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Show HOWS 1? jj Early Experiences Set Pattern For Active Life mmn j (SMURSHES (From fbt Fellfliou rs ! News Service and Ihe wire of the Associated and the Unites Press International.) Belief In Go d A public opinion survey published in Belgrade found that 39 per cent of Yugoslavians over age 18 believe in God. Of those questioned, 51 per cent said that they did not believe in God and the remaining 10 per cent expressed no opinion. The largest concentrations of believers were found in Croatia, a traditionally Roman Catholic area and among Moslems of Albanian ancestry in the southwestern region of Kosmet. Pulpit Exchange For the first time in the history of Jordan, Catholic and Moslem speakers exchanged pulpits in Amman. . A Moslem speaker in the Church of the Assumption here stressed the solidarity between Christians and Moslems in Jordan. And a Catholic official, Bishop Nemch Simaan, Latin Rile Vicar for Jordan of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, speaking in a mosque, emphasized hopes for a just and peaceful solution of conflicts in the Middle East. Chinese Listeners The Far East Broadcasting Co., a non- denominational organization incorporated in California, reported in Hong Kong it had received 60 letters from Communist China, many of them containing queries about Christianity. Cordon Bell, director of the company, said Its broadcasts had never been jammed" by Communist stations, primarily gecause it. keeps out of politics and steers clear of comments on the Cultural Revolution and the Red Guards. Rise In Suicides A minister told a legislative panel in Augusta, Me., that the suicide rate is highest among the elderly and blamed it in part on a hopeless struggle to live on retirement income made inadequate by inflation. The Rev. Arthur Dearborn, director of Senior Citizens of Kennebec County, testified before the legislatures taxation committee that all over the state we see the tragic experience of persons who retired and thought they had enough to live on." four-roo- I I tah was a territory of the United States until I was six years old," recalled Eugene Hilton, former president of the Oakland-BerkeleStake. I spent my early childhood days the little Mormon town of Virgin went. Washington County near St. George. When I was born, Nov. 12, 1889, Benjamin Harrison was president of the United States, he said. One of my very earliest memories was when I was put in pants. I was four years old and this was the occasion when baby into a We had been condemned for the doctrine and practice of baptism for the dead. I closed with a prayer that all would investigate and then invited them to our meeting. he recalled. a turned boy. Until that time the masculine members of the household wore e girls. When mother finally finished my home-mad- e pants and put them on me, I bounded out of the front door and ran around the house twice as fast as I could run. I was a boy. I was not always so happy with my e clothes which mother continued to make, he said. I remember a cloth hat that I did not like. She even knitted my stockings of black yarn. They were so long that they always came up above my knees and were held in place by a narrow band of elastic tape, he explained. He returned from his mission without money and in debt. Determined to complete his education, he enrolled in Millard Act emy, teaching a Book of Mormon class for tuition. He played the trombone In an orchestra for $1.50 a dance. When the school year ended, he worked as a salesman of pots and pans. I earned enough to pay off my debts and had sufficient to enroll at BYU In September 1915, he said. Eugene Hilton . . . stake patriarch home-mad- Mother even made me a Sunday suit. How proud I was of that suit But how disgraced I was when I burned a small hole in it while playing with matches. I vividly remember mothers lecture as she had me sit on a stool at her feet while she darned the burned hole, he said. When a traveling photographer came and took our picture, Ma borrowed for me my cousins boughten suit. Anything boughten was most highly regarded, he said. My father carried the mail twice a week to all the towns along the Virgin cart. Once in a River in a while he would take me with him. I got acquainted with all the towns from Leeds to Zions Canyon, he said. county jail. The man had terrorized the whole southern Utah area and was hunted by mounted posses and was finally captured in the hills near Virgin. I remember being quite worried when Pa merely put his rifle on the spring seat beside us and I sat between him and the sullen, mean looking outlaw," Mr. Hilton continued. at the St. Joseph Catholic School yard In Clayton, Mo., promises to at least Inconvenience sinners" by towing their illegally marked automobiles away. The sign was put up when con-s- i ruction In area made parking scarce. I walked to the front, praying as I I told them that we were Christians, that Christ had restored the true Gospel through his Prophet Joseph Smith. I opened their big bible to First Corinthians 15:29 and read about baptism for the dead and challenged them to believe their own bible. in in My father was also the town constable in Virgin. One time he was taking an accused murderer down to the A sign n y Another momentous trip on which my father took me, I saw the Virgin clear to St. George," he Valley recalled. 'Sinners' Take Note build our new helped home, he said. He served for 27 months in the States Mission. He was effective at trading, speaking and teaching. At one time he answered charges before an on, OAKLAND, CALIF. My early experience In actually working began when I was about five. d I was taught how to use a hoe to hoe weeds and cut corn and cane. I was always good at climbing the enormous mulberry tree to pick off leaves to feed my sister Mr. llilton Annies silk worms, recalled. My first experience In earning short-handle- By Eugene Hilton was 26 years and still jnmarried. His special interest was in Ruth Savage of Woodruff, Adz. She was on a mission and he was waiting or her. J M. HESLOP Church News Editor money came when I trapped quail and tr aps. A squirrels in my home-mad- e man would come to buy them once a year," he said. The greatest calamity of my childhood was when I was about six. My parents were away selling dried fruit and the molasses we had produced. My older, and much bigger brother, Hugh, was cutting wood for the kitchen stove. I was standing at what I thought was a safe distance waiting to carry the wood to the wood box in the house. A small chip of wood idt me in the pupil of my left eye. This terribly painful experience resulted in a scar forming over the pupil of my eye. Fortunately I have been blessed with a strong right eye all my life, he said. The Virgin River holds many memories, Mr. Hilton continued. On my 8th birthday and after careful instructions from Mother, Father and I waded far out into the river and I was baptized. It was Nov. 12 and winter, but I was not very cold," he said. Life in this little community was difficult because of the flooding of the Virgin River, which washed away much of the farm land and destroyed the dams and irrigation ditches. As a consequence we moved away :o Pahvant Valley, a place of unending niles of flat land In Millard County, Utah. This eventful move was begun jn Washingtons birthday in 1900. To my sorrow we left our low lying, wacrn, fruitful land of Dixie for the barren and difficult area of middle Utah. Many years of soul testing aioneering and hardships followed. Mr. Hilton recounted. In 1907 he took his first train ride lo Provo to attend school at Brigham Young University. Farming was not too successful at Abraham, Utah, due to the alkali soil and 1910, the family moved to My brother, Hugh, and I llincKiey. . WEEK At long last she returned and we met at the April Conference in 1916 inX Salt Lake City. We indeed seemed to be meant for each other. Neither of us had a doubt and we were married in the St. George Temple on Sept 28. 1916. he said. He continued his education and accepted a job in the nevy established seminary system. Mr. llilton served in the seminary system in Utah, Idaho, Arizona and California. During this time, he served on the Sunday School General Board, and many other Churoh assignments. Mr. Hilton accepted a position with die Oakland Public schools in 1928, in which bn served for 21 years. Mr. Hilton has been an active author, lecturer and traveler. On April 18, 1937 he was chosen and set apart as president of Oakland Stake by Elder Stephen L Richards, then a member of the Council of Twelve. During his service as stake president, he made important contributions in the selection of the Oakland Temple site. He has served as a sealer in the temple. My ordination to the office of patriarch by Matthew Cowley of the Council of the Twelve, in 1949 has resulted In many years of joy." Mr. Hilton said. I have served as patriarch in five Oakland, Oahu in different stakes Hawaii, Auckland and Hamilton in New Zealand and at present in the Oakland-Berkele- y stake. I have given hundreds of blessings including 24 of my grandchildren. he said. Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Hilton and their missionar-- . daughter served together as1951-5ies in Great Britain during Looking on a life of activity and iccomplishment Mr. Hilton said, The Savior's advice to rejoice and bo exceedingly glad is appropriate for ENDING MARCH 22, 1969 CHURCH-- 11 |