Mission Update, uh, Rewind

No one ever really wanted to watch my mission slides with me. Now that I have that slide scanner, I thought I'd try it on the blog.

We'll start with the inspirational:

In my current mission, I am documenting the early missionaries in Wales who were trying to get converts for the New Zion in America. My mission in Brazil 1976-78 was to bring Zion to the People of Brazil. The Temple under construction in São Paulo was the culmination of that. It would bring sacred ordinances to seal up individuals, families, and peoples together in preparation to live with God. They gave us a tour of the nearly completed Temple on our way out of Brazil. Note the guide wires to the steeple. Lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes.

My mission started a little slowly. We were held up for a time, a long time, in the Language Training Center (LTM) in Provo waiting for visas (later, the Missionary Training Center or MTC). We had to find creative ways to keep studying.

My Double-Date As a Missionary

It's time to tell this story. . . .

My missionary companion and friend gave me his permission some time ago. My policy remains to avoid naming names to preserve some privacy, at least to avoid my friends' names turning up on an internet search linked to my blog. And it does protect the innocent as we all were in this unusual circumstance.

Mormon Missionaries are supposed to be celibate for their missionary terms of service which is nearly always successful. We aren't even supposed to date or socialize with romantic intentions as our time is totally dedicated to the Lord's work. This is quite an amazing accomplishment for young men and women in their late teens and early twenties as they learn that the spiritual aspects of life can be more powerful than natural, human behavior.

Language Training Mission (LTM) and Provo Temple, Fall 1976

In the preparatory Language Training Mission ("LTM" now, Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah, they drilled into us how we needed to be cautious because young women in Brazil could be very, uhm, tempting and some would be interested in snatching up a young North-American if they could. My companion friend was "snatched."

Still, it was all innocent if some of it slightly outside of regular missionary rules of decorum.

Helping Hands - Projeto do Brasil SUD

Maybe I'm not paying enough attention, but I didn't realize that the Mormon or LDS service project for local communities at large, "Helping Hands," originated in Brazil. I was watching this video (in Portuguese) and it said that the internationally used, yellow vest, with hands in blue and green, represent the national colors of Brazil as an acknowledgment of the program's Brazilian origins!

Que coisa!

Then I realized that I had the evidence in pictures of my two youngest children as LDS Missionaries in Japan and Ohio, USA, wearing the yellow, green, and blue!

My son, A-5, shoveling snow in Japan wearing the "Helping Hands" or "Mãos que Ajudam" vest.

My son, A-6 (second from right), recently returned from Ohio, wearing the Brazilian "Helping Hands" colors on a t-shirt with a few others.

Fora Dilma!

Dilma e Lula
Current President of Brazil, Dilma Vana Rousseff, and former President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

I get it now. I've been following the Facebook posts of many friends in Brazil and have been cautious about interfering in their political discussions, not being a citizen of that great nation and all.

Ainda fico muito preocupado com muita fala a favor de golpe militar. Creio que o passo constitutional de "impeachment" será melhor rumo à salvação da nação brasileira. E não tenho problema com as grandes demonstações nas ruas. Esse é o direito de um povo livre.

Dilma Rouseff, Presidenta do Brasil, is under siege for the collapse of the economy - not all her fault, mind you, having failed to recover from the world recession of eight years ago caused by the bankers of North America and Europe and the collapse of Brazilian oil. I still think it was a wise move for Brazilian investment in Cuba before U.S. President Obama began a re-opening and a lifting of sanctions. That will put Brazil right in the middle of increased commerce through the Americas.

Personal History Confirmation from Down in the South of Brazil

I have a really good friend who happens to be my Home Teacher. He is assigned in our Priesthood Quorum, with our Bishop's approval and encouragement, to visit our family monthly with a teenage companion from the Teachers' Quorum They provide a brief, spiritual message and report back to our lay priesthood group as to how we're doing. He's available for spiritual needs, furniture moving, and other friendly services. My wife likes to give him cookies. We have him over for dinner and holidays now and then.

I've known him for quite a few years as we met him in our youth most likely in the Language Training Mission in Provo, Utah. But I got to know his good soul on our mission out on the Gaúcho Frontier in Rio Grande do Sul.

I was a zone leader in the São Borja District of members. We lived in Alegrete which was most central and my companion and I traveled by bus, to the cities of São Borja, Uruguiana, and Rosário do Sul to help the two missionaries in each of those cities and interview their candidates for baptism. It was in Rosário where my friend worked. For some reason, probably to save daylight hours for missionary work, we often traveled at night. Those rides were miserable sometimes having to stand in the blue haze of cigarette smoke for the two or three-hours they took.

Rio Grande do Sul State in Brazil
São Borja Zone, Porto Alegre Mission, 1977. The center, however is Alegrete, the heart of Gaúcho Brazil.
Alegrete and Uruguaiana are now Stakes. São Borja remains a Mission District. And there's a Temple in Porto Alegre!
Alegrete-Rosário do Sul, 107 Km. Alegrete-São Borja, 189 Km. Alegrete-Uruguaiana, 145 Km. Uruguaiana-Porto Alegre, 631 Km.

Servi no Templo EM PORTUGUÊS!

Boy, am I jazzed! That is, if it's OK to be spiritually jazzed!

Campinas, São Paulo, Brasil Temple - Not the one I served in tonight, but it felt like it.

Tonight was my Friday to serve in the Bountiful Temple, and while my Welshman friend wasn't there, I heard the shift coordinators talking about doing some temple work in Portuguese. I let them know that I could help if they needed. I had done it in Spanish before (in a bit of a panic), but Portuguese was my No. 1 second language.

They let me study the card and I had it all down pretty well. They let me take the card just in case. The big surprise was that they said there would be one Temple patron needing Portuguese and then I would switch back to English. But the next guy started off in Portuguese too. I had just dropped the card which I hadn't used anyway, so I went on in Portuguese full of confidence and spiritual power.

HOPE in World Peace and Collective Security

We went pretty hard on the President last night. So today I further reveal my idealism which some find pollyannish to the max. But it's who I am. "And I'm not the only one. I hope some day you will join us. And the world will be as one." (Thanks, John).

The President is so close to being right, I hope he doesn't blow it with a US go-it-alone policy. Congressman Chris Stewart spoke at my son's high school yesterday and said that the US has a duty to be the world's policeman. I told my boy that I think our Congressman wants to have you all as soldiers. "I kind of got that idea," was my youngest's response. We have to stop people like Chris Stewart.

You may find it surprising, but my ideal for international intervention is what George H. W. Bush did. Sadam invaded Kuwait. US went to Security Council. US lead a true coalition of a multinational force for a limited objective of removing Iraq from Kuwait. Iraq suffered devastating military loss and left Kuwait. Iraq lobbed missiles at Israel for no good reason except to break up Arab states in coalition. US & others destroy Iraqi missile capabilities. Multinational force went home. (Except we didn't quite go home. We set up military bases in Saudi Arabia with Saudi consent. And that helped triggered the brutal plan for 9/11 in bin laden's warped brain.)

"Geraint Fychan dwi" - Welsh Class, Day One

Twmpa as seen from Blaendigeddi Fawr - Cymru Fach

Nine years ago Labor Day Weekend, I was fixated on the Weather Channel watching Katrina spin backwards pushing Lake Pontchartrain back on New Orleans against the Mississippi levees. I accurately predicted that disaster when all the news was exclaiming how lucky the city was that it did not get a direct hit. I also had to meet some W Bush politicos that Tuesday who threw me out of my job in Albuquerque for their nefarious purposes. What a difference nine years make.

“Extra” Pre-1978 Missionary Lesson: Blacks & the Priesthood

[This was cross-posted on Keepapitchinin.org this morning. And I refer you to this link for some interesting comments there including my responses to some of the comments. A palestra original em português, se acha aqui. For my historical and current views on the removal of the Priesthood ban, see my page to the right.]

This is my translation of the “extra” discussion we taught to prospective members of African ancestry in the Brazil Porto Alegre Mission 1976-1978. It was referred to as the “Eighth Discussion” or “Discussion K,” the Baptismal Challenge, the short Discussion H, not being counted in the numbering system. (The lettering started with “C” for some reason). It was not an official church missionary discussion. And I certainly understood it that way at the time. It was shared around the mission in an informal way - never having any direct instruction from our Mission President to teach it. I seem to recall the copy I had was on a mimeographed sheet.

The principal false doctrines included are the interpretations from Abraham 1 and 3:22-23, and Moses 7:22 about Cain, a priesthood curse, blackness, etc. These scriptures are subject to many interpretations and do not compel the conclusions of this “extra” discussion or a priesthood ban by revelation. The other, and maybe even more troubling false doctrine, is a rather broad extrapolation from Abraham 3:22-23 that we are all born in this life according to what we deserved in the pre-existence. I don’t think the scripture leads to that interpretation at all. The idea does appear in Mormon folklore, but is not official doctrine of the LDS Church. I remember a World Religion class taught by Spencer J. Palmer at BYU in about 1980 where that idea was shot down pretty clearly.

Encontro de Ex-Missionários - Mission Reunion

An emotionally and spiritually exhausting day. [Oh, and physically] We started with the ward clean-up where we went around to various widows in the ward and did yard work in the rain. Then I went with my friend in the ward from my mission to another mission friend's house near Foothill Village to participate in a video simulcast of a conference in Brasil that my wife and I figured we could neither schedule nor afford in person. After that, I came home to find my parents here - a surprise to me (except for a couple of texts that they had arrived). My wife knew they were coming, but didn't tell me which works well in helping to avoid anxiety issues (and we'll leave that right there.)

But the important thing was the mission reunion of the Brazil, Porto Alegre Mission (Missão do Brasil, Porto Alegre) 1976-1979.. It was scheduled to correspond with our President's 80th birthday a few days ago. The few of us meeting here in town had a great time just with ourselves. This was good because the connection to Brasil was not that great. Especially the audio, especially when they neglected to place the mike next to the camera so when we saw particular old companions waiving at us, we couldn't always hear them!

Watching ourselves watch ourselves (upper right) and a few others

Terrorists!!! Or, "Que Manhã Quemada" - Gospel Doctrine Lesson 36

There was a call late last night that one of our Gospel Doctrine teachers had fallen off a ladder and needed a substitute. He told his wife to call me as I'm in the new Sunday School Presidency (and we don't even get to ring the bell anymore!) I love teaching Sunday School and don't mind the last minute calls. In fact, the later the better as it forces me to rely more on the Spirit. But as we have late church until January, I had several hours to prepare.

My fist reaction when I realized it was Lesson 36 was a bit of a nervous shudder. I believe that we should liken the scriptures unto us which I have done, loving this portion of the Book of Mormon because there is so much there I "likened" to lead me to my personal political views and philosophy. But I knew I had to be respectful to keep my personal views in check. On the blog I feel I can express myself more fully because while clearly influenced by gospel teachings, I am not an official spokesman for the church as I am when I am fulfilling an assignment at church. That's just the way I see it.

Downtown Mormon Lunch: Fun & "Weightier Matters"

Two things came together in my normally confused brain this week as I sorted through them for some sense. First, my "manifesto" the other day led me to a fascinating discussion on my Facebook link to that blog post with some Brazilian friends and I jumping between English and Portuguese in a discussion of the U.S. Constitution. Good thing I know how to switch my keyboard back and forth for the right accent marks, etc. That ended with a Brazilian friend, now U.S. Citizen (I believe) asking me if I knew any of the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve who were Democrats. The late, and Portuguese-speaking, James E. Faust was the only one I knew for sure in modern times. He had served in the Utah State Legislature and had been Chairman of the Utah Democratic Party so it was rather obvious. I'm sure there are others, they just keep those sort of things rather private if they haven't been in political office as part of their public life before their calls to the presiding quorums of the Church.

O Milagre do Facebook!

[Click "translate" and see if that works]

Que alegria senti hoje! Recém fiz parte de um novo grupo no Facebook iniciado por uns amigos meus da minha missão para a Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos dos Últimos Dias em Porto Alegre na época do Presidente Jason Garcia Souza (1976-1979). A minha benção foi que passei o tempo inteiro do meu serviço missionário (1976-1978) com o mesmo presidente – apesar de ficar uns longos meses no LTM esperando o visto para ir ao Brasil.

Faz uns 15 anos, mais ou menos, que descobri uma página na internet dos missionários da minha época no Brasil. Era bom receber notícias e entrar em contato de novo com alguns amigos missionários, mas não tinha tanta facilidade de uso como o mais moderno Facebook. No Facebook, a gente pode compartilhar fotos e mensagens muito mais rápido, as vezes num momento só.

Up from Racism: The Revelation on the Priesthood

I deeply regret my past racism and have been in recovery for years now as I try to progress in my understanding of life and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

As another "eye-witness to history," I went back to check my missionary history of President Kimball's announcement that the Priesthood ban as to men of Black African descent was lifted. The embarrassing part is that my racism is evident along with erroneous speculations about scripture and doctrine that the LDS Church has since disavowed. Most recently, the Church issued this statement:

Personal Revelation 101

As I have already blogged on "practical spirituality," I have some healthy skepticism caution even within my own religious tradition. For me, spirituality has to mean something even if I sometimes have to wait patiently to understand that meaning. Until then, I've learned to be quiet about it. While respecting the claims of personal revelation of others, I tend to remain skeptical because I've learned to be cautious with my own.

I can best explain with another example from my own missionary record. First, the context-- As explained in my piece about the MTC dedication, I spent some extra time there in what was then the LTM or Language Training Mission. And that was somewhat of a disappointment. After our scheduled eight weeks of intensive language training and memorization of missionary discussions, four of our district of eleven elders left for Portugal. We remaining seven were left waiting for our visas to go to Brazil.

Dedication of the Provo LTM (MTC) 1976

Waking up this morning, oftentimes the best time for inspiration, I realized that I had another "Eye Witness to History" piece I needed to write (well, cut and paste mostly). Due to the mixed blessing of having my visa to Brazil delayed after my mission call, my group spent some extra time in the Provo LTM (Language Training Center) as it was in the process of becoming the physical facility now known as the Provo Missionary Training Center.

We reported on our first day at Knight Magnum Hall on the BYU Campus. We were housed in Maeser Hall in Heritage Halls, usually a girls' dorm but vacant for the summer. We ate at the Morris Center at Deseret Towers. But we started our classes in the just completed classroom buildings at the new LTM. Over the nearly five-month wait for our visas (about the same amount of time the Prophet Joseph was in Liberty Jail), we moved into the new facility building by building as they were completed. And I was there for the dedication on September 27, 1976. My contemporaneous account follows:

Porque Ando de Ônibus: Or, Because I Ride the Bus, Part 2

Actually, this has nothing to do with part one except that I was complaining a little about riding the bus. This morning was one of those extraordinarily surreal experiences on the bus making it all worthwhile.

Bus riders, like most humans, are creatures of habit. We tend to sit in the same seat around familiar people, most of whom remain nameless because we never speak to each other. There's the sleeping guy in the back corner, "Curly" with the slicked-up hair, the guy from the high council who always smiles and waves at me because he knows me from somewhere, and the church office worker in the little German hat like the the one worn by the mean Nazi in Raiders of the lost Ark.