The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints And I

(Alert- Advisory: To ensure the protection of privacy, and at the request of my adult children, I have made minor alteration to their names, and adjusted certain details of events pertaining to them , my own family from childhood. I value the freedom of choice rights of my adult children who want to maintain anonymity. I respect this wish and have complied herewith.)


In the summer of 1997, as I walked up West Avenue , a few blocks away from the Zere Avenue train station , I approached the centuries old grave yard of the St. Paul's Episcopal Church located at West Avenue, and there, in front of the beautiful huge red door that marks the Church's entrance, as I walked northward, two young ladies, missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , made an indelible impression on me, by the nature of their genuine warmth, as Sister Gardner stuck out her diminutive right hand to say "Hello, we're sister missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints and we would like to offer you the Holy Scriptures." I introduced myself, and Sister (Kellie) Gardner followed by saying , "And this is my companion Sister (Christie) Cox".
We talked for about ten minutes right there, on West Avenue, and the young missionaries which I surmised to be around 21 or 22 years old, were kind enough to invite me to a meeting at the Church, to which I agreed, and attended a few nights later. I arrived at Church building located on the corner of Olms Avenue , that Friday night, at the appointed time of 7PM. The structure had a dark brown dull texture brick, two stories tall, and had the look of a small 1950s school building. The entrance was then on Olms Avenue in those now long gone days from the past. Sisters Gardner and Cox showed me to a set of stairs that greeted visitors in the center of the entrance, about 100 feet back. To the left of the stairs was a large meeting room which I speculated at the time as being the place where Sunday church services were conducted. When we got to the top of the stairs, the sisters gestured to turn right, and we walked down a long passageway, to the far end of the building, turning right at end, and going into a class room. Once we were all seated facing each other, we talked openly about the Holy Scriptures. I was moved by the account of the appearance of Christ in the Americas. Sister Gardner gave a brief description of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and how he came upon the golden plates revealed to him by our Heavenly Father in an Upstate (New York) grove, deep in the wilderness. I listened intently and was moved by the detailed account as told to me by Sister Gardner. Sister Cox was upon observation, quiet, exuberant about my presence, sized me up (so I observed) and was very engaging in her remarks. her enthusiasm to teach me, was infectious and wonderful.
I was taken by the "fuss" being made about me, and this played well with my loquacious nature. We agreed after the talk that lasted well over an hour, to meet again in a few days. Several nights later, I went back to the Olms numerous times over the next 6 weeks. I eventually went to Sunday Church and was taken by the simplicity of the services. The Male missionaries sort of resembled FBI G-men with hankie -card style black name plates tucked into their breast shirt-pockets, an eager smile, and well manicured hair, to say nothing of their good manners. I learned quickly in my initial visits to Sunday Church that missionaries do not disclose their first names as a custom of commanding respect in the discharge of their duties, and to radiate trust in the visitors to the Church who are called "investigators", a term I have never liked. The Church was to me a natural lure, for I have always been enthralled by the Scriptural account of Creation, most especially since I was raised in a home where church was not a word in the family vocabulary. My parents were not associated with any church. Most Native Americans take a pass on Christianity for many reasons I will not go into in this space. I accepted Christ into my heart that August, of 1997, and the teachings of the Church have become like the breaths I take to live. In the time after I was baptized in the Church, Sisters Gardner and Cox were eventually transferred out of the area, with Sister Cox departing first, early in October, 1997 so I recall. Sister Cook came in to take Sister Cox' place in the Ward Mission work. Like Sisters Cox and Gardner, Sister Merrill Cook was also from Utah. She told me she was from Bountiful. Gardner was from St. George which is at Utah's southern border with Arizona. I do not recall where Sister Cox was from. I will always remember when Sister Gardner was transferred to Connecticut. It was around December 11, 1997 and needless to say, I was melancholy by her departure. We had become endeared to one another. She reminded me of the vibrant youthfulness of my own daughter Melody who was about the same age as Sister Gardner. I moved on with life as does everyone, and in the ensuing years I became more involved in church work. The Church has sustained me in times of adversity and in the good times as well. I became a tithe payer and I feel good about giving back to Heavenly Father, one tenth of my earnings on a weekly basis. I have received blessings for this. I eventually went on to the Temple and received many blessings as a result of going to the Temple, and Temple work for others as for my family is underway.

In the years that have passed since that wonderful chance meeting with Sister Gardner and Cox,
I have been ordained an Elder in my Church Ward, and I relish being in the service to others. The original church building I first visited in 1997, has since been demolished and in its' place stands a magnificent Church with a 19Th century spire on the top of the new building which opened in 2004.
The LDS church has also constructed, dedicated, and opened a Temple on Columbus Avenue at the corner of 66Th street, in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York.

For as long as I live, I will always think of those two sister missionaries (Kellie Gardner and Christie Cox), who tenderly spoke with me one summer day in 1997, and whose kindness and warmth, drew me to the loving arms of our Heavenly Father. Since that time, I have been blessed by friendships I have made with missionary couples who are endeared to me. They are like family to me, and I live on every word of caring, love, nurturing, advice, they give me and for every time we get to talk on the phone or on the Web through Emails, I come to love them even more. For a fellow who was once a little boy who lived for a long, long time, in an institutional home for children gathered up from broken families, and who cried himself to sleep out of heartache,loneliness and despondency, borne from missing a Mother's tender hugs and a Dad's nurturing affection, it is not lost on me how a tender word, a caring gesture can make a person's life a little easier to bear, on the way to healing from the scrapes and bumps on the road in our journey through this life.

I am grateful to our Heavenly Father for the opportunity I had many years ago, to make the peace with my own Father after a long estrangement that wrought heartache on both of us. My Dad's journey through life ended several years ago, but toward the end of his life, we were connected like we had never been before and I will always keep my Father's memory engraved in my heart along with my beloved Mother Mari Minnehaha, along with my brother, the late and great Chief Jayszen C. Strongbow Red Cloud, and my late, beloved sister Judy- Marizmaha Strongbow. There will always be an eternal flame for a beautiful little girl who was also the joy of my life, who left this World far too soon when she was still a child, and not a day goes by that I do not think of my darling little girl, the Little Flower. As a Father, I will keep her smiling little face in the deepest part of my heart where she radiates and illuminates my memories of the time she graced the landscape of my life. My family will live in my memories forever, and I will continue my journey through this life, until the.day when the Sun sets on my life, and I cross the veil from this life into the realm on the other side of Heavenly Father's Rainbow, ....to rejoin them all, and this is the hope of all LDS members when we do the sealings, Amen. I know all of you temple- experienced LDS, understand what I mean.

I am enormously grateful for the children I have, Louis-Azeronimo Strongbow, age 22 years, Otter H. Strongbow, age 28 years, and Sweet Melody Minnnehaha Strongbow, age 33 years.
I inherited from a previous marriage, two wonderful daughters, Margie and Marisol whose Mom is the salt of the Earth, a devoted LDS . I hope that in the time I have left on this Earth, that I will be able to show Marisol and her older sister, how much I love them , and how much they truly mean to me, and that in spite of any feelings of "resentment" that may have been directed at me, I want them to know that I do understand the heart of every Mother, and that I know how much their Mom means to them, and I will never stand in between that love that radiates from a Mom to her daughters.
I know what Moms represent. They are all precious. Perhaps I have wanted to be liked by these two marvelous inherited daughters, because I too was a son who had a Mother who loved me immensely, and I am quite resigned to knowing and living with the fact that no matter what I do, no matter what redemptive elements I may bring to some people's lives, I accepted long ago that I was not welcome in one family, and I am okay with this, and I am serene in accepting what I can not change in others or how they feel about me. I never did anything to warrant any hostility from them or any member of that family. I know this deep within my heart. I have never tolerated bigotry of any kind, so I do not take well to bigotry directed at me. One family has shown cruelty and bigotry toward me. That is on them, and I will not show them the cruelty or arrogance they show to me, nor will I ever mimic their insolent and dismissive manners in regard to my person. I am very endeared to my inherited daughter Marisol because she embodies all that is the present and the future, and because she is radiantly beautiful, and she loves others without precondition, and she is warm, caring, sweet, humorous in a marvelous way. I wish that she will one day see the redemption that comes from baptism in the church, and being involved in church work. Many people will come to know Christ and this church, thanks to Marisol's testimony. Marisol lives in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I have never treated any Human Being with any degree of cruelty or marginalization, so I never want to be treated this way by anyone. I have even offered to make the peace with my Brother in Law, in spite of some very harsh, offensive, and cruel remarks he directed at my Mother in a confrontation he provoked with me some years ago. I have put it all behind me. Perhaps I hold a hurt for the words he directed at my Mother because I know who my Mother was, what she represented for me and my siblings, and she had all of our love, respect, admiration, devotion, and deep gratitude, and he never knew her, so I take offense to the slander he directed at my Mother who rests in peace. As her loving and grateful Son, I must hold this person who offended my Mother's honor, to the standard that he first apologize for the cruel words he directed at her, before any conversation ensues in my willingness to make the peace with him. I am sure those who read this would also make this a pre-requisite of any peace offering, if someone offended your Mother too. I am always open to peace overtures. But for the honor of my Mother and Father, I will shun anyone who offends their memory. In doing this, I honor every Father and Mother who ever lived, who lives today, and those in posterity.

I make no apologies for standing up for the honor of my parents, siblings my children, and the great legacy of my ancestors. I choose to live free and clear of any meddling or interference from any quarter, and I do not take well to any family member who attempts to "govern" my life, or who attempts to make choices or decisions for me that I alone must make. It runs quite strong in the Native American spirit and even in the folklore that we dance to the beat of our own drums, and we do not welcome interference in our sovereign lives as Human Beings from interlopers. This is part of my personality, good, bad or indifferent. I am not beyond good advice, a helpful tip, a loving word of caring, and I can be corrected yes indeed.

I will always be humble and grateful for the love and caring shown to me by those wonderful missionaries who brought the Good News of the Restored Gospel to me.

When I think of the missionary couples I feel privileged to know brother Carville Shaffer, like Milton Farr, are to me like my blood brothers. Sisters Bonnie Shaffer and Marilyn Farr are the dearest Ladies on this Earth who do honor to their families, friends, and to Heavenly Father. I have admittedly lost contact with that wonderful character, Elder Fred Clawson and his lovely bride Beth. If some one among you see or hear from the Clawsons, please send me a blog right here. Please let me know if you hear from the Ellsworths of Arizona too.

Greetings to Sister Marisol who lives in New York City by E 15th Street, and who is a dear friend of the Farrs, the Clawsons, and whose acquaintance I made this January, 2008 when she came visiting at the Olms Church with the Farrs. Marisol is a magnificent Lady and devout LDS. And what a cheerful disposition she has.

To understand why being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a magnanimous calling into a magnificent way of life regardless of where you reside in this World, please log on to www.lds.org on the Web.

Those of you who also share my faith, and those of you who belong to other faiths, are welcome to share your comments with me. Please do not comment in my blog if you are going to attempt to "convince" me that you have a better "deal" at your church, or that I should move into your Church.
Please do not make incendiary, surly remarks designed with the intent to be disrespectful. And please, let's keep this site CLEAN. I do not welcome "cussing"! Cursing is out!!

I am very happy as a member of the Church of LDS. I feel fulfilled, and I am here to help others in their journey through life. Thank you for visiting this blog.