Sixteen Leap Frogs

 

George Reynolds, my second great-grandfather, was a nine-year-old boy in England when he met his first Mormon; his grandmother’s maid. He attended the Paddington Branch with her and wanted to be baptized. His family was furious. They sent him to a boarding school in France, but he managed to be baptized at age 14. George was 21 when he was called to serve as George Q. Cannon’s private secretary and emigration clerk of the Liverpool Mission. He made arrangements for thousands of European converts to come to Zion before he was able to make the trip himself. He took a steamer to New York, a train through St. Louis, a river boat to Nebraska City and a stage coach to Denver. The Sioux nation was on the warpath at the time, so George and two companions had to make most of the rest of their journey by mule. They travelled at night, careful not to light any fires, to avoid being seen.

Two Tomatoes

 

My third great grandfather, Henry Weeks Sanderson, was born in Massachusetts in 1829. His parents became converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and moved to Nauvoo in 1843. He wrote in his journal about hearing the news of Joseph Smith’s martyrdom less than a year later. Henry was only 17 when the Saints arrived at Council Bluffs, but he was accepted as a member of the Mormon Battalion in Company D. The battalion made a grueling 2,000-mile march from Iowa to San Diego, helping the U.S. secure much of the American Southwest, and opening a southern wagon route to California. Henry never made it all the way to the coast. He rejoined the Saints in the Salt Lake valley with a detachment of sick soldiers from Pueblo, five days after the original band of pioneers arrived. He was not yet 19. 

United

 

Tomorrow is Pioneer Day, a holiday in Utah, Idaho and Arizona honoring the explorers, homesteaders and refugees who made the intermountain west their home. One of them, John Nebeker, was my third great-grandfather. John was the second of 13 children, born in Delaware in 1813. He and his bride were in their twenties living in Illinois when they met with missionaries and were baptized. Determined to follow the Saints wherever they went, he went to Winter Quarters where he fitted three wagons with oxen and gave them to Brigham Young for the first company to cross the plains. Brother Brigham asked him to stay and help the second company prepare for the journey. John arrived in the valley with the second company September 26, 1847. He cut the first wheat crop harvested in the Intermountain region. His farm was where West High School stands today. Some of John’s children founded Laketown, on the shores of Bear Lake.

A Pair of Ears

 

Did you know your ears never really go to sleep? Even when you’re dreaming, your ears constantly process sounds. This is why a loud thunderstorm or a smoke detector can wake you in the dead of night. Your middle ear contains the tiniest bones in your body. They’re called malleus (hammer), incus (anvil), and stapes (stirrup). All three can easily fit on a penny. You’ve probably heard your ears and nose are the only parts of your body that never stop growing. This isn’t quite true. Your skeleton stopped growing during puberty. But ears and noses are made of cartilage, which stretches or sags as you age and appears to grow. Earwax protects your inner ear from dirt, bugs and bacteria. Ears are meant to be self-cleaning, if you don’t use Q-tips or other objects to impede the process. Most people use their right ear to process language, their left ear for music and other non-verbal sounds.

Eighteen Kitty Cats

 

Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon fifty-seven years ago yesterday. Over 600 million people worldwide watched the event on television. Many of us were convinced it wouldn’t be long before there’d be scientific outposts on the moon. Surely within our lifetimes, we’d book lunar vacations. That didn’t happen, and probably never will. One reason is the high cost of fuel we’d need to escape Earth’s gravity. Another is the hostile environment we’d need to deal with once we were there. Earth’s atmosphere protects us from solar radiation, cosmic rays, and micrometeorites. The moon has no such protection. Then there’s dust. The moon is covered with regolith: sharp, toxic, magnetic dust that infiltrates and destroys equipment and people. It chewed through astronauts’ boots, scratched visors and contaminated sample cases. Tracked into lunar modules, it became airborne and was inhaled, causing “lunar hay fever.” Short-term exposure means sneezing, congestion and sore throat. Long-term exposure threatens lungs.

Ripe Tomato

 

“Not only does the Savior know you, but He also wants you to come to know Him and His Father. In His great Intercessory Prayer, He declared, ‘This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.’ He is the Good Shepherd, who leads us to green pastures and still waters. He is the Light of the World, who lights our path so that we need not walk in darkness. The question should never be ‘Will the Savior walk with me?’ He will. The real question is ‘Will I walk with Him?’ As we choose to walk with Jesus Christ, everything begins to change. He is no longer a casual acquaintance but a trusted heavenly friend. May I invite you to choose to remember Him and follow Him—not casually or occasionally but deliberately and always.” – Elder Clement M. Matswagothata

Fifteen Leap Frogs

 

William Kampiles always wanted to be a spy. While he was attending Indiana University in 1977, he was recruited by the CIA. He was given a job routing message traffic. I’m not sure what that means, but apparently it was very boring. He really wanted to work in the covert section of the CIA, but that would require a good deal of training. William had a better idea. He stole a top-secret KH-11 spy satellite manual from CIA headquarters, and quit his job. Then he flew to Athens and visited the Soviet embassy there. He offered them the stolen manual and was paid $3,000. The Soviets gave William a camera and told him to gather more secrets. William then contacted an agent and told him what he’d done. He thought the CIA would be impressed with his skills and make him a double agent. Instead, he was sent to prison.