Just like Grandpa

It was 11 months ago this week that we got the shock of our lives at being called to join the Washington DC branch. This week, a story I wrote about our experiences came out in The Friend magazine. The Friend is the children's magazine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I've written a few stories for them in the past, based on my children's experiences. After our momentous day last September, I knew that I should write about it. I decided to tell about an experience with Lige. Since he's technically older than the target age for the magazine, I aged him down a bit, and adjusted a few of the details to accommodate that. I changed the long story of why Lige knew some ASL to just say, "he'd learned some in school." Other than that, I didn't change much for this story. Re-reading about that experience, I am impressed by what a good answer I gave Lige! :) Ok, fine, what a good answer the Holy Ghost gave Lige, through me. Interestingly, Lige hardly remembers this conversation. I think a lot of things from that week are a blur in our memories :) But it was there when he needed it.

Just like Grandpa

As it turns out, Lige has made GREAT friends in the branch. And he sees his friends from the ward at Scouts still, because the two troops decided to meet together. The Lord HAS taken care of all my children, and helped them to have joy in the journey. And I'm totally cool with them marrying any of the kids they've met in the branch, so maybe their experience will be JUST LIKE their Great-great-great-great grandpa's! :) (When my kids were little, I used to arrange marriages with all my friends' kids...because what could be better than your son marrying your best friend's daughter? Unfortunately, they're getting old enough that they don't think this joke is funny any more...but it's a hard habit to break.)

This is William Augustia Turner. (The illustrator didn't guess too bad, did he!) After prayerfully listening to some missionaries from the Church for many months, he decided to be baptized in October 1848. I wonder if he anticipated how much that covenant to follow Jesus Christ would change his life? He found that persecution grew against his new church, and in 1854 he sailed for America. He joined other members of the church in Salt Lake City, Utah, a new city less than 10 years old in the desert. I'm sure the hot and dry weather was a shock for a young man from dreary England. (At least, that's the word my sister north of London uses to describe the weather there...) But I can only imagine how he must have felt when he was asked to go with a group to southern Utah to try to grow cotton. And, it's true, he really didn't like it there. Mother Nature didn't cooperate with them, either. Flash floods ruined most of their work year after year. But he did marry my great-great-great-great Grandmother, Amelia, while he was there! So I say it was worth it :)

William Augustia has always been one of my favorite ancestors. His willingness to do whatever the Lord needed has been bedrock to me in my life, and an example I try to emulate every day. One time, when asked to do something at a great sacrifice, he simply said, "God grant that I may never shirk my duty." That's the sort of family I come from, and his example has blessed yet another generation now to have the courage to do hard things for the Kingdom of God. I'm excited to meet him someday, and tell him thanks for being part of what has brought me here to where I am now.