This is a testimony that was sent to me last November. As one can see I am greatly behind in my e-mails. Anyway, I tho't this important and beautiful enough to include it here.
This was sent by a person who works at the LA Temple. What an incredible story! It is so relieving to hear "our side" of what has been happening the last few weeks...
My dear family, brothers and sisters, friends and leaders:
My heart is overflowing with joy and gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His tender mercies and mighty miracles in our behalf. I just have to share this with you. As most of you know, I am a Temple ordinance worker and work the morning shift in the LA Temple every Saturday. Today, I had the priviledge of transcribing Sister Martz', the new assistant matron, message during our devotional.
She started like this "The prophet Joseph Smith said that no unhallowed hand would be able to stop this Work from progressing. These past few weeks when mobs have combined and armies have gathered against the saints, the Lord has protected His house". She went on to say that those, like her, who were inside the Temple when mobs were surrounding it, did not realize how scary and terrifying this looked on TV to the rest of us, because inside the House of the Lord all was calm and there was peace abundant. After Proposition 8 passed, the Temple began receiving threatening calls and mail from those opposing it. They were warned that more than 5000 people would come to the Temple and burn it to the ground, and stop Its work. The first Thursday when the mob came, the new LA Temple President called the Salt Lake City Temple Offices for instructions. He was instructed to call the local police and to insure the safety of those attending the Temple by closing the gates.
The assistant matron said today, that it was a tender mercy from the Lord that the mob chose that Thursday to come since they had only one person coming to receive his own endowment that day, which he received in time to leave before trouble started. The LAPD and the FBI responded quickly to the Temple Presidency's summons and patrolled the grounds and kept the mob from entering the same. Most of them had never been there before and expressed their surprise at how beautiful and peaceful all around was. They were invited to come back during the Christmas season to see the lights and they promised they would.
On Thursday, November 13th, sister Campbell, a secretary in the Temple, was opening the mail and upon opening a large manila envelope found inside a smaller one. When she opened this one, a white powder flew all around her desk. She thought this could be related to the demonstrators and feared the worst-ANTRAX. She contacted the President, who in turn called the Salt Lake City Temple office again for instructions. The FBI, the LAPD, and even the SWAT teams were once again in the grounds to investigate, and the Temple once again had to close from around 11:30 AM to 5PM. They closed the gates and were instructed to keep all the people there wherever they were found at the time. Those in the parking lot had to remain in the parking lot. Those entering the Temple had to remain in the first floor and those already upstairs were taken to the Celestial Room.
Then, the miracles began to happen: A brother serving as a recorder that day is a Microbiologist by profession and used to deal with hazardous substances every day. He was the first to say the white powder in the envelope was only talc, and put every one at ease. Then the sister coordinator upstairs was impressed to call upstairs to the sealing area, and said "They said we can't go down but no one said we can't go up, and I have many people in the Celestial room with their ceremonial clothes on ready to work. Could they do some sealings?" As it happened, there were four sealers present that day and they ran four sealing sessions non stop while the Temple was closed. Downstairs, someone else thought to invite those in the Lobby to do some initiatories, which they promptly did for all those hours too, brothers and sisters alike.
Among those waiting in the parking lot there was a large group of young men and women with their leaders who had come to do Baptisms for the dead, and who waited patiently all those hours and decided when the Temple was reopened to go ahead and fulfill their assignment instead of driving back home. The Temple reopened in time for the 5:30 PM session. The next day when recording the ordinances, they discovered that they had performed 2000 sacred ordinances on Thursday, only one less than the day before when three stakes had been visiting the Temple.
Once again the assistant matron reminded us of the words of the prophet Joseph Smith, "No unhallowed hand can stop the Work from progressing...". But, this is not all, a prophecy was fulfilled also. When the new LA Temple President was set apart by President Uchdorft of the First Presidency, he received a blessing and these words were pronounced: " The time has come for the LA Temple to come out of obscurity and become an Ensign for Righteousness to the world under your presidency." The pictures of the Temple have been shown on TV, newspapers and the internet, not only in this country but worldwide. People of other faiths have called and sent letters to the Temple thanking the Church for defending marriage and protecting the family, and commenting how impressed they are by how beautiful and majestic the Temple looks .
One minister of an African American church, who by his own admission had harbored ill feelings against the mormons before said " I am impressed by your integrity and Christ like behavior, and even if I am not ready to consider you my brothers and sisters in Christ, we can be first cousins!".
I asked the assistant matron if I could share her comments and she said to go ahead. I can only add my own testimony that I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has the power and authority of God on earth. God Lives and Jesus, His only Begotten Son and our Savior is coming soon to redeem His people. I am grateful to know this and I pray we stand firm, steadfast and immobile while the prophecies of the signs before His Coming are fulfilled. "Be not afraid, only believe" He has said, and also " What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." I testify that this is true and testify it in the Holy Name of Whom I strive to serve, even Jesus Christ. Be faithful and safe is my humble prayer. Your sister in Christ, Patricia H. Arnazzi
Monday, February 09, 2009
Sunday, February 08, 2009
I have been corresponding with John Rufener all week now, sometimes six or eight times a day. The other man who contacted me told me he couldn’t help me so I deleted his e-mail. John has sent me the ship’s manifest with my Grandma Wendel’s name on it when she sailed from Liverpool to America. She left the year before the rest of her mother, father and siblings. She came to SLC and lived with Aunt Elise and Aunt Louise, her half sisters (same mother, different father). They all three worked and saved money so the rest of the family could join them. He let me get online to view his family tree etc. He also sent me pictures of Aunt Elise from the time she was a young woman until she was much older. I think he sent five pictures in all. After viewing the picture of Aunt Elise when she was the oldest, I decided I must have met her because she surely looked familiar. It could have been at my grandmother’s funeral because she died two years before Aunt Elise did. He also sent me some links about Aunt Elise and her life, a short biography etc. She sounds like a very interesting woman.
Elise Furer Musser (7 December 1877 - 30 August 1967) was a prominent figure in Utah political and social life from the 1930s until her death. A poor Swiss immigrant convert to Mormonism she found her place of leadership after marrying Salt Lake City attorney Burton W. Musser, a member of one of Utah's most important families. Mrs. Musser worked at Neighborhood House an establishment designed to aid the poor and the foreign-born in Salt Lake City and she led the way toward passage of child labor legislation in Utah. She served as a Utah State Senator and Democratic National Committeewoman, but her greatest political achievement, perhaps, was her appointment by President Roosevelt in the 1930s as the United States Delegate (and only woman participant) to international peace conferences in Buenos Aires and Lima.
Elise Furer was born in Les Loges, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland, the fourth of five children. Her father died when she was three and although her mother remarried when she was seven the family was very poor. Elise spent four years unhappily in the home of a childless aunt, but eventually returned to her mother. She was a bright student and although her education was sporadic she graduated from high school at a younger age than usual.
A major turning point came in 1894 when she was baptized into the Mormon Church in response to the message of missionaries. Her conversion, while no doubt sincere, had an economic component as well, for she saw in the Mormon Church an opportunity to emigrate to America to improve her condition in life. She arrived in Salt Lake City in 1897 and accepted a menial housekeeping job for a few weeks while she added English to the French and German languages which she already spoke (she eventually would become fluent in Spanish and Italian as well).
Salt Lake City, however, seemed not to contain the kind of opportunity she sought and when an opportunity came for her to move to one of the Mormon colonies in Mexico she accepted. The Mexican colonies, of course, were refuges for polygamists who had found themselves rejected by both church and state in Utah. Elise was unaware of the purpose of the colonies when she went there. She found a good home with one of the families though once again she was unable to locate work that would provide her with more than a modest income. She did manage to accumulate a certain amount of savings, and that, together with her unwillingness to enter a polygamous marriage which would be expected of her if she remained in Mexico, induced her to return to Salt Lake City.
It proved to be another fortuitous move. Shortly after she attended a party in the Second Ward and became friends with Blanche Musser, she met Blanche's brother, Burton, who was to become her husband. They were married in 1911 and moved to New York City while Burton attended law school at Columbia University. Elise also attended college in New York City and the years there were happy ones for her.
Two events of great significance occurred while the couple was in the East. They had been Republicans, but they became very impressed with Woodrow Wilson and joined the Democratic party, the party in which both were to become very influential. Also, they had a baby boy, Bernard, in 1914. Burton had typhoid part of the time she was carrying Bernard and she was worried about suffering a miscarriage if she contracted the disease. Thus the birth of her son had special significance for the couple and her letters later in life, even while engaged in the most intricate and momentous political processes, show an unfailing concern for Bernard's well-being, his travels and his education.
Mrs. Musser's entrance into politics came through her involvement with Neighborhood House where she put her linguistic skills and her social compassion to good use. It was while engaged at Neighborhood House that she attracted the attention of the wife of Governor George Dern who asked her to serve as State Chairman of Democratic Women. That first post led eventually to diplomatic missions in Latin America and service as the Utah State Senator. For the remainder of her life Mrs. Musser was a figure to be reckoned with in Utah Democratic politics.
During the last decades of her life, Mrs. Musser was active in a wide variety of social and political organizations and served as mentor to many younger women who wanted careers outside the home. For reasons that remain relatively obscure she drifted away from and she joined the Unitarian Church in 1940. It was in that church that her funeral services were held in 1967.
John is 61 years old to my 65 years…about the same age as my brother. I sent him the GEDCOM files on the Rufeners and Meiers that I have gotten the names for since we started or mission. Also a picture of the Rufener family after my Grandpa and Grandma were married. John’s grandfather, Henry, was also in the picture as well as other members of the family. I also sent him a picture of the home in Switzerland where the missionaries taught the Rufener family. It has been a very interesting and rewarding week.
Elise Furer Musser (7 December 1877 - 30 August 1967) was a prominent figure in Utah political and social life from the 1930s until her death. A poor Swiss immigrant convert to Mormonism she found her place of leadership after marrying Salt Lake City attorney Burton W. Musser, a member of one of Utah's most important families. Mrs. Musser worked at Neighborhood House an establishment designed to aid the poor and the foreign-born in Salt Lake City and she led the way toward passage of child labor legislation in Utah. She served as a Utah State Senator and Democratic National Committeewoman, but her greatest political achievement, perhaps, was her appointment by President Roosevelt in the 1930s as the United States Delegate (and only woman participant) to international peace conferences in Buenos Aires and Lima.
Elise Furer was born in Les Loges, Canton of Neuchatel, Switzerland, the fourth of five children. Her father died when she was three and although her mother remarried when she was seven the family was very poor. Elise spent four years unhappily in the home of a childless aunt, but eventually returned to her mother. She was a bright student and although her education was sporadic she graduated from high school at a younger age than usual.
A major turning point came in 1894 when she was baptized into the Mormon Church in response to the message of missionaries. Her conversion, while no doubt sincere, had an economic component as well, for she saw in the Mormon Church an opportunity to emigrate to America to improve her condition in life. She arrived in Salt Lake City in 1897 and accepted a menial housekeeping job for a few weeks while she added English to the French and German languages which she already spoke (she eventually would become fluent in Spanish and Italian as well).
Salt Lake City, however, seemed not to contain the kind of opportunity she sought and when an opportunity came for her to move to one of the Mormon colonies in Mexico she accepted. The Mexican colonies, of course, were refuges for polygamists who had found themselves rejected by both church and state in Utah. Elise was unaware of the purpose of the colonies when she went there. She found a good home with one of the families though once again she was unable to locate work that would provide her with more than a modest income. She did manage to accumulate a certain amount of savings, and that, together with her unwillingness to enter a polygamous marriage which would be expected of her if she remained in Mexico, induced her to return to Salt Lake City.
It proved to be another fortuitous move. Shortly after she attended a party in the Second Ward and became friends with Blanche Musser, she met Blanche's brother, Burton, who was to become her husband. They were married in 1911 and moved to New York City while Burton attended law school at Columbia University. Elise also attended college in New York City and the years there were happy ones for her.
Two events of great significance occurred while the couple was in the East. They had been Republicans, but they became very impressed with Woodrow Wilson and joined the Democratic party, the party in which both were to become very influential. Also, they had a baby boy, Bernard, in 1914. Burton had typhoid part of the time she was carrying Bernard and she was worried about suffering a miscarriage if she contracted the disease. Thus the birth of her son had special significance for the couple and her letters later in life, even while engaged in the most intricate and momentous political processes, show an unfailing concern for Bernard's well-being, his travels and his education.
Mrs. Musser's entrance into politics came through her involvement with Neighborhood House where she put her linguistic skills and her social compassion to good use. It was while engaged at Neighborhood House that she attracted the attention of the wife of Governor George Dern who asked her to serve as State Chairman of Democratic Women. That first post led eventually to diplomatic missions in Latin America and service as the Utah State Senator. For the remainder of her life Mrs. Musser was a figure to be reckoned with in Utah Democratic politics.
During the last decades of her life, Mrs. Musser was active in a wide variety of social and political organizations and served as mentor to many younger women who wanted careers outside the home. For reasons that remain relatively obscure she drifted away from and she joined the Unitarian Church in 1940. It was in that church that her funeral services were held in 1967.
John is 61 years old to my 65 years…about the same age as my brother. I sent him the GEDCOM files on the Rufeners and Meiers that I have gotten the names for since we started or mission. Also a picture of the Rufener family after my Grandpa and Grandma were married. John’s grandfather, Henry, was also in the picture as well as other members of the family. I also sent him a picture of the home in Switzerland where the missionaries taught the Rufener family. It has been a very interesting and rewarding week.
Monday, February 02, 2009
An Interesting Experience
I just had an interesting experience. I was looking in the archives of my online blog for an entry I made since we started our mission. I couldn’t find that particular blog but I did find two things I was unaware of. The first one was in April 2007 and the other May of 2007. I guess I need to check back every once in a while a month or two and see if anyone has left me any messages. These two were from two men who does family history/genealogy. The first was from a Rufener cousin…he has the same great grandfather I do. (Frederic Rufener) And his name is Rufener too. I have no idea where he lives. The other is from a man who lives in Switzerland who offered to help me find individuals in Bern, Switzerland. And those messages had been sitting there all this time and I was unaware of it. I e-mailed both of them and asked them to please not wait so long to contact me as it did me them. J
Time will tell what happens.
Time will tell what happens.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
I can't believe it is February already!
Last Monday was our Zone meeting there at the FHC. Our director and is wife, Larry and Kathy Killian were released after serving four+ years and Elder Wayne Lyon and Sister Caroline Lyon will be our new directors. They have been at the center for five years. The Killians will be “moving” up the chain to be the Regional Family History consultants working with 12 stakes within the temple district of the IF temple. I’m thankful that I got to know them as well as I did and work with them the last 21 months.
After all of the business was taken care of Brother and Sister Kazier from Rexburg spoke to us. He is a patriarch up there now, worked there at the Regional FHC four years ago and was instrumental in all of the obituaries in SE Idaho being digilized and pictures of grave stones put with them so they are accessible on the computer. He spoke of what the Lord is telling the youth today in their blessings. He had nine points. Some of them were: pay and honest and full tithing, attend your meetings, read and study the scriptures, pray daily and often…you get the idea. All of them were things we all should be doing if we want to endure to the end.
Afterwards, my husband and I went to Gangplank to eat (the meeting was 5-6 pm) and the couple ahead of us was the Kaziers. Sister Kazier asked us to come and sit with them. We spent a delightful hour and a half getting to know them and they us. He has worked at the site, taught at Ricks for 20 years, and is still working on establishing certain sites on the computer for different things. We found out we know their daughter, Janet, who lives in Kearney 2nd Ward. They have six children and 29 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. It was a very delightful evening.
I’ve been busy at the FHC. Since they have made me the trainer on both Saturdays and Wednesdays now, and we have quite a few new missionaries, that alone keeps me busy. Yesterday I helped four different patrons as well. I have discovered a way to find more ancestors. On Ancetry.com is One World Tree. When you put an ancestors name in there and click on find famous ancestors, it comes up with people you are related to. I typed in Mildred Theresa Call. She is related to 37 famous people!! Florence Nightingale, Rutherford B. Hayes, Thomas More, Eli Whitney, and many others. I clicked on Florence Nightingale first. They have your ancestors ancestors and the ancestors of the other person listed until they find a common ancestor. With Florence Nightingale there were seven above Grandma and only five above Florence. A week ago I tho’t of checking to see if I have all seven on my PAF file. I had all of them except the common ancestor. I put her into my file. When I clicked on her little box, I found her husband and 11 other children with dates and places for all of them. I copied and pasted all of them. The next day I went to FamilySearch.org and found that all of their work had been done. Then Saturday, a week ago I found about 40 more people. Last Wednesday, I found more. I have decided I will check out each one of those 37 people. I’m on the 5th one now. I was so busy yesterday, that I only had time to add two more people. But that’s OK. I will get to it as I get to it.
I worked with a woman, yesterday, who is here from Missouri. Because her temple district has been rolled out she is registered on the NewFamilySearch.org. She needed help understanding that. Since they told us last October or November that we will be getting the NewFamilySearch but not soon, they haven’t been teaching any more classes on them. I’m so thankful the Lord helped me learn and understand how to use it and helped to remember who to do so I could help that nice sister. She really didn’t know anything about it. I taught her how to combine duplicates, check for duplicates, that the green arrow means there is someone in that family needs work done, and if there is a check there that the whole family’s work is done. She was there four or five hours. I’m so thankful the Lord helped me remember all of that. I hadn’t done anything with it for months. I’m thankful to be a Family History Missionary. I truly believe I am doing what the Lord wants me to do. We, me and my husband, are supposed to be serving there. My husband has learned how to scan books with the new scanner. That is something I really don’t know. I had one session on it and helped someone that same day learn about it but that was months ago and since it was only one time, I would need to be shown again. Since I am busy helping the patrons and the new missionaries, I really don’t have time to spend on it anyway. It gives my husband satisfaction to be able to do it. He has mastered it well. He has also indexed more than 11,000 names! He has done all of those at the FHC also.
After all of the business was taken care of Brother and Sister Kazier from Rexburg spoke to us. He is a patriarch up there now, worked there at the Regional FHC four years ago and was instrumental in all of the obituaries in SE Idaho being digilized and pictures of grave stones put with them so they are accessible on the computer. He spoke of what the Lord is telling the youth today in their blessings. He had nine points. Some of them were: pay and honest and full tithing, attend your meetings, read and study the scriptures, pray daily and often…you get the idea. All of them were things we all should be doing if we want to endure to the end.
Afterwards, my husband and I went to Gangplank to eat (the meeting was 5-6 pm) and the couple ahead of us was the Kaziers. Sister Kazier asked us to come and sit with them. We spent a delightful hour and a half getting to know them and they us. He has worked at the site, taught at Ricks for 20 years, and is still working on establishing certain sites on the computer for different things. We found out we know their daughter, Janet, who lives in Kearney 2nd Ward. They have six children and 29 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. It was a very delightful evening.
I’ve been busy at the FHC. Since they have made me the trainer on both Saturdays and Wednesdays now, and we have quite a few new missionaries, that alone keeps me busy. Yesterday I helped four different patrons as well. I have discovered a way to find more ancestors. On Ancetry.com is One World Tree. When you put an ancestors name in there and click on find famous ancestors, it comes up with people you are related to. I typed in Mildred Theresa Call. She is related to 37 famous people!! Florence Nightingale, Rutherford B. Hayes, Thomas More, Eli Whitney, and many others. I clicked on Florence Nightingale first. They have your ancestors ancestors and the ancestors of the other person listed until they find a common ancestor. With Florence Nightingale there were seven above Grandma and only five above Florence. A week ago I tho’t of checking to see if I have all seven on my PAF file. I had all of them except the common ancestor. I put her into my file. When I clicked on her little box, I found her husband and 11 other children with dates and places for all of them. I copied and pasted all of them. The next day I went to FamilySearch.org and found that all of their work had been done. Then Saturday, a week ago I found about 40 more people. Last Wednesday, I found more. I have decided I will check out each one of those 37 people. I’m on the 5th one now. I was so busy yesterday, that I only had time to add two more people. But that’s OK. I will get to it as I get to it.
I worked with a woman, yesterday, who is here from Missouri. Because her temple district has been rolled out she is registered on the NewFamilySearch.org. She needed help understanding that. Since they told us last October or November that we will be getting the NewFamilySearch but not soon, they haven’t been teaching any more classes on them. I’m so thankful the Lord helped me learn and understand how to use it and helped to remember who to do so I could help that nice sister. She really didn’t know anything about it. I taught her how to combine duplicates, check for duplicates, that the green arrow means there is someone in that family needs work done, and if there is a check there that the whole family’s work is done. She was there four or five hours. I’m so thankful the Lord helped me remember all of that. I hadn’t done anything with it for months. I’m thankful to be a Family History Missionary. I truly believe I am doing what the Lord wants me to do. We, me and my husband, are supposed to be serving there. My husband has learned how to scan books with the new scanner. That is something I really don’t know. I had one session on it and helped someone that same day learn about it but that was months ago and since it was only one time, I would need to be shown again. Since I am busy helping the patrons and the new missionaries, I really don’t have time to spend on it anyway. It gives my husband satisfaction to be able to do it. He has mastered it well. He has also indexed more than 11,000 names! He has done all of those at the FHC also.
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