“My Friend My Father,” New Era, June 1998, 31
Special Issue:
Faces of Friendship
My Friend My Father
When I was very young, my father moved our family to Provo, Utah, where he operated a dental laboratory. After school, I would run to his lab and watch him make special false teeth. Often I would take a piece of wax and try to mold a tooth or a full denture. My efforts were awful! In my early teenage years, he would have me work by his side to learn each part of his trade. He was a perfectionist, and he constantly taught me how to remake the delicate, detailed work without any criticism from him but with continued explanations and demonstrations of how to improve. Each time I made a correction, he would tell me how much he appreciated my work and my effort. This gave me self-confidence, and my work improved.
Our time together, his constant encouragement and listening ear, and the many thousands of corrective counseling moments in the dental lab led to many discussions about God, the gospel, the plan of happiness, and the various aspects of life. This was how he guided me into a framework—a template, if you will—for me to try to order my own life.
My dad loved life and was quite a prankster. On one Halloween night, he shaved off his mustache (which he wore all his life) and dressed up in a costume and went Halloweening. I did not recognize him at first, but that night he and mother had so much fun. Later, I found myself making false Dracula teeth for myself and my friends and doing some of the same fun things I had watched him do.
We went fishing many times, and on occasion we even caught fish. We had family gatherings often, and my dad ordained me to every office in the priesthood except Seventy. We worked together, played together, and worshiped together all the days of my youth.
Because of this very special friendship, I later wanted to take my family often to my parents’ home to be with my dad and mom. There was always a joke or two and a tasty sandwich to be eaten. But most of all, our relationship was warm, nonjudgmental, and totally accepting.
My parents have now passed on, and I have sorely missed that close friendship with my father these past 14 years. They are some of the fondest memories of my life here on earth. I am encouraged to know that God has promised a continuation of those relationships and friendships into eternity if we can totally accept the Lord’s commandments and live within the boundaries He has set. How fortunate I was to have a dad who truly became my friend, my teacher, my mentor, and my example for all time and eternity.