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If it weren’t for Vicki

I am not a member of the Mormon church, but I really like the New Era and the inspiring articles it has each month. However, I wouldn’t be enjoying the New Era if it weren’t for my Mormon friend who has given me several subscriptions to your magazine. In addition to her giving me the magazine, she has given me an even greater gift. She has set such a fantastic example for me by living the Church’s high standards that she has really helped me in leading a clean and spiritual life, which I might not have done otherwise. So thank you, Vicki, and thank you, New Era.

Kathleen Garvey
West Sacramento, California

My favorite wing

I am not a Mormon yet, but I sometimes read the New Era. I want to say thanks for the beautiful pictures in the August New Era, especially the ones by Kris Rasmussen, because I know her. She introduced me to the Church. The first time I saw Kris she was in complete traction (her arms, head, pelvis, and legs). I was on volunteer nurse’s aid duty, and I could hear her laughing clear down the hall. At first I thought her pain pills made her laugh, but the registered nurse said that Kris refused to take pain pills. She was singing Mormon songs with four too many people in her room. She said, “Hi, Becky.” (I had my name tag on, but I didn’t understand how she could read it clear across the room.) “Come in and join us. We need another alto.” (How did she know I sing alto?) That cracked me up, so I went in, and we sang pioneer songs.

That was my favorite wing at the hospital from then on. She was there for many weeks, and we all hated to see her go. She told everybody about Joseph Smith, and if she wasn’t talking, she was listening to the Book of Mormon on cassette tapes. She always asked if it was too loud, but you could tell she wanted everyone to be able to hear it. Sometimes she would get very excited about a part of it, and then she would turn off the tape recorder and tell us about it. She liked the part about the little submarines the Jaredites made and how God made lights for them with his finger. I liked it when she told me about Christ coming to America. She took time to listen to my problems and even introduced me to a cute Mormon guy. I wrote on her body cast too.

Kris believes that God wants her to go on a mission for the Church, and I know that she will in spite of everything. She never said how much it hurt her when she was in the hospital. You could tell it did, but she’d never cry in front of anybody.

Becky Freeport
Larkspur, California

Stop and ponder

While out tracting one day we came across this stop sign and the two street signs above it. We feel it had a great message.

Elders Ron Larson and Warren Mathwig
Texas Dallas Mission

It took a girl

I have been a member of the Church all my life, but it took a girl who lived the standards to make me realize that I should do the same, and also that I should go on a mission. Naturally I enjoyed “By the Way She Is” in the September issue. I am deeply grateful to this young woman, for not only did she impress me with the importance of a mission and open up an entirely new world for me in the gospel, but she also helped me indirectly to find the joy of reading the New Era. You see, after two weeks out in the mission field I contracted an illness that left me with some time on my hands, and I happened onto a copy of the New Era. I read it and then frantically started searching for more copies. It may interest you to know that in a four-hour period, I read and reread seven copies.

Elder Leslie Dale Martineau
Canada Halifax Mission

A little push

I never appreciated the New Era before my mission, but now I have a living testimony of its usefulness as a missionary tool. We had an investigator who was really great but just needed a little push. One morning while studying I came across a great New Era article on testimonies. It was just what our investigator needed. We rushed the article right over to her. Two days later she called us up and told us she had decided to be baptized.

Elder William Pratt
Canada Montreal Mission

The shadow knows

The steps Jack and Kit Regas outlined for putting on a winning roadshow in “It’s Showtime ’76” in the October New Era were right on. I know because our youth put on a winning roadshow last April following those same steps. However, there is one glaring omission—shadow leadership! For our winning roadshow, a 16-year-old Mia Maid wrote the script and dictated original music and words to a musician. A 17-year-old Laurel choreographed all the numbers. These girls then directed 48 young people (half of them boys) to the most rewarding and exciting experience of their lives.

Marilyn Olsen
Young Women president, Farmington Seventh Ward Farmington, Utah

I know how it feels

The October issue of the New Era was fantastic. “The Part That Counts” was perfect for me and my mom. I love my mom, but we have our differences, just like the girl in the story and her mother. I know just how it feels. The Mormonisms are really good too.

Ferne Young
Barstow, California

Thank you, missionaries

I began reading the New Era when I was not yet a member of the Church. Since my baptism eight months ago, I’ve become even more interested in reading this wonderful magazine. I’m grateful to the people who write the articles because they really strengthen my testimony. If I may, I’d like to say thank you through the New Era to the missionaries who have brought the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to the Philippines.

Teresa A. Millendez
Silay City, Philippines

Sorry, Mr. Hewes

Though our children are all grown and married, we still continue our subscription to the New Era. The boys always read it whenever they are home for a visit, and we enjoy it too. The July issue was great. The photography accompanying the words of “America the Beautiful” was outstanding. We shall keep this issue in our file for future reference. We shall continue to have the New Era in our home, as we all read it and find it so useful. We would encourage all parents and grandparents to have it on their reading shelf. It is a great tool in helping us raise our children and grandchildren in the proper way.

We are particularly interested in the puzzlement on page 51 of the July issue. We had fun working the puzzle as a family. It was interesting to read the names of these great men and try to connect them with other bits of Bicentennial history we have been reading lately. We have a copy of the Declaration of Independence, but some of the signatures are hard to read, so it was very helpful to see them printed out. We found all the names but one—Joseph Hawes. We found it spelled Hewes, but couldn’t find the correct spelling.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryant P. McKay
Huntsville, Utah

It’s no wonder you couldn’t find Joseph Hawes in the puzzlement, since the signer was Mr. Joseph Hewes, a delegate from North Carolina. We apologize for the typographical error to our readers and especially to Mr. Hewes, who deserves better. After all, as the Continental Congress’s chairman of the naval committee, he was the first civilian head of the U.S. Navy and the man who gave John Paul Jones his commission. Editor

How Mormons live

Today I received my first New Era, the August issue, and I want to thank you for a neat magazine. I really enjoyed “Living Up to Nicknames” by Dayle G. Ash. It taught me a lot. When school starts again I’ll be in the 11th grade, and it will be one of my goals to be a better example of the Church to show people how Mormons live.

Amelia Valdez
Columbia, South Carolina