 foot chain. It was either do this or get her spayed so she wouldn't have puppies. She now weighs about 80 lbs. and is really big. I hope she is a good hunting dog for Johns sake. At night we had a fireside at the mission home for the winners of the Seminary Marathon. After this Barbara and I went to the 4th ward dance where John was furnishing the music. It was nice and there were lots of good church kids there. I guess we're going to insist that John date in the church. The girl he is now going with (1 date) is cute but a non-member and we don't think she is his quality.
Feb. 20, 1983
We attended the 4th ward conference. I spoke briefly. This is a good ward and Bishop Anderson is a great Bishop. He is going to request that John's records be sent over from the 5th ward since he attends here all of the time. The 5th ward is really cold and unfriendly and the 4th ward people are really great.
In the evening we went to the Stake Presidents house (Pres. Peterson) and spoke to the young seminary group. Both Barbara and I spoke. They were a choice group but I had the feeling that everything we said had been said before.
Feb. 21, 1983
Today was P day. I worked in the yard - made the forms for laying the cement for "Suzie's" kennel. She is getting so big and strong that she even broke the chain we had her on. I poured the cement and got it all leveled out. It was fun to get some physical exercise. In the evening we cooked big steaks in our apartment for John and us. They were great. John still loves to eat even though he is trying to cut down and lose some of his fat. He is down to 165 lbs.
Feb. 22, 1983
Bro. Burns "The Institute director" came in to discuss the Lamanite program. I think I will call him as the District President for the Custer District. He would do an excellent job and he loves the Lamanites. Pres. Erekson has been Pres. for about 9 years and is tired and is having financial problems. I think also I will call Bro. Marshall the Institute Teacher at Busby to be Branch Pres. at Lame Deer this month when the Christensens leave. Our only problem is that someone needs to live in the trailer house by the church so the Lamanites won't destroy it or the church.
Feb. 23, 1983
This was the day for getting new missionaries in from the M.T.C. in Provo. We got six new elders in: Sell, Lawrence, Tew, Weeks, Hansen, Cowley. Weeks is very weak and may have problems but the others will be great leaders. I sent them all out with good trainers.
I had calls from parents of Ritchie and Keele. Ritchie's dad wants him to come home early for a reunion and Keele's mother is upset because he wrote her a letter and said that he was angry for being sent on a mission and wouldn't write to her. She hadn't had a letter now for two weeks.
We had our orientation in the evening put on by the staff. they do a good job but I'm going to change it.
Feb. 24, 1983
This was transfer day and we really had to have a big transfer. 13 elders came in to leave. This is the last of the 2 year elders and they are all real leaders. The mission will miss them. Elder Stucki has been an AP ever since we came. He is the finest and most motivated elder I have ever seen. It was hard to see him go. I brought in Elder Jarvis to take his place. He and Elder Parker will do an excellent job. Others leaving were either Zone or District Leaders who had to be replaced by inexperienced elders. I pray that the Lord will take over and make them equal to the task. We were planning to get 90 baptisms in Feb, 115 in March and 100 in April. Everyone has faith it can be done - so it can be.
Feb. 25, 1983
The old elders left for home this morning early. In fact, they left the home at 5:30 am. Everything went well and the staff were tired. They all did a great job.
Feb. 26, 1983
We have decided to get everything cleaned up for Elder Loren Dunn's visit and tour of the mission March 8-11. Elder McCaffery and Tisdale worked outside mowing the lawns, raking leaves and cleaning out the shrubs. Elder Ollerton also does a great job. They are really highly motivated elders and don't have to be told anything. We are really proud of each one of them. Elder Tisdale fits right in and is doing a great job.
Feb. 27, 1983
We went to the 4th ward again with John. He is so sweet and is doing such a good job. The Bishop sent for his records today so he can officially be in the 4th ward. None of us like the 5th ward except Brenda Lowe and she things she is "Queen of the May.” We are not to happy with her selfish attitude and her involving herself in everything even those things where she has no business. Sometimes we get the feeling that she thinks that she is not only running the ward but also the mission. We may replace her after the summer. She really neglects things in the home if she wants to do something else where she gets lots of attention. All the praise the missionaries give her goes right to her head.
In the afternoon we took a pick up truck out to the river and tried to get Suzie to jump in the water - She was very reluctant so we came home.
Bob and Michael are coming for a visit on Mar. 10 and Ann and her 3 children on Mar. 12. We will love to have them.
Feb. 28 - Mar. 4, 1983
Spent most of the time in preparation for the mission tour by Elder Dunn to be made Mar. 8 - Mar. 11. We will have special meetings in Missoula, Great Falls and Billings.
Mar. 5 , 1983
We drove to Riverton in the afternoon for a stake conference. In the early evening I met with the Terrys who are our missionary couple in Lander, Elders Pottberg, Griesemer, Ray, Orrick and Hall. Elder Hall had been with Pottberg and was frightened to death of him so I had to move him to Riverton and put Elder Orrock in Lander with Elder Pottberg. Elder Pottberg came out the same time we did and is a real sweet spirit but a real rough character. He is strong as a bull and tends to over power everyone physically in order to compensate for his mental inadequacies. We dearly love him and will do anything to save him. He has already wrecked two trucks, had 2 tickets and been taken to court. His image as a missionary is at ground zero.
We spoke in the stake conference meetings Saturday night and also Sunday. John was with us also. He had had a bad experience and we really came down on him hard. He said Friday night that he and Jack Berg were going to the ball game and dance then stay at Jack's for the night. At 3:30 am I got a call from Kim's father (his new girlfriend) saying she was with John and wasn't home yet. He called the Berg's and said a big party was going on.
Barbara and I jumped in the car and went out there just in time to see John coming back. I put him in the car and brought him home and we really scolded him - took away his car, credit card and all privileges. Next day he explained what happened and it was not his fault and he had acted as he should. All rights were properly restored but he now knows what can happen if he gets out of line. He is really a good guy and took his punishment very well. We fasted all day and drove home for dinner in Billings Sunday night.
Mar. 7, 1983
Monday P day we had a special clean up day the elders really cleaned inside and outside. Everything looks beautiful.
Mar. 8, 1983
Pottberg had been abusive to his new companion Orrack so I had him get on a bus and come to Billings until I could decide what to do with him. I had already put him on probation.
We left at 5:30 am to drive to Missoula to meet Elder Dunn. We took the red van and had the Assistants with us. We met Elder Dunn at 1 p.m. and went to the Welfare Cannery for lunch with the Andersons and the Vissars. It was really an interesting tour. We then went to the stake center at Missoula to begin our Zone Conference. We had 3 zones come together for this. From 2-5 p.m. we had regular discussions. Barbara, Dunn and I spoke. At 5 p.m. we had dinner furnished by the Missoula stake R.S. (Sr. Anderson Pres.). It was great and very well done. Following this we had a missionary fireside for all the stakes in that region. It was great and we had a large crowd. We stayed at the Super 8 motel that night - it's OK but not too super.
Mar. 9, 1983
We ate breakfast at 4B's then went to the Stake center for a Leadership meeting at 8 o'clock. All the ZL's and DL's plus companions were there. This lasted 1 1/2 hours then we met with all of the 3 zone members from 9:30 until 11:30. We had a great meeting. Everyone was "up" and we felt a good spirit. At 11:30 we took pictures then went to Missoula where we bought pizza burgers to go and started driving to Great Falls. Elder Dunn wanted to drive and I'm glad he has a good Guardian Angel cause he's not a super driver. We some how missed Great Falls and had to back track about 20 miles. We made it OK and at 5 p.m. stopped at Pres. Peterson's house for open faced Danish sandwiches. They were very good. The missionary meeting for the Great Falls region started at 6:30 and lasted until 8:30. We were supposed to leave at 8:00 to catch a plane at 9:00 for Billings. Dunn just wouldn't quit so we had to walk out before the closing song and prayer. We caught the airplane OK since it was late. We arrived at Billings about 10:30 and went to the mission home. Everyone had a bowl full of cereal and went to bed.
Mar. 10, 1983
Breakfast was scheduled at 7 o'clock. Elder Dunn didn't come out of his room until 7:35 so we had to rush. Our Quad Zone Leaders meeting started at 9:00 and lasted to 10:45. We then had lunch prepared by the Billings East R.S. It was great. Our main Zone Conf. started at 12:00. I spoke about 30 min. Barbara about 5 min. and the Elder Dunn spoke until 5:30 p.m. It was good and most of the elders were "up.” Elders Driver and Keele are not yet with it. At 6:00 we had a great dinner prepared by the stake R.S. It was really a full course turkey dinner and was really good. Pres. Ferrell has done a great job.
The missionary stake meeting started at 7 o'clock and lasted until 9. Pres. Ferrell and Pres. Peterson each spoke 10 min. I spoke and then Elder Dunn took the rest of the time. He did a great job.
Mar. 11, 1983
We were supposed to leave for the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservation at 8 o'clock but again Dunn was about 30 min late. Pres. Griffin took us in his Mercedes. We stopped at Lame Deer first and went through the chapel. We then visited 3 Lamanite homes and met with Bro. Little Wolf a newly activated member. We then drove to Dunmore and had a delicious lunch prepared by the Lamanite R.S. It was Indian Fry bread, barbecued buffalo ribs, etc. and was tough but tasty. We then went to 2 Lamanite homes. The Daw's and the Pretty Paints. In each case about 10 to 15 members were present. Elder Dunn gave blessings to 3 people and blessed both homes. We then drove to Billings where he spoke to the Institute group. We put him on the airplane at 4 o'clock for Calgary Canada. He had a good tour and was well pleased with the mission.
Mar. 12, 1983
Bob and Michael came in from Little Rock at 10 o'clock Mar. 10 . They are going to stay a week since he is now through school. Ann, Susanna, Jessie and Russell came in at 3 o'clock today to stay for a week. We really are enjoying them although Russell has chicken pox and is really fussy.
Mar. 13, 1983
I attended the 1st Ward Priesthood meeting and then went back to the 4th ward to be with the family. They are really cute kids and we are having a great time. Spoke to all the 70's in the East Billings Stake to stimulate missionary work.
Mar. 14, 1983
We drove out to the Indian reservation and spent the day. We went to Ashland and then to Lame Deer. I stopped at Bushy and interviewed Bro. Marshall to be Br. Pres. at Lame Deer when the Christensens leave. We went through the Custer Battlefield on the way back and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
Mar. 15, 1983
I interviewed Jerry Burns to be District Pres. of the Custer District. I did this on the 10th today I interviewed Tom Curtis of Hardin to be his 1st counselor. They will be great leaders.
Mar. 16, 1983
We drove to Cody and took everyone through the Buffalo Bill museum. They really enjoyed it. Barbara and I took Michael and Russell and went through Glen Hopkinsons Art Studio. He is a member of the church and a great artist. We purchased a print of Joseph Smith looking back over Nauvoo on a white horse. We have wanted this for a long time. We already have one of the first crossing of the Pioneers at the Platte river in Casper.
Mar. 17, 1983
Bob and Michael went home. Bob really didn't want to go. He had such a good time. He is a real great son, father and husband. I don't think that Claire knows how lucky she is.
I interviewed Bro. Billings and his wife today. He is going to be a district councilman for the Custer District.
Barbara and I picked up Elder Bundy at 11:45 pm. He is being transferred here from England. He is a great elder and should do a good job. I am going to put him and Pottberg out at Lame Deer to live in the trailer that the Christensens have lived in and work in this area. They should get along OK. Bundy is bigger and stronger than Pottberg.
Mar. 18, 1983
Elder Bundy weighs 200 lbs. is 6'1'' high and built like a superman - but he is a chicken and not an eagle. We will try to keep him but he wants to go home and says that he doesn't have a testimony and wishes that he had never come out.
Mar. 19, 1983
Drove to Lovell to attend their stake conference. We attended a dinner at 5 p.m. which was very good and then attended the missionary meeting at 7 pm. It was a good meeting. Elder Tyler Woolley the Reg. Rep. was in charge. He is so jealous of his position and time. He wants to talk all the time and give others 1 or 2 min. to bear testimony. Barbara and I talked for about 2 min each and he spoke for over and hour - spent about half of the time repeating everyone else. He is a nice guy but very much overly impressed with Elder Tyler A Woolley.
Mar. 20, 1983
This was conference - meetings started at 8 o'clock with a correlation meeting on missionary work - then the conference , then a meeting for investigators then a meeting to talk about other meetings. After this we drove to Billings and brought Elder Woolley with us to get him to the Airport. The Lovell stake is doing great they hope to double baptisms over last year.
Mar. 21, 1983
I set Todd Kassner of Glendive apart as a full time missionary to serve in the California Arcadia mission. His parents are non members but he should do a great job. I took Johns car into the shop to be repaired. He had had an accident that cost over $900. I think he now knows the importance of safe driving. We spent most of the day shopping and I went to H & R Block to get my income tax form filled out. For dinner we cooked steaks and Johnny dearly loved them. He is trying to lose weight and is now down to 165 lbs.
Mar. 22, 1983
I interviewed the Hunters from Circle for a temple recommend. He was excommunicated the rebaptized about a year ago. They are a real nice couple. I sent Elder Pottberg and Bundy to Lame Deer again to get acquainted. I'm still not sure if Bundy will stay. He is very quiet and says nothing - He is looking for an excuse to go home.
Bro. Miers came today and inspected the home. He says that it's in pretty good shape for being 20 years old. It still has lots of things to be done to bring it up to standards.
Mar. 23, 1983
We got the new missionaries from the MTC today. Elders Caloway, Jensen, Rooney and Prater. They will be good missionaries. Rooney will be a good leader and the others will be good missionaries. The orientation went well and all of them are thrilled with their new assignments. Bundy is not with it. He is a 200 lbs. 6'1'' quarterback with no guts to be a missionary. He is going to Lame Deer on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation to be with Pottberg.
Mar. 24, 1983
This is transfer day and the day the old elders go home. Those leaving are Elders Driver, Flynn, Hess, Parker and Jorgensen. Driver and Flynn have made great accomplishments by just completing their mission. Flynn was involved in the underground newspaper and so was Hess. This is the last of the 11 elders involved. Parker was an Assistant and one of the finest elders I have ever met. He will be a great loss to the mission. Jorgensen was also a great leader and a good missionary. Elder Hess is a nice guy but not a good missionary and kind of an instigator. He was in the mission home as Historian when he was involved in the underground paper. He has been on probation as were all of the others. I have threatened to send Driver home several times - but he finally made it through. I did send him home a month early so he would be sure and make it.
Friday Mar. 5, 1983
I received a call today from Pottberg saying that Bundy had refused to send his guitar home and wouldn't work or get out of bed. I finally got him on the phone and gave him an ultimatum. Either send his guitar home or take it home. I told him to get on his knees and then call me by 2 pm. When he called he was still belligerent and uncommitted so I told him to get on the bus and come to Billings. After visiting with him I decided that he didn't have a testimony, wouldn't work, wouldn't obey the rules, and didn't want to be a missionary.
Mar. 26, 1983
I sent Bundy home - He was dressed in old jeans, a blue sweater and sneakers. I feel sorry for him and his lack of commitment. Today was the Billings East stake conference. We attended but didn't speak. Elder Woolley the Reg. Rep. is so afraid that he won't be able to speak for at least an hour. I can see a great jealousy between the mission pres. and the Reg. Rep. They are so afraid someone is going to take some of their glory. Elder Lofgren is really a nice guy and we like him and his wife. He is well organized and really does well as a Reg. Rep. - quite unlike Elder Woolley.
Mar. 27, 1983
This was Billings East conference and both Barbara and I spoke - she for 2 min and me about 5 with Elder Woolley sitting on the edge of his seat. After conference I gave Elder Pottberg a blessing. He is really a sweet Elder and has come a long way. I really hope he makes it. In the evening we went to the presentation of the Messiah at the Stake Center. It was good but to me sounded like every one started together and ended together but each sang a different song during the middle. Our March for victory is going OK. We have 86 white slips to date with another week to go. We want 115 but I will settle for 100 in mar. and 100 in April.
Mar. 28, 1983
This was P day. We work all day so we can leave on Tuesday. We did all of the grocery shopping and Barbara cleaned the apartment and did all of the laundry. She does all of the sheets and towels every week. It is really a lot of work for her and she never complains. Bob called and Michael has the chicken pox. They also have made an offer on a house in Memphis. I had H&R Block do my income tax then we went to Merrill Lynch and signed up for $40,000 of IRA
Mar. 29, 1983
We went to Institute class then came home and got ready to leave for northern Montana. We went to Zortman and visited with several people - primarily Bro. Clarence Tenney. He is on the Glasgow District Council and has been promoting an independent ward at Zortman. I think this would be great. I interviewed Patrick Doherty, Garth Tenney, Leonard Seaford and Leslie Rogers for possible Branch President. Then we went on a tour of the gold mine properties. This is really quite a sight. They mine about 350 ounces a day from ore that has only 3/4 part per million gold. This means lots of ore moving. Bro. Tenney owns the drills that do the drilling. I think Bro. Garth Tenney should be Br. Pres. He is only 26 years old but is a returned missionary and a real fire ball. We went then to Malta where I interviewed Bro. and Sr. Rogers for temple recommends. Br. Pres. Humbolt was real cool. I guess he doesn't want Zurtman split off from his branch. Everyone in the Glasgow district seems real cool. The spirit is not very good in the whole area. I'm sure some changes need to be made. At conference time in June I think I will change the district pres. He is very sickly and has real health problems, but is a real fine man. The big problem is no other leadership and very poor correlation.
Mar. 30, 1983
We went to Frazer and visited with Elder and Sr. Davis. We visited 3 Lamanite homes. The "Runs Through" home have 2 missionaries in the field. You have never seen such filth and unwholesome atmosphere. Dogs, cats, cans, dirt and every other thing in the homes. I'm not surprised the Lord's spirit can't abide there. I blessed the homes and prayed for the spirit but I didn't have the proper faith. Elder and Sr. Davies are doing a good job. We then went to Wolf Point and visited the Moon's. They are doing good but are not as dedicated as they might be. They never get out until afternoon. We also went to Poplar and visited the Turners. They are doing good but are getting trunky and want to go home. We then drove to Sidney, Glendive and back to Billings arriving about 8:30 pm.
Mar. 31, 1983
Today we found out that we will be getting 8 missionaries in who are waiting for Visa's to go into Mexico. They all look like great missionaries and should be a great help to us.
April 1, 1983
Spent the day planning a mid month transfer for the new elders. I hope they stay for several months now that we have made all the changes. In the evening we attended a special dinner of the 4th ward seventies. They are really gung-ho and doing a great job. It was nice.
April 2, 1983
Today was conference.
Elder Tisdel the Historian Recorder broke out with measles today. He got them from Ann's Russell when they were here 2 weeks ago. He is really a great Elder. We have isolated him in one of the bedrooms away from the other elders. We all watched conference in our apartment. It was really good and we got to watch both sessions. At night John and I went to the stake center to watch the Priesthood Session. It was very good - John said that he enjoyed it also.
April 4, 1983
P day as usual was a work day. I helped Barbara do the shopping. That is really a big job. The elders cleaned the house in preparation for the new elders coming in tomorrow.
April 5, 1983
We met 8 new elders coming into the mission. They were scheduled to go to Mexico but are waiting for Visa's. I hope they stay here for their whole mission. Their names are Carter, Jones, Fish, Scheteselaar, Anderson, Watts, Noble and Stein. They all look like great elders. We had dinner then went through the orientation. They all bore great testimonies and appear ready to go to work.
April 6, 1983
I transferred all of them out to the field. Some of their trainers are elders who have been out only 2 months. At the end of the month we will get 21 new missionaries. We will then have to use every possible elder for training but I know the Lord will make them equal to the task.
April 7, 1983
The new missionaries look real good. I hope they decide to work rather than just wait to go to Mexico. We are working for another 100 baptisms this month and need all the help we can get.
April 9, 1983
We drove to Missoula to attend stake conference. Elder Lofgren the Reg. Rep. was in charge. We attended a meeting at 4 o'clock for missionaries then just loafed for a while. We attended another meeting for missionaries at 8 am. Lofgren didn't let me even bear my testimony in either meeting. He was totally unprepared for either meeting and read stories and played an old tape by Elder LeGrande Richards. We were quite disgusted with him. We have the feeling that he feels threatened in his position of control. Sunday I spoke for about 10 min. at the conference and Barbara bore her testimony at the eight o'clock meeting. We have definitely felt a jealousy between the Reg. Reps. and the Mission Pres. - I think it must be church wide because we feel it with Woolley also. We have a feeling that they almost wish we would stay home. We don't really get bothered as long as the job gets done.
April 10, 1983
This was a good conference. They are really fired up on missionary work and should do a great job this year. Pres. Hill has really caught the vision and is inspiring everyone else. We drove home in the afternoon in beautiful weather. Spring is really beautiful but I guess we will get some more winter.
April 11-15, 1983
Spent all week working on budgets and information for Salt Lake City.
April 16, 1983
Drove to Great Falls to be at a meeting by 2:30 pm. It was a missionary meeting - again. Lofgren didn't even let me bear my testimony - Barbara never did get called on. After this meeting we went to dinner then just bummed. We read books New Testament until 10:30 pm.
April 17, 1983
We had a meeting with all of the Judith Basin missionaries at 8 am. They are doing pretty well but are not fired up like they should be. Sr. Harmon and Rhees even missed the meeting. The regular Sat. night meeting was held from 9:00 to 10:30 on missionary work. Again, I didn't get to speak. I spoke at the conference and Barbara gave the prayer - Lofgren is a nice guy - we've just decided that he doesn't know any better.
Pres. Peterson of Great Falls East stake is doing real well. He is fired up and the whole stake should really improve. The other Great Falls Stake is doing very poor - The stake pres. is not with the program at all - and most of the Bishops aren't either. I need to do some work here. After the conference we went to see Elders Turley and Hansen’s Apt. It was very nice and clean. We then spent a couple of hours going through the Charles Russell Art Museum. It was really great. We bought a book of all his paintings and his history. We already have a number of his prints. We then drove home through all the beautiful wheat country. It is all just coming up and is really pretty.
April 18, 1983
This is P day for all of the elders. They do all kinds of activities after they get their house work done. It is so nice and warm it would be fun to go fishing - John wants to go but we will be traveling every weekend for a long time. He is surely doing a good job. We worry about him when we are gone every Saturday and Sunday. He works at a shop owned by Pres. Griffin where he washes and waxes cars. He works 3 nights a week and most Saturdays. He gets $4 per hour and is so proud to be earning his own money. His only problem is that he has not yet learned how to save any. He spends it as fast as he makes it mainly on food. We have talked him in to taking his lunch so he can save that much. He is really getting bit - weighs about 170 lbs. and is at least 6 ft tall. He is now into weight lifting so he is really getting muscular. He works out with the elders every once in a while.
April 19, 1983
I spent most of the day planning transfers. We are getting 21 new missionaries next week. After the 8 new ones about a week ago we are using all of the available trainers - in fact we are going to use trainers who have only been in the mission field about two months. We are really glad to get them. This will make 127 missionaries now.
April 21 & 21, 1983
Today is secretaries day - Barbara fixed a big up a big fruit and candy dish for Elder Madsen and the others in the office. They are doing a great job and are really good elders. I have told both Elders Madsen and Ollerton that I am bringing in their replacements this month. I can't tell how they feel. Ollerton has been in here for over a year and Madsen for 5 months. I really hate to change Ollerton's job so. Tisdel does the financial work - he now only has the cars. He really is a great help outside. He runs all of the yard work and works constantly. He does need to get more missionary experience.
April 22, 1983
Drove to Casper today to attend the stake conference in Casper. This is about 6 hours but not really a bad drive - we listen to tapes all the way. We have gone through the Book of Mormon about 4 times now. It gets more familiar each time and also more interesting. Barbara is also taking a Book of Mormon class and we review her study program.
April 23, 1983
We held the Wyoming Zone conference today beginning with interviews at 8 am. The formal part of the conference started at 12 and ended at 3:30. The seventies in this area always have a great dinner for the group - they are really great. Bro. and Sr. Tomlinson and Comin usually take the lead and will only take $1 per person. The conference meetings started at 7 am. Elder Richard J. Clark was the visiting authority. I spoke in the place of Pres. Steed who is recovering from a heart attack. Clark was great and did a good job in promoting missionary work.
April 24, 1983
The conference was in two sessions 9:00 and 1:00. Barbara bore her testimony but I didn't get to speak in either session. We went to lunch at Pres. Halls home and I went to breakfast with he and Pres. Wheeler.
The Wyoming zone is really doing well. Elders Wygant and Cook are really good zone leaders. The new elders are doing well but most of them are still just in a holding pattern waiting to be sent to Mexico. I called the Missionary department and was told that it may be at least 5 months before their Visas were ready. I wish they could stay here.
Elder Pottberg called again and is really having a bad time in Lame Deer. He has gone through 6 companions in 6 months. He is on probation now and I am about at the end of my string to keep him. He has a sweet spirit but a real problem.
April 25, 1983
P day we spent mainly on the yard. I had all of the house elders out digging dandelions out of the lawn. They were glad to do it. After this Elder Ollerton and I leveled up the garden so I could plant. After this Barbara and I bought all of the seeds to plant. We will have a big garden and the 4th and 5th wards plant 4 acres of corn in our back yard so we will have plenty of garden produce.
April 26, 1983
Two couples came into the mission home for orientation. They were the Behlings and the Knights. They will be assigned to the Cody visitors center. Behling is to be the director. The knights are really nice people - recent converts of 3 years. Behlings are nice too but not as dynamic. We spent all morning with them and then gave them lunch before they left. We then had to prepare for the new elders coming in tomorrow.
April 27, 1983
The Kemper insurance man came in early and stayed until noon - He was really a dud. I turned him over to Elder Ollerton who did a great job with him. At 3 p.m. we met the 21 new missionaries. They really look great. One sister (Hawks) came also. She is a Crow Indian from South Dakota. I'm afraid she may be a real problem. She doesn't seem to really know what she is here for. The elders names were Beulna, Fulmer Gleave, Foster, Stein, Osporne, Dayton, Ewing, Greer, Measles, Peterson, Mazingo, Glasgow, Thomspon, Torgerson, Kirchgester, Ward, Webb, Beese and Ralston. I decided to keep Glasgow in the Home and let him train to replace Madsen as Sec. to the Pres. We had a great dinner then an orientation until about 9:30. I think there are some real leaders in this group.
April 28, 1983
This was transfer day - it was a big transfer in order to all the new missionaries with someone to train them. Some of them are being trained by elders who have only been in the field 2 months. I don't know how this is going to work. Five missionaries were sent home after completing their mission. This is the last of the elders involved in the famous underground paper. Early in the afternoon I took 6 of the house elders and drove to Bozeman where Elder Loren and Dunn spoke at a stake fireside. It was good but we didn't get home until midnight. I spoke for about 10 min.
April 29, 1983
This was a rest day. Barbara and I shopped for the food. This is a big job. I planted 6 rows of potatoes and Elder Ollerton and I fixed the sprinkler system. Every year there is a lot of damage to the system and it has to be repaired.
April 30, 1983
I was supposed to go to Bozeman to a Bi-Regional conference but I didn't go. I had lots more important things to do. April wasn't a good baptism month. We had 62 but 9 of them were left over from last month. We had planned for 75. It seemed that everything went wrong in every area - everything that could go wrong, did.
May 1, 1983
Barbara and I went to church at the 4th ward with John but left early to go to Dunmore and attend a farewell for the Checketts. They have been here for a year and will leave home on Tuesday. After Testimony meeting the Robins had a Branch dinner for everyone. It was good. They had Buffalo steaks, fry bread, etc. The meat was better than the spare ribs they usually have. The Indians had made them a Crow quilt which was really pretty. Really Sr. Robbins did it. The Indians don't do anything on their own - we're convinced that the promises for the Lamanites don't apply to these people. If they do - they have a long way to go.
May 2, 1983
P day again was a work day preparing for a Zone conference tomorrow.
May 3, 1983
We held the central Zone Conference at the Wicks lane chapel. It was a good conference. Every district had an assignment to discuss a particular problem. They really do a good job. The AP's are not the best - in fact, Elder Jarvis really doesn't know what's going on. I would replace him if he weren't going home this month. He is a good missionary but a poor leader. Elder Cox who is going to replace him is really sharp and should be a big asset. He is an enthusiastic leader. I am also going to replace Ollerton this month. He will be a big loss and has been here over a year.
May 4, 1983
I worked on the budget and problems in the district.
May 5, 1983
We traveled to Miles City to prepare for the Lewis and Clark Zone Conferences.
May 6, 1983
Lewis and Clark Zone Conference was good but not outstanding. The missionaries need to be fired up. The leaders Arnold and Harvey are not doing real well. I will replace Harvey this month. He is trunky and not doing a good job. Kirchgestner is not doing well - he was the only one who wouldn't bear his testimony. This Zone doesn't have great potential but is should do better than it is. After the conference, the Miles City Relief Society fixed a great dinner for us. We then drove to Glendive to attend the district conference.
May 7, 1983
The Montana East District conference started today. I spoke at the Leadership meeting and again at the evening meeting. This district is really the best of the three but is still a long way from being a stake. No one is enthused and everyone is willing to accept mediocrity.
May 8, 1983
The priesthood meeting started at 8:30. Pres. Erekson and Griffin (my counselors) were there. Pres. Erekson spoke in Priesthood meeting and Griffin at the 10 o'clock meeting. Erekson doesn't present a very good image. The minute he sits down he goes to sleep - in any circumstance. Griffin did OK but doesn't teach - he tells stories. I try to teach from the scriptures. After the meeting I interviewed several people then we drove back to Billings.
May 9, 1983
P day - shopping and office work.
Lucy Gone a Crow girl came in for an interview. She wants to go to BYU to school next fall. I got the elders to start teaching her the lessons - she was very interested. We left for Great Falls about 3 p.m. to have the Judith Basin Zone Conf. tomorrow. About 70 miles from Great Falls we ran into a real snow blizzard. The last 40 miles we had to go really slow. By the time we got to Great Falls it was 4 inches deep. Before we left we received a package from Bob. It was a plaque with Bob's and Roy's names as MD thanking us for our help. It was really nice.
May 10, 1983
We waked up and found 9 to 12 inches of snow with drifts up to 5 feet. Power was out and all schools and businesses were closed. All roads into Great Falls were also closed. About 10 o'clock we decided to have the conference without the elders from OutBank or Conrad or Lewistown. It was a good conference with a good spirit. They have some real good elders but they need better leadership. I will change it this month. I will have 2 new assistants Elder Cox a Zone leader in Central Zone and Elder Madsen who is now the secretary.
May 11, 1983
We drove to Butte and met with the Stake presidency in the evening. They seem to be in tune and behind the missionary program.
May 12, 1983
The Zone Conference started at 8 am. I went to the stake center and found that they had rescheduled it for another building. About 8:20 the assistants showed up. They are good missionaries but poor leaders. The conference was real good. The zone leaders Hathaway and Hickey are really good - everyone is inspired and on the ball. The district presentations were well planned and presented. We were proud of everyone.
May 13, 1983
We traveled to Missoula.
May 14, 1983
The Flathead Zone Conference was also very good. Rix and McCaffery are doing a superb job. I will move Elder Elder from Sr. to Jr. - He is not performing well. Elder Caloway is a real problem. I doubt that he will make it. The sisters (wives of the seventies) fixed us a real good dinner after the conference. It was really great. Some Korean dish like chimichangas. After the dinner we drove 50 miles to attend the Sat. night session at Stevenvilles conference. Elder Franklin D. Richards was the visitor. He set Barbara apart for her mission and helped Elder Packer set me apart.
Both of us spoke - then we went to see the sisters apartment (Trew and Evans) they are good missionaries.
May 15, 1983
We went to conference in the morning where we both spoke then drove back to Billings 375 miles - We don't mind driving cause it gives us a chance to listen to the scriptures. We have gone through the Book of Mormon 4 times now - sometimes it's hard to stay awake but the trip and the weather were beautiful. This is the prettiest part of Montana. We got home at 8 pm.
May 16, 1983
This was P day which was spent shopping and cleaning.
May 17, 1983
We prepared for the Custer Zone Conference. They are all couples mainly from the reservation. We had a special dinner for them. 9 couples, the Knights couldn't come because he hurt his back. Barbara served a delicious dinner then the missionaries in this area put on a musical program. Sr. Harrison and Elder Ollerton sang solos and then all of the missionaries sang several songs. it was real good. Following this we had a short testimony about the blessings of missionary work. They all have been really sickly most of the time. They will really be glad to get home.
May 18, 1983
I told the couples I didn't have their replacements yet. This morning the Burnsides and Davis' came up and said they would be glad to stay and change all their plans if we wanted them to. I said no they should go home as scheduled.
The conference was good - we spent a lot of the time talking about their problems. I tried to emphasize that opposition was part of the overall plan of life. How they met it was the main concern. Barbara did a good job and so did the assistants.
May 19, 1983
I interviewed a young man Kyle R. Thilmony from Glendive for a mission. He will do a good job. Barbara and I put on our old clothes and planted the garden - it was fun but a whole lot of work. We have a big garden plot and we planted most everything.
May 20, 1983
I spent most of the day doing transfers and working in the yard. The sprinkler system is all fixed and the lawns are in good shape - I don't know what we will do when Elder Ollerton leaves. He has been a great one to take over. We spent a lot of time cleaning up elder Pottberg’s mess. He was supposed to stain some 2x4's in the cement and he got it all over everything. We got it off with toilet bowl cleaner.
Pottberg is still a major problem. I am next going to move him to Billings to be in a walking area so this way it will cost him $50 per month less and we can pay off his phone bill with this.
May 21, 1983
We drove to Worland to attend their stake conference. Elder Carlos Assay was the visiting authority. Barbara and I spoke shortly (10 min) on the missionary program. Then went to dinner. It was a good meeting and Elder Assay did a great job. He said if we want to claim the blessings, we must do missionary work.
May 22, 1983
At nine o'clock we met with our missionaries. Elders Chang, Beese, Borlocker and Webb. They are doing a wonderful job. The conference started at 10 o'clock. Both Barbara and I spoke - she did great. Elder Assay did a great job then dedicated the new stake center. He said that in order to gain the blessings of missionary work according to Pres. Kimball we must do the following:
-Live the gospel of Jesus Christ and model it perfectly
-Pray daily and consistently for the doors of nations and hearts will be opened to the gospel
-Prepare for the day when you and your spouse can go on a
mission - also prepare your sons and daughters
-Send contributions to the general missionary fund - also send Books of Mormons to new members
-Serve now as a member missionary - fellowship a nonmember
friend.
We held a missionary fireside at the mission home after we drove back. It was for the youth of the 4th ward. Bishop Anderson is the sponsor and doing a great job - He is also our Home Teacher.
On May 15 I sent my two counselors to the Malta Branch where they organized the Zortman branch from part of the Malta branch. Garth Tenney was set apart by Pres. Thueson District Pres. of the Glasgow district to be the new Branch Pres. I had previously interviewed him and others for this calling.
May 23 & 24, 1983
We prepared for the new missionaries coming from the MTC.
May 25, 1983
Twelve new missionaries come in from the MTC. WE met them at the airport at 3:30 and brought them back to the mission home. They look like a real good group with possibly two exceptions. Elder Calaway and Thompson could be real problems and Elder Coffman is already so homesick I'm not sure that he will make it. We had a good orientation and got them all scheduled to proper the proper direction. Due to the "Mexican Elders" - this creates a real problem getting housing, bedding, utensils, and all the things required for an apartment.
May 26, 1983
This was transfer day. It was a big transfer since we had to move so many new elders. The elders going home are Jarvis, Kossmann and Hall. Kossmann and Hall are going home a month early. They are both so trunky that they are not effective as missionaries. In fact neither has been very good. Hall wanted to go home months ago.
Elders Pickering, Packer, Seamons, Ruesch, Pollock, Workman, Westley, Dehlin, Calvin, Cox, Hawkes and Ankeman were the other elders. Seamons will be a real leader also Calvin and Cox look good.
I was glad to see Elder Jarvis go home. He was an assistant and was really a dud. He was a good missionary but a terrible assistant. He was trunked out and didn’t really know what was going on. Elder Cox and Madsen the new assistants should really do a great job.
May 27, 1983
Barbara and I left early afternoon to go to a conference in Kallispell. We first drove to Lewistown and interviewed Elders Bates and Greer. They are doing a great job. We then drove to Conrad and interviewed Elders Peterson and Shearer. They are just getting started but should do OK. Conrad is only a small town but they have two other towns. We stayed at a motel in Conrad and it was the pits.
May 28, 1983
We drove to Shelby and interviewed Elders Dye and Keele. They are absolutely doing nothing. Dye never has done anything and Keele has a personal problem that we are trying to get straightened out. I hope they make it. We then drove to Kallispell through the south end of Glacier park. The regular park isn't open yet because of the snow. Kallispell is a beautiful area. We attended a leadership meeting at 4 p.m. with Bishop Worthlin the G.A. I spoke for 15 min.
May 29, 1983
The conference fireside started at 8 am. I spoke again for about 15 min. The 10 o'clock session went over time and Barbara spoke 2 min and me 3 min. The stake pres. spoke 20 min and didn't say a thing. Bp Worthlin did a good job.
We met with all of the missionaries in the area. They are doing an excellent job. Calloway is the only problem.
We drove home 350 miles and got here about 10:30 pm.
May 30, 1983
Memorial day was P day. I spent the day doing the garden. It really looks good. We also planted and weeded flower gardens. Its a big job.
May 31, 1983
Worked on the 1984 budget. This is a big job.
June 1, 1983
Held a zone leader, district leader conference for Central and Lewis and Clark Zones. I'm trying to strengthen the leaders. We had 40 new missionaries within 4 weeks and it was necessary to promote leaders who were not ready. It was a good conference. Cox and Madsen did a good job and so did all the others with assignments - we're working for 100 baptisms in June.
June 2, 1983
Worked on budget.
June 3, 1983
Drove to Worland Wyo. to hold the DL, ZL conference. It was really great. This is by far the best zone in the mission. Elders Wygant and Cook are doing a fantastic job.
We finished the conference about 2 p.m. and then decided to drive to Casper to see Sr. Terry. She fell and broke her hip and shoulder last week and is in the hospital. We took her a flower and visited until about 6 p.m. then drove home 300 miles - a big day.
June 4, 1983
We attended an open house at the 7th ward in Billings to dedicate their new stake park. It is a real nice place - wonderful for picnics and outdoor parties. All of our missionaries were there but no investigators. This area is very poor for missionary work.
June 5, 1983
Sunday - we traveled to Lame Deer to hold the first session of Custer District Conference. About 30 people were their. We took Erekson and Griffin with us. After the conference they served dinner. Indian fry bread, beans, chips, pie, etc. It was pretty good but we were surely glad that we had taken our gamma shots. The Lamanites are sweet but not overly clean.
We drove then to Dunmore and had the second session of conference. About 50 people were there. It was also good. Pres. Burns and his staff are doing a great job. They also served dinner but we had to leave. I interviewed Sr. Marie Pretty Paint Wallace for a temple recommend. She is an 80 year old doll. She was Crow Pow Pow queen about 50 years ago and is still pretty.
After this we drove home and had dinner for Elder Woolley our Reg. Rep. and his wife and then had an open house for the Stake Presidencies in the area to meet Sr. Woolley. It was nice (about 20 people) and Barbara served punch fruit and cookies. Big day for all.
June 6, 1983
Johns seventeenth birthday. He stayed home from work and we played all day. We went shopping and bought him some clothes. He ate a Greek sandwich then we shopped some more and finally went to Wong Village for a Chinese dinner. It was terrible but he loved it - it made me sick. John is really a great guy. He is so sensitive and considerate. He is building up his body and works hard and does a lot of weight lifting. He wants to play football in the fall and quit his job. We are all for that.
June 7, 1983
We drove to Helena to attend a ZL, DL conference for the Butte and Judith Basin Zones. It was OK but not near as good as Wyoming. These two zones are having a tough time. Butte, Bozeman and Great Falls are all poor missionary areas. The leaders and the members are just not as enthused. After the conference we drove to Missoula and spent the night. The drive from Helena to Missoula is really beautiful. Everything is so green and the mountains are really pretty.
June 8, 1983
We drove to Polson to have the final DL, ZL conference with the Flathead zone. I was a good meeting and everyone seems ready to go. I got a call saying the 8 Mexican Elders were to leave for Chili on Monday 13th. This really creates problems. We just got them all settled in new areas and now have to move them. We drove home to Billings after this conference 350 miles - Big day. When I got home at 10:30 I had a call from Stake Pres. Ferrell saying some of our missionaries were caught windows peeking. It was Elders East and Pottberg.
June 9, 1983
I called Elders East and Pottberg in for questioning. Elder East admitted being out after 10:30 p.m. but just for air. I called his landlord and went to visit him. He said East had been out several nights and had taken his field glasses. In fact he locked East out one night. I then went to the neighbor who had complained and found out that they had watched him 3 nights peeking in windows with the field glasses. They had called the sheriff and set a trap for him but the ZL's came over and moved them out that day. Elder East finally admitted all this and said that he had climbed back in through the windows when the door was locked. I will send him home a month early and move Pottberg to Wyoming. Pottberg is still having problems. He was approached by a Lamanite girl in Lame Deer for going to bed with her. She then took off her blouse and he said that he grabbed her breasts just to keep her away. All this happened while his companion was in the other room teaching a man. I'm almost at the end of the line with Pottberg. Seven areas and seven companions and he had been a real problem in every one. He also owes the mission over $600 for past phone bills and bad checks.
June 10, 1983
Johnny left for a temple trip to Idaho Falls. He was real excited - he left at 3:30 am. We spent the day getting him ready to go to Little Rock Sunday am when he gets home. He and Jason McDonald are driving back and staying with Bob for about a week. They will have a ball.
June 11, 1983
Barbara and I drove to Glasgow about 300 miles to attend the Glasgow district conference. There was a youth fireside at 6 pm. Pres. Griffin was supposed to be the speaker and the last minute he called and said that he couldn't go. Barbara and I spoke to about 30 youth. Elders Rix and Westley had arranged the whole thing and it was really great. It was the best group they had ever had together.
June 12, 1983
The first conference meeting started at 8:30 am. It was on missionary work and was a pretty good meeting. The next meeting started at 10:00 - Pres. Thueson was to turn the meeting over to me at 11:15 but he had so many speakers that all took so much time that he turned the meeting over at 11:50. In 10 min. Barbara, Sr. Erekson, Pres. Erekson and I spoke. They are very poorly organized and the District presidency is very week. In fact the whole district is week - people are not really committed and don't have much leadership ability. After the meeting we had the sandwiches and then a meeting with the priesthood leadership. Most of them slept so it wasn't very effective. After this we went to see the Elders apartment and drove home. The Mexican elders were all here and we fed them dinner and went to bed at 11:00 p.m. - It was lonely without John. He left this morning for Arkansas.
June 13, 1983
P day again - Barbara and I worked in the garden and the yard. We planted more flowers and got everything looking pretty good. Also we brought 4 rows of corn from the 4th ward ($100). We take care of it and harvest the corn. It is really good and usually we have had all we want to eat. This year they sold the rows so the people would take care of them better. With this and our garden we will be well taken care of.
I received a call from Pres. Wendt of the Kallispell stake saying some elders were having late night parties with a young divorcee. He was quite concerned.
June 14, 1983
Barbara and I left for Kallispell about 8:30 am. Its about 450 miles. We got their at 5 p.m. just in time for me to start interviews with Elder Calaway, Clifford and Armstrong. They along with one of the elders I had just shipped to Chili had been going over to a 24 yr. old girls apartment quite regularly and staying sometimes until 4 am. The would watch t.v., listen to music and lay with her on her water bed. Sometimes she even had on a nightgown. I put all of the Elders on probation and made arrangements to move them out and be demoted to Jr. companions. Elder Calaway was the one who finally told all. He is a weird young man - always wanting to create an alarming situation for his own attention. He is quite large and very effeminate. This girl had bleached all of their hair so they looked strange anyway.
I met with Pres. Wendt and Bp. Redding. They are going to hold a court on the girl.
June 15, 1983
We left Kallispell about 8:30 am and drove up through Glacier National Park. This along with Kallispell is the most beautiful place in all the world. It is beautiful green with lots of clear lakes and streams. The park is fabulous. It has only been open about a week due to the snow. In fact the road was cut through snow banks that were high on both sides. We just took our time and stopped in all of the museums along the way. We then drove over to Havre to try to find Elders Hill and Measels. They were out teaching but we stopped in to see the ward mission leader. (Bro. Hinkley) and his wife who were really nice. We then drove over through Chinook where Dee Forrest used to work and then drove down to Billings through Roundup. We went through several severe rain storms - one with hail. The country is real pretty and green. The green is mostly wheat about 8 inches high. It looks like enough to feed the world.
June 16, 1983
I got 4 calls from Elder Clifford in Kallispell. He had lost his suit bag and went over to Elder Calaways and Jensens to get it. Elder Calaway wouldn't answer the door and called the police. This is the kind of problem he is. He thinks that they are going to beat him up for squealing on them. The girl also called him up and threatened him.
The Bishop also called and said that she had called several people including the R.S. pres. He thinks that she is mentally unbalanced.
June 17, 1983
I spent Friday reworking the transfer schedule for the missionaries. Elder Ollerton the ZL for Judith Basin said that Elder Dye, Keek, Brown and had been staying out until 12:30 or 1 am. I am fed up completely with Elder Dye so I called him up and told him to come down this transfer that I was sending him home 2 months early. He has been a problem for his whole mission. I have stopped him from going home twice and one period he wouldn't even get out of bed. He has done well to stay this long. I am also going to send Elder Shearer home early. He has a real personality problem plus he has burn scars over all of his face and the summer heat really causes him problems. He has been a good elder but a poor companion.
June 18, 1983
Worked in the garden some - We staked up the beans, peas and tomatoes. The elders did the yard work except the flower beds - Barbara and I do this. John is still gone and it's pretty lonely without him.
June 19, 1983
This was Father's Day. Bob and John sent a cute card - Ann sent a card, Jean sent a book and Barbara gave me a new mug (postum) a short sleeve white shirt, a Charles Russell artist book and a fishing box to fit around my neck. Roy also sent me a cute card.
We went to the Hardin Branch (50 mi.) to church. It was really nice but small. I visited with our Elders in the area Weeks and Coffman. Coffman is so homesick that he cries every time he sees me. He is really trying but is having a hard time. Weeks told me once that I was uninspired and didn’t know what I was doing because I transferred him to the reservation (Lame Deer). Later he came to me with tears in his eyes and said that in the MTC in Provo he had seen a vision of an apartment he would live in and it was the one he is now in. He has really grown and will be a good missionary. We are having a special Fathers Day dinner at 5:30. We have been tasting so it will be welcome. Barbara gave every one a little Fathers Day gift. She always adds just the right spiritual touch. I can get along with the basics but she always adds the little extras that make things extra special. Every one loves her and so do I.
June 20, 1983
Another P day again. We catch up with things from the past week. I weeded and irrigated the garden. It is really doing well. We have lettuce, radishes, onions, broccoli, and this week we'll have zucchini squash. Things really grow here. Elder Hansen and I poured a cement floor in our outside shed. It was really work but will improve things quite a bit.
June 21, 1983
A new couple Bro. and Sr. Sevey came in as missionaries to go to Poplar to replace Elder and Sr. Turner. They will be good missionaries I hope. She is very aggressive. We gave them their orientation last night and today and sent them out about 10:30. The Turners have been ready to go home for weeks.
June 22, 1983
This was the day for the new MTC elders to come in. Eight elders and one sister. Elders Christenesen, Cheever, Bradford, Smith, Klem, Esser, Draper, Warchime, and Sr. Morgan. These are really good elders and some of them will end up as good leaders i.e. Cheever, Klem and Bradford. Sr. Morgan is rather shallow and doesn't have a very good testimony. We had a great orientation. The staff had completely revised the program and it was really great. This staff are really great elders. They do a wonderful job. We would love to keep them the whole time. Bro. and Sr. Strong from the missionary dept. came by to spend the morning. He and Sr. Strong ate lunch with us and really enjoyed their stay. He said that the mission was doing great.
June 23, 1983
This was transfer day - I thought it was going to be a small transfer but it turned out to be real big cause I had to make so many changes. The ones going home were East, Plumb, Grover, Shearer, Sr. Butler, Rix and Dye. Dye and East were sent home a month early. East because of his "peeping Tom" activity and Dye because he was absolutely doing no good for him or the mission. Rix and Grover were real good missionaries. Shearer went home a month early because of his skin problem. He had been severely burned before he came out and the heat really irritated it.
June 24, 1983
Elder Pottberg is having trouble again. I finally had to separate he and Anderson. I put Pottberg with Workman and Anderson in Casper with Calvin. I received a call that Elder Anderson had been really close to a 15 yr. old and may have committed some real transgression. Barbara and I got in the car and had the ZL (Elder Wygant) pick up Anderson and bring him to Sheridan where we met. He had spent the night in bed with the girl while Pottberg, his companion was asleep on the couch downstairs. I had him go back to Lander and said that I would call and tell him what to do. I also put Pottberg on street probation.
June 25/26, 1983
We went to church in the 5th ward. Wayne and Chris Smith came in last night from Alabama and we spent Sunday visiting with them. They brought a gallon of fresh oysters and 2 gal. of gumbo. That was the best treat we have had for a long time. Saturday we took them to Cody and went through the Cody Mural. It was great and they enjoyed it.
June 27, 1983
This was P day and I had promised to take the Elders fishing so we left at 5 am and went to the Big Horn river (Elders Turley, Pace, Hansen, Baker, Wayne and I). We fished by the spillway and caught 6. It was fun. We cooked hot dogs on a grill and made sandwiches. At 5 p.m. Harry Jeffs of the Vehicle Division in Salt Lake City was here. He gave us an A+ rating on our auto program. He said that we need to give up 14 cars to be in line with his general recommendations.
Mason Runs Through a Lamanite missionary from Frazier branch was supposed to come in from his mission at 11:30 p.m. Saturday. He came and went right to Frazier cause his folks picked him up. I sent his papers to Pres. Thueson so he could make the release.
June 28, 1983
A couple in the way to the temple came in for recommends. (Elder and Sr. Aaron)
June 29, 1983
I spent the day on the yard with the Elders. The house and the yard are looking real good for Elder Hartman Rector’s visit on Sat. We have about an acre of grass to mow and trend as well as the garden and the flower beds.
June 30, 1983
Elders Tisdel and Madsen had 3 baptisms - we attended and I spoke. Baptisms for the month don't look and last year we had 83 and I doubt we will get 60 this year. We are down about 25% form last year due to the change in missionary time from 2 years to 18 months. The whole church is down about this amount.
July 1, 1983
We attended a picnic at 5 p.m. where Elder Hartman Rector spoke - it was nice. At 7:30 he spoke at a fireside which was also real good. He is a real good missionary and isn't afraid to tell it like it is.
July 2, 1983
We had a breakfast for Elder Rector at the home where he spoke to all of the missionaries in this area. It was real good for everyone. After the breakfast Barbara, John and I got in the car and decided to ride up and show John North western Montana. We drove to Libby about 450/500 miles and stayed in a motel. It was a beautiful drive and the prettiest country in the world.
July 3, 1983
We went to church in Libby and spoke to our 2 missionaries - The meeting was great. After church we drove up through Glacier National Park. I was kinda cloudy so we couldn't see much right at the top but it was beautiful and John loved it. After we left it snowed 3 1/2 inches in the park. We drove home through Great Falls and got to Billings about 10 pm. It was a real fun and the first little vacation we have taken.
July 4, 1983
This was P day and we spent time looking at a car for John. He wants a sports car so bad. I guess we will let him have one. He is really a great young man. He works everyday - sometimes 12 to 15 hours washing and cleaning cars. He really works hard and they love him. He wants a Toyota Celica or a 280 Z. At night he and the Elders gave us a demonstration on fire works. It was good but I'm not much for this anymore. Most of them are outlawed this year because of the fire danger.
July 5, 1983
We held the Zone Conference for the central zone in Billings. We are trying to stimulate the missionaries - we only had 61 baptisms in June and were planning for about 100. The conference was real good. The Assistants and ZL's are doing a great job Madsen and Cox as AP's and Turley and Pace as ZL's. We plan it so that each missionary has a part on the program - they love it that way.
July 6, 1983
We drove to Hardin to have the Zone Conf. for the Custer Zone. It was pretty good. The two couples (Robins and Terrys) were there. The Terry's were on their way home and had two teenage granddaughters with them. They have really been good missionaries. The ZL's (Sisemore and Weeks) are really weak but they are about the only two that I can put on the reservation and be happy. The Hardin R.S. had made enchiladas for us and they were really good. They are now starting to expand their chapel.
July 7, 1983
We drove to Miles City to have the Lewis and Clark Zone Conference. We have 2 couples here also. (Moons and Seveys) This was a pretty good conference. The R.S. had made dinner for us and it was really good.
Elder Kirchegstner is not doing very well - he is not motivated and really can't talk too well. He is of German decent and is not very appealing. I have him with Elder Ritchie has really improved. He is the one who can put a whole "Big Mac" in his mouth at one time. He is said to have eaten 82 shrimp after he had eaten dinner. The ZL's (Hickey and Griesemer) are doing good.
July 8, 1983
We drove to Casper Wyo. to have a zone conf. On the way down we broke an air conditioning fan belt. We drove without and it really got hot (106 degrees). We got to Casper and found that we didn't have a hotel reservation. We finally got one but it really was not very nice. We ate Mexican food and nearly got sick.
July 9, 1983
The Zone Conference was really good. This is an excellent zone doing a good job. Everyone was up even though "Andersons activities" had had a bad influence. I sent him home last week and put Pottberg on strict probation. The ZL's Wygant and Cook are doing a great job. Wygant is one of the best we have in the mission. We drove home and got here about 10 pm. We stopped on the way and cleaned up the trailer at Lodge Grass. I will put a couple down there at the end of the month - if they come.
July 10, 1983
We attend church in the 4th ward with John. We drove in his car. We bought him a 1983 white Toyota Celica with everything on it. It is really a beauty. We attended stake priesthood meeting in the afternoon. It was great - they called me to speak. The Billing East Stake is doing a great job of missionary work. I wish all stakes had this same kind of leadership. We have been trying to teach a man Larry Larsen from Molt. He wants Barbara and I to do it.
July 11, 1983
Sr. Howarth’s parents from England came by to see us. They stayed all morning, had lunch and left about 2 pm. We could spend full time being hosts to visitors. They are non members and expected the red carpet treatment. In the afternoon we drove to Great Falls for Zone Conference. These come every two months and take about 2 weeks to complete.
July 12, 1983
The Zone conference was really good. Elder Ollerton and Robison, the zone leaders are doing really well. It's really too bad that just about the time they really get good, their 18 months are up. They made a program with a picture of Barbara on it and said "Are you the kind of missionary your mother thinks you are?" I wish they could all say yes. After the conference we drove to Missoula over the mountains. The drive is beautiful - we arrived about 8 pm. and stayed in the Super 8.
July 13, 1983
The Zone conference was good. Elders McCaffery and Brinkman the ZL's are really doing a great job. We have some good missionaries in the zone and some kooks. Some are here for the wrong reasons. Elder Klem will be a good leader - in fact I may bring him into the home this month to replace Tisdel and let him be an AP to replace Cox.
We left about 5 p.m. and drove to Butte. We ate dinner at our favorite Chinese place "Mings.” The food is excellent and we love it.
July 14, 1983
The conference at Butte was good but there are some negative influences. Elder Calaway has a bad spirit - he is a trouble maker and is already giving his companion a bad time. I moved him in from Kallispell because of a problem there. I have arranged for him to see the Social Service Rep, Bro. Ricks, to see if we can help make him successful. This zone is only doing fair. Sr. Howarth and Harmon may as well be home - they have done nothing much for months. Their district leader Elder Clark is completely disgusted with them. Sr. Harmon wanted to go home early and I wouldn't let her. After the meeting we ate again at the Chinese place and then came to Billings. We have driven about 45,000 miles in a year.
July 15, 1983
John said it was 105 degrees in Billings yesterday. 113 degrees in Miles City. Barbara and I worked in the yard and garden. Everything is really pretty. We now have squash, cucumbers, peas, beets, lettuce, carrots, turnips, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, brussells, radishes, and Kalahari. We have never seen things grow so well. It must be the long days - Next year I'm not going to plant so much.
July 16, 1983
Saturday was another day of work - We had a missionary come here from Mississippi after 15 mo. I sent him to Lender to be with Elder Colvin. He hasn't learned his discussions yet but has a real good spirit.
July 17, 1983
We drove to Round Up for the meetings and had a real good time. Both of us spoke in sacrament meeting. This is a sweet little branch about 50 miles north of here. When we came out of church, we had a flat tire. Someone pumped it up for us and we drove to Billings OK.
Today I wrote a letter to our son Roy urging him to put his life in order and get back into the church. He has been completely inactive for at least 8 years.
We had a fireside at our home this evening. It was good but 9 investigators canceled at the last minute.
July 18, 1983
We bought John a new Toyota Celica 5 speed with all of the trimmings. It cost $12,600. We will sell the other one for about $5500 if possible. His car is white with brown interior and it has every conceivable gadget you can get. He loves it and deserves it. He is a real good guy. He works hard and is really sweet - We don't mind spoiling him as long as he is good.
July 19, 1983
Barbara and I worked in the garden and yard. She is doing all the flower beds and they really look great. Our weather has been near 100 degrees for 2 or 3 days now. It cools off at night so we really sleep good. There is always a little breeze so it is very comfortable.
July 20-22, 1983
I worked on transfers. We are going to have 8 new elders and one sister come in next week. Elder Buelna at Laurel was very unhappy. He doesn't have a good spirit and has never been completely converted. He is Spanish and still loves his rosary - in fact he still says some prayers by the beads. He said he hated Montana and all the people. I arranged for him to be transferred to Texas where he could teach the Mexican people. I don't think he'll be happy there either. His non-Mormon girlfriend is giving him a bad time.
July 23, 1983
Elder Wygant needed to go home a few days early so I had him and Elder Ralston drive up today. They had dinner with us. Bro. and Sr. Red Eyes from Ashland were also here. They were recently baptized. They wanted to hitch hike to Bismarck ND and had no money. After dinner I gave them $25 and took them downtown. They are Lamanites and I feel sure that it will go for booze before they leave town.
July 24, 1983
We drove to Red Lodge to attend church. This is a great little branch. They are doing a good job in missionary work and are getting ready to build a new building. If all branches were like this, the missionary work would really go great. The missionaries at Laurel also cover Red Lodge. Elder Mozingo is doing great. His lost two companions were Pottberg and Buelna so he has really been through the refiners fire. I'm giving him a real good companion this time. I have located a double wide trailer in Idaho to be used as a chapel at Zortman. I need now to get it moved and set up.
The mission is still not doing as well as last year. We are about 25% behind. This month looks better but we will really have to work to get to 800 by year end. Our goal was 900.
July 25, 1983
Barbara and I worked in the garden and yard all day. We picked peas, beans, beats, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes. It is all great but lots of work. Barbara is now canning lots of things for winter. Our yard looks great. Barbara is taking good care of the flowers. In the evening we took John out to dinner. He loves that and gets so hungry that he could eat a horse.
July 26, 1983
Prepared for the new missionaries. Barbara bakes lots of cookies and then we close the kitchen. Otherwise we have a steady stream of elders in the kitchen and Sr. Lowe wants to feed them all - She is giving Barbara fits. She is so bull headed you can't believe it. It is just another example of "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" and she is a 66 year old person. Besides that, no kitchen is big enough for 2 cooks.
July 27, 1983
Eight new elders and one new sister came in from MTC. Sr. Nielson is a doll (a large one) others are Sterling, Swander, Schwitters, Muhlestein, Wilcox, Amezcua, Summers and Moon. They were good spirits but not potential leaders. Our orientation was real good. The elders under Madsen's direction have revised it completely and it is much better. Much more spiritual. Elder Cox is not doing real well as an AP. I have decided to replace him next month with Elder Tisdel and bring Elder Klem in to replace Tisdel. Cox just doesn't fit the job very well. He is a good missionary but not leader enough to inspire others.
July 28, 1983
Today was transfer day. We have them down now so they are not such a hassle. It was a big transfer in order to get 9 new trainees. It went real smooth except for one. Elder Pottberg our perennial problem. He didn't follow directions and ended up causing several 6 hour delays. I moved him to Butte. This is his 14th companion and 8th area. We only have 5 more months with him. I have him on written probation for the 3rd time. Elders Wygent, Brown, Shelbourne, Ollerton, and Sr. Harmon went home. We will really miss Wygant, Shelbourne, and Ollerton. Brown and Harmon have been problems. Harmon much more than Brown.
After our de-orientation Elder Aaron returning from Dominican Republic came in and I released him to Sidney Montana.
July 29, 1983
This was kinda resting day after a big week. We worked in the yard and did the shopping. I also made arrangements for a 28'x70' trailer to be moved from Clarsfork Idaho to Zortman Montana. This will be their new meeting house. It should be moved on the 11th or 12th.
July 30, 1983
Today we helped John prepare for a 7 day back packing trip up in the Bear Tooth. He is going with Bill Linfield and they are going to pack in about 9 miles to Golden Lake. We took them up to Bear Tooth Lake and left them about 9 pm. They will stay there tonight and pack in tomorrow. John is going to bring in the "World Record" golden trout. I hope he catches at least one. This is the most beautiful country in the world. It is about 10,000 feet high and real cool. The only draw back is the mosquitoes. They will carry you off. We got home about 11:30 pm. July 31, 1983
We went to church at the student ward. This is the first time we have been there. Elder Aldridge an elder from Arkansas just returned and he was the main speaker. I ended it up for about 10 min.
In the evening we held a farewell fireside for Elder Gulbrea who will leave on a mission for Japan. He will be a good missionary. About 75 people attended.
Aug. 1, 1983
This is a special month for us. We in the mission want to get 100 baptisms. We call it our "Harvagust" month. Elder Madsen has come out with a special program for the month. We have committed to attend all of the district meetings the first two weeks of the month to get everyone started off right. Today we held two district meetings in Billings. They were especially good - Elder Tisdel's program for the mission home district was great. We have promised the 7 best baptizer couples a special banquet on Sept. 5th.
Aug. 2, 1983
We went to Hardin and Lame Deer for their meetings. At Hardin, Sr. Robbins gave us our Gamma Globulin shots. We get these for Hepatitis immunity on the Lamanite reservations. Elder Cox the big macho wanted to be first. He was to get 2 shots but after the first one, he nearly passed out. The rest of us all had two. The people in Hardin are adding on to their building. The Robbin's at Dunmore are really doing great - she has more energy that anyone I have ever seen. Bro. Robbins can't even keep up with her. She wants to baptize the whole Crow Nation before they go home in Sept. Elder Coffman is really having a hard time. He cries all the time because he is so homesick. I hope he lasts 15 more months.
Aug. 3, 1983
Today we drove to Glendive for a meeting then to Wolfpoint for a meeting and then home. This was nearly 700 miles including two district meetings. The Lewis and Clark Zone is not doing very well - we have some non motivated elders here. Two of them - Elders Packer and Kirchgestner are really just baby sitting jobs and real problems at best. The Moon's and Seveys at Wolfpoint had a lunch for us. Elder Cox had an accident and spilled watermelon juice all over his shirt and tie. He gets so hungry that he attacks his food - He has almost an uncontrollable appetite.
Aug. 4, 1983
Today we canned corn, beans, peas and pickles from our garden. It was really a lot of work. Next year we are not going to have this big of a garden. The elders don't appreciate it and it is to much work for us. We have squash and cucumbers running our of our ears - tomatoes are now coming on great also. By night Barbara and I are really bushed. They told us sometimes we would just fall into bed.
Tonight for dinner Barbara gave me a big birthday cake and gave me a plaque with my name on it for my desk and also a jumpsuit which I love. We really miss John and hope that the bears don't get him. They have been a big problem this year and several campers have been injured.
Aug. 5, 1983
Today I am 63 years old. I feel like I have aged 10 years in the last year. If this continues I will be 100 when this mission is over. It is a real big job - much more so than any of my years working for the Olin Corp. 25 years. We are happy to serve but it is a real challenge and a big job.
We drove to Casper in the afternoon for a continuation of our district meetings. This was a great meeting. The Wyoming Zone always does great. After the meetings we drove to Riverton. At the end of the meeting we had a circle kneeling prayer and I was voice. The spirit was very strong and it was a good experience.
Aug. 6, 1983
We had a district meeting at Riverton at 8 am. Then drove to Cody for a meeting at 11:30 then back to Worland for a meeting at 4:30. This was a tough schedule but it was worth it. These are great districts. After the last meeting Barbara and I drove up past Tensleep to Deer Haven. We spoke at a bi-regional young adult conference put on by the Worland stake. They had broiled a whole lamb and part of a beef. Pres. Asay was in charge and it was really great. After the dinner and speech, we drove back to Billings. It was about 1:30 am when we finally got home. It was a long trip but worth it.
Aug. 7, 1983
We went to church in the 4th ward with John. In the evening we had a fireside and I spoke briefly.
Aug. 8, 1983
Barbara and I got up real early and started working in the garden. I had the elders all pick corn and we ended up with nearly a pick up load. We froze about 21 bags plus canned beans and pickles. After all this we drove to Great Falls for another conference. We were bushed.
Aug. 9, 1983
We had a conference at Great Falls then drove to Shelby for another conference then through Glacier Park for a conference at Kallispell. We were 5 min late for our motel so we lost it. After the conference about 8 p.m. we decided to leave for Missoula. We stopped at the Flathead lake shore and had a Mexican dinner. We then drove around the lake and stayed at a small motel which was really cute. We called Billings and found that Claire had a baby girl. They will name her Laura Ann.
Aug. 10, 1983
We drove to Missoula for a conference at 10:30. After this we drove to Helena for a conference. We stayed at Helena.
Aug. 11, 1983
We had a conference at Helena and then went through the Capital building and saw the paintings by Charles Russell. After this we drove to Butte - had a conference and then ate dinner at our favorite restaurant "Mings Chinese.” We then drove to Bozeman and spent the night.
Aug. 12, 1983
We had a conference at Bozeman at 10:30 then started for Billings. We got home about 3 pm. On this trip we traveled nearly 3000 miles and had attended meetings with 26 districts. We did this to promote our "Harvagust 100" month where we want to get 100 baptisms. Madsen and Cox have been traveling with us and they are really tired. It will be worth it if we get the baptisms. All the districts added up their August predictions to 309 Baptisms. We hope for 100.
Aug. 13, 1983
We got up early and started in the garden again. We picked beans, cucumbers, squash, peas, and corn. We bottled 26 quarts of beans and a lot of pickles. We have decided to eat what we can of the garden produce and give away the rest. We don't want to bottle or freeze anymore. Next year we won't have this much garden. Our weather is hot here but nothing like Little Rock. We don't have the humidity. Brenda Lowe our cook has been on vacation for two weeks and the Elders have been cooking for themselves while we have been gone. They have been doing OK.
Aug. 14, 1983
We went to church at the 4th ward with John. He was interviewed and called to be sec. of the priest quorum. He is real proud and will do a great job. He is a great guy and is going to start football practice this week. We hope that he is successful. He needs that activity and success.
We are real concerned about Roy and his activities. I wrote him a real firm fatherly letter about 3 weeks ago and he hasn't answered yet. He deliberately ignored my birthday and told Jean this was "Passive Aggression.” I really hope that doesn't have to be hurt to badly before he gets straightened out.
Aug. 15, 16, 17, 1983
I worked on transfers these days. We have 9 new elders and 3 sisters coming in this next week. I want to get the very best trainers we have in the mission. Two months ago when we had 29 in one month and 12 the next we had to use inexperienced trainers and it really shows now in performance. I have had to put several Sr. comp.'s back to juniors for not living the rules. One district leader was put back to Jr. Comp.
I brought Elders Galaway and Klem into the office. Elder Calaway will be sent out of the mission. He is really unhappy with the mission and all of the people. I have had him in council with the social service rep. at Helena for a month and he agrees that he should have psychiatric help. He can get it at Denver. Elder Klem is a real jewel he will take Elder Tisdel’s place as financial sec. and Tisdel will be an assistant. Cox will be moved to Judith Basin as a zone leader.
Aug. 18, 1983
We worked at the fair booth last night from 5 to 11:30 pm. While there Elder Robinson called and his father had a heart attack. I told him to call but not to go home.
Final arrangements made for transfers and Calaway was sent to Denver.
Aug. 19, 1983
We traveled to Casper to a zone conference.
Aug. 20, 1983
We held the Wyoming Zone conference starting at 8 am and ending at 3 pm. We had intended to start driving to Denver for the Mission Presidents Seminar and stay in Fort Collins then drive to Denver Sunday afternoon. When I talked to Elder Loren C. Dunn he said that we couldn't stay outside of our mission so we stayed in Casper again. The zone conference was really good. Five ward mission leaders attended - they are really doing a good job. Cook and Brown are doing OK. Cook is a real leader and Brown will learn.
Aug. 21, 22, 1983
We got up real early and started to drive to Denver. We went by Laramie, Wyo. and spent some time looking around where we used to live. 2024 East Sheridan. The house really looks small. The red cedar hedge we planted is growing great and also the shrubs along the driveway. The big park by our house has really been improved and is beautiful. The city and college has really grown - we could hardly believe it.
We went on to Fort Collins and spent some time looking over the city - it really has grown also. The old house we lived in on Locust Street is still there and looks just the same. We didn't know where to start looking for our old friends. We drove on to Denver and got to the Hilton Inn about 2 pm. It was a beautiful room. The Rasmussens had a basket of fruit and cheese for us in the room. At 6 p.m. we went to the mission for a special musical program put on by a family from Colorado Springs. It was really good. After this we had a delicious dinner then went back to the hotel. The next morning we went to the Littleton Stake Center for our meeting.
Elder Boyd Packer, Loren Dunn, Rasmussen, Green, Comack, Barker and wives were there. I had to give a talk on "how to develop missionaries.” The whole meeting was very inspiring and well worth the trip. I found out we weren't doing so bad compared to the others. After the meeting we met Elder Tisdel's mother. She is a doll and had a lunch for us since we left to drive back as soon as the meetings were over. We drove to Douglas, Wyo. and spent the night so we wouldn't stay out of the mission.
Aug. 23, 1983
We drove from Douglas to Billings about 350 mi. and got here about 1:30. The Wrights were here when we got here. They are a couple from Brigham City and are going to replace the Robbins at Dunmore. We sent them to Lodge Grass for a month until the Robbins leave. The Booth's also came in while we were gone and went to Wolf Point to replace the Moon's. We will really miss the Robbins when they leave.
Aug. 24, 1983
Twelve new missionaries came in today. Nine elders and three sisters. The sisters Ivey Fraiser and Fulmer were really dolls and will be great missionaries. The elders were about average with one leader (28 year old Phillips). Others were Christiansen, Gomez, Love, Mathews, Henrie, Lytle, Moore and Meldrom.
Aug. 25, 1983
This was transfer day and as usual it was hectic. Ankenman wrecked his car in the move. Another car stopped on the way to Wyoming so it was 2 days before everyone was settled back down. It's a real wonder that they all make it. I'm sure they all have good guardian angels.
Aug. 26, 1983
The ones going home were Sr's Harrison, Howarth, and Hartog. Sr. Harrison has been a great leader and missionary. The other two have been perennial problems. Hartog has had back problems and Howarth cried the first 15 months. Elders Madsen (D), Griesemer, Morris, Ritchie. Griesemer and Morris were excellent elders. Ritchie was noted for being able to put a "Big Mac" whole in his mouth. He looked almost like a toad but had a real sweet spirit.
Aug. 27, 1983
Today we were supposed to go to Cody for a stake conference but we chose to stay and attend a baptism. A few weeks ago I met a young lady in town and got her name and address "Kim Gilmore.” I gave her name to the Elders who taught her but couldn't get a commitment. Barbara and I took her into our apartment last week and talked to her for a long time. We knelt down and prayed with her but she said she couldn't feel the spirit. The next day she called and said that she had cried all day because she knew that it was time and wanted to be baptized. We set it up and baptized her tonight.
Aug. 28, 1983
We drove early to Cody and met with all of our missionaries at 8 am. Following this we attended the conference. Pres. Gagon was released and Pres. Sam Cottrell was sustained. Jay Partridge was put in as counselor. When I was with the Univ. of Wyoming 27 years ago they both worked for me - they are both Bishops and should do well. We drove home after the meeting and brought Elder Franklin D. Richards to the airport. He was the conference visitor. He is real nice and it was a good trip. Sr. Gagon had made us sandwiches.
Aug. 28, 1983
John has been playing football for Senior High. We watched a practice last week and he did real well. He is 6'1" high and 172 lbs. He will be a defensive back starter. This is real great for him and he loves it.
Aug. 29, 1983
P day again. We worked in the garden and made preparations for the week - shopping, etc.
Aug. 30, 1983
Pres. and Sr. Wolf came in for a review of their building. I also met with Pres. Burns regarding the Custer District.
Aug. 31, 1983
Left real early to attend a zone conference at Butte. We were there by 10 am. The zone conference was good. Some of the elders are downers i.e. Pottberg and Orrocks and Jones. The whole zone is not doing very well. The area is real depressed financially due to the closing of the mine. After the conference we ate dinner at "Mings" Chinese restaurant then drove to Missoula.
Sept. 1, 1983
This zone conference was much better than the one at Butte. The missionaries are all up and doing well. The zone leaders Hathaway and Brinkman are doing super. After the conference we drove back to Billings.
Sept. 2, 1983
Met with Bro. Mears, Burns, and Church architect regarding the remodeling of the 4 Lamanite buildings at Dunmore, Lodge Grass, Lame Deer and Poplar. We all agreed on what would be done with $200,000 per building. John went to Casper today to play football. He is doing great and is a defensive back starter for Senior High.
Sept. 3, 1983
We held a baptism tonight. 2 young ladies were baptized Kim Gilmore who I GQ’ed about 3 weeks ago and Jennifer. We didn't go to the Billings Stake H.P. party.
Sept. 4, 1983
Today we started the fire for pit barbecue next week. I watched the fire all day. Barbara and John went to Hardin to get the pig. It ended up being 140 lbs. dressed. John and I took the hot rocks out of the hole and put them inside the pig, we also put in salt, pepper, and 2 cans of pineapple. After this we wrapped it in aluminum foil, then with wet newspaper, then in burlap, then in chicken wire, then in plastic and finally put wires around it for handles. By then it weighed 250 lbs. We finally got it in a station wagon and got it to the pit. We then put a layer of corn stalks over the coals and put the pig on this. Then we put a cover (piece of carpet) over this and covered it with about 8 inches of dirt.
Sept. 5, 1983
Today we prepared for the special banquet. It was for the 7 top baptizing companionships for August. We got 80 baptisms which was 12 more than last year. We also invited "The Robins," the two Billings Stake presidencies and wives and the stake mission presidencies and wives. At 4 p.m. we uncovered the pig and took it out of the pit. It was fabulous - done to perfection. It just fell apart. We also had beans, fruit bowl, salad and all the trimmings. It was a real success. After the dinner we had a testimony meeting until 9:30. Everything turned out great. We gave each missionary a small walnut plaque saying “Harvagust” 100. Top combine Elder -----. They loved it.
Sept. 6, 1983
We held the Central Zone Conference today at the Billings Institute. It was a real good conference. Everyone was well prepared and the talks were well presented. This zone has good missionaries in it but the baptisms are not coming through. A new Elder (Christensen) came in from Haiti and I sent him to Hamilton. I also brought Amezcua in to the office to replace Glasgow. (Amezcua will replace Klem and Klem will replace Glasgow). This will make a good change in the office staff.
Sept. 7, 1983
Today we drove to Hardin to hold the Custer Zone conference. It was a good conference. The new couple "Wrights" were there along with the Robins and Terrys and the elders in the zone. They are really doing a great job. This may be the top zone in September even though it is one of the smallest. Elder Wilcock was real shy when he came out but is now doing great. Elder Prater has really done a superb job with him.
Sept. 8, 1983
I had lunch with the Billings stake presidency and stake mission president. They are trying to get their missionary work going. So far they have done a very poor job. I hope it will pick up now.
Sept. 9, 1983
I met with Kim Gilmore today - she is a new convert who has been involved in working for a real shaky company. I told her to go to the FBI and tell everything she knows. She already has changed jobs. This all came about because of her baptism.
Sept. 10, 1983
We left real early to drive to Glasgow. We started our zone conference at noon. It was really a good conference. The Booths are going to be excellent. The Seveys are going to be real problems. They just don't know what to do and have so little confidence that they are afraid to do anything. The Glasgow Relief Society served us dinner and it was really great. They we're all so gracious - especially Sr. Thueson.
Sept 11, 1983
This was the Glasgow district conference. The first meeting started at 8:30. This was the regular Sat. night meeting. It was a pretty good meeting but poorly attended. The 10 o'clock meeting was better attended but still not good. Barbara, Pres. Erekson and I spoke after the district people. Two Lamanites were assigned. One didn't show and the other was an hour late. We had another meeting after this and then drove home. Got here about 6:30 pm.
Sept. 12-13, 1983
Worked all the time on getting transfers set. Several problem areas have developed.
Sept. 14, 1983
Left real early to drive to Great Falls where we held the Judith Basin Zone Conference. This was really a good one. Cox and Lawrence are doing a superb job. The zone is really starting to move ahead - we were well pleased. The R.S. served dinner after the conference and it was great.
Sept. 15, 1983
We picked up two members of the Primary General in Great Falls. Sr. Dorothy Nielson and Katy Harris. We drove them to Malta where we had lunch and a meeting with the primaries from Zortman, Malta and Glasgow. After this we drove to Wolfpoint and had dinner and another meeting. This dinner was the nicest thing we have been to. Sr. Danie's (A Lamanite) was in charge and she is really a doll. Also Sr. Silk, Bushman and Harris. We had Indian black berry soup to start with, Indian fry bread with raisins, enchiladas, cake, etc. They also made a 2 table display of Indian culture which was really great. It was worth the whole trip.
Sept. 16, 1983
We left early and drove to Glendive for a meeting at 10:30. After the meeting, they furnished lunch at 12:30. It was very nice and well attended. After the lunch we drove to Billings and had dinner at the mission home. After dinner we drove them over to the stake center for the meeting at Billings. They stayed at the mission home after the meeting.
Sept 17, 1983
We got up early in order to drive back to Glendive for the District Conference. Before we left I had to talk to Elders Mozingo and Ralston. They drove with a member to Sheriday, Wyoming - out of the mission. I put them both on probation and demoted Mozingo to a jr. companion. We arrived at Glendive about noon - just in time for the first meeting. We had leadership meetings all afternoon. The missionary meeting was good. I had all of the elders give a demonstration on teaching.
Sept. 18, 1983
The meetings started at 8:30 with priesthood - Then at 10 for the general meeting. Barbara and I both spoke. She also had to speak at the women’s meeting at 8:30. She does a great job and they love her. We left at 1 o'clock after I interviewed Bro. And Sr. Berry. They were divorced and remarried - the claim as a result of interference by the Branch Pres. "Pyfer.” He was released and disfellowshipped. They want to see him excommunicated. I will interview him next week. He was coming down to Glendive today but called and said that he couldn't. Montana East District is doing great. They have some good leaders and could be a stake if they were a little bigger and less scattered out.
We got home in time for dinner.
Sept. 19, 1983
P day again. Barbara and I worked in the garden again. It snowed about 8 inches so we raked off the snow and picked cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes. We're glad this is the end of them. The snow as real heavy and broke down many trees. Elder Hansen really worked cleaning the yard.
Sept. 20, 1983
Last night John, Barbara and I went out to dinner at a Mexican place. Every Monday we have something special for John - either steak or special dinners. Last week we had steak and crab legs. He loves to eat.
Today we prepared for transfers.
Sept. 21, 1983
We had 3 new missionaries came in Sr. Bloom and Elders Phleps and Taylor. They are really choice people and will be good leaders. They all passed their discussions off in about 2 days. The orientation was good. The staff new really does a great job. Elder Glasgow and Baker go out in the field tomorrow. It will be good for them.
Sept. 22, 1983
This was transfer day. I had to move a lot of elders due to various problems - Elder Barlocker, McCaffery and Sizemore and
Sister Roeller went home. They were all good missionaries. Roeller has been trunked out for 3 months. The others have been excellent. Barlocker is a real solid individual. McCaffery wants to stay. I guess he doesn't really have any plans.
Sept. 23, 1983
This was kinds like a relax day although I found out late that I needed to move Elder Greer. He has not been a good leader. He is now a Jr. Comp.
Sept. 24, 1983
I was supposed to meet with the former Br. Pres at Sidney. Pyfer. He was disfellowshipped and recommended to be excommunicated for his involvement with Sr. Berry. He said he was sick and couldn't come. This is the second time he has failed to show up for an interview. Barbara and I left for Riverton, Wyo. for a stake conference. We stopped at Dunmore and had a nice visit with Pres. and Sr. Robins. They are leaving tomorrow. We took them a plaque with their names on and a Montana history book. We also stooped at Lodge Grass to see Elder and Sr. Wright. They are discouraged but strong enough to do okay. We got to Riverton in time to see the Women’s Conf. meeting. Next morning was stake conference. We met from 8-9:30 with our missionaries. They are really discouraged. The members are really not helping. Elder Theodore Burton was the GA. He hardly even mentioned missionary work in his 50 minute talk. I was give 2 min to bear my testimony and Barbara wasn't even asked to speak. That is really discouraging when they need so much help. We drove home and found John doing OK. He has been asked to be on the bistake activity comm. as activity counselor. This is a big honor and he is really thrilled. He was also accepted into Who's Who for America High Schools.
Sept 26, 1983
P day. About all we did was worked and shopped.
Sept. 27, 1983
We started our Institute class again today. I gave Bro. Burns, the teacher, a mission pin as a gift of gratitude for his work.
I went to the dentist and had a couple of fillings replaced. We sold our Toyota for $5200. In 2 years we will have to buy another one unless John comes up to get us.
Sept. 28, 1983
Pottberg and Korchgestner both want to go home. I'm going to sent Pottberg home this month 2 months early. I hope he makes it until Oct. 20. Elder "K" is completely unadjusted. He doesn't like anything about missionary work.
Sept. 29, 1983
Went to Miles City for a district meeting. It was just fair. No one seems to be enthused. We have set up a new "3 month mission" program to try and get the missionaries fired up. Our baptisms are very poor this month - only 30 so far. Elder Dunn called and congratulated us on 80 for July. I told him September would be a disaster.
Sept. 30, 1983
We had a district meeting at Billings including 3 districts. It went ok but still not much "go.” In the afternoon we went to Hardin for the District meetings at Custer. They are more enthused than anyone but Elder and Sr. Wright and Elder and Sr. Booth at Lame Deer are completely lost. I hope they can put it all together before too long.
Jean and Rick came up to see us Friday night so they rode out and attended the meeting. After this we went out to the Custer battleground and saw it all including the museum. They enjoyed it and Rickey took it all in. He loved the guns and bows and arrows. Jeans children are really special. They have darling dispositions and are so sweet to each other. We could take Ricky and raise him real easy. He is a very lovable child. Mary Ann is cute and also so easy going. Barji is always a doll.
Oct. 1, 1983
General conference today. We watched it on TV. In our apartment with all of the Elders. It was really good. In the evening we went to the Priesthood broadcast at the Billings East stake center. It also was good.
Oct. 2, 1983
General conference continued. The speakers were excellent. Rick and Jean left right after dinner to go to Cody, Wyo. They will stay there and then go to Jackson on Monday then back home. We have really enjoyed them for the weekend. Jeannie is just beautiful and is so sweet. Rick needs to lose some weight and get some exercise. We gave him an exercise wheel for his birthday - we hope that he uses it.
Oct. 3, 1983
Barbara and I went to Johns seminary this morning at 6:15 am. His teacher Bro. Smith is really great and he loves it. About noon we left for Casper for district conference then we went to Riverton. We have decided to attend the district meetings every month. This should help baptisms. We have decided to get real strict on those who do not follow the rules or work as they should. We are going to expect excellence - and get it. Oct. 4
We had meetings at Riverton, then in Worland, then in Cody and then drove to Billings. Some in each areas are not doing good at all. I put them all on the carpet and I think they will improve.
Oct. 5, 1983
We drove to Bozeman and then to Butte for meetings. Bozeman was good - Butte was not so good.
Oct. 6, 1983
We drove to Missoula for a meeting and then to Kallispell. These meetings were pretty good but everyone really needs to improve. I have been stressing commitment, obedience and results --- mainly results. We only had 43 baptisms in September. We were expecting about twice that amount. We are 7% behind last year but hope to catch up by Dec.
Oct. 7, 1983
We drove through Glacier Park on the way to Great Falls. It was really beautiful. The Aspens were bright yellow, the Sumacks red and the pines bright green. We saw 3 mountain goats also. It had snowed a little bit and as we got on top, we got through the fog and it was beautiful. We were a little late getting to Great Falls for our meeting. It was good but again they need to improve. They projected 20 baptisms. I said that I would dance on the table if they got that many. They may just do it. After this we drove to Billings. We had driven 3000 miles in 10 days and attended all 26 district meetings. I hope it helps to get the missionaries excited.
Oct. 8, 1983
Today was the Billings East Stake conference. George P. Lee was the visitor. He is a Lamanite and really told everyone to be better to the Lamanites. I had to speak at the Sat. RM meeting.
Oct. 9, 1983
Attended the Sunday meetings and we both spoke. It was pretty good. In the afternoon we drove to Lame Deer to attend a meeting where we showed a rerun of the Women’s Conference. About 18 people attended. After we had a lunch prepared by the Marshalls (Br. Pres) we drove home. The Ereksons were with us. There were about 8 Lamanites who attended for the whole district. Oct. 10, 1983
P day. I worked on transfers. Elder Kirchgestner wants to go home. He has been out 4 months and doesn't like it at all. He has never adjusted and has a real low IQ. I decided to send Elder Pottberg home. He has been a real problems for 15 months. He begged to stay and I finally agreed for another month only. He seems to found a place where he is happy and says he will baptize 16 people before he goes home.
Oct. 11, 1983
Worked again on transfers.
Oct. 12, 1983
Interviewed Bro. Hockburton and Sr. Lanoutte for being accepted into full fellowship - they were both disfellowshipped for fornication. I decided to make her wait 6 mo. and him 1 yr. He doesn't realize the seriousness for his transgression.
Oct. 13, 1983
Worked again on transfers.
Oct. 14, 1983
Pres. and Sr. Gogan of Cody came up to have dinner and spent the night with us. They are lovely people and were released from Stake Pres. to be called as director of the Arizona temple visitors center.
Oct. 15, 1983
The Gagons went home. We enjoyed them.
Oct. 16, 1983
This was conference at Lovell, Wyo. We were supposed to go down yesterday but we spent it with John and drove down early for a meeting with our missionaries at 8 am. We have some good missionaries here but they are not getting baptisms. The members just won't help. The town is about 50% old time members and they are happy with the status quo. F. Homer Durham was the visitor. I also spoke and gave a missionary talk - he said "now President don't scold them.” We left at noon and brought him back to Billings airport. We showed him the mission home and he was impressed. In the evening I spoke at a missionary conference for the East Billings Stake. About 40 people attended and I think they will really do a great job. If only the Billings stake would get on fire.
Oct. 17, 1983
John and I rode up to Melstone to find a place to deer hunt on the 25th. He and Barbara and I will all go since Barbara and I are the ones with the Antelope permits. We will hunt on Bro. Maarts ranch. He has 13 1/2 sections south of Melstone. I think we can get our deer. If not we will go out to Zane Parker’s ranch at Pompais Pollar where we went last year. John loves to hunt.
Oct. 18, 1983
Today we prepare for the new missionaries.
Oct. 19, 1983
Eight new elders and 3 sisters came in from the MTC. They are all excellent missionaries -one, Sr. Christensen may be a problem. They came in about noon and had lunch. I interviewed them and right after dinner we had the orientation. It went really well - finally it is ours. Everything was completely new and very well done. We are proud of our staff. They are the best ever.
Oct. 20, 1983
This was transfer day. We have seven pages of transfers and everything went smooth as clock work. Elder Kirchgestner called and said he was going home so I put him on a bus and sent him to the Dallas Oregon. I had talked to his mother earlier and said that he was coming. He could not adjust. We had 3 elders and 2 sisters go home. They were pretty good missionaries but all had been trunky for about 3 mo. Especially Sr. Shumway. We had an open house after the de-briefing but only a few came. We will change this program next month.
Oct. 21, 1983
John and I went pheasant hunting. John shot 2 pheasants and a Mallard duck. I didn't take a gun cause we only brought one shot gun. We had a great time. Johns dog Suzie worked wonderful. She really is a smart dog with a great nose -
This is her first real hunt and she knows now what she is out their for. She retrieved everything very well. I did have to punish her for chasing a rabbit.
Oct. 22, 1983
Charles and Sissy Beyers came to visit us from Little Rock. They spent Friday and Saturday night with us. It was great to see them and we had time to catch up on all of the news. After they left Barbara went to a woman’s conference and I collapsed.
Oct. 23, 1983
We left early for the Custer district conference. The first one was at Lame Deer at 10 am. When we started there was not one Branch or District member present. Some came in at 10:30 - some at 11 and by 11:30 there were about 50 present. This is typical Crow time although they were northern Cheyenne Indians. At 2:30 we met at Dunmore for the Crows. This was better - only about 30 to 45 minutes late. They are really sweet though especially the older women. They really miss the Robins who were the missionary couple there and just left. Don Warren is now Br. Pres. He is a local farmer and a reformed alcoholic - he is weak but will learn. Pres. Burns the DP is doing a great job.
Oct. 24, 1983
P day again - just routine business.
Oct. 25, 1983
John, Barbara and I went up to a members ranch to go deer and antelope hunting. We left about 5 am and drove up to Bro. Maarts ranch 15 miles south at Melstone. It was a beautiful day. We got up there just before dawn and got set on a hill. We spotted 4 deer and John shot the buck (2 point) in the neck. We cleaned this one and then went in the truck. We spotted 4 does and I shot one in the head. Next John and I went walking while Barbara stayed in the truck. John sneaked up on a group of antelope and shot a spike buck right in the heart. We dressed these and started to leave. We then spotted a big herd of antelope. John and I sneaked up and John picked out the biggest buck. They started to run but he shot the buck perfectly. It had a 14 inch horn. The shot was about 250 yards and he did it in one shot, in fact he shot 3 times and got 3 deer. He was really thrilled and it was a beautiful hunt day. We got home about 4 p.m. and got them all hung up in the shed.
Oct. 26, 1983
I got up early and skinned all four, then cut all of the meat off the bones. We had it ground into hamburger with 25% beef fat. It was an all day job but we ended up with about 180 lbs. of hamburger in our freezer. The elders will love it.
Oct. 27, 1983
Elder Knight had a hernia operation today. As soon as he has recovered I will move them from the visitors center at Cody to some place else.
Baptisms are not going very well. It looks like only 40 plus for the month.
Oct. 28, 1983
Nothing special just work.
Oct. 29, 1983
We left real early for Missoula. We held the Flathead Zone Conference beginning at noon - at 4 o'clock. I interviewed until si. xThis was a good conference. The ZL's (Hathaway and Dayton) are doing a great job. All of the missionaries seem up although some need to improve. I stressed conversion and what it means - I hope we can get them committed to the work.
Conference meetings started at 6 pm. Elder Bangater of the 70's quorum was the visitor. I spoke briefly at this meeting.
Oct. 30, 1983
Meetings started at 8:30 and I spoke at both meetings. After this we met with Elder Banster and the regional rep Logren regarding missionary work. He said we were doing great - but really we're not. We are 7% behind last year over all.
Oct. 31, 1983
P day and Halloween. We prepared today for the meetings this week. In the evening Barbara and I went walking as usual. Some young kids in a pick up truck were dragging a rope with a log on it. They circled around us and really would have hurt us if we hadn't jumped. Barbara got a bad rope burn on her leg. We called the police but heard no more. Lots of kids came to the house for candy.
Nov. 1, 1983
We held the central zone conference in Billings. It was a good conference. Everyone has a good spirit except Ralston. I will watch him closely while he is with Calvin at Laurel.
Nov. 2, 1983
We held our zone conference at Hardin for the Custer zone. This zone is not doing well at all. I am going to change leadership. Packer at Colstrip will be changed to Hardin. He needs to be humbled before he can be a good elder.
Elder and Sr. Cook don't have a good spirit - in fact he left the meeting early for an appointment he said. They feel that if they sit at home in the trailer people will come and see them. He is a convert and not very strong in his testimony.
Nov. 3, 1983
We held to Lewis and Clark zone conference at Miles City today. The spirit was great with the exception of the Seveys. They are at Poplar. They don't get along very well and neither are motivated. She is very domineering and he is rebelling. They really don't do any missionary work.
Nov. 4, 1983
John and I went pheasant hunting for a little while in the afternoon. John missed two. Suzie really worked well and is really getting to be a great dog.
Nov. 5, 1983
Barbara and I got up early and went to Great Falls for a conference. Elder Loren Dunn was there. We held a zone conference from 12 - 6 p.m. then went to conference. I spoke at the priesthood meeting. The zone conference was good - Elmer is the only bad spirit - he goes home next month and is completely trunked out. The Great Falls stake is doing terrible but Great Falls East stake is doing great.
Nov. 6, 1983
We had special meeting at eight and one at 11 o'clock. I spoke at both meetings - everyone stressed missionary work and it turned out great. Barbara didn't speak at these, but she really does a great job at the zone conferences. She is also checking out all of the missionary apartments. We're hoping to get them all cleaned up. Many of them are really dirty. She also spoke on food and nutrition at the zone conference.
Nov. 7, 1983
P day - we don't get much relaxation. Barbara always has to shop and plan meals and do all of the elders sheets - I catch up on everything else.
Nov. 8, 1983
We left early to drive to Bozeman to attend the Butte zone conf. It was a good conference and everyone was up except Pottberg. He is still the same. I am going to send him home this month - a month early. He came out with us and has been our biggest problem of all. I have moved him 9 times and changed companions 14 times in 17 months. He has wrecked 2 cars and been on probation since his 3rd month.
Nov. 9, 1983
I worked on transfers until John came home from school then he and I went to Hardin to check on a place to go duck hunting and fishing. It is on Don Warrens ranch. He has a ranch in the Indian reservation that borders on the Big Horn river. It is a beautiful place to hunt and fish. We will go down later on.
Nov. 10, 1983
I worked again on transfers all day. In the evening we went to a dinner at Johns school to honor the athletes. John got his letter and the coach said real nice things about him. I wish he could have played football last year. He broke his collar bone early in the season and only played 2 games. He was on the main defense team as a tackle. He was proud to get a letter and has ordered a jacket.
Nov. 11, 1983
Veterans day - Our weather is still beautiful. 60's in the day and 40's at night. We have had very few cloudy days - we love the weather and the beautiful Montana landscape. We see all kinds of animals as we travel - in fact at night you have to be real careful to keep from hitting deer.
Nov. 12, 1983
We left about noon to go to Great Falls for the Great Falls Stake Conference. We went because they are doing very poorly on baptisms (19 in 10 months). We went to the Saturday night meeting and neither one of us got to speak. Lofgre the Reg. Rep. was there and he hates to give up even one minute of his time. He even stops the meeting early rather than share the time. We're really disgusted with him.
Nov. 13, 1983
A special missionary meeting was held at 8:30. Lofgren and I spoke - At 10:00 Barbara and I both spoke. Barbara did a great job. She really told him off about being lax in missionary work - they loved it but I doubt it will do anything about it. At 12 o'clock we met all of our missionaries on the hill above Great Falls and I gave a prayer to rededicated the area for missionary work. It was very spiritual and should help. After that Barbara and I drove home and got here for dinner.
John was ok but had a cold. He and Bill went duck hunting Saturday. They shot some that went in the river and they didn't have Suzie so they lost them. Bob's birthday today we sent him a down vest that the Hutterites made for us. We have made some real neat friends. They even came to the mission home to see us from Lodge Grass. Elizabeth and Paul Walters. She made my coat and our down comforter also. She is making down comforters for John and Roy for Christmas.
Nov. 14, 1983
P day again. This is a day when Barbara and I work all day and everyone else plays. Brenda will absolutely not do one thing. In fact her weekends are pretty much her own. Saturday she doesn't do much - Sunday she fixes dinner (about 2 hours) and Monday nothing. We are getting disgusted with her. She works her mission duties around her own personal schedule and she is too thick skinned or bullheaded to change. We are going to let her go back to Arkansas and stay after June - we just won't have a cook and we will let the elders stay some place else. Barbara is really fed up with Brenda's selfishness.
Nov. 15, 1983
I spent the day taking care of administrative duties. Elder Turley and Nielson borrowed guns and went deer hunting. I transferred them both and demoted them both to Jr. Companions. Turley was a zone leader - I wrote to his stake Pres and parents. Nielson doesn't much care if he goes or stays - I demoted him to a Jr. companion for breaking the rules.
Nov. 16, 1983
Elder and Sr. Atkinson came in about 7:30 am. They are missionaries from Heber and I sent them on to Lander, Wyoming. She is really sweet but he is real salty. He is a good friend of Keith Boyer from Brigham City and is just about as crude. I hope he makes a good missionary. Sr. Atkinson is his second wife and is real sweet and refined.
Five new missionaries came in. Elders Cardinet, Richardson, Castillo, Barton and Workman. Two out of the five will be good missionaries and two may be problems. We had a good orientation and told them where they were going - they were thrilled.
Nov. 17, 1983
This was transfer day - lots of elders and sisters pass through the home going to their new locations. Five elders went home ( Swenson, Brown, Cook, Robinson and Pottberg). I sent Pottberg home one month early. I didn't want to press my luck. He came out with us and now we feel that our mission is more than half over even though we have 19 1/2 more months. Elder Pottberg has really been a trial. 18 companions, 9 areas, wrecked 2 cars, bashed in one auto door, one refrigerator door and a counter top with his fist, on probation 16 of his 17 1/2 months, in the mission home twice for rehabilitation and had him twice scheduled to be sent home early. He was proud as a peacock - his last words were "I'm going home and apply for another mission" Thank Heaven it can't be here. The other missionaries had all been zone leaders and real good missionaries. We will miss them.
Nov. 18, 1983
We drove to Casper Wyoming to attend a Zone Conference. We left early so that we could stop and see the Wrights (our missionary couple at Lodge Grass). They are really good missionaries. I am going to move them to Dunmore, the Cooks to Lodge Grass and the Elders from Dunmore to Lame Deer. This will be much better. The Cooks are real upset about it. He is kinda a salty old bird and not too good natured. He walked out of our last zone conf. apparently because he got his feelings hurt. It was 20 degrees at Casper and some snow.
Nov. 19, 1983
The zone conference was pretty good but not real good. The spirit was just not there. I came down on them pretty hard for having a "country club" type attitude. I changed most of the district leaders and hope that things get straightened out quickly. Elder Cox (my ex assistant) is a ZL and he will do a good job. He is like an army sergeant. After the zone conf., I met with the leaders and committed each to excellence. The R.S. fixed a great dinner for us - Bro. Bates and Cornielson two ward mission leaders met with us all day and their wives fixed the dinner. We got good support.
The stake conference started in the evening but I met with Pres. Stead and Reg Rep Nielson to tell them that I couldn't attend since they had changed the date and I was previously committed. We drove home to Lodge Grass and were still not unpacked. He was better but had a cold and his diabetic condition was acting up. He will be ok and happy when he gets settled.
Nov. 20, 1983
We found out that John and his friend Bill went deer hunting on Saturday and John shot a big 3 point buck. We took some pictures and he was thrilled to death.
We left early to go to church at Red Lodge. We had promised to speak some time ago. Barbara did a great job and I finished up. They had 5 investigators who look real good. It turned off cold for the first time this winter. It looks like snow and the temperature has dropped from about 50 degrees to 30. We can't complain about Montana weather - it is beautiful.
Elder Scott Christensen left for home Saturday morning. His mother was afraid that he was so unhappy that he might committ suicide. Bro. Hawkins called from SLC and told me to send him home. I think we could have made a missionary out of him if his mother would have let him alone.
Nov. 21-23, 1983
Spent much of the time doing office work - had a lady report that Elders Calvin and Ralston had been seen dancing in a bar. I interviewed them both carefully - Elder Calvin lied but Elder Ralston admitted everything. I split them up and sent Calvin to Wyoming. Ralston was very repentant.
Nov. 24, 1983
Thanksgiving Day - we had a great dinner. We invited the Anderson family and Sr. Andersons father. The run the Box Store where we buy most of our groceries.
Nov. 25-26, 1983
John was out of school so he and I took Brent McLeod deer hunting on the last day. They passed up 3 small bucks and finally we came home without one. I wasn't disappointed since we had already processed 3 deer and 2 antelope. We made one deer into jerky and it is really good. The rest we made into hamburger - over 200 lbs. The elders love it. It surely does save on the food bill. We feed the elders 3 meals a day for $60 per month. We can only do it because of the garden and Johns hunting. John mounted one deer horn and one antelope. He thinks he is going to break the record. He loves the outdoors and all that goes with it.
Nov. 27, 1983
Barbara and I drove up to Red Lodge and spoke in their sacrament meeting. Barbara did a great job. This is a great little branch about 50 miles away doing a great missionary job.
Nov. 28, 1983
No P day today. We drove to Hardin for a district conference. This is for the missionaries on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations. They are all "up" and should do a good job this month. The new ZL's Weeks and Mathews will do great. Bro. and Sr. Cook weren't there. He has been sick and hasn't been out for several days. I hope they make it - they are not very happy.
Nov. 29, 1983
We had a district meeting at Billings and then drove to Miles City about 150 miles away for another one. All of the missionaries seem to be enthused for the big push we have in December. We want to finish the year with a bang. We have 636 baptisms to date and are about 10% behind last year. We are still the best mission in the area for baptism compared to last year.
Nov. 30, 1983
This was a free day to prepare for an Area Council meeting in Denver. I have to give a 20 minute presentation on what we are going to do next year.
Dec. 1, 1983
I flew in Denver for the meeting. It involved 5 mission presidents 7 regional reps and Elder Loren C. Dunn. We met at Taylor’s home and after the Denver mission home with Pres. Sr. Rasmussen. Their mission is 35% behind last year.
Dec. 2, 1983
We met at the Littleton Stake Center beginning at 8 am. At noon the stake had a big dinner for all the missionaries in the area - about 300 people - It was elegant. The entertainment was by an LDS choral group of about 50. It was really good. We continued our meeting until 4pm. Then raced for the airport to get the plane home - we just made it. The meeting was mainly instructional. The church is very happy with the way things are going and everything is on track.
Dec. 3, 1983
We left today to drive to Missoula to a district meeting and a stake conference in Stevensville. It is about 350 miles but the roads were good. The district conference was great. Everyone was "up" and the ZL's are doing a great job. They are Cowley and Dayton.
Dec. 4, 1983
We drove to Stevensville for the conference - A missionary meeting was 8:30 and regular meeting at 10:00. I spoke at both and Barbara at the H.C. member over missionary work. He will get something going in the stake. After this meeting we drove to Kallispell and had a district meeting at 5 pm. It also was great. After this we attended a missionary fireside put on by Sr. Thomas and many investigators. It was very professional. This area is doing real well again after several month if nothing.
Dec. 5, 1983
We left Kallispell about 9 am and drove around Glacier Park to Cutbank for a meeting with Moore and Workman. They seem to be doing a great job. Moore said they loved to tract in -30 degrees weather cause everyone let them in. Workman finally has an area that he loves - Moore is also doing a great job. We then drove to Great Falls and had a district meeting. They are doing great and everyone really seems up. We then drove to Helena to spend the night. It was a beautiful drive.
Dec. 6, 1983
We had a district meeting at Helena at 8 am. The stake mission president was there and did a good job in helping us. We then drove to Butte and had a meeting there. It was a good meeting. After this we took the Asst.’s to Mings Chinese restaurant for dinner. They loved it. We then drove to Bozeman for another meeting. It also was good. They are doing a great job. After this meeting we drove to Billings in one of the worst snowstorms I have ever seen. We drove 30 mph all the way and sometimes slower than that. We were glad to get home.
Dec. 7, 1983
This was a catch up day. I set apart Linda Bruman to go on a mission to New York. She is from Malta Branch and will do a good job. Bro. Rallo from Saco also went on a mission today but was set apart at the MTC.
Dec. 8, 1983
Winter is finally here - we have had some bad storms and cold weather.
Dec. 9, 1983
We drove to Casper, Wyo. for a district meeting at 4 pm. This district is not doing well - I will make some changes this month. Elder Lex the Zone Leader is doing a good job but it's hard to turn it around. Deering, Armstrong, Henrie and Cox (not ZL) are all very rebellious and uncommitted. I am going to move them all. We drove at night to Riverton for another meeting.
Dec. 10, 1983
The Riverton meeting was excellent. The DL (Jenson) is doing really well. I will make him a ZL soon. The Atkinsons are getting settled but are still frustrated with the Lamanites. They will do ok after they get the hang of it. We drove from Riverton to Cody. The elders there are doing great. They should get some baptisms this month. We drove from here to Worland and had a meeting at 4 pm. These elders are not doing very well. They don't get much help with the members. In fact I am going to take one set of elders out of Cody and put them in Greybull. After this meeting we went to the Saturday night meeting at Worland where Elder Wooley presided. They like him but he is so boring.
Dec. 11, 1983
We went to the 10 o'clock meeting and I spoke for a couple of minutes. They changed a counselor in the Presidency and sustained a new patriarch. The patriarch spoke 30 minutes and didn't say anything. After the meeting we met with Bishop Lowe and then came home. We stopped at Powell and picked up the AP's and brought them to Billings. On the way I got a speeding ticket for going 53 mph in a 45 mph zone. It cost $25. We were hurrying to get to a 6 p.m. meeting at the Billings East Stake. We were about 15 min. late so I bore my testimony and we left.
Dec. 12, 1983
This was P day and we were tired so we just bummed around - did the shopping and Barbara did all the laundry. Brenda was sick (she said) so Barbara had all of her work to do. She is getting to the point where she is more trouble than she is worth. We will send her home soon.
Dec. 13-17, 1983
I spent the time working on transfers for the month. It was to be a small one but it ended up being a big one. Winter has finally come to Montana. The temperature in some places has dropped -43 degrees last night. Forsyth had -52 and Havre -60. That is really cold. The roads are also very bad and we have had 5 accidents in Dec. and only 9 for the first part of the year. We have dropped our accident cost from $70,000 to $10,000 in one year but I think this month blew it. Even the AP's had an accident that will cost about $3500.
Dec. 18, 1983
Sunday was beautiful but cold. The high today will be -8. We went to the 4th Ward Meetings with John. He is really doing well. He is the star of the basketball team and has been doing real well in school. He has been accepted in Who's Who and the national honor society. He is also vice chairman of the bi stake seminary council and was defensive star of the football team - until he broke his collar bone.
Dec. 19, 1983
This was P day but it was really cold- we have been under a severe cold wave. Since last Thursday the weather has not warmed up above -8. Last night we had a church fireside by satellite and it was -20 when we got home. When the wind blows the chill factor goes really low. In Jordan the chill factor was -99. The coldest on record. Several places were -80. Butte was -52 actually and the chill factor was way below this. We are really worried about transfer day because of the cold.
Dec. 20, 1983
We have had several snow storms and have about a foot on the ground. It has been so cold that nothing has melted. The streets are one sheet of solid ice. John has been afraid to drive his car so he has driven ours. It is a front wheel drive and has pretty good traction. In the mission with 55 cars, we had 9 accidents up to Dec. and have had 5 since Dec. 1. Instead of getting warmer it's getting colder. Last night it was -28. The high today was -15.
Dec. 21, 1983
Today we got new missionaries. Three elders Dilvin, Phillips, Facemeyer, and Sr. Whittaker. They were delayed about 2 hours due to weather at Salt Lake. When they got here the temperature was -18. They were quite surprised. We had our orientation in the afternoon so they could all go out and do missionary work in the evening. None of them seem to be leaders - in fact Sr. Whittaker is a real complainer.
Dec. 22, 1983
This was transfer day and we had real problems. Cars wouldn't start due to the cold weather and everything was delayed. The Casper car didn't get here until 10:30 p.m. and it was due in at 5 pm. This delayed everything going north. We ended up with 31 missionaries staying with us all night. It was a mad house but all seemed to go well. We were really thankful that we had no accidents and no one was hurt from the cold. The assistants did an excellent job in planning the transfer and in getting it carried out.
Dec. 23, 1983
All of the missionaries left by 8 am. We had put their cars in the garage and tired to keep them warm enough to start. It was our coldest night but every thing went well. About -30 here -52 in Butte and other areas about the same. It looks like it will stay cold for to thaw it out with a torch. All the windows are frosted nearly all the time and we have to keep the heat up pretty high. I sent Elder Lytle home. He had a bad ankle and had been on crutches for about a month. The doctor said that he needed another operation so I decided to send him home until he could really do a good job.
Dec. 24, 1983
Everyone was getting ready for Christmas - the stores are really crowded and the weather is still bitter cold. Barbara and I have tried to walk in the evening - we love it but some time it is too cold to breath. We cover up everything including our faces. We ate about 4 pm. Then went out caroling for about 1 1/2 hours - then we came home and had a special fireside for some of the people who have been so good to the missionaries. Bp Anderson, the Ereksons (all 10 of them), the Adams and a few others. We had good food, a film of Kruger’s Christmas and music by the missionaries. I also read the Christmas story in Luke. After this we got to bed about 12 pm. exhausted.
Dec. 25, 1983
We got up this morning and had a delicious breakfast at 8 o'clock. We then went to the stake center for a special sacrament meeting and a special musical by the 4th ward choir. It started our present opening. We took turns and it was really fun. All of us gave one white elephant and each had to open them in sequence.
Barbara got a down robe made by the Hutterites, a hair dryer, a special shirt from John. John got a down comforter, a ski rack, gloves, ski shirt, sweatsuit, etc.
I got a beautiful robe, warm gloves, two pull over sweaters, a rechargeable flash light, phone holder, etc. John gave me some special sun glasses. The elders gave John a blue sweatshirt, me a beautiful sweater vest and mom a beautiful box of personalized Montana Billings Mission stationary and Brenda Lowe a picture frame and picture set.
We gave them each a shoe shine kit, and John gave them each some athletic sox.
Bob and Claire sent a beautiful hand made wreath. Jean sent a beautiful picture album. Ann and Ron sent me a foot massager and mom some jam. Roy didn't even send a card - I hope he soon gets his feet on the ground and get straightened out. He did call last week for the first time he has talked to us since June. We pray every night for the Lord to touch him in a special way so that he will get back on the right track. He is living with his girlfriend Patrice and apparently doesn't see the need to get married.
Dec. 26, 1983
This was a relaxing day after Christmas.
Dec. 27, 1983
Barbara's birthday. She is 58 years old and looks like she is about 40. She has been on a diet and exercise program and looks really good. Her old clothes are all too big. I gave her a bottle of perfume. The elders gave her a big picture frame for a lot of small pictures. Ann, Jean and Bob all called and sent cards - Roy didn't respond. A lot of her friends called and sent gifts.
Dec. 28-30, 1983
I worked most of the time on getting ready for zone conferences - the missionaries are desperately trying to get baptisms to meet our goal of 711. Everyone is enthused. The one problem here has been Casper - this was like a country club so I moved one of every companionship and demoted the real problem missionaries i.e. Armstrong, Deering, and Co. xI think I have it straightened out now.
Dec. 31, 1983
We started our Zone Conferences in Hardin with the Custer Zone. It was pretty good. The cooks weren't very enthused but everyone else was up. The Wrights are doing great. The ZL's Weeks and Mathews aren't getting along to well but it will improve. This was New Years Eve. We had the local elders plus the sisters in for a late breakfast and a program. The elders took the call ins and at 12 o'clock we had 706 baptisms with a few more to come. We ended up with 711 as I had projected. After the 11:30 p.m. breakfast we had a slide show that had been prepared for the incoming missionaries. It was good.
Jan. 1, 1984
Happy New Year. We are all looking for a good one. Our goal is for 835 baptisms. If we can start out with a good January, we will be well on the way. Our weather the past 2 weeks has really been cold. All kinds of records have been set. Just north of Butte it was -64. At Jordan it was -99 counting the wind chill factor. Billings got down to -32. With a 20 mph wind that is really cold. Most of our cars won't start and it's hard to keep the house warm. Roy called to wish Mom Happy Birthday - He seemed fine but I hope he soon gets straightened out.
Ann's baby "Leanna" was born on Dec. 29th. She had a real hard time and finally had to have a cesarean. She is doing fine now but has to be really careful because of her bad veins. The Woolleys from Jerome came down to help her.
Jan. 2, 1984
We left early to go to Miles City to have the Lewis and Clark Zone Conferences. We got there at 10 am. The conference was pretty good. Robinson is doing terrible and should be sent home - he has a real bad attitude. His dad died about 6 mo. ago and since then he has really gone to pot. We have really tried to help him but he just won't be helped. The Seveys are also doing very poor. They wanted to go home in Dec. but finally decided to stay until spring - so all they are doing is just waiting. They don't really have much ability. The Booths have a lot of talent and a lot of enthusiasm but are not doing missionary work. They are doing choirs, RS, activation and everything else. I'm sure that it will all help and my eventually pay off in baptisms. They both claim to have visions. Elder Booth says Pres. Lee and Pres. Joseph Fielding Smith have appeared to him.
Jan. 3, 1984
We held the central zone conference in Billings. This was really a great conference. Everyone was up except Ralston. He has been in trouble for breaking rules for several months and should be moved as soon as possible.
The mission home elders are really doing great. This is the best group we have ever had - Madsen has been great but needs to get out in the field for the rest of his mission - he is getting too cocky.
Jan. 4, 1984
We left early to go to Butte for the Butte Zone Conference. It is about 250 miles. This was a real good conference. Rooney and Jensen are doing real good as ZL's. This is a good group of missionaries. The only downers are Elder and Deering. Elder has a comple. xHe uses all kinds of excuses to keep from doing the work. He seems willing to be a "bad elder" and just wait it out. Deering is a different kind of problem. He professes to be so good but make sup all of his own rules. I took their car away from them. After the zone conference we drove 65 miles to Dillon where I spoke at a special missionary meeting. A choir had been organized and called on a special musical mission. They also had all of the missionaries in the area. After the meeting we drove back to Butte.
Jan. 5, 1984
We really had an easy day. We drove to Missoula and went shopping. In fact we were so relaxed we forgot about the special fireside from SLC.
Jan. 6, 1984
We held the Flathead Zone Conf. and it was very good. The ZL's Cowley and Gleave are doing a super job. This whole zone is doing a super job. They had 19 baptisms in Dec. and it looks like they will do great in Jan. They have gone from the bottom to the top in about 4 months due to good zone leadership. After the conference we drove to Butte and ate at our favorite Chinese restaurant "Mings.” We then drove to Bozeman and had our regular ice cream treat and then drove to Billings.
Jan. 7, 1984
The weather in Billings is now beautiful. It is about 55 in the day and 40 at night. The only problem is that all of the snow has melted and it is a dirty slush all over. In Butte the temperature went from -64 to 55 in 2 days. This is due to the Chinook winds. They are warm winds coming in from the west.
Elder Woolley the Reg. Rep. was supposed to come in tonight for a meeting Sunday but the airport was fogged in and he had to call off the meeting.
Barbara and I visited a young couple from Bancock who are being taught by Madsen and Klem. We found them a couple of weeks ago. They are out of money and need some food. We arranged to get it to them but their main problem is management. They make about $1,000 per month and don't have enough left for food.
Jan. 8, 1984
Sunday - Our meetings didn't start until 1 pm. It was fast meeting and it was great. We gave the Bishop $100 to buy food for the young couple from Bancock Thailand - we took them to church again. I'm not quite sure if they are interested in the gospel or the help the church gives to them. They are real sweet but we can't tell how much they understand. Elder Bartons folds wrote and he says that he is going home. He is really shy and unsure of himself. I changed his companion and got him with a larger group of elders. He really needs the experience.
Jan. 9, 1984
Barbara and I drove to Casper for a zone meeting. The roads were really bad and it was cold. Casper had had about a foot of snow and the wind blows all the time. We really feel bad for the deer and antelope we are along the road - they look like they would either starve or freeze in this weather.
Jan. 10, 1984
We held the Casper Zone Conference from 10 to 3 pm. I started interviews at 8. This zone is doing much better. I transferred some of the missionaries who were having problems. I would like to send some of them home i.e. Armstrong, Deering. They are really great zone leaders. They make everyone toe the line. In fact Cox is like an army sergeant. The spirit now is much better and I know that it will be reflected in baptisms. Madsen and Tisdel as AP's do a great job. After the conference the R.S. fixed dinner for everyone. We drove back to Billings and got here about 8pm. The roads were bad all of the way.
Jan. 11, 1984
Salt Lake called and has found us a sign language missionary to send to Great Falls. There are a number of deaf people here that we can teach now. He will be in Friday. I will bring Nielson down here and let him be with Switters in Great Falls. Nielson will be with Muhlestein in Billings.
Jan. 12, 1984
We drove to Great Falls for Zone Conference. About 70 miles out of Great Falls it started snowing and blowing real bad. We made it ok but the roads were real bad. We ended up with about 6 inches of new snow. We stay in Super 8 motels because they are the cheapest. They are usually cold and noisy. We get 2 beds and put all of the covers in one and sleep together.
Jan. 13, 1984
Zone Conference started at 10 and went to 2 pm. I started at 8 o'clock. The ZL's Lawrence and Sterling are doing real well - Lawrence will be my next AP. Everyone was up but Thompson and Nielson needs a better attitude. I will move him Saturday to Billings. I am also going to switch the Elders in Havre with the sisters in Butte and give the car to the sisters. Keele and Christensen are doing great - Christensen is a changed person -He actually likes the work. Last month he was ready to go home. Mom is doing much better and I think he will help Thompson find himself. After the conference we drove home. The weather was terrible - bad snowstorm all of the way to Billings. Elder Miligan (the sign language missionary) got in about 8 pm. I interviewed him after this and he is really going to be good.
Jan. 14, 1984
This was a cold snowy day - we love the nights cause we open the windows and crawl under our down comforter. Last night the snow had blown in on our bed - the sleeping is great. We had a baptism - Klem and Madsen in the 4th ward. That is the best ward in the mission for baptisms 26 last year. 35 for goal in 1984.
Jan. 15, 1984
Sunday today. We went to the 2nd ward for their ward conference (we didn't know this). I spoke for a few minutes. The meetings were good and the spirit great. They had only 2 baptisms last year. Now they have a new Bishop so things will change.
Jan. 16-17, 1984
These days were really cold and snowy - we didn't travel any place except shop for food for the home. Barbara received a card from a young man who played the piano at our Casper Zone Conference. He said that he never did know his grandmother but he dearly loved her and he knew that she must have been just like Barbara - she is so sweet to the Elders.
Jan. 18, 1984
We were going out to a meeting at Lame Deer but we had to meet a returning Elder from the Tempe, Arizona mission (Elder Hollum). We interviewed him at the airport and sent him on his way home to Wolfpoint where his folks live.
Jan. 19, 1984
We left to visit the couples on the High Line. We drove to Zortman first. This is a small mining town with 5 active families. I arranged for them to get a double wide trailer from Idaho for a meeting house. It is going to be real nice. It is beautiful inside with carpet and wood paneling. It has 2 restores, 3 classrooms and a good sized chapel. They are really thrilled and will meet their first time next Sunday. We then drove to Glasgow to see Pres. Thueson but he was out of town. We drove to Frazer and saw the little chapel all boarded up. We have no leadership there and no place for a missionary couple to live. We next drove to Wolf Point and stayed there. We ate with the Booths a CES missionary couple. He is Branch Pres. and they are both overbearing and very important. It seems to us that they have done about as much harm as good. We got the names and addresses of 4 families and went to visit them - 3 were inactive but very lovely people. The Harris' gave us a beautiful pillow. She is a Lamanite and this is their custom - we also visited the Reams. He is Lamanite and gave the most beautiful prayer. We have decided to move 2 elders there if we can find a place to live for them. The Booths are just not doing missionary work.
Jan. 20, 1984
It was -34 last night and our car just wouldn't start. We really had a time but finally had some people get it started about 11 am. I frostbit 2 fingers and they are really sore. We drove to the Sevey's at Poplar and visited with them for a while. They are doing absolutely no missionary work and very little of anything else. I would move them but I have no place else to put them. They are really just sitting around waiting to go home in June. We only stayed a few minutes. We then drove to Sidney and met with Elders Pollock and Robinson - we then drove to Billings and attended a talent show organized by Sr. Hawkes one of the Billings missionaries. It was really good but we had no investigators. Elder Hansen was MC. Elder Amezcua and Gilvin each sang. They were very good.
Jan. 21, 1984
Saturday I spent doing paper work and shopping for Elders food. We have decided to make the Elders live outside of the mission home an dismiss Sr. Lowe as soon as we can - probably May.
Today I had a very interesting report from the missionaries on Bozeman. They were driving with the Sisters to a meeting in Livingston along highway 90. Elder James and Elder Taylor were in the front seat with Elder Taylor driving. Elder James got out of the car and ran back on the Freeway about 100 yards. He then went down into the barrow pit and picked up a crumpled envelop under an old can. The envelope said "To the LDS Missionaries.” It was for a referral of a person in Glasgow Montana from one of his relatives in Great Falls. Elder James said that he had seen a vision of the spot and the paper under the can just before they got to the spot in the road. Elder James is a very spiritual person. Elder Taylor is now in the home to be secretary to replace Elder Klem. He will do a great job.
Jan. 22, 1984
Elder Tyler Woolley Reg. Rep. came in to an area council meeting with the 2 Billings Stake Pres. It was ok but Pres. Peterson is still not going to push missionary work - just lip service. In the evening we had a fireside with the EMC ward which was pretty good - only about 20 came.
Jan. 22-23, 1984
These two days were set up for a zone leaders conference. We have some great ZL's but they are pretty inexperienced. They came in about noon and the conference lasted until about 4 p.m. the next day. They all made some presentations and did a great job. Lawrence will be my new AP and Madsen and Klem will be traveling AP's to help strengthen the mission. Gleave and Warchime are also excellent and will probably be AP's.
Jan. 25, 1984
Left for Butte real early for a district conference then to Helena for another one and then drove to Missoula to spend the night. The weather was pretty bad from Helena to Missoula but we made it ok. Our McDonald pass is a beautiful road. The meetings were very good - every one seemed to be really gung ho. Sr. Whittaker is really having problems so I told her I was going to send her home. I will let her stay until next Tuesday so she can attend a baptism. She didn't come out for the right reasons and is a real drain on Sr. Evans.
Jan. 26, 1984
Had a district meeting in Missoula and then drove to Kallispell for another one. These districts are really going great. Cowley and Gleave are really doing a great job. They really know what's going on. Sometimes Cowley is not too sympathetic. After the meeting we went shopping at a neat store in Kallispell and bought John a Pendleton wool ski sweater and winter jacket. He loved them both.
Jan. 27, 1984
We drove to Cut Bank around the south side of Glacier Nat Park and the roads were really bad. Some stretches were solid ice. The wind was really blowing at Cut Bank about 50 mph. It was about all we could do to stand up and walk. The Cut Bank elders are doing really well. We then drove to Great Falls for another meeting. The missionaries are doing real well. Even Christensen and Keele are doing ok. Christensen and Workman are both doing better than they have ever done. After the meeting we drove home. We had to do this because John was leaving next morning to drive our car to Salt Lake and pick up the new one. We got home about 10:30.
Jan. 28, 1984
John left for SLC and arrived at Jean's place about 5 pm. We were glad to see him get there safe.
Jan. 29, 1984
Barbara and I drove to Colstrip about 120 miles east to speak in Sac. Mtg. We weren't very impressed - every one seemed about half dead. We then met with the elders there - then to Lame Deer to meet with the Wrights and Cooks - then to Hardin to meet with Webb and Armstrong. We got home about 7:30 - bashed.
Jan. 30, 1984
We left to drive to Casper, Wyo. - we got there for the meeting next morning.
Jan. 31, 1984
We had the meeting at Casper - then to Riverton and then to Worland and then to Riverton. The Casper group are still about half dead. I hope we soon get them fixed up. Cox and Warchime are doing a good job. The Riverton group are doing good - except the Atkinsons. He is a tough old goat that thinks he knows everything. I was going to move him but he was so upset Rosehan are doing nothing - I will move them. Worland is also dead - I will move them also.
Feb. 1, 1984
Met with the Cody group - This is one of the best groups we have. Franks will be a new ZL. We then drove to Billings to meet with this group. This is really a good group. Brinkman and Dayton are doing great.
I found out that Pace and Hansen have really not been doing well. They made $36.00 worth of phone bills on John's phone - I called them both in and said I was transferring them this transfer. They are good elders and will do ok. Pace and Hansen are upset but both need to go out.
Feb. 2-5, 1984
Worked on transfers. I redid them at least 5 times to try to get everyone changed - this will be a real big change. Lawrence is now in the home to replace Madsen and he will help. A new deaf elder came in Elder Carpenter. I had Millegan our sign elder and Lawrence drove down from Great Falls to pick him up. They will make a good combination.
Feb. 4, 1984
Drove to Bozeman to have a district meeting and attend stake conference. On the way up we stopped at Livingston to see elder Deering and Greers Apt. It was filthy. They are very poor undedicated elders. Deering has been a real problem in every area. He is just an immature kid. James and the sisters in Bozeman are really doing well - they had a good meeting with them after and gave them an ultimatum - straighten up or go home. We'll see. After the meeting the sisters Ficklin and Ivey cooked dinner for us. It was really good. We later went to conference but didn't speak. Lofgren the Reg Rep was in charge.
Feb. 5, 1984
We went to conference - both spoke and then went to Bro. and Sr. Burnetts for dinner. They live in Bear Canyon - have 9 children and are really nice. The dinner was great and we loved it.
We then drove back to Billings in a read bad snow storm.
Feb. 6, 1984
P day - the usual.
Feb. 7, 1984
The Andersons came in. They are a CES couple who are going to be at Bushy. They are really nice and should be a real asset to the mission.
Feb. 8, 1984
Eight new elders and 2 sisters came in. Elders Goppmayer, Astill, Norman, Kent, Jackson, LeCheminant, Medeieres, and Gardner and Sisters Reid and Hatch. Most of the elders are great. Gappmayer may have problems but the others are leaders. Hatch also will be great. We had lunch and then had orientation from about 5 to 6. All of them went out teaching or teaching in the evening. I brought Elder Lawrence in to replace Madsen as AP. I also sent out Madsen and Klem as traveling AP's to teach out in the field. I hope this works out ok cause we really need it. We have way too many uncommitted and unmotivated missionaries.
Feb. 9, 1984
This was transfer day and it was a big day. We had to send out several new cars and get in several old ones. The AP's did a great job and everything went smooth. I'm always glad when these are over and no one has an accident.
Feb. 10, 1984
I sent the AP's up to check in Greer and Deering. They found them in bed at 8:30. They also had a TV and a hook up to the cable. The AP's gathered up all of their tapes, records, games, etc. and brought them back to Billings. They also brought Deering and I sent him home on the afternoon plane. He was absolutely uncommitted and would not live the rules. He thought I would just reprimand him and send him to another mission. Greer is also on probation and one more break and he goes home.
Feb. 11, 1984
We left about 11 am to attend an open house at Hardin. They just finished adding on to their building. I am putting 4 missionaries in the town for about a month to teach investigators. After the meeting we went to Cody. On the way we stopped at Ranchester to see Vern and Mary Thompson. We knew them in Arkansas when they lived in Morrilton. He is Branch Pres and she is RS Pres. in the Sheridan Stake - out of our mission. We got to Cody in time for the evening meeting. The GA couldn't get in so they let the meeting out early and didn't even call on us to speak.
Feb. 12, 1984
We spoke in the conference session and then went to the Stewarts for dinner. They were also from Morrilton, Arkansas and he is working for a mining co. They are really nice people. We then drove to Billings in time for us to speak at a fireside for the EMC ward. We missed the concert of "Kohanski" the famous pianist. The fireside wasn't well attended - only one investigator, but she will be baptized.
Feb. 13, 1984
Today was an open house for the Zortman branch (about 3 1/2 hours north). We moved a double wide trailer from Idaho for them and it is a beautiful little chapel. This is a small gold mining town (25 members) and they are all active and really enthused. We drove home and got here about 9 pm. John had gone to Utah to pick up our new car and called from Bozeman saying that he was sleepy and would spend the night there.
Feb. 14, 1984
Valentines Day - we had a DL conference at 10 am for the Central Zone. Klem and Madsen are doing great as traveling AP's. Tisdale and Lawrence are also doing great as AP's.
Feb. 15,16,17, 1984
Worked on administration including (1) building projects for Lodge Grass, Dunmore, Lame Deer and Poplar. I sent in names for architects for Dunmore and Lodge Grass. (2) Trying to get a variance for Glasgow district on church financial participation. The Lamanites are 100% with no church participation. The Lamanites are unemployed and on welfare so they didn't contribute anything. I think we have 9 tithe payers in Custer district of about 900 members. Glasgow is about as bad in the Lamanite branches (3) Getting the program set up for Dunn’s mission tour. He comes March 6-9th.
Feb. 18, 1984
We drove to Wolf Point by way of Glendive. It is about 350 miles. Stayed in Wolf Point.
Feb. 19, 1984
Attended church in Wolf Point. We have been worried about Elder and Sr. Booth. They are different people and are having a hard time adjusting to the area. They have been there about 6 mo. and haven’t' had a baptism. Elder and Sr. Sevey have been in Poplar 8 mo. and really haven't taught an investigator. They are strange. She is very unhappy and he doesn't have a whole lot of potential but has a good spirit and attitude. The meetings were very good. Barbara and I spoke. The Lamanites are really choice people. Elder Booth's nose is out of joint because Elders Weeks and Packer have been there less than a week and have already one baptism. We drove to Glasgow and attended a leadership meeting in the afternoon. Their leadership is really thin. Pres. Thueson is doing a great job but from there down it is weak. Barbara and I both spoke and I had another meeting with the Booths. He is still out of joint and says he wants to quit - Real strange people but good spirits.
Feb. 20, 1984
P day - lots of catching up to do.
Feb. 21, 1984
I went to dentist for broken tooth.
Feb. 22, 1984
Barbara and I drove to Butte (250 mi.) to attend a special missionary fireside put on by Elders Chang and Elder. They are very musical. Elder Elder sings well and Chang plays and sings. They performed for about 45 minutes and it was really good. They will have 2 or 3 baptisms from their music. Elder Elder goes home next month and this month he finally decided to be a missionary - he was 16 months doing nothing. Chang goes home this month.
Feb. 23, 1984
We drove back from Butte in time for a meeting in the home with the CES couples (Elder and Sr. Booth and Anderson) and Pres. Burns and Giles their directors. My purpose was to explain to them that they were missionaries and not just seminary teachers - I'm not sure Booth got the message but the Andersons did and so did Giles and Burns.
Feb. 24, 1984
Met with Pres. Dahle of Sidney Branch. He had personal problems plus a problem with the former Branch Pres. Pifer who was disfellowshipped.
In the evening Chan Mali and Luanna Mony Luana Khen were baptized. I baptized the husband, confirmed him, ordained him and then he baptized his wife. They are really a beautiful couple. Barbara and I found them in a toy shop just before Christmas. The elders and we taught them and we baptized them. It was really a very spiritual experience. Chan Mali had to be baptized 3 times and she got the giggles so he could hardly baptize her. Finally I helped him and we put her clear down to the bottom of the font.
Feb. 25, 1984
We went to John's basketball game. He is a real star. Barbara and I drove to Missoula (350 miles) to attend a baptism. Elders Baker and Jackson baptized two families of 10 people. They were all Laotians and were really special. They had to have an interpreter. Sixteen were scheduled and six decided to wait.
Feb. 26, 1984
We ate breakfast at Bakers and Jackson’s apartment. The ZL's Cowley and Gleave were also there. We had French toast and orange juice. It was really fun. They are all real special elders. We drove to White Hall and attended meetings. Barbara spoke in R.S. and I spoke in priesthood meetings. It was good and we enjoyed it. We drove home in time to attend stake priesthood meeting and I spoke to the High Priests Quorum about missionary work.
Feb. 27, 1984
P day. John was sick with the flu and spent the day in bed. We spent the day as usual shopping for food for the home and getting things ready for the week.
Feb. 28, 29, 1984
Spent the day getting schedules set up for Loren C. Dunn's mission tour - also spent time setting up the transfer schedule. Transfer won't be until Mar. 13 but I won't have any time next week.
Mar. 1, 1984
Attended the investigator fireside at the stake center. Thomas S. Monson did this one and it was great.
Mar. 2, 1984
Finalized the transfers and gave them to the AP's.
Mar. 3, 1984
Drove to Riverton to attend stake conference. We drove 250 miles to attend a missionary meeting at 4 pm. Tyler Woolley was the Reg. Rep. He didn't even recognize me or call on me to speak in this meeting or the 7 p.m. meeting. He is really a jealous person of his presiding authority and won't share even a minute if he isn't forced to. I feel a little sorry for him - he just has to have this recognition. He feels threatened if he allows anyone else to speak. We don't feel that he is doing a good job at all.
Mar. 4, 1984
We met with all of our missionaries from 8:00 to 9:30. We attended the 10 am meeting and I spoke about 5 min. He wouldn't even let Barbara bear her testimony - Again he is very selfish. We drove home after this and got into a real bad snow storm.
Mar. 5, 1984
We finished our preparation for Dunn's mission tour. His secretary called and said that his wife was also coming.
Mar. 6, 1984
We left Billings and drove to Missoula (300 miles) we arrived at 12:30 and went to the airport to meet Dunn. After he came in we ate lunch at the airport and then went to the stake center to begin our meetings. We started at 2 pm. After Barbara and I spoke and we had a short prep game, we turned the time over to Elder Dunn at 3 pm. He talked until 5:50. We had a big dinner set up at 5 p.m. that had to wait. The dinner put on by the Missoula stake was excellent. After the dinner we tried to get a tri zone picture (70 missionaries). Dunn went in another room to talk to someone and never did make it in the picture. We started the special multi stake fireside at 7 pm. I conducted and spoke then I called on Pres. Hill at Missoula. Pres. Sangster of Stevensville and then Bro. Lofgren Reg. Rep. After the special musical I turned it over to Dunn and he did a good job for about an hour. We then met with all the stake presidents in the area to promote missionary work. I looks like everyone will get enthused - I hope.
Mar. 7, 1984
We stayed at Super 8, ate at TB's and started a Zone and District leaders meeting at 8 am. During this time Barbara met with all the girls. Both meetings went well. All the missionaries seem enthused. We drove to the airport and flew to Billings. The AP's drove our car and got down to Billings so we all ate lunch together. After lunch we started the Quad Zone conference at 2 pm. It was really good and ended about 5:30 pm. We had a picture then dinner furnished by Billings 3rd ward - it was great. After the dinner we started a meeting at 7 pm. Barbara and the APs left about 8 p.m. to pick up Sr. Dunn. Barbara arranged a punch and cookie party for her started about 9 pm. She came and didn't taste a cookie or the punch. In fact she was not very gracious. After the fireside we met with the two Billings stake presidents and talked about missionary work. I hope it helps. We then came home and they stayed in the Mission home.
Mar. 8, 1984
We had made arrangements to eat promptly at 7 am. The Dunn's family came down at 7:30 (very rude). The breakfast was delicious - we then had to leave at 8:15 to get to the Zone and District Leaders meeting. The Dunn's didn't come out of their room until 8:45. The meeting was good but I'm glad I had allowed an extra hour because he talked an hour overtime. We then drove to Dunmore for lunch and a special meeting. We then drove to Billings and flew to Glendive. They fixed us a nice dinner and then we had a special fireside. The meeting was well attended but had a lot of noisy children. Pres. Flower talked about 30 minutes too long so Dunn was pretty upset. After the meeting I set apart Pres. Pack as 2nd counselor to Pres. Flower in the District Presidency. We stayed at Super 8.
Mar. 9 , 1984
Again we told the Dunn’s that we had to leave at 7:30 in order to make it to Glasgow for our next meeting. They were 30 minutes late as usual. I then had to drive 230 miles in less than 3 hours. I was very uncomfortable but we made it averaging 73 mph. We only did it with the Lord's help. We showed them the Poplar, Wolf Point and Frazier chapels and arrived at Glasgow about 10 min before our meeting started. The meeting was good and had real good attendance. After this meeting we had a really good lunch. I interviewed Gordon Johnson for a mission and approved him. We put the Dunns in the plane at 2 pm. It was a relief. He congratulated us on doing a good job with the mission but they were generally very ungracious and unappreciative - we hope they get changed. Barbara gave Sr. Dunn a special pair of Hutterites house slippers and she didn't even say thanks. Barbara and I drove back to Billings and arrived here about 8 pm.
Mar. 10, 1984
Today was John's last stake basketball game. Their team won everything. John is really good. He is the real star both in the stake and in the school intramural. His team also won that.
Mar. 11, 1984
We traveled to Lame Deer for district conference. It was really good compared to last year. The district organization is really working well. After the meeting we had a lunch and then drove to Dunmore for another district conference. This was really good and well attended. We didn't get to speak but the local people did and it was great. They were really doing good. Pres. Burns is a great leader.
I got a report that Elder Rosenhan was having real girl problems. I brought him into the home with the intent of sending him home for moral transgressions. In fact I had told SLC that he was on the way. After talking with him and his stake pres. I decided to let him stay 3 months to finish on strict probation. He is really unenthused and not very sorry for his actions. I hope he makes it.
Mar. 12, 1984
The new missionaries came in today. They look pretty good (James, Alamanite, Rhodes, Pack, Fitzgerald, Murray, and Green). In fact it looks like we have some leaders here. They came in about 12:30. After lunch we had the orientation and then had them go out with the elders in the home to teach.
Mar. 13, 1984
This was a big transfer day - we had lots of missionaries go through the home on the way to new locations. Four missionaries went home and Sr. Rhees, Elders Orrock, Chang, Bates and Keele. Sr. Rhees and Chang were good missionaries but the others were not very good at all. In fact Keele dipped snuff his first few months, then went off by himself and wrecked a car. We had dinner and then a brief de-orientation. Sr. Rhees really didn't want to go. She told a story of how her goal was to have another baptism before she left but didn't have one ready until the last day someone she had previously taught came up and asked for a baptism. She also told of a couple they were teaching who said that every time they came the room got warmer with the spirit and they had to turn down the thermostat.
Mar. 14, 1984
I had a crown put on a tooth that I had broken. Elder Barton called again and said that he wanted to go home. I told him either to go or commit himself to stay and do the work. He decided to stay at least for a while.
Mar. 15, 1984
I caught a bad cold and have had a tough time trying to shake it - everyone had either had a cold or the flu. Today was John's final stake basketball game. They won the East Billings tournament and played the 6th ward for the bistake championship. John is a real main stay. He fouled out in the 3rd quarter and they lost by 6 points. John is so big that he controls both boards - and does a great job.
Mar. 16 , 1984
Shopped food for the elders. I told Sr. Lowe that we would not need her after Mar. 31 so she could go home. I couldn't tell whether she was happy or sad. Things will be much better without her. The elders will cook their own meals and clean up.
Mar. 17, 1984
This is Lovell stake conference. We decided to not go down until tomorrow. John and I went out to the Big Horn River to fish. We left about 1 p.m. and were back by 5 - no luck but we didn't really try hard. We just loved to be out by ourselves.
Mar. 18, 1984
We left Billings at 6 am and drove to Lovell for the conference. Barbara and I both spoke at both sessions. Tyler Woolley was the Reg. Rep. we brought him back to Billings and he had dinner with us because his plane was late. The conference was good but they aren't very missionary minded. They bragged about doing over 100,000 endowments and I chided them for saving 10,000 dead and only 15 of the living last year - they don't like to be scolded.
Mar. 19, 1984
P day. We did the usual except Barbara and I went to a "landmark" luncheon to hear a patriarch speak. It was really good. We don't have to travel much this week or next so we are going to rest up.
Mar. 20, 1984
Elder Barton called and said he wanted to go home. I finally told him to either go home or commit himself to be a missionary - he is going home next transfer after being out 4 months.
Mar. 21, 1984
We had a special fireside today for 2 Lamanite couples. Burdick and Bilie Daws and Joe and ? Wallace. They are both young couples with young children - they are probably about 25 to 28 years old and when I asked them about tithing they both said that they have never earned any money. I guess they have lived all of their lives on welfare. Daws have twins about a month old.
Mar. 24, 1984
I released Troy Woodward today from a mission in Southern Utah to the Navajos. He was a great missionary and will now go to BYU. As a Lamanite he goes free. John went skiing at Red Lodge and had a good time.
Mar. 25, 1984
This was the Billings East Conference. Barbara and I both spoke - Tyler Woolley was the Reg. Rep. The weather is beautiful. Spring is definitely on the way and it really feels good. This means that we only have one more Montana winter here. Our baptisms are not doing so good. Last year we had over a hundred in March and this year we will get about 60. All missions are down but that does not make us feel any better.
Mar. 26,27,28, 1984
We spent three days working on transfers. It was only going to be a small transfer but all the problems that have developed have made it a big one. Only two new missionaries and one couple are coming in. I decided to send Elder Pace home early - he has been a poor missionary. Elder Barton has decided to go home after 4 months. Our big problem in the mission is lack of dedication by the missionaries. They are still kids who haven't left home yet.
Mar. 29, 1984
We went to Byron, Wyo. to speak to the priesthood leaders of the Lovell stake. They with their wives met at Pres. Abraham’s home for a dinner and speech. Barbara and I both spoke about missionary work. They plan to do 20,000 endowments in the Idaho temple and baptize only 18 new members. They really don't care about missionary work in the whole Big Horn basin. After the dinner we drove home.
Mar. 30, 1984
We drove to Powell, Wyo. where we both spoke at the Powell Institutes Friday Forum. There were about 50 in attendance. Powell is a nice little town with 2 big wards and a college - yet they have had only 1 baptism in two years. We are taking the missionaries out of there for a while and will put them in Casper, Wyo. We will make 2 sister districts, one in Billings and one in Casper.
Mar. 31, 1984
Today was the beginning of the Billings Stake conferences. We attended the Sat. night meetings. Only a very few people were there. Tyler Woolley was the authority. I have never been to a worse meeting - completely unspiritual and un-motivating. Pres. Peterson is a cold fish for a president and his counselors don't add much. Not one word was said about missionary work.
April 1, 1984
We attended the Billings Conference and I spoke for about 5 min. The time was already nearly gone. Again it was a very poor spiritual experience. Something really needs to be done about that stake or it will never move forward. After that meeting we attended the 4th ward meetings with John. That is really a good ward and a good stake. Bp. Anderson is really good and does a wonderful job. This afternoon was Brenda Lowe’s last day with us. We gave her a plaque and a big cake. Her daughter came out to drive back with her. We will be much better off without her. She has told everyone in Billings that we are going to sell the mission home and move out - she leaves tomorrow - goodie.
April 2, 1984
Brenda Lowe and her daughter left this morning - they are going to SLC on the way home. It has been real good for her for nearly 2 years - she considered it a calling by the church and really didn't think Barbara and I were her bosses. In fact she felt superior to both of us. She told everyone that the church was selling the mission home and they didn't need a cook anymore. She was a very good person but this job was only an easy way to promote Brenda and her social life - Everything was secondary to that. The elders are really glad to be able to plan and cook their own meals.
April 3, 1984
We spent the day preparing for the next transfer. Barbara spent the day in the kitchen just doddling - she loved it.
April 4, 1984
Elder Barton left for home today - he said that he just couldn't take it any longer - he didn't like people and especially didn't like missionary work. He made a big mistake and I tried every way I could to get him to stay. Two missionaries came in today Elder Moeller and Sr. Hazen. He is going to be a great leader. She may be a problem. 5'4'' tall and well over 200 lbs. She does have a good spirit. Both are the only members of their families. Baker in Missoula is his trainer and Earnshow in Kallispell is hers. We gave them the orientation and them go out with the house missionaries. Madsen and Klem the traveling AP's came in after 2 weeks traveling.
April 5, 1984
This was transfer day - it went very well. The missionaries leaving are Madsen, Tisdel (the two AP's), Elder, Pace, and Sr. Harmon. Elder has been a real loser - never really committed. He wanted a blessing which was really hard to give - knowing his record for the past 18 months. Pace was a pretty good missionary until the past several months. Harmon was average. Madsen and Tisdel were outstanding - Madsen began getting obnoxious a few months ago so I sent him out with Klem as a traveling AP. Tisdel was solid and committed right to the end. He grew up from a boy to a real leader.
April 6, 1984
This was kinda relaxing day - we just picked up all the loose ends. Klem and Lawrence are the AP's. I think I will send them both out next month - Also Phillips - He really needs to go out - he doesn't fit in with the group. He has only done a fair job with the cars.
April 7, 1984
This was general conference. We watched both sessions on TV and then watched priesthood meeting at the stake center. It was very good. The missionaries watched it downstairs on our big TV.
April 8, 1984
We watched conference again today. It was really good. Very spiritual and uplifting.
The missionaries cooked their own dinner and invited the new 4th ward elders. They cooked in the crock pot with deer meat some one had given them. Most of them are doing great. Barbara is really happy - yesterday she baked bread for the missionaries. They haven't spent anything for food yet.
April 9, 1984
I finally went to the doctor to see if I could get over my sinus problem. My blood is ok so I will just have to wear it out.
April 10, 1984
We drove to Casper Wyo. for our first district conference. It was good but they don't seem really enthused. Barbara and I both kinda railed on them. They are much better than last month. I had to move Gapmeyer because of a girl problem. After the conference we drove to Riverton. It snowed most of the way and is a bleak trip.
April 11, 1984
The Riverton conference was first - Elder Foster is doing a great job. The Atkinsons are doing better although they have had no baptisms on their mission yet. He is a great reactivator but not much of a missionary. We drove next to Warland. These elders are doing great - especially Measles and Wilco. xWe then drove to Cody. The Watts replaced the Behlings and will do well in the visitors center. This group is doing well except possible Gilvin - he is driving Switters crazy. After this meeting we drove back to Billings in a bad snow storm. Today was the contractors meeting for the Lamanite chapels that we are going to remodel. This should be started in about a month. It's a big expense for a very few people i.e. Lodge Grass average attendance is about 10 people and a remodeling cost of about $200,000.
April 12, 1984
We drove to Hardin to meet with the Custer Zone. The Wrights and Cooks were there also. We really have some "dead" couples. The Wrights have a pretty good spirit but the Cooks might just as well have never came out. They have done nothing. Lamanite baptisms are really down from last year. The program changed so that the age limit is now 12 rather than 8 - this will really reduce the participants in the "placement" program. Matthews is not doing very good as ZL. I will replace him next month. Pickering is doing ok.
April 13, 1984
We held the Billings meetings today. This is really a great group - we should get more baptisms here. I am trying a new program of having a sisters district with sisters as district leaders. I hope it works out ok. I have another district in Casper with Sr. Thomas as DL. We are having a slight problem in the home. I am going to replace. Elder Phillips as "Carczar" with elder Cardinet. He should be good. I will bring some one else into the home - a good worker for summer.
April 14, 1984
We drove to Great Falls for their meeting - It was not as spiritual as it should be - something wrong. We went to the stake conf. for the East stake after the meeting. This is a good stake. Peterson does a good job.
April 15, 1984
We attended the stake conference and both Barbara and I spoke. Reg. Rep. Lofgren took charge. He read the same speech he has given every conference for 2 years. He really isn't doing a very good job in my opinion. The people like him so I shouldn't complain. After the meeting we drove home.
April 16, 17, 1984
Today we drove to Missoula (6 hrs) in order to be there for a meeting at 9 am. It was a good meeting. The ZL's Cowley and Gleave are doing great. After the meeting we drove to Kallispell for a meeting. We have some problems there. Ruesch and Easer and doing very poorly - Greer is doing much better and Glasgow is doing great. After the meeting we drove Butte (5 hours) by way of Seely Lake and Swan Lake. This is a beautiful drive - much like Yellowstone. The Lakes are still frozen over and some snow.
April 18, 1984
We held meetings at Butte then drove to Helena and then to Bozeman and then home. The meetings were all great. At Helena Bro. Bommerman and wife fixed us tacos for lunch. Bozeman meeting was not as good as it should be. I told Elder Cox that I was through baby sitting him and he should either straighten up or go home. He said that he would straighten up.
April 19, 1984
We drove to Miles City (3 hours) for their meeting. The Seveys and Booths were there. The Seveys have done absolutely nothing in 10 months. I told them I was sending them home in June. The Booths are real strange. He wrote to the Apostles (Faust) complaining that I was not helping him - he has had no baptisms in 9 months. I sent 2 elders up to Wolf Point and they had 8 baptisms in 2 months. He as Branch President doesn't get to approve the baptisms so he is upset. He claims that Pres. Lee appeared to him and said that he was doing ok. He is not doing his CES work or his missionary work but is doing great as Branch President.
April 20, 1984
Barbara had to give a lesson on "etiquette" at the stake center to the young woman. She did a great job. I had a call from the Great Falls ZL's saying that the local missionaries had been doing bad things - including a beer party. I was going to Casper so I changed our plans to go to Great Falls.
April 21, 1984
Drove to Great Falls and interviewed Elders Colvin, Moore, Moon and Draper. They had been going to night clubs, dancing, drinking, dating girls and having girls in their apartment. After extensive interviews, I sent Colvin home since this was his second offense and put the others on strict probation. I hope they straighten out cause I mean business. We went to the night meeting for stake conference. Elder Loren Dunn was the visitor. He said that I was to lenient - last time he said use more patience.
April 22, 1984
We attended conference and I spoke. We then drove home. John went out for chicken for dinner. This was Easter and it was beautiful. Montana's weather just couldn't he better. It's much better than Utah's.
Elders Moon and Draper were very repentant but Moore was cocky and only concerned that he was caught. I'm going to watch him carefully.
Bob called and said they were looking at cars. We had offered to help him so we loaned him $10,000.
I received a call from Elder Prater's fathers. He accused me of everything even teaching the Elders to break the laws. His son had told him lots of things that weren't true. I called the stake pres. and he said don't worry this guys a real cookie and his wife is even worse. I finally told Bro. Prater is he would leave his son alone I would make a missionary out of him - other wise I would send him home.
April 23, 1984
P day for the elders - I let them take a car and go to see Custer Battlefield about 60 miles away. They love it.
April 24, 25, 1984
I had all of the zone leaders (14) come to Billings for a 2 day conference. It was really great and everyone enjoyed it. The leaders are really doing a great job. I'm going to split the zones and let each zone leaders take half of the zone and train a new leader. This will give me more contact with individuals and we can keep closer watch on them. In there small towns sometimes missionaries see the ZL once a month and the DL only twice a month. They see us every month. We have good solid ZL's but some weak DL's. This way I can replace the weak DL's and let the ZL's take over that function.
April 26, 27, 1984
Spent most of the time working on transfers. This is a big job and going to be bigger since I am going to split the zones. I decided to replace Elder Phillips. He just doesn’t fit very well in the home and is not doing a real good job anyway. I will put him with the Lamanites where he wants to go. I brought in Elder Jackson to replace Cardinet (Hist. and Recorder) and let Cardinet replace Phillips. Next month I will replace Amezcua - he is doing great but has been in here 8 months.
We had a real bad storm on the 26th. It snowed 5 feet in Red Lodge 50 miles south. The elders going to Casper were snowed in at Sheridan for 3 days. We drove to Butte Friday afternoon for an appointment Sat.
April 28, 1984
We spoke at the Butte stake Relief Society Spring Social. It was really great and about 300 women attended. Barbara gave a great talk. After it was over we had a dinner and then a special show. After the show they called Barbara and I up to the stage and presented us with a beautiful engraved music box that played the theme "it's a small world.” We were thrilled and it was a very special occasion. We drove home after and got here about 7 pm. John had been in charge of a seminary outing all day - It was scheduled for Red Lodge but they couldn't get there because of the 5 ft. of snow - Some drifts were 14 ft. high. John is really doing great.
April 29, 1984
Barbara, John and I put on the sacrament meeting program at the 4th ward. We also called on the 4th ward elders. Jackson, Gardner, Lawrence and Taylor. Taylor has a beautiful voice and he sang. John gave the best talk of anyone. He spoke of love and cited a number of scriptures. He has really grown and has a good testimony of the gospel.
April 30 - May 3, 1984
I spent most of the week working on the transfer for the month. I am going to send my two assistants Klem and Lawrence out and bring Cowley and Dayton in. A change will be real good for everyone. I am also going to send Phillips out. I was going to let Cardinet take his job but he is not picking it up fast enough so I am going to bring Elder Hansen back in to be the car Czar. Baptisms are looking better this month than previously - we should get at least 60 and that's what we got last year. We will still be down by about 18% from last year. Part of the problem is due to uncommitted missionaries - those not living the rules. Elder Loren C. Dunn called and said that we could be much stricter on our rules and could send home problem missionaries. In the past we would send them home and the missionary department would send them to another mission. They would promptly call back to their friends and say there were having a great time. He said that this will stop. This should allow us to strengthen the mission.
May 4, 1984
I drove to Glendive to a zone conference. Barbara had to stay and present a program to the Relief Society. Also, John's prom is tomorrow night and she wants to stay and help him.
The zone conference was good although the elders are not really doing a very good job. The Booths finally had 3 baptisms - the Seveys have never taught anyone yet - I am going to move them to another mission to see if they can get inspired. The Booths are still a big problem. I think that we have all decided just to ignore the problem rather than try to correct it.
May 5, 1984
The Montana East district conference started today at 12:30. I was the presiding authority. The district is doing fair - no real progress. Missionary work is very slow - only 5 baptisms through March. The district is so scattered out that people do good just to come to the meetings - There are a number of real good people doing a great job but it's an uphill drive. The meetings were not very inspiring or very instructive. The general meeting was very poorly attended. The district president didn't even get there until about 6 pm.
Barbara came up on the bus and I picked her up at 11:15 pm.
May 6, 1984
The meetings started at 8:30. Barbara talked to the sisters and I talked to the priesthood. She did a great job. The main meeting started at 10. After Pres. Flower and his counselors got through there really wasn't much time left. Pres. Erekson, Barbara and I all talked. After this I interviewed several people for temple recommends and then we drove back to Billings. John had a great time at his prom. He wore a white tux, pink shirt and the whole works. I am anxious to see the pictures. He was in the royalty line but wasn't chosen to be king. His date was a sophomore. He is doing really well and is looking forward to BYU - we think that he is ready also.
May 7, 1984
P day for the missionaries. Barbara and I worked as usual.
May 8 , 1984
We get new missionaries tomorrow.
May 9, 1984
The missionaries arrived about 1:30. Barbara fixed a great lunch and then we had orientation. The new missionaries were Maxwell, Muhlestein, Hamilton, Nielson, and Slade. They will be good especially Hamilton and Nielson. Hamilton is from England and Nielsen is an excellent mechanic. Sr. Brandt and Elders Rosenhan and Milligan went home.
I had to make some changes in the home. I sent Elder Phillips out and brought Elder Hansen back in to take care of the automobiles. Phillips really had everything all messed up. He was also not good for the home. I also sent my two assistants out, Klem and Lawrence and replaced them with Cowley and Dayton. They are jewels and already doing much better than the others. I sent Klem as a ZL in Missoula and Lawrence as ZL in Butte. I brought Jackson in to replace Cardinet and will let Cardinet replace Amezcua as Financial Sec.
I decided to change the zone structure. I had 7 zones with 2 strong ZL's in each zone. I split the zones and put one ZL in charge of each half. I put each ZL over a young potential leader to train for a leadership spot. This will put strong ZL's closer to the missionaries so we will get better control and closer supervision.
May 10, 1984
This was transfer day and it was a big transfer. I had to move a lot of elders to get the zones set up properly.
I hope this improves the baptisms. In April we had 63 compared to 60 last year. We are still about 20% behind last year. May is not starting out very good - 13 the first week.
May 11, 1984
Elder Murry went home - he just couldn't take it. He says that he did things before coming out that he didn't get straightened out.
May 12, 1984
We left about 6 am to go to Missoula for our first May Zone conference. I started interviews at 12 noon. We finished about 5 pm. It was not a good conference. We just didn't get the spirit in the meeting. After the meeting, the Relief Society prepared dinner which was good. We drove them to Great Falls and stayed at our usual Super 8.
May 13, 1984
We drove to Stevensville for stake conference. Elder Kucuchie (Japanese) was the GA. He is not our favorite speaker. After the meeting we met with the missionary stake leaders. I hope we got straightened out some misunderstandings. The work has not been going too well and Bro. Hayes the H.C. Rep. blames the missionaries. I think we finally convinced him that it was the members who were la. xAfter the meeting we drove south to Highway 43, then east to Butte. It was a beautiful drive. We stopped at Bozeman as we usually do for ice cream and get to Billings about 9 pm.
May 14, 1984
P day I spent the day preparing the garden. I planted pees, beans, cucumbers, squash and tomatoes. Everyone says they will freeze because it is too early.
May 15, 1984
We left about 6 am to drive to Butte for zone conference. We started at 11 and ended about 5 pm. The conference was real good in spite of some of the problem elders (Moore, Draper, Greer, Cox) All of them are on probation for breaking rules. The ZL's Lawrence and Swaim will really do a great job. The R.S. furnished dinner which was great. We then drove to Great Falls and arrived about 8 pm.
May 16, 1984
The Great Falls (Judith Basin) zone conference started at 8 am and finished about 2 pm. This was really a good conference. The ZL's (James and Stirling) are really doing well. They are great even though they have some problem elders (Rosehan and Workman). Some others are not motivated (Seamons, Ruesch). The R.S. furnished dinner which wasn't very good. We then drove home and arrived about 7 pm. The weather has really been great (85 degrees) yesterday and about 40 degrees at night.
May 17, 1984
We held the Billings Zone Conf. today. It was good but we didn't seem to have any motivation in the zone. The wards aren’t doing very well and the missionaries don't seem to have any zip. The mission home elders are doing good in the home but they are not getting may baptisms. (Cardinet is now learning Amezcua’s job and I am going to send Amezcua out next transfer. He has been a real stabilizing influence in the home.
May 18, 1984
We went to Hardin to have a Zone Conf. for the Custer Zone. Here we have the 4 couples Wrights, Cooks, Adersons, and Atkinsins. They were all very discouraged and just seem to get together to complain. We stopped the couples conference because of this. Phillips and Pickering the ZL's are doing a pretty good job but it's hard to work with the couples. We all got our "hepatitis shots" from Sr. Wright. She loves to do this. In the evening we had a fireside at the mission house for all of the stake missionaries in the Billings stake. Barbara and I both spoke. I hope we got them excited
May 19, 1984
We left early and drove to Casper for a Zone Conf. at noon. It was much better than the others we have had. Everyone seemed to be excited. The R.S. had a lunch after and I met with the stake mission Pres. (Harmon) and the new member of the stake presidency over missionary work (Coman). We cleared the air and I then got Pres. Harmon back on track. He would like to be Mission Pres. and run the whole show. He is a little dictator and loves to boss the full time missionaries - they don't like it and neither do I. I think we got all this straightened out. John went with us and I think he enjoyed it. After the conference we drove to Worland and stayed in a "Super 8.” We ate dinner at our Mexican place in Casper and John loved it.
May 20, 1984
We attended the conference and Barbara and I both spoke. Robert Backman was the GA and he was really good. The stake pres. (Asay) was also good. He really has a wonderful family. In fact, we love to go to Warland cause they are all so good to us. When we left we decided to come home the scenic route. We went up over the Big Horn mountains and back down to Lovell. It was beautiful and we saw lots of elk. We also tried to go up by the "Medicine Wheel" right on top but couldn't get up because of snow. On the way home we got some Church's fried chicken and ate dinner in the mission home.
May 21-24, 1984
We spent this time catching up on lots of things. I planted the garden - tomatoes, peas, beans, carrots, lettuce, beets, potatoes, onions, cucumbers, and squash (yellow and zucchini). We love to have a good garden and it will really help the elders. Everyone says it will freeze but we are going to take the chance. We also bought some new shrubs for the yard and petunias, coxicomb, etc. for our flower beds. Everything should look real nice soon. The elders spent all week getting the yard pretty. Pres. and Sr. Petersons daughter wants her wedding in the yard and home on Sat. May 26. They feel like this is church property and they have as much right to it as we do. We are going to be more restrictive from now on - especially with people like them.
May 25, 1984
This was John's seminary graduation day. After 23 years getting kids up for seminary it is now over. John has done a real good job. He has been vice chairman of the bi-stake seminary council and has done most of the work. They didn't give him proper recognition at the graduation and he and we were quite disappointed. The stake reps. did take them out to dinner and gave him a book but he wanted to be recognized in front of his piers. I guess he needs a few set backs. I had to leave early to release Elder Flower from Miles City who just returned from a mission in Spain. He missed his plane from Denver and didn't make it so I was sorry that I had left.
May 26, 1984
We left early to drive to Kallispell (nearly 500 mi.). We had a zone conference set up for 4 pm. We drove up a new way by Swan Lake, Seely Lake and Salmon Lake. It was really beautiful especially this time of year when everything is so green. It was like driving 500 miles through Yellowstone Park. The conference was good except. Swander and Esser are not doing well. Also, Sr. Hazen wants to go home. She has lost 26 lbs. and looks great. She really has lost 126 lbs. and still weighs over 200 lbs. Elder Loren Dunn was the conference visitor at Kallispell - He also had Elder Lofgren with him (why I don't know). We attended the Sat. evening meeting and it was really good. He even mentioned missionary work. We went out to a Mexican dinner and stayed in the Super 8.
May 27, 1984
We attended the Sun. morning meeting and I spoke briefly - the meeting was good. After this meeting he called a special missionary meeting. I also spoke at this one but we had to leave during Dunn's talk. We had a zone conference set up at Missoula and really had to drive fast to get there. This was a real good conference and everyone seemed up. After the conference we drove to Butte. We at dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant "Mings" and then stayed in Butte.
May 28, 1984
We had a conference at Butte starting at 9 am. It was good but we have some downers there (Draper and Moore). They are both on probation from previous problems. Swain the ZL is doing a good job. He is real strict and tells it like it is.
After this meeting we drove to Bozeman for another conference. They are doing well, although Bozeman seems to be a poor place for missionary work. After this meeting we drove home to Billings. John hates us to be gone this much.
May 29-31, 1984
I worked on transfers and also worked out the 1985 mission budget. We spend about $55,000 a year. We are getting in 1 sister and 1 elder - after I get it all worked out, the missionary dept. called and said that the elders weren't coming in.
June 1 & 2, 1984
John, Barbara and I left on a personal trip to Yellowstone Park. We just decided to go and do our own thing for a couple of days. We drove to Bozeman and then to West Yellowstone. Then into the park and stayed in a cabin in Lake Village. We had a great time. John took pictures of elk, deer, buffalo, moose, antelope, porcupines, geese, etc. We bought some steaks and potatoes and broiled them over a fire in the Fishing Bridge camping area. It was really cold. We put our drinks and watermelon in a snow bank while we cooked - we all had a good time. Our cabin was heated but we turned off the heat and got under our sleeping bags. It was real cold but we loved it. Sat. morning I got up and went to a store for some things for breakfast so we ate in the cabin. After this we leisurely drove around the park and took more pictures. We ate lunch at "Gardner" Montana and then drove home via Livingston. It was a real fun trip and very relaxing for all of us. The weather was just beautiful all the time - cool but bright sun shiny.
June 3, 1984
We stayed in Billings and went to church with John and in the 4th ward - he really is doing well but is looking forward for school at BYU. He is all registered now and ready to go in a couple of weeks.
June 4, 1984
P day, but we held district conferences. The Billings area at 8 am. This area is not doing as well as it should. We have 4 sisters here in one district. It is nothing but a social group - they seem to plan all week for p days. I am going to cut out sister districts unless I have strong leaders. The whole central zone is doing poorly. Elder Rooney is not a strong leader - I will change next month. Barbara and I didn't go to Lovell for the other district meeting. The AP's are doing so well we will just let them handle them from now on.
June 5, 1984
This was John's graduation day from Senior High School. He has done a great job. He is in Who's Who, in the National Honor Society, lettered in football and has real good grades. We are real proud of him and he is proud of himself. We took him out to dinner at "Brandy's.” He had crab legs, I had crab meat and Barbara had scallops. It cost $65.00 but I guess it was worth it. After the dinner we went to the graduation. Six hundred graduated and he was the best looking and best of all.
June 6, 1984
One new missionary came in, Sr. Bradbury. She is sharp and will be a good missionary. I sent her up to Kallispell to be with Sr. Ivey. The elders had really worked on the yard and it looked beautiful. John's birthday today - big dinner and presents. He is a great guy - doing wonderful.
June 7, 1984
This was transfer day. Elders Cowley and Dayton really took charge and it was the smoothest transfer we have ever had. It was really over before we knew it - with no hitches. 3 sister missionaries went home and one elder. Sr. Thomas, Earnshaw, and Johansen and Elder Rosenhan. Rosenhan has been on probation for 3 months and just made it by the skin of his teeth. He was grateful that I let him stay. Sr. Thomas has been a good missionary but Earnshaw and Johansen were not real gung ho. No problems but no real asset. Sr. Thomas was a district leader. The first time I tried this. She was good but got real trunky her last month.
June 8, 1984
I planted to rest of the flowers and a few more tomato plants. Our garden will be as big as last year. We'll have squash, tomatoes and cucumbers for this whole end of the town. I also repaired the sprinkler system and John mowed the lawn. We worked all day but it looks great.
June 9, 1984
Barbara and I drove to Miles City (150 mi.) for a district conference. It wasn't too good. The elders here are not too motivated. I will change them next month. We then drove to Glasgow (150 mi.) for a district conference at the Glasgow district. I preside over these.
June 10, 1984
We started the conference at 8:30 am for the usual Saturday meeting. This is because some people drive 130 miles. I spoke at this meeting. The regular session started at 10 am. Barbara and Pres. Erekson (my 1st and only counselor) spoke first after Pres. Thueson (Dist. Pres.), his counselor and 3 Lamanites. I had only about 15 minutes so I called up Roy Harris from the audience and asked him to bear his testimony. He did and presented me with a beautiful beaded belt buckle - His wife gave Barbara a beautiful pin and a Sioux jewelry bo. xThey are lovely people. She is a Sioux and he is white. Their custom is to give you anything of theirs that you admire. I admired his belt buckle several weeks ago but wouldn't let him give it to me.
The one Lamanite girl talked on "Being in the world but not of the world.” She was unmarried and had 3 children each by a different man and had never been married. This is really not unusual for them but we though this to be a little ironical. Her 2 brothers also spoke and both are returned missionaries and great people (Mason and Anthony Runs Through). After the main meeting we had a leadership meeting. They are really short on leaders - we closed down Frazier Branch because of no branch pres. and now it looks like we may have to do the same with Poplar. We have no couples to put in leadership positions and there is no local leader strong enough. Elder and Sr. Booth are keeping Wolf Point branch going but they are very different people. I may move him to Poplar and call Roy Davis to be Br. Pres. in Wolf Point. Poplar has 340 members of record and about 10 in attendance. Most Lamanites and most have problems - either alcohol, moral or family. They are nearly all on welfare and no one really works.
The worst example of socialism - public dole. After the meeting we drove home and got here about 8 pm. John was fine - we really hate to leave him so much. It will be good when he goes to school.
June 12, 1984
This was an important day. I ordained John to the Melchizidek priesthood and to office of Elder. Bp. Anderson assisted. John was real pleased and so was I. He can now go to school as an elder. He is really doing great, learning all the things he needs to know about cooking, washing, ironing, etc. He will be well prepared for school and a mission.
June 13-14, 1984
Spent the time working on transfers. Baptisms are not real well and I am going to try to get stronger leadership in the zones and districts - many missionaries still are uncommitted and are out here just to play.
The problem is that each bad one pulls down another. I had a call from Butte saying Elder Draper has been water-skiing. I will send him home Monday. This is several times that he has broken the rules after a promise and probation. He is not ready to be a missionary.
June 15, 1984
Elder Cowley's family came to the home. His brother married a Billings girl and they are having a reception tonight. They are a lovely family. Elder Cowley was in Wyoming and got home 15 before it was over. We went for a few minutes and there weren't many people there.
June 16, 1984
A young man from Glendive "White" came in for a mission interview. He will be going soon and will make a great elder. We took John out to eat at Mrs. Butlers Kitchen. He loves fried chicken and they have the best. When we got home it really started to rain. The elders had to put up our "flood gates" to keep the water from coming down the street and into the house. They really got all wet.
June 17, 1984
Barbara and I left early to go to a "Hutterites" wedding at Lewistown 150 mi. away. It was at a colony 7 miles off in the mountains. We stayed for 2 hours while they had church in German and finally left before the wedding ceremony so we could come back and go to church with John. We wanted to be with him on Fathers Day. After church we came home and opened presents. John gave me a 20 power spotting telescope - he was so thrilled and it was great. We went up on the rims and watched things all over the valley. Ann sent a leather carpenter’s bag - it will be great for my carpenter work when we get home. Jean sent a bottle of cologne "Chapps" and Bob sent a beautiful picture of Michael and Laura Ann. He also called. He is so thoughtful and sweet. We will be glad when we can be closer to him. He had taken his family camping and used the boat and motor we left with him.
Last night at 10 p.m. the elders knocked on our door and brought up a special card with all the names on the mission on it. They also gave me a beautiful eagle statue. It is so appropriate because our symbol is "The Eagle.” They are really a sweet bunch of missionaries. Elder James is a good addition. I guess I will send Elder Jackson out and bring in Elder Morris to take Hansons place as Car Czar. He will be hard to replace. Bp. Carpenter came and took our dog Suzie away yesterday - with John going we just couldn't handle her even though she was an excellent hunting do and very well trained. I used to take her on a 2 1/2 mile walk every morning and sometimes to a large canal where she loved to swim and retrieve a large bottle. She will be better off cause they have some children for her to play with.
June 18-23, 1984
We did not travel this week. I spent most of the week redoing the transfer schedule. It seems like about 1/2 of our missionaries have some problems. Many are not prepared when they come out and many are here just to fill in 18 months. The sisters are usually real problems. Only a small percentage are really missionaries. The 4 in Billings are doing nothing but socializing. I am going to send them all out. We need also to improve the mission staff. James Morris and Beese will be good additions. John left for school (BYU) on Friday. He was going as far as Evanston with some friends following him then to Provo Saturday. His car really looked nice - he had it tuned up and polished Thursday and he is real proud of it. He didn't take his stereo - said he wouldn't need it.
June 24, 1984
We spoke at the EMC (college ward) at 11 am then left for Anaconda (250 mi.) where we spoke at a missionary fireside at 7 pm. Elders Bret Christensen and Fulmer are there. They are not real good missionaries but they are not doing anything real bad. We stayed at Butte in a new place $10 cheaper.
June 25, 1984
We held our zone conference at Butte beginning at 9 am. Spirituality is some better but still not very good. Meldrum is a downer as well as some others. After the conference I interviewed everyone and then we left for Kallispell. We drove via Swan Lake again and it was beautiful. Probably the prettiest place in the mission. We took several slides. Big Fork is absolutely beautiful -really a vacation town with lakes and rivers, etc. We stayed at Kallispell but couldn't find a good place to eat.
June 26, 1984
We held our zone conf. at 8 am and it was really good. Everyone seemed to be up although there were some downers. Klem is doing great as a ZL Warchime is also. Sell is doing poor even in his last month. Greer and Peterson don't get along but everything else except Ralston is ok. Ralston is a real perennial problem - I just don't know what to do with him. I will send a real strong companion and try to help him out. He tries for a little while every once in a while but is not really worth it.
June 27, 1984
We drove through Glacier Park and just relaxed and saw everything. It is a beautiful place and we love this part of the state. We stayed at Great Falls and had an early zone conference. It was really good and everyone seemed to be up and on the ball. Stirling and Swain are really doing wonderful. Amezcua is also doing a great job and loves it. After the conference we drove to Billings via Lewistown. We stopped to see the Bishop to discuss Elder Packer. He has had real problems - He bothered a little 11 year old girl and accidentally fell on someone’s pet dog and killed it. He also punched a hole in the apartment wall with his fist. I'm going to make him pay for this. He also over dosed on his medicine. I called his mom and stake pres. but nothing serious happened. I may have to send him home early.
June 28, 1984
We tried to catch up on everything before leaving again tomorrow. I finished up transfers.
June 29, 1984
Had zone conference at Dunmore for the Custer Zone. We had 4 couples and the ZL's. It was good but the couples are really down. In nearly a year now the Atkinsons and Andersons have had no baptisms. The Cooks have had 1 and the Wrights 2.
Last year there were several times this many. Much of it is due to the change in increasing the placement age to 10 rather than 8. We've had very few Lamanite baptisms this year and we're getting ready to remodel all of their buildings. I hope they soon "Blossom as a Rose."
June 30, 1984
We got up real early and drove to Casper Wyo. for a zone conference at 12:30 pm. The Wyoming Zone is doing much better now since I moved out some of the country club set. Everyone was just out to have fun and not to do missionary work. One or two bad apples can ruin a whole zone for spirituality. We drove from Casper to Riverton. It was raining hard and we went 40 miles on the wrong road so we didn't get to Riverton until about 10 pm.
June 1, 1984
Sunday today and we went to church out on the Fort Wacky Indian reservation with the Atkinsons. They are spending all their time in activation work and are doing no missionary work - they haven't had one baptism and the previous couple had about 30 during the same period. The MTC tells them they are just out to strengthen the church so they don't listen to me. The church at Ft. Washakie is in a trailer that Elder Larson remodeled 2 years ago. It is a beautiful little chapel and about 35 people were there. Barbara and I both have testimonies. We then drove to Dubois and up through the park to get back to Billings. We came over Bear Tooth pass and didn't get home until 10 pm.
July 2, 1984
Jean and Rick called and said they were bringing their 3 children up today for us to tend until the 13th while they go to Hawaii on a trip that Rick had won in his selling job. Rick 5, Barji. 4, Mary Ann 1 1/2. They are a real house full.
July 3, 1984
Jean and Rick left early and we had to prepare for new MTC arrivals for tomorrow and transfer day the day after. Barbara prepared all the food for about 22 people.
July 4, 1984
We got in 5 elders and 4 sisters plus we had 2 extra. They all look like pretty good missionaries except Sr. Guthrie and I'm afraid that she is a little to sickly to be successful. She is not sure why she is here. I sent her down to Douglas to be with Sr. Hamilton who should be real good for her. The sisters were Muie, Guthrie, Pierson, and Tessmer and the elders were Foulger, Aguilar, Palmer and Toon. Toon is a transfer from the Philippines and a good missionary. He is with Moon. Toon and Moon. Barbara had a great dinner in spite of the three children. July 5
This was transfer day - it was a big transfer but the AP's handled it real well. Very few now come in to the mission home. They schedule it so they come in and go out without much delay time. I sent my secretary Elder Taylor out and brought James in to replace him. Morris will replace Hansen and Beese for Jackson. I had a special meeting with Dehlin and Warchime. Dehlin has spread many untruths about Warchime so I put him on probation for the rest of his mission. He is really a mentally disturbed elder who makes up big lies about everything - I'm not sure I can keep him out the next 4 months.
We sent out Baker, Nielson, Brinkman, and Hill and Sisters Evans, Ficklin and Bennett. Sr. Bennett was a stake missionary that we had had for 6 mo. She really was a special sweet person. Nielson and Hill were very poor missionaries while Baker and Brinkman were real leaders. In fact I am going to charge Nielson $900 to fix a transmission he ruined his last month. He and Hill broke every rule in the mission.
July 6, 1984
We packed up the kids and left for Glendive for a zone conference about 230 miles away. The kids were terrible. Barbara had to stay outside of the meeting and tend them while I talked and I tended them while she talked. We then drove home and got here about 9:30. The meeting was very poor - Christensen, Henrie, and Dehlin are real spiritual downers. In fact they are all 3 on probation. Christensen and Henrie have had at least 6 beer parties in the last few months. I called their stake pres. and also sent letters. Elder Smith who just moved is also on probation for the same thing. Henrie also has been using tobacco (snuff). I just can hardly believe the lack of dedication of these young men who come from good back grounds. Elder Glasgow and Maderios the new ZL's should really help the zone to improve.
July 7, 1984
We held the central zone conference in Billings - It was a good conference and we should really improve the baptisms in this area Elder Swain is the new ZL in Billings and Elder Ankeman in Worland. They are two of the best we have. I moved the 4 sisters out of Billings and moved 4 new ones in. Sr. Bloom is the District Leader and she is really good. She and Sr. Nielson are training Muir and Tessmer.
Barbara missed the meeting so she could tend the children. About 2 pm. we took them all out to some private ponds near Laurel (45mi) and Ricky really caught a lot of nice trout. He was thrilled to death. We brought them home and cooked them but he doesn't like to eat them. We caught a lot and just kept the ones who were hooked bad enough to hurt. We brought home 12. That's the first fish he had ever caught.
July 8, 1984
We went to church at the 4th ward. Only stayed through Sac. meeting since Mary Ann was so bad - Ricky and Barji are really sweet since Barji wakes up every little while and has to crawl right next to her. She is just like a little trailer and has to be close to Barbara all the time.
July 9-12, 1984
Just tended kids I took Ricky fishing 2 more times and he caught some that weighed about 3 lbs. each - we saved some for him to take home to his Dad and Mom. Taking care of them was exhausting even though they are real sweet kids. Jean and Rick came in late on the 13th.
July 13-14, 1984
Jean and Rick were here and we had a nice visit together.
July 15, 1984
Jean and Rick and family left for Utah and we drove to Livingston where we both spoke in sacrament meeting (100mi). We visited with our elders Mathews and Thompson and inspected their apartment. They are doing great and the apartment was real clean. We drove home and just plopped - It was so good to have a quiet house even though we love our kids and granddads.
Elder Packer came in to see me Sat. night about some transgressions. He had molested 2 young girls and also one young boy. He may have to go home with only 4 months left. He needs psychiatric help and is also a epileptic. I had hoped we could keep him out for his sake. I gave him an MMPI test and the result showed that he definitely needed professional help.
July 16-18, 1984
We kinda rested and caught up on everything. Barbara cleaned all the house and I washed the outside windows. It is really a big job - like being custodian of a chapel. We are getting lots of "anti" response. The house has been "egged" several times and we have had 2 bomb threats. We just pass it off and do our work. The elders are doing a fantastic job. I sent Elder Hansen out (the Car Czar) and brought Elder Morris in. Hansen was real upset but Morris is doing a real good job. He is much more mature than Hansen and already doing a better job. I also brought in Elder Maxwell to train to replace Elder Cardinet as financial secretary. He is a real great elder. The house elders now are really great we have a much better spirit and everyone works real hard.
July 19, 1984
Dan, Dorothy and Carol Wood came from Arkansas to see us. They were our neighbors for 17 years. They are good people but very important and hard headed - not the least bit humble or interested in the church.
July 20, 1984
We took the Woods to Lame Deer. They were a little bit interested in the Custer Battlefield but nothing else - we're glad that we don't live in Arkansas any longer - we are just different and have lost interest in kind of things.
July 21, 1984
The Woods went to Park for the day and got back about 11:30 pm. They enjoyed it - especially over Bear Tooth pass. Pres. Sharp (Helena) called and told me that Elders Swander and Sell went to Missoula and spent the night in a motel with an 18 year old girl. I brought Seander in a got the story - They also unhooked the speedometer cable. After much thought and prayer I decided to keep him here on probation. Sell goes home next transfer. He was just caught as an innocent bystander with Swander. Sell is a sweet follower and Swander is an arrogant problem. I hope he makes it.
July 22, 1984
We left early to drive to Lewistown (150 mi.) to speak in church. It was a good experience. Elders Ewing and Ruesch enjoyed it and one nonmember came up after and said that she wanted to be baptized. We ate dinner at Bishop Barrud's home after the meeting. He sells cookware and Barbara bought a fry pan for $119.00. After this we inspected the elders apartment then drove to Great Falls.
July 23, 1984
The district meeting started at 7 am. It was a good meeting and the missionaries all seemed up and enthused. The deaf program is not going well at all. One baptism in nearly a year. I told them to concentrate on the hearing investigators. We drove through Glacier Park and it is really beautiful. We went to the "Lodge of Many Glaciers.” It is one of the prettiest places we have ever seen. A lady was chased and bitten by a grizzly bear near the hotel and every one was scared. We are going to stay there one night in September. After this we drove to Kallispell.
July 24, 1984
We had our district meeting at Kallispell and it was very good. The elders and sisters are doing very well. The spirit is great. I interviewed Elder Sell about his trip to Missoula - He felt very bad and told me everything. I told him that I may send him home early. We drove to Missoula along the east side of Flathead Lake. It was really beautiful. The cherries and raspberries are ripe and are just delicious.
July 25, 1984
We had a district meeting in Missoula. This district is doing really well. Everyone seems to be happy and doing what they should. Elder Kent is a bit of a problem. I can't tell if it's anti leadership of anti Elder Klem his zone leader. Elder Moeller and Hamilton will both do real well. I am going to promote them both next month. After the meeting we drove to Butte and ate at our favorite Chinese restaurant.
July 26
The meeting at Butte went well but we have some poor missionaries here - Butte is a depressed area because of the mine shut down. Lots of people are moving out. Anaconda is also depressed - Elders Christensen and Fulmer are doing nothing. We had a call from the mission home saying that we had bomb threats and people were throwing eggs at the home at night so we drove home and didn't stay at Bozeman as planned. It was nothing really serious but was disturbing to the missionaries.
July 27
We left early and drove to Bozeman for the district meeting. It was good but we have some downers in this area (Traywick, Mathews, and Thompson). Bozeman should be a good missionary area. I will put another set of elders in this area. I will put another set of elders in this area next month. I have decided to bring LeChaminent into the home to replace James as secretary and let James replace Cowley as assistant. Elder Maxwell will also replace Elder Cardinet since he has been in the home now 6 months. After the meeting, we drove back to Billings.
July 28
We left early to go to Cody to a district meeting. It was ok but we still have Prater and Swander who are real downers. I can send Prater home next month but Swander has about 6 more. He is on strict probation. This really doesn't mean much - they know that it is very difficult to send them home. If I do send them home the missionary department usually just sends them to another mission and the first thing they do is call back here to their old friends and say how much better it is.
July 29, 1984
We spoke at the 2nd ward in Billings in the afternoon and then had a district meeting in the evening. This area is the best it has been for a long time. The mission home elders are doing super and all the other areas are not so good but the missionaries are doing what they should. Today was my dads 100th birthday. Everyone at home had a memorial and told things about him. Next year we can enjoy all of these things when we got back to Utah.
July 20, 1984
This was P day but Barbara and I had to drive to Riverton (5 hours).
July 31, 1984
Had district meeting at Riverton. It was good. They are doing great but aren't getting many baptisms. The members are not really helping. In the afternoon we drove to Casper. We spent about 3 hours relaxing and shopping in the big Mall.
Aug. 1, 1984
Had a district meeting in Casper. The missionaries are doing some better but are still not up to speed. Baptisms are down 50% over last year. We are trying some big things like (1) Book of Mormon tract outs. Everyone gets together on a Satruday and tracts out every house. In one ward 150 Books of Mormon were passed out to interested families. Now the missionaries are making call backs. This program should help. The stake mission pres. (Pres. Harmon) is really trying but he is very abrasive and the missionaries don't like him. We drove back to Billings after stopping at Lodge Grass to see the Cook's and Dunmore to see the Wrights. The Cook's and Dunmore to see the Wrights. The Cook's are moving back to Lame Deer since they will have greater potential and more work. They have turned into real sweet people. He has made a 180 degree turn about. She was always sweet.
This is not a good group. Henrie, Dehlin, and Christensen are all on probation. The ZL's Glasgow and Maderios are doing excellent. They will make it go if possible.
Aug. 4, 1984
The Powers (seven of them) called and said they were coming to stay with us on Monday. They were friends from L.R. who are not in Iowa. The Jordan’s (Chris and Marc) from L.R. called and said they would be in on Sunday night.
Sunday Aug. 5, 1984
This was my 64th birthday - Barbara invited all of the local missionaries in from 5 to 7 p.m. for a birthday dinner (22 people). Chris and Marc Jordan also came in about 3 pm. It was fun. The sisters Nielsen and Bloom sang a song for me that Sister Muir had written. It was beautiful. All of the kids called or wrote. Bob sent 2 ceramic Mallard ducks. Barbara gave me a belt and buckle, a jacket, and a $50 down payment on a $275 custom pair of lizard cowboy boots made by Mike Ives. It takes 6 months to get them.
Aug. 6, 1984
Chris and Marc left. I think they wanted to be gone when the Powers came. It was really nice to visit with them.
The Powers came (all seven) at 5;30 starving to death. Barbara and I made chicken and pork chow mein. It was really good. The Powers are not our kind of people - very arrogant and impressed with themselves. We were glad to see them go.
Aug. 7, 1984
The Powers left and we spent the day preparing for 5 new missionaries coming in tomorrow.
Aug. 8, 1984
The new missionaries came in about noon. We fed them lunch and then had the orientation in the afternoon. In the evening they all went to a baptism. They look like pretty good missionaries. Elders Jackson, Nelson, Westcott, Neel and Stafford.
Aug. 9, 1984
This was transfer day. We decided to use our van and a trailer. It didn't work too well. The timing was real central and some elders just can't follow directions.
The elders leaving were Sell, Weeks, Cowley, Prater, Tow, Lawrence, and Hansen. Cowley left a week early to get into soccer at BYU. We were really disappointed in him for this. They all felt pretty good except Prater - he has a real bad attitude and wasn't really worthy for a temple recommend.
Elders Draper and Seamons are both having knee problems and want to go home -Elder Dehlin is still as bad as ever and probably should be sent home. His attitude is terrible and he is not improving. I have had to change his companions twice in a month.
Aug. 10, 1984
I went to the dentist with a broken tooth. He is putting a crown on it. Grandmas (Forrest) birthday today. Barbara called and also sent a beautiful blouse. She never ever even recognizes the nice things Barbara does - she hasn't written one letter in over 2 years and Barbara writes faithfully every week. She is an example of the kind of mother and grandmother Barbara doesn't want to be. Grandpa Forest is a jewel and will go straight to heaven unless he has to go to a lower kingdom to get Grandma.
Aug. 11, 1984
We worked in the yard and garden. Took a big sack of vegetables to 4 families. Our garden is really beautiful. We can't believe that things can grow so well.
Aug. 12, 1984
Went to Lame Deer for church and then back to Dunmore. We took sacks of vegetables to the Cooks, Wrights, and Atkinsons. They loved them and our garden is really producing. Today was a total mission fast. We are praying for more unity in the mission. Everyone but about 6 elders is doing real well. I should send them home but they are worse off there than here. I just hope we can tolerate them and build them up before they go home. Elders Dehlin and Henrie are really trying to improve - I am proud of their efforts. Swander and Draper are still having bad attitude problems. If I can't straighten them up I'm afraid they may have to go home. Both of them have broken every rule we have and laughed about it. Ralston will finally make it - I'll send him home next month - a month early.
Aug. 13-15, 1984
P day - we both worked all day getting ready for the week. I worked in the yard and garden and Barbara did the house. We had a staff meeting with the elders - they are doing great. Last week on transfer day Barbara cooked 2 turkeys and all of the trimmings to eat at 5 pm. At 3 o'clock the elders came in with lots of fried chicken and started to eat. She was so mad she almost cried. I went down and told them all they weren't invited to dinner - well we repented and they felt bad. They even brought her a beautiful flower arrangement. After dinner she gave them a big turkey and enough food for the rest of the week. They are really great young men. LeCheminant and Maxwell are new and they don't know that the kitchen was closed on transfer day.
Aug. 16, 1984
Ann and her 4 children flew in about 7 pm. We picked them up and about 8 John came rolling in - he drove. We had a great evening just visiting. Ann's kids are really cute but 4 under 5 makes it real tough for her.
Aug 17, 1984
I set Larry Robert Wolf apart as a full time missionary to serve in Montgomery Alabama. He is very immature but will be a good missionary. In the evening we all went to the Crow Fair. It is a real Indian Pow Wow. Tribes come in from all over to dance. They are real dressed up in their nature costumes. Little children clear up to old men and women all dress up and dance. Everyone loved it.
Aug. 18, 1984
I sent elder Seamons home to get his knee fixed. He wanted to go home. He has been disappointed in his mission. He wanted to be a leader but never quite put out enough to get them. The kids are all having a great time but they are a real handful. That Russell is a real boy. The girls are just darling.
Aug. 19, 1984
Barbara and I had to go to a stake conference at Bozeman. We left early and took Jessie with us. Susanna didn't want to go. The visitor was the new G.A. Spencer Osborn. He was really good and really pushed missionary work - much more so that most of the others. We're down 17% from last year but that's better than many missions. We're hoping for a big August but it's really started off slow. We're going to have a big "PIG" roast for the winners. The requirement is at least 3 baptisms plus find 2 families per week to teach. We hope lots of missionaries qualify.
Aug. 20, 1984
P day and we took everyone fishing at a pond near Red Lodge. The same one we took Ricky to. We caught lots of fish and the kids really enjoyed it. John caught a couple that weighed about 3 lbs. They were big rainbow trout. John was pleased and Russell really had a ball. Susanna and Jessie joined in but weren't as thrilled as the boys.
Aug. 21, 1984
Ann really has her hands full with her 4 children. One of them needs her every minute. We got 2 big refrigerator cartons and made them a play house out on the lawn. They loved it for a while but soon needed something else. We spent a lot of the time at the park letting them play in the wading pool and on the park things.
Aug. 22, 1984
Sr. Guthrie is really having a rough time. She wants counseling every day for deep depression. I had our counselor from Denver see her today and he said she is not willing to be responsible for herself but really wants someone to lean on. Sr. Hamilton is getting really worn out with her. I'm not sure how long I can keep her.
Aug. 23, 1984
I went to the dentist to finish a crown - then played with the kids - they need full time attention and love to bother the elders.
Aug. 24, 1984
A new elder "White" was to come in at 11:30 am. He missed his connection and didn't get in until 6:30. Barbara and I had to leave at noon to go to Casper for a zone conf. White came in at 6:30 but didn't really want to stay. He had transferred in from Japan cause he couldn't learn the language. He got up at 2 am. covered all the phones so the elders wouldn't hear him and left for the bus station. The elders finally found him but he left for Butte. The elders there met him but he finally took a plane for Nevada. He had thrown his companion through a glass window and put him in the hospital so they didn't try to force him to stay.
Aug. 25, 1984
Ann and Ron and family left for home. Ron came up Friday.
Barbara and I went to Butte for their zone conference. It was really good. Everyone was really up and the meeting was very spiritual. We attended the sat. night conference with Elder Dean Larsen.
Aug. 26, 1984
We attended the morning session of conference and I spoke briefly. Elder Larson did a good job. We then drove to Great Falls and attended a Zone conference in the afternoon. It also was great. Everyone was well prepared and there was a real good spirit. We held a special sacrament meeting for the missionaries since it was fast day and they hadn't been able to attend their own meetings. We didn't have time for interviews so I decided to set them up for Monday morning.
Aug. 27, 1984
I started interviews at 8 am. Everyone is doing well even Elder Cox. The zone has a great spirit. Elders Phillips and Amezcua are doing wonderful. After the interviews we drove back to Billings.
Aug. 28, 1984
The central zone conf. started at 9 am. It was a great conference. Everyone was well prepared and there was a great spirit - all except Swander. He is having a bad time. He is trying to repent from all of his past activities and is having a hard time. I am going to move him to Casper to be with Elder Pickering who should help him and keep him obeying all of the rules.
Aug. 29, 1984
We left about 2 p.m. yesterday for a conference in Casper. Today, the conference was great with a wonderful spirit. Sr. Guthrie is the only downer. Everyone else is doing great. Gleave and Stirling are doing a great job. They seem to be good leaders with the respect of the missionaries.
Aug. 30, 1984
I took John to the Dr. this morning to have his wisdom teeth taken out. Everything went well - he was worried but the Dr. put him out completely.
Sept. 1, 1984
We left early to go to Glendive for their zone conf. It was a good meeting Dehlin and Henrie have really turned around and are trying to be good missionaries. The Booths are really strange. They don't fit and don't have a good spirit. They have a tremendous ego that doesn't allow them to get down to earth very often. We stayed at Glendive and went to church and spoke.
Sept. 2, 1984
We traveled to Miles City and attended a special missionary fireside. Barbara and I spoke as well as the District mission leader (Morteneau). It was good and should generate some enthusiasm for missionary work.
Sept. 3 & 4, 1984
We prepared for the missionaries to come in.
Sept. 5, 1984
5 new missionaries came in. 4 elders (Westcott, Nelson, Poalocci, and Green) 1 sister (Hinchi). They all look like good missionaries. Elder Darton also came in a couple of days early. He was to go to Japan but got transferred to Montana. We had lunch and then the orientation. After dinner they all went to a baptism. This was John's first day of school in the fall semester. He left last Monday to go back. He says that he loves it.
Sept. 6, 1984
This was transfer day and the day the missionaries who go home come in. I am sending Sr. Hawk home a month early because I have a young stake missionary (Sr. Nelson) from Casper who wants a 6 mo. mission. Sr. Hawk was home in spirit and I just sent her body home. Elder Rooney, Christensen, Weeks and Cowley went home. Cowley was an AP and wanted to leave a week early. I let him go which was a mistake. I sent Christensen home a month early. He was not a good missionary - in fact the only one that I refused to give a temple recommend to. Weeks and Rooney were good missionaries.
Sept. 7, 1984
I ordered the pig for our “Harvagust” celebration. I promised to have a pig barbecue for the best baptizers - also give them a plaque.
Sept. 8, 1984
We left at 6 am to drive about 460 miles to Kallispell to the Zone Conf. It was a good conference and everyone seems to be really up although the 4 sisters (Hardy, Hazen, Fulmer, and Morgan) are not doing everything - they just play and visit.
After the zone conference we drove through Glacier Park. It was just getting dark and it was beautiful. In fact this was about the last day that the park was open. We saw 2 mountain goats. We drove to Cardston Canada on our way to the mission presidents conference in Calgary. We stayed at Cardston and enjoyed it although we left the car window down and it rained.
Sept. 9, 1984
We went all around the temple and visitors center. Cardston is a real small town but the temple is beautiful. We then drove to Leftbridge where a regional conference was being held. It is also a beautiful city. We then drove on to Calgary where we stayed in the Hospitality Inn hotel. In the evening we went to the mission home for dinner. We sat by Elder Hunter (the apostle) and had a great time talking to him. Eleven mission presidents were present also the area presidency, Dunn, Busche, and Lee and their wives. The church now has area presidencies (13) who pretty much govern the church. They report back to the twelve.
Sept. 10, 1984
Our meetings were held at the stake center and were very good. Every one talked for 30 min on some subject. I spoke on "How to work with members" in doing missionary work. This is a real problem in our area. The members are not very helpful in doing missionary work. Our baptisms are down 17% from last year -we made a commitment to pick this up but my faith is not very strong that we can do it.
We really enjoyed the conference - Elder Dunn, Busche and Lee and their wives all spoke. Dunn is still the "stone face" but Busche and Lee bring a warmth and Love that has been needed. Barbara really enjoyed Srs. Lee and Busche. Sr. Dunn seemed to be real unhappy - or worried.
Sept. 11, 1984
The conference finished about noon. We went for a tour and then went up to a resort town up in the mountains for dinner. It was beautiful. Just like the Swiss Alps although it was German. Everything was real fun and it was nice to know that we don't have all of the problems.
Sept. 12, 1984
We got up early and drove back to Billings. It was cloudy for 3 days in Canada but as soon as we hit the Big Sky Country we had beautiful weather.
Sept. 13 & 14 , 1984
We just kinda rested up and caught up on all of the happenings.
Sept. 14, 1984
We drove to Lame Deer to attend a Buffalo Barbecue as a part of Custer District conference - It was good. I was supposed to be the after dinner speaker but no one wanted a speech so I didn't say anything. It is about 100 miles out there. The Cooks now are at Lame Deer living in the trailer. They are doing a great job - better than any couple we have and they started out real bad. In fact he walked out of a zone conference and went home at one time. I moved them from Lodge Grass to Lame Deer and they were upset but they are now happy.
Sept. 15, 1984
We drove back to Lame Deer for conference. We had one meeting at Lame Deer at 10:30 am and the next one at Hardin at 3:30. There were very few at Hardin since it is about 10 miles from Dunmore and the Lamanites wont' go out of their way to go to church. The Dunmore chapel is being remodeled so we couldn't meet there.
Pres. Burns now has Pres. Logan and Pres. Paul as his counselors. Pres Curtis is now Br. Pres. at Dunmore an doing a great job. I wish Glasgow district had this same kind of leadership. When we got home we prepared the pig and put it into the pit. The elders had kept a fire in it for about 12 hours.
Sept. 17, 1984
This was the day of the big Pig Barbecue. We had 14 missionaries plus the staff and 2 sisters from Billings. About 26 total. We took the pig out at 4 o'clock and it was done perfect. Barbara had made baked potatoes, rice, fruit bowls, and all of the trimmings for a great feast. They loved it but we decided that we won't do this anymore. We don't think that all of these extra curricular activities do anything for baptisms. We had 42 for August vs. 80 last year.
Sept. 18-19-20, 1984
Barbara and I worked in the garden and in the house - it is a never ending job.
Sept. 21, 1984
We drove to Bozeman for our first district meeting of the month - we think that going to these each month as well as the zone conferences will help eventually. This conference was good and this area is doing better than ever. After the meeting we drove to Great Falls.
Sept. 22, 1984
We had two district meetings in Great Falls and they were real good. The ZL's have done a good job. Cox and Toon are not doing well but all of the others seem to be really ready to work. After the meetings, we drove to Helena.
Sept. 23, 1984
We had the meeting in Helena then drove to Butte for that meeting and then drove back to Billings. It made a long day but the meetings were all good. Elder Phillips is doing real good as a ZL.
Sept. 24, 1984
We were going to have a couples conference today but we had a big snow storm. Here it only snowed 8 in. but 31 in. in Red Lodge and 18 in. in Cody. We called everyone and canceled it but spent all afternoon and had dinner with us. They are really different - no baptisms in their full year. They love to help the Lamanites but not teach the gospel.
I decided to sent the Watts from Cody visitors center to Wolf Point. He went to the Doctor to get checked out and found out that he had T.B. so I sent them home. The Booths are leaving 6 mo. early. They wouldn't come down to see us and just quit and went home. I called their stake pres. so he could watch for them.
Sept. 25, 1984
We drove to Casper to have their meeting.
Sept. 26, 1984
We held the meeting in Casper and then drove to Riverton for their meeting. The ZL's Stirling and Gleave are doing a great job - they are good leaders and good missionaries.
Sept. 27, 1984
We drove to Greybull for their meeting. It was good and they are doing well. This area however is not doing well missionary wise. The people do not help. They seem happy as they are. After this meeting we drove back to Billings.
Sept. 28, 1984
We held our meeting in Billings - this area is doing better but is still not doing as well as it should. The AP's are helping to bring about a better spirit but it is a slow development. Many of the missionaries don't really know why they are here until they are out nearly 14 months.
Sept. 29, 1984
We drove to Glendive to have a meeting and then drove to Wolf Point. These meetings were also good. The Wolf Point sisters and Elders are doing nothing. If they haven't done anything in the next month I will take them out. The Booths wouldn't attend our meeting. They say they are too busy.
Sept. 30, 1984
We attended church at Wolf Point. The new Branch Pres. Roy Harris conducted. He is doing a great job. About 60 people attended and several people said how glad they were to see the Booths leave. The spirit is better than it has been for several months. After the meeting we drove back to Billings - about 300 miles.
Oct. 1, 1984
This was supposed to be P day but we drove about 430 miles to Polson to attend another meeting. The drive is beautiful but long. Polson is right on the shore of Flathead lake and real beautiful.
Oct. 2, 1984
We held the next meeting at Polson and then drove to Missoula for their meeting. This zone is really united and has a good spirit. Everyone is doing well except the two sister couples - I will move them. After the conference we drove back to Billings and arrived about 12:30 am.
Oct. 3-4, 1984
Sr. Guthrie is still having real problems. She wants regular counseling which we are not able to provide. I finally sent her home. Barbara and I went to Cody to visit the new couple the Warners. They will do ok to replace the Knights.
Oct. 5, 1984
The Knights came to visit on their way home. They have done a good job as directors of the visitors center.
Oct. 6, 1984
General conference was broadcast and we watched it on TV. Nine elders and us in our small apartment. It was really good as was the Priesthood broadcast.
Oct. 7, 1984
General conference again - It was really good and gives us a real spiritual boost. Pres. Kimball was there but too weak to speak. All of the messages were really good and very timely.
Oct. 8, 1984
This was Monday and we cleaned house and tried to catch upon things.
Oct. 9, 1984
John Paul a counselor in the Custer District presiding came by at 6 am and he I went duck hunting out on the Big Horn river at Hardin. It was really great and brought back all of the good times the boys and I hunted ducks in Arkansas. We shot 8 ducks then came home because I had to prepare for the big influx of missionaries from the MTC tomorrow. Barbara and I cooked 2 ducks and really enjoyed them.
Oct. 10, 1984
We received 10 new elders and two sisters from the MTC. They were all top notch missionaries. In fact this was the only group that didn't have at least 50% problems. They will all be leaders in the mission in a short time. (Srs. Shupe and Hansen) (Elders Knighter, Martherius, Lehr, Davis, Arkaki, Stestry, Olsen, Hemmert, Nielson, Rhett) Elders Stastny and Olsen look especially good. I kept them both in Billings so I could look at them as a possible secretary.
Oct. 11, 1984
We sent out 12 missionaries - some of them were really good i.e. Gleave, Dayton but about half of them had been real problems and some had been on probation. I feel that the mission is finally in a good position spiritually. We only have a few dissenters and problem elders. Everyone else is trying or at least always a real problem. The sisters are as always a real problem. Most of them are only here to play and kill time. Many are way overweight and have emotional problems. I finally sent Sr. Guthrie home. She just couldn't handle it and was a drain on everyone else.
Oct. 12, 1984
We drove to Helena to attend a farewell dinner for Bro. Lofgren who had been Reg. Rep. and an introduction to Elder Flake the new Reg. Rep. Lofgren was a nice guy but a very poor Reg. Rep. He actually did nothing for the missionary effort. Flake has been a mission president and will be a big asset to the work. The meeting was nice and all the stake presidents and wives attended. We all spoke briefly.
Oct. 13, 1984
We attended a bi-regional council meeting and I spoke on missionary work. These two regions are doing very well. They are 10% above last year while the two regions under Tyler Wooley are behind 43%. After the meeting we drove to Great Falls to have a zone conference and then drove to Missoula. The zone conf. was good and everyone but Toon was ok. He was a transfer from another mission and needs to go home. The two ZL's Bradford and Amezcua are doing great.
Oct. 14, 1984
We went to church at the Missoula ward and then went to the institute to have our Zone Conference. The Flathead zone is really doing great. Every one is really trying to do good. The two new ZL's Pack and Jackson are really doing good. After the conference we drove home and got here about midnight. The bad think about driving at night is trying to miss all the deer on the highway. Elder Gleaves parents picked him up in a motor home and hit a deer on the way in.
Oct. 15, 1984
Elder Nelson went home. I had him in the mission home for a few days trying to help him but he finally just went down to the bus station and went home.
Oct. 16, 1984
We held the central zone conference in the morning. It was good but they are not getting the baptisms they should. The members have really let down. In fact, the Billings Stake is almost anti missionary. They really need a new President and 3 new Bishops. After the conference we drove to Casper. That is a long 5 hour drive and really goes through the lone and dreary world. 300 miles of nothing.
Oct. 17, 1984
Our zone conference was good - nearly everyone is doing good or at least not trying to do bad. The new ZL's Stirling and Moeller are super and it won't be long until the whole zone is doing great. We drove home after the conference.
Oct. 18, 1984
Two Lamanites, Bro. and Sr. Haleyalbung came in for temple recommends. He is really from Samoa and she is a Crow. They are in Dunmore and doing a super job.
Oct. 19, 1984
We left at 6 am to drive to Butte for their zone conf. It was good but we have some non productive missionaries, Love, Meldrom, Ruesch, Westley, Christensen and Smith are not doing anything bad but really just waiting their time out. I hope that the new ZL's Worehime and Phillips will get things going. We drove home after the conference - It had started to snow so we were worried about the roads but they were ok.
Oct. 20, 1984
The sisters (Nielson and Muir) in Billings 5th ward organized a tract out for Book of Mormon placement. It was kinda poor except for all the missionaries in Billings. Only 6 from the ward showed up and at the last minute the Bishop backed out and wanted to cancel it. We passed out 33 Books of Mormon and got some good leads. I am going to have the sisters go to the 7th ward from now on where they can get some help.
Oct. 21, 1984
We attended church at the Billings 5th ward - it is very unfriendly. In the afternoon we drove to Cody to put on a missionary program in the Cody stake. These people give a lot of lip service but that's about all. They were not the least bit enthusiastic - in fact, there biggest concern seemed to be to get home to their families. Barbara, the two AP's and I talked. After, we drove back to Billings.
Oct. 22, 1984
P day - we shopped and got partially caught up.
Oct. 23, 1984
We left early for Glendive for the Zone Conf. We took the AP's with us to save mileage. The meeting was pretty good considering everything. Dehlin and Henrie have straightened up some. I was pleased until I found out that Mathews and Henrie got together yesterday and had a beer party. They also smoked and chewed tobacco. I can't believe how dumb they are. Both are sorry but are really not worried. Hatch and Tessimer are doing nothing at Wolfpoint. I told them that I would move them if they didn't start to get some results in 2 weeks. Pres. and Sr. Harris were at the mission home last week and I also told them the same thing. They love the sister missionaries and don't want to see them moved. They brought us a beautiful star quilt as a gift. She is Lamanite and is a lovely person. Elder Rhodes is doing better - he's finally decided to be a missionary and quit faking sickness.
Oct. 24, 1984
I spent the day working on transfers.
Oct. 25, 1984
Barbara and I decided to go get some deer meat for the missionaries. We left about 5 am and drove to Melstone (80 mi.) to hunt on Pres. Maarts ranch. He owns 13 sections. We shot a doe and returned home by noon. The missionaries decided they wanted more so Elder Morris got a license.
Oct. 26, 1984
We left again at 5 am and went to the same place. I shot a 2 point buck and shot another doe. She ran off so I shot another one. We cleaned them and had the Elders drive up and meet us so they could take the deer home. When I told them I had wounded another one we went back to find her lying down. I shot her in the head and we cleaned and hung her in a tree. We took 2 deer home and they came back after the third. Now they have 4 deer. We cut up two and got 100 pounds of great hamburger. We'll probably get that much more from the other two. The meat tastes exactly like beef. We can't tell the difference.
Oct. 27/28, 1984
We attended the Billings Stake conference with Dean L. Larsen as the G.A. He is one of the seven presidents of seventy. I told Elder Larsen how bad they were doing in missionary work and he said that he was glad I told him so he could talk to them in a special missionary meeting. He talked about everything but missionary work and had me speak for 10 minutes. In the special missionary meeting we were really shocked. We felt that he had completely shot down the missionary work in the stake. He said that everything in the stake was going great and to not pressure members into doing missionary work or make them feel guilty for not talking to friends or giving referrals - All you have to do to be a good missionary is to be a good example. We felt that he was completely out of tune with the program the way it has been presented to us. The missionaries who were there were equally disappointed. It seems like we get different signals from the authorities (1) from those who really want the work to get done and (2) from those who just want to make a hit with the people. We're glad that we have strong testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel.
In the evening we had a special fireside with Patriarch Chevalier of Great Falls. He had a presentation of archeology and the Book of Mormon. He presented a number of slides and tied it into the Book of Mormon. About 350 people attended (75) non members. We had it the night before in Riverton and will have it later in Casper.
Oct. 29/31, 1984
We started district meeting again this week. We had a snowstorm early and the roads were bad so we didn't start until Wed. 31. We drove early to Butte and then later to Bozeman. All the missionaries seem to be improving. The spirituality has improved and most of the missionaries appear to be getting serious about the work.
Nov. 1/4, 1984
Saturday we drove to Helena and had our district meeting and then to Great Falls. These areas seem to be doing better with only a few downers. Toon and Trawick are not enthused and are just waiting out their time. I will send Toon home next month but Trawick has some time to go yet. His mother wrote me a letter and was really upset that I had told her that he wasn't a very good missionary. I wrote back and said that he was not performing up to his potential.
We attended the stake conference at Great Falls. Bro. Fay one of the new Seventies was the visitor. He did a good job. Barbara and I both spoke. We then drove to Billings and then decided to drive 22 miles to Ballentine to eat at a special Mexican restaurant. It was really good almost as good as the place we found in Kallispell.
Nov. 5/10, 1984
On Tuesday we had the Central Zone meetings. This zone is not doing as well as it should. I will change it around to make it more effective.
Wednesday we got in our new missionaries. Eleven of them. They were all good. In fact the last two groups have been good. In the past we have had about 50% of the missionaries be really uncommitted and not here for the right reason. We had a real good orientation and dinner. Barbara did a great job with no help. In the evening we had them all go out and work. We also had one sister come out. She is great and looks like a great asset. About 25% of our sister missionaries are here only because they didn't have anything else to do. Most of them end up being real problems.
Thursday was transfer day and the day the old elders are released. We lost some real good ones but most of them were very mediocre. In fact we are finally losing many of the old problem missionaries or at least the ones who weren't contributing to the progress of the mission. I have changed the program now so that only the top elders are trainers. That means that I have all the Zone Leaders as trainers and some of the district leaders. This makes a big difference in finding out very soon who the potential leaders are.
The transfer went really smooth but Thursday night it snowed and some of the roads were closed. We have really been blessed with good transfer weather and very few problems. I sent the secretary (LeCheminant) out and brought in Stastny. The change will really help Stastny has only been out a month and is already doing great. Friday we drove to Casper. The new stake center had district meetings. The zone is doing excellent. Elder Stirling is tops and will get things going.
We attended the Sat. night meetings of stake conf. Elder Woolley the Reg. Rep took charge. He is really worn out and should be released.
Nov. 11/17, 1984
We attended the Sunday am session (I spoke) and then helped ordain Bro. Bates a seventy. We then drove to Riverton for district meetings. Elder Moeller is also doing great as a Zone leader. He is 26 years old and very mature. Riverton and Leader should have about 10 baptisms this month. We drove home after the meeting and got back here at 10 pm.
I sent Elder Fitzgerald home about a week ago with ulcerated colitis. It was supposed to be really back but Salt Lake called and said they were sending him back tomorrow. Some of these elders look for all sorts of excuses to get home. He came in Monday and also a deaf missionary Elder Stanbauer. I sent Stanbauer to Great Falls and Fitzgerald to Sidney.
We left Tuesday to go to Polson for a district meeting. This is over 400 miles. We stayed in a cute little log cabin in a St. Ignatius and drove 30 miles to Polsen. The next morning. This was a good meeting. Elder Jackson is doing a great job as zone leader. The two sisters Hamilton and Hirschi are not getting along very well but that isn't unusual. After the meeting we drove to Missoula and had another meeting. It was also very good. Elder Puck the ZL is really doing great. He is good and should be my next AP. After the meeting we drove back to Billings (350 miles) and got home about 10 pm. This makes a long day but we love it.
Elder Facemeyer has some real bad foot problems so I sent him home to get them fixed. He may have to have his ankle operated on for the second time.
Elder Kent has also had foot problems. I brought him into Billings where they shortened one of his toes. He got along fine so after about a week I sent him out to be at Hardin.
Saturday we left early to go to Glendive for district meetings. We have some very poor missionaries in this area. Sisters Reid and Morgan are really "Two Ton Tonys.” They weigh about 200 plus pounds each and are completely unmotivated - Morgan goes home this month. We had each of the missionaries give part of a discussion and it shows up real fast the ones who are prepared and the ones who have goofed off.
Sunday I presided over the Eastern Montana District conference at Glendive. It was a good conference with good attendance. Barbara and I were the main speakers at both meetings. After the conference we went to see the Sister missionaries who stayed home cause they said Sr. Reid was sick. We gave her a blessing and left. On the way in we stopped and ate at our little Mexican restaurant at Ballentine. It was really good. This district is doing pretty good. Pres. Flower needs to be released but I don't have anyone to take his place.
Nov. 18-24, 1984
This was a relatively free week but we had planned it that way. Tuesday I was supposed to go with Bp. Carpenter and use our hunting dog Suzie. I couldn't go because of some missionary problems. I had to bring Elder Bret Christensen to the office from Bozeman and reassign him to Hardin. He was having problems i.e. wouldn't work, causing problems with members, etc. I am really surprised he has stayed out this long.
Barbara fixed a big Thanksgiving Dinner for all of the elders in this area. John got home about 5:15 and we ate at 5:30. We loved having him home from school and he loved it. He drove home alone and the roads were pretty good. He is a real sweet boy. On Monday he called us and he had been involved in some pretty bad things at school. He went to the local and school officials and confessed everything and made whatever retribution he could. He may have to stay out of school a quarter. He is very repentant and we feel real good for him to get jolted into getting back on the straight and narrow path. He is really a sweet boy. He and Barbara and I went deer hunting on Friday up to Melstone Montana. It was a beautiful day and we saw lots of deer. He finally shot a small 2 pointer but after that we both missed a big buck. I was glad we didn't get it - the little one was plenty big. We really had a fun day and on the way home we stopped at our little restaurant at Ballentine and had a great dinner.
Saturday we had a big storm forecast so we got John ready to leave about 2 p.m. and we left shortly after for Glasgow. John got to Jeans about 12:30 am. He ran into some real bad roads. We ran into a storm but got there ok.
Sunday was district conference at Glasgow. I was in charge and it went real well. Barbara and I both spoke. They had a lunch for us and we left in a snowstorm. We decided to go east to Wolfpoint then to Circle and Glendive to be ahead of the storm. Well we didn't make it. Going from Wolfpoint to Circle in No man's land I lost control of the car and we spun around and into the barrow pit.
Fortunately no one was coming so I just started up the car and backed onto the road. We were really protected and blessed by the Lord. That was the only spot where we could have been safe and not caused a real bad accident. After we got to Glendive we drove home on the freeway really slow. We are not going to take chances like that again.
Nov. 25- Dec. 1, 1984
This week we spent working on transfers. Elder George P. Lee called on Thursday and said that the 1st presidency had made the decision to extend missions to 2 years and current missionaries could chose to stay another 6 mo. I have to contact every missionary and have them make a decision after they call home.
We left at 5 am Saturday to go to Missoula for a zone conf. It was a long drive on bad roads but we made it ok. The zone conference was good but baptisms are poor. That whole zone only had 3 baptisms and they had projected about 12. Satan is working like the devil against us. Saturday night we drove to Stevensville to the Sat. night conference meeting. Elder Flake the new Regional Rep was in charge. He is really good. A 19 year institute teacher and a former mission pres. We got in late because of bad roads.
Sunday we drove down from Missoula again for the meetings. They were really good. Elder Flake does a wonderful job. He really pushed missionary work and let me also talk about it. After the meeting we drove back to Billings 6 1/2 hours and 375 miles. We always stop in Bozeman for a special ice cream cone.
Dec. 2-8, 1984
This was transfer week and it is always a very trying time. We spent Monday shopping for food and most of Tuesday cooking. We served all the new missionaries and of course all of the staff a big dinner. We had 8 new elders come it (Asplund, Bell, Burr, Chase, Huckvale, Misser, Mortensen and Smith). Later on Thursday Elder Laxton came in. He is in the deaf program and will go to Great Falls to work in that program. The new elders are really good. The last three groups have been exceptional. All of them have been good. Usually about half of them are real problems. We sent home on Friday Elders Klem, Smith, Cheever, Esser, Warchime, Summers, Moon and Sisters Nielsen and Morgan. Out of the whole group, Klem, Warchime and Nielsen were good missionaries. Summers was fair but the others were all problems. In fact, Sr. Morgan and Reid spent the night with 3 elders before they left. They all claim nothing happened but I was really mad. I guess I should be stricter and send more of them home but the real problem missionaries will have even more problems going home into their home atmosphere. As long as they don't hurt the mission too bad I just tolerate them.
Friday afternoon I left to go to a mission pres. seminar at Denver. Elders Dunn and Lee our area presidencies were there along with the reg. reps. and mission presidencies of this area. It was pretty good although it was very short (4 hours). We then had dinner at the Littleton Stake center where a choral group entertained us. It was really good and was the annual Christmas party for 90 missionaries in that area. I flew home Friday night and Saturday morning we drove to Casper Wyo. for Zone Conf. This lasted from 1pm to 6pm. Then we drove about 200 miles to Worland to attend stake conference. The zone conference was good. We have 22 missionaries in this zone and not a bad one in the group. Elder Stirling and the new Elder Nielsen as zone leaders are excellent. They will really produce. The stake conference was only fair. Tyler Woolley the Reg. Rep. presided and he is worn out. He doesn't give much enthusiasm to the work. The big beautiful stake center wasn't even half full. After this meeting (Barbara and I both spoke) we drove to Cody and met with the Warners who are in charge of the Cody visitors center. All they have are problems of every kind. They are quite a let down as directors after the last 3 directors. The visitors center is under my direction so I will get it straightened out. After this we drove home. We called John and he is doing ok. He will go to Utah Technical College in Provo next semester but will live in the dorm. The trials he has gone through have been really tough the past 3 weeks but he has come through them very well - he has really matured and has a much better view of life and the gospel. We thank the Lord every day for a loving caring bishop (Joe White) who has really adopted him and pulled him through with flying colors.
Dec. 9-15, 1984
Barbara and I bought a Christmas tree and decorated it on Monday. We also put up the Christmas lights on the house. It looks like Christmas now. This part of town is beautiful. The houses are all so pretty. We walk every night for 2.5 miles up and down these streets. It gets really cold sometimes but is really good for us. Tuesday was our Central Zone Conference. This zone is really doing great. All of the missionaries seem to be doing better. After the conference we had the couples over for dinner. The Wrights wouldn't come - they were having a family quarrel. The cooks are doing really well. They have made a complete change. We were planning to go to Helena early Wednesday morning but a 12" snow storm came Tuesday and the roads were so bad that we delayed it for a day. We left early Thursday and traveled on ice most of the way. The Butte Zone is doing pretty well. Phillips is doing real well as a ZL. Folger is new but should do well. After this meeting we drove to Great Falls.
This conference was held on Friday. It was good but their baptisms are poor. Several companionships are not doing well. I will change them as quickly as possible. Mathews and Love are doing nothing and Mathews wants a 6 mo. extension. Recently the missionary dept. changed the missionary term from 18 mo. to 2 years. All missionaries in the field now have the option to extend up to 6 mo. About 1/3 are extending 6 mo. After the meeting we drove back to Billings - the roads were bad. Saturday morning we left early to go to Glendive for their conference. We took the AP's with us. I have really strengthened this zone. Moeller is the new ZL. The only weak spot is Sidney with Elder Fitzgerald. He has done several bad things - gone to Canada, spent the night with the sister missionaries, has music tapes and other things. I really railed on him and put him on probation. I was really rough on him. The Cranes are doing well in Wolfpoint. We drove home after on icy roads and stopped in our Mexican restaurant at Ballentine for dinner. It really has turned cold -5 degrees this morning. Sunday we went to church in the 4th ward. This is our home ward but we don't get there often. John called and said that Utah had a big snow storm and he won't leave until Tues. or Wed. He is really doing well now.
Dec. 17-23, 1984
We decided to have a Christmas Open House for all the neighbors and the missionaries on Monday. It was really good. All of our neighbors came and a lot of the members who had helped the missionaries. Barbara had done a real good job with the food.
John came home and looked real good. He is doing well and has decided to go to Utah Technical College next quarter. We spent most of the week visiting with John. We rented several movies and enjoyed them. Sunday we went to 4th ward again with John and enjoyed it. We are really having a cold snowy winter. At night we went to the Christmas devotional put on by the 1st presidency. It was really good.
Dec. 24-30, 1984
We had a dinner for all of the missionaries in the area - Barbara did a real good job again. After dinner we went caroling around the neighborhood. We didn't stay long cause it was well below zero. After this we opened presents. Every one brought a small present and we had fun opening them. After this we sang songs and then went to bed.
Christmas day we got up and made breakfast for all the missionaries. Waffels, sausages, eggs, juice, milk, etc. strawberries, blueberries, etc. It was great and everyone enjoyed it. After breakfast we opened our gifts. We gave John a camera, scriptures, sweaters, shirt, etc. Barbara and I gave each other a slide projector. Wednesday, John and I went duck hunting. Bob gave me a new caller from Arkansas and it was great. We shot our limits on the Big Horn River. We went with John Paul and his son. He is counselor in the Custer district presidency.
Barbara's birthday was good. The missionaries gave her a big bouquet of flowers. John and I gave her powder, perfume and gloves. Then we took her to Ballentine and ate Mexican food which was good. Friday we watched the holiday bowl and saw BYU beat Michigan. BYU is no. one team in the nation. Sunday we went to the 4th ward where Barbara and I spoke in sacrament meeting.
Dec. 31 - Jan. 6, 1985
Johnny left for school. The weather was good so we decided to have him leave a day early. He called us about 4 p.m. and got there ok. He registers on Wed. Barbara and I didn't do much this week. Wed. we went to Dunmore to make the final inspection on their new building. It is beautiful. Sunday I went to the Regional Council meeting and then Barbara and I went to the new 8th ward for meetings. We are getting ready for 11 new missionaries next week.
I have really been concerned this week. Pres. Jacobs and Deshon of Sidney called and said they couldn't find any of the 5 people that Elder Gary Dehlin and Brian Henrie were supposed to have baptized in Nov. I had sent Henrie home early for bad problems and also sent Dehlin home a month early. I called Henries stake pres. and had him get Henrie in his office and call me. He finally admitted that he and Dehlin had falsified 5 baptisms. I called Dehlins stake pres. but Dehlin has moved but he said he would track him down and get to his stake pres. It is their problem now but these young men should really be punished. I made the mistake of being to lenient and not sending them home earlier. The Area Presidency is really pressing for baptisms and the missionaries feel it. I am going to be much less pushy on getting baptisms from now on.
Jan. 7-13, 1985
Monday was the open house for the new Lovell Chapel. They have spent about $1.5mm remodeling their chapel. It is two complete chapels and a common cultural hall. They also have a big separate gym. We can't believe this in a town of 2400 people - but about half of the town are LDS. It was a wonderful program and is a beautiful building. We had dinner with our missionaries Sr. Bloom and Hutch.
Wednesday we received 11 new missionaries. Sr. Holloron and Elders Bradford, Ewert, Ficklin, Hall, Jackson, Pulota, Schess, Supinger, West and White. They are all from California, Hawaii and Arizona. I can't believe they send all those who have never seen snow up to us. It creates a real driving hazard. They are all good missionaries and should do a real good job. Pulota weighs 350 lbs. and is from Hawaii. On Thursday we had transfers and it was snowing all over the mission. It is a miracle that we can transfer 42 people in cars - some of them 800 miles on icy roads and have no accidents - that is really protection from the Lord. We sent home Sr. Fulmer and Elders Amezcua, Schwitters, Love, Mathews, Wilcock and Swander.
Swander, Love and Mathews have not been real good missionaries in fact Swander and Mathews were both on probation and have been real problems. I didn't give Mathews his temple recommend. Everything went well and the staff did a great job. I sent Morris out, moved Gardner to Car Czar and brought Neel into Historian and Recorder. He is a good addition for the home. Elder Stastny is doing excellent as secretary. Crum is great as financial sec and Gardner will be good with the cars. Our weather is really cold now with ice on the roads. We won't travel much this month but will start again in Feb. It has been good to stay home for a bit. Sunday we went to the 3rd ward meetings. It was good but not very friendly. Barbara came home and made a big pot of chili for the house elders. She worries about them not eating well. We talked to John and he is doing great at Utah Tech. He is taking calculus, physics, economics, and American history.
Jan. 14-20, 1985
The time is really going fast now. We only have 6 more months to go and lots of things to do. Baptisms for the year ended at 596. This compares to a goal of 711 and last year of 711. Part of the reason we are down is because the Lamanite placement program has been changed. The Lamanites now have to be in 5th grade or 11 years old in order to go. This cut our baptisms by about 75 and also we lost Troy and Libby areas which were taken into the Spokane Washington Mission. Things look much better now with the missionary term being increased to 2 years from 18 mo. This will give us better and more experienced missionaries. About 30 percent of the 18 mo. missionaries decided to extend the extra 6 mo. In January at -30 degrees and a foot of snow is no time to ask a So. Calif. elder if he wants to stay another 6 mo. This has been a good week. We stayed home again and let the AP's go to the district meetings. They do a great job and love to go by themselves. I told Elder Taylor that he is going to be ZL in Wyoming and Elder Stirling will be AP. This will give Taylor 6 weeks in the field before he goes home. Our weather really has been winter today the high will be about 0 degrees. One day a Chinook wind came in and warmed us up to 60 degrees. The next day it was below zero. We went to church at the 5th ward today. They are still cool to us for some reason. We bought a new Camry Toyota car for something to go home in. It won't be delivered for about 2 mo. but that is ok.
Jan. 21-27, 1985
This was supposed to be a slow week. Pres. Thueson the district president of the Glasgow district called and said that he was being transferred next week. I decided that we needed to go up there this weekend. We drove to Wolf Point first to visit our missionaries. The Cranes seem to be having trouble adjusting. They are at odds with the Branch President "Pres. Harris.” After visiting with them I told them I would move them to Dunmore when the Wrights move on Feb. 6. They were delighted. They are not very happy with Wolf Point but more important they don't get along very well with each other. Sister Beauchamp a Lamanite found out we were coming and came over for a blessing. We then went over to see the Sister missionaries (Pierson and Hirchi). They are real dolls and doing a great job. Their apartment is really the pits but they are really happy so I will leave them there for another month. The Harris’s weren't there so we drove to Glasgow. Next morning we attended church at Glasgow and I interviewed Pres. Kemp, McKamie, Wilson, Winder, and Adamson as possible candidates but I really believe Kemp would be best and he is recommended by Thueson. We then drove back to Wolf Point and interviewed the Harris’s. We then drove to Ballentine to our favorite restaurant for dinner then home. We got home about 8 p.m. after driving about 400 miles.
Jan. 28 - Feb. 3, 1985
We scheduled a zone leaders conference for Tues. and Wed. but it was so cold and snowy that I delayed it until Friday and Saturday. Sunday I had a call from Elder Thomas Smith. He had gotten out of bed at 4 am and went to meet a girl - they had sexual intercourse. I brought him to Billings Monday, held a court, excommunicated him and sent him home. He wasn't to concerned and not very repentant. Elder Hall also came in and said he was going home. I talked him out of it for the 3rd time. Finally on Saturday I let him go back to California. He just didn't want to be a missionary. Our Zone Leaders Conference was really good. We had 21 total who stayed here Friday night and we fed them 3 meals. Barbara cooked 48 large hamburgers, a large pot of beans and a large dish of potato salad - they ate it all plus a gallon of ice cream and a large plate of cookies. We can't believe it - they are hollow all the time. The meetings were excellent. The leaders are really good and well motivated - they should go back and do a good job. Saturday night we drove to Dunmore to attend a farewell for the Wrights who have been at Dunmore. They are nice people but haven't been very good missionaries. In fact it would be much easier if we didn't have sisters or couples. Some are good but most are real problems. Sunday we went to church at the 6th ward and went to the "Lamanite Generation" program at the East Stake Center. Jean called and she is in the hospital with complications from her Crones disease. She is 25 weeks pregnant and is worried - we offered to keep the children but Rick would have to meet us in Wyoming some where. Our weather is still real cold. 0 is the high and in some areas -35 degrees is the low. Barbara and I still walk every night and love it. John is doing great and loves school. In the evening we went to a fireside put on by the Lamanite Generation from BYU. It was really good.
Feb. 4-10, 1985
On Monday we went to Hardin to see the judge about a ticket for improper passing. After we talked to the judge he advised us to get an attorney and protest but he reduced the fine to $10 so we just paid it. In the evening we went to the Lamanite Generation program. I gave the prayer. The program was really great. The Wrights (the couple in Dunmore) left on Wednesday and we drove out to be at their farewell. It was nice even though they haven't been very happy and haven't done near as good a job as the others who have been there. On Thursday I went to Denver to an Area meeting. All the mission presidents and Reg. Reps. were there. It was good and I could report a 65% increase in baptisms over last year on 13% fewer missionaries. I came back Friday. On Saturday we went to Cody to attend the Stake Conf. Elder George P. Lee is the visitor. Sunday was a good conference. A missionary meeting was held at 8 am. Lee and I spoke. I also spoke at the 10 o'clock meeting as well. We then visited with the Warners then came home. The mission is doing well now. Everything seems to be in place for a great year. Our weather is still bad - some places -85 degrees, but the Lord has blessed all the missionaries to stay safe and healthy in spite of several accidents due to the bad roads.
Feb. 11-17, 1985
This is transfer week. We are preparing for a big transfer and pray for good weather. It is always a worry to move about 50 missionaries around in the winter time on bad roads. The couple "Drapers" will not be coming for some reason. This leaves us really with only one presenting couple after Feb. We have four empty trailer houses where we used to have couples. We use them in the small Lamanite branches who need help so badly. We received 10 new elders and 2 sisters. They were about 3 hours late because of bad weather in Salt Lake. They have had bad fog for a long time. The ones who came in were Sisters Allen, Spjute, and Elders Bruner, Garrard, Hooper, Liechty, Meadows, Noorda, Richards, Richards, Rogers and Sekonas. Most of them look real good. One interesting experience was with Elder Bruner. He has severe speech problems, is a slow learner and appears retarded. I really worried about who I could put him with but after much prayer I decided on Elder Davis. When I called Elder Davis the next day to explain about his companion. He said I know him, I know his sister and I love them. This was truly inspiration from the Lord. The ones going home were Sister Frazier, Elders Trawick, Phillips, Gomez, Phelps, and Moore. Phillips was really the only good missionary. The rest had problems even converting themselves. Our missionary force is getting stronger - many of the weak ones are now going home or have been sent home. Saturday we went to Lame Deer to attend a farewell for the Cooks. There were about 8 Lamanite adults and about 20 kids. The kids have no control and they ruin every meeting, dinner or get together. They are completely out of control - no guidance or restraint. I guess that is why they are so out of control when they get to be teenagers. There was only one Lamanite man there. There have been wards of the government and church for so long that hey are completely irresponsible in nearly every respect. The church has spent $200,000 in each of the Lame Deer Dunmore and Poplar chapels to remodel them and they are beautiful. The Lamanites have no pride or responsibility in the buildings and they will be run down again very soon. I wonder sometimes if these are the ones who will blossom.
Sunday we were speakers in the Billings 8th ward. It is a relatively new ward with Bp. Walker as the bishop. John used to work for him and he is great. We got our new car this week. It is a beautiful Toyota Camry. We took it for a test drive to Dunmore and love it. We will park it until July.
Feb. 18-24, 1985
Monday we prepared for zone conferences. We also took some chairs to Dunmore for the Cranes to use in the Dunmore trailer. We drove our new car and it is really nice. It will be a good car for us. Tuesday we had the central zone conference. It was really good. Everyone is really doing well - no bummers. The couples from Custer Zone also came in and we had them all for dinner after ward. They really think they are doing great and we should stand on our heads for them. I think we have just been too good to them. Wednesday we drove to Glendive for the Lewis and Clark zone conf. It also was real good. All the missionaries are up and doing great. They have had 5 baptisms already. After the meeting we ate lunch prepared by the Glendive branch. They do a great job. We drove back home after dinner. Thursday was the Cooks last day so we drove to Lame Deer for their farewell party. Only 4 Lamanite adults were there and about 15 kids. Those kids are the most unmannerly I have ever seen. We didn't eat dinner cause we stopped at Church's chicken and bought some to eat on the way. Friday we drove to Casper, Wyo. and started their conference at noon. It was great and they are also doing very well. Everyone seems up except Houborg from Denmark. He doesn't seem to care what happens. I hope he makes it. After the conference we were going to come home but it snowed and the weather was bad. We stayed in the Super 6 and drove back on Saturday. On the way back we stopped at Lodge Grass and also Dunmore to see the Westbrooks and the Cranes.
Sunday we drove to Ashland for Sac. Mtg. then to Lame Deer for their sac. mtg. At Ashland there were 5 Lamanites plus us and two others from the District. We may move the living trailer to Lame Deer and sell that one since we can't get any couples. After the meeting we drove home via Ballentine and ate at our favorite little Mexican restaurant. Our weather has been good. I hope Spring is on the way.
Feb. 25 - Mar. 3, 1985
Monday we drove to Missoula for a zone conference. This is about 350 miles. We were a little worried about the weather but it wasn't bad. Tuesday we had the zone conf. and it was really good. Every missionary seems to have a good spirit and is doing great - no downers in the group. After the conference and the interviews we drove to Helena. We went by an old road through the mountains. It was beautiful but a little scary due to the snow and ice. Wednesday we had our conf. in Helena. It was good but a few missionaries are not doing very well. Fitzgerald has a bad spirit and has personal problems. He'll be lucky just to stay out since he's already on probation. This zone as well as Flathead has excellent leaders. After the meeting we drove to Great Falls and spent the night. Thursday we had this conference and it wasn't so good. This is the only zone in the mission that is not doing well. They had one baptism in Feb. for 18 missionaries - I will change leadership as soon as possible. Chardinett and Hamilton are not getting the work done at all and neither is the zone. We drove back to Billings and stopped at Harlowtown on the way. We bought $140 worth of honey from Br. Pres. Budge to take back to Utah with us. This will be our years supply and it is really good. Saturday we were supposed to attend a stake conference at either Helena or Riverton but we had a real bad storm. It snowed about a foot and drifts some places were 4 foot deep. We can't even get our cars out. Sunday meetings were all canceled in Billings so we had a special fast and testimony meeting for all of us in the mission home. It was a very spiritual experience. Our baptisms for Feb. were 47. We are now about 10% ahead of last year. I hope we can keep this up but March doesn't look as good as it should. The members just won't help.
Mar. 4 - Mar. 11, 1985
Tuesday we went to a special missionary dinner at the 4th ward. The young women did it as a service project. Friday we went to a dinner at Bp. Carpenters house. They had a couple from India (who were non members) and we had special Indian food. Barbara spoke at a baptism also after the dinner.
Saturday night we went to the East Billings stake conference Sunday we also went to the conference and I spoke. At night we went to a church fireside on reading the scriptures. It was really good.
Mar. 11-18th, 1985
The Drapers (a couple from Redmond Utah) came in and we sent them on to Wolf Point. They are really a sweet couple and will do a wonderful job. On Wednesday we had 8 new elders and 2 sisters come in. One sister is 55 years old but should really be good. Three of the elders are really week and may have problems (Elders Hansen, Peterson, and Palmer). The transfers went really well and the weather was good - it looks like now that weather won't be a transfer problem anymore this spring. Saturday we drove to Glasgow - John came in from school Friday night and he went with us. On Sunday I changed the district presidency. I released Pres. Thueson, Kemp and McKamie and sustained Kemp as Pres. and Bro. Winder as 1st co. and Bro. Blatter as 2nd co. They will be good. I also set them all apart in their callings. Pres. Harris of the Wolf Point branch gave John a beautiful Indian beaded belt buckle. He was really thrilled. On the way home we stopped in Ballentine and had Mexican food. John loved it. Elder Peterson (one of the new ones) called and said he was going home. He had been involved in some serious moral transgressions that he had previously lied about. I finally sent him home to Oregon.
John really enjoyed his visit with us - We stopped and did some target shooting with his new 9mm pistol. It would be good protection but not very accurate.
Mar. 18 - 24, 1985
Elder Hansen called and also wants to go home - He has problems in the MTC and supposedly has ulcers. I brought him into Billings for a few days and put him through the Medical clinics. The doctor says he is half faking it - at least he should be better in a couple of days. He still won't stay out so I let him go home. Palmer is also having troubles - I hope we can get him to stay.
We held the Custer district conference at Dunmore in their new chapel. The chapel is beautiful and very adequate. The meeting was good but very few people attended. One family from Ashland (Pres. Joe Bear) one from Lodge Grass (The Westbrooks) none from Lame Deer and 3 from Dunmore. The Lamanites will not travel to church and also the Crows and Cheyennes won't mi. xThe district leaders are doing great but really have a hard time. After the meeting we had a dinner which was good. The Lamanite children are free to run and they take food and spill it all over - most of them don't use spoons or forks - they just do what they feel like. They are sweet spirits but have a long way to go.
Mar. 25-31, 1985
We drove to Cody for a meeting on the Cody Visitors Center. Pres. Cottrell (S.P.) Bp. Johnson, Glenn Nielsen (the one who gave all the money) Barbara and I. We decided to let Bro. Nielsen be coordinator of all tours. He will set up a program to have all visiting bus tours come to the center for 20-30 minutes. This will greatly increase the number of visitors. The Warners are really sweet people but not really qualified to be directors. After the meeting we had a hamburger and drove home. The week was spent preparing for our trip to Utah. We are being called into Salt Lake for conference and other meetings from April 3 to 8th. On April 9th our mission tour with George P. Lee starts in Missoula and lasts until Friday. It should be a great time. Sunday was the Billings Stake conference. The new Reg. Rep. Bro. Sabey from Fort Collins was the General Authority. He replaces Bro. Woolley and doesn't look like he will be much more dynamic than Woolley. He is more like Elder Lofgren the one who was recently replaced by Bro. Flake. The meeting was ok but very low key and not very spiritual. That stake has real spiritual problems. Barbara and I have felt like it was us but we have never felt a good spirit in the stake of in the 5th ward. Their attitude toward missionary work is also very poor. Baptisms are coming along great in the mission. The missionaries are really doing good - we really have no bad apples now in the mission and we have great leaders. James and Stirling are the best AP's we have ever had and our ZL's are also very strong.
April 1-14, 1985
Monday was P day so we left about noon to go to Salt Lake for a special mission presidents conference and general conference. We weren't supposed to leave until Tuesday but we got anxious. We drove through West Yellowstone where they had 52 inches of snow on the level. We then drove to Pocatello, Idaho and spent the night.
Tuesday we drove down through Logan and spent some time going around our old Alma Mater. It really has changed. We then drove to Brigham City to see the Forrests. They are not doing well at all. The house is dirty and smells awful. They are drinking too much and not eating well. We stayed for a couple of hours then we went down to see Jeans family. They are really darling and they have a beautiful home. Jean has it decorated beautifully. The children are really sweet and very well mannered. She has done a great job. Rick wasn't home when we left but we were anxious to see Johnny. We drove by our house in Lehi and put the things we brought then went over to Ann's house. John is doing great. He was shot by a 45 cal. pistol about a week ago. He and Dan Juchau were target shooting when Dan’s gun jammed then fired. It entered Johns hip - went through the hip bone and out by his tail bone. It was a real miracle that he isn't permanently crippled or dead. He asked for a Fathers blessing just before he left Billings and we are absolutely sure that his condition is a direct answer to that blessing - we are really pleased. The hole in his hip is about as big as a quarter. The bullet ended up in his pocket so he has a real moment. He walks now without crutches and will totally recover. He missed a week of school but should make that up ok. Ann and her family are doing great - we stayed with them Tuesday night and then went to Salt Lake and checked into the Hotel Utah. It was really nice - Our meetings started at 1 pm. All the mission presidents from all over the world and their wives were present. Also all of the 12 apostles, seventies, and Pres. Kimball and Hinkley were present in all of our meetings (Paul Dunn was in the hospital and Bro. McConkie missed the last meeting - he has bad cancer). The meetings lasted from Wednesday Sat. and Sunday. Our final meeting was a sacrament service on the 5th floor of the temple. This room is very special and has only been used about 6 times. The twelve apostles blessed and passed the sacrament to everyone and the various members of the twelve spoke. Everyone was there but Pres. Romney, Paul Dunn and Bruce McConkie. It was a wonderful spiritual occasion and probably one in a lifetime. Everyone of our meetings was special. Thursday we boarded a bus and went to the MTC where we spent the full day learning about the new missionary discussions that will be introduced July 1. We have to have 3 zone conferences to introduce the concepts by July 1.
We left about 1 p.m. for Montana. Our mission tour with Pres. George P. Lee should begin Tuesday at 12:30 in Missoula, MT. Elder Lee met us on Sunday evening and said he might have to change his plans. Well - I have set up 2 multi-stake firesides, 4 district meetings, 4 zone meetings and 5 dinners. After the meetings Monday we tried to find him but he was no where to be found. We left for Montana and called from every town. We finally got him at 9:30 p.m. from Dillon, Mt. He said to cancel everything so I got on the phone and did it. We still went to Missoula and had our tri zone conference. It was really good but was a real disappointment to the missionaries. We stayed in Missoula and drove home on Wednesday. We drove through Sheridan, Ennis, Nevada City, and Virginia City. Nevada City is a complete ghost town. It was an old mining town that is now completely abandoned. Virginia City is where the trial will be of the two mountain men who were caught in the Gallatin mountains for murder and kidnapping. Saturday we drove to Great Falls for their conference. We attended their meetings and both Barbara and I spoke. It was kind of a farewell for us. After this meeting we had a special zone meeting and rededicated the area for missionary work. It was a spiritual occasion and I certainly hope that it helps get the work going in this area.
We met our replacements "The Kunzlers.” He was a stake Pres. and works in the technology dept. of BYU. They will be bringing 4 children with them so they probably will want the elders to move out and live somewhere in Billings. This will be a real good deal, but they do a wonderful job. Stastny Sec., Huckvale Fin. Sec., Gardner Car Czar, Smith as Historian Recorder and James and Stirling as assistants. They just couldn't be better. We had 77 baptisms in March so we are now 17% ahead of last year. I hope we can keep up this momentum. Montana probably will but Wyoming is still way behind. General Conference was really great. All of the speakers were really inspired to give us messages that were very timely and inspirational. Missionary work was really stressed. It has dropped this past year. Our baptisms dropped from 711 in 1983 to 596 in 1984. We hope to get back to 800 in 1985. We are starting on a new improved missionary teaching program beginning July 1. We still have 6 standard discussions but they won't be memorized. The concepts will be presented by the missionary in his own words using teaching skills and the power of the spirit. Between now and July 1 we are to have 3 zone conferences to teach the skills so the missionaries will be ready to start on the improved discussions on July 1.
Aug. 15-21, 1985
This is the week that we get new missionaries and send some old ones home. Wednesday we got 6 new elders (Hall, Glauser, Merrill, Noriega, Show and Meeks). They are all real good with the exception of Hall. He doesn't have a testimony and is real weak. I hope he makes it. After our orientation we sent them all to a baptism of a family of 4. On Thursday we brought in Meldrom, Moore, Cardinet, Workman and Sr. Nelson. Sr. Nelson was a local missionary from Worland who was called for 8 months. She has been good. Meldrom has been a problem and some what of a trouble maker. Moore was on probation but the last 6 mo. he turned around and was a good leader. We sent them all home on Friday and then we left for Casper. We had a zone conference on Saturday and a Casper Stake Conference Saturday night and Sunday. The zone conf. was real good. We presented the first of 3 training sessions in preparation for the improved discussions to be started on July 1. The assistants did a real good job in presenting the program. We attended the Sat. night session of conf. Rex M. Pinegar was the visitor and he did a good job. We attended the Sunday morning session and both Barbara and I spoke. It was our last Casper Conference and we were glad. Casper is either cold and windy or hot and windy. It was a very disagreeable but the people are really sweet. After the conference we drove back to Billings and got here about 6:30 pm.
April 22-28, 1985
We continued our zone conferences this week. The one at Central was real good. This zone has led the mission in baptisms for the last two months. The missionaries are all very good. After the last transfer I still felt that we had some weak leaders so I arranged a midmonth transfer and changed zone leaders in Wyoming, Great Falls and Flathead Zones. This should help strengthen all of the areas.
The Assistants are doing a fantastic job and so is Elder Stastny as secretary. I am going to make Stastny and AP when Elder Stirling has to leave. James is a real strength in the whole mission. On Saturday we traveled to Glendive for a zone conference. It was good and we have some real good missionaries there. Elder and Sr. Draper in Wolf Point are a little frustrated still but they will do ok.
After the zone conference we had the first meeting of the Evanston Montana District Conference. The Saturday meetings began at 8:30 am. The priesthood meeting was good and well attended. The sisters met at the same time and Barbara was the speaker. The main meeting was only fair. I called Elder Maderies to speak and he told about his father dying and the challenge it was.
Barbara and I both spoke and after the meeting I interviewed several people for temple recommends. Also Linda Hunt to be rebaptized. After this we drove home to Billings that may be our last trip to Glen