Marion G. Romney
Born: 19 September 1897
Called as Assistant to the Twelve: 6 April 1941
Called to Quorum of the Twelve: 4 October 1951
Called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency: 7 July 1972 (Harold B. Lee)
Called as First Counselor in the First Presidency: 2 December 1982 (Spencer W. Kimball)
Returned to the Quorum: 5 November 1985
Became President of the Quorum of the Twelve: 10 November 1985
Died: 20 May 1988
Called as Assistant to the Twelve: 6 April 1941
Called to Quorum of the Twelve: 4 October 1951
Called as Second Counselor in the First Presidency: 7 July 1972 (Harold B. Lee)
Called as First Counselor in the First Presidency: 2 December 1982 (Spencer W. Kimball)
Returned to the Quorum: 5 November 1985
Became President of the Quorum of the Twelve: 10 November 1985
Died: 20 May 1988
Biographical Articles
Instructor, June 1943, Missionary Experience
Instructor, July 1943, Boyhood Experiences
Relief Society Magazine, December 1951, Marion George Romney - Our New Apostle
Improvement Era, October 1962, Marion G. Romney of the Quorum of the Twelve
Ensign, November 1972, President Marion G. Romney: A Symbol of Righteousness
Ensign, October 1977, President Marion G. Romney Turns Eighty
Ensign, April 1986, President Marion G. Romney, President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Ensign, July 1988, President Marion G. Romney: "All Is Holy Where This Man Kneels"
Ensign, August 2010, President Marion G. Romney (1897-1988)
Instructor, July 1943, Boyhood Experiences
Relief Society Magazine, December 1951, Marion George Romney - Our New Apostle
Improvement Era, October 1962, Marion G. Romney of the Quorum of the Twelve
Ensign, November 1972, President Marion G. Romney: A Symbol of Righteousness
Ensign, October 1977, President Marion G. Romney Turns Eighty
Ensign, April 1986, President Marion G. Romney, President of the Quorum of the Twelve
Ensign, July 1988, President Marion G. Romney: "All Is Holy Where This Man Kneels"
Ensign, August 2010, President Marion G. Romney (1897-1988)
Romney, Marion G. "Missionary Experience." Instructor. June 1943. pg. 344.
A MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE
By Marion G. Romney Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
In December, 1920, I went to Australia on a mission. The headquarters of the mission was at Sidney. In February, 1921, I was taken by the mission president to Newcastle, a city about the size of Salt Lake City located 100 miles north of Sidney, to reopen a branch which had been closed.
The president rented a room in a house (which we later discovered was the house of a spiritualist ) , and he left me there and went back to Sidney that evening, stating that he would send a missionary companion to Newcastle to work with me. I stayed in the room that night, intending to go tracting the next day. When I got up the next morning a terrible, lonesome feeling came over me. I was absolutely alone in a city where I did not know anyone, about 10,000 miles from home in a foreign country.
The feeling came over me that I should not go tracting that day, that I couldn't accomplish any good if I went, and that I had better wait until my companion came. I fought the feeling for a few minutes and then I kneeled down to pray. Everything became black, and I felt a power in the room which seemed to crush me, but I continued to pray, although I was almost afraid to look around me because of the influence that was there. I got up from my knees after some five minutes, and, without stopping for anything but my hat and my bag, which had literature in it, I went out in the city and began to tract.
I had not gone far until the depressed feeling left me, and during that day's tracting I think I enjoyed the finest spirit that I ever enjoyed in the mission field.
I have never experienced that feeling of depression since, and was never thereafter in the mission field tempted to slight any assignment or responsibility.
A MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE
By Marion G. Romney Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
In December, 1920, I went to Australia on a mission. The headquarters of the mission was at Sidney. In February, 1921, I was taken by the mission president to Newcastle, a city about the size of Salt Lake City located 100 miles north of Sidney, to reopen a branch which had been closed.
The president rented a room in a house (which we later discovered was the house of a spiritualist ) , and he left me there and went back to Sidney that evening, stating that he would send a missionary companion to Newcastle to work with me. I stayed in the room that night, intending to go tracting the next day. When I got up the next morning a terrible, lonesome feeling came over me. I was absolutely alone in a city where I did not know anyone, about 10,000 miles from home in a foreign country.
The feeling came over me that I should not go tracting that day, that I couldn't accomplish any good if I went, and that I had better wait until my companion came. I fought the feeling for a few minutes and then I kneeled down to pray. Everything became black, and I felt a power in the room which seemed to crush me, but I continued to pray, although I was almost afraid to look around me because of the influence that was there. I got up from my knees after some five minutes, and, without stopping for anything but my hat and my bag, which had literature in it, I went out in the city and began to tract.
I had not gone far until the depressed feeling left me, and during that day's tracting I think I enjoyed the finest spirit that I ever enjoyed in the mission field.
I have never experienced that feeling of depression since, and was never thereafter in the mission field tempted to slight any assignment or responsibility.
Romney, Marion G. "Boyhood Experiences." Instructor. July 1943. pg. 374, 401.
BOYHOOD EXPERIENCES
By Elder Marion G. Romney.
Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
(To be used with Lesson 43, First Intermediate Department)
I was born in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, on September 19, 1897. My father left home for a two-year mission in the Northern States when I was eight days old. While he was away, I had a very serious illness. As a matter of fact, hope for my recovery had been given up by all who were acquainted with my condition, except my mother.
On one occasion she called into our home Brother Guy C. Wilson, who was principal of the Juarez Stake Academy, and Bishop Joseph C. Bentley, Bishop of the Juarez Ward. These two men, and one other whose name I have forgotten, administered to me and during the prayer stated that the Lord had a great mission for me to perform and that my life would be spared for the purpose of accomplishing this mission. From that day I began to improve until I became well. Although I soon overcame this illness my mother says that I was so ugly she was ashamed to take me out in public for many months. It is the firm conviction of Mother and others of the family that I was healed by the power of the Lord.
When temptations have arisen in my life —the yielding to which would have made me unworthy to perform whatever mission the Lord wanted me to perform in the earth— I have received strength from the memory of what I learned at my mother's knee about the goodness of the Lord in permitting me to live upon the earth instead of permitting me to die in my infancy. *****
Another experience which has had a great effect upon my life was the receiving of a patriarchal blessing from my grandfather, Lemuel H. Redd, when I was eleven years old. We lived across the street from the schoolhouse in Colonia Juarez. One morning my mother called me out of the room where I was attending school and took me across the street to our home. When we got there, my grandfather laid his hands upon my head and gave me a patriarchal blessing. He told me that if I would be faithful I should become mighty in expounding the scriptures, and he gave me many other great blessings, the receipt of which were all conditioned upon my faithfulness in the Church. I remember now the great desire which came over me to receive these blessings, and through the years that desire has helped to keep me in the line of duty.*****
In the latter part of July, 1921, when I was fourteen years of age, the Mormon people who were living in the Mexican colonies were forced by the rebels to leave. The men in our ward, Colonia Juarez, went into council meeting in the evening and near midnight they decided that the demands made upon them by the rebels were such that they could not comply with them and leave their families in Mexico at the mercy of the rebels, and so it was decided to send all the women and children across the border and into the United States at once.
A few men were sent with the women and children, but a majority of the men, including my father, stayed in Mexico and later came to the United States on horseback. My uncle, George Redd, who later returned to Mexico and was killed by the rebels, took his family, my Mother and her seven children and left Colonia Juarez in a wagon for Pehrson, the railroad station, some eight or nine miles south of Colonia Juarez. I was sitting on a trunk in the back of the wagon. As we drove south toward Pehrson, the rebel army was going north and was passing us in rather disorganized formations. About halfway to Pehrson, two rebel soldiers stopped us and, under pretense of searching for ammunition, found twenty Mexican pesos (dollars) which was all the money we had for the two families. They took the money and rode about 100 yards up the road, stopped their horses, turned round and drew their guns to their shoulders, pointing them down the road toward the wagon.
I think one of the most exciting moments of my life was when I looked up the barrels of those rifles. I offered a prayer to my Heavenly Father to spare my life. For some reason, these Mexicans did not fire, and we continued on safely to the railroad station. For the preservation of my life on this occasion I have always been very grateful to the Lord, and this experience has given me a desire to live in such a manner as to demonstrate to the Lord my appreciation.
One of the things for which I am very grateful is the feeling of responsibility which I have when undertaking any assignment. I have never been able to shirk responsibility or to do less than my best without feeling very uncomfortable.
During the winter of 1912-1913, I lived with my mother and father and the other members of the family in Los Angeles. At that time what is now the Adams Ward chapel was under construction, and I was working upon it as a carpenter's helper. One day arrangements were made with the foreman for the young boys working on the building to get off at four o'clock—five o'clock was the usual quitting time—to play a game of baseball. We had to go some distance from work to play the game. We left the work, and when we got to the baseball field it was discovered that we had left at three o'clock instead of four o'clock, thus failing to do one hour's work which we should have done.
I felt so concerned about it that I told the boys I was going back to the job. They pointed out that I would not get back to the job by four o'clock and therefore I could not accomplish anything by returning, but I felt that I owed an explanation to the foreman and I returned to the job to tell him that I had left under mistaken information as to the time.
When I got back one of the men working there chided me for returning, but my father, who happened to overhear my report, complimented me on my conscientiousness. It was only a few days later that my pay was raised, from $1.50 to $2.50 per day, and I felt that I had been richly rewarded for missing the ball game.
BOYHOOD EXPERIENCES
By Elder Marion G. Romney.
Assistant to the Council of the Twelve
(To be used with Lesson 43, First Intermediate Department)
I was born in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, on September 19, 1897. My father left home for a two-year mission in the Northern States when I was eight days old. While he was away, I had a very serious illness. As a matter of fact, hope for my recovery had been given up by all who were acquainted with my condition, except my mother.
On one occasion she called into our home Brother Guy C. Wilson, who was principal of the Juarez Stake Academy, and Bishop Joseph C. Bentley, Bishop of the Juarez Ward. These two men, and one other whose name I have forgotten, administered to me and during the prayer stated that the Lord had a great mission for me to perform and that my life would be spared for the purpose of accomplishing this mission. From that day I began to improve until I became well. Although I soon overcame this illness my mother says that I was so ugly she was ashamed to take me out in public for many months. It is the firm conviction of Mother and others of the family that I was healed by the power of the Lord.
When temptations have arisen in my life —the yielding to which would have made me unworthy to perform whatever mission the Lord wanted me to perform in the earth— I have received strength from the memory of what I learned at my mother's knee about the goodness of the Lord in permitting me to live upon the earth instead of permitting me to die in my infancy. *****
Another experience which has had a great effect upon my life was the receiving of a patriarchal blessing from my grandfather, Lemuel H. Redd, when I was eleven years old. We lived across the street from the schoolhouse in Colonia Juarez. One morning my mother called me out of the room where I was attending school and took me across the street to our home. When we got there, my grandfather laid his hands upon my head and gave me a patriarchal blessing. He told me that if I would be faithful I should become mighty in expounding the scriptures, and he gave me many other great blessings, the receipt of which were all conditioned upon my faithfulness in the Church. I remember now the great desire which came over me to receive these blessings, and through the years that desire has helped to keep me in the line of duty.*****
In the latter part of July, 1921, when I was fourteen years of age, the Mormon people who were living in the Mexican colonies were forced by the rebels to leave. The men in our ward, Colonia Juarez, went into council meeting in the evening and near midnight they decided that the demands made upon them by the rebels were such that they could not comply with them and leave their families in Mexico at the mercy of the rebels, and so it was decided to send all the women and children across the border and into the United States at once.
A few men were sent with the women and children, but a majority of the men, including my father, stayed in Mexico and later came to the United States on horseback. My uncle, George Redd, who later returned to Mexico and was killed by the rebels, took his family, my Mother and her seven children and left Colonia Juarez in a wagon for Pehrson, the railroad station, some eight or nine miles south of Colonia Juarez. I was sitting on a trunk in the back of the wagon. As we drove south toward Pehrson, the rebel army was going north and was passing us in rather disorganized formations. About halfway to Pehrson, two rebel soldiers stopped us and, under pretense of searching for ammunition, found twenty Mexican pesos (dollars) which was all the money we had for the two families. They took the money and rode about 100 yards up the road, stopped their horses, turned round and drew their guns to their shoulders, pointing them down the road toward the wagon.
I think one of the most exciting moments of my life was when I looked up the barrels of those rifles. I offered a prayer to my Heavenly Father to spare my life. For some reason, these Mexicans did not fire, and we continued on safely to the railroad station. For the preservation of my life on this occasion I have always been very grateful to the Lord, and this experience has given me a desire to live in such a manner as to demonstrate to the Lord my appreciation.
One of the things for which I am very grateful is the feeling of responsibility which I have when undertaking any assignment. I have never been able to shirk responsibility or to do less than my best without feeling very uncomfortable.
During the winter of 1912-1913, I lived with my mother and father and the other members of the family in Los Angeles. At that time what is now the Adams Ward chapel was under construction, and I was working upon it as a carpenter's helper. One day arrangements were made with the foreman for the young boys working on the building to get off at four o'clock—five o'clock was the usual quitting time—to play a game of baseball. We had to go some distance from work to play the game. We left the work, and when we got to the baseball field it was discovered that we had left at three o'clock instead of four o'clock, thus failing to do one hour's work which we should have done.
I felt so concerned about it that I told the boys I was going back to the job. They pointed out that I would not get back to the job by four o'clock and therefore I could not accomplish anything by returning, but I felt that I owed an explanation to the foreman and I returned to the job to tell him that I had left under mistaken information as to the time.
When I got back one of the men working there chided me for returning, but my father, who happened to overhear my report, complimented me on my conscientiousness. It was only a few days later that my pay was raised, from $1.50 to $2.50 per day, and I felt that I had been richly rewarded for missing the ball game.
Lee, Harold B. "Marion George Romney - Our New Apostle." Relief Society Magazine. December 1951. pg. 802-804, 870.
Marion George Romney—Our New Apostle Elder Harold B. Lee Of the Council of the Twelve IN a testimony meeting of the General Authorities called by the President of the Church on the first Thursday of a new year, one of the brethren, in bearing his testimony, thanked the Lord for his childhood home; for a lovely devoted mother and a splendid God-fearing father. Another of the brethren, commenting on the remarks of the former, declared it was his conviction that had it not been that each in that circle came from the kind of home described, not one would likely have ever been called to his present position as one of the General Authorities of the Church. Of the childhood home of Marion G. Romney that observation is fully merited. His father, George S. Romney, and his mother, Artamesia Redd, both of pioneer ancestors, were themselves pioneers in settling the "Colonies" in Old Mexico, about two hundred miles south of the Mexican border. Marion, the eldest son in a family of ten children, was born in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, on September 19, 1897. Sometime, if you would hear of one of the most dramatic and trying episodes in the Church history of our day, ask Elder Romney to relate the experiences of his family, he being then a boy of fourteen, when they were forced to leave Mexico in 1912, along with hundreds of other families, in what is referred to as the "Exodus," as a result of the mobbings and plunderings of Mexican revolutionists headed by the rebel leader, Pancho Villa. His recital would tell of a frightened little family, his father's family, loaded on a wagon with but the barest of household necessities and no clothing except that which they wore, fleeing from their childhood home before the Mexican mob at the point of drawn guns. The story of that homeless family, in destitute circumstances, seeking refuge in El Paso, then in California, and finally to Oakley and Rexburg, Idaho, is one which tells of a continuous struggle to maintain its independence on a small family income which was always faithfully tithed. That narrative would describe the near perfect family teamwork organized and directed by father and mother, as the family preserved their pride and dignity toward the ultimate goal of building strong, sterling characters in each of ten sturdy children as a result of the never-ending tussle with stern necessity. During the last ten and one-half years, Elder Romney has been in charge of the office activities and field operations of the Church Welfare Program. We have worked side by side with him for all these years in this work and have seen the workings of his rugged, individualistic nature tempered by a keen, sympathetic understanding of the problems of the unfortunate. Who knows but that through the experiences of the Mexican "Exodus/' and the years which followed, there was being forged under the watchful eye of the Almighty a sharp, finely tempered human instrument in the person of Marion G. Romney to be used under the call of the Lord to cut a pattern in demonstration of the Lord's way in caring for his saints in a day when man-made systems had all but destroyed the Christian concept of "pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions . . . ."? HIS call to his present high place is unquestionably the seal of divine approval upon his labors in this great latter-day movement. But there is another characteristic deeply rooted in his nature which is almost the ruling passion of his life. I speak of his great sense of loyalty to those whom we sustain as Church leaders. To him loyalty doesn't mean merely to accept blindly the counsel of Church Authorities, but, beyond that, the responsibility of receiving the witness in his heart that their counsel was inspired and could be accepted without reservation. On the occasion of a spirited political campaign in which he was a candidate, when the leaders of the Church let their feelings be known as to some of the issues involved, I heard him say something like this, "As soon as I read their statement I knew that I wanted to do just what they had suggested. But I also knew that I must feel right in my heart in so doing and that took almost a night on my knees to attain." It might be said that he has the great quality of intelligent obedience to those in authority over him, rather than that of blind obedience, which is frequently the subject of much discussion. Many men say their prayers, but there are a few who talk with the Lord. Elder Romney is one of these few. His great faith is such as to believe that when we have been confronted with insurmountable obstacles, where the welfare of the membership of the Church is at stake, that if we gave the Holy Ghost a chance to work on those of the opposition, as an early Church leader advised, those obstacles could be overcome. We have been a witness with him of this truth when pleading the cause of this people before high-placed officials in the Nation's Capital. You who have heard him in public discourse know his forthrightness and directness as a speaker. His sermons give evidence of much thoughtful study and deep understanding of the gospel principles. With it all, he has a keen sense of humor, which is spontaneous and refreshing and yet not beyond the bounds of propriety. But no sketch of the life of Brother Romney would be complete without mention of his family, to which he, as with every Church leader, must look for strength and support. His faith, combined with an intense love of his family? is so great that it is altogether probable, even as with Alma of old, that should one of his loved ones stray away? he or she could he surrounded and influenced by powers divine because of the spiritual pleadings of this devoted father and brother. Perhaps no influence in his life exceeds that of his lovely, devoted wife, Ida Jensen Romney, to whom he gives full credit for her great contribution to the same cause of righteousness to which he has dedicated his life. Her Relief Society presidency has provided the opportunity of giving her an even deeper insight, if that were possible, into the Church life of her illustrious husband in the Welfare Program during the last ten years. The fact that he has been an athlete, a carpenter, an attorney, and a vigorous, aggressive worker, provides his two sons, Richard and George, with a worthy example and competitor, constantly challenging them to give their best as the bearers of the Romney name. All this and much more is Marion G. Romney whom the Church sustained at the last general conference as a member of the Council of the Twelve Apostles. As his name was presented as the new apostle, an almost audible wave of approval went over the vast congregation, and, when he spoke, there was scarcely a person who heard, whose tears did not bespeak how deeply he had been moved by this man whom the Lord has now honored with a high place in the affairs of his kingdom. |
THE MARION G. ROMNEY FAMILY
Front row, seated: Elder Marion G. Romney; Granddaughter, Catherine; Sister Ida Jensen Romney. Back row: Richard J. Romney; his wife, Joanne Ware Romney; George J. Romney. |
Lee, Harold B. "Marion G. Romney of the Quorum of the Twelve." Improvement Era. October 1962. pg. 712-715, 740-744.
MARION G. ROMNEY OF THE QUORUM OF THE TWELVE BY ELDER HAROLD B. LEE The announcement of the appointment of Elder Marion G. Romney as the newest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at the October 1951 general conference of the Church occasioned no great surprise to most church members. For nearly eleven years he served as one of the Assistants to the Twelve and had, during that time, directed the far-flung activities of the church welfare program as the assistant managing director. The membership of the Church had come to know him as a fearless and courageous defender of the faith and possessor of outstanding qualities of leadership. Few men in our day have come into the council with a broader background than he or with more varied experience and distinguished church and public service in preparation for the lifetime calling of an apostle. From serving as a president of a quorum of seventy, he was called to preside as bishop of the Thirty-third Ward of the Liberty ( Salt Lake ) Stake and later was sustained as the president of the Bonneville Stake. To those of us who have been privileged to work intimately with him, there has come a deep appreciation for the "Romney traits" in this noble son, as were in others of his forebears as described by an uncle: "a mental and emotional characteristic peculiarly noticeable in the family—an indomitable will, which is re-inforced by a courage and honesty of purpose, admired even by those who disagree with them in matters of judgment." From the stern discipline of a childhood and youth begun in one of the pioneer outposts of the Church and from the events which followed, one might find at least a partial explanation for the rugged character and the unusual insight and understanding which stamps him immediately as a wise counselor among men and a powerful advocate of the truth. He was born September 19, 1897, the eldest son and second child of George S. Romney and Artemesia Redd in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. The Romney and Redd families, along with many other faithful Saints, had been allowed by the Mexican authorities to colonize in northern Mexico in 1885. Here they built their own communities and developed a culture which was very typical of other pioneer Latter-day Saint communities throughout the West during the latter part of the nineteenth century. The Deseret News described one such "typical" pioneer community: They were led by men of faith of whom it was said they never rested; when they tired, they merely changed jobs. "They were thrifty and industrious. "They all subscribed to the Church Deseret News which was at that time their chief means of communication for these distant communities with the leaders of the Church in Salt Lake City. "They paid their debts promptly. "They took care of their own poor." These Anglo-Mexican Saints in far-off Mexico measured fully to these pioneer standards. The year 1897, when Marion was born, brought some experiences and tests to the Romney family which were to try their very souls. His father had been a teacher in the schools of Colonia Juarez. A schoolteacher's wages were such as to require additional income from summer employment to take care of the barest necessities of his young family. In the summer of 1897, the father and his brother Miles contracted to sell provisions to a large mining company in Cananea in the state of Sonora, Mexico. His mother writes of the disappointments and near tragedy attending this summer's employment: "As summer drew to a close (it was August 1897, only one month before this new baby was to be born ) , George made preparations for the last trip to the mines. The summer's work had been long and hard, but it had been profitable, for he had earned $1,000.00 in Mexican money. . . . Upon arriving at the mine for this last time, he went immediately to the superintendent and asked if he might get his pay. The superintendent courteously received him and told him that since he was traveling home alone over the lonely mountain route, it would probably be unsafe to carry cash. For this reason, George agreed to accept his payment in the form of a check. Two weeks later, when he attempted to cash the check, he learned, to his dismay, that the mine had gone broke and was closed down. The check was not good." To complicate their financial situation further, the father had just received a letter from "Box B" which meant a call from the First Presidency for him to serve as a missionary in the Northern States Mission. Those with less faith would have wavered, but not this dedicated, devoted couple. There was no question as to his decision. Eight days before Marion G. was born-September 19, 1897-the father left for his mission where he served for thirty months. Then, as always faithful devoted leaders must have equally devoted wives, and this resourceful, talented young mother with her two infant children rose to the occasion. About these eventful thirty months, the mother wrote: "With no visible means of support . . . we were confident that the Lord would provide for us, too. . . . I worked hard and found great joy in my children. . . . I managed to save about $75.00 from washings and knittings, which I sent to George to help him on his mission." Inured as the family was to the rigid discipline of near poverty, yet they were always "rich towards God." Their childhood requirements of the pioneer dictum as expressed in simple terms: "Eat it up, Wear it out, Make it do, Do without," may have seemed severe to this young growing son. In his mature years, as he occupies an important role in the church welfare program, where "thrift, honesty, and work are to be enthroned in the lives of this people," one could well believe that his early training served to lay the foundation for the service he was to give as the directing head of this great Church welfare program today. It was in July 1912 (Marion would have been in his fifteenth year) when the Mexican Revolution broke out, and because of the danger to the families of the colonists they were forced to leave for the States. Many of you who read this brief writing may have heard Elder Romney's recital of the feelings of a young teen-age boy through these stirring events. Here are a few excerpts: "How well I remember the night in July 1912, when Father came home from priesthood meeting with word that the decision was made for women, children, and older men to leave the next day for El Paso. I confess that the prospects were exciting and full of romance and adventure. But the soberness of the situation began to register when we were aroused early in the morning following the decision and made ready to leave. . . . Before leaving on our journey to the station, I sat on a chair under the apricot tree at the back of the house while Father cut my hair. As he did so, he told me that he would have to stay home, and I should go with Mother and the children, that I'd have to be the man of the family to take care of her when we got into El Paso. "About 10 o'clock in the morning we left Juarez in a wagon. Mother and Aunt Lydie and Uncle George sat in the spring seat. Mother's seven children and Uncle George's— I think there were five—were in the back. I was seated on our trunk which carried all the goods we could take because of the crowd that would be on the train. As we drove down Main Street, across the river and down past Dan Skousen's mill, I was facing up the road in the direction from which we had come. Over the flat between Dan Skousen's and San Diego, the rebel army was moving northward. They were not in formation but were straggling along two at a time or in larger groups. Two armed Mexicans, with their large cartridge belts slung over their shoulders and riding their horses with the old-fashioned Mexican saddles with the big horns, stopped us and searched the wagon and Uncle George. They said they were looking for ammunition. They found none, but they did find twenty Mexican pesos on Uncle George, which was all the money we had and upon which we were depending to take care of us when we got into the United States. These twenty pesos they took from him and then permitted us to proceed south. They started north. When they were about 100 yards from the wagon, they turned around, drew their guns from their scabbards and pointed them towards the wagon. As I looked up the barrels of the rifles, they seemed very large to me, and I suppose this was one of the most exciting moments in my life, as I expected that they would shoot. They did not shoot, however; and I lived to tell the story." Even the harrowing experiences of this rude expulsion from his childhood home was to have a bearing on what is now an apostolic assignment to supervise and preside over all the Mexican and Spanish American Missions and the Central American Mission. He had seen the natives of this land of his birth ground down under the heel of ruthless money-mad conquerors, and their subjugation by a dominant church under the guise of "Christianizing" them. He had seen the uses of cruelty, superstition, and ignorance as tools by which to exploit the natives in an almost unbelievable manner. There has been kindled in him a burning desire to assist in transforming the great nation of Mexico which was once described by Cortez as "a crumpled land of desert and mountains—a magnificent paradox, a land of fabulous wealth and dire poverty," into an independent and self-sustaining people. He is now giving leadership to a tremendous effort of the Church to help these people to throw off the yokes of bondage and to build on a foundation of truth, faith, and independence, to fulfill the prophecies of the ancients. He has had a hand in the organization of a thriving stake and mission in Mexico, with a promise of other stakes and missions to come in that area. Schools are being set up throughout that land under the supervision of Church leaders. Only the testimony of that grateful people will one day bear the full witness of the results of his efforts among those of Mexican birth like his own—a heritage in which he takes great pride. Their search for financial security and safety after leaving Mexico led them first to El Paso, then to Los Angeles, and again to Oakley, Idaho, and then finally to Rexburg, Idaho. In these places, he worked with his father and Uncle Gaskell Romney as a carpenter, which trade he later turned to his advantage and to the blessing of his family in the building of his several homes. The writer first saw Marion G. Romney at Ricks College where he was a star performer both in basketball and football. I saw him then as a "fierce competitor" with a zeal and the energy coupled with a determination which developed him into a fine athlete. Later I was to see these same qualities transferred to his studies in higher education and his successful practice of the law and in his activities in the political field as a. state legislator. His call to serve as a missionary after his graduation from high school interrupted what might have developed into an illustrious college athletic career. In the political field where so much pressure is exerted on men to compromise ideals and principles for expediency, party workers early learned to admire Marion G. Romney's intense loyalty to his own conscience as well as to the advice of his Church leaders whose pronouncements on vital issues affecting the welfare of the nation he accepted as divinely inspired even though it frequently brought him into sharp conflict with leaders of his own political party. On one such occasion when church leaders in a tersely worded editorial had denounced the trends of the political administration then in power, he confided in me something which it might be well if all loyal Church members in public life could emulate: "When I read that editorial," he told me, "I knew what I should do—but that wasn't enough. I knew that I must feel right about following the counsel of the Church leaders and know that they were right. That took a whole night on my knees to accomplish." I submit in that statement the difference between "intelligent" and "blind" obedience. Marion G. Romney while never disloyal to authority over him, could never be rightfully accused of being "blindly obedient." Perhaps few, if any, among us is more soundly-principled in the teaching of gospel truths. Possibly the secret of his sound doctrine is his knowledge of and the profound study he has made of the Book of Mormon, which the Prophet Joseph Smith declared to be "the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." (DHC, Vol. IV, p. 461.) His love for the truths of this great volume of scripture is revealed in an incident which he related in one of his general conference addresses. I quote briefly: "I urge you to get acquainted with this great book. Read it to your children; they are not too young to understand it. I remember reading it with one of my lads when he was very young. On one occasion I lay in the lower bunk and he in the upper bunk. We were each reading aloud alternate paragraphs of those last three marvelous chapters of Second Nephi. I heard his voice breaking and thought he had a cold, but we went on to the end of the three chapters. As we finished he said to me, 'Daddy, do you ever cry when you read the Book of Mormon?' 'Yes, Son,' I answered. 'Sometimes the Spirit of the Lord so witnesses to my soul that the Book of Mormon is true that I do cry.' " 'Well,' he said, 'that is what happened to me tonight.' "I know not all of them will respond like that, but I know that some of them will, and I tell you this book was given to us of God to read and to live by, and it will hold us as close to the Spirit of the Lord as anything I know. Won't you please read it?" If you would have an example of the sound logic of his thinking on deeply spiritual themes, you have but to read the introductory and concluding paragraphs on the subject of repentance which appeared in an article in the Era many months ago. I quote briefly from that article: "The Prophet Joseph Smith specified as the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, 'first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.' "These four principles and ordinances form the arch to the entrance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Compliance with them, is the process by which one receives that rebirth of the water and of the Spirit without which, as Jesus taught Nicodemus, a man can neither see nor enter into, the kingdom of God. In one sense, repentance is the keystone in that arch. Unless followed by repentance, professed 'faith in the Lord Jesus Christ' is impotent; unless preceded by repentance, baptism is a futile mockery, effecting no remission of sins; and without repenting, no one actually receives the companionship of the Holy Spirit of God, notwithstanding the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."[1] And then this concluding paragraph: "From the foregoing and many other scriptures, it is clear that repentance is the process by which every person must himself put into operation the plan of mercy on his own behalf, if he would be redeemed from spiritual death. In other words, repentance accomplishes for an individual with respect to his own sins, what the atonement of Jesus Christ did conditionally for the sins of all. Such is the place of repentance in the plan of redemption." No recital of incidents in his life would be adequate without including a reference to the great strength, loyalty, and inspiration of his lovely wife Ida Jensen Romney whom he married September 12, 1924 in the Salt Lake Temple. She has been the kind of companion who has always endeavored to be where Marion and her family needed her when they needed her. Her first two children, an infant daughter and an infant son, brought heartache and sadness. Little Janet lived only six days, and the second child, an infant son, was still-born. Their pride and joy is continuing today, however, in the accomplishments of their two splendid sons, Richard and George, who with their beautiful wives and children give promise to Marion and Ida of a continuation of their posterity in the generations to come. As though by inspiration from a meaningful scripture there came a great comfort when Elder Romney was called to be a General Authority. This was the promise: ". . . my son, blessed are you because of your faith in my work. "Behold, you have had many afflictions . . . Nevertheless, I will bless you and your family, yea, your little ones; and the day cometh that they will believe and know the truth and be one with you in my church." And this devoted couple have full faith that those words were the promise of the Lord to them and theirs. May the blessings of the Lord continue to strengthen this faithful and humble man of God to the full accomplishment of the mission to which the Lord has called him. [1] March 1956, 144 ff. |
Brother Romney in the greenhouse north of the temple, Salt Lake City.
Parents George S. and Artemesia Redd Romney in 1933 while George S. was president of the Northern States Mission. In 1918 Elder Romney was stationed at Fort Douglas, Utah, after which he played football and basketball for Ricks College, Rexburg, Idaho. Working as a carpenter, young Romney put himself through college and then served a mission to Australia, the picture being taken in that country in 1922, a year before his marriage. On September 12, 1924. he married Ida Jensen in the Salt Lake Temple. Sister Romney's picture was taken same year, prior to ceremony.
Brother and Sister Romney in 1955 just before they left for Australia to divide that mission field, and thirty-two years after Elder Romney's return from that mission. In 1951 the two sons and eight daughters gathered to honor their mother Artemesia on her 77th birthday. Still living, Mother Romney resides in Provo. June 1958 found the Romneys touring the Samoan Mission. And in 1961 they visited with young church members outside their elementary school in Mexico City. On arriving for their 1955 Australian visit the Romneys were greeted at the Brisbane airport by church officials.
Elder Romney spoke to Trailbuilder boys of the Ben Lomond (Utah) Stake in 1953.
Family picture was taken July 1962 and includes: front, Christine, W, Brother Romney; Mrs. George J. (Joanne Jensen); Rebecca, 2; Sister Romney; and Richard B., 6; standing, George J.; Mrs. Richard J. (Joanne Ware) ; Richard J.; and Catherine, 12.
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