A beam of light

  

The St. George Independence Day parade was held a day before July 4 this year and included 73 entries with the theme "'Where Liberty dwells, there is my country' - Ben Franklin." 

The parade began on Tabernacle Street and 200 West with Stephen Wade and the St. George Marine Corp leading the procession. The community gathered along the sidewalks and streets where candy and water guns were aimed from the parade vehicles at the crowds.  

“The parade was beautiful. It was awesome to see everybody out here and being patriotic,” Parade-goer Robin White said. White enjoyed seeing the Adaptive Ops which is an organization that works to prevent human trafficking.

Firetrucks, law enforcement vehicles and ambulances received standing ovations and applause from parade attendees throughout the parade.

“Betsy”, the largest flag ever flown, appeared with several members of the Boy Scouts carrying the 400-pound American Flag. “Betsy” was part of the St. George 4 of July celebration at Town Square Park that started at 5:30 p.m. Did you see that flag? Holy Moly! Soo cool! 

Charles Dowding\470K subscribers\Small residues of this persistent product are now present in many composts, even "organic" ones. I show how to check for their presence by growing bean and pea seedlings.\Testing like this is called a bio-assay, and is more effective than laboratory testing, partly because the amounts of active compounds are so tiny. Many lab tests show as "negative", when poison is there and causing damage. 7/9/21 Friday, Hello BMX, The above Youtube summary/video is almost a relief to see. I typed in “Compost Herbicide” and discovered a ~score of people who have documented the same issues I had with my potted seedlings and compost this spring. I am not unique. A whole bunch of others have discovered this same issue/problem. How interesting. Who would imagine that compost, even labeled organic in the store!, could be contaminated? Amazing! Charles Dowding lives and gardens in England. But this video was fantastic, especially at double, 2x, speed. :)

Correspondence with Inmates

You can email inmates at  gcjailinmate@gmail.com.  

No written letters or cards will be accepted, they will be returned.  Money orders, money grams and cashiers checks can be sent to Garfield County Inmate Accounting.  Please put the inmate's name and number on the MEMO line.

Tuesday, 7/13/21 Good morning BMX, Kent Perkins is my EQ president. He visited with me on Friday night to let me know what he knew about my assignment to check on Jeff Whipple all week. July 11-17. He flattered me at the end by saying not only was I willing but I was performing this duty with such an exemplary attitude. I thanked him for being our EQ figurehead. He teased me by saying he wasn’t sure how he felt about me labeling him that. Ever since I have been trying to figure out a better name for what he does. I have decided the best I can do is to call him our EQ stationmaster. I looked up depot and terminus and terminal, all of which sort of describe how assignments go in and assignments go out. In construction the person in charge of the job site is called the superintendent. Anyway, in our busy ward our RS & EQ presidents end up being spiritual station masters. :) Kent mentioned how they helped Johnsons and Cranes move in with in a week of each other and sure enough Ryan Johnson was there to help with Cranes! @@ Something I can do to help lift people is to compliment them.

Sunday · 4:12 PM 

K

 

I 💘 loved your first two questions.

 

What do we hope to find in the church?

 

What do we have to offer as saints?

 

I felt for your struggle with technology hurdles!

 

The quorum was calm as you worked to eventually get it up and running. I think we must be getting accustomed to those technology issues.

 

What a sweet spirit of brotherhood your lesson brought to the quorum today.

 

Magnificently done. What a sweet tone your voice, questions, and admiration (tom lamb) brought to the room.

 

Thank you for sharing this gift with us.

V

 Sunday · 5:49 PM 

👍😀

 Monday · 3:52 PM 

Vern. Brother Gibbs is in the hospital with covid. Not sure if he can have visitors but his room is 268.

 

 

Monday, Apr 19 · 12:08 PM [bmx, you may remember this first part from before. -v]

Dear Tom,     I have been wondering for weeks why half my plants died when I put them in pots and then why they were stunted and didn't progress. Saturday I think I finally figured it out. City Compost!  I have even replanted the pots where the seedlings died with big fresh healthy seed. Only one tough germination out of 40! That city compost kills or stunts everything! (After pondering for weeks that is the best I can come up with.) I am so sad. There is probably poisonous oleander in it or something. So it makes a great weed suppressant but a terrible potting mix. Putting it on the surface of my garden beds would be great. And maybe next year, after it has lost some of its potency it would be good to mulch it in. @ I used 50% garden soil and 50% city compost for my little pricking out pots. ☹️ I thought I was so smart and saving so much money. Over and over I have examples of stunted and dead. ARGH! And row after row I used it as an absorbent mulch, not even mixing it in, under my rows.  Live and learn. PS. So if only 2 of your 6 cukes germinated and then those 2 stay stunted. . . don't fret, it isn't your fault.  Next, I gave Sister Kunzler, who spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday, a new little chocolate cherry tomato plant. She said she attended a sacrament meeting in the RS room because she did not want to report on the stunted plant I gifted her.  So sad.  Well thanks for experimenting with me. Love you. Vern

 Sunday · 3:58 PM [as you can see by the time, this is the first one I wrote Sunday afternoon. I don’t usually do this but I felt inspired/ motivated. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if more of us did stuff like this? -v]

Dear Tom!

 

Kent taught EQ today from Elder Gong’s conference talk. There was a brotherhood feeling there. He did a magnificent, spiritual job.

 

I asked Greg Brailsford who he was referring to near the end of the lesson, that would sometimes call him at 8 am about a construction need this ministering sister has. At other times he calls at 7 pm at night for something similar. . ." can you meet me over there? "

 

 He showed on this hand how bent over this brother was and then asked what motivated someone to do things like this?

 

Love of God, and love of fellow man was the answer we arrived at .

Greg helped me figure out it was you!

 

I don't know why you didn't come to mind.

 

The next time you study Elder Gong's talk, which was my favorite of all, consider that you are that Samaritan in Kent's mind.

 

So sweet.

V

 Sunday · 9:48 PM 

Thanks for the info. I am sorry I wasn't there. Kent is a good man. By the way my cucumber plants have made it. They have some buds on them so I might get some fruit.

 

Hello Bmx, Wouldn’t you like it if you wanted to know who to choose and a beam of light shone on their head? Sister Connie Schroath had her husband pass away 2 years ago and I reach out and support and complement her when it is convenient. She carries around an oxygen pump and tubes go up her nose. She played the organ on July 4th, Sunday since Heidi C was out of town and we don’t have anyone else who plays right now. 

1. 1. Oh say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
   What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
   Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
   O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
   And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
   Gave proof thru the night that our flag was still there.
   Oh say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
   O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

2. 2. On the shore, dimly seen thru the mists of the deep,
   Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
   What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
   As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
   Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
   In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
   ’Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh, long may it wave
   O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

3. 3. Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
   Between their loved homes and the war’s desolation!
   Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n-rescued land
   Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation!
   Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
   And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
   And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
   O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave! We sang My Country Tis of Thee to sing at the end of the meeting :) @ I have not been exercising at all and waving my arm to lead the music got tiring that day. Well it looks like Connie may be helping out in the future. And she asked if I would send her the list of hymns for the next 3 months. I used to keep it a secret that I had the whole year already done! But since I have been in for over a decade I guess I can let the secret out. I sent her the rest of the year. :)  Here is our exchange:Hello Wonderful Connie!\I love to tell stories. Here comes one.

 

I am so so grateful you felt inspired to suggest my name to the bishop all those years ago. I was quite intimidated by the new calling. And yet it fits me perfectly. 

 

One. I love recognition and I get recognized every single week!

 

Two. I love to sing and I can sing loud. Now I can encourage others from up front and not in back.

 

Three. I get to see everyone. And sitting on the stand doesn't leave any of my family members sitting alone in the audience.

 

Four. Mitch Six teased me into wearing a sports coat every week when he was our HCouncilman.

 

Five. I got to practice leading music.

 

Next. I asked Hal Stead for his list of music that first year. I have continued using his format ever since. There may even be some songs that are the same. When I have had the courage and interest I have put in my own choices.

 

As Heidi and I were visiting a couple of months ago I invited her to make suggestions again. She took me up on it. Sometimes I have chosen hymns that were way too hard to play and so having her input is so welcome.

 

Just like I have sent you the rest of the year's schedule below. . . I sent her a copy so she could  modify it in any way she wished.

 

The reason I tell you that is, these may change. Either of you may make adjustments of course!

 

ok. Story over. I love you. God bless you!

Connie Schroath	12:27 PM (9 minutes ago)
to me

It truly was inspiration when I did that!  There was a beam of light over your head as we sat in Sunday School!  Thanks for the list.  I'll let you know if I have any suggestions!

phone call from CUCF

 Who owns J Dawgs?\owner Jayson Edwards\J Dawgs was founded in June 2004 by owner Jayson Edwards. Edwards was attending BYU and he found that he was left craving the good hot dogs he had enjoyed while serving as an LDS missionary in Toronto, Canada.\@@@The RS President’s husband, Jeff Buckway spent over an hour cutting polishes at our ward picnic in the park, so they would look like J Dawgs. I finally got around to looking it up today. :)I hadn’t ever heard of them before.

Southern Parkway-SR7 @@@6/22/21 Tuesday Hello bmx, I just got my first call from Brandon P Smith CUCF-Gunnison, Ut. Perhaps HF had a hand in it! I had just turned my ringer on about 15 minutes earlier because I had asked Louis to call me about using his Traegar grill for cooking 40 lbs of chicken leg quarters. Can you tell I wasn’t depressed when I came up with the grill possibility? Brandon ponderizes each week and here is the scripture he recited today. He liked the Lord God Omnipotent part: 15 Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.Mosiah 5:15\This year’s Mutual theme teaches us how to stay firm in the gospel.\15 Therefore, I would that ye should be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works, that Christ, the Lord God Omnipotent, may seal you his, that you may be brought to heaven, that ye may have everlasting salvation and eternal life, through the wisdom, and power, and justice, and mercy of him who created all things, in heaven and in earth, who is God above all. Amen.\Steadfast\Stead means place; it is related to the word stand.\Fast means fixed or firm; think of the word fasten.\So, steadfast means something like “standing firmly in place.”\Immovable\\“Those who stand firm, steadfast, and immovable are given great inner hidden powers and unseen strengths. They will be endowed with full and potent spiritual resources.”\President James E. Faust (1920–2007), Second Counselor in the First Presidency, “Stand Up and Be Counted,” New Era, Aug. 1990, 6.\Abounding\Abounding—having in large numbers or great quantity\Good Works\How can your life be “always abounding in good works”? Here are a few ideas:\Pray for opportunities to serve others, and then look for those opportunities.\Write in your journal each day the things you did that were kind, helpful, or spiritually uplifting.\On a Sunday, make a list of good things you think you could accomplish that week. Put the list where you can see it every day to remind yourself of your goals, and then review the list on the following Sunday to see how you did.\Good Works\“When faith springs up in the heart, good works will follow, and good works will increase that pure faith within them.”\President Brigham Young (1801–77), Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young (1997), 57.\Omnipotent\Omnipotent—all-powerful\Seal you his\In ancient times, a seal (usually a signet ring or small stone with writing on its surface) was pressed into soft clay or wax to leave a mark of ownership or authenticity on an object or document.\King Benjamin used this image in Mosiah 5 after discussing how we can become the children of Christ and take upon us His name through covenant (like we do when we are baptized or partake of the sacrament). He then says that our faith and good works will enable Christ to “seal [us] his.” The Apostle Paul taught that the Holy Spirit gives us this seal of approval (see 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30).\https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2008/01/line-upon-line-mosiah-5-15?lang=eng  -Jan 2008 

 

Friday, 6/25/21 Hello BMX, I have not done any 48 hour fasts this week nor last week. I am not as weak! And more motivated. :) Life seems so much better/happier when I have a little energy! @ Sometimes I listen to GCTAlks over and over until I have sucked every ounce of spiritual nourishment out of them. I make special note of talks that wash me with “Chills and thrills”/ goosebumps. This talk by TSM gave me chills and thrills 6 times the first time I listened. The second time I listened I got none. It goes to show that it is also a state of mind and heart and not just the potency of the talk! :)

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1990/04/my-brothers-keeper?lang=eng

My Brother’s Keeper Thomas S. Monson\Second Counselor in the First Presidency

The Holy Bible is an inspiration to me. This sacred book has inspired the minds of men and has motivated readers to live the commandments of God and to love one another. It is printed in greater quantities, is translated into more languages, and has touched more human hearts than any other volume.

Particularly do I enjoy reading from the book of Genesis the account describing the creation of the world. Ponder the power of that culminating declaration: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them.” (Gen. 1:27–28.)

Joy turns to sadness as we learn of Abel’s tragic death at the hands of his brother Cain. Chapters of counsel, lessons for living, guidance from God are found in one brief verse: “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen. 4:9.)

These two significant questions are asked, then answered, in themes taught throughout the scriptures. One such example is found in the life of Joseph and his brothers. We will recall that Joseph was especially loved by his father, Jacob, which occasioned bitterness and jealousy on the part of his brothers. There followed the plot to slay him, which eventually placed Joseph in a pit without food and without water to sustain life. Upon the arrival of a passing caravan of merchants, Joseph’s brothers determined to sell him rather than to leave him to die. Twenty pieces of silver extricated Joseph from the pit and placed him eventually in the house of Potiphar in the land of Egypt. There Joseph prospered, for “the Lord was with Joseph.” (Gen. 39:2.)

After the years of plenty, there followed the years of famine. In the midst of this latter period, when the brothers of Joseph came to Egypt to buy corn, they were blessed by this favored man in Egypt—even their own brother. Joseph could have dealt harshly with his brethren for the callous and cruel treatment he had earlier received from them. However, he was kind and gracious to his brethren and won their favor and support with these words and actions:

“Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life. …

“And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

“So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God. …

“Moreover [Joseph] kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them: and after that his brethren talked with him.” (Gen. 45:5, 7–8, 15.)

They had found their brother. Joseph in very deed was his brothers’ keeper.

In the touching account of the good Samaritan, Jesus teaches vividly the interpretation of the lesson, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” (Matt. 19:19.) Answered effectively is the haunting question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

An entire vista of opportunity is unfolded to our view when we contemplate the magnitude of King Benjamin’s admonition, recorded in the Book of Mormon: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17.)

Just last week the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve were provided the opportunity to view the new Church-history exhibit situated in the museum just west of Temple Square. I loved the replica of the entry to the Fourth Ward—one of the original wards in the valley. I noted with keen interest the lighted map which plotted the pioneer trek from Nauvoo. However, my heart was truly touched when I gazed at an actual handcart displayed in a place of honor. The handcart communicated to me a silent yet eloquent account of its long and momentous journey.

Let us for a moment join Captain Edward Martin and the handcart company he led. While we will not feel the pangs of hunger which they felt or experience the bitter cold that penetrated their weary bodies, we will emerge from our visit with a better appreciation of hardship borne, courage demonstrated, and faith fulfilled. We will witness with tear-filled eyes a dramatic answer to the question “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

“The handcarts moved on November 3 and reached the river, filled with floating ice. To cross would require more courage and fortitude, it seemed, than human nature could muster. Women shrank back and men wept. Some pushed through, but others were unequal to the ordeal.

“‘Three eighteen-year-old boys belonging to the relief party came to the rescue; and to the astonishment of all who saw, carried nearly every member of that ill-fated handcart company across the snow-bound stream. The strain was so terrible, the exposure so great, that in later years all the boys died from the effects of it. When President Brigham Young heard of this heroic act, he wept like a child, and later declared publicly, “That act alone will ensure C. Allen Huntington, George W. Grant, and David P. Kimball an everlasting salvation in the Celestial Kingdom of God, worlds without end.”’” (LeRoy R. Hafen and Ann W. Hafen, Handcarts to Zion, Glendale, Calif.: The Arthur H. Clark Co., 1960, pp. 132–33.)

Our service to others may not be so dramatic, but we can bolster human spirits, clothe cold bodies, feed hungry people, comfort grieving hearts, and lift to new heights precious souls.

Junius Burt of Salt Lake City, a longtime worker in the Streets Department, related a touching and inspirational experience. He declared that on a cold winter morning, the street cleaning-crew of which he was a member was removing large chunks of ice from the street gutters. The regular crew was assisted by temporary laborers who desperately needed the work. One such wore only a lightweight sweater and was suffering from the cold. A slender man with a well-groomed beard stopped by the crew and asked the worker, “You need more than that sweater on a morning like this. Where is your coat?” The man replied that he had no coat to wear. The visitor then removed his own overcoat, handed it to the man and said, “This coat is yours. It is heavy wool and will keep you warm. I just work across the street.” The street was South Temple. The Good Samaritan who walked into the Church Administration Building to his daily work and without his coat was President George Albert Smith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His selfless act of generosity revealed his tender heart. Surely he was his brother’s keeper.

In December of 1989, the beautiful and long-awaited Las Vegas temple was dedicated in inspiring sessions, which continued for three days. The messages and music in the dedicatory sessions lifted each heart heavenward and prompted the listener to keep the commandments of God and to emulate the example of righteous living taught by Jesus of Nazareth. Thoughts of self yielded to consideration for others. One sermon stressed the injunction of the Lord as recorded in Matthew:

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:19–21.)

After the session during which this passage of scripture had been presented, a handwritten letter, carefully tucked away in a sealed envelope, was handed to me by an usher. May I share with you the contents of this touching letter:

“Dear President Monson:

“My husband and I feel the completion and dedication of this beautiful Las Vegas Nevada Temple is the finest gift we could receive during this sacred season. Temples are such a sweet gift to all the world; and as you spoke of righteous Saints who are worthy to obtain the blessings of the Lord’s house but lack the financial means to attend a temple, our hearts were so touched.

“President Monson, there must be a family somewhere who needs to attend the temple, because as my dear companion and I spoke of our great joy during this special Christmas season, we both commented as to how any store-bought gift would pale in comparison to what we have received in these dedicatory services. Instead of spending our budgeted Christmas funds for some gift from a local store, we would like to give you this $500 to help some family waiting to be endowed and sealed for all eternity. We appreciate your assisting us in our gifts to each other this year.”

The letter was unsigned. The givers remain anonymous. Perhaps today this brother may be viewing this session of general conference. If so, he may be pleased to learn that this gift has made it possible for a worthy family from the Villa Real District of the Portugal Porto Mission to journey to the temple and receive their precious temple blessings. To the unknown givers of this priceless gift I extend my thanks for being your brother’s keeper. I have the inner feeling that your Christmas season was marked by joy and filled with peace.

We have no way of knowing when our privilege to extend a helping hand will unfold before us. The road to Jericho each of us travels bears no name, and the weary traveler who needs our help may be one unknown. Altogether too frequently, the recipient of kindness shown fails to express his feelings, and we are deprived of a glimpse of greatness and a touch of tenderness that motivates us to go and do likewise. Genuine gratitude was expressed by the writer of a letter received recently at Church headquarters. No return address was shown, but the postmark was from Portland, Oregon:

“To the Office of the First Presidency:

“Salt Lake City showed me Christian hospitality once during my wandering years.

“On a cross-country journey by bus to California, I stepped down in the terminal in Salt Lake City, sick and trembling from aggravated loss of sleep caused by a lack of necessary medication. In my headlong flight from a bad situation in Boston, I had completely forgotten my supply.

“In the Temple Square Hotel restaurant, I sat dejectedly, cheekbones propped on fists, staring at a cup of coffee I really didn’t want. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a couple approach my table. ‘Are you all right, young man?’ the woman asked. I raised up, crying and a bit shaken, and related my story and the predicament I was in then. They listened carefully and patiently to my nearly incoherent ramblings, and then they took charge. They must have been prominent citizens. They spoke with the restaurant manager, then told me I could have all I wanted to eat there for five days. They took me next door to the hotel desk and got me a room for five days. Then they drove me to a clinic and saw that I was provided with the medications I needed—truly my basic lifeline to sanity and comfort.

“While I was recuperating and building my strength, I made it a point to attend the daily Tabernacle organ recitals. The celestial voicing of that instrument from the faintest intonation to the mighty full organ is the most sublime sonority of my acquaintance. I have acquired albums and tapes of the Tabernacle organ and the choir which I can rely upon any time to soothe and buttress a sagging spirit.

“On my last day at the hotel, before I resumed my journey, I turned in my key; and there was a message for me from that couple: ‘Repay us by showing gentle kindness to some other troubled soul along your road.’ That was my habit, but I determined to be more keenly on the lookout for someone who needed a lift in life.

“I wish you well. I don’t know if these are indeed the ‘latter days’ spoken of in the scriptures, but I do know that two members of your church were saints to me in my desperate hours of need. I just thought you might like to know.”

What a touching account. There comes to mind the experience of Jesus, when ten lepers were cleansed.

“And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God,

“And fell down on his face at his feet. …

“And [Jesus] said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Luke 17:15–16, 19.)

The desire to help another, the quest for the lost sheep, may not always yield success at once. On occasion progress is slow—even indiscernible. Such was the experience of my longtime friend Gil Warner. He was serving as a newly called bishop when “Douglas,” a member of his ward, transgressed and was deprived of his Church membership. Father was saddened; Mother was totally devastated. Douglas soon thereafter moved from the state. The years hurried by, but Bishop Warner, now a member of a high council, never ceased to wonder what had become of Douglas.

In 1975, I attended the stake conference of the Parleys stake and held a priesthood leadership meeting early on the Sunday morning. I spoke of the Church discipline system and the need to labor earnestly and lovingly to rescue any who had strayed. Gil Warner asked to speak and then outlined the story of Douglas. He concluded with the question, “Who has the responsibility to work with Douglas and bring him back to Church membership?” Gil advised me later that my response to his question was direct and given without hesitation: “It is your responsibility, Gil, for you were his bishop, and he knew you cared.”

Unbeknownst to Gil Warner, Douglas’s mother had, the previous week, fasted and prayed that a man would be raised up to help save her son. Gil discovered this when he felt prompted to call her to report his determination to be of help.

Gil began his odyssey of redemption. Douglas was contacted by him. Old times, happy times, were remembered. Testimony was expressed, love was conveyed, and confidence instilled. The pace was excruciatingly slow. Discouragement frequently entered the scene; but, step by step, Douglas made headway. At long last prayers were answered, efforts rewarded, and victory attained. Douglas was approved for baptism.

The baptismal date was set, family members gathered, and former bishop Gil Warner flew to Seattle for the occasion. Can we appreciate the supreme joy felt by Bishop Warner as he, dressed in white, stood with Douglas in water waist-deep and, raising his right arm to the square, repeated those sacred words, “Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (D&C 20:73.)

He that was lost was found. A 26-year mission, marked by love and pursued with determination, had been successfully completed. Gil Warner said to me, “This was one of the greatest days of my life. I know the joy promised by the Lord when He declared, ‘And if it so be that you should labor all your days … and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!’” (D&C 18:15.)

Were the Lord to say to Gil Warner today, as He said to Adam’s son long years ago, “Where is Douglas, thy brother?” Bishop Warner could reply, “I am my brother’s keeper, Lord. Behold Douglas, thy son.”

May all of us who hold the priesthood of God demonstrate by our lives that we are our brothers’ keepers, I pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.