Who Are the Ukrainians?

I have long been fascinated by statements in the scriptures indicating that the lost tribes of Israel are in “the north countries.” (Ether 13:11, D&C 110:11, D&C 133:26-32, Isa. 49:12, Jer. 3:18).
I worked in the Boise Temple with Steve Buss, who served as a co-mission president in Siberia. I asked him, “What do the patriarchal blessings say about those people?”

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Imitating Isaiah

“A commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah,” the Lord said in 3 Nephi 23:1.
Isaiah’s words truly are great. They’re filled with prophecies, many of which will not be fully understood until their fulfillment. His words are also beautiful, and have a cadence unique to him. Many of his verses are couplets that state the same thing twice, but with different words. Could I write like Isaiah? Here is my attempt:

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Things in Commotion

As I wrote the date just now I realized that it is an important one. On this day in 1964 Marjorie and I had our first date. Jim Howard had invited me to be his friend and companion at a Boy Scout activity that his troop in Sumpter, Oregon was sponsoring. The activity was a dinner. Each scout was to invite a friend, and each scout and his friend were to invite dates. Jim’s girl friend was Sharon (Narn) Reagan. Sharon’s friend was Marjorie Hunt. Jim and I invited the two girls, and we had a wonderful time. That date led to many others, and Jim and I both eventually married our dates.

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The Lord Knows the Details

Last week I had a struggle with my check book. It wouldn’t balance. Not only would it not balance, but my figures and the bank’s figures were hundreds of dollars apart; and if the bank’s figures were correct, I was severely overdrawn.

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That Which Has Been

It is said, “That which has been is that which shall be,” or that “history repeats itself.”
It occurs to me that two of the world’s most momentous and significant events are going to be repeated, and we’d better be ready for them.

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We Are Living in the Future

We are a privileged people. We are living in the future that every prophet of the past looked forward to. Ancient prophets saw our day and longed to be here. We have comforts that no king of the past ever had. We have undreamed-of technology that is far more magical than anything that Pharaoh’s magicians were able to conjure up. Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men knew nothing in comparison to what you know.

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The World is in Motion

The world is in motion. The morning is still, and yet there is movement. There are breezes, birds, and breathtaking beauty. The sun appears to be standing in the early-morning sky, and yet is rapidly moving toward its zenith. It sent its first flash of light over the mountains just minutes ago, and revealed how fast it’s moving by putting its complete, full self above the horizon in less than a minute. Thirty minutes later it is ten times its own diameter above the mountain over which it rose.

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Unique Experience?

It is nearly 5:00 A.M. I stood for some minutes in my dark living room contemplating the valley. The valley was in darkness but pockmarked with the lights of people’s yard lights and the lights of Haines. Nothing moved. No one was even out checking their calving cows. Everything is peaceful and still.

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Wake-up Call

Doctrine and Covenants 45:30-31 puts forth a troubling prophecy:
“And in that generation (during the Restoration of the gospel and just preceding the coming of Christ) shall the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

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The Dam Has Broken

I would like to tell of two events which took place in my neighborhood. Just over a century ago a tragedy occurred about five miles south of my house. On a night in June 1896 the seven members of the Clark French family retired to their beds in their home at

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Looking Into the Future

When I was 17, in November of that year (the 14th), I knocked on a woman’s door. She opened it. I announced that I was there to pick up her daughter for a date.

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Slipped Moorings

President Thomas S. Monson made the observation that “the world has slipped from its moorings.”

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The Day Will Come

We spend our lives looking forward. We look forward to future events. Some we anticipate with eagerness and pleasure. Others we dread.

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