This
testimony is about being grateful for the blessing of my heritage in the true
Church. My mother was a third generation
on both sides of her family. Her
great-grandfather on her father’s side designed and built the church in
Mansfield, Missouri. His wife had a
dream that they should donate a portion of their farm and that he should design
and build the church. She woke him and
told him the dream and he sat on the floor of their bedroom and made the
blueprint according to her description.
That church still stands today, but due to the split of our Church, it
was sold and is now a private home.
Grandfather Poort built many more churches in that area of
Missouri. My mother’s great-grandfather
on her mother’s side, Matthew L. Norman, rode his mule to hold cottage meetings
in Benton County, Illinois, and then in later life in Knob Knoster,
Missouri. His son Robert E. Norman was a
priest also in the Church and was fluent in the three Books. Many hours my siblings and I sat and listened
to him share the Word. He was a stone
mason and carpenter, and many buildings in surrounding towns were built by
him. He was the reason my father became
a Church member. My father met my
great-grandpa before he met my mother.
Living in Knob Knoster, my father heard of Robert E. Norman being the
best stone mason and carpenter around the area and a natural teacher.
My
father was a Baptist and the oldest of three boys. He quit school at the age of nine because his
father had deserted the family and he was forced to find odd jobs to help fund
the family. He was cautioned by his
mother not to listen to the teachings of that “Mormon” on religion, but to only
learn the crafts. Grandmother did not
know that was impossible. Grandfather
taught my father everything he knew, and Dad listened and learned. Grandfather was the reason my dad was
baptized into the Church in a farm pond.
Grandfather shaped my dad’s life in so many ways. He picked my dad to marry my mom. He introduced them and influenced them in
learning God’s Word and to fall in love.
He saw my father’s worth and he was absolutely correct. Great Grandpa had dreams and often spoke of
what would come in the future for our Church and our nation. His death when I was eleven was a hard blow
to us.
These
are just some of the ancestors I am so grateful for. My mother kept every letter she received over
the years, and the letters of her grandparents, and there is a rich history in
writing of so many facts. Some of the stories I heard as a child have been confirmed. My baptism and confirmation at the age of
eight years old was because of what I was taught. I felt the Holy Spirit wash over me. I was welcomed into the true Church and have
no doubt.
As
I watch the youth of our congregation grow up physically and spiritually I am
so encouraged for what will come in their future. They have the fullness of the Gospel. They have a true foundation. Zion will come and they will be ready.
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