“Jeffrey Bingham of Sappulpa, Oklahoma,” Friend, Feb. 1993, 19
Making Friends:
Jeffrey Bingham of Sappulpa, Oklahoma
Jeffrey Bingham (7) wants to go on a mission to Japan when he is old enough. He hopes to serve the Lord in Japan, partly because he wants to learn to speak a different language and see different things and partly because his Uncle Allen went on a mission there. Jeffrey will, of course, go wherever he is called. He is already earning and saving money for his mission by doing yardwork and by assembling boxes at his father’s business.
Almost every spring and summer morning before school, you can find Jeffrey practicing baseball with his father. Jeffrey plays Little League baseball and is also learning gymnastics. In gymnastics, he likes to do backbends and somersaults and to practice swinging on the parallel bars.
On Sundays, the Bingham family does something unique. They call it “Super Sunday Sabbath Hour,” and during it, they write in their journals, sing Primary songs, listen to stories from the Friend, and watch a recorded scripture story. They do each of these activities for fifteen minutes. Jeffrey said that he especially likes listening to his mother read stories from the Friend and watching the videotape scripture stories. His favorite scripture story, because he wants to live the commandments, is of Heavenly Father giving Moses the Ten Commandments.
Jeffrey and his family take turns doing different things for family home evening. Sometimes he is in charge of organizing games, making treats, or giving a lesson. One time, he gave a lesson on Nephi getting the brass plates from Laban.
When he grows up, Jeffrey wants to be an archaeologist, a scientist, or a pilot. Right now he thinks he’ll probably be a pilot. But he also likes to collect pennies and rocks and do scientific experiments with his father, and his favorite magazine is National Geographic. He says he likes to look at its pictures and learn about other countries, outer space, and animals.
Jeffrey loves his family very much. He likes to help take care of his brother Darren (2), play video games with his other brother, Brett (4), visit his grandparents, and go sledding and play sports with his uncles. Pizza and hamburgers are some of Jeffrey’s favorite foods, and he loves to eat his mother’s fresh homemade bread. Jeffrey’s family loves to be around him because he’s always smiling and always happy.
Photographed by Jill Johnson Hymas
1. The Bingham family
2. Playing with his brothers
3. Playing ball
4. Gymnastics