Top Curve Top Shadow
Border NFEM Border Shadow
Spacer
Spacer
   Webmaster: Webmaster Wayne    
Spacer
Spacer
Spacer
Username: Password: Help Type:
Help Remember Me:

Stories: President Daryl W. Harris

Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 -- Add Story

President Daryl W. Harris 13 Jun 2003

Darryl W. Harris
1961-1963

When President Andrus assigned me to serve in the Korean District shortly after my arrival in July of 1961, I was thrilled because I had always wanted to serve in a place where the people were poor and humble. I traveled to Seoul alone and served first with Elder Lynn Waddell, the district president, at Sam Chung Dong, then with Donald Hill for several months. Afterwards, I was transferred to the West Branch where I served with Morris James and Richard Parrish. My companions and I had wonderful successes in both locations.

Shortly after the creation of the Korean Mission in July of 1962 and the arrival of President Carr, I was assigned to work in the office as mission recorder. My companion was Royce Grant. Except for a brief assignment to help open the Taegu Branch, I spent a year and a half in the office as recorder, secretary, and as a counselor to President Carr. My companions were Ronald Nielsen, David Butler and Brian Sellers.

I had many fun and interesting experiences serving in the office. I remember helping moving the mission headquarters out of Sam Chung Dong into a nice, new property at Ahn Am Dong, near East Gate, on July 23, only to move back out the next day because the deal between the church and owners fell through. As I remember it, the sellers did not want to register a mortgage with the government so as to avoid paying taxes. Fortunately, President Carr and those helping him were able to find an even better piece of property, with the assistance of Brother Hales from Salt Lake. We began moving into the beautiful Chung Un Dong property on October 12, located just a few miles from Sam Chung Dong. There were several buildings on the property, and one of them, a former dance hall, was large enough that it served as a meeting house for several years. Some of the buildings worked as a mission office complex and quarters for the office missionaries and office help. President and Sister Carr lived in a small home there. It was thrilling for me to find the mission office located on the same property when I served there as mission president beginning in 1997.

On September 14, 1962, I wrote an account in my journal of the first zone conference of the Korea Seoul Mission (called a report meeting back then).

There were only a few elders and here are their names Glade Maw, Robert Adams, Bruce Grant, Brian Sellers, Morris James, Robert Saunders, Carl Luke, Lester Thatcher, Richard Parrish, David Butler, Royce Grant, Sterling George, Darryl Harris, Brent Clement, Mike Nicholes, Bruce Adams, Bart Butler, Ronald Nielsen, and Marc Anderson; and of course, President and Sister Carr.

November 15 was a momentous day. Elder Gordon B. Hinckley arrived that day to begin a visit that lasted several days. He held meetings with the Saints, the missionaries and the army members. I remember how Elder Hinckley wept when hebore his testimony. He told us that even though Korea was the "strangest mission" he had seen the in the church, and he said he had seen them all, he remarked that the missionaries seemed to be happier than those anywhere else. The "strangeness" was due to the living conditions, the poverty of the country, and the newness of the mission. Also at this time the newly formed Korean Mission received six new missionaries, the first called to serve in that mission. All the rest of us were called to serve in the Northern Far East Mission. They were: Gene Goodwin, Ross Cole, Roger Howard and William Williams. I remember several weeks earlier when President Carr sent me downtown to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to check on the progress of these elders because their visas were being held up. It didn't take me long to find out the problem. I saw their visa applications in a pile. There was no doubt that the minster was not going to process them until he had his "palms greased." When I reported this to President Carr, he and I immediately went back down there and President Carr confronted the minister about it. The entire conversation was in Japanese so I didn't understand it in detail, but I knew what was going on. Finally the minister looked at me and said, "Please, take your president and leave. The visas will be processed immediately." They were, and without the payment of a bribe. After that, we never had another problem with missionary visas. By the end of November, three more missionaries arrived Keith Russell, Jay Melling, and David Peck, and two weeks later, Ed Jensen and David Lee.

After a short assignment to Taegu in December and January, I returned to the mission office on January 21 as second counselor to President Carr. Elder Sellers and I were traveling elders and one thing we really enjoyed doing was taking the missionaries out for training in street contacting and street meetings. I made some visual aids for street meetings and whenever we had street meetings it didn't take long for a crowd to gather around us. We would sing, teach, and contact the people. Many baptisms resulted from this method.

On July 14, 1963, groundbreaking ceremonies for a new chapel were held for the first time in Korea, in Young Du Dong. Kenneth Roos, a building missionary, supervised the construction of the chapel. Brother Lee Ho Nam was the branch president. Because his tools had been sent on a ship and they had not yet arrived, and because he was anxious to get started, I remember taking Brother Roos around Seoul buying tools from the "black market" so he could begin.

Elder Hinckley came to Korea again in late October. He made a prophetic statement that I recorded in my journal. "Someday, something will happen to break the bonds of the 38th parallel and the restored gospel will be preached to the people of North Korea, Manchuria and China." The gospel is now in Manchuria and all of us continue to pray for the day when missionaries can be sent to North Korea and China. We know it will happen.

I was released in January 1964. It was truly the most remarkably time of my life, up to that point. My testimony of the Savior and the truthfulness of the gospel increased many fold. I am grateful for the experience.

Webmaster Wayne Send Email
 
Home
divider
Alumni [954]
divider
Friends/Members [22]
divider
Presidents [15]
divider
Reunions
divider
News [18]
divider
Messages [18]
divider
Links
divider
Pictures [197]
divider
Stories [55]
divider
Comments
divider
In Memorium
divider
2014 Newsletter
divider
Assoc. Officers
divider

divider
Mission History
divider
Page Visits
divider
2015 Newsletter
divider
NFEM By-Laws
divider
Reunion Gallery
divider
Site Help
divider
Tokyo Temple
divider
In Tribute
divider

divider
Invite a friend
divider
Login
divider
Spacer Spacer
Bottom Curve Bottom Shadow

"Obedience is the price, faith is the power, love is the motive, the Spirit is the key, and Christ is the reason." The motto of the Japan Fukuoka Mission can be applied not only to missionary work, but to everyday life. -BYU President Bateman

Home · Alumni · Friends/Members · Presidents · Reunions · News · Messages · Links · Pictures · Stories · Comments


LDS Mission Network

Copyright © 2004 - 2008 LDS Mission Networksm · mission.net / ldsmissions.net · All rights reserved.

Site-in-a-Box is a service mark of LDS Mission Network. Version 2.1