Our Readers Write

Chief Dan George

I felt deeply touched by Chief Dan George’s comments [August, “My People, the Indians,” p. 74] that the Indians felt as if they had no “gifts” to offer in order to make friends with other peoples of the land. When I read that, tears came to my eyes, for they have given us many gifts beyond treasure! Those gifts have already been offered and will continue to be a blessing to all peoples in this promised land forever. First, the Indians kept for all those who were to come after them a clean, beautiful land. The forefathers of these people also gave us the Book of Mormon. That book is beyond value to all peoples. These are only two of the many gifts the Indians have given us; there are many, many more. I believe that the Indian will see the people of the land grow to treasure his people in the years that lie ahead.

Bender Hash
Salt Lake City

Chocolate

In the June issue of the Ensign, members were advised against drinks containing habit-forming drugs [Policies and Programs, p. 46]. We wondered if many of the Saints were aware of the high caffeine content in chocolate. Even though no mention of it is made on the labels, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported to us that an eight-ounce candy bar has 160 milligrams of caffeine, which is 50 milligrams more than a stay-awake pill. Also, this amounts to nearly twice as much as in a cup of coffee.

We learned from the World Book Encyclopedia that chocolate also contains the poisonous alkaloid theobromine in addition to caffeine. We remember an article in the newspaper several years ago that reported that chocolate had the same habit-forming effect on children as nicotine has on adults. We remember recently a family reporting in our sacrament meeting on how they got along on their storage and that the item missed most was chocolate.

We know of several hospitals that will not take an EEG if the child has ingested any chocolate within twenty-four hours, because, I believe, it disturbs the brain wave pattern. We also recall that President Heber J. Grant advised against the use of chocolate some years back.

Certainly there are many things beyond those mentioned in the Word of Wisdom that wise and prudent Saints will learn are not for the best interests of their health and bodies.

Lenny and Naomi Hesterman
Phoenix, Arizona

The Olympics

We want Saints around the world to know of a fine Swedish television feature that mentioned favorably the Church. Just prior to the Olympics, Swedish television ran a sports series called The Race for Gold. Each week, the world’s great athletes on their respective athletic areas were presented. In one program, a Russian javelinist, Janis Lusis, and two discus throwers, Danek of Czechoslovakia and Jay Silvester of the USA, were presented. A short rundown on the first two was presented, giving similar information on their schooling and training methods. But Brother Silvester was pictured with his family; he discussed Mormon living; he talked about the Provo Temple, which was shown in grandeur and beauty; he talked about the Church university [BYU] where he teaches and its special brand of students. It was an excellent program.

Ric and Nilla Cuzner
Sodertalije, Sweden

Mexico and Central America

The September Ensign is perfectly beautiful! The cover, the color, the arrangement and layout, the contents—historical and otherwise—betoken the very finest product. This is certainly one of the most artistic issues—if not the most artistic—of any magazine produced by the Church. In every respect, the members of the Church throughout the world will be proud.

Leonard Arrington
Church Historian

The house pictured on page 22 of the September issue is correctly noted as belonging to W. D. Johnson, who is my great-grandfather, but he was not a bishop. The bishop W. D. Johnson referred to was his son, who was grown and married before this house was built by his father.

Primrose Jameson
Lake Worth, Florida

The article on our dear hermanos y hermanas gives me deep and glorious joy. Los Mormones are a dear and wonderful people.

Mrs. D. C. Brown
Oakley, Utah

I must write how much I enjoyed reading the last Ensign. I have read it from cover to cover and find it most interesting—in my opinion, the best yet. I hope you will print a similar copy on the South American Saints.

Mannie Erickson
Salt Lake City

How to Use Magazines

For the past several years, our law firm has been receiving unsolicited religious magazines from other faiths. We have usually set these out on our rack for our clients to look at. Recently my partner’s wife called this to our attention and wondered why we did not have Mormon Church magazines available. This matter was corrected and we now have only our Church publications available for our clients. Since this incident, I have had occasion to visit several other professional offices and have found that a good many of them are doing the same thing that we were—and there are no Latter-day Saint magazines available for reading.

My purpose in writing is to note that many of us are missing an opportunity to provide Church magazines for us by our clients. This would be particularly true in non-Latter-day Saint areas.

Incidentally, since putting the Church publications on display, I have been amazed at how many of our clients read them.

Richard L. Maxfield
Provo, Utah

I would like to share a very special moment in my life that involved the Ensign. I was recently converted to the Church while studying in Germany. The night prior to the day I was to fly home to America, I sat alone in a country foreign to me, preparing to return to a family and a country that I loved in a strange new way. I grew increasingly discouraged and apprehensive as I tried to decide how to present the Church to my realistic, practical-minded family and friends.

As I repacked my precious mementos from my stay in Europe, I came across a few copies of the Ensign that I had read and saved. I realized then that the Ensign would play an important part in solving my concerns. The magazine has, for the past two months, served as a strong example of the reality and organization of the Church. I thank the Church for a testimony of both the importance of the restored gospel and the intelligence and Spirit of the Lord granted to those in spreading the news thereof.

Vivian Swepston
Charlotte, North Carolina

An Observation

During the past few months, I’ve been watching with interest some of the letters written by Saints around the world. It seems that some of the English are concerned because of the American accent on things, and some Americans are concerned because of the Utah accent, including the pioneer emphasis. Some sisters complain about the loss of their Relief Society Magazine.

But no one seems to see the blessings they have at every hand, and especially as a result of the American-established church that through the pioneer efforts established itself in Utah, and that now has so many things for us, including our new magazines.

The Saints here in this mission, and I’m sure all over, are greatly aware of the many disadvantages they have as a result of not being a part of a large body of the Saints, but they look forward to the blessings and direction of the Lord. Do these complainers know that it wasn’t until recently that Jesus the Christ was published in Spanish?

The Saints here are proud of the Mormon heritage, as proud as any Utahn. No one should complain, but all of us should think of the blessings and advantages we have in having received the gospel.

Lelen A. Jarman,
Mexico Southeast Mission