Fifty ninth anniversary

March 3, 2013

I was in Eager, Arizona with my mother on March 3, 1953 at the Eager ward building for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We were to be baptized in the font where we would be immersed in the font after the words, “David Duane Jacobs, having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.” I would come from the water, freshly baptized, cleansed of my mortal self, and prepared to take on the responsibilities as one, “taking the name of Jesus Christ.” The next Sunday, I was confirmed a member of the Church and given the “Gift of the Holy Ghost. My mother was similarly baptized and confirmed. Our family has been blessed beyond capacity to express through these marvelous blessings. She has passed through mortality and through the veil to be with her loved ones, but on many occasions spoke of how important the Gospel of Jesus Christ was to her and how difficult raising her family would have been without the direction provided through Gospel teachings, blessings, and associations.

Today I witnessed as a young man, Anthony Vergara was confirmed a member of the Church. I watched as his family showed their understanding of this event. As in all families many different elements are part of the confluence joining folks together. I shared with this Anthony different circumstances under which he was taking on himself the name of Jesus Christ now, compared to 59 years ago. In small-town St. Johns there were two churches; the Catholic and the Mormon. The distinction was so pronounced that once, a white, Catholic lady from Boston moved to St. Johns and the Catholic folks, not knowing quite how to address her, gave her the name, Mormon-Catholica. Yes, my mother was a pioneer and embraced the Church assisting in the marvelous understanding so many now have of the love our Father in Heaven has for all his children and that the atonement is for all of his children.

Over the past four months I have lost four temporal friends. Each touched my life with friendship and a firm belief in God. Each had different beliefs, doubts, and passions. The last friend to go through the veil was Al Sargent. He was a machinist aboard the USS Hornet CVS -12 and we were good friends serving together fifty years ago. He and his great wife Carla were married the same day, May 1, 1965 as Jean and I in the Los Angeles Area. They came to our reception in Montrose, California. We saw them on rare occasions, but always kept a lamp in our window and a warm spot in our heart as the decades passed.  Thank you, Carla, for being our friends. I believe it can be safely said that he has returned to Heavenly Father for more “tooling”.

Significant lessons are available for us to use as growth material; as roadmaps for us as we continue in our mortal paths. Ponce De Leon spent much of his mortal clock looking for the fountain of Youth; for alternatives to getting older. We must not take that silly path. We will get old. We will die and return to Father in Heaven. What we must do is look to our very soul; to the Holy Ghost and to ministering angels and listen to the answers that we will inevitably receive. God has a plan for us and all we need to do is find it. Once found we will provide warmth and blessings to us and to those in need of His love and Charity.

God bless each of you as you share your life and the Love of God with others.

Duane Jacobs, father, uncle, brother, cousins, grandfather, and fond friend