Président David Sjodahl King

DAVID SJODAHL KING
On Tuesday, May 5, 2009, Retired United States Congressman DAVID SJODAHL KING, 91, of Kensington, MD. Beloved husband of Rosalie L. King; father of Jody Olsen, Christine Graham, Frank, Stephen, and Christopher King, and the late David King, Jr. Also survived by 15 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Relatives and friends may call at COLLINS FUNERAL HOME, 500 University Blvd., West, Silver Spring, MD, Friday, 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral service at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Stake Ctr., 10000 Stoneybrook Dr., Kensington, MD on Saturday, May 9 at 11 a.m. Interment Parklawn Memorial Park.

Dear Haiti Mission Alumni,

      Sister King and I are glad to furnish a little information about our activities since September 1st, 1989, when we were released from presiding over the Haiti Port-au -Prince Mission.

      Shortly after our return home to Kensington, Maryland, we resumed our assignments in the Washington temple: I as a sealer, and Sister King as a regular ordinance worker, with special responsibilities. We also spent a lot of time with our grandchildren, of which we had eleven at the time, but which number has now increased to seventeen.

      Sister King also returned to work part-time at the Holy Cross Hospital where she had previously worked for a number of years. She also assumed teaching responsibilities in the Relief Society. I pursued certain doctrinal studies, including studies in Greek, and also taught Sunday School. In July of 1990, Sister King and I took a BYU guided tour, which included the Passion Play at Oberammergau, our two temples in Germany, Berlin (where we saw them tearing down the despised Berlin Wall), and most important of all, the Holy Land.

      In the early Summer of 1990, I was called by the First Presidency to become the President of the Washington, D.C. temple, and Sister King to become its matron. We were set apart by President Hinckley, and assumed our responsibilities on the following September 1st.

      A recitation of the wonders of this calling which we experienced would fill a book. During this time a fairly large number of Haitian members, including former Haitian missionaries, came to Washington to receive their endowment and/or sealings. In almost every case we were able to receive them into our home in Kensington during the period when they were attending temple sessions.

      During the period of my presidency I was able to deliver twelve recorded lectures to the temple ordinance workers, on the temple's rich background, and other related matters.

      Our callings as president and matron of the temple lasted exactly three years. Following Sister King's release, she accepted some further ordinance worker's assignments, plus part-time hospital employment in the homecare hospice department, where she left the bedside and went into community education and marketing.

      Not only does she do volunteer work for the Church, she also serves on the board of the American Cancer Society. She was recently given the outstanding service award by the Montgomery County Chapter of the American Heart Association. She, like myself, is enjoying good health, having had no recurrence of the cancer which she had in Haiti.

      After my own release as temple president, I was appointed a member of the board of directors of the Interfaith Conference, which is an organization composed of the seven principal faith communities in the greater Washington Metropolitan area.

      In the Summer of 1994, Rosalie and I took a second BYU guided tour which brought us to most of the important Greek Islands, including Crete, Rhodes, and Patmos (where the Apostle John wrote his book of Revelation), plus a second visit to the Holy Land.

      On Thanksgiving Day of 1994, I was ordained a Patriarch for the Washington, D.C. Stake and for the District of the District of Columbia, which position I now hold.

      In the Summer of 1995, we attended the BYU Education Week at Provo. I also undertook to write my autobiography, which I worked on for almost a year. It was finally completed in July of 1996.

      Sister King and I take this opportunity to give special thanks to all those who faithfully served the Lord as Missionaries in Haiti during that period when we served as president of the Haiti-Port-au-Prince Mission. The affectionate ties we formed with you are of the kind that will endure forever. Many of you have kept in close touch with us, and for that we are particularly grateful.

      We invite your letters. Our home address is <removed>. Our telephone is <removed>.