Mines, A Camaro and An Appeal

Monday, on P-day after mopping, vacuuming, swabbing the toilet, and doing laundry, we elected to take a trip up North to the town of Negaunee. Our long time friend Bill Slater's ancestors spent some time in this part of the U. P.. We wanted to give him any leads we could find to help him trace their movements. We were looking for names or lacking that, any helps we could come across. His ancestor, like many others in the late 1800's was drawn to the mining activity in this area. It is probably also the reason they ended up in UT where I think they first encountered the church. We did not locate any ancestors but we did find the e-mail address for the local genealogist who the cemetery sexton confirms knows everything and everyone in and about the area. After visiting the cemetery we visited an excellent mining museum that was close by. What follows are pics of a monument to the miners from that period and a map of the U.P. which shows the major iron ore deposits.

The stone on the monument is from the iron bearing ore.

The Menominee range of deposits, where we live, is the one in the lower right center.

We got a call on Thursday that Dennis would be home on Friday after all, and not just home but there with his newly purchased 2011 Red Camaro SS/RS convertible. After his settlement we could tell he was getting excited to do some thing he had rarely done in his life...have a little fun. During our previous visit he shared with us that he had found the item on which he was willing to splurge. When we arrived, there it was on the lawn behind his pull-through garage, the new Camaro. Between me and his Mustang loving friend we were able to answer his questions and explain some of the features on the car...which are many.

Please, no one send this to our Mission President!

I would like to be able to say that I just sat in the Camaro and that was all, but that would not be exactly the truth. Let's just say the drive we did take was very quick, do you think that made the experience less problematic. I know it was no problem for me. Oh well another Senior Missionary perk but you need to find your own less active member to encourage...I mean it! Go find a less active member and, with the Lord's help, bring them back into activity.

Some flowers by the gazebo in Dennis' back yard.

We had two more great mission experiences this week. One individual we were teaching wanted to know more about Patriarchal Blessings. We shared with him a talk given by the then 2nd Counselor in the First Presidency Thomas S. Monson. It is a great talk. Go find it if you are looking for help with that subject. This individual didn't realize that this was the same Thomas Monson who is the Prophet.

Will Stevens was ordained an Elder by President Compton before church on Sunday and then Will confirmed his wife in Fast and Testimony Meeting. it was a wonderful meeting with a strong Spirit present. We invited Will and Brittney to dinner after the meeting and had an engaging chat with them. We will be visiting with them almost weekly before we go home next year. We want to be a part of their integration into the Branch. We also have one other young male member with a non-member wife living about 15 miles away that we want to introduce them to. There is also a young non-member couple we met when we first arrived that we want the Stevens to meet in the hopes they can establish a connection. This couple has been through several sets of missionaries mostly in New Mexico where they lived before moving here to the U.P. We did detect a strong interest, mostly on the part of the wife.

It has been some time since we have mentioned Erik Baker our member who is currently incarcerated at a "nearby" facility. We communicate with him via e-mail almost weekly. We were recently the "go between" between him and one of his BYU professors where we supplied some needed information. Erik recently requested that I hand out a letter soliciting funds to help him with his college tuition expenses. We did pass out copies to Branch members in Branch Council. What follows is a photo copy of the letter with information on where to send any donations. Do so only if you can and/or feel you want to. If there any questions please call or email us.

Another week down just 50, I think, to go,

Elder and Sister J


In last week's blog we referenced a Power Point presentation the Stake Presidency made available to the wards and branches in the stake. We came across most of the presentation in Elder Perry's talk at the Seminar for newly called Mission Presidents. (As reported in the LDS Church News)

"The Mormon Next Door" (The title we are using for the presentation in our Stake)

Latter-day Saint missionaries hope that families and individuals will invite them into their homes, said Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve. "Then, in turn, we may invite them into our home."

Speaking to new mission presidents and missionaries during the 2012 New Mission Presidents Seminar, Elder Perry explained that as a Church "we invite because we love."

"We know that if children of God accept our invitation to enter our home, which is the house of the Lord, the gospel will bring them salvation and exaltation. As missionaries this will be your primary and most important effort.

"But it is also important for you missionaries to know that those who you invite to be converted and join our Church-home will enjoy increased happiness, health, joy and opportunities for meaningful service during their mortal sojourn here on earth. Our Church-home is a home we can feel pleased and eager to invite others to enter — after all it is the Lord's home."

During his address, Elder Perry shared some recent independent data prepared by the Church's Public Affairs Department in conjunction with Elder Larry Y. Wilson of the Seventy, which outlines the statistically measurable benefits associated with dwelling in a Church-home.

Photo by Sarah Jane Weaver

Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve says those who are invited to join our "Church-home" will enjoy increased happiness.

"I present these statistics not in a spirit of boasting, but in a sincere effort to help us all better understand how the gospel of Christ improves the lives of its members both in the eternities and the here and now."

Health

Elder Perry said Dr. James Enstrom at the UCLA School of Public Health studied Mormon populations that have been practicing the faith for an extended period. The 25-year study focused on members on the Church in California and concluded that these members — particularly those who were married, had never smoked, attended Church weekly and had a least 12 years of education — had total death rates that are among the lowest ever reported for a group followed for 25 years.

Photo by Sarah Jane Weaver

2012 Seminar for New Mission Presidents at the MTC in Provo, Utah

"Latter-day Saint sisters have a life expectancy of just over 86 years — five and a half years longer than that of comparable females," Elder Perry said. "Latter-day Saint brethren have a life expectancy of over 84 years — almost ten years longer than that of comparable males."

Life satisfaction

Early in 2012, the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religious Life released a broad study titled "Mormons in America." This comprehensive look at Latter-day Saints showed that the overwhelming majority of members are satisfied in their lives and content with their communities. "Nearly nine out of ten reported satisfaction with their lives," said Elder Perry. "That is well above the public generally, which is 75 percent."

In addition, 92 percent of Church members age 40 or younger are satisfied with their lives.

Elder Perry also said that seven in ten Latter-day Saints show high levels of religious commitment — higher than any other religious group surveyed and more than double the general public.

Family life

Elder Perry noted that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Utah — which has the highest concentration of Latter-day Saints in the United States — has the highest percentage of households headed by married couples in the country and the highest percentage of homes with children.

Photo by Sarah Jane Weaver

2012 Seminar for New Mission Presidents at the MTC in Provo, Utah

"According to Pew, more than 80 percent of Church members say being a good parent is one of their most important goals in life. Just half of the general public says that. And nearly three out of four Latter-day Saints believe that having a successful marriage is one of the most important things in life, compared with just one third of the general public."

Education

Elder Perry said various studies have confirmed that the more education a Latter-day Saint has, the more likely he or she is to be actively involved in his or her church. "In most churches, it is the opposite. But the Pew Center's survey found that members who have graduated from college attend church more often than those with less education."

He added, "The Church's multifaceted program of religious education begins in the home and is bolstered through Church programs that support the individual and family's learning."

Scripture knowledge

According to one recent survey, Latter-day Saints were the most knowledgeable about Christianity and the Bible and were third only to Jewish survey participants and, oddly, atheists in knowledge about various world religions, Elder Perry said.

"We welcome truth from whatever source, and take the pragmatic view that where religion and science seem to clash, it is simply because there is insufficient data to reconcile the two."

Elder Perry said the Pew Center's survey also reported that 80 percent of those who served missions said it was a very valuable time in preparing them for job or career success, and 92 percent said it helped them grow in their own faith.

Volunteering

A recent University of Pennsylvania study by the School of Social Policy and Practice concluded that the average Church-attending Latter-day Saint spends approximately 430 hours per year volunteering — nearly nine times more than the general public.

"This pattern is repeated for charitable giving," he said. "According to a study by the University of Indiana, the average annual rate of giving by practicing Latter-day Saints far exceeds that of other citizens; this holds true even if one does not count the biblical tithe that the Lord asks of us."

Photo by Sarah Jane Weaver

2012 Seminar for New Mission Presidents at the MTC in Provo, Utah

Elder Perry said the statistics say something significant. "They are a glimpse of how Latter-day Saints make their faith a way of life," he said.

Near the conclusion of this address, Elder Perry said that Latter-day Saints, as with members of any other faith, have their problems. However, he added, "The information compiled from the surveys shows that we are good neighbors in the communities in which we live."