Don't "Let it snow" Anymore

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW…when will it end? We were “blessed” with another 5-6 inches this past Thursday and Friday. The locals are getting tired of it even to the point of complaining “to us” about the absence of spring. This past week it affected our desire to attempt the drive to appointments, some 45 miles in distance, to visit and home teach some of our assigned members. We moved the appointments to this week. We used the time for lesson prep, study and some branch reports we needed to complete because the quarter just ended.

The operation for the young Roche boy went well.  We sent a request to Sister Shumway for the Elders in Milwaukee to give the young boy a blessing before the operation. His other hip will be operated on this Tuesday and he will be coming home no later than Friday to face his three-month recuperation. He will have to stay completely off of his feet for that time. The Roche’s newly assigned home teachers are in touch and with perfect sensitivity are helping where they can. Additionally, we connected the father, Tom, with a branch member who is particularly helpful in assisting and directing people who need work.

Tom related to us that the phone visit with this branch member went very well, not just about work related issues but also with the connection he was able to make. Based on conversations with the family it is apparent they were not well integrated into the ward they left back in UT. There are some Word of Wisdom and other issues with the family but nothing stopping them from being loved into activity. Tom explained a powerful insight he was given by the member in that above conversation. “The church is here to help us learn how to live in heaven” We took this to mean that he (Tom) felt he wasn’t perfect so he “knew” he couldn’t live up to the expectations he thought he saw in the UT ward. It broke our hearts knowing what this family has been without and also realizing what blessings “complacent” ward members back home missed and are missing. Because of the mission, when we return home we will champion the “members in the margins” for the rest of our lives.

On Wednesday the U.P. part of the zone met for the first time since transfers. What wonderful group of missionaries. We have a couple of new elders who have arrived and were in our meeting. Elder Pike replaced Elder Dusterhoft here in Iron Mountain. Elder Dusterhoft received his regular call to the Colorado Springs CO Mission. Elder Pike is from Las Vegas as was Elder Trout. The fish tie-in has not been lost on the local branch and community. Additional missionaries were assigned to Marquette to serve with the sisters already there. The new missionaries are the District Leaders for the northern part of the U. P. We are seeing a relatively small number of the changes affecting many of the missions throughout the world. 

Feeling educated by the Holy Spirit,

Elder and Sister Johnson

Our friends Will and Brittney Stevens who we met in Marquette after a Zone Training Meeting. Brittney was baptized
by her husband about six months ago. They had recently moved down-state as the locals say. They are
also accused of becoming "trolls" as they now live "under" the (Mackinac) bridge. They are
delightful people and we enjoyed being together with them again.

A Texas Treat and All Boxed In

 What a wonderful conference with much meaningful and important instruction and many useful reminders. We especially enjoyed Elder Holland’s talk on "Faith and Belief" and its place in our lives. We wish every less-active and most active members would embrace its message; we are sure many will identify with it. In the coming weeks it is our goal to re-play it often as we visit members of the branch.  It was a delightful immersion into prophetic insights coupled with feelings of the love our Heavenly Father has for each of us. As has become our custom we provided lunch between the Sunday sessions for all who came. We were hoping to have some less-active members or investigators attend but this time there were “just” members.  It was our pleasure to serve.

 Another reason, and there were many, that made this conference special was a visit from our oldest daughter who braved the perpetual winter of the UP to visit from her “near tropical” home in Texas. Together we were able to listen to conference, she without interruption from her children and husband and us without the need to teach lessons and provide music for Sunday meetings. It was great to see her. We are thinking that all of our children and the grandkids should visit us so we could get readjusted before venturing back into civilian life.

5'4" Stephanie relaxing on our special, for guests, five foot couch.
It's a Gulliver like experience. They all look
so innocent when they are asleep.

 In addition to General Conference other events the first week of April included the completion of some of Sister Johnson’s Visiting Teaching assignments plus our regular visits with less-active members. It was on a mid-week day we encountered the Roche family. Their names and information had appeared on the branch rolls just a few weeks prior to our visit so we wanted to meet them and assess the situation. We arrived, unannounced, early Wednesday afternoon. It was spring break so all of the family was home including the father who had, unfortunately, lost his job just three days before. We were politely and cordially received. The family had moved to Crystal Falls from Taylorsville, Utah some seven months previous. In addition to the father and mother there are three children, a 16-year-old daughter and sons 13 and 11. The boys are possibly not baptized since neither one showed up on the records that came to the branch. We were excited to meet this intact family with actual children. The father said he looked up when we knocked and he just knew it was the missionaries at his door. It was to him as though we had been sent. After all of the previous evidences of God’s handiwork and love for his children we are inclined to agree with him. The better news is, there are active members living not far from this family. The branch clerk and his grown son live just four houses away and have already volunteered to be their home teachers. In this small town these two brethren had, in fact, already met the mother who works part time at a small local store. Since this families’ presence has been revealed to us we have begun the process of helping the husband find another job and involving other branch members who can help. Another need is with the 11 year old son who suffers from Spina Bifida and some other serious birth challenges. He will undergo surgeries on both hips in Milwaukee this week. We are grateful the Lord inspired us to meet with this family and that there are individuals in the Lord’s storehouse who are capable and willing to help.

 We are slowly climbing out of the throes of Global Cooling to the much more pleasant prospect of Global Warming. After exhaustive analyzation and research I think the arguments all boil down the size of the beaches available for sun bathing. 

 Here are some Pics of a local woman in our most recent winter storm with strange protective head gear.

What was that???  Let's have a closer look.

That's what we all thought...so now we have a new definition for "boxed in".

It’s great to be missionaries,

Elder and Sister Johnson

Olecranon Bursitis and a Shirt Cake

 Why is it starting to feel like members are distancing themselves from us – oh right it’s because they know we are leaving “soon”. It happened at our recent Branch Conference, while it was great to see and visit with many of our stake friends, including the presidency, it was both good and odd to hear many thank-yous for the good job we have done for the branch.  It was a great spiritual feast nonetheless. Maybe we are just being too sensitive? Perhaps it isn’t just the missionaries who need to adjust to an upcoming change but the members also. It’s not a big deal, just an interesting observation; it’s only the second time it has happened to me in 50 years.

 It doesn’t look like we will be baptizing Bob Peters before we go but young Akasha Carlson and her brother are still on for June we hope. We haven’t given up on Bob but something is making him more determined than ever to stay “dry”. He has felt the Spirit on numerous occasions in our presence. We only hope he won’t chose to remain just one of the “honorable men of the earth”. 

 Dealing with some minor health irritations this week. I (Elder Johnson) had to have a cavity filled which was pretty routine if you don't mind giant needles molesting your mouth or part of your gum being cut away so the dentist can have an easy shot at filling the hole the sweets I have eaten caused. I also came down with Olecranon Bursitis. It is not painful just always in the way. It can be drained, but for now I am just watching to see if it will resolve itself. 

Not my Olecranon Bursitis but one that looks similar.

We enjoyed a fantastic pot-luck at church yesterday. It was President Nishida's 60th birthday. He is an Hawaiian hence the aloha-shirt cake. Pretty clever, huh.

President Nishida, the Aloha-shirt cake and cake baker
extraordinaire Sister Klatt

 We continue to receive many blessings from the Lord; we are finding and inviting more less-active members all of the time. It is great to witness these miracles as the Spirit moves these wandering sheep gently back into the fold. I remind all who listen that the big advantage in working with the less-actives is they already have had the Gift of the Holy Ghost bestowed upon them and when these members do any positive thing in the direction of returning to activity they receive an immediate witness from the Spirit who testifies to them of the truthfulness of their choice.

We supported a Single Adult FHE/party that went much better than expected.

Mimi Madsen, Bob Erickson and Sister Johnson enjoying some of the great food at the party.

Elders Dusterhoft and Christensen doing what, arguably, what missionaries do best.

Elder Dusterhoft and Dennis Klingman. Br. Klingman is giving the lesson he prepared.

Bob Erickson, Bill Matson, Mimi Madsen and Rich Matson waiting patiently for the action to start.

This activity was completely organized by the branch, something that probably would not have happened a year ago. It was held in the home of Dennis Klingman who has made giant strides back into activity. This is one of the blessings referred to in the previous paragraph. We had three singles, the missionaries a sister, and an old married couple...us. We promoted it on Facebook along with other meetings and events arranged by the branch leadership. Facebook is a great resource for a spread out branch like this one. In addition to using Facebook many wards back home are pretty much run using texting apps. We know the youth are way into it; this requires the adult leaders to master it as well. More to learn – sigh. ASIG*

On the backside of the learning curve,

Elder and Sister Johnson

*And So It Goes for the less tech savvy among us (I had to look-it-up myself)

  

Guest Blogger, Sister Johnson

Iron Mountain Branch Relief Society March 23, 2013
"The First Relief Society"

Last Saturday, we had an awesome Branch Relief Society gathering.  The presidency has been working on it and looking forward to it for a couple of months.  Our RS President, Cindy Gordon, found a script on the internet with the details of the First Relief Society.

Sample of 11 quilt blocks

As part of the decorations, I went through the material in the RS closet and pulled out pieces and created 11 quilt blocks, 10"x10" to 14"x14".  I then put a backing on each piece and left a space that they could later be stuffed and made into a pillow.  They were centerpieces on each of the small round tables we sat at and they were wall decorations.  Then there were enough for those who wanted one to take home with them.  This is a picture of a sample of the ones I made.  Some I made more than one or used different material to make same pattern.

This was held in the Relief Society Room.
(The picture in the background is of all the Relief
Society Presidents.)

The script had speaking parts like Joseph Smith, John Taylor, Emma Smith, Eliza R. Snow, and several others.  Everyone who came received a name tag for one of the original participants.  Then during the process, each character's name was read and she would stand and be voted on as accepted.  Elder Johnson was the Narrator and our local Elders Christensen and Dusterhoft were Joseph Smith and John Taylor.

Relief Society 2nd picture

Sister Gordon (Eliza R. Snow)
& Sister Johnson (Bethsheba Smith)

Sister Gordon has a hobby of collecting old lace.  She brought lace for everyone who wanted to have one wear one.  She also supplied some shawls.  All who wanted to were able to dress up.









Refreshments were finger foods which everyone brought.  There were several types of herbal tea to drink.  We actually had a regular tea party.

We had food and visiting before and after the presentation.  The feedback on the activity was great.  We had 16 sisters attend.  And everyone seemed to have had a great time.

More MND and Home Teaching Takes Off

 We concluded our second successful Mormons Next Door presentation of the week on Saturday. This time we had seven non-members come. We have had a total of seventeen non-members attend these three presentations with one convert baptism to date. The missionaries and members had invited three of the attendees and two couples came who had read about it in the local newspaper. Once again nine of the members took on the “face” of the presentation by reading the script. There have been approximately twenty different members involved in reading the script at the three presentations we have now given over the previous four months. In addition three different members have “volunteered” to oversee the promotion. This involvement by branch members has had a big impact on the culture of the branch, plus each time we do it we learn how we can make it better next time. We have suggested the branch approach the local Jr. College for a repeat performance in the fall. Elder and Sister Riley (a senior couple from Orem, UT) came and are excited to try it in the Escanaba branch where they serve.

Atop the Nauvoo temple. A symbol of the great message of hope for the last days,
Revelation 14:6   

 Last week we also had the opportunity to increase our support to the branch by introducing the 2^nd counselor in the Elders Quorum presidency to his less active home teaching companion and then introducing him to his families. He began making appointments for their visits. Sister Johnson and I have found it necessary to almost hold each member by the hand and demonstrate how aspects of home and visit teaching are to be done including explaining the wonderful benefits of this type of service. Following that visit I picked up my less-active companion and we went home teaching. The new Elders Quorum President had absolutely no experience in setting up the home teaching districts, companionships, etc., so it was a blessing that I was called to help. Everyone involved has been pleased and happy with these small beginnings. Consistent home and visit teaching will definitely be a new experience for the members of the branch here in Iron Mountain. 

 With a little less than four months remaining, we will be prioritizing where we can best place our final efforts. Our goal, as from the beginning, is to find and teach investigators and less-actives. The Lord has given us great tools to use and with His help we will yet be successful in bringing the light of the gospel to those we have already met and some we have yet to meet.

Still lovin’ it,

Elder and Sister Johnson

Latest MND and Baby in a Blue Cap

 We experienced another great week. On Saturday we once again held the Mormons Next Door presentation, this time in the little Crystal Falls library about 30 miles north west of here. It was well attended by active and less active members plus we had three non-members attend. This part of the branch, although somewhat remote, supplies about a third of the active membership of the branch. The script readers were all local members including a less active sister who lives an additional 15 miles from Crystal Falls. Our branch president who, if you recall, lives near Green Bay and has been assigned to serve as the branch president until another person is selected, was also there. The little family with the nine year old we are teaching came as well as two less actives sisters who rarely/never attend. Now is the time for follow up. Because of the distance we are trying to figure about the best way of involving the non-members in a teaching situation. We will involve the sister who invited two of the non-members but since she lives an additional 15 miles further into the forest we think the best approach is to invite them to be taught in a members home in Crystal Falls. We will provide transportation for the young missionaries or we will teach them ourselves.

 We are convinced that this Mormons Next Door approach to introduce the Gospel dramatically lessens the fear that is often involved with the invitation to learn more; and, when members see how easy it is they become more and more willing to make invitations to friends and acquaintances. Since we have given members this option, the level of branch interest in missionary work has risen dramatically. Having learned from the previous presentation last December we have now involved the members with much more of the promotion. Another benefit is the availability of an easy venue that can be used by the young missionaries to which they can invite current and past investigators. They are in fact excited for our repeat Mormons Next Door presentation scheduled this coming Saturday here in Iron Mountain. Also, Elder and Sister Riley, another senior couple serving in Escanaba about 50 miles from here, have expressed an interest in seeing how it all works and they will also be in attendance on Saturday.

 We think these will be the last presentations we will schedule for this branch before we leave for home. We will suggest the branch schedule another presentation in the fall, this time at the local Junior College. They have the rooms and hopefully the willingness to let it happen.

 Again, we are grateful for this presentation, which was put together by the Seventy, and we hope it is being used successfully in other parts of the country. 

 In other news Alex and Amy blessed us with our 25th grandchild who arrived safe and sound this past Saturday. He was named Boyd Alexander Johnson after his grandfather (me) and his father.

The fluffy white brimmed blue cap was knitted by his grandmother
Sister Dawnine Johnson. She knits a variety each week and
donates them to the local hospital for the newborns. 

With love and the beginnings of a little “release anxiety”,

Elder and Sister Johnson

Here's a little video of more snow just in case you are not yet tired of the stuff.

Missionary Impacts and the Strangites

 We spent last week in continuing our preparations for the upcoming Mormons Next Door presentations. We are inviting less active members, members and any and all of the non-members we have met since we first arrived. We also worked on getting all of the script readers arranged for each presentation. We have invited one or two of our less active members as well as our recent convert to be readers. We know it will help their testimonies to be involved. This production has already energized the branch. They are coming forward with their requests for invitations and suggestions as to how we can make it better. This time around we have given members of the Branch Council responsibilities for promotion. Because of their local connections it is working out far better than if we had tried to do it by ourselves. Our first presentation is next Saturday at the Crystal Falls library. We will be sure to let you all know how it turns out.

 We also had very good lessons with the individuals we regularly teach. Even though Br. Peters displays a reluctance to get baptized, he is not reluctant to do every other thing we ask of him. He was at the Regional Conference broadcast on Sunday and heard some outstanding General Authority talks. He has undertaken to read the bible for the first time and is now in Exodus. His reading always gives us a great starting point for discussing the gospel. The conversation always comes around to the importance and necessity of baptism. He continues to be moved by the Spirit. We have lost track on the number of challenges and commitments we have made. At least he still invites us back for a new lesson each week.

 It was re-confirmed to us that we will at least have one and maybe two baptism(s) before we go home. No one here, or in Salt Lake, can find the paperwork confirming the baptism of the eleven year old brother of the young girl who asked to be baptized; so, we may have to re-baptize him. It’s a great time to be missionaries. Any time is a great time to be a missionary.

 What follows are excerpts from an e-mail sent to us by our friend Elder Gary Cockerham. He and his wife Nola are serving in the office of the Kennewick Washington Mission. He has responsibilities for mission vehicles among other things. We thought you might be interested to see how the influx of new missionaries is impacting their mission. Here then is a small piece of the story:

"… we received 30 new missionaries on Tuesday.  They arrived on the same plane from Salt Lake City that took most of the departing missionaries back to Salt Lake City.  The assistant to the President, Elder Lim, flew out for his home in Toronto, Canada, early Wednesday.  The new missionaries are great; 7 sisters (5 of them 19 years old); and 23 elders (about half of them 18 years old).  Thirteen of them are Spanish speakers, including 3 Hermanas.  The new group was so large that we needed a change of venue for the traditional welcome dinner because the Mission Home is too small.  The Barber Family (Former Mission President) invited us to their big home high on the side of the hill overlooking the temple.  It was large enough even though we filled it up, and they treated us like royalty.

Wednesday was transfer day.  As usual, I was in charge of the Tri-Cities transfer site.  At 8:00 am, we had about a 20-minute program with hymns, prayers, a spiritual thought, introduction of the new missionaries, and announcement of the new missionaries’ trainers.  Because the group was also so large, we moved this meeting from the Relief Society room to the chapel.  From the Tri-Cities, we sent 20 missionaries to points in the West, including 10 new missionaries; we sent 13 missionaries to the Yakima area, including 8 new missionaries; and we had 30 transfers within the Tri-Cities area, including 12 new missionaries.  It all came off surprisingly well – we didn’t lose one single missionary & only about 3 pieces of luggage, for a brief time.  We were all wrapped up with the sendoff & leaving the stake center by about 9:05 am. 

...The assistants to the President orchestrate this show every transfer, and the whole process still amazes me every time I see it.  The assistants become so familiar with the details during the transfer planning process that they have all of these things memorized by transfer day.  Before the transfer meeting begins, the parking lot is bustling with luggage, bicycles, cars, car keys, and boxes of supplies being swapped & shuffled between vehicles."

Having a great time, excited to be missionaries,

Elder and Sister Johnson

Remember to do this on Saturday night. And yes we know the
cartoon was created for turning the clocks back in
the fall, but it is the thought that counts.

 Bonus material: when we were completing our weekly report on the new missionary portal the church has created which has on it everything "missionary", I discovered the following included in the article that talks about the history of the church in Michigan. From there I became interested and went to a piece on Wikipedia of related church history I knew nothing about. Read on and you will see.

USA-Michigan (from the missionary portal)

Lucy Mack Smith, mother of Church President Joseph Smith, traveled to Michigan in 1831, just one year after the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She visited her brother in Pontiac, preached, and warned one unfriendly pastor that one-third of his flock would soon be Latter-day Saints. When Joseph Smith sent men to Pontiac, they baptized 22 people from the pastor's congregation, including the deacon. The Church President visited Michigan in 1834. He was later murdered by mobs in Illinois in 1844, thus ending a period of Church advancement in the state. Several Church members began the trek westward with other Saints. One apostate, James J. Strang, claimed to be Joseph Smith's successor as Church President. Although he was denounced by leaders, he formed a group that settled on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan before disbanding.

(Disclaimer, Sister Johnson wanted nothing to do with the following article and thought it strange that it should even be included. I, on the other hand, thought it an interesting historical footnote, ed.)

The Mormon kingdom on Beaver Island*

Although Beaver Island is known mostly today for its beaches, forests, recreational harbor and seclusion, at one time it was the site of a unique Mormon kingdom.

The island's association with Mormonism began with the death of Joseph Smith, founder of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Most Mormons considered Brigham Young to be Smith's successor, but many others followed James J. Strang. Strang founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), claiming it to be the sole legitimate continuation of the church "restored" by Joseph Smith. His organization still exists today (though not on Beaver Island), numbering up to 300 adherents. His group initially settled in Voree, Wisconsin, setting up a community there which remains to this day.

Seeking a buffer from persecution and perhaps more isolation to increase his control of the group, Strang moved his followers to Beaver Island in 1848. The Strangites flourished under Strang's leadership and became a political power in the region. They founded the town of St. James (named after Strang), and built a road called "King's Highway" into the island's interior that remains one of its main thoroughfares. The Strangites cleared land, built cabins, farms and other improvements, and sought to establish themselves as a permanent presence on Beaver Island.

Strang was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1853, and again in 1855. He also founded the first newspaper in Northern Michigan, the Northern Islander. During Strang's stint in the legislature, he made Beaver the center of a new county: Manitou County included the Beaver Islands, Fox Islands, North Manitou, and South Manitou islands, with the county seat at St. James. Manitou County was disestablished by the state of Michigan in 1895 (see below).

Once established on Beaver Island, Strang declared himself a polygamist, a practice which he had previously opposed.[13] He had five wives and fathered a total of fourteen children.

In 1850 Strang proclaimed himself king, but not of the island itself. Rather, he claimed to be king over his church, which at that time contained most of the island's inhabitants. He was crowned on July 8 of that year inside a large log "tabernacle" built by his followers, in an elaborate ceremony that featured a crown (described by one witness as "a shiny metal ring with a cluster of glass stars in the front"), a red royal robe, a shield, breastplate and wooden scepter. The Strangite tabernacle and Strang's modest house are both long gone, as are the Strangite royal regalia, but a print shop built by his disciples remains—the only Strangite building left on Beaver. Today, it houses a museum dedicated to the island's history.

Strang and his followers often clashed with their non-Strangites neighbors on Beaver Island and adjacent areas. While claiming to be king only over his own adherents, Strang tended to exert authority over non-Strangites on the island as well, and was regularly accused of forcibly seizing their property and of physically assaulting them. Open hostility between the two groups frequently resulted in violence. Strangites were beaten by ruffians at the post office, while Strang once fired a cannon at an unruly group of drunken fishermen who had threatened to drive his people from the island. Strangites held an increasing monopoly on local government, blurring the distinction between church and state in their "utopia".

While Beaver Island's would-be monarch held many progressive ideas (such as the conservation of woodlands), his autocratic style of rule came to be seen by many as intolerable. One edict, for instance, dictated the type of clothing Strangite women must wear (see bloomers). Two women refused and Strang had their husbands flogged, a task made easier after one of them was caught in the act of adultery with the wife of his business partner.

While recovering from their injuries, the husbands began plotting against Strang. On June 16, 1856, the US naval gunboat USS Michigan entered the harbor at St. James and invited Strang aboard. As Strang walked down the dock, the two men shot him from behind and then ran to the ship. The boat departed and disembarked the men at Mackinac Island without arresting them. Neither was convicted of the crime.

After Strang died of his wounds on July 9, 1856, mobs came from Mackinac Island and nearby St. Helena Island and drove the Strangites (then numbering approximately 2,600 persons) off Beaver Island, confiscating their property. With the Strangites' departure, local government in Manitou County (including Beaver Island) all but ceased. Courts and elections were rarely held, County offices were usually unfilled, and the area acquired a lawless reputation affirmed by Michigan governor John J. Bagley in 1877 when he called for the county's abolition.[16] A bill was introduced, but failed to pass. A new attempt in 1895 was successful, and the Beaver Islands became part of Charlevoix County while Fox and Manitou islands became part of Leelanau County.

(*Copied from the article on “Beaver Island” in Wikipedia)