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Show ; , ,, . f - ,, , ; '"';4 . GOSPEL HAS RING OF TRUTH Scotsman Finds Place In 'V'' Church ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND The more Tommy Thomson argued, the harder he tamped his shovel under the railroad ties. He had been arguing about religion for five years, ever since his mate, Elder William Black, joined the church. They worked side by side at the. rugged job, and neither would retreat from their convictions. When Bill joined the Mormoni church, I started arguing with him about religion. I didn't believe in God, I didnt believe in anything in particular and we spent many hours in hot discussion. I was sad when he left the job, and I remember telling him that if ever I do become a member of any church, it would be the Mormons that I would choose, the argumentative Mr. Thomson said. Five years later, the missionaries looked me up. I had done a lot of thinking and it was easy to accept the gospel. 1 had heard all about it before. The elders were very surprised when I accepted the gospel so easily, and knew so much about the church. I was baptized a short time later, in 1961, and in about six months, I was made branch president. A lot' has happened to me since I joined the church, he said. My wife I was didnt join the church when baptized. She was very much antichurch when I became a member. An interesting thing happened when Elder George Hansen came to Aberdeen to supervise the building project. He right-oasked my wife to be baptized.. She told him, No, I have no desire to be baptized, Elder Thomson recalled. ut Some time later, Elder Hansen, along with Elder Black, with whom I had argued so much, came to the door and announced that they had come to baptize my wife. You try that and you may be thrown Elder Thomson said, and stood aside as the two men went to the next room to talk with Mrs. Thomson. right out, Imagine how surprised I was. and it was a very pleasant surprise indeed, when she came out and invited me to her baptism. She has been very active ever since. We have been to the temple, and are sealed for eternity. This is probably the greatest thing that ever happened in my life, he said. Mrs. Thomson became a member two years later than her husband. By then, he was serving as counselor in the district presidency. Since then, he has served as counselor to five different branch presidents. I became employed as custodian for the church in Aberdeen in 1965. It is probably the busiest job I have ever had. I work long hours, but it is a most satis-lyin- g work. There is a lot to do with human nature in my job. and I have discovered that the children teach us many lessons. For example, they wipe their muddy feet because their parents have told them to, but the parents may come into the chapel without wiping their feet. I stand by the door and thank the children, giving them a pat on the head. The parents then realize that they, too, must wipe their feet, Elder Thomson said. The gardens and grounds of the Aberdeen chapel are consistent winners of the Britain In Bloom" contest, which recog- - Elder Tommy Thomson, Aberdeen, Scotland, takes in prizewinning gardens at branch chapel. nizes beautiful landscaping. Elder Thom son takes great pride in both the building and the the gardens. Elder Thomson does a great amount Education Gifts Total $6 Million PROVO, UTAH from Individuals Increased significantly, and led to the establishment at BYU of several important programs, including the Richard I,. Evans Chair of Christian Understanding Direct and deferred gifts raised in the 1971-7- 2 campaign by the LDS Church Education amounted to Development 16,266,959, an increase of nearly $2.5 million over the previous year, said Donald T. Nelson, development director. The figure includes gifts received from alumni, parents, and friends (Annual Giving program), corporations, foundations, employes and individual philanthropists. The organization, located at BYU, is charged with raising funds for the university and other schools in the educational fund system of the church. Church Education Development came about from BYU University Development when the latter organization was given a church-wid- e g educational role in September 1970. One of the areas contributing to the increase was corporate giving," said Mr. was Our total for 1971-7$942,000. compared with $585,632 the previous campaign year. In addition, gift3 12 6, 1973 to WEEK ENDING JANUARY all-tim- This is an important indicator, because no gift in the Annual Giving category was over $10,000, indicating broadly based financial support among many people for BYU and other church schools he said. .... Donald T. Nelson development director fund-raisin- CHURCH Annual Giving contributions amounted an e high from more donors. $668,563 than 13,000 Nelson. 2 Although 91.? percent or the total raised was for BYU, Mr. Nelson pointed out that the percentage for other church schools will increase in the years ahead as programs on their behalf become more fully developed and widely fund-raisin- g Implemented. great-prid- e of genealogical. Work. He admits that research is quite easy, because all of ins people come from one island, the Island of Huntsman, in the Shot lands. lie remembers his youth in the island, located far north near the Atlantic Ocean. To me it was quite a place. There' Were very few trees, but it was beautiful. Most of the men worked with the sea as fishermen or sailors, while the women looked after the small farms or making fishing nets. The Shetland ponies were tised (0 haul the peat for fuel. Most every family, had a Shetland pony, he explained. Elder Thomson moved to Aberdeen looking for work. He found employment, and later he found the church. The church meant a new way of life for him. The people are the marvelous thing found with the church. Before X came into the church, I would never think of associating with a policeman, for Instance, or an inspector from a big comj pany. Now in the branch, we have a fingerprint expert in the police force, a pharmacist, a helicopter pilot, hydroboard inspector, and everyone seems important. In the church it doesn't matter wtat. you aroj or who you are, everybody just gets along great together. This Is tlui great thing about the gospel," lie said. Ive |