CHAPTER 32 - CHURCH SERVICE & ACTIVITY

From Richard's memoirs, recovered from his original WordPerfect files

I find that either I didn’t keep notes, or I have misplaced them, during some years as they went by.  Particularly, the years between 1963 and 1974.  In that period I have had to rely a good deal on memory.

1936

My first contact with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came because of my date with DeVonne on 1 April 1936.  Shortly after that I found myself attending church with her Sunday mornings.  The services did not make much of an impression on me either pro or con but they did give me an opportunity to be with DeVonne.  The more time I spent with DeVonne and being around her parents, particularly her mother, I realized to some degree how important the Church was to their family.

1937

In the Summer of 1937, while DeVonne and her family were on vacation I had access to their house on West “J” Street in Colton and for lack of better things to do I used to spend some time in the house as I felt closer to DeVonne while she was away.  I took the opportunity to read:  “The Articles of Faith” by James E. Talmage during this time and it gave me a better appreciation for the teachings of the church.

1938

When I first took DeVonne back with me to Stanford we began to attend Church in Palo Alto.  I finally asked for baptism and on the 5th of November 1938 I was baptized.  On a Saturday evening we went to San Francisco, as that was the nearest font available, and I was baptized by the Ward Bishop, W. Rulon Paxman.  Years later, when I was Bishop in the Van Nuys 2nd Ward, I went to Salt Lake to Conference and ran into Bishop Paxman who told me that he had been sustained to be the Bishop in Palo Alto but he had moved away before a General Authority could ordain him.  He was now a Bishop and had actually been ordained after I was ordained a Bishop.

The following day, Sunday, 6 November 1938, in the Palo Alto Ward, I was confirmed a member of the Church by Don Carlos Brown, Jr., who was also a student at Stanford.  Later Don Brown and I were to spend many years in close association with each other in Church activities in Southern California.

During my schooling at Stanford I received the Aaronic Priesthood and was ordained a Deacon on 4 December 1938 by the laying on of hands by the Elders of the Church, with Oliver L. Lewis pronouncing the ordination.

1939

I was ordained a Teacher on 26 March 1939 by Albert S. Hansen and a Priest on 8 October 1939 by Arthur V. Thulin.  These ordinations took place in the Palo Alto Ward.

Fred and Asenath Evans were a young couple with whom DeVonne and I became well acquainted.  Fred was a distant cousin of Richard L. Evans who was “The Spoken Word” with the Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir for many years until his death.  Fred and I were Home Teaching companions.  While I was still a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood  Fred brought it to my attention that if I would pay my tithing the Bishopric would ordain me an Elder and DeVonne and I could go to the temple.  I told Fred I couldn’t see paying tithing since my father was paying my way through school.  Any amount that I paid as tithing would be coming directly out of Dad’s pocket.  I also told Fred that I thought I shouldn’t skip any of the Aaronic Priesthood steps in my advancement.

1940 - 1946

When I received my AB Degree at Stanford in April of 1940 I had become quite inactive that I excused as due to the press of school work.  This was really not true but it was still my excuse.

From about January 1940 until April 1946 I was entirely inactive in the Church.  During the years I worked at Firestone and my years in the Air Forces during World War II found me paying no attention to the Church and its teachings.  I believe on one occasion I attended Church in Dayton, Ohio and was invited home for dinner by some nice family.  I went to their home for dinner but that was the end of that.

There was one incident that occurred in my life while I was in the Service that I have never forgotten.  I don’t like to think that anything miraculous occurred.  Still, it did occur and I have never forgotten it.  While I was living in a room in Pasadena when I was stationed at Cal Tech, one night,  either while I was asleep or had awakened, I heard a voice calling my name:  “Dick! Dick!”  It sounded urgent and important and I looked up and saw, who appeared to me to be, the Saviour standing above me with outstretched arms.  I said:  “I’m coming! I’m coming!”  There was no other words spoken and the scene vanished and I was left to consider what I had seen and heard.  I don’t know whether it was to prod me into activity in the Church or what but I will never forget it.

As I approached the time of my discharge from the Service I did some thinking about my life and decided that when I got home again and back into civilian life I was going to become active in the Church again.

1946

In April 1946 I decided that with DeVonne and our three children, as well as myself, attending Church we were getting quite a bit out of it and I wasn’t putting much into it.  Sometimes one needs an excuse to justify what he is doing. It was then that I began to pay tithing.  Since April 1946 DeVonne and I have paid a full and honest tithing to the Church until the present day and are currently doing so.  Over the years I have learned to appreciate the Law of Tithing and my family has enjoyed countless blessings that I attribute to our steadfastness in keeping this commandment.  I most sincerely believe the words of Malachi in which he says in Chapter 3, Verse 10:  “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

I was working in the Los Angeles area for Stone & Webster during the week but I was able to be home on weekends.  During the week I would sometimes attend the Mutual meetings held Tuesday nights.  After I had been there for a few weeks, one night at the close of the meeting, the person in charge called upon me, from the stand, to give the benediction on the meeting.  I was sitting in the back of the Chapel and as I got up to walk to the front I thought about it.  I hadn’t had much experience in praying in meetings and, I guess, in a careless attitude, I decided that I could do it all right.  It would be a “piece of cake.”

When I reached the stand and stood at the podium I closed my eyes and bowed my head.  I opened my mouth to begin to pray and my tongue literally swelled up in my mouth and I could not speak.  It was a very frightening experience for a few seconds and the only thing I could think to do was to say a silent prayer to my Heavenly Father for His help.  I did so and I was then able to speak and gave the benediction.  That experience taught me a great lesson.  I knew that without my Heavenly Father’s help I could do nothing on my own.  From that day forward, whenever I have been called upon to pray, I give a silent prayer to the Lord that I may give a suitable prayer for the particular meeting, one that will be of benefit to the congregation, and acceptable to the Lord.  I do the same thing when I give a talk in church or preach at funerals, etc., though I have prepared what I am going to say before the meeting.

I remember when I was at Stanford I had to take a class in Extemporaneous Speaking.  We were required to stand up in front of the class and give about a five minute talk each week.  The class had mostly girls who had no trouble at all in doing it.  Even what few boys that were in the class seemed to have no difficulty, except me.  For me it was a very frightening experience.  I was so self-conscious that I could hardly speak and I never seemed to know my subject matter well enough.  It was a class I had to pass for my engineering degree.  The teacher did her best to make me feel at ease but I dreaded every class that I knew I would be called on to talk.  Finally, one day after I had exhausted every subject I could think of, I hit upon talking about swimming.  It was a subject I was most familiar with and I really felt at ease as I spoke.  I also used arm movements to demonstrate the crawl stroke.  Afterward the teacher praised my efforts and even some girls in the class complimented me.  It was my lifesaver.  I got a “C” in the course.

All credit to my speaking ability must be given to the Church where I have had hundreds of opportunities to stand before groups and talk, teach, pray, preach, and even sing (with a group).  I marvel at the small children in the Church who can get up before the congregation and speak or bear their testimonies.  The Church has given them a great advantage in gaining self-confidence and poise.  In today’s world the ability to converse with others and to express one’s thoughts is almost demanded to be a success in any chosen profession.

I held several church jobs in the Colton Ward during this period.  I served as Young Men’s President and, for lack of anyone else I became the Scoutmaster for a few weeks.  Pres. Vern R. Peel of the Stake Presidency put me on the Stake Committee for the Senior Aaronic program.  I visited several wards of the stake with him Sunday mornings and could see how the programs were going in the various wards.  I attended the Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class with DeVonne.  It was taught by Elaine McKee who helped me gain a better understanding of many things about the Church.  Everyone in the Colton Ward seemed anxious to help me to appreciate the Church.

It was during this time I read the Bible from cover to cover.  During the week I spent the evenings in my room for the most part and I read the scriptures.  It was a great help to me as I was able to put the biblical stories and other details in their proper chronological order.

On 8 December 1946 I was ordained an Elder by President Joel G. Sedgwick of the San Bernardino Stake.

1947

On 17 January 1947 DeVonne and I and our children went to the Temple in St. George, Utah and were sealed for Time and all Eternity by the Temple President Harold S. Snow.  Eulis and Dorothy Hubbs were kind enough to take us to the Temple in their car and we had a grand time together.  We arrived in St. George in the early morning and stayed in a motel room until it was time to go to the Temple.  This gave us a few hours of sleep but I am afraid the excitement for DeVonne and me left us with little opportunity to sleep.  Eulis was one of the witnesses to our sealing and, of course, Dorothy was present too.  Our children were quite small with Dicky being only seven; Reggie four; and Kandy just under one year.  As the endowment ceremony before the sealing session took nearly two hours the children were taken to the home of a family who lived near the Temple.  They cared for them and fed them, and brought them back to the Temple at the proper time.  Some Temple workers dressed them in white clothing and brought to the sealing room.  After our sealing ceremony was completed we immediately went back through the next endowment session that help us to appreciate better what was happening.

1948

On 11 November 1948 I received my Patriarchal Blessing from Patriarch John C. Smith in La Verne, California.  It is recorded in another chapter.

I remember the first time I was called upon to administer to the sick.  It seemed that I had been out every night on church work and this evening I came home from work, had dinner, and laid down on the couch anticipating a quiet, restful evening at home as I had no meetings to attend.  My friend, Eulis Hubbs called me about 6:30 PM and asked me to go with him administer to a young girl who was sick and in the hospital.  I begged off because I was tired and told him to try to find someone else to go with him.  Later, he called back and said he couldn’t get anyone else and he needed me.  I very reluctantly agreed and went with him.

I was literally fuming inside with the thought of losing my quiet evening at home.  We got to the hospital and the nurse told us we would have to wait a while before we could go in to the girl’s ward.  As we sat in the waiting room I was still fuming and in a hurry to get it over and get home.  Slowly I began to calm down inside and to realize that what I was being asked to do was more important that a quiet evening at home for me.  It was nearly an hour before the nurse came and said we could go in.  By that time the Lord had calmed me down and I was in a proper frame of mind to assist in the administration.

Eulis and I went in and administered to the girl and as we finished a little eight year old boy in the bed nearby asked if we could do the same for him.  He was not a member of the Church but he had a gun shot wound from an accident.  We administered to him also.  When I got home that evening I made a promise to the Lord that whenever I was called upon to administer to the sick or afflicted I would be ready, willing and able, no matter what time of day or night, I could be counted on.  To this day I have kept that promise and  have enjoyed countless blessings not only for those I have administered to but for myself as well.

1949 - 1951

I began working at the Office of Architects & Engineers at UCLA on 1 March 1949.  DeVonne and the children were still located in Colton in her parents’ apartment while I looked for a place for us to live near UCLA.  I took a room on Wilshire Boulevard in Santa Monica to spend the nights during the week and then returned home to Colton for the weekends.

While I stayed in this room in Santa Monica I had a peculiar experience.  I decided that after I had dinner each night I would read the Book of Mormon.  I would get back to my room around seven or eight in the evening and begin to read.  My room was just that - a single room with a common bath down the hall.  I had a bed and a clothes closet; a small table and one chair.

I had been reading for an hour or two each night without any problem, but, this one night I put the book down and turned off the light and attempted to go to sleep.  I found that I couldn’t sleep as there seemed a very heavy, oppressing atmosphere in the room.  It felt as though something evil was in the room with me.  I finally turned the light back on and looking around the room I saw nothing.  I even looked under the bed and in the closet but there was nothing.  I turned the light off again and lay down to sleep and had the same feeling.  I finally found that the only way I could overcome the feeling was to leave the light on all night.  With the light on the oppression was gone and although I didn’t sleep well, I did get some sleep.

The next evening the same thing occurred again and I reacted the same way by leaving the light on all night.  This continued for three or four nights to where I dreaded coming back to the room each night, knowing what was going to happen.  Then, about the time I became somewhat used to it, whatever it was left me and I could read for an hour or two, turn out the light and peacefully go to sleep.  There was no oppression or evil feeling to disturb me.  I occupied the room from the first of March until the middle of May and after the above assault I never experienced anything like it again.

Many who read of this incident here will not believe it or me perhaps, but I believe it was the work of Satan as he attempted to discouraged me from reading the Book of Mormon.  When he found that I was determined to read it anyway he left me alone.

On 24 May 1949 we moved into our new home at 8780 Sylmar Avenue, Panorama City, California 91402.  The following Sunday we all went to Church at the Van Nuys Ward and I announced in Sunday School that we had moved into the Ward and were ready to go to work.  The Ward met in an old Women’s Clubhouse in Sherman Oaks on Van Nuys Boulevard just a block south of Ventura Boulevard.  This was about five and a half miles from where we lived in Panorama City.  The Chapel had removable pews and for our recreational activities, such as: dances, parties, etc., we removed the pews, usually for Saturday night affairs, and then replaced them after the events so the room would be presentable for Sacrament Meeting on Sundays.

We were also members of the San Fernando Stake with David H. Cannon as President with Nephi L. Anderson and Edwin S. Dibble as counselors.  The Stake Center was at 136 Sunset Canyon drive in Burbank.

Our Bishop was Loren Shurtz and his counselors were Max Tolman and James Wilkins.  I was first called to be the Young Men’s President of the Mutual Improvement Association, which was the young peoples organization.  I worked with Nellie Splaine who was the Young Womens’ President.  This didn’t last too long and I was called to be the Ward Clerk.  It was a new experience for me but very satisfying and enabled me to gain much first hand knowledge of the organization of the Church.

The San Fernando Valley was filling up with people at this time and we would receive as many as one hundred membership records a month.  It was my duty to locate the families as we received their records, either by personal visits or telephone, and tell them of our meeting times and invite them to church.  In those days there was a Ward Clerk only.  Today we have a Statistical Clerk, a Financial Clerk, a Historical Clerk and a Membership Clerk, as well as a Ward Clerk.  I was all of them at once for as long as I held the job.  I kept minutes of all the Ward meetings, collected the tithes and offerings from the members and maintained an up-to-date file of the ward members.  During this time I also taught the Gospel Doctrine Class in Sunday School for about a year.

Max Tolman was a great influence in my life at this time and he encouraged me and helped me a great deal as I learned the various Church programs and participated in them.  Max became our Bishop after Bishop Shurtz was released.

On 4 December 1949 our stake was reorganized and divided.  A new stake, the Glendale Stake, was formed out of the eastern area.  Hugh C. Smith was sustained as President of the San Fernando Stake with Russell F. Dailey and Wetzel O. Whitaker as counselors, and Thomas Eastmond as stake clerk.

1951

Ground breaking for our new Stake Center at 15555 Saticoy Street, Van Nuys was held on 24 July 1951.  Elder LeGrand Richards of the Council of Twelve was the speaker at the ceremonies.

1952

In 1952 I was called by the Stake Presidency to be the Elders Quorum President.  Jim Mackay was my first counselor and Frank Bybee my second counselor.  We had approximately one hundred elders in our quorum and it was the duty of the Presidency to visit each member at least once a year.  This was a great experience for me and I gained many friends within the quorum, and an appreciation for the problems of the inactive members.

I sent in a report of our Elders’ Quorum welfare activities for the year 1952 that included the following:  346 hours selling cord wood from eucalyptus trees felled on the new Stake Center site, 183 hours at the Perris Ranch (the old Louis B. Meyer horse ranch that the Church bought for a welfare project), 125 hours at the Littlerock Pear Farm, 107 hours at the Elders’ Quorum vegetable garden, 57 hours at the Stake Cannery.  We also spent 46 hours painting a widow’s home, 35 hours clearing a future church building site of weeds, donated 32 pints of blood, and sold screw drivers for quorum funds that netted us $225.00.

1953

On 10 May 1953 our Van Nuys Ward was divided and we found ourselves in the new Van Nuys Second Ward.  Our new Bishop was Don Carlos Brown, Jr. (who confirmed me a member of the Church in Palo Alto during our Stanford days.)  He chose me as his first counselor and Ted Lamb as his second counselor.  Lawrence R. Mitchell was our ward clerk.  On 24 May 1953, in keeping with Church protocol to be a member of a bishopric, I was ordained a High Priest by Stayner Richards, an Assistant to the Twelve Apostles.  Elder Richards also ordained Don Brown a Bishop and Ted Lamb a High Priest and set us apart as the Bishopric of the Van Nuys Second Ward in the San Fernando Stake.  My Line of Priesthood Authority from Stayner Richards is as follows:

Richard C. Clarke was ordained a High Priest 24 May 1953 by Stayner Richards.

Stayner Richards was ordained a High Priest 24 Feb 1914 by George F. Richards.

George F. Richards was ordained an Apostle 9 Apr 1906 by Joseph F. Smith.

Joseph F. Smith was ordained an Apostle 1 Jul 1866 by Brigham Young.

Brigham Young was ordained an Apostle 14 Feb 1835 under the hands of the Three Witnesses, Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and Martin Harris.

The Three Witnesses were called by revelation to choose the Twelve Apostles and on 14 Feb 1835 were “blessed by the laying on of hands of the Presidency,” Joseph Smith, Jr., Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams, to ordain the Twelve Apostles. (Hist. of the Church, Vol. 2, pp. 187-188.)

Joseph Smith, Jr. and Oliver Cowdry received the Melchizedek Priesthood in 1829 under the hands of Peter, James and John.  Peter, James and John were ordained Apostles by the Lord Jesus Christ.  (John 15:16)

At the beginning Van Nuys Second Ward had 725 members - 259 families in all.  On 1 November 1953 there was a division of our Ward that  reduced the membership to 564.  A portion of our Ward and of Reseda Ward went to make up the new Van Nuys Third Ward.  The next division came on 17 October 1954 with part of our membership going to Van Nuys Ward and at the same time we received about a like number of members from the San Fernando Ward.  During these changes our Bishopric remained intact and in November 1955 we moved from the old Sherman Oaks Chapel to our permanent home in Chapel “B” of the new Stake Center.  Then our membership was 680.

1954

Construction on the Stake Center began in November 1953 and moved steadily forward during 1954 and 1955 and on 30 October 1955 the building was dedicated by President David O. McKay, President of the Church.  Alexander Schreiner, noted organist from the Salt Lake Tabernacle, was invited to play the Dedicatory Concert. The building contained two full sized chapels, a large recreation hall (gymnasium) and classrooms.  Facilities to house four wards and possibly two stakes.  During construction much of the labor was done by church members.  I spent many hours working on the building, mostly tying steel for the concrete walls of the building.

At the same time the Stake Center was being built the Los Angeles Temple was under construction.  Ground-breaking ceremonies were held on 22 September 1951 under the direction of President David O. McKay.  Members were not allowed to work on the building, due to restrictions imposed by the labor unions, but we did make our financial contributions over about a three year period. The total cost of the Temple was approximately $4 million dollars and the local saints of the Southern California area were asked to contribute one fourth or $1 million dollars.

By April Conference in 1952 the stake presidents reported they had received money and pledges, not for $1 million, but for $1,648,613.17. Open House was held from 19 December through 18 February 1956.  One day I had the opportunity to act as an usher along the route the visitors took to view the temple interior.  The final cost was $4,000,000.00 for the temple itself; $6,000,000.00 with grounds and furnishings.

1955

With the completion of our new Stake Center at 15555 Saticoy Street in Van Nuys, California it was time to divide the Stake.  In December 1955 we had 16 units - 14 wards and 2 branches and a stake membership of 9,710.

1956

In September 1956 Dicky was ready to start school at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah and I drove him up over the weekend. It was the same weekend as our Stake Quarterly Conference.  Apostles Spencer W. Kimball and LeGrand Richards took charge of the Conference and when I returned from Provo I found that Sunday, 16 September, the Stake had been divided three ways creating new Reseda and Burbank Stakes, and that our Bishop, Don C. Brown, Jr., was the new Stake President of our San Fernando Stake.  He chose James E. Craddock and Robert L. Baird as his counselors.  Our former Stake President, Hugh C. Smith, became the Stake President of the Reseda Stake and one of his counselors, James D. Pratt, the Stake President of the Burbank Stake.

At the time Don became our new Stake President he immediately became engrossed in his new duties and I literally had to take over the responsibilities of the Ward Bishop.  About the only ward business that Don conducted after that was to interview members for their temple recommends and the rest was left to me as his first counselor and Ted Lamb as his second counselor.

Two weeks after the Stake was divided, on 30 September 1956 (my birthday) I was sustained as Bishop of the Van Nuys Second Ward with Theodore (Ted) F. Lamb and Dan R. Lott as my counselors and Lawrence R. Mitchell as Ward Clerk and we began our tenure as the new Bishopric.  In those days a Bishop had to be ordained and set apart by one of the Twelve Apostles and, as a result, I waited until our next Quarterly Stake Conference on 2 December 1956 for the ordination by Elder Mark E. Petersen of the Quorum of the Twelve.  Due to changes being made by our new Stake Presidency in the Stake there were about five other men to be ordained and set apart as Bishops at the same time in some of the various wards who had been waiting for their ordination as long as I had.

One of my first assignments as Bishop was to take about twelve young Aaronic Priesthood boys to Mexico between Christmas and New Years.  This was an outing planned while Don was still Bishop and it fell to me to carry it out.  I expected to have a couple of other men from the Church to help me but after our caravan trip about 150 miles south of Tijuana to our camping grounds on the western beach of Baja, they all deserted me and I was left alone with the boys and one other adult who owned the property we were to stay on.  He was not a member of the Church and took no part in looking out for the boys.

When we stopped in Ensenada on the way down some boys bought fire crackers and were shooting them off once we had arrived at our camp.  One boy, David Baird, was quite a wild kid and the first thing he did was let a fire cracker go off in his hand.  That subdued him for the rest of the trip.  I had Dicky and Reggie in the group and I told the rest of them that they would have to obey my rules while we were there and that I could lick any one of them, and if they ganged up on me Dicky and Reggie and I could take care of all of them.  After that there were no incidents to worry about.  We swam in the ocean nearly every day and cooked our own meals in camp and everyone had a great time.

When we were ready to head for home, I assigned one of our older boys, Jim Harbican, to drive one car and I drove my car and we put all the rest in the two cars and made it safely home.  The roads weren’t too good in Mexico and I blew a tire about 75 miles south of the border but we came all the way home without a spare.

My first counselor, Ted Lamb, moved to Arizona and I made Dan Lott my first counselor and took Lawrence Mitchell for my second.  At our Stake Conference held on 1 December 1957 Jerry Arthur Mann replaced Lawrence Mitchell as my second counselor.

1957

John Iverson of the Deseret Industries and I had lunch at the temple on 10 December 1957 as guests of the Temple President  Benjamin J. Bowring and his wife.  Sister Bowring was a very gracious hostess.

1958

On 27 January 1958 I attended a special temple session for bishops only at the Los Angeles Temple.  President David O. McKay, Joseph Fielding Smith, Richard L. Evans and Gordon B. Hinckley attended.  President McKay stressed temple marriage.

I attended April General Conference in Salt Lake City in 1958, making the trip on a special conference train from Los Angeles.  Twila Hoffman, a young single woman, who was somewhat mentally retarded had a son, Dennis, who had some physical problems and I sent her and her son on the special conference train from Los Angeles to see if he could be placed in the Primary Childrens Hospital.  Twila was supposed to have someone meet her in Salt Lake but they never showed up and I had her put up at a hotel for a few days until she was ready to return home.  She called me after she returned home to say that the Hospital would not accept her son as he had brain damage and probably would become more of a burden the older he became.  They suggested he be place in a home.

On 11 May 1958 we released Dan Lott as my first counselor as he was moving to San Jose.  We sustained Jerry Mann as first counselor and Clifton Miller as second counselor.

Sunday 1 June 1958 I ordained my son, Dicky, an Elder.

We took our Aaronic Priesthood boys on a Colorado River trip beginning 24 June 1958 for four days.  This time I had Dave Hiatt, Larry Franck, Eugene Morris and Cliff Jorgensen to help me.  We drove over Black Meadow Landing and camped right on the river bank.  It was hot as blazes all the time we were there.  The only way one could keep cool was to get in the river and even then it wasn’t too good.  There were fish in the river that would bite you if you didn’t keep moving.  The bite didn’t hurt but it was very annoying.  We didn’t have to cook our food as it was hot enough just coming out of the can.  We had 21 in our group and the trip cost us $200.00 or $10.00 each.  Dave Hiatt burned up the engine on his car on the way home so I saw that he got enough money to get it repaired.

On 2 August 1958 we held the Ground Breaking for the San Fernando Region Bishops Storehouse.  The storehouse is in the north end of the San Fernando Valley and supplies food and clothing to needy members of the Church.

My Brother-In-Law, Lloyd V. Jones, was sustained as Bishop of the Colton Ward on 21 September 1958.

DeVonne left for General Conference in Salt Lake City on 6 October 1958 with some Stake Relief Society sisters.  She stayed at the Covered Wagon Motel at 230 West North Temple, Room No. 1.  She went through the Salt Lake Temple on the 9th and finally arrived home on the 13th.

The Ward Relief Society held a bazaar entitled:  “Festival of Nations” on 14 November 1958.  They presented me, as Bishop, with a huge kingsize quilt that had been made by the sisters with each family that participated furnishing a hand made block with a design to represent their family.  They also handed me a check for $100.00 to apply to our Welfare Account.  The quilt is beautiful and I still treasure it today.

After spending nearly five months visiting families in our ward asking for their support in our financial program I finally took a Sacrament Meeting to let the membership know how serious I was about it.  The visits to families was an exceptional experience for me.  I got to know much more about many families that I visited than I ever knew before.  I received strong support from many families, some of whom were hardly active in the Church.  I also had some who would openly not support us.  When I first started visiting the ward membership we were in debt about $7,000.00.  By the time of our meeting I had the figure down to nearly $4,000.00.

I fasted for two days and went to the temple Saturday before the Sacrament Meeting Sunday, 23 November 1958.  I spent a good bit of time reviewing our ward finances during the meeting and in clear terms let the congregation know what each person’s individual responsibility entailed.  After the meeting we collected another $2,000.00 and by the following Sunday $2,000.00 more and we were out of debt by $200.00.  I always felt that I should have asked for more; that we would have gotten it.  After we were out of debt, and although I had reminded the members that we needed to maintain our contributions to stay in the “black,” everyone seemed to feel that all was well in Zion again and most of them stopped their contributions to the Budget and Welfare programs.  We slowly began to slip back into the “red” again.

At our Stake Conference on 7 December 1958 our conference visitor, A. Theodore Tuttle of the First Council of Seventy asked me to speak during the afternoon session.  He had heard about our ward getting out of debt and wanted to hear me bear my testimony.

1959

On 9 January 1959 our ward held a Teen Age Award Program.  It was somewhat like a popularity contest but we asked all the teenagers to vote for their best choice based on the criteria we had established as a Bishopric.  Primarily they were judged on Church activity, sportsmanship, worthiness, deportment and other.  As Bishop I had the final say in the results, despite how the young people voted.  The top winners were:  Gary Gibson - Priest, Willard England - Teacher, Gordon Kellogg - Deacon, Nancy Magyar - Junior Gleaner, Sally Boyce - Mia-Maid and Linda Speakman - Bee Hive.  Adlin Huish, a professional photographer and member of our ward, took group pictures of the young people.  It was a night to be remembered by our youth.

Jerry Mann and I went to Salt Lake City by train for April Conference in 1959.  We stayed in Provo, Utah at night with John & Sonya Harris.  John was the brother of Ross Harris a long time member of our ward.  I spent an hour with Jim Harbican, one of our young men, attending BYU.  DeVonne met us at the station when we returned on the 7th of April.

On 10 May 1959 we released Harry Hart as Ward Clerk and sustained Wilford Knights.  Wilford was a young architect who also maintained our huge pipe organ in the Stake Center.  He later left us to go to Salt Lake City and work for ZCMI.

Stephen L. Richards of the First Presidency of the Church died on 19 May 1959.

At our Stake Conference held on 24 May 1959 Bishop Thorpe B. Isaacson of the Presiding Bishopric’s Office interviewed Dicky for his Mission call.  Dicky also spoke in the afternoon session of conference.  He received his call to the Argentine Mission on 26 May 1959 and his farewell testimonial was held in our ward on 14 June 1959.

On vacation visiting DeVonne’s parents in Astoria, Oregon, I spoke in their Sacrament Meeting on 5 July 1959.

We held a ward welfare dinner on 17 July 1959 to raise money for Brother Sani Su’a to bring his family to the States from Samoa.  We raised $650.00 which was enough.

Sunday, 2 August 1959 Steward Newbold’s father came to bless Stewart’s baby in our ward.  He did not have written authority from his Bishop to perform the ordinance and I refused to allow it.  I told Stewart he (Stewart) could bless his baby but he insisted that he wanted his father to do it.  It was rather embarrassing for Stewart, also for myself, but he had not informed me in advance of the proposed blessing.  It was our Fast Sunday, the day we normally have babies blessed but to have someone come up, unannounced, to bless a child without proper clearance just shouldn’t be done.  During our meeting I had Jerry Mann, my counselor, try to reach the Bishop of Stewart’s father by phone but to no avail.  Stewart left the meeting fuming and said they would wait until his father could come down again from Utah  (with the proper authorization).

Stewart’s family was apparently well acquainted with Mark E. Petersen of the Council of Twelve and President Brown received a letter from him about ten days later asking what I was doing - refusing to allow a Seventy in full fellowship in the Church to bless his grandchild.  President Brown already knew what had happened as Eugene Morris of our High Council was in the meeting.  Don showed me the letter from Elder Petersen and we never heard anymore about it.  A month or so later Stewart’s father returned, with written authorization from his Bishop, and the blessing went forward without a hitch.

On 20 September 1959 we held a Stake Conference without a visitor from Salt Lake City.  All the Bishops in the Stake spoke, as did President Benjamin Bowring of the Los Angeles Temple.

We held a Stake Fathers and Sons outing on 25 September and had 29 men and boys from our ward attending.

1960

Friday, 1 April 1960, DeVonne and I left for Conference in Salt Lake City.  We stayed overnight at St. George in Utah Motel at $6.25 for the night.  On into Salt Lake City the next day and stayed at the Hotel Utah.  I went to the Priesthood session Saturday evening and Sunday attended the Tabernacle Choir Broadcast and both sessions of Conference.  DeVonne watched the first session on TV and joined me for the afternoon session in the Tabernacle.  Monday we sat with Shirlie & Lloyd for both sessions in the Tabernacle and had lunch and dinner together.

Tuesday I visited the Genealogical Library and met with Gordon B. Hinckley and the Church Building Department.  Elder Hinckley was in charge of the Missionary Program at the time and I had to discuss some problems our Ward Missionaries were having in the field.  Mainly that it was costing them more that they had been told it would and it was a concern to their parents.

Wednesday we sat with Shirlie and Lloyd for both sessions of Conference and had lunch together.  We left Salt Lake City at 4:20 PM, had dinner in Wendover, Utah and stayed the night in the  Winnemucca Nevada Motel with a King size bed for $10.00.  Thursday we drove through Reno, over Donner Pass, through Sacramento to my folks’ home in Tiburon.  The next day we drove to San Luis Obispo and stayed the night in a motel for $8.00.  We drove home the following day.

On 25 September 1960 we released Jerry Mann and Clifton Miller and sustained Roger Zierenberg and Robert Sallanger as counselors in the Bishopric.  Roger was set apart in the Bishopric on 2 October 1960 by Apostle Harold B. Lee.

On 11 December 1960 we released Jessie Magyar as Ward Relief Society President and sustained Norma Nichols to replace her.

1961

I ordained Reggie an Elder on 12 March 1961

On 14 March 1961 the Mutual put on and evening of one act plays.  Roger Zierenberg, Sr., Bob Sallanger and I sang “Home on the Range” between the acts with Roger on the guitar.

DeVonne and I left for General Conference in Salt Lake City on 5 April.  We left home at 6:30 AM and arrived in Salt Lake at 6:30 PM and stayed at the Hotel Utah Motor Lodge.  We attended Conference the following day and went to two movies in the evening.  I attended the Special Presiding Bishopric Meeting Friday evening.  It snowed that morning.  After the last session Sunday we left Salt Lake City at 4:00 PM and drove to Winnemucca, Nevada and stayed the night at the Winnemucca Motel in a King Size bed.

On 10 April we drove from Winnemucca to Tiburon and stayed overnight with my folks.  We left the following morning and stopped in Mountain View and visited with Pauline for about four hours.  Then we drove on home arriving at 9:45 PM and found everything okay.

On 24 April 1961 there was a Special Missionary Meeting held at Lancaster, California with Apostles Spencer W. Kimball and Mark E. Petersen in charge.  It was one of the most impressive meeting I ever attended.  The Apostles spoke with great and convincing authority.  DeVonne & I and Roger & Juanita Zierenberg went together.

Sunday, 17 September 1961 Reggie was interviewed by Apostle Harold B. Lee for his Mission call and I was sustained to the Stake High Council and set apart by Elder Lee.

Reggie received his Mission call to the Andes Mission (Peru) on 23 September 1961, received his endowments in the Los Angeles Temple on 14 October, and reported to the Salt Lake City Mission Home on 6 November.  I gave him a Father’s blessing before he left home on 2 November.

Sunday, 24 September 1961 I was released as Bishop of the Van Nuys 2nd Ward and Roger Zierenberg sustained as Bishop with Clark Muir and Tom Olsen as his counselors.  Roger was ordained a Bishop on 30 September in Salt Lake City by Apostle Harold B. Lee.

I had been Bishop of the Van Nuys Second Ward for five years and I loved every minute of it.  I can remember saying that as far as I was concerned I could stay as Bishop for the rest of my life.  The Stake authorities thought otherwise and the average time for a Bishop to serve is five years.  Also, others should have the opportunity to service as Bishop.  The Church would be much stronger if every man was willing to serve and would put himself in position to be called as a Bishop.  There is a great amount of work but there are many compensations.  A Bishop gets about as close to people and their individual problems as one can anywhere, and if you can be of some little service to them it becomes most worthwhile.  DeVonne was happy with the change.  She believed that she would get more of my time after my release.  One thing about it, in our Church, once a Bishop always a Bishop, and they can’t take those five years away from me.  I love the Church and it was the best years of my life.

I am listing here the young men who were in our Ward during my tenure in the Bishopric for some eight and one half years, either as First Counselor or as Bishop.  I worked closely with them as they went through the Aaronic Priesthood and prepared themselves for a full time Mission call in the Church.

I like to feel that they were “my” boys.

Larry O. Franck - Central States
Richard L. Clarke - Argentine > Chilean
James L. Harbican - Northern Far East (Japan)
Dennis R. Kinghorn - Southern States
Ray W. Nuttall - Swedish
David E. Nuttall - Brazilian South
Gary A. Gibson - Northern Mexican
Robert D. Rose - Northern States
David B. Johnston - Uruguayan
Reginald D. Clarke - Andes (Peru)
R. Willard England - Uruguayan
William K. Driggs - Australian
Wayne D. Fowers - Argentine
Randy Cressall - Norwegian
H. Gordon Kellogg - South German
Steven L. Stapley - Uruguayan
Roger H. Zierenberg, Jr. - Mexican (Mexico)
Wayne Welch - Central American (Guatemala)
Michael F. Maloney - Franco Belgian
Glen N. McGhie, Jr. - Southwest British
Michael C. Stapley - West Central States
Richard D. Smith - Scottish-Irish
Louis B. Dorny - South German
W. Brough Dorny - Northwest Area
David R. Boyce - Southwest Indian

I haven’t kept track of most of them but they were all fine young men and I hope that all have prospered and maintained their testimony of the Gospel.

As Bishop I was authorized to perform weddings.  This of course was not in the Temple, but for those who either were not ready to go to the Temple or preferred to be married outside the Temple.  These were performed in the Ward Chapel or in private homes.  I married the following couples:

Billy Joe Williams & Beverly Jane Hitesman
15 November 1956

Robert Frank Shows & Shirley Ann Travelstead
24 December 1956

Richard Randall Clark & Darlene Baxter
10 October 1959

Kenez Huffman & Alice Tvedtnes Aseltyne
21 December 1959

Wayne Ernest Knapp & Beverly Ann Ammon
16 January 1960

Gary Richard Van Horn & Gloria Rae Wyman
23 July 1960

Glenn William Schuck III & Charlotte Lanore Dawson
20 August 1960

On 1 December 1961 the Church Department of Education held their Annual Convention at the East Los Angeles Stake Center.  President Brown picked me up and we went over together.

Apostle Delbert L. Stapley was our Stake Conference visitor Saturday and Sunday, 2 & 3 December 1961.

On 17 December 1961, as a member of the High Council, I was appointed Chairman of the Stake Melchizedek Priesthood Committee.

1962

Returning from his Mission in Chile, Dicky stopped off in Lima, Peru on 4 January 1962 and spent three hours with Reggie at the Mission Home.  He arrived in Los Angeles on the 6th and DeVonne, Kandy and I drove down to the Los Angeles Airport to pick him up.  Bob and Eddie came over to visit with him on 13 January.

On 7 January 1962 Dicky met with the Stake Presidency and High Council and reported on his Mission.  The following Sunday he reported in our Ward Sacrament Meeting.

On 18 January 1962 the Stake Melchizedek Priesthood Committee met with the Melchizedek Priesthood Quorum Presidents to plan their 1962 Goals.

I met with Wayne Shute, Head of the BYU  Adult Education Center in Los Angeles, on 20 February 1962 to plan for Leadership Week to be held at our Stake Center.

At our Stake Conference held on 4 March 1962 we had no visitors from Salt Lake City.  Dicky reported on his Mission at the Conference.

Victor L. Brown of the Presiding Bishop’s Office and Walter Stover of the Church Welfare Committee were our visitors from Salt Lake City for our Stake Conference held Saturday and Sunday, 19 & 20 May 1962.

On 5 June 1962 I attended a meeting at the Institute of Religion Building next to the University of Southern California Campus for instructions regarding the Institute and Seminary programs for the next year.

Sunday, 24 June 1962 we held a Special Stake Conference on “Missionary Work.”  That evening I spoke in our Ward Sacrament Meeting as a father of a Missionary.

I was in charge of Leadership Week held in our Stake Center from 22 to 25 August 1962.

Apostle Ezra Taft Benson was our Conference visitor on 15 & 16 September 1962.  The Stake Presidency and High Council held a special meeting with Elder Benson.

Dicky & I spoke in our Ward Sacrament Meeting.  It was my High Council assignment and I invited Dicky to share the time with me.

John Longden, Assistant to the Twelve, was our Conference visitor from Salt Lake City on 1 & 2 December 1962.

1963

On 6 January 1963 DeVonne was sustained as Relief Society President of the Van Nuys 2nd Ward.

Nellie Lambert, a member of our Ward, died on 7 March 1963.  She was 96 years old.  In the twilight of her life, at the age of 90 she converted to the Church and was baptized.  I spoke at her funeral.

1966

I was released from the Stake High Council in 1966 and served as the Ward High Priests Group Leader in 1966-67.

1969

On 22 January 1969 by letter the First Presidency announced the approval of an Executive Secretary to the Stake Priesthood Executive Committee.  He was assigned to assume the responsibilities for Priesthood Home Teaching; as an adviser to the Stake Presidency on Missionary plans, educational opportunities, and Military relations.  He was to meet regularly with the Stake Priesthood Executive Committee and the Stake High Council and could be assigned to prepare the agenda for those meetings.  Further information was to follow.

President Brown of our Stake called me to this position and I continued to hold it until 19 May 1974 when I was released after being called into the Stake Presidency under President Morris.

1972

President Brown was released as President of the Van Nuys Stake, after serving for sixteen years, on 3 December 1972 and Eugene Grant Morris was sustained and set apart by Apostle Howard W. Hunter as the new President of the Stake with Howard McKeon and Clark Spendlove as Counselors.  I remained as the Stake Executive Secretary and Dwight Stevenson as Stake Clerk.

1974

On 19 May 1974 the Los Angeles California Van Nuys Stake was divided and a new Los Angeles California Santa Clarita Stake was created.  The new Stake was comprised of four wards:  Canyon Country, Newhall, Saugus and Solemint.  Norman Dwight Stevenson, who had been our Stake Clerk, became the President of the new stake with E. Mills Whitney and Howard Philip McKeon as counselors.  Howard McKeon, our old stake’s First Counselor in the Stake Presidency, became the Santa Clarita Stake Patriarch.  He is the father of Howard Philip McKeon.

President Morris was retained as President of the Van Nuys Stake with Clark Spendlove and Richard Conrad Clarke as counselors.  Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Council of Twelve presided at the conference and effected the changes.  He was assisted by Elder Ben E. Lewis, Regional Representative of the Twelve.  I was set apart as Second Counselor by Elder Lewis, with Elder McConkie and President Morris assisting.  I can remember Elder McConkie placing his hands on the back of my neck and massaging my neck all the time Elder Lewis was pronouncing the setting apart.

Serving in the Stake Presidency with President Morris and President Spendlove was a very satisfying experience for me.

One incident that apparently will never be forgotten by many who were present at one of our Stake Conferences I will relate here.  As a member of the Stake Presidency I was to speak at the Priesthood Session of our Conference.  I wanted to talk on something that would unite the brethren and I chose to sing “Stouthearted Men” from Sigmund Romberg’s operetta “The New Moon” that goes as follows:

“Give me some men who are Stouthearted Men
who will fight for the rights they adore.
Start me with ten, who are Stouthearted Men
and I’ll soon give you ten thousand more,
Oh! Shoulder to shoulder and bolder and bolder
they grow as they go to the fore!
Then there’s nothing in the world can halt or mar a plan,
When Stouthearted Men can stick together man to man!”

I stood up at the podium and with a few opening remarks to set the stage for my rendition I began to sing.  I was all right until the beginning of the fifth line and I raised it an octave and my voice broke.  I continued to attempt to sing it until I finished it but it really sounded horrible.  After I finished I told the brethren that I had expected my voice quality to be somewhere between Nelson Eddy, who had been the popular singer of the song, and President Heber J. Grant of the Church, who prided himself on having taught himself to sing, although he really couldn’t sing much at all.  I said I was much closer to President Grant and too far removed from Nelson Eddy.

In any event, it had a marked effect upon the congregation.  I was never certain whether they pitied me or applauded me for my attempt.  I received several compliments after the meeting for my effort.  To this day I continue to run into persons who were there at that meeting and remember me for my singing.

1976

On 16 May 1976 DeVonne and I both spoke in Stake Conference and I was released as Second Counselor in the Stake Presidency.  The following day we moved to Westlake Village, California and became members of the Agoura Ward of the Newbury Park Stake.  Charles Wells was our Bishop.  In August of the same year the Agoura Ward was divided and the area we live in became the Westlake Village Ward.  Bruce A. Zeedik became our Bishop with Jack Robison and Ron Oliver as his Counselors.  I became the High Priests Group Leader with George Nibley and Dennis Newman as my Assistants.  Our Stake President was LaVar Butler with Arthol Hunter and Lynn Giles his Counselors.

1977

On 26 January 1977 there was a special meeting relating to Missionary Work held in our Ward Chapel with Elder Robert Hales of the First Quorum of Seventy.  I saw many old friends from the Van Nuys Stake.

Clifton Miller, one of my counselors when I was Bishop, died in Texas on 18 February 1977 from Cancer of the lymph nodes.

Ben E. Lewis, our Regional Representative, attended our Stake Conference on 27 February and we held a High Priests Group fireside at Jeff Nibley’s that evening.

Sunday, 6 March, I conducted all the Ward meetings in the absent of our Bishopric who were all away at Youth Camp.

On 13 March the Van Nuys Stake was divided.  Clark Spendlove became the Stake President of the new Granada Hills Stake.  President Morris with Bruce Swan and Jerry Moser as counselors led the Van Nuys Stake.

Sunday, 3 April, we watched our first TV broadcast of General Conference in our home.  The following Sunday was Easter and I gave a talk in Sacrament Meeting.

President Butler spoke on Temple questions at a fireside held at Ron Oliver’s home as a part of our Ward Conference on 12 June.

On 26 June Tennison Smith of Thousand Oaks Third Ward and I spoke in the Thousand Oaks Third Ward Sacrament Meeting on Genealogy and Personal History.

I gave a talk in Sunday School on 10 July and DeVonne and I went to a BYU Development fireside in the evening at the Ward Chapel.

On 15 July the Ward had an overnight campout at the Boy Scout Camp at Three Falls in Los Padres National Forest near Frazier Park.  DeVonne and I slept in our Datsun in sleeping bags and on air mattresses.  It wasn’t our favorite way to spend the night, which is usually in a first rate motel.

Our meeting schedule changed on 4 September with Priesthood at 8:00 AM, Sunday School at 10:00 AM and Sacrament Meeting at 3:00 PM.  Fast and Testimony Meeting  at 1:00 PM.

On 9 & 10 September DeVonne and I went to a Newbury Park Stake Melchizedek Priesthood overnight seminar at Francisco Torres in Santa Barbara.  Ferrin Christensen, our Regional Representative and an old childhood friend of DeVonne’s, and President Joel Garrett of the California Mission were guest speakers, with their wives.

Ron Oliver, Counselor in our Bishopric, moved to Utah and Richard Smith was sustained to replace him as Second Counselor on 25 September.

1978

Apostle David B. Haight directed our Stake Conference on 24 & 25 February 1978.  President Butler was released and Arthol B. Hunter became our new Stake President with Delbert Carbine and Bishop Waggoner his Counselors.

We held a Regional Conference on 17 June under the direction of Ferrin Christensen, our Regional Representative.  I conducted the High Priests Section.

On Father’s Day, 18 June 1978, I spoke in our Ward Sacrament Meeting.  Dicky, Kandy and their families attended and came over to our house afterward.

1979

Fernando Juarez and I administered to a four year old girl, Raquel Del Pino Sanchez in the UCLA Hospital on 16 January 1979.  She was a relative of Mericarmen Sandlin of our Ward and was from the Canary Islands.  She had a type Aplastic Anemia blood disease where her body would not make Platlettes.  The last time I heard a report on her from Mericarmen the little girl was doing fine back in the Canary Islands.

On 24 March DeVonne and I went to the Temple and witnessed Don and Cinda Moore sealed.  I did my 600th endowment and DeVonne did her 238th.

On Easter, 15 April I spoke in Sunday School.  The Bishopric spoke in Sacrament Meeting.

We held a High Priests Group party at the home of Bill & Helen Bassett on 26 May and had 27 present.  A good time was had by all.  The following day James Milner and Marvin Ottosen were set apart as my Assistants in the High Priests Group.

A Homecoming Sacrament Meeting in the old Van Nuys Second Ward was held on 10 June.  It honored the previous Bishops of the Ward, including:  Don Brown, Richard Clarke, Roger Zierenberg, Sr., Robert Baird, Edward Blair, Richard Black, David Dodds and Brad Molen.

On 19 June DeVonne & I played the parts of Heavenly Father and Mother in an MIA Sketch:  “Sara, where are you?”  Tuck Davis was Jesus, Sheri Zeedik as Sara and Heather Sandstrom as Melinda.  It was all part of the Girls program - “An Evening of Sharing.”

Paul Eckel, a member of our Ward, was sustained as Second Counselor in our Stake Presidency on 9 September.

I spoke in Sacrament Meeting on Spiritual Changes and Pursuit of Excellence on 14 October.

We held a High Priests Social at Paul & Sally Eckel’s on 19 October.  Marilyn Holmberg played the piano and we all sang our favorite old songs.  Pumpkin Pie and Hot Cider finished off the evening.  We had 33 present.

1980

On 13 January 1980 our Son-In-Law, Roger Zierenberg, was sustained in Sacrament Meeting in the Thousand Oaks First Ward as Second Counselor to Bishop Carlos Denton.  He was set apart and ordained a High Priest after the meeting by Stake President Arthol B. Hunter.

I was sustained Ward Clerk in Sacrament Meeting on 10 February and set apart by Bishop Zeedik.  I was later released as High Priest Group Leader on 23 March and replaced by Kenneth Sansom.

At our Stake Conference held on 23 & 24 February under the direction of our Regional Representative, Ferrin Christensen, we held a Ground Breaking for our new Stake Center in Newbury Park at the corner of Wendy Drive and Kimber Drive.

On 2 March we went on the “Three Hour Block” program for Sunday meetings.  The time for our ward that year was 3:00 to 6:00 PM.

DeVonne and I had dinner at the Sizzler on 8 March and then went to “Know Your Religion” at our Ward Chapel with Paul Royal from Salt Lake City as speaker.

Saturday, 22 March, we had dinner at Bishop Zeedik’s with the Bishopric and their wives, and Willard & Nadine Tate.  Willard was our Ward Executive Secretary.

Marvin Ottosen and I administered to Bill Bassett in the Westlake Hospital at 2:30 AM on 28 April.  He had a burst appendix.

DeVonne was sustained and set apart on 25 May as Education Counselor in the Relief Society Presidency to Anne Stringham, President.  Candy Robison was set apart as Homemaking Counselor.

Apostle Mark E. Petersen and Elder Robert L. Simpson of the First Council of Seventy were in charge of our Stake Conference held on 13 & 14 September 1980.  Mark E. Petersen was Ma’s paperboy in Richfield, Utah when she was a little girl and she always had a soft spot in her heart for him.  Of course she had to go up on the stand after the final meeting and talk to him.

Our Ward Relief Society held their Opening Social on 26 September with a Black & White Theme Dinner, plus Chamber Music.

DeVonne sang with our Ward’s Women’s Choir in Sacrament Meeting for our Christmas Program on 21 December.  It was very good.

1981

Sunday, 8 February 1981 DeVonne & I took Bob and Dura to Church at Dicky and Kandy’s Ward.  We attended Sacrament Meeting and Dicky’s Sunday School Class.  It rained all day.

Sunday, 24 May 1981 Bishop Zeedik was released and Richard C. Smith was sustained as our new Bishop with Kenneth Sansom and Vance Kirby as his Counselors.  Jack Robison was sustained as High Priests Group Leader and John Lang as Elders Quorum President.  I remained the Ward Clerk.

On 23 August I spoke in Sacrament Meeting on “How to Become Spiritually Self Sufficient.”

Our General Conference in Salt Lake City held on 4 October came to us via Radio only in our Chapels.  There were no public radio or TV broadcasts.

1982

I started working in the Stake Genealogical Extraction Program on 16 February 1982.  We review French Parish Records that have been photographed in France and put on micro-film.  We extract the names, births, deaths and marriages and put the information on IBM computer cards that are checked and then sent to the Los Angeles center at the Temple where the information is entered on computers and sent to Salt Lake City where the Family History Department clears the data for temple work to be done for the people whose names have been extracted.  It doesn’t take the ability to read French fluently, but after learning a few key words and numerals one can do the work quite well.  I found that in about four hours I could extract about 100 names.

On 3 & 4 April 1982 we watched General Conference on TV in our home.

On Easter we took part in the Easter Program.  DeVonne sang in the Choir and I was the voice of Jesus.

DeVonne and I went to the Temple Sealing of June & Jim Beal on 27 April.  Dawna was also sealed to them.  Shirlie, Pauline & Spence, Lee Brower and Ma also attended with others, including Jim’s daughter and her husband.

On 25 July our Ward held our annual Pioneer Day Bike Ride and Breakfast in Triunfo Community Park (two blocks from our house).  I cooked the pancakes.

Brother Robert Cusworth of the Stake High Council asked me to take over running the Stake Extraction Program on 7 November.

On 28 November DeVonne and I spoke in Sacrament Meeting on the subject of “Testimony.”

Jessie Magyar, my first Relief Society President when I was Bishop died on 3 December 1982.  She was 75 years old.

Eugene Morris was released as Stake President of the Van Nuys Stake after service of ten years and a Testimonial was held for him in the Van Nuys Stake Center on 4 December 1982.  It was called:  “A Knight to Remember.”

DeVonne’s Mother died in our home on 5 December 1982.  She was 82 years old.  See Chapter 22.

1983

DeVonne and I attended the Temple wedding of Daniel Lang and Jo Dee Davis on 12 January 1983 and afterward went to dinner with their family group and friends at Victoria Station in Universal City.  Danny is the son of Rudolph and Barbara Lang.

On 16 January Evan Payne, Second Counselor in our Stake Presidency was released and Don V. Renda was sustained to replace him.  President Payne was dying of Cancer and nothing could be done about it.  He died on 13 April and DeVonne and I attended his funeral held Saturday, 16th.  Don Renda grew up in our old San Fernando Stake.  DeVonne was his teacher in the M-Men & Gleaner Class in Mutual.

Friday night, 11 February, we held a Ward Valentine Party - “soiree” Dinner Dance that was excellent.

On 13 February Ann Colvin became our new Relief Society President, Leslie Robinson our Primary President and Bishop Zeedik our Mutual President.

I went to the Temple on 10 March and did all the Temple work for my brother, Bob, including Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination to Elder, Washing & Anointing, Endowment and Sealing to Mother & Dad.

We attended a farewell for Willard & Nadine Tate on 13 March at Ron & Karen Swallow’s home.  Later the same evening Darryl Bergstrom and I administered to Marlon Bateman in the Westlake Community Hospital.

On 17 March at the Relief Society Birthday Party DeVonne and I narrated the Stage Show of Spencer & Camilla Kimball.

On 17 April I was released as Ward Clerk and Sustained as the Ward Executive Secretary.  Willard Tate had held the position before he moved to Agoura.  I was set apart the following Sunday by Bishop Richard C. Smith.

DeVonne spoke in Sacrament Meeting on Mother’s Day and gave an excellent Mother’s Day address.

At our annual Bike Ride and Breakfast on 23 July I cooked the French Toast.

On 1 December Corinne, Kenny and their daughter, Kamrine, were sealed in the Los Angeles Temple.  DeVonne and I attended, with Dicky and Judie.

We held a Sacrament Meeting only on Christmas Day at 9:00 AM and had a nice Christmas program.

1984

On 15 January 1984 our Stake Conference visitor from Salt Lake City was G. Homer Durham, one of the seven presidents of the First Council of Seventy.

On 30 March our ward had a presentation of “Friday Nite Live” at our cultural hall.  It was like a talent night.  DeVonne and I, with Willard & Nadine Tate, Ralph & Bonnie Rampton, Cy & Marge Davis and Stanley & Mary Anna Rotz performed as a group representing the Seniors.  We sang:  “I’m  Glad I’m not Young Anymore,” “Young at Heart,” and “Sitting on Top of the World.”  It was a fun evening and everyone had a great time.

We watched General Conference, on Channel 8 TV, held on 7 & 8 April.  Two new Apostles were sustained.  Dalin Oakes and Russell Nelson.  There were also six new members of the First Council of Seventy appointed.

For Easter we visited Dicky’s Ward.  He sang in a quartet and we went to his Gospel Doctrine Sunday School Class.

On Mother’s Day I gave the address in Sacrament Meeting.  Kandy and family came over to bring DeVonne a Mother’s Day present.  Dicky sent flowers the day before and she received a card from Reggie.

Jack Maxfield, husband of Bobbie Maxfield, died on 1 July of heart problems.  I spoke at his funeral on the 5th, with Emmett Cy (Cyclone) Davis.  Cy was a World War II fighter pilot and a Colonel in the Air Force where he got the nickname “Cy.”

George Bergstrom of our Ward died in Westlake Hospital of a stroke on 29 July.  He was 96 years old.  He had been a lifetime scouter and I first met him when I was Bishop and he was working at Deseret Industries in Los Angeles.  He and I were also assigned together as Home Teachers for a while.

Maurine Fowers, an old friend from Van Nuys Second Ward died on 12 October.  She was 71 years old.  Kandy and I went to her funeral at the Van Nuys Stake Center on the 16th.  DeVonne stayed home with a sore throat and cold.

The Relief Society held their opening social on 12 October.  It was a Hawaiian Luau type dinner with entertainment.  We invited the Tates to go with us.  It was excellent.

As a part of our Ward Conference held on 11 November, we held an Adult Fireside at our home with the Stake Presidency conducting the meeting.  A total of 24 people attended.

1985

At our Stake Conference held on 6 January we had a change in our Stake Presidency.  President Hunter and his Counselors were released and Grant R. Brimhall was sustained as President with Harvey Oxspring and O. Don Hawkins as his Counselors.  Our visitor from Salt Lake City was Richard G. Scott of the Presidency of the First Council of Seventy.  President Scott later became a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles.

Sunday, 27 January we held a Churchwide Fast Day for the starving Ethiopians in Africa.

We held an Area Conference in Santa Barbara on 10 February.  Elders Bruce R. McConkie and David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve, with John K. Carmack of the First Quorum of Seventy were there to instruct us.  It was the last time we saw Elder McConkie in person before he died.  DeVonne and I attended the Conference and had an early dinner on the way home at the “Big Yellow House” in Santa Barbara.

On 17 February I spoke before the High Priest Group Leaders of the Stake regarding the Extraction Program.  President Oxspring presided.

Rupert Harris, a long time friend of ours since we moved to Westlake Village in 1976 died on 14 March.  He was 90 years old.  I spoke at his funeral on the 18th and Bishop Smith conducted the services.  It snowed on the Ventura Freeway as we traveled to the cemetery at Forest Lawn.

On 18 June I worked on the Stake Welfare Bee Project (bees & honey) in Camarillo from 6:45 to 9:30 PM.  The project was later closed down.

DeVonne and I went to the Stake Temple Night on 21 June with Richard and Joan Moss.  We had a chapel meeting before going through an endowment session.  Our Stake President Brimhall and Temple President Rozsa led the Chapel session.

Grace (DeVonne’s cousin) & Rex Percy were sealed in the Los Angeles Temple on 25 June by President Wayne Reeves who is an old friend of mine, going back to days when we were going to Church in Colton.  All who attended Grace & Rex’s sealing had lunch at Junior’s Restaurant on Westwood Boulevard in West Los Angeles afterward.

Shirley Brown’s mother, Johanna Campbell, died on 8 August.  The funeral was held on the 13th and I was a pallbearer.

On 14 August I was set apart as Stake Genealogical Coordinator by President Oxspring and told I would be released as Ward Executive Secretary.

On 22 September I was released at Ward Executive Secretary.  DeVonne and I also went to the Van Nuys Stake Conference as they were celebrating 30 years since the Stake Center was dedicated.  I was asked to speak about the early days when we built it.

On 27 September Bryce Robinson, son of Gerry & Madeline Robinson and members of our Ward, was killed in a motorbike accident in the hills of the North Ranch area.  Funeral services were held on the 30th.

Lawrence Blonquist was ordained a High Priest and set apart as a Stake High Councilman by President Brimhall on 29 September.  Bishop Smith and I assisted.

At General Conference on 6 October M. Russell Ballard was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  His daughter, Tamara, married Brad Brower, June’s son.  It was also our Daughter-In-Law, Judie’s 43th birthday.

Sunday 13 October I spoke in our Ward Sacrament Meeting on Spirituality.

On 19 October DeVonne and I had dinner at Bishop Smith’s with the bishopric’s wives as a “thank you” to me for my service as Ward Executive Secretary.  Bishop Smith gave me a book by Elder Bruce R. McConkie entitled:  “A New Witness for the Articles of Faith.”  Bishop Smith also wrote a nice note of appreciation in it for me.

The theme of our Ward Relief Society Opening Social for this year was “Camelot.”  It was a dinner-dance, semi-formal and held on the 25th of October.  It was very nice.

President Spencer W. Kimball died in Salt Lake City on 5 November 1985.  On 11 November the new Presidency of the Church became:  Ezra Taft Benson as President with Gordon B. Hinckley and Thomas S. Monson as his Counselors.

Sunday, 22 December DeVonne and I went to Tithing Settlement with Bishop Smith.  In the evening we attended the Stake Choir Christmas Program.  Dicky sang in an octet plus all the choir numbers.

1986

At our Stake Conference held on 11 and 12 January Kandy spoke in the Saturday night session and paid a glowing tribute to DeVonne and me as her parents.  Sunday Rod was sustained to be a member of the High Council and Adam was sustained to be ordained an Elder.  President Oxspring was released from the Stake Presidency.  O. Don Hawkins was made First Counselor to President Brimhall and Douglas Horne was sustained to be the Second Counselor.

On 2 February Adam was ordained an Elder by his Father, Dicky.  Rod, Kenny and I stood in the circle.  Our neighboring Agoura Ward was divided in to Agoura 1st and Agoura 2nd Wards.

On 9 February Garry Robinson and John Lang of our ward were ordained High Priests.

We held a Stake Genealogical Seminar on 15 February with 23 in Attendance.  As of 16 February I had spent four years in the French Extraction Program.

For General Conference held on 5 & 6 April, DeVonne and I watched all sessions on TV.  I went to the Stake Center to see the closed circuit TV broadcast of the Priesthood Session.

DeVonne went to the Bishops’ Storehouse with the Relief Society women on 7 May.  It was Stake Priesthood night at the Temple and I went with Bishop Smith.  We sat with Dicky.  Kandy and Rod were in the same session.

At our Stake General Priesthood Meeting held on 18 May, Rusty spoke in the meeting.  On the same day I ordained William Haygood of our Ward a High Priest.  Ed Dosch of our Ward was also ordained a High Priest by President Brimhall.

On 12 August I met with all Bishops and High Priest Group Leaders of our Stake to encourage them in supporting our French Extraction and Genealogical Library Programs.

I spoke in the Thousand Oaks 2nd (Dicky’s Ward) Sacrament Meeting on 24 August and talked about the Stake Genealogical Library.

On 12 October Bishop Smith of our Ward and his Counselors were released and Lawrence Blonquist was sustained and ordained as our new Bishop with Larry Manion and Herbert Marston his Counselors.

DeVonne and I did the Temple endowment and sealing work for Dura’s parents on 10 December.

I was the narrator in our Christmas Program for Sacrament Meeting on 21 December.

1987

At our Stake Conference held on 10 and 11 January our Stake was divided.  The Thousand Oaks Stake was formed and we remained in the original Newbury Park Stake.  Our Stake Presidency became O. Don Hawkins as President with Richard Bretzing and Richard Binns as his Counselors.  The Thousand Oaks Stake Presidency consisted of Grant R. Brimhall as President with Doug Horne and Walter Ross as his Counselors.  Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the First Quorum of Seventy and Elder Robinson our Regional Representative, conducted the division business.

Sunday, 18 January our Son-In-Law, Roger, was ordained a Bishop by President Grant R. Brimhall and set apart as the Bishop of the Moorpark Ward in the Thousand Oaks Stake.  Roger Sr., and I stood in the circle with President Brimhall.

Stan Rotz and I administered to his father, Cloyd, on 21 January before his going in for eye surgery to remove a cataract.  On the 22nd Cy Davis and I administered to Steve Snyder who broke his wrist skating.

On 25 January I spoke in Sacrament Meeting on the Genealogy Extraction Program and the Temple.

I completed 5 years of French Extraction on 16 February.

On 27 February the Ward held a Constitutional Dinner with everyone dressed in costumes.  Stewart Burton spearheaded the affair and it went off exceptional well.

I taught a Book of Mormon lesson to our Ward Singles Group on 23 March.  I used King Benjamin’s address in the Book of Mormon for material.

DeVonne and I watched the April 4th & 5th General Conference sessions on TV.

On Easter, 19 April, Dicky and Judie gave an Easter Recitation in their Ward Sacrament Meeting.  DeVonne, Kandy and I attended and it was excellent.

Adam, Dicky’s oldest son, received his mission call on 2 May to serve in Ireland.  He was set apart for his mission by Walter R. Ross, 2nd Counselor in the Thousand Oaks Stake Presidency on 28 June.  Dicky, Kenny Miller and I stood in the circle. He entered the Missionary Training Center on July 1st.

Dicky and I went to two sessions at the Temple as it was Stake Priesthood Temple night on 6 May.

On 17 May Dicky was set apart as First Counselor in the Thousand Oaks Fifth Ward Bishopric.  The Fifth Ward is for young singles, primarily of college age, but the Bishopric is usually made up from adults.

On 23 July we attended a musical put on by the Thousand Oaks Stake entitled:  “Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors.”  Our grand daughter, Kate, was one of the dancers and the show was excellent.

Bill Maxfield, a member of our Ward and a FBI man made his first visit to our home as our new Home Teacher on 11 August.

Another Constitutional Program was put on by Stewart Burton in our Chapel on 18 September.  His Nephew, Dr. Nelson Burton, sang several Patriotic Songs.  I spoke briefly as did Norma Smith.

On 25 October DeVonne and I attended a Stake Missionary Meeting at the Stake Center for older couples.  After listening to the push to encourage older couples to go on missions we met with Bishop Blonquist and pointed out to him that I was over 70 years old, which is normally considered too old to call a person.  I also pointed out to him that I had to have my blood check about every three weeks and see my Doctor about every three or four months so I couldn’t get very far away from home.  As a result we were not called.

On 29 November Rod had his missionary farewell before departing for the Missionary Training Center at Provo, Utah.  He will serve in the Dominican Republic Mission.  Kandy’s entire family took part in the program.  Rod was set apart after the farewell by Grant R. Brimhall, President of the Thousand Oaks Stake,  with Roger, Roger Sr., and I standing in the circle.

DeVonne and I did the endowments and sealing for my old boss, Glenn Rogers & his wife Rae, in the Los Angeles Temple on 9 December.

1988

President Hawkins released me as the Stake Genealogical Coordinator on 6 January after having been in the program for six years.  I put in 1040 hours of actual extraction work myself.  I also put out a monthly bulletin to encourage our workers to be diligent in the Program.  I titled it “L’Extracteur Français” and issued it for about four and a half years.

DeVonne & I and Garry & Madeline Robinson did Temple sealings on 13 January and had dinner afterward at Juniors Restaurant in West Los Angeles.  At the Temple I saw Lyman Speakman who told me that Jim Mackay had died last August.  Jim was my counselor when I was Elders Quorum President of the Van Nuys Ward.  We worked together for several years.

At our Stake Conference held on 16 & 17 January, DeVonne and I gave the Invocation (Dick) and Benediction (DeVonne) in the Saturday night session.  At the Sunday session I received my formal released from the Extraction Program.

Gertrude Wilkins, the Wife of Jim Wilkins who served in the Bishopric while I was Ward Clerk in the old Van Nuys Ward in San Fernando Stake, died and her funeral was held on 1 February in the Thousand Oaks Chapel.

On 28 February I was sustained to head the Ward Scrip Program.  We purchase scrip from the local grocery stores (Vons, Ralphs and Gelsons) at a discount price and our Ward members buy the scrip from us at the regular price and the Ward makes the profit without any cost to the members.

Dicky ordained Rusty an Elder Sunday, 1 April.  Our Grandson-In-Law, Jeff Huffman was ordained an Elder by his Father, Kenneth, on the same day.

On 4 May Jeff and Sissy Huffman and children were sealed in the Los Angeles Temple.  DeVonne and I attended, with Dicky & Judie, Corinne & Kenny.

Ken Sansom and I administered to his wife, Carla, on 5 June.

At our Stake Conference on 11 & 12 June, President Richard Bretzing was released and President Richard Binns was sustained as First Counselor and Marvin Merrill was sustained Second Counselor.  President Bretzing, who was head of the Los Angeles Office of the FBI besides being a member of the Stake Presidency, had been called to be in charge of Security for the Church with his headquarters in Salt Lake City.

On 11 September Jason had his missionary farewell before leaving for the Missionary Training Center at Provo, Utah.  He will serve in the Salt Lake City South Mission.  The following evening Kandy and Roger were hosts to a family picnic and hot dog and hamburger barbecue at the ranch before Jason’s leaving.  Later the same evening President Brimhall set Jason apart for his mission with Roger standing in.

On 18 September Rusty had his missionary farewell before leaving for the MTC in Provo, Utah.  He will serve in the Spanish Seville Mission.  Rusty was set apart on 25 September 1988 by President Brimhall.

On 1 October we went to Stewart & Dorothy Burton’s for lunch, with Ken & Carla Sansom, and watched the Second Session of General Conference.  Richard G. Scott was sustained as the newest Apostle.

President Binns and I visited John Lang at his home on 3 November to encourage him to come to Church.

On 4 December DeVonne and I went to a First Presidency Devotional at the Ward Chapel.  Afterward we went to Burton’s for Clam Chowder and Pumpkin Pie.

Stewart Burton and I administered to Cloyd Rotz on 15 December.  Cloyd was going in the hospital for cataract surgery on his left eye the following day.

On 18 December President Hawkins met with DeVonne and me and asked us to serve a Full Time Mission in the California Ventura Mission Office.  He told us we could live at home and be home each night, and that we could limit the amount of time we spent in the Mission Office to what suited us.  We accepted and told him we would work three days a week.  On the 20th we met with President Hawkins and President Oswald of the Ventura Mission to discuss our calling.  We agreed to start on 3 January 1989.  On 28 December we drove up to the Mission Office in Ventura and met Mervin and Afton Severinsen for an hour.  They are the Full Time Missionaries assigned to the Office, with him as the Financial Officer and she as the President’s Secretary.

1989

On 24 January DeVonne & I went to the funeral for Maud White at the Van Nuys Stake Center.  She was 88 years old, having been born in Eden, Arizona.  Don Brown and I spoke and Eugene Morris and Roger Zierenberg, Sr. offered the prayers at the service.

Our friend, Candy Robison, died of Cancer on 29 January at the age of sixty.  The funeral service was held in Camarillo on February 1st.  Candy and her husband, Jack were members of our Ward when we first moved into Westlake Village.  Jack was a counselor to Bishop Zeedik, the first Bishop of Westlake Village Ward.

Our friend, Bill Haygood, a retired Lt. Colonel of the Air Force, died of a heart attack on 18 February.  His funeral was held on the 23rd.  I spoke, with Bishop Smith and Rick Colvin.  Carla Sansom sang:  “How Great Thou Art.”  Lt. Col. George Scott, retired Air Force friend of Bill, gave the Eulogy.  Everyone attending the funeral enjoyed a lavish buffet luncheon prepared by the Relief Society sisters before traveling to the cemetery.  I conducted the graveside services and Stewart Burton dedicated the grave.  An Air Force Color Guard and Platoon gave a 21 gun salute and presented a flag to Bill’s wife, Bonnie.  It was a very fine funeral.

Catherine Petty died on 21 March and the funeral was held on the 27th.  I gave the benediction.  She was 84 years old.

Percy Hooton died on 2 April.  He was a 1st cousin, one generation removed from DeVonne.

Our friend, Audre Openshaw died on 11 June from Cancer.

On 11 June at our Stake Conference Bsp. Robert Lang of Agoura 2nd Ward was sustained as Second Counselor in the Stake Presidency.  This was to replace President Binns who moved to Salt Lake City.  President Merrill moved up to First Counselor.  Louise Tanner of our ward became the Stake Relief Society President, Dave Robinson the Stake Sunday School Superintendent, Lisa Lefevre a Counselor in the Stake Primary Presidency and Richard Hoag a member of the High Council.  Our ward is well represented on the Stake Level.

Adam returned home from his Mission to Ireland on 13 June.  He looked great and was glad to be home but said he missed Ireland and wants to go back.  All missionaries say the same thing when they first get home!

Our Ward Conference was held on 10 September without any significant changes to our ward leadership.

General Conference was held on 30 September and 1 October in Salt Lake City.  Members of the Quorums of Seventies that had reached or passed the age of 70 were given Emeritus status.  Now it appears that only the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles are in their positions for life, despite age or health.