42p The American Indians, along with all other Lamanites (Modern Day descendants of the Nephites Whose History is Contained in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ) are an important Focus of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints.

 To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

PLEASE NOTE: A link to a video showing San Carlos Apache youth doing an Apache War Dance can be reached by scrolling down eight paragraphs from the group of Indian Tribal photos I have inserted into this post. 

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TODAY'S THEME

I was employed by the Seminaries and Institutes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, beginning in the Fall of 1962, and continued on in that employment until the Summer of 1967.

While serving as an Indian Seminary teacher (and then as a coordinator also, beginning in my second year) It was a great privilege for me to get to know very personally, not only my students but also a good number of their parents. They were from a number of different American Indian tribes. From this employment I learned to love American Indians deeply and sincerely.

(Here is a footnote as to why I left an occupation I enjoyed: (being a probation officer in the juvenile division of the Sacramento County [California] Probation Department):


Robert W. Blair, Phd.

Sometime during my senior year at BYU (1959-60), Robert Blair a former mission president's assistant to our mission president, Henry D. Matis, in the early 1950s in Finland,  was a graduate assistant at BYU and later on obtained his Phd. in Linguistics from the University of Indiana. He, at that time, was involved in a number of interesting activities at the Brigham Young University involving American Indians (Lamanites).

Previously, Elder Blair served as my key instructor in Finland as I learned the difficult Finnish language a number of years before language training centers had been set up for missionaries who were to speak Finnish-(Suomea). We had some interesting discussions early in my mission regarding Lamanites and their importance in the Lord's work in our day as is pointed out in the Book of Mormon. 

At BYU in the aforementioned school year, Robert invited me to attend a Navajo language class he had privately set up on campus. I attended several sessions of it and enjoyed the experience.

I give Bob the credit for suggesting not long before I graduated on June 3, 1960 that I consider working full-time, with Lamanites.) If I remember correctly, he told me about the new Indian Student Placement Program of the Church. I had heard of it, but hadn't ever thought about being personally involved in it.

I must mention one very significant thing Dr. Blair professionally accomplished in assisting Lamanites. Sometime, perhaps later in his career, he directed a project at the request of the LDS Church which was the challenging task of translating the Book of Mormon into one of the most difficult Central American native languages. It was a not very well known language (except by those whose native language it was and perhaps to a lesser extent, by a few scholars like Dr. Blair). He also served as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints's first mission president in the Baltic nations.

Just before becoming an Indian Seminary teacher for the LDS Church, I had served as a probation officer for about a year and a half for the Sacramento County Juvenile Probation Department in the California county of my birth after graduating from BYU-Provo, Utah in early June of 1960. My major at BYU was Human Development and Family Relationships, a relatively new major at BYU at that time. I give credit to that major for helping prepare me for my work at the Probation Department and for teaching Seminary and also when doing Indian Student Placement work.  Among other particular assignments at the Juvenile Probation Department, I served, for a time before leaving, as a court officer. I enjoyed that challenging "prosecutor role." 

I should note that one of the key reasons I was considered to be sufficiently qualified to serve as a seminary teacher for the LDS Church's Seminaries and Institutes was that I had served successfully as an early-morning seminary teacher both in Roseville and in Sacramento, California. In fact, my supervisor when I began teaching full-time in Brigham City, Utah was Wesley C. Christensen - (I hope I remembered his name correctly) who had actually supervised me in my early-morning seminary teaching in Sacramento, California just prior to my being hired as a full-time seminary teacher and his being transferred to Logan, Utah.

In my new full-time teaching position Brother Christensen gave me special assistance and guided me toward getting a masters degree in the field of education requiring  my choosing to attend summer school at BYU where summer training was required for full-time seminary teachers.

Instead, I eventually earned a Master's degree in Social Work at San Jose State University in Northern California while later working full-time as an Indian Placement Service worker. That degree was required of me because of that new assignment.

Back to my original employment as an Indian Seminary teacher for LDS Seminaries and Institutes: During my first year of employment in this new occupation, I was given the enjoyable assignment of teaching Indian Seminary classes in Brigham City, Utah which LDS Navajo students from the Intermountain Indian School attended.

You will learn more about that Indian Seminary in Post 38i, Part 1 which you will access later in this post.

During that first school year I also taught regular ninth grade seminary classes at the Junior High Seminary in Brigham City, Utah, just after the old high school seminary building had been converted into a Junior High School seminary building, along with the old high school campus having been converted into a junior high campus.

Beginning in my second year as an Indian Seminary teacher, I also began serving as a Seminary coordinator in Farmington, New Mexico and I got to know personally many Navajo members of the Church there. Most of the Indian seminary teachers I supervised were the full-time missionaries from the Southwest Indian Mission headquartered in Holbrook, Arizona. They were provided with Indian-oriented curriculum and also a series of  professionally developed and produced filmstrips, such as the "Benny Builder" series.

I also coordinated the regular early-morning seminary program of the Young Stake with the teachers being qualified members of the church who were paid a part-time salary as was the case when I taught in the early-morning program. The missionaries taught Indian seminary classes as a part of their mission calling without any pay except for the satisfaction of seeing Indian students grow and develop spiritually.

As a family, we were assigned by our stake presidency to meet every Sunday morning with the Navajo branch of the LDS Young Stake in Farmington, New Mexico, with my serving several times as a member of the branch presidency there.

We had the special privilege of transporting the branch, organist, Lucy Bloomfield, who with her husband, George, (who had died before we met Lucy) had worked many years among and for the benefit of many Navajos; along with her portable organ to and from the Totah Branch ( Totah is the Navajo word for Farmington, New Mexico.- literally it means: "a place where two waters, i.e. rivers, meet" ) Those meetings were held in the Relief Society room of the Young Stake Center Sunday mornings so as to not interfere with ward Sacrament meetings that were being held in the chapel of that building several times each Sunday.

I must mention that there were a number of us non-Navajo language speakers who listened to very many Sunday school lessons and sacrament meeting talks which we couldn't understand very well. Because I had learned a very difficult language on my mission, the Finnish language, I knew the commitment to learn to speak Navajo would be too great for the time I had. I came to understand some of it and at times Navajo members would interpret privately or in front of the class, that which was spoken in Navajo into English.

I learned, over the years, but particularly when we lived in Farmington, that Navajo Indians, in particular, who are commonly viewed as having stoic personalities; after you get to know them well, and they you, you will come to realize that a good number of them have great senses of humor!

My wife, at that time, Judith Ann (Judy) Whetstone Birch, served as a counselor to the Totah (Farmington, N.M.) Branch's Relief Society president during part of the time I was serving professionally in the Farmington, N.M. area. Interestingly, she is partly Lamanite (not Navajo) through one of her female ancestors. In that branch there were church members from a number of different Indian tribes.

Also, for about two years I served in the position of District Clerk to the Indian District President of the Holbrook, Arizona Mission in which the Farmington, New Mexico Mission District was remotely situated. On a number of occasions I flew with District President, Carl Brown in his personal light airplane to outlying Indian branches with at times, a somewhat rough dirt landing strip being the only available landing strip. However, President Brown was a very good pilot!

I should mention, my family and I were active members of the Farmington, New Mexico Third Ward and most often were able to attend a Sacrament meeting at our ward, even though we had attended a sacrament meeting in the morning at the Lamanite Branch where we were assigned by the Stake Presidency to serve. We were involved in various ward activities as they were held, as we had the time to attend them, with our being very busy in our Indian-related schedule.

A Navajo Hogan (dwelling place)



 

An Old-time Navajo Warrior, Barboncito



A Navajo Girl Being Taught To Weave In Navajo Fashion

Navajo Youth in a Traditional Dance wearing Traditional clothes.

After working and living among the Navajos for four years I was transferred to Hardin, Montana where I taught and coordinated LDS Indian Seminary classes among the Crow and the Northern Cheyenne American Indian tribes. My family and I attended the LDS Branch, located at Crow Agency, Montana that was made up, for the most part, of members of the Crow Tribe. My church calling was first as a member of the branch presidency and afterwards as a member of the District council (similar to a high council.) My family and I were only technically speaking, members of the Hardin Ward with the full agreement of the ward bishop.

However, I recognized I had a responsibility to discuss with the bishop of that ward something I thought I eventually would do which could have indirectly impacted the Church. During our training at BYU in Provo, Utah that summer, just before we moved to Montana, someone who was instructing teachers and coordinators of the Seminaries and Institutes of the Church, urged us to be civic minded wherever we were assigned. I remembered that after moving to Hardin.

After we had moved to Hardin, I discovered that there was an active Rotary International unit there. I met with our bishop and told him I would like to join the Rotary International unit there in town so as to be civic minded. He didn't know much about the Rotary unit in town, but agreed that it might be something I should pursue.

We agreed that I wouldn't be representing the Church, but I would let the Rotary leader and other Rotary members know that my employment was with the Seminaries and Institutes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that I was an active member of that church, but that I would become a member of their Rotary International unit solely on my own.

I told the Rotary leader that I had grown up in Roseville, California where Rotary International was highly respected.  I attended weekly Rotary meetings in Hardin, Montana as often as possible. From time to time I was asked questions about the Church and its teachings. Because my schedule changed occasionally because of social activities scheduled with my LDS Crow and Northern Cheyenne LDS seminary students, I kept the Rotary unit leader apprised of when I was to be absent.

I enjoyed getting acquainted with the Rotary unit's members and freely shared with them that I was teaching Crow and Northern Cheyenne youth as an LDS Indian Seminary instructor. As in many other locations where there are Native American tribal centers located nearby, there appeared (at least to me) to be a significant emotional distance between members of Rotary International there in Hardin and Native Americans and I believe that to be true generally among non-Indian populations.

I specially enjoyed some of the celebrations that Rotary International sponsored during which I mingled in with them. At the end of that one school year, we moved to Los Angeles, California to work with the Indian Student Placement Service of the Church. I let them know about our moving and thanked them for fellow shipping me during our time in Hardin. Unfortunately, I didn't remain in contact with any of the members, but I feel that because of my involvement with them, a favorable impression was left with them of "that certain Mormon" who had become a member of Rotary." In a number of ways I had been treated like I was one of them. I still remember well and can still sing the song that was sung at every Rotary Meeting:

Montana, Montana, the Glory of the West, from all the states from Coast to Coast, You surely are the Best. Montana, Montana, your skies are always blue! (spelling it out in the song) M - O -  N - T - A - N - A, Montana we love you!

A Female Member of the Crow Indian Tribe in Montana, dressed in tribal finery

As mentioned above, while living in Hardin, Montana for one year along with my wife and our four young children, (with one of our daughters having been born there), I was privileged to serve an additional American Indian Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Lame Deer, Montana which was about a thirty-six mile northeast drive from Hardin. I was provided an used school bus purchased by my Indian Seminary friend whom I replaced, before I arrived, in which I transported either Crow or Northern Cheyenne Indian Seminary students to joint activities held in one location or the other.

A Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council Meeting in Lame Deer, Montana



After transferring in the summer of 1967 to the LDS Indian Student Placement Program about which you learned much in the previous series of three of my posts, I and my family began living in Canoga Park, located in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California (U.S.A.). A new LDS Family Services agency was being opened with its office located in the Los Angeles, California Welfare Storehouse.

As an Indian Student Placement Service worker I was assigned to assist members of the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona along with the San Carlos Apache Tribe located about seventy five or so miles South of them, in arranging to place their children in LDS Indian Student Placement Program foster care in that Southern Californian valley where my family and I had just begun to live.

An Eagle's Eye View of Part of the White Mountain Apache Reservation



San Carlos Apache Woman in Tribal Dress



Fort Apache Woman in Tribal Dress



Winter View of the San Carlos Apache Reservation



It wasn't long before I became very aware that my Indian Placement colleagues were for the most part glad that I, instead of them, had been assigned to place children from those two Apache tribes because they generally had the reputation of being more "warlike", or using a perhaps more appropriate word -(somewhat) cantankerous! (in Spanish for those readers of this blog whose main language may be Spanish (Español): that word is: intrable, or in the case of any of my friends in Finland (Suomessa) who may be reading this, the word is: ilkeä tai (or) riidanhaluinen). That term didn't apply to all of those Apache Indian students and their parents. I learned to love the people from both Apache Reservations. Their reservations each have their own unique beauty!

You may recall having read something I wrote in one of my recent posts about a San Carlos Apache twelve year old, Ronnie Dude, who was living with a foster family in the City of Burbank located in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California. He played little league baseball and developed quite the reputation of striking out batters of opposing teams or causing them to hit foul balls by letting out an Apache war whoop just before pitching the ball! and yelling the words, "Hi -yah yah!" (or something that sounded like that!) along with lots of  embellishing sounds and motions! Ronnie did well on the program as did his sister, Flora and their younger brother. I really enjoyed watching Ronnie pitch in little league baseball games and went out of my way to do so!

Now you will have the opportunity of viewing and listening to a video in which San Carlos Apaches are assisting some of their youth practice doing a tribal war dance! Having viewed this video already I wonder if Ronnie Dude learned his war whoop from training similar to what you will view in it.

(Please note: After clicking on the following link you will be asked, in a window that will come onto your screen, "Do You Want to Run This Application?" Please click on (Run). You will then be viewing an Apache Tribal advertisement of some kind. (You can click on the words, Close the Advertisement) Or on the screen you will notice a count-down in the number of seconds left. When that count-down reaches 1 second, please, click on the right pointing arrow you'll see in a video window. That will bring on a relatively short San Carlos Apache video in which adults are drumming and chanting while their children are doing their best at performing an Apache War Dance. (At times you may have to wait patiently after having clicked on the video link. The video will start!

Be sure to have your computer's sound system turned on and your ear-phones on (if you need them) so you can hear the Apache War Chanting and the drumming! Please notice the last four words of the link you see just below: TEACHING OUR CHILDREN DIGNITY (You will also see those same four words at the top of your screen while the video is running!)

It may be interesting to you, as it was to me as I contemplated the intriguing meaning of those four words as how they may relate to what those Apache parents are having their children practice doing! I have to ask, How does learning to dance an Apache War Dance help their children to learn dignity? I am sure there is a good answer to that question. I would like to know what that answer would be! I enjoyed watching this video!

Teaching Our Children Dignity
 

When the video has ended you have the choice of reviewing it. When you are through, please click out of the video so as to return to this post.

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Book of Mormon, 2Nephi 10:18 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles; nevertheless, I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore, the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel.

19 Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it (all of the Americas) is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God. (Clarification and emphasis added)

In my post before last, 42n, I provided you a number of examples of American Indian married couples who have blossomed as the rose as prophesied in Section 49 of the Doctrine and Covenants through the instrumentality of an inspired LDS Church program, The Indian Student Placement Program.

As prophesied just above in 2Nephi 10:18-19, many Gentiles were to soften their hearts and become like "fathers" to the Lamanites, or American Indians, descendants of the Nephite people of ancient America.

Overall, in the majority of cases where Lamanites of our day have been fellow shipped into the church and have become Gospel worthy, it wasn't just through special Church programs, (though they helped significantly in their time!) it was mostly through the medium of individual loving Latter-day Saints (whether through a special program or not) taking a special interest in assisting individual Lamanites whom they came to love, that brought those Lamanites into full Gospel fellowship.

Just below I'll provide you an outstanding example of that process which has taken place on very many occasions during the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and will continue to do so for the Lord has told us that Today's Lamanites will be blessed through their conversion to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I give  you an example of a Navajo man (and later on, a Navajo woman who became his wife) where the loving attention of a dedicated LDS  Indian Seminary teacher in Brigham City, Utah had a profound and an eventual eternal effect on these two individual Navajo tribal members and upon their children and their posterity!

I have provided you links, not very far below, to two of my previous posts in order to provide you with this experience.

The key Latter-day Saint who began this process of assisting a particular young Navajo Indian seminary student of his and then followed through over the years in helping helping this Navajo man and his wife, also a Navajo, develop spiritually over their life-times, is the present President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Elder Boyd K. Packer.

Elder Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 



The John C. and Ilene Begay Family with another Apostle of the Lord Who also knows and cares for them much is, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS Church.

 You can now focus on the life of John C. Begay.

Sister Ilene T. Begay.
Note: I mentioned at the beginning of this post that the Navajo people have a great sense of humor even though they are often looked upon as being very stoic! Well, some of that sense of humor just had to rub off on those of us who worked with them who had learned to enjoy their special sense of humor! I give you the following Example:

An Indian? No that is me, J. Neil Birch, in my middle years of professionally serving Lamanites.

Below is a letter my Agency director received a number of years after that photo was taken. I actually had been dressed up "as an Indian" by my wife for our LDS ward Halloween party that was taking place that evening.

I had shown that sort of funny photo to some of my co-workers back when I was reassigned from Kansas City, Missouri where I had served as the first agency director there along with providing all of the other regular services offered by LDS Family Services other than the Indian Placement Service; to Indian Placement work in Salt Lake City (in which assignment I was to place mostly Navajo children from the Navajo Reservation in Southern Utah).

Navajo Reservation, Mexican Hat, Utah





Navajo Reservation, Monument Valley, Utah

I thought that photo of me with "Indian makeup on" would seem quite funny to Indian Placement workers. Evidence shown above (in there being a copy of my picture) and also what is shown below leads me to know that at least one of them managed, without my knowing it, to make a copy of it!

Now, here is perhaps an example of the Navajo humor coming out in those LDS Family Services workers with whom I had served in my earlier years (and during some of my later years too) as an Indian Placement worker:

That photo of me above was sent to Dorthea Murdock, my agency manager, at that time, along with that letter. There were other humorous letters circulated throughout our Utah agencies subsequently. It was all done with a good "Navajo" sense of humor with a Billagonna (White man, in Navajo) slant to it!

PS If you have any comments to make about that "sense of humor," please express yourself briefly in the Comments section found at the end of this post! However, comments about the very important main subject of what is said in the two attached older posts of mine, would much be preferred!

Neil Birch

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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: The American Indians Along With All Other Lamanites (Modern Day Descendants of the Nephites Whose History is Contained in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ,) Are an Important Focus of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.-Post 42p 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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Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.

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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.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog:

Neil Birch

42o The Third Post in a Series of 3 Posts Regarding the Indian Student Placement Program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

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TODAY'S THEME

Mormon Abridging the Plates -by Tom Lovell

Book of Mormon, 2Ne. 30:3 And now, I (Nephi, son of Lehi)  would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken (The Book of Mormon) shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed (The Indians in all of the Americas - Today's Lamanites)

4 And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.

5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they (the Lamanites of our day) shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.

6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome people. (Written between 559 and 545 B.C.) (clarification and emphasis added)

In my just previous blog post, 42n, you were provided examples of the "blossoming as the rose" of a number of American Indians (Lamanites) who were privileged to be a part of the Indian Student Placement Program (Service) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Now you are given the opportunity of perusing the following study of the ISPP done by qualified professionals named just below the study's title.

I, Neil Birch, after consulting with a former Indian Student Placement Program colleague of mine, Dale Shumway, have highlighted portions of the study which we felt to be the points that perhaps should be emphasized in it. We accept the entire study as one that was done very well. Nonetheless, highlighting that which we consider to be the key parts of the study will allow you to read through it more easily and rapidly.  We advise you to view and study each table provided as they are a significant part of this study. Of course, if you choose to do so, please read everything in the study and ignore our highlighting. Please remember that the highlighted emphasis is not an actual part of this study!

Evaluation of an Indian Student
Placement Program

Bruce A. Chadwick, Stan L. Albrecht, and Howard M. Bahr

An evaluation of an Indian student placement program revealed that the educational attainment of participants was significantly higher than that of nonparticipants. Little difference was observed in social behavior. Participation was associated with assimilation into white society.

Bruce A. Chadwick is Professor of Sociology; Stan L. Albrecht is Dean, Home and Social Sciences; and Howard M. Bahr is Professor of Sociology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah. The authors wish to thank the Indian Student Placement Services for access to records and assistance in locating former participants. This study was funded by the Presiding Bishopric’s Office, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Social Casework: The Journal of Contemporary Social Work © 1986 Family Service America

The Indian Student Placement Service (ISPS) program, sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), was initiated in the fall of 1947 when a sixteen-year-old Navajo girl asked a LDS family if she could live with them so that she could attend the local high school. Because a substantial number of Indian families came forward with similar requests during the next few years, ISPS , a licensed child-placement agency, was organized in 1954. Enrollment in the program peaked in 1970 at 4,977 Indian youth and has decreased to approximately 2,500 students as educational opportunities on reservations have improved.

The program places only LDS Indian children with LDS families who have children of a similar age. The child lives with the foster family during the nine-month school year and returns to his or her natural family on the reservation for the summer. Generally, this cycle is repeated with the same foster family until the student graduates from high school. Foster parents receive no financial remuneration and in addition to assume shelter, food, clothing, school, recreational, and medical expenses for the youth.

The program has been the recipient of both bold praise and vociferous criticism. Many Indian parents contend that their children profited from the placement experience and participants frequently echo this support.[1] Several studies have discovered that Indian students on placement have done reasonably well in both high school and college.[2] Not surprisingly, problems in adjustment have also been noted.[3] To summarize the results of these studies, ISPS somewhat improved the grade point averages, achievement test scores, and years of educational attainment of participants. That there were problems of adjustment by both the Indian student and the foster family should be no surprise. It was expected that a reasonable adjustment would be worked out during the first year. However, possible long-range psychological dangers for the students may exist.[4] Unfortunately, the focus of these studies is limited, the methodologies inadequate, the samples small, and the generalizability of the findings ambiguous, at best.

Given the limited empirical data concerning the outcomes of this large, ongoing foster placement program, we conducted an evaluation of both the short- and long-term consequences. Our objective was to determine the economic, social, and psychological effects on participants, natural families, and foster families who participated in the program.

Methods

Because nearly 80 percent of the ISPS participants had come from reservations in the four-corner area of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, the study was limited to this area. The Navajo, Southern Ute, Unitah-Ouray, Hopi, Zuni, Fort Apache, and San Carlos Apache reservations were included in the study. The area limitation made the study much more manageable in terms of time and cost.

A sample of 249 current and former participants was selected from ISPS records. This sample consisted of fifty randomly selected participants who had entered the program at the following five-year intervals: 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, and 1980. However, because of the small number of participants during the early years of the program, only twenty-six were selected for 1960. To increase the number of older participants in the sample, an additional twenty-five participants who had entered in 1970 were included. Also, the random selection procedures produced only forty-eight participants, rather than 50, in 1975.

Twenty-one bilingual Indian interviewers, nineteen Navajo, one Hopi, and one Zuni, were recruited and trained. Each worked with members of his or her tribe. Many of the interviews with natural parents were conducted in a native language. Church social service caseworkers interviewed respondents living in Snowflake, Phoenix, and Tucson, Arizona. The LDS social workers assigned to the Fort Apache and San Carlos Apache reservations interviewed on their respective reservations. A public school official interviewed on the Unitah-Ouray Reservation and a graduate student at Brigham Young University contacted respondents living in central and northern Utah. These non-Indian interviewers accounted for only a small fraction of the interviews completed. More than 90 percent of the interviews were completed by the Indian interviewers.

Interviewing commenced in September 1981 and was concluded in early December. Interviewers called on respondents at least five times, at different times of the day and evening and on different days of the week. At least one callback was made on a weekend. Respondents were paid a five-dollar honorarium for their time.

The sample was reduced from 249 to 238 because three respondents had been killed in traffic accidents, five were overseas in the military, and three were out of the country serving as missionaries for the LDS Church. Sixty-seven percent (160) of the respondents were interviewed. Nearly 25 percent of these were living off the reservation. The interview was mailed to those who resided in distant states; they were given twenty-five dollars if they returned it. Five completed interviews were obtained this way. Only 7 percent (17) of the sample refused. The remaining 26 percent (61) could not be located, despite considerable effort. The 67-percent response rate is remarkable in that many of the participants had terminated involvement in the program as long as twenty years previously and most lived a rather nomadic life-style.

It was difficult to identify an appropriate control group. After reviewing several alternatives, we decided to ask each participant to name a friend of the same sex who had not gone on placement, our reasoning being that such friends would have had backgrounds similar to those of the ISPS participants. We did not ask the younger students who were still on placement to name a friend, because we wanted a control group to match those who had finished their education, selected their life work, and started a family. The older participants named 141 individuals. Sixty percent (85) were interviewed, 2 percent (3) refused, and 38 percent (54) could not be found. Sixty percent is a reasonable completion rate in that we were seeking individuals who, in many cases, had not been seen for years and for whom we had only vague addresses.

The natural parents were also interviewed. The 249 couples from the sample were reduced by death to 219. We interviewed at least one parent in 69 percent (151) of these families and both parents in 18 percent (39), thus giving us a total of 190 natural-parent interviews. In two percent (4) of the families, both parents refused to be interviewed; 29 percent (64) could not be located.

Data were obtained from the foster parents via a mail survey. Three follow-up mailings were sent over a three-month period. Incorrect addresses and deaths reduced the sample from 249 to 200. At least one questionnaire was obtained from 76 percent (152) of the foster families. Three percent (6) refused and 21 percent (42) failed to return the questionnaire.

Foster parents were asked to identify natural children who had lived at home during the Indian student’s tenure. They responded with the names and addresses of 119 former foster siblings. These foster brothers and sisters were surveyed using the same procedures as those used with their parents. Four siblings were removed from the sample, because the addresses were incorrect. Of the remaining 115, 71 percent (82) responded, 1 percent (1) refused, and 28 percent (32) failed to return the questionnaire.

Results

Consequences for Participants
Educational attainment. The goal – that participants return to the foster family each year until they graduate from high school—occurred for about one-third of the students. In 40 percent of the cases the student made the decision to drop out, usually because of illness at home (see Table 1). Fifteen percent dropped out at the request of the Indian family, usually because of the illness of a parent who required help at home. Eight percent of the students were sent home or not invited back the next year; approximately 50 percent of these terminations were due to changes in the foster family’s circumstances and the other 50 percent due to conflict between the participant and foster family members. Two percent dropped out because of unusual events such as serious illness.

Federal vocational training programs, such as Job Corps, Manpower Training, and the BIA-sponsored Adult Vocational Training Program, have much more modest goals – usually less than one year of training – than does ISPS, and their reported completion rates are between 40 and 70 percent.[5] Participation in the ISPS program for up to ten years, culminating in high school graduation by a third of the students, is quite remarkable in comparison.

A related but somewhat independent goal of ISPS is to help Indian young people achieve at least a high school education and additional training if possible. The sample of participants ranged in age from nine to thirty-one years and the control sample from eighteen to thirty-four years. To distinguish short-term from long-term consequences, each sample was divided into two age categories: eighteen to twenty-four years and twenty-five to thirty-four years. The participants younger than eighteen years are not discussed in the present analysis.

The educational achievement of participants and controls is presented in Table 2. The participants were much better educated. The gap in education was larger among the older respondents. The difference in post-high school training between the older study and control groups was also substantial; more than 50 percent of the older participants had at least one year of college training, compared with only 20 percent of the control population.

We asked both participants and controls about their grades while in high, school; program participants reported significantly higher performance. We attempted to verify this self-reported advantage by obtaining official grade point averages (GPA) from the appropriate high schools. Seventy-five percent (76) of the participants and 61 percent (51) of the controls identified the high schools they had attended. The fifty-nine schools, which were located in six states, were requested by mail to send the cumulative GPA of the respondents. GPAs were received for 47 percent of the former students. The average GPA of participants was 2.48 on a 4.00 scale. The participants had a C+ or B- average. The controls had a 1.96 GPA or slightly below a C; even with the small sample, the difference is statistically significant. All things considered, the results show that ISPS increased the amount and quality of education among participants.

Economic Achievement. Several Indicators of economic achievement are presented in Tables 3 and 4. As shown in Table 3, more participants than controls reported that they were working, although the difference is not statistically significant. Family, private, church, tribal, or government assistance is another measure of economic self-sufficiency. The only statistically significant difference between the two groups was that participants were less likely to report help from parents than were controls. Also, a bank account is an indicator of economic adjustment in the main stream of society. A higher percentage of participants had bank accounts than did controls; for women the difference was significant.

Additional employment characteristics of the two groups are compared in Table 4. Placement participants were employed in significantly higher status occupations than were controls; 29 percent of the ISPS participants were in professional or managerial jobs, compared with only 5 percent of the controls. Type of employment, occupational prestige, and income generally favored ISPS participants, although the differences were not statistically significant.

The data do not provide unequivocal support for the long-range economic success of ISPS participants. We concluded that in some respects participation in the placement program enhanced the respondents' economic status and in other respects it did not. However, none of the economic indicators showed that the participants were worse off than the controls.

Social adjustment. We assumed that exposing participants to strong foster families would increase their family living skills, which in turn would increase the stability of their own marriages. We also assumed that the program would-teach students how to function more effectively in contemporary society. To test these notions, the interview included items on marital stability and social affiliation and adjustment.

One measure of marital stability is the percentage of respondents who had been divorced. Results showed that 4 percent more participants than controls had been divorced; however, the difference is not statistically significant. Respondents were asked two marital satisfaction questions: "Everything considered how happy is your marriage?" and "Compared to the marriages of your friends, how happy is your marriage?" The difference between the participants and controls is small and insignificant. Thus, contrary to expectations, the marriages of ISPS participants were neither more nor less stable or happy than those of controls.

Social participation, as indicated by involvement with friends and neighbors and the number of close friends, was higher among participants than it was among controls (see Table 5). Results on affiliation with organizations and voting were mixed. Most members of both groups, approximately 80 percent, maintained few organizational ties. Participants belonged to more clubs and lodges, and service, school, tribal, and Indian organizations than did controls, but the difference was not significant. Among the young adults, a few more participants than controls had voted in the 19S0 presidential election, but the two groups had identical rates of voting in the most recent tribal election. Among the older respondents, the controls had a much higher rate of voting, especially in tribal elections; the voting rate provided the only statistically significant difference between the two groups.

A population's arrest rate is another indicator of social adjustment. Presumably, people who are arrested more often have difficulty fitting into their social milieu. The difference in arrest rates between participants and controls in both age groups was not statistically significant but was large enough to suggest that participants had more difficulty with the police. A possible explanation for the unexpected arrest rate among participants is that they had spent more time off the reservation and were therefore at higher risk. Only 21 percent of the participants had lived on the reservation continually since their ISPS experience, compared with 65 percent of the controls who had lived there since high school. We suspect that the increased contact with police incurred by participants who live in urban areas partially accounts for their higher arrest rate. Thus, there were no social-adjustment benefits from placement experience. Very few significant differences in social adjustment appeared and approximately 50 percent of those that did occur favored controls rather than participants.

Psychological Adjustment. General happiness is a common indicator of psychological adjustment (see Table 6). For the young adults, the difference between participants and controls was quite striking; the participants were significantly happier. However, for the older respondents, the difference between participants and controls was not significant. Unfortunately, the data were not designed to answer why the advantage in morale among young adult participants was lost as they grew older.

Ethnic identity is another measure of psychological adjustment relevant to this, population. As mentioned earlier, critics of ISPS have accused the program of confusing participants about their Indian identity. In fact, participants were more likely than controls to consider themselves "partly white" (Table 7). The difference was significant. Seven percent of the participants reported that they felt "mostly" or "totally" 'white, whereas none of the controls felt this way. At the other end of the continuum, controls were twice as likely as participants to describe themselves as “totally” Indian.

There were also significant differences between participants and controls in their feelings about "fitting in" to Indian society. Although nine of ten respondents in both groups said they fit in "pretty well" or "completely" with most Indians, feeling that they "completely" fit in was expressed significantly more often by the controls. Finally, although the samples differ in their "feeling white" and "fitting in" to Indian society, they expressed similar feelings on their ability to function in white society. Eighty-five percent of the participants and 80 percent of the controls said that they fit "completely" or "pretty well” into white society.

As a consequence of the ISPS experience, participants viewed themselves as reasonably competent in both worlds but totally belonging to neither. Thus they expressed the fate of the marginal person with one foot in one culture and the other foot in another culture. Although fitting in fairly well in two societies has its advantages, belonging completely to neither has its psychological costs.

A final measure of the placement experience's impact on ethnic identity was the respondents' perceptions on how participation had altered their feelings about their Indian heritage. Two-thirds of the participants replied that participation had made them feel closer to their Indian heritage, and only 14 percent felt that it had reduced their attachment to it. To summarize, the data on psychological and ethnic adjustment revealed that young participants were happier than the older participants. However, the ISPS experience added a stronger identification with white society and left participants straddling two cultures. The results did not indicate that program participation caused a significant decline in participants' identification with their Indian heritage.

Consequences for Natural Families

Obviously, the decision to enroll a child in ISPS entailed significant costs for the parents, requiring that they send their child to live with strangers in a different culture for nine months each year. Table 8 summarizes the reasons natural parents enrolled their children in the program. The parents' most frequent answer was that they expected the ISPS experience to provide their children with a better education than they could get at home. The second most frequent answer was that placement provided religious training for the child. As mentioned earlier, all the children and the majority of parents were members of the LDS church, and thus it is understandable that 19 percent valued the religious experience. Several other reasons, such as new experiences, learning white ways, better living conditions, escape from a bad environment, problems at home and peer pressure, were noted by 3 percent to 5 percent of the parents. Overall, parents said that they sent their children on placement because the experience would improve their children's chances for a better life.

Parents were also asked to identify the positive impacts of the program on their family (Table 9). Most of the parents who were interviewed (82 percent) reported that the ISPS experience had had a favorable effect on their family. The positive impacts that were identified included Increases in the family's religiosity, an improved educational climate in the home, "character" development in the child, better quality of life for the child, and improved communication among family members. Younger siblings were singled out as especially benefiting from the experiences of their older sibling.

Information on problems and negative consequences was also elicited, with only 13 percent reporting any negative impact. Most of the negative responses involved the loss of the child's contribution to the family's well-being. Help with hauling water, chopping wood, herding livestock, and tending siblings was missed. Not surprising, several parents just plain missed their child. Only 3 percent of the parents said that their child brought home negative attitudes or behaviors from participation in the program.

The treatment of their children by the foster family was a special concern of many natural parents. However, virtually all of the natural parents (96 percent) reported that the foster families had treated their child in a caring fashion and had adequately provided for him or her.

Thus, a great majority of natural parents said that their child’s participation had had for the most part a good influence on the family and on the child. Parents almost unanimously responded that ISPS had increased their child’s educational accomplishments and social maturity. Eighty-eight percent of the natural parents indicated that if they had it to do over again, they would place their child in the program.

Consequences for Foster Families

The evaluation of the consequences of ISPS on the white foster families began with an assessment of why they had volunteered to open their homes to Indian children. The most important reason was that foster families had been asked by a church leader to participate. Approximately 25 percent became involved so that their family would have an intercultural experience. A special concern for American Indians was another important reason. Finally, a number of foster parents expressed the desire to share their well-being with others, and they saw ISPS as a way to do this.

Foster families consisted of intact upper-middle-class families with fairly high educational and occupational achievement. Two-thirds of the foster fathers had graduated from college, and 29 percent had completed postgraduate work. Mothers were also well educated. From the viewpoint of ISPS, the program had been very successful in recruiting strong foster families.

Foster parents were asked if any problems had emerged during the first three months the child was in their home. About one in five reported that the husband-wife relationship had been strained, primarily due to disagreements about how to handle the Indian child. About the same number of foster mothers reported stress in their relationships with their natural children. Considerably fewer fathers (8 percent) noticed increased strain between themselves and their natural children. The problems of adjustment between the Indian child and the parents and other children were experienced more often by the mothers, because they were the ones who generally had to mediate disputes.

Children in the white foster families reported more stress in family relationships than did parents. As they looked back on the experience, one of four reported that their relationship with their parents had been adversely affected and one-third said that their relationships with their natural brothers and sisters had suffered as a result of the placement student in the home.

Many foster parents stated that the placement children had had a negative influence on their natural children. Table 10 summarizes the perceptions of both parents and children on how the Indian children's behavior compared with the behavior of the natural children. For the most part, behavior of ISPS children was viewed by parents as similar to that of their natural children. The behavior most often disapproved of by foster parents and children was the placement children's resistance to doing homework. The most serious negative influence attributed to participants by foster parents and siblings concerned participants' violations of middle-class values: lying, stealing, profanity, and premarital sex. Approximately 25 percent of the parents and siblings were convinced that the placement student had had a negative influence on the other children in the family by teaching them forbidden behaviors.

The foster families were asked to explain the positive aspects of the placement experience. The enduring warm relationship that was developed with the Indian child was mentioned most often. Many parents stated that the placement child had become like a natural child to them. Foster parents also stated that they had grown personally. Greater patience and capacity to love was noted by many foster parents. Approximately one-third of the foster parents valued the exposure to a different culture.

Foster parents were asked to balance the pros and cons of the total experience and to indicate whether, if they had the chance to turn time back, they would again agree to participate in the program. A great majority (85 percent) said they would again open their home to a placement youth.

The former foster siblings of the ISPS student were somewhat more negative about the experience. One in three indicated that if they could go back in time and if they had the choice they would not participate in the program. Former foster siblings (now adults) repeatedly expressed the following concerns: (1) regret about the “inappropriate” behaviors to which the placement student had introduced them and other children in the family and (2) the severe culture shock they felt that the Indian child had experienced in their home and community. Many said that they felt bad about the trauma experienced by their foster brother or sister from shifting back and forth between the reservation and the white middle-class environment.

To summarize, the foster family members experienced very real costs by taking in a placement child. For the majority of both parents and children, however, the overall experience was good.

Summary

The results of the present study clearly demonstrate that the ISPS program enhanced the educational achievement of participants. However, the long-term translation of educational advantage into economic advantage was neither direct nor notable. Moreover, ISPS participation had little impact on social adjustment.

Two important findings emerged from the data on psychological adjustment. First, participation fostered assimilation of the Indian students into white society. Second, the severe psychological trauma alleged to afflict former placement students did not appear during the interviews with either the students or their natural parents. Although it is difficult to assess minor psychological problems in a single interview, we assumed that major or serious problems would have been reported. Maladaptive behaviors such as excessive drinking, drug abuse, suicide attempts and commitments to mental health programs were not reported.

The Indian families appeared to profit from the child's participation in the program. The participants shared his or her experiences with family members and increased the family's knowledge about white society. When the older former participants were compared with a control group of peers who did not participate, they were seen to be either comparatively advantaged or no different from the control group. Thus, the long-term consequences of the program for former participants were either generally favorable or, at worst, neutral. Indeed, the most negative consequences were experienced by white foster siblings, not Indian students or their families. (emphasis added)

[1] Leroi Garner Barclay, A Study of Graduates of the Indian Student Placement Program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Master’s thesis. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1972); Robert D. Smith, Relationships Between Foster Home Placement and Later Acculturation Patterns of Selected American Indians (Master’s thesis, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 1970); J.E. Valberg, Role Adaptation of Foster Mothers to Indian Placement Students (Master’s thesis, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1973); Robert E. Leach, “Interstate Compact Study Showing Positive Parental Attitudes Towards LDS Social Services Indian Student Placement Service” (mimeographed report presented to Interstate Secretariat, Washington, D.C., 1977); Albert Wallace Pope, “An Exploration of the University Environment as Perceived by Native American Freshmen” (mimeographed report presented to Department of Indian Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah (1977); and Wasatch Opinion Research Corporation, “The Indian Student Placement Service Evaluation Opinion Survey: Phase 1 and Phase II” (mimeographed final reports presented to The Presiding Bishopric’s Office, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1977 and 1979).
[2] Clarence R. Bishop, “An Evaluation of the Scholastic Achievement of Selected Indian Students Attending Elementary Schools in Utah” (Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1960); Robert L. Webb, “An Examination of Certain Aspects of the American Indian Education Program at Brigham Young University” (mimeographed report presented to the Department of Indian Education, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1972); Linda O. Willson, “Changes in Scholastic Achievement and Intelligence of Indian Children enrolled in a Foster Placement Program” (Master’s thesis, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1973); Bert P. Cundick, Douglas K. Gottfredson, and Linda O. Willson, “Changes in Scholastic Achievement and Intelligence of Indian Children Enrolled in a Foster Placement Program,” Developmental Psychology 10 (December 1974: 815-20; G.T. Lindquist, The Indian Student Placement Program as a Means of Increasing the Education of Children of Selected Indian Families (Master’s thesis, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1974); L. LaMar Adams, H. Bruce Highley, and Leland H. Campbell, “Academic Success of American Indian Students at a Large Private University,” College and University 53 (Fall 1977); 100-107; and Grant Hardy Taylor, A Comparative Study of Former LDS Placement and Non-Placement Navajo Students at Brigham Young University (Ph.D. diss., Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, 1981).
[3] Martin D. Topper, “Mormon Placement: The Effects of Missionary Foster Families on Navajo Adolescents,” Ethos 7 (Summer 1979): 142-160.
[4] Topper, “Mormon Placement,” pp. 142-60.
[5] Lawrence Clinton, Bruce A. Chadwick, and Howard M. Bahr, “Vocational Training for Indian Migrants: Correlates of Success in a Federal Program,” Human Organization 32 (Spring 1973): 17-27.
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Because the 181st Annual General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was held this past weekend I thought it appropriate to make all of the Conference speeches available to you in this post 42o of mine.

You will be assisted in searching for the language of your choice. You will find the language list on the upper right side of the page your clicking on the link below will lead you to. Best wishes!

I experienced personally each one of the speeches given during the entire conference while watching television in our living room with my wife, Melva, with the exception of the General Priesthood meeting which was held Saturday evening. I viewed that at our LDS Stake Center along with my two brothers who live not too far from us. 

I was more deeply touched during this particular conference for some unknown reason, than ever before!

Neil Birch


April (2011) General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


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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: (The) Indian Student Placement Program, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Third in a series of three special posts, A Professional Study -Post 42o. 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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Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.

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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.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog:

Neil Birch

42n The Second Post in a Series of 3 Posts Regarding the Indian Student Placement Program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

To Access This Blog's Index, Please Scroll Down To the Fifth Paragraph From the End of This Post!

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TODAY'S THEME





The Great Day of the Lord -by Harry Anderson

 

Doctrine and Covenants 49:24 But before the great day of the Lord shall come, Jacob shall flourish in the wilderness, and the Lamanites shall blossom as the rose. (emphasis added)

          

          

2 Nephi 10:18 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles; nevertheless, I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore, the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel.

19 Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God. (emphasis added)

Doctrine and Covenants 49: 25 Zion shall flourish upon the hills and rejoice upon the mountains, and shall be assembled together unto the place which I have appointed.

Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah (U.S.A.) and the Wasatch Mountains

Now in the rest of this post you will have the special treat of reading the words of living Lamanites (American Indians) who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and are shining examples of righteous modern-day Lamanites who are descendants of Lehi, Nephi and many other righteous Nephites and Lamanites whose words are recorded in the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ.

These previous posts of mine will provide you insights into the lives of these modern day Lamanites who, as prophesied by the Lord, Jesus Christ above in the revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith as recorded in the Book of Doctrine and Covenants, Section 49. (See above), are figuratively BLOSSOMING AS THE ROSE!

The following seven accounts were originally recorded in books entitled: Blossoming I and Blossoming II edited and published by Dale and Marjean Shumway. Dale was a close colleague of mine during my years as an Indian Placement caseworker with LDS Family Services. I will share only a few of these accounts because of space limitations, but in most of these seven posts today I have provided you information which can help you obtain your own copies of these very well written books. The life stories in them were written by former Indian Placement Students of which, Helen Rose John, was the first official Indian placement student.

By the way I think it was very fitting of Helen John (Hall's) parents to give her the middle name of Rose! As you read in my post 37n that you accessed through my last weeks post. She was, figuratively speaking, the first of very many thousands of American Indian (Lamanite) students who were assisted to blossom as the rose through their involvement in the Indian Student Placement Program of the LDS Church over the years when that program was still needed!

A SUGGESTION: You will probably want to read only one or possibly two of these accounts during this reading. I suggest you come back later to read the others. The easiest way to access these is to just return to this post which will be the first available post in my English language blog until Tuesday, April 5, 2011.

Actually each of my blog posts are accessible through my Blog Index at any time. Instructions for the use of it are contained in the blue paragraph found five paragraphs from the end of each and every post of mine. You will need the first and last name of each person whose ISPP story you wish to access. i.e. (present day) Lamanites such as (the first and last name of the former ISPP student for who you are searching. You would click on the link to my Index which is found in that black portion of that basically blue Index mentioned above found in every one of my blog posts!



Dorinda and Ernie Crocker -White Mountain Apaches

 Dorinda and Ernie Crocker

 



Nora and Milt Watts

Milt and Nora Watts are also great examples of the Lamanites Blossoming as the Rose.






Ezekiel and Pauline Sanchez and family at the temple sealing of one of their children.

Ezekiel and Pauline Sanchez and their family have also blossomed as the Rose.



Bernice and Gary Bitsoie

 Bernice and Gary Bitsoie also Blossomed as the Rose!

I, Neil Birch almost became Flora's caseworker, but was transferred to San Jose, California to a new caseload there as she was placed in a foster home in Southern California. However while still in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California I was her two younger brothers' caseworker. I got to know her very well through my visits to their parents in Arizona during the summer months when they were each home during summer school vacations.

You will learn that Flora served a mission in Montana and was assigned to work near Crow Agency, Montana where I had served a number of years earlier as an LDS Indian Seminary Coordinator. Flora was very intelligent and spiritual.

Please click on the following link when you are ready to learn about the blossoming of Flora Dude Shorten.

I must briefly tell you about watching her younger brother, Ronnie (I believe that was his first name) when he was playing little league baseball in Burbank, California (located in the San Fernando Valley.)

The "Valley" as it is called in Southern California, and especially near Burbank where he lived, was home to many athletic Little League baseball players.  I went to one of his games when he was the pitcher. After winding up, he would let out a very loud and even startling Apache War whoop and many batters' nerves were jarred by that allowing him to strike them out or hit poorly!

Flora Dude Shorten





Alfred and Doris Clark

 
Alfred Clark


Doris Clark


Again, I urge each of you to check the information provided in several of the seven posts I have linked you to in this blog post, regarding the "Blossoming Books." I have just published a small fraction of the many former Indian Placement Program students featured in those books. In them you will be even more fully convinced that the the Book of Mormon prophets knew by the spirit of truth that their descendants would blossom as the rose

through each living in an LDS home for a number years and actually becoming emotionally, socially and spiritually, members of their foster families, while remaining loyal and loving children at their homes on the reservation in the summer months and of course, by writing letters home. Many Indian youth have served missions after their experience with the LDS Indian Student Placement Program. 

In the future I may add to the number of these Indian Student Placement Program posts. Please use the comment section below to make that request If that is what you would like. Each story is very unique.

I also suggest that you consider obtaining one or both of the Blossoming books from: Dale and Marjean Shumway.

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 Dale and/or Margene Shumway 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.

In the next post (42o) I will present a professional study that examines very closely the outcomes of this LDS Indian Student Placement Program.

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I will not be able to publish a special post in which I assist you, no matter where you live in the world to experience our Annual General Conference which convenes this Saturday, April 2nd and Sunday, April 3rd. This is because I am involved in this present three post series. However please click on the link below to view my instructions for viewing LDS General Conference anywhere in the world that were provided by me in late September of last year. These instructions will provide the assistance you may need and prepare you in other ways for this upcoming special experience.

Whether you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or not! I promise you that there will be a number of things you will hear spoken in this conference that meets some of your own very special needs. That's a promise! However, you ought to tune into every session to be able to hear that needed message! On both days there is a 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon session (Mountain Daylight Savings Time) and at the same times on Sunday . Once again, please click on the following and read through it to prepare yourself for this special occasion. Specific instructions are given by me through this link in one of my previous blog posts!

Preparing to view Live Broadcasts of General Conferences of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


On Saturday, April 2, 2011, in the opening session (10:00 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time) of General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will sing an arrangement of "I Know my Savior Loves me."

As you choose to view the live general conference sessions as instructed above you will hear the Tabernacle Choir sing: "I Know my Savior Loves me."

I now give you the opportunity of hearing a childrens' choir sing that same touching song:

The above recording was copied from MormonSoprano's Blog. Thank you Mormon Soprano. Your blog is a great source of beautiful recordings!
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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.

____________


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 T0o Access), After You Have Read All of This Paragraph, Please Scroll Back Up And Click on the Following: (The) Indian Student Placement Program, of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Second in a series of three special posts. -Post 42n. 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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Have You Really Read the Book of Mormon?" Legal /Statement. Thank you for visiting. The author retains intellectual property and creative licensing rights. Permission to use or reprint must be given in writing. © Est.2008 Neil Birch Legal /Statement.

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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.

If you have any questions about what you have read or viewed in this post or in any previous posts of mine, or if you even have a curiosity about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and or its teachings, please e-mail me. I'm Neil and my e-mail address is: jneilmelva@gmail.com. If you contact me I'll get back to you just as soon as possible.

I invite you to let your friends and relatives know about this blog if you think they would be interested in it. Please be advised that I also have an additional blog. It is in Spanish: Its content is translated from the English in this blog:

Neil Birch