Jan 8, 2004

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints nurtures family values, love

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is a warm and inviting place, where people speak from the heart, and share a strong, personal belief in their religious teachings as a way of life. On Sundays, members, known as sisters and brothers, gather from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and attend Sacrament meetings, followed by religious classes. They strive to read a chapter from “The Book of Mormon” daily, with feeling, and to live their lives following the examples of Jesus Christ.

Almaden’s Ada Woodworth says she loves being a part of the church, and the warm, family-oriented community. “The church encourages family, love and support,” she says. “It brings such a light to my life.”

Personal testimonials are included during the first Sunday service of every month. During his testimonial, Joel Deceuster, who has five boys and one girl, emphasized to the Silicon Valley audience the importance of valuing relationships over finances. “Sometimes we measure success with financial gains and our jobs,” Deceuster attested, “but we really measure our success through the quality of the relationships we have with other people, and I have a high-quality family. If ever I had to measure success, this is it,” he said. “Anything you do to help another soul out is the work of the Lord,” reminded another.

Stakes and wards divide members geographically

Although headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Mormon Church is located all over the world, and is divided geographically into areas called “stakes.” A stake is lead by a president. In San Jose, there are five stakes. “In our stake, there are eight wards,” notes Nan Hunter. “In this building, are three wards, with Steve Hayden, bishop of Almaden 1st Ward; Scott Jensen, bishop of Almaden 2nd Ward, and Hugh Hall, bishop of Almaden 3rd Ward.”

According to Hunter, the reason they have wards, is so that people can learn to live together, love each other, and forgive each other. “It helps them to rise to the highest (level of) Christianity,” she says. “It’s not a particular place—it’s a common belief in Jesus Christ. If we were to go to Milpitas, we would find that exact same structure and feeling there that we find here. We’ve been to Denmark and Japan, and the saints are meeting, and giving the same lessons. It’s the same church, every place,” she reflects. “We have a strong belief in Jesus Christ, the Bible and the Book of Mormon. It helps us know how to live, treat other people, and get along. This is all we really have—one another—and when we die, those relationships are all we’re going to take with us.”

According to primary school counselor Kim Ramirez, the boundary of Almaden’s 1st Ward stretches from the Almaden Country Club area to Camden Avenue, while the Almaden 2nd Ward serves the Greystone area. “We try to do activities with both wards so that the families get to know each other,” says Ramirez. “Every Wednesday night are young men and women’s activities, such as auto mechanics, video editing, paintball games, and learning how to surf classes for young men, and homemaking skills, modesty in dressing classes, journaling, and community service projects for young women.” This past Christmas, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints joined with St. Anthony’s Catholic Church to perform a small opera, “Amahl and the Night Visitors.” “Over 1,000 people attended five performances,” notes Ramirez.

Classes for young people

Doug Cummingham teaches Sunday school to 12-year-old boys. He finds it challenging, but fun, and a preview of what’s to come with his own children. His wife, Michelle, is the young woman’s counselor to 12- and 13-year-old girls. “The church is everything to us,” enthuses Cummingham. “It tells us the path of life we should follow. I couldn’t imagine raising children without the influence of the church in their lives.” Given the problems that are going on in the world today, he finds it especially important that the children have a spiritual center.

Every Jan. 1st, the children meet their new teachers. During orientation, they bring a couple of things to tell about themselves, and go to their new classrooms, Ramirez says. Children begin nursery school at 18-months-old. From age 4 to 11, they attend primary classes, and from age 12, until they graduate high school, they attend young men or women’s classes. At the beginning of primary class, the children all gather together for scripture, prayer, and music time, followed by sharing. On this day, the little ones who recently graduated from nursery school were greeted with a welcome song by the primary class.

Some of the children took turns reading scripture and offering testimony. “I have brown hair and brown eyes, with skin the color of a brown sucker,” shared Chandler Ramirez. “My favorite game is Playstation, and my favorite food is Kentucky Fried Chicken. I love reading the scripture,” he continued. “Heavenly Father made us so our bodies could move, and do things like tasting and touching. He was also my spirit before I came down to Earth. He gave me a voice. I know that my mom and my dad love me, and that my Heavenly Father loves me.”

While teaching the young women’s group, Michelle Cunningham speaks from the heart, and relates her personal experiences to those the girls may face in high school. She asks the girls to consider characteristics they value in a best friend, such as understanding, kindness, generosity, and trust, and points out that Jesus Christ shared these same traits.

Warm and soft-spoken Bishop Steve Hayden also runs Almaden Country School. He believes that everyone has a calling and serves in his own way. He’s sees the divisions of the wards by neighborhoods as a way for members to attend a church where they live, along with their community. “This ward was formed in 1971, and I believe my father-in-law, Richard Hunter, who is now the stake president, was the first bishop of this ward,” Hayden remarks. A relatively new bishop himself, Hayden was delighted when he was asked to authorize a baptism, and upon signing a form in a booklet, noticed that the first one was signed by his father-in-law in 1972.

“The Mormon Church is run by its members,” Hayden explains. “It’s a lay-ministry and all of the sermons and lessons are taught by the members. People are ‘called to serve’ by inspiration.” Hayden received his calling two months ago upon receiving a phone call from his father-in-law. “I am about to give you some news that might change your life forever,” Hunter said, “You’ve been called to serve as the bishop.” In the church, you accept the callings that you’re given, Hayden reports, so he will serve for five years, and is happy to do so. “I grew up having deep respect for bishops–they are some of the finest people I’ve known,” Hayden reflects. “And the thought that I was being asked to be one of those people was very humbling. But the Lord sends you peace and I felt this was what he wanted me to do and it’s been a great blessing for my family.”

Serving the community

Kathryn Salisbury has been a member of the ward for about 30 years. She is the president of the women’s auxiliary, known as Almaden 1st Ward Relief Society, whose motto is “charity never faileth.” It is their mission to serve the community and families in need, as well as to send humanitarian aid around the world. “Almaden 2nd Ward delivers soup to soup kitchens every month,” she mentions. “The Relief Society also reached out during the recent Southern California wild fires and regularly send supplies to Salt Lake City, where they’re distributed worldwide.”

Faye Sowards views The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a guide to life for every age group. “Children receive spiritual guidance, take part in activities, and learn morality,” she states. “From age 14 to 18, they attend seminary class every morning, five days a week, from 6 a.m. to the start of public school. They will also attend institute or religious school at college for spiritual guidance.”

Serving as missionaries throughout the world

Serving as missionaries is a huge milestone in the life of a young man or woman in the church. According to Bishop Hayden, Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon Church, knew that the “message” was so important that everyone needed to hear it, so he organized an effort to teach the gospel. “Young men are called to serve on a mission at 19-years-old, and young women at age 21. Men attend missions for two years, and women for 18 months,” Hayden says. “During that time, they are instructed to write home to their parents once a week, and may call their mothers on Mother’s Day and Christmas.” Although they miss their children, the families consider this opportunity a blessing. “They know that their child’s spiritual growth is more valuable than a college degree,” states Faye Sowards.

Most young people pay for the experience of going on a mission themselves, or receive financial assistance if needed. “They must demonstrate a desire to serve and be personally worthy, which means living the Gospel,” notes Hayden. “There is a health code, called the Word of Wisdom, where you abstain from alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea. The young man must be living the Word of Wisdom, and the Law of Chastity, in which young men and women do not have sexual relations before marriage—basic teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With those qualifications, he is called to serve and goes through a health examination and fills out an application which is sent to Salt Lake City.” Missionaries can be sent anywhere where there is a mission in the world. When he was 19, Bishop Hayden received the letter from Salt Lake City, and was sent to Montreal, Canada to serve. Hayden’s wife also served a mission, but in Belgium. Currently, two of the members of their ward are away on missions. “Dan Woodworth is 6-foot 5" and very shy. I know that being called to serve in Bangkok, Thailand came as a huge surprise and shock to him. He’s just growing in amazing ways,” Hayden reflects. “Daniel Ernst Deceuster is full of enthusiasm, athletic, charismatic, and serving in a North Carolina mission. He’s the fourth of five boys to serve as a missionary in his family.” After returning, the missionaries teach and serve as role models to other children at the church.

As a child, Bishop Hayden recalls revering missionaries, who seemed to radiate love. “When you think about a 19-year-old boy, one rarely thinks of spirituality, humility and selfless sacrifice and love, but to be around them, you sense that,” he says. “I think it comes with the calling. It’s built up in anticipation all your life. My three sons and two daughters have heard about missions forever—their father served a mission, their grandfather served a mission—so you build up this expectation. It’s a glorified thing, and then you think, I’m going to be one of those.”

Every missionary goes through a training period in Salt Lake City. “Reality hits around the second day of training and you realize there is a lot of hard work ahead of you,” Hayden recollects. “If you are called to serve at a foreign-speaking mission, you train for two months, and learn the language. If you are called to serve at an English-speaking mission, you attend for three weeks. And it’s intense. You report to class at 7:30 in the morning and leave class at 9:30 at night.” To assist them, the missionaries are given a partner, called a companion, to help them on their missions. The partnership is made up of a senior and a junior, in a mentor-protégée type relationship.

During a young priests meeting, Bishop Hayden, Richard Tygerson, and Dave Johanson emphasize to the young missionaries-in-training how important preparation and hard work is in achieving success, be it in sports, or teaching gospel. “The Lord will bless you, but you have to do the work,” stresses Bishop Hayden. “When I was to go on a mission, I thought it was a sacrifice of two years and no fun,” comments Tygerson. “But as you become more mature, you love it. Teaching the Gospel is a joy beyond playing basketball or football, and just like a sport, or anything else, the more you prepare, the more you enjoy it.”