The recent passing of Elder Marion D. Hanks brought to mind an experience that I had with Elder Hanks.
In June of 1954, I was in the mission home in Salt Lake City as a newly called missionary. The day of the departure for my mission, June 22, 1954, all the missionaries were assembled in the auditorium of the church office building and assigned to a general authority to set us apart. At 9:30 I was to meet with Elder Hanks.
At that time all missionaries were set apart by general authorities. They read off the names of the missionaries in each group (usually 3-4) and gave them the time to go to the offices of the authorities. Elder Hanks was at that time a member of the Seven Presidents of Seventy. There were three of us assigned to meet with Elder Hanks. My parents could not be present for my setting apart, so they asked one of their friends to take down the blessing in shorthand.
I never did get that transcription and did not write down the details. What I wrote in my journal was. ”It really strengthened my testimony because he answered all my questions. I would return safely and be humble and numerous other things.”
I remember more about the blessing of my friend Gordon. We were in the mission home together. He was assigned to go to the New England Mission and I was called to the East German Mission. We both went to Weber College together. He was in the school student and fraternity leadership at Weber. We were both in the same fraternity. We played golf together. I was sort of a loner and he was what we would term today ‘high profile’.
My friend Gordon was given a wonderful blessing. I can only paraphrase it. Elder Hanks said that Gordon was disappointed because he and not been given an overseas assignment. He was blessed that within six months he would know the reason why he was called to that mission. He was also blessed with the ability to teach the gospel with clarity and blessings of superior leadership.
This was remarkable to me because I knew Gordon’s history and Elder Hanks was not aware of the circumstances. The blessing came from the Lord by revelation.
Two days previously on the 20th of June, Gordon had his ‘farewell’ in his ward in Ogden. His associates from Weber College, who were in the mission home with him, drove with him to Ogden to attend the sacrament meeting that evening. Gordon spoke for over thirty minutes. In essence this was the story he told.
He had received his call in the mail and was disappointed that he was called to New England. He pondered this for some time and then sat down and wrote a letter to President McKay. In the letter he stated that he was declining the call and would not serve a mission. He put a stamp on the envelope and was walking to the post box to mail it when his bishop came up to him and told him that he knew that Gordon was disappointed that he was not going foreign and said to him that he would know within six months why he was going to that mission and to accept the call. He did not mail the letter.
Within the week the stake president came to his house and said that he knew that Gordon was disappointed at receiving a call to New England and promised him that within six months time he would know why he had received a call to that particular mission.
Thus three different priesthood bearers had witnessed to him the same thing. I always remembered that and wondered what happened to my friend Gordon on his mission. At a district conference of missionaries within the first seven months of my mission, I met Elder Glissmeyer who had been at Weber College with me. He was from Ogden and so I asked if he had heard anything about my friend Gordon. He told me that Gordon had gone home. He said that Gordon had gotten into the field and found it difficult to testify that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that the Book of Mormon was true.
The Elder told me that a psychology professor at Weber had planted the seeds of doubt in Gordon’s mind. This professor delighted in tearing down the testimonies of young Latter-Day Saints. He was an apostate from the church from a good Latter-day Saint family.
I never have known what happened to my friend Gordon.
Some years later Elder Hanks came to visit the Riverton Wyoming Stake. As it is custom, I was asked to speak first in the Sunday morning meeting. I told the story of my friend Gordon and his setting apart blessing. Elder Hanks was the concluding speaker. He referred to an early member of the church in Kirtland. His story is told in the Doctrine and Covenants Section 49 and in the introduction to Section 54. Leman Copley was called to serve a mission to the Shaker community in March of 1831 and then left the church in June of 1831.
Your grandmother and I were reading in Matthew about the wheat and the tares. Both were to grow together until the harvest. When the Lord was asked why this happened, he replied, “ An enemy had done this.”
There are many in our midst that would try and destroy our testimonies of the Lord Jesus Christ and the true restored church. We must be aware that there are indeed tares among the wheat, which if we do not obtain strength from the Lord, will choke out the spiritual nourishment, and we will die a spiritual death.
Remember, my dear grandchildren, that there is an enemy who will sow tares of discontent in the Lord’s field here in the earth. Do not neglect the spiritual nourishment.
Love,
Grandpa
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