The GenealogyNow Expo was a huge success. Our two key-note speakers definitely helped make it so.
Both of them are master story tellers, especially of our Mormon heritage. Following are a couple of examples of their work, a short story from Glen Rawson’s experiences and an excerpt from Blaine Yorgason’s latest book All That Was Promised. . . .
Both of them are master story tellers, especially of our Mormon heritage. Following are a couple of examples of their work, a short story from Glen Rawson’s experiences and an excerpt from Blaine Yorgason’s latest book All That Was Promised. . . .
Confidence Before God
by Glen Rawson
I came around a corner on a quiet Wyoming highway and saw some
horses bunched up and running. I looked to see why, and there was
a small dog chasing them. He could not have weighed ten pounds,
but he had that whole herd on the run. It was a comical sight to see
all those big horses running from one little spit of a mutt.
I wonder how many of us are afraid when we don’t need to be and
running when we don’t have to. How many of us worry ourselves
into a lather? Confidence before God and men comes with who and
what you know, as illustrated.
by Glen Rawson
I came around a corner on a quiet Wyoming highway and saw some
horses bunched up and running. I looked to see why, and there was
a small dog chasing them. He could not have weighed ten pounds,
but he had that whole herd on the run. It was a comical sight to see
all those big horses running from one little spit of a mutt.
I wonder how many of us are afraid when we don’t need to be and
running when we don’t have to. How many of us worry ourselves
into a lather? Confidence before God and men comes with who and
what you know, as illustrated.
Years ago, while serving as a missionary, I was walking one evening to an appointment with a new partner. The week before, we had met a group of wild teens involved in some pretty extreme
behavior. Tact has never been my talent. I managed to offend them by my bluntness. Consequently, they were angry and intent on hurting us at our next appointment.
That evening, as we walked up the hill toward their house, we heard loud awful music; the kind that resembles the noise of a railroad switching yard. My new companion said, pointing to the run-down house, “I’m sure glad we don’t have to go there.”
“That’s where we’re going,” I said with some dismay. The look on his face was a Kodak moment. The gang leader met us at the door of the darkened home, wearing dark glasses.
His look of menace and the dim candles heightened the sense of evil.
Don’t ask me why, but we went in. The entire gang was seated around the room, all glaring
at us and all wearing dark glasses. We sat down expecting the worst.
“Okay, teach us,” the leader sneered.
I looked up at my companion, and to this day I don’t know what came over me. Then again, maybe I do. Did I mention that my companion was an Olympic class swimmer who stood
6’ 6” tall and was 250 pounds of tone and muscle? I felt no fear, only anger. I told them what
I thought of their heavy-handed intimidation. My big companion suddenly cut me off and took over. They really listened when he went after them. Before long, the mood mellowed. They turned off the music and on the lights, and we were friends again. We never saw a
conversion, but they were always our friends after that.
The bigger and tougher your friends, the easier it is to have confidence. That is why the Lord repeatedly reminds us, “Fear not, I am with thee” (Isaiah 41:10). He called Himself our
“rereward” (Isaiah 52:12), meaning “I will guard your back.” We will have perfect confidence before God and men when we have perfect love for Him and our neighbors. That love takes time and practice, but when your conscience is clear, there is nothing to fear.
Story from "All That Was Promised" by Blaine M. Yorgason, p. 58
"To help buoy the spirits of the struggling community [of St. George, Utah], for Christmas in 1863 'Thomas Cottam made thirteen dolls of wood with hinges for joints so they could sit down and move their legs and arms. Then he asked a lady who was quite an artist to paint hair, eyes, lips, etc. on them. . . My mother found one of the dolls by her stocking [that Christmas morning]. . . How happy she was!
Then [Thomas] let her, and a younger brother, carry a doll to each little girl in the settlement. Both they and their mothers wept for joy.” From an account by Lula Romney Clayson.
Footnote states that years later one recipient wrote, "I have loved and cherished that doll for over 50 years. I shall never forget that Christmas morning. We had been told Santa couldn't come so far so it was such a happy surprise to get a doll like that."
behavior. Tact has never been my talent. I managed to offend them by my bluntness. Consequently, they were angry and intent on hurting us at our next appointment.
That evening, as we walked up the hill toward their house, we heard loud awful music; the kind that resembles the noise of a railroad switching yard. My new companion said, pointing to the run-down house, “I’m sure glad we don’t have to go there.”
“That’s where we’re going,” I said with some dismay. The look on his face was a Kodak moment. The gang leader met us at the door of the darkened home, wearing dark glasses.
His look of menace and the dim candles heightened the sense of evil.
Don’t ask me why, but we went in. The entire gang was seated around the room, all glaring
at us and all wearing dark glasses. We sat down expecting the worst.
“Okay, teach us,” the leader sneered.
I looked up at my companion, and to this day I don’t know what came over me. Then again, maybe I do. Did I mention that my companion was an Olympic class swimmer who stood
6’ 6” tall and was 250 pounds of tone and muscle? I felt no fear, only anger. I told them what
I thought of their heavy-handed intimidation. My big companion suddenly cut me off and took over. They really listened when he went after them. Before long, the mood mellowed. They turned off the music and on the lights, and we were friends again. We never saw a
conversion, but they were always our friends after that.
The bigger and tougher your friends, the easier it is to have confidence. That is why the Lord repeatedly reminds us, “Fear not, I am with thee” (Isaiah 41:10). He called Himself our
“rereward” (Isaiah 52:12), meaning “I will guard your back.” We will have perfect confidence before God and men when we have perfect love for Him and our neighbors. That love takes time and practice, but when your conscience is clear, there is nothing to fear.
Story from "All That Was Promised" by Blaine M. Yorgason, p. 58
"To help buoy the spirits of the struggling community [of St. George, Utah], for Christmas in 1863 'Thomas Cottam made thirteen dolls of wood with hinges for joints so they could sit down and move their legs and arms. Then he asked a lady who was quite an artist to paint hair, eyes, lips, etc. on them. . . My mother found one of the dolls by her stocking [that Christmas morning]. . . How happy she was!
Then [Thomas] let her, and a younger brother, carry a doll to each little girl in the settlement. Both they and their mothers wept for joy.” From an account by Lula Romney Clayson.
Footnote states that years later one recipient wrote, "I have loved and cherished that doll for over 50 years. I shall never forget that Christmas morning. We had been told Santa couldn't come so far so it was such a happy surprise to get a doll like that."
Thomas Cottam was born 20 Oct 1820 in West Bradford, Yorkshire, England and died 10 Nov 1896 in St. George, Washington, Utah
His parents are John Cottam and Catherine Livesey
He married Caroline Smith Cottam
His parents are John Cottam and Catherine Livesey
He married Caroline Smith Cottam