THE MISSION BOOK: Part 13 12- 16 April 1975: On the second weekend of the month the EOSC Band and Choir began the world’s shortest music tour, visiting seven towns in four days. Leaving La Grande in two buses, we headed west through the Columbia River Gorge. Stopping at Multnomah Falls for a breather, many of us hiked to the top for a beautiful view of the river and surrounding hills. As I made my way back down, I noticed Judy Jensen and a couple guys only then starting up the path. Thinking that an odd time to begin the ascent, considering that the buses would be leaving soon, I boarded the bus and settled in. A short time later we departed as Judy and her chums, having just reached the viewpoint, saw chartered buses pulling out of the parking lot. From that high up, they no doubt got to watch the Greyhounds merge with freeway traffic and head west. Then again, they may have been making a mad dash down the mountain path- to no avail. They ended up hitchhiking until they caught up with us in Waldport the next day, some 160 miles away. From there we went to Toledo and then Forest Grove, where I was fortunate enough to be lodged at the house of a small family whose cute daughter and I stayed up talking for several hours, in the living room. At some point the topic turned to religion and I got to tell her how I joined the Church. That night after she went to bed, I left my marked up copy of the Book of Mormon behind a chair in the living room. I wanted her to read it, though I never heard afterward if she did or not. The next day we went to Portland, then on to White Salmon, a beautiful small town high up in the hills on the Washington side of the Gorge. That evening I stayed at another home, and was again caught up in a religious conversation, this time with Lutherans. After I revealed that I was LDS, the husband or wife produced a copy of The Lutheran magazine, and asked what I thought about an article therein that was critical of the Mormons and their church. While the conversation could have taken a contentious turn, I kept things civil, and turned it into a positive discussion on tolerance and what the LDS church members really believe- as opposed to the misrepresentation offered by the magazine. We parted as friends, and I felt very good about the experience. The next day we visited Ione, the smallest town I’d ever seen, aside from Halfway, Oregon. After that concert we finished up at Blue Mountain Community College. By this time we were all tiring of the trip and the repertoire. After I screwed up, clashing the cymbals together during the wrong part of the finale, the conductor was getting tired of me, as well. The crowd alternated between polite and snide, the applause, what there was of it being more gratuitous than heartfelt. We returned home by 5 pm, tired and ready to never see that 8-song program again. On the evening of the 16th I decided to start keeping a journal. Living with the regret of having thrown away a diary I had maintained during my first stay in La Grande, journaling was one of the better decisions I have ever made. On the following Saturday, Neal and I participated in the March of Dimes 20-mile walkathon, which started and ended at Riverside Park, with checkpoints at a school, church, ranch, truck stop, grange hall, another school and a military monument along the way. At the end we each received two free hot dogs, a can of Pepsi, and the semi-coveted “Order of the Battered Boot” certificate. By the middle of the following week I was performing again, this time in a music recital at the College Theater at 4 pm. I began the program with three pieces played on snare, tom, tambourine and other objects. While I thought the arrangement a bit hokey and overwrought, the audience loved it. 20 April 1975: Mike Johnson pulled me out of Priesthood meeting to call me as “father” of the FHE group that was meeting at the Institute building. While willing to take on the job, I knew nothing about leading any sort of group, let alone one with 15 people in it. I would struggle with the calling, but ultimately learned how to organize and lead them with weekly meetings. In early June, college classes mercifully ended. My heart just wasn’t in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do for a career, and with possible mission service looming in the near future, what was the point? One look at my transcripts told the tale. While Winter term hadn’t been a disaster (with a 2.07 GPA), Spring was another matter. While I had an A in Band, I had somehow sunk to a B in Orchestra, flunked History of Major Religions and Beginning Tennis (the latter never attended), and dropped three other classes. Now on Academic Probation, I knew it was time to move on to other things. My last performance with the College Band was for the EOSC graduation ceremony. Though it was beautiful afternoon out on the commons in front of the Ad building, I was glad when the last student had received their sheepskin so we could pack up and go home. ********** By Friday our group was supposed to be ready to pass off all eight concepts comprising C, but had only managed to learn the following: “Nos sentimos complacidos por estar con usted y su familia, Sr, Garcia. Como usted sabe, representamos a La Iglesia de Jesucristo de Los Santos de los Ultimos Dias. El Senor nos ha enviado a ustedes con este importante mensaje. A traves de la historia, chuando El Senor ha tenido verdades importantes que comunicar a sus hijos, las ha revelado por medio de sus profetas. Hoy vivimos en una epoca de tribulacion y tumulto. Muchas personas se hallan confusas, desalentadas y buscan algo mejor. “En su opinion, Sr. Garcia, Por que siente usted que seria util e importante que Dios nos diera orintacion y ayuda actualmente?” “Nuestro mensaje y testimonio para usted es que Dios continua guiando a sus hijos en la actualidad por medio de profeats vivientes, y en manera especial deseamos que usted sepa acerca de un profeta que se llam¬aba Jose Smith. En 1820, Jose Smith, siendo aun algo joven, vivia en el estado de Nueva York (en los Estados Unidos). En sus propias palabras relata lo siguiente: “Surgio en la region donde viviamos una agitacion extarordinaria sobre el tema de religion. En verdad, parecia repercutir en toda la region y grandes multitudes se unian a los diferentes partidos religiosos, ocasio¬nando no poca agitacion y division entre la gente; pues unos gritaban: “He aqui!”; y otros: “He alli!” “Los clerigos respectivos activamente suscitaban y fometaban este cuadro singular de sentiminetos reli¬giosos, a fin de lograr convertir a todos. Sin embargo, cuando los convertidos empezaron a dividirse, yendose unos coneste partido y otros con aquel, siguio una escena de gran confusion y malos sentimientos- sacerdote contendiendo con sacerdote y proselito con proselito- de mado que toda esa buena voluntad del uno para con el otro se perdio en una lucha de palabras y contienda de opiniones. “Para entonces yo habia entrado en los quince anos. Durante estos dias de tanta agitacion invadieron mi mente una seria reflexion y gran inquietud; pero no obstante le intensidad de mis sentimientos, que a menudo eran punzantes, me conserve apartado de todos estos grupos, aunque concurria a sus respectivas juntas cada vez que la ocasion me lo permitia, pero eran tan grandes la confusuion y contencion entre las diferentes de¬nominaciones que era imposible que una persona tan joven como yo, y sin ninguna experiencia en cuantos a los ho9mbres y las cosas, llegase a una determinacion precisa sobre quien tendria razon y quien no. “ Agobiado bajho el peso de las graves dificultades que provocaban las contiendas de estos partidos religiosos, un dia estaba leyendo la Epistola de Santiago, primer capitulo y quinto versiculo, que dice: “Y si alguno de vosotros tiene falta de sabiduria, pidala a Dios, el cual da a todos abundantemente, y sin reproche, y le sera dada. “Ninguna pasaje de las Escrituras jamas penetro el corazon de un hombre con mas fuerza que este, en esta ocasion, el mi. Parecia introducirse con inmenso poder en cada fibra de mi corazon. Lo medite repetidas veces, sabiendo que si alguien necesitaba sabiduria de Dios, esa persona era yo; porque no sabis que hacer; y a menos que pudiera obtener mayor conocimiento del que hasta entonces tenia, jamas llegaris saber; porque los maestros religiosos de las diferentes sectas interpretaban los mismos pasajes de las Escrituras de un modo tan distinto, que desrtuia toda esperanza de resolver el problema recurriendo a la Biblia. “Finalmente, llegue a la conclusion de que tendria que permanacer en tinieblas y confusion, o de lo con¬trario, hacer lo que Santiago aconsejaba, esto es, recurrir a Dios. Al fin tome la determionacion de “pedir a Dios”, habiendo decidido que si El daba sabiduria a quienes carecian de ella, y la impartia abundantemente i sin reprochar, yo podria intentarlo. “Por consiguiente, de acuerdo con esta resoltucion mia de recurrir a Dios, me retire al bosque para hacer la prueba. Fue en la manana de un dia hermoso y depejado, a principios de la primavera de 1820. Era la primera vez en mi vida que hacia tal intento, porque en medio de toda mi ansiedad, hasta ahora no habia procurado orar vocalmente. Depsues de apartarme al lugar que previamente habia designado, mirando a mi derredor y encontrandome solo, me arrodille y empece a elevar a Dios los deseos de mi corazon. “Mientras estaba orando, dice Jose Smith, “vi una columna de luz, mas brillante que el sol, diractamente arriba de mi cabeza; y esta luz gradulamente descendio hasta descansar sobre mi. Al reposar sobre mi la luz, vi en el aire arriba de mi a dos Personajes, cuyo fulgor y gloria no admiten descripcion. One de ellos me hablo, llamandome por mi mnombre, y dijo, senalando al otro: “Este es mi Hijo Amado: Escuchalo!” “Testificamos que Dios el Padre y su Hijo Jesucristo se aparacieron a Jose Smith y le habalron. De hecho, el proposito de nuestra visita es comunicar a usted este maravillosa mensaje y explicarles cono pueden saber que es verdadero. “Sr. Garcia y señora, vamos a decir que se hallan en la posicion de este joven, Jose Smith. Imaginense que son Jose Smith, y que estan esforzandose por conocer la verdad acerca de l;a religion. Al leer la Biblia, encuentran la promesa en Santiago. Ningun otro pasaje ha impresionado su corazon tan profundamente. Teniendo fe, hacen lo que dice Santiago y van a una arboleda cerca de la granja de su padre. Se arrodillan para orar, y suplican orientacion a su Padre Celestial. Es la primera vez que oran en voz alta. Desean saber la Verdad con todo el cporazon. . Imaginense lo que sienten cuando, como respuesta a sus oraciones, una luz desciende del cielo, y dentro de esa luz ven a dos personajes gloriosos, el Padre y el Hijo. “Sr. Garcia, podria usted seguir siendo el mismo despues de tal expeirencia? “Despues de recibir tan gloriosa manifestacion, su corazon se siente dominado por la realidad de su experiencia. Saben que es verdadera. “Se sentiran obligados a compartir su experiencia con el rsto del mundo? “Como resultado de esta y otras experiencias similares, ustedes escriben lo siguiente: D & D 76: 22, 23. “Sr. Garcia, recuerda usted la pregunta que tenia Jose Smith cunado fue a la arboleda a orar? “Contestando su pregunta, el Salvador dijo a Jose Smith que no denberia unirse a ninguna de las iglesias y le explico el poprque. Le dijo que tenian apariencia de piedad, pero que ensenaban las doctrinas de los hombres y no las de Dios. “Sr. Garcia, en que manera le ayuda esto a comprender por que las iglesias do hoy dia ensenan tantas doctrinas contradictorias? While this didn’t seem like much to me, compared to the overall goal, any civilian would look at all those words and roll his or her eyes way back, knowing there is no way they could memorize it, even in English. And in five days. But many missionaries did that and more. And if I didn’t accomplish as much as others in my district or elsewhere, it was much more than I would have accomplished otherwise. I would say that was a miracle in itself. During this difficult time, other members of the Mendoza District began talking to me about my negative self-attitude, to which I nodded and shook my head. I knew I was messed up. It seemed that no matter how much I prayed and studied, I fell fur¬ther behind. The solution then, as in the past, was self-castigation, for if there was a line forming to beat me up, I made sure to take cuts so I could get in the first jabs. The problem was compounded by a self-defense mechanism that made it difficult to accept constructive criticism. One of the few people I did accept “suggestions” from was Elder Durieux. Maybe it was because he had no lack of confidence, and thus seemed to me an authority on the subject. One day, after Elder Stansel and I failed to pass off the first part of Charla C, Elder D commented at length on my inability to look him in the eye during the pass-off. He reminded me that the eye is the communicator of the Spirit- that this was the way that people could tell if a teacher’s words and actions are sincere. Furthermore, he told me that I should be able to look anyone, from the Prophet on down to the devil himself, straight in the eyes. One place where I tried to be creative was scheduling. While most days were spelled out for us, P-Day was not. Yes, there was the obligatory morning temple trip, but the rest of the day was ours- at least until 5 pm.
Posted on: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 14:09:53 +0000
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