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TODAY'S THEME
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Nephi Rebuking His Rebellious Brothers -by Arnold Friberg |
Book of Mormon Teachings About the Gathering in of the Lamanites. Also: Subtle evidences of The Book of Mormon's consistency within itself: In these verses below Nephi tells what their father, Lehi taught regarding Israel being likened unto the branches of a tame olive tree which should be scattered throughout the earth. He pointed out that their father's family coming to their Promised land (Ancient America) was a partial fulfillment of that promise.
1 Nephi 10: 12 Yea, even my father spake much concerning the Gentiles, and also concerning the house of Israel, that they should be compared like unto an olive-tree, whose branches should be broken off and should be scattered upon all the face of the earth.
13 Wherefore, he said it must needs be that we should be led with one accord into the land of promise, unto the fulfilling of the word of the Lord, that we should be scattered upon all the face of the earth.
14 And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive-tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.
15 And after this manner of language did my father prophesy and speak unto my brethren, and also many more things which I do not write in this book; for I have written as many of them as were expedient for me in mine other book. (emphasis added)In verse 14 above Nephi wrote about how their part of Israel after having been scattered would then be "gathered together again." Nephi goes on to attribute to their father's prophesying that after the Gentiles (most of us are considered Gentiles) had received the fullness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive-tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, (The Lamanites of our day) should be grafted in, or in other words, come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.
Now, what Nephi wrote in those verses quoted above, interestingly fits what we know about, that which would have been available to their father, Lehi, from the words of Zenos who was a prophet, (not mentioned in the Old Testament), whose teachings and prophecies were found on the Brass Plates of Laban that Nephi at a relatively young age, was able to retrieve, with the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, from Laban's Treasury in Jerusalem. Zenos is mentioned a number of times throughout the Book of Mormon.
Zenos taught about scattered Israel being compared to the branches of a tame olive tree that were scattered throughout the earth. This is found in The Book of Mormon, Jacob 5:1-77. But of course the source Lehi went to, to learn of Zenos' prophecies had to be the Brass Plates of Laban which his son, Nephi retrieved from Laban's Treasury with the assistance of Laban's servant, Zoram.
Father Lehi's and subsequently his sons' source for Zenos' prophecies were the Brass Plates of Laban.
You can see that this information from two different sources, fits together. (The sons of Lehi learning it from him, their father, and Lehi learning it from the prophecies of Zenos contained in the Brass Plates of Laban.
The Book of Mormon was not fabricated in our day and time. It would take some astounding (almost impossible) clever fabricating to have all of this fit together so sensibly! One part of the record comprising, I Nephi 10: 12-15, and 1 Nephi 15: 12-15 matches another part of the record, Jacob Chapter 5 where the Prophet Zenos is quoted which you can read whenever you have time. I have provided you that scripture under the second set of verses below:
1 Nephi 15: 12 Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olive-tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel?
13 And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is, that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea, for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the remnant of our seed—
14 And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come unto him and be saved.
15 And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the strength and nourishment from the true vine? Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?Elsewhere, in I Nephi, are found two related statements made by Nephi, at different times (the second statement was made about eight years after the first. You will see that they fit together like hand in glove. The first one is:
1 Nephi 3:7
And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.
And the second quotation from Nephi is found fourteen chapters after the chapter quoted above. In this he was doing what would be natural for him, reflecting on the strong feelings he experienced eight years before as he accepted a very difficult assignment from the Lord through his father, Lehi.
I Nephi 17:3 And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.
You can easily discern that the person who wrote the second quote was surely the one who wrote the first quote. It couldn't have been an exceedingly clever, experienced modern day writer who was trying to make those two quotes fit together.
I find it entirely impossible for Joseph Smith to have done such fabricating with his educational and writing background being very rudimentary; and not even possible for anyone else of their day under their educational circumstances.
The truth is: Nephi, son of Lehi, wrote the first statement and also the second statement. There is no chance that a clever forger could have written those two related statements which reflected the deep convictions that following the guidance of the Lord Jesus Christ had brought to Nephi.
Now please prepare yourself to try to understand the allegory given by the ancient prophet Zenos.
I find it entirely impossible for Joseph Smith to have done such fabricating with his educational and writing background being very rudimentary; and not even possible for anyone else of their day under their educational circumstances.
The truth is: Nephi, son of Lehi, wrote the first statement and also the second statement. There is no chance that a clever forger could have written those two related statements which reflected the deep convictions that following the guidance of the Lord Jesus Christ had brought to Nephi.
Now please prepare yourself to try to understand the allegory given by the ancient prophet Zenos.
Jacob 5: 1-77
If you readers have never read that very prophetic scripture before and perhaps also have never been taught about the various dispensations of the Gospel of Jesus Christ you will have had difficulty in relating each portion of it to the actual history of the preaching of the Lord's Gospel throughout time and particularly from the time of Father Lehi and his family who were led to their promised land which was in Central America.
As some of you know after arriving there in their promised land they divided into two separate nations, one of which was the Nephites (or followers of Nephi) and the other were the Lamanites, followers of Laman and Lemuel who rebelled against the teachings of their father, Lehi.
Other allusions in Zenos' allegory refer to the teaching of the Gentiles by the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ after His resurrection when He had left them after assigning them to "preach the Gospel in all the world."
The parable very accurately, when you have the big picture of the actual history of the teaching of the true Gospel over the centuries, takes us up to our time in history. the twenty first century.
And that brings us to our example for today, John Redhair, a Navajo from the reservation in Arizona. His being gathered in as the Lord's "precious fruit" fits right into the scheme of things as laid out by the very knowledgeable prophet Zenos. John and his family are descendants of Father Lehi who was led by the Lord Jesus Christ (before Our Savior's mortal life had begun), to their promised land in Central America which most likely eventually included much more of the Americas than it did then.
And it was among Lehi's descendants that He, the Savior Jesus Christ taught His Gospel and established his Church after His resurrection as related in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
That doesn't explain all of the allegory, however it does tell us that at the end of the harvest there was good fruit to be treasured:
1 Nephi 10:14 And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive-tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.As you read of the spiritual experiences this ("grafted in remnant of the House of Israel) Navajo member of the LDS Church actually had, you will not question whether he has descended from Father Lehi. Spiritual gifts seem to be his natural inheritance.
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John and Gloria Redhair |
“I am especially happy and pleased about two parts of my life. First of all, as a young boy living in the isolated, non-English, sheep-ranch world of my Navajo kinsmen, I did not know anything much about the Bible, Jesus, Abraham, or prophets; I was not taught the Ten Commandments, or about faith and repentance, or about most of the sacred things. But looking back at my blessed life, I can remember that I was hungry to learn about spiritual things. I didn’t really learn about Abraham until after I was married. But when I did, I felt a humble kinship with him in my desire to learn of spiritual things.”
Sometimes, it was almost as if John, too, were living among the Chaldeans, humbly trying to follow the example of Abraham, which was not a very normal thing for a young Navajo boy to pursue; as written in the Pearl of Great Price. As a young man, Abraham’s big goal in life was to be, “A follower of righteousness, desiring also to be one who possessed great knowledge,’ and to help make these most things possible, he ‘sought for the blessings of the fathers.”
“I loved my humble, kind, hardworking parents—Allen and Anna Redhair— and almost everything about my traditional upbringing in the heart of Navajo-land, between Pinón and Rough Rock, Arizona. In my early years of life, I loved the excitement of the stories of the legends, traditions, and history of my people, and although I certainly was not rebellious, I could not accept much of the beliefs the Elders of my family were teaching me. Silently, I listened and I wondered! Is this all there is to life? Please Great Spirit or God, if you do exist, help me to know more of the truth about the meaning of life and help me understand about death and is there a life after death?”
“Continuing in my goal to know the big truths in life, I gradually figured out a few things. First, I happily realized that one of the things that was causing me pain and confusing me was the fact that the teachings of my people, although they were beautiful, were not complete—they were only part of what God had in mind for me—for all his children.
“What was missing? There has got to be more to life and living than what I am hearing? Please help me find the answers. Finally, after many ups and downs in thinking---softly, sweetly, answers came—what was missing from my beloved Navajo kinsmen’s teaching was a right understanding of God. Oh yes, there is mention of gods and deities in Navajo traditions. And I had thought about God before, but only as one of many tribal deities such as The Sun, Changing Woman, and Monster Slayer, and in my young mind it was hard to distinguish the difference. But when I figured things out, and He became real to me, I finally saw Him as the center or heart of my religious belief.
Everything fell into place and made perfect sense to my young, inquiring mind.
“Amazingly, it was more than a dozen years later that my spiritual side again was awakened dramatically, and I became a full-fledged spiritual person. I will tell of that experience shortly.
“The second big decision, in which I was really blessed, was in choosing the right woman in Navajo-land to marry.” Right from the first look, Gloria Lane and John Redhair clicked like an expensive clock and had a smooth stimulating relationship---even better than that, they both felt that God was in on the clock works.
The older Redhair sisters had been attending school off the reservation in Snowflake, Arizona. John’s input at the time was, “The school is far away, but my sisters and aunt were already going to school over there and they really liked it. They both spoke about how good the school was and how nice the Snowflake people were to them. It is a public school, ten percent Diné, (Navajo) with a small dorm of 100 students. My sisters said it was their favorite school, the white kids were good friends with them, and several of the teachers came over to the dorm at night during study time to help them with their homework.” So, John Redhair headed toward Snowflake.
What about the LDS influence? John explained, “Mormons—I knew about Mormons but I didn’t know I would be in the middle of so many of them. I was always interested in their religion, but no one tried to convert me.”
Sports became a big thing with John and his younger brother in their junior high years. Basketball was the starting point, but soon track and field and cross country running were more important. John expounded, "We ran at school and we noticed that we were good at it. Most days we ran both in the morning and in the evening. It didn’t take John long to realize, "I was best at the long distances, but I wasn’t as excellent as my little brother who would usually win the race.”
John and his brother didn’t forget about academics—they loved learning and kept their grades up. John especially liked math and algebra.
During John’s high school years Snowflake won the state championship in cross country, their distance runners all being Native Americans except a couple of Hispanic track enthusiasts. Sadly, John was not allowed to compete or run in his junior and senior years because he was overage. His younger brother continued his track and cross country career throughout his high school years winning many races. John graduated from Snowflake High School in 1969 at age 20.
College? Yes, but where?--“Ricks College in Idaho? I was thinking about going there; it was my first choice. New Mexico Highlands was a possibility, and my third choice was BYU. But Northern Arizona University in nearby Flagstaff was also worth a thought or two.”
“Ricks College was so far away. I didn’t have much money, and I didn’t even know the way to get there; the same thing held with the New Mexico school. I could probably find BYU alright, but in those days I wasn’t a Mormon, so BYU was a little scary for me. After much deliberation, I decided the best thing for me was to go to NAU at Flagstaff.”
John acted in a couple of uncommon ways as a new college entrant. He felt extremely fortunate that his Indian roommates were as committed as he in obtaining a bona-fide education. Track and Field? “No, I need to study!” Dating? “No, I need to study!” Smoking, drinking, and carousing? “No, thank you; I need to study!”
Speaking of his more than four years at Northern Arizona University, John states:
“I met some friends and about all we did was study. We were unified in that we wanted to go to school; we wanted an education; we wanted to be self starters and study hard. About the only distraction we had was a little basketball once in a while. I was studying business administration with a minor in education, but I didn’t get my degree!”
Didn’t get your degree? Wow! Why not? Something momentous must have come your way!
That something was the female of the species! And after 26 years of
steady passivity living in an Eden without any Eves, the heart of John Redhair was ready for a major eruption of joy. This heart, which had been largely apathetic during four years of cloistered monk like study and dedication classroom discipline, suddenly felt free to express the sublime ecstasy of romantic love.
When this Adam met his Eve everything else was put into second place. “I didn’t graduate because after four and a half years of college, I met Gloria Lane. We fell in love! My priorities changed. We were married in 1975.”
1975 was a momentous year in the life and times of John Redhair and Gloria Lane for another reason, as it was also the time of the rapid growth of the new city of Page, Arizona, and the availability of many job opportunities after the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam across the Colorado River forming Lake Powell and one of the most popular recreational areas in the states.
John says this about his first job and home. “I had taken drafting in high school and I was able to get a position at the construction site as a draftsman for Becktel Construction Company. When that construction was finished, however, I was out of a job. Gloria was pregnant so it was a hard decision as to whether to go back to college and graduate or find another job locally. Navajo Generating Station was being built so I checked there for a job. The only position available was at the bottom as a laborer. That is the position I took. But after working a few days I was offered a better job in the warehouse, so I jumped into that position and I have now been working for 31 years straight, the last fifteen as a working foreman.”
“When we first married we lived in Page for a while and then we settled here in Lechee, a reservation town just outside Page. Gloria’s uncle and I built my family’s present home from scratch. I was working and I would save a little and buy my own housing materials. We were able to buy what we needed to build this home with no help from the Navajo Tribe. It has been an excellent house for us all these years.”
“It was through Gloria, that the church came in to my life. During the time we were dating Gloria was planning on going to the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City with her parents and I was invited along. It turned out to be something better than what I had expected. I think that really is where I was converted! At the beginning of the conference, the sacred music of the Tabernacle Choir softened my heart. I loved the music! And then the General Authorities of the Church talked about things which really interested me—spiritual, meaningful, and practical things. During that session I was sitting behind a pole on the main floor of the tabernacle, and every time I would look around the pole, it was like the speaker was looking right at me, speaking personally, directly to me.
Then the President of the Church, Spencer W. Kimball addressed the large congregation. I knew from the feeling I had and the spirit that radiated from him that he was a prophet even at that early time! I really loved the Church from the beginning, but I didn’t say anything to anyone about my feelings. Missionaries never really tried to teach me. I was attending meetings all the time and people thought I was a member. Finally the missionaries came and taught me and I was officially baptized, but my heart had believed for a long time before. It wasn’t until after we had been married for five years that I officially joined the Church.”
“Right after my baptism I was put in as an assistant ward clerk with the main duty of keeping track of all the Lamanites in the ward. After one year, many members, including me, were a little surprised when I was called to the new stake presidency, serving as second counselor to President Harvey Gardner, with Bryson Jones being the first counselor. “In one way I was surprised because I realized it was a big church calling and most people advance more slowly up the ladder, and until I got fully into my new position, I didn’t fully realize what a significant position I was in. In another sense, I wasn’t surprised because I felt my church callings were like school and athletics and I kept praying and telling the Lord that I wanted to learn and serve Him. While I worked hard as a member of the stake presidency, I also depended on President Gardner and President Jones to guide and advise me. Those two taught me a pick-up load of Church information. I kept after the two of them—teach me; teach me, all you know. And they tried to do it!
“It was during this time that Gloria and I were endowed in the St. George Temple.
After three years as a stake leader, John Redhair was sustained as the Bishop of the Page Fourth Ward, (The Lamanite Unit).
Harvey Gardner remembers John Redhair being overwhelmed in this new calling—weeping, feeling extremely inadequate, and saying he felt he couldn’t do it. Brother Gardner was touched when he observed Gloria put her hand on his trembling knee to console him with soft words, “Yes, John, you can do it.”
John also reflected his feelings at that time. “Even as a young boy I felt that we lived with God before our birth, so we knew Him and we were taught by Him from the beginning. This knowledge is why I didn’t believe many of the traditions taught me by my good parents and why I never had any of the tribal ceremonies. As soon as I could think straight I believed there was something more to life than what I was learning as a youth in Pinón.
“When I first joined the Church I prayed for greater learning and knowledge and the Lord put me in the stake presidency. I told the Lord I wanted to learn more things and I wanted to grow and he made me a bishop. I knew I had to be a spiritual man!
“Before I was called, I knew I was going to be the bishop, so I devoutly prayed about who should be my counselors and I had them in mind before: Tully Haswood and Wallace Brown were selected, along with Allen Goatson as ward Clerk.
“I served as bishop for seven years and I really loved it from the start. The main reason I enjoyed this calling is that right from the beginning, I knew it wasn’t me who was supposed to be doing it, that it was the Lord who was doing it through me. I could feel Him working through me so I relied on him a great deal. I felt inspired right from the beginning and was prompted about some things I should be doing in the ward. (emphasis added)
“When Elder Robert D. Hales put his hands upon my head and set me apart as bishop it seemed to me like he placed a cloak over my shoulders and with that cloak came inspiration. It seemed that everything I should know or do as a new bishop was put into my mind and heart as the robe rested upon my shoulders. Are you aware of the Old Testament portrayal of Moses setting apart Joshua? Remember the robe Moses was wearing? It felt to me as if something like that robe was placed upon my shoulders and as soon as Elder Hales finished setting me apart I knew what to do and how to do it as a new bishop. (emphasis added)
“Yes, it was a more difficult calling than serving in the stake presidency. I fully realized it would now be up to me to serve and run the ward. I was out there by myself—and while my counselors would help—it was up to me to find the best way to do things.
Bishop Redhair knew the importance of fasting and prayer in being successful in any calling. “As bishop I fasted a lot and depended upon the Lord a great deal. Actually I fasted every single week and then every Sunday because I needed the Lord’s good help.
When asked about his patriarchal blessing, John explained, “As a late arrival I didn’t receive my blessing until I was in the stake presidency. I am very impressed with this spiritual guide. Two things in my blessing are noteworthy. I prefer not tell about one of the miraculous future events which I am promised to be part of if I continue to be faithful. The other somewhat overwhelming promise is that I will be called upon to do spiritual things in my life.
John Redhair has a strong testimony regarding tithing. “Even before I joined the church I paid tithing with my wife. I have always believed that everything we have belongs to the Lord. I believe we come into life with many blessings upon our shoulders. He has blessed me greatly throughout my life and how should I thank him for it. And, then I thought of tithing and I said to myself, ‘Oh good--that is the best way to thank the Lord!’ I always look at tithing in two ways. First, the lord has blessed me so I need to pay my tithing; and secondly, I want the Lord to bless me in the future, so I need to pay my tithing. This process is really a two-way deal.
I have had so many wonderful spiritual blessings in my life. “I am not sure if I should share this as it is quite sacred. As bishop I attended the St. George Temple with the youth who were there for temple baptisms. Seated, I watched as they were lined up in their clean white clothes humbly and reverently doing the baptisms, I am certain I was wide awake, and not asleep.
I closed my eyes for a moment and the second I did so, I was amazed as I saw a group of other people there in the baptismal room of the temple with us. They also were dressed in white--Lamanites and Anglos--they were all gathered together on the floor by the baptismal area. I was so startled at what was happening to me! This experience was as real as looking at my wife. Although the facial features of this new group were very vivid to me, I didn’t recognize anyone. And then it was over--but it was the greatest spiritual experience I have ever had.
For many years, since John’s conversion to the gospel, he has felt sorrow about his Lamanite brothers and sisters who have been baptized into the Church –many of whom have been on the Placement program--but have chosen not to attend. “I have pondered the questions of why they are inactive and how we can bring them back. This question was always in my mind when I was in the stake presidency and when I was a bishop.”
One night I had a most unusual dream in which a messenger was talking to me in a language that I didn’t know but I was able to understand. I was told by the messenger that reactivation would not be effective until we as members and those that are less active do as the scriptures say in Luke 10:27.
Luke 10: 27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.He (the heavenly messenger) told me that reactivation would not be effective unless and until those doing that difficult task were more full of love. They would not be successful until they love their Lamanite brethren with all their heart, all of their mind, all of their strength; yes, even all of their soul, and their neighbors as themselves. (actual scriptural quote inserted in text by Neil Birch)
“One of my most difficult duties as a bishop was when stake president Bryson Jones asked me how I was doing as bishop, I told him I was doing well. I told him that ‘If it weren’t for one thing I would like to quit my Station job and be a full time bishop. If it weren’t for the yearly raising of funds for the ward budget I would happily serve as bishop for the rest of my life.’ The president indicated he would be very surprised if the budget situation ever changed.
“Whoa! Would you believe it? That very week the financial procedures of "the church changed and the ward budget fund-raising was done away with.
I didn’t, however, spend the rest of my life as Bishop. After serving as bishop I was the ward clerk for a year followed by serving as ward mission leader. Next I became part of the stake high council and then the stake called me to be the Stake Young Men's President. Then I was the young men’s leader in my own ward. Next Stanford Bracken joined me as a counselor in the stake presidency to Leo Larsen.
“
When President Larsen died unexpectedly, as the first counselor, I served as temporary stake leader for four months. The calling of the new stake president by Elder Jeffrey Holland was handled with good sensitivity. "Elder Holland queried me, ‘Will you feel okay if we don’t call you to be the new stake president?’
John Redhair replied, “It is okay with me. This is the Lord’s church!” At present John is the scoutmaster in the Page 4th ward.
What are your hobbies? “At present I am reading the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon at the same time. The other thing is running.”
What do you like best about the Book of Mormon? “The whole thing excites me, I love all of it.”
John, what is your philosophy of life? “You can’t do anything well without the Lord. In order to be successful, you have to have his guidance; with Him you can do anything you want.”
Some of the Lamanite people have had wrestling matches with alcohol. Has the Word of Wisdom been a particular challenge for you?
“My father had to deal with his drinking and he had a problem. I have been blessed since my childhood in this challenging area. As a child I had a dream which helped me, in which it seemed as if I was a child up in the sky; I guess I was in heaven, and I was always looking down and watching things. Like I have said before, I knew I came from somewhere special, even before I read the Book of Mormon, or knew how to speak English, I knew.
“In my dream, I could look down and see a smooth road and a rough road. And, I knew which path I was going to follow. Also, my dream really motivated me to know that there is a God, and it helped me to be spiritual. Part of that was my choice to be clean in habit and live the word of wisdom both in high school and in college, even though I didn’t know I was doing it. Looking back, this pure kind of life prepared me to be a bishop and to serve in the stake presidency.
“When I was young I made a promise to myself not to smoke, drink, or chew tobacco, and I never had a desire to do those things. I used to tell my brothers and sisters to live this better way, but they drank tea and coffee although I never did.”
How have you accomplished such a successful marriage? “The gospel has been the main thing; as soon as I got into the gospel that was the thing that really helped us. So I often think and reflect, why didn’t I become a Mormon before; I should have volunteered to be taught rather than use the excuse that no one ever asked me to join and then we got married and the missionaries came around.”
How do you account for your success in fatherhood? “Again the answer is the gospel. As soon as we heard the gospel teachings about Family Home Evening and things like that, we began doing what was needed. I don’t remember ever missing Family Home Evening. If we missed Monday night we would hold it on Tuesday, or if we knew we were going to be busy on Monday, we would hold it on Sunday. And we didn’t miss church meeting: we were there every Sunday.”
What are your final words? “I really did enjoy that first conference I went to--the Choir, my, how I loved the Choir! I think that is what heaven will sound like!”
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In the next post, 38h - Part 2 you can read of John's wife, Gloria's life story summary.
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These portions of life stories you just read were used with permission of Dale and Margene Shumway, Authors of the book, Blossoming II. which is available on Amazon.com entitled The Blossoming II: Dramatic stories in the Lives of Native Americans. Also both Blossoming books are available by contacting the Shumways by email: dm06shumway@yahoo.com, by mail 486 W 40 N. Orem, UT 84057, or by telephone 801 235 0986. The retail cost is for book I $12.95 and for book II $14.95 plus postage. As for the Blossoming II books. They are available on Amazon.com titled The Blossoming II: Dramatic stories in the Lives of Native Americans. Also both Blossoming books are available by contacting us by email: dm06shumway@yahoo.com, by mail 486 W 40 N. Orem, UT 84057, or by telephone 801 235 0986. The retail cost is for book I $12.95 and for book II $14.95 plus postage.
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DISCLAIMER
This website is not owned by or affiliated with the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called the Mormon or LDS Church). The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the position of the Church.
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TO ACCESS NEIL BIRCH'S BLOG INDEX: To Either Read the Full Index Item Which Refers To This Blog Post, (Or To Search The Index For Any Other Blog Post You Desire To Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: (Present Day) Lamanites, Such as John Redhair Have Been Blessed By Devoted Latter-Day Saint Families Who Have Been Blessed For Their Loving Service -Post 38h. - Part 1 When The Picture of Our Savior, Jesus Christ Sitting Next To a Little Boy Comes Onto Your Screen, Please Scroll Down In The Index To Your Target Item Or Use the Alphabetical Scrolling Device (When It Has Been Installed).
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I deeply appreciate your readership and hope you found very beneficial, that which was presented to you in this blog post.
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Neil Birch
