Mission

In December 1972, I was called by church president Harold B Lee to serve in the Mexico North Mission.

I reported to the Salt Lake City mission home in January 1973. The mission home was in an old school building located opposite the church administration building. For one week we were privileged to hear from leaders including several general authorities. My companion was Elder Rick Ockerman of Bellevue, WA. A highlight of that week was meeting with President Lee in the assembly room of the Salt Lake City temple.

I then went to Provo for a scheduled 8 weeks of intensive language training at the Language Training Mission (LTM), located on the campus of BYU in the Knight Mangum building. My visa and paperwork was delayed so I actually spent 10 weeks at the LTM. My language training companion was Elder Russell Tanner of Morgan, UT, who was assigned to the Mexico Southeast Mission. There were several missionaries assigned to the Mexico North mission in my group. These included Eric Hansen, Ivan Huish, Clark Jackson, Kib Jacobsen, Leo Gene Lee, and Rick Ockerman. Studying the Spanish language and memorizing lesson materials for 9 plus hours a day was a rigorous, exhausting, and challenging experience for me. It was not until the 9th and 10th weeks that I became more comfortable in the experience and gained some confidence in my abilities to succeed in learning the language.

In April 1973, I flew to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico to report to President J. Marlan Walker, my mission president. My first companion was Elder Joseph John of Blythe, CA. We served in Ciudad Guadalupe, a suburb of Monterrey.

We presented up to 6 scripted, memorized, missionary discussions to individuals and families who were willing to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. We used a collapsible velcro board to present visually the concepts we were teaching. We would also present film strips using a small, portable, projector supported by audio cassette tapes. This was typically over the course of 3 weeks after which we invited investigators to enter into the covenant of baptism. My first month, 18 persons accepted the invitation and were baptized.

In my sixth month, I was assigned to serve as a senior companion with a local missionary companion.

Near the end of 1973, a new teaching program was initiated. We used "flip charts" with words and pictures to support the discussions. Because I failed to memorize the new discussions timely, I was demoted to junior companion for a few months.

In July 1974, President Limhi Ontiveros became the new mission president.

I served in the following areas with the companions listed.

During the course of my mission I gained a firm testimony, a witness of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus Christ is real and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints operates under His authority and direction. I experienced joy unspeakable as I witnessed the light of Christ's gospel enter into the hearts of individuals and give their lives meaning, purpose, and hope.

These words from my patriarchal blessing were fulfilled. "You will be blessed in due time to serve as an emissary of our Father in Heaven to the nations of the earth. This blessing will come as a treasure to you, for it will serve you in many of the activities that you will be called to serve in times to come." Indeed, my mission was a treasure to me and blessed my life in immeasurable ways. I have also treasured long-term friendships with my companions, most notably with Clark Jackson with whom I visit annually at general conference time.