Mormon Life - Military tag

Woman stunned by unexpected act of kindness

Fri, 11 May 2012 08:33:00 -0600

source: sltrib.com

Mormon Life says: What a great story of paying it forward. Lisa Brummer was at a Walmart in Sandy, purchasing shelf-stable food, snacks, magazines and personal care products to send to her 21-year-old nephew who is serving his second deployment to Afghanistan.

Suddenly, an amazing thing happened.

Faith and adventure: A patriarch leads a full life

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:51:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: Wow, what hasn't he done?! Not many people would fly more than 1,500 miles for a two-hour interview with a reporter. Then again, there aren't many people who approach life like Robert "Robin" O'Brien.

The spur-of-the-moment trip fit O'Brien's track record as a tenacious go-getter. This veteran of the U.S. Army and former Delta Air Lines pilot has traveled the world. He drove his motorcycle from Atlanta to the Arctic Circle on the unpaved ALCAN Highway. He served in multiple church capacities from elders quorum president to temple sealer. And that is just the beginning of his list of accomplishments.

"I've had a very exciting life," he said, putting it mildly.

You Make the Call: Missionary Draft Deferrals

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:02:00 -0700

source: bycommonconsent.com

It has been interesting for me to watch the reactions this past week as news stories illuminated yet again the contested territory where the free exercise of religion meets civic considerations and obligations. As I observed other LDS people comment on these stories, I realized that in our recent past, we have experienced something even more egregious and more threatening than being pressured to refrain from performing proxy baptisms for Holocaust victims.

Military wives turn to Bible for marriage advice

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:53:00 -0700

source: ksl.com

With husbands deployed or off preparing for war, some young wives at this sprawling Army installation have spent much of their marriages so far alone.

Faced with long periods of separation and worry over the next combat tour, a group of wives mostly in their late 20s and early 30s are drawn together weekly to seek spiritual support to bolster the strength of their marriages.

Pearl Harbor devastation: Missionary recalls bombing

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:43:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

Mormon Life says: In remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day, here's a neat story from an LDS missionary serving in the Hawaiian islands during the bombing. On Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941, Elder Wayne M. Winegar had just listened to the radio broadcast of "Music and the Spoken Word." The Mormon Tabernacle Choir had sung the words, "All is well."

And all did seem well for the missionary serving his second year in the Hawaiian Islands. The day before, Saturday, he had joined with his mission president and others for a conference in Kona, on the Big Island. He was serving then in Hilo as a branch president. Back home in Utah, his girlfriend, Virginia Adams, was waiting for him.

LDS vet recalls attack on Pearl Harbor

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:40:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

In August 1941, Bill Jarvis' uncle signed a letter giving permission for the 17-year-old to enlist in the U.S. Navy. The teenager could not have known that he would soon become an eyewitness to some of World War II's most pivotal events — beginning with the "Day of Infamy."

On that day, Dec. 7, 1941, more than 2,400 men lost their lives when the naval and air forces of Japan attacked U.S. Naval and Army forces on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Of the 21 ships sunk or damaged at Pearl Harbor, eight were the pride of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the battleships. One of those battle wagons, the USS Arizona, still rests in the harbor at her anchor, a memorial rising over her now-decaying hull. Seventy years after an explosion ripped open her bow, oil still rises to the surface at the rate of two to nine quarts per day. Tourists visit the site daily, American and Japanese standing side by side, many tossing flower leis in honor of those still entombed below. (Please see www.nps.gov.)

The Latter-day Saints and the Civil War

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 09:14:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

It was 150 years ago last month Brigham Young sent the first message by telegraph from the old Utah Territory.

Out East, the American Civil War was beginning to rage, so his short message was one of great import: “Utah has not seceded but is firm for the Constitution and laws of our once happy country."

I was reminded of this powerful message by a — mostly — fascinating blog post at the New York Times this week describing Abraham Lincoln’s relationship with the Latter-day Saints.

America's freedom fighters

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:49:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: Happy Veterans Day, and thank you to everyone who has served. It’s been more than a month since my last column. During that hiatus, some of my time was spent speaking to groups in Utah and Idaho. On Oct. 29 I had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at the Pocatello Idaho Branch of the NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet Honoring America’s Veterans. The theme of the event was “Fulfilling America’s Promise.”

It was a very moving evening, especially the POW/MIA presentation, for all in attendance. I am a better person for having been there.

In celebration of American veterans, past and present, and in commemoration of Veterans Day, what follows are excerpts from my address that night, which was titled “American Freedom Fighters of Color: Heroes Proved in Liberating Strife.”

On Oct. 26, I participated in my retirement ceremony, capping more than 20 combined years of active and reserve military service in the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

Choir television program salutes armed forces

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:45:00 -0700

source: ldschurchnews.com

The Choir is known for its stirring patriotic music from "God Bless America" to "America, the Dream Goes On." True to that tradition, in conjunction with BYU Broadcasting, the Choir has prepared "The Mormon Tabernacle Choir Salutes Our Armed Forces," a one hour special featuring Broadway super-star Brian Stokes Mitchell and recording artist Linda Eder which will air on BYUtv and KBYU in November. The program was recorded during a live concert performed by the Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square earlier in the year. The Veteran's Day tribute recognizes those who have left their homes to bring peace to troubled areas around the world.

Remembering a spiritual giant, Dale Brough Rex

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:39:00 -0700

source: deseretnews.com

Before BYU basketball stars Jimmer Fredette and Danny Ainge graced the Marriott Center and television sets of the nation, another former player also caught the eye of America, except at Madison Square Garden.

Dale Brough Rex, a 6-foot-7, 200-pound center, and the rest of his BYU basketball team played a national tournament in New York City against Long Island University. Known as "Randy" on the court (nicknamed from his home town of Randolph, Utah), he not only was a talented athlete but a talented soldier, and he sacrificed his life during World War II.

Vet's military service enhanced his faith

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:18:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

“Honor your covenants and you’ll be protected,” said the voice that rang in JD Thornock’s ears as he looked out his window and realized he was only a few feet away from a roadside bomb sticking out of the ground.

“I thought it was over, and I heard Elder (David A.) Bednar’s voice in my head,” said Thornock, a junior studying business management.

Thornock is one of many Americans who responded to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City by joining the military. Thornock’s interest in the military goes much deeper than the tragic attacks, however.

BYU student prepares for life as an army chaplain

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 10:33:00 -0700

source: universe.byu.edu

Being in the U.S. military requires a certain level of toughness; however, being an LDS chaplain in the military requires more than just toughness.

Growing up in Hyattsville, Md., Gabriel Hess’s dreams were of being an actor and attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Hess even had other ideas about his future career, but none had anything to do with the military.

Hess grew up in a family with two younger brothers in the Washington, D.C., area. He had been home schooled until BYU admitted him as a freshman.

BYU conference to salute LDS veterans

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:52:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Russell Meacham's respect for Elder Marion D. Hanks runs very deep.

One of Meacham's most treasured memories from his military service during the Vietnam War was time spent with Elder Hanks, who risked his life to fly into hot combat zones to minister to LDS soldiers.

"Elder Hanks … made lists of the names and hometown addresses of everyone he met. He then spent countless hours, while traveling and elsewhere, dictating letters on a portable tape player, to the loved one 'back home,'" Meacham wrote in "Saints at War: Korea and Vietnam." "I can tell you by experience in my own family that a letter from a general authority who has recently visited your 'loved one' in the field in Vietnam is a real morale-builder."

Pres. Packer to military chaplains: 'We depend on you'

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 13:43:00 -0600

source: ldschurchnews.com

At the moment, 75 LDS men serve their country and the Church as chaplains in all branches of the U.S. armed services, an impressive corps, but it has not continuously been so.

Speaking Oct. 4 to an audience of LDS chaplains and their wives in the auditorium of the Church Office Building in Salt Lake City, President Boyd K. Packer recalled a time in the early 1960s when the number of chaplains in the Church had dwindled to five or six.

"Our men were retiring after full service, and we had great difficulty in getting replacements because the regulations had been set that a chaplain, in order to qualify, had to have 90 semester hours in an accredited university seminary," President Packer, president of the Quorum of the Twelve, said during the final session of the 2011 LDS Chaplains Seminar.

Pres. Boyd K. Packer recalls days of service

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:29:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Gazing at an auditorium filled with LDS military chaplains and their wives, President Boyd K. Packer recalled a time less than 50 years ago when the entire chaplain corps of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had dwindled to five or six men.

On Tuesday, President Packer, president of the church's Quorum of the Twelve, addressed the final session of the three-day 2011 Chaplains Seminar held at the Church Office Building.

"World War II was over and Vietnam was coming on," President Packer recalled. "Our men were retiring after full service, and we had great difficulty in getting replacements because the regulations had been set that a chaplain in order to qualify had to have 90 semester hours in an accredited university seminary."

LDS man among Navy SEALs killed in Afghanistan

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 10:53:00 -0600

source: deseretnews.com

Mormon Life says: One of the SEALs in a helicopter that was recently shot down in Afghanistan was a returned missionary from Utah. Our thoughts are with the families of all the lost soldiers. Jason Workman knew since he was a young boy that he wanted to be a Navy SEAL.

He knew the odds of making the elite fighting force were slim. Workman not only accomplished his goal, but he also became a member of the elite Navy SEAL Team 6.

Saturday, Petty Officer First Class Jason Workman, 32, was among the 31 Americans killed, including 22 members of SEAL Team 6, when their helicopter was shot down by insurgents in Afghanistan.

Trusting God, others while serving in the military

Tue, 11 Jan 2011 09:28:00 -0700

source: MormonTimes.com

It's 6 a.m. and already the canvas tent at Base Camp in Kuwait is filled with the heat of the morning light.

But for Dennis Franklin, morning means thoughts about evening back home in Utah. On the other side of the world, his wife, Carrie, is putting their three children — ages 8, 6 and 15 months — to bed alone, once again. That was the scene from more than two years ago.

What quietly tests Dennis Franklin's faith the most in his career with the U.S. Navy is "separation from my family and not being able to take care of them." Franklin, a chief petty officer, served in Kuwait from August 2007 to May 2008. He was 500 miles away from home heading to Kuwait when he learned he had to rely on God to take care of his family.

After 65 years, a lost soldier comes home

Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:53:00 -0700

source: sltrib.com

Mormon Life says: A nice story in honor of Veteran's Day. I never met my uncle, George Willard Grismore. He disappeared during World War II, three years before I was born. But, growing up, his spirit was always in my home. He was my mother’s hero and, through her, I learned all about him. He was my grandmother’s oldest son, and she never got over the loss.

On Wednesday, 65 years after his plane was lost while on a mission to supply gasoline to Filipino guerrillas fighting the Japanese on the island of Mindanao, Uncle Willard came home.

Through the efforts of the U.S. military and the Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, my uncle became one of thousands of missing warriors whose remains have been recovered and identified through a meticulous genealogy and DNA process.

Uncle Willard, a 30-year-old captain in the Army Air Corps, and five others took off from the island of Leyte on March 12, 1945, and headed toward Mindanao. They never arrived.

We still have the letter my grandmother mailed to Willard, which was returned to her as undeliverable. She urged him to keep his faith and to remember to pray. She didn’t know it at the time, but he was already dead when she wrote to him.

NFL star and former Cougar Chad Lewis flies high in South Korea

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:07:00 -0700

by Kaela Worthen
source: ldsliving.com

Mormon Life says: "Serving a mission was the greatest training I ever could have had for the challenges that were waiting for me in the NFL. The NFL was almost easy after serving a mission.”

Chad Lewis is a big guy. And his impact on those around him has been even bigger.

The former BYU Cougar went on to become a star NFL football player for both the Philadelphia Eagles and the St. Louis Rams, helping to catch winning touchdown passes and even win the Super Bowl one year. Now, as the NFL ambassador to China and the Far East, his reach has become international.

This weekend he visited the Osan Air Force Base in South Korea as a part of celebrating Veterans Day, which is on Nov. 11.

“It’s an opportunity for me as a representative of America, of home, of their families, of the NFL, to say thank you and let them know how grateful we are for their service, for our freedoms because of what they’re doing,” Lewis said. “You can’t imagine the response the troops show when someone comes from America and tells them thank you. They are so grateful and so appreciative because they’re putting their lives on the line, and to know that someone cares, their response is amazing. I am humbled every time I get to be around them. It is so cool I can’t even explain it.”

Maj. Matt Russell, Lewis’ friend from high school and the one who orchestrated the visit, affirms that view. “These kinds of visits always boost morale, especially at an overseas base where many of the airmen are here without their wives and children for a year or more,” he said. “It just reminds the airmen that someone appreciates their sacrifice. When that someone is a national hero, it's like the whole country is saying thank you.”

During his visit, Lewis gave two firesides, one, a Sunday evening devotional at the chapel, and a second on Monday night for the military personnel. “At both meetings it was evident that people were inspired, deeply touched and awestruck with the largeness of Chad's soul,” Russell said.

Branch President Travis Adams said the Sunday devotional did amazing things for the LDS community, and the wing chaplain, Lt. Colonel Warner, was so moved that he produced an impromptu gift for Lewis from the base chapel. “I don't think he realizes how deeply touched I was,” one airman said. “I don't know why, but I was just weeping.”

At the Monday meeting, wing commander and former Air Force Academy football star Col. Patrick Malackowski wished all 5,000 base personnel had been there to see Chad's presentation because it was so inspiring, while his wife explained that she "really needed that tonight. He was really speaking to me."

Lewis was able to tour all over the base, visiting individually and in groups with the airmen, handing out NFL hats and shirts, and most importantly, thanking them for their service.

“Every base that I’ve been to, there are people that you can tell are just so grateful,” Lewis said. “And for each base that I leave, I go away with a general or a captain or a sergeant’s face burned in my mind—that’s how grateful they are to spend some time with you and know that you care.”

He also got to fly with Russell in an F-16, being cleared for the flight with only millimeters to spare as he measured in exactly at the limit to be able to fit in the cockpit. From Russell’s enthusiastic description, it was the ride of a lifetime, complete with acrobatics.

As Lewis left on a calmer, commercial flight to return to the United States, Russell reflected on the visit. “He left our branch and our base uplifted,” he said. “He is a good friend and has always impressed me, but this weekend I was even more proud to call him my friend, if that was possible. Chad is an amazing man and I am grateful to know him.”

Lewis is emphatic about one thing, though: it all started with his mission. He became fluent in Mandarin Chinese while serving his mission in Taiwan, and when he started school at BYU after his mission, he continued studying it for the next four years. Now, he is the only person in the entire NFL—and almost in all of pro sports—that speaks Chinese, and this has opened up many more opportunities.

As the NFL tries to expand its market internationally, Lewis has been thick in the middle of it. “I meet with government officials and business sponsors for the NFL, I put on clinics for students in universities throughout China and I do a lot of interviews, mostly in Chinese. And those interviews play on their main television, they play on their bus stations and train stations, and that’s been a lot of fun—to describe and explain football to the Chinese people.”

But more than just learning a language, Lewis explained that his experiences prepared him for everything else that would come in his future.

“There couldn’t be any better training for life than serving a mission,” Lewis said. “There’s no way I could have played football in the NFL if I had not served a mission. The things I learned as a missionary made it possible for me to play football. . . . I can’t imagine being in the NFL without being a member of the Church, without the gospel in my life.”

Besides being a physical giant, it starts to become apparent that Lewis is a spiritual giant as well as he talks about putting on the “spiritual blinders” he acquired on his mission when bad stories were being told and “pray[ing] like crazy that those stories will roll off your back.”

As a pro football player, Lewis faced extreme challenges every day. “There are a lot of vices that are in and around the NFL, which is obvious if you just watch the news at night and see how many people are getting in trouble in professional sports. It’s a very, very high-pressure life. The pressure to perform is ginormous. So all the things you learn as a missionary—the spiritual strength, the discipline required to live the life of a missionary, including the rigorous schedule—were all applied every day in the NFL.”

Because of the work included in being a missionary—specifically, waking up early each morning, getting rejected all day long, not listening to music or going on dates, following rules with complete obedience—Lewis said that “it was the greatest training I ever could have had for the challenges that were waiting for me in the NFL. The NFL was almost easy after serving a mission.”

Pres. Uchtdorf salutes U.S. military personnel

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:24:00 -0600

source: MormonTimes.com

Calling men and women in military uniform "the pick and flower of the United States," President Dieter F. Uchtdorf on Sunday addressed U.S. military personnel and their families gathered in a local Mormon chapel and — via the Internet — in Iraq.

President Uchtdorf, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was the featured speaker at a special military fireside held in the church's Draper Utah Stake Center. The event drew members of four branches of the military. In addition to the chapel congregation of more than 1,000, some two dozen personnel deployed in Iraq — where it was 3:30 a.m. — viewed the fireside proceedings live via the Skype service over the Internet. A live scene of those gathered in Iraq was displayed on a screen in the chapel throughout the meeting.

"Please know that we love and appreciate you and that we pray for you, and that we send our blessings for your safe return," President Uchtdorf told them. "This connection by Internet shows in some ways once more how much good the Internet can do."