THE MERCIES OF GOD

As soon as I posted LaPriel's story last week, Dad said he'd like one about his father--Rudger--next.  One of the first things that popped into my head this week was a story Rudger wrote himself in 1980 about an experience that happened to him that taught him much.

But, before I start, I just need to tell you all how much this man means to me.  How much the memory of him means to me.  I can still hear his voice, his laugh, see the twinkle in his eyes, his wonderful singing voice ("I Fall Down and Go Boom!"), and the way it felt when he held me lovingly on his lap when I was little, and hugged me tight and called me "my Jewels" when I was older. I love and miss this wonderful man--Rudger Grant Smith.

Now, in Rudger's own words:

"I feel it important to reduce to writing for my life story the most recent of the mercies of God to me.

"When I made the last trip to visit Clayn and his family, the rains came in abundance and it was impossible to get out on Monday, as I had planned.  I did get Karen to take me to the airport (Camarillo), where I waited several hours hoping for a clearing.  About 2 pm, I took off and tried to get out to the east, under the overcast--but had to turn back.

"Tuesday morning, I looked out and could see starts and blue sky, so I urged Karen to hurry to the 'Patch' with me, and as I was already fueled up, I was soon airborne and was easily able to clear the clouds on the west side of the Coastal Range, which went up to about 10M.  There were cloudbanks further east, but it looked like I would clear them easily, but I kept climbing anyway, and was soon at 12 thousand with no worry.  Then the next bank took me to 13M...

"What I didn't realize, was that these were the tops of cumulus clouds, not thunderheads, and that they were rising right along with me.  As I appraoced the next cloud, I looked at the altimeter and it read 14,400.  I thought--this is getting pretty high, without oxygen, and the ceiling for the plane is not too much more.  But then thought, that the cloud top looked so innocent, and I expected to be through it in a few hundred yards.

"I had never taken any training for instrument flying, and had always avoided instrument conditions.  A very few moments after entering the cloud, the instruments began to go crazy, and without being able to see something to guide me, I didn't know whether I was upside down or pointed right down--and the plane was buffeting like it would come apart.

"I was so terrified; I was doing all the wrong things with the controls.  I remember thinking that my chances of coming safely out of this situation was approximately zero--and that I was in no condition to leave my family.  There was only ONE source for help that could be effective--and that Source responded almost instantly.

"Suddenly, I could see the ground!  Approximately 10,000 feet below--and not only that, but there was a gently curving corridor which allowed me to follow without undue stresses on the shop, and lose about 8,000 feet.  All the while, I was able to see the ground.  (Blessed Earth!)

"As I came to the bottom of the cloud layer, it was raining hard, but there was amply flying room between the desert and the bottom of the cloud cover, so I set a course for Phoenix, and in due time, arrived safely.

(this is as close as I could find to a plane like the one he had--a Cessna-182)

"I saw no more openings in the clouds above me.  It was a solid rainstorm for well over 200 miles.  In my opinion, this was as miraculous as the Parting of the Red Sea.  My life was preserved as surely as if the Lord had taken me in His arms and deposited me safely at home.  I have wondered much how I will be able to justify His great mercy and kindness.

"I feel there are troubled times ahead, and I must be needed to help my family to be faithful so that we can meet the challenges of the near future.

"I have reviewed my patriarchal blessing many times lately, with particular attention to the promises made by my Grandfather Udall to his oldest grandson about what his life would be like.  He told me that after many 'vicissitudes' (a favorite word of his!), that I should come off victorious and that my last years should be my best years.

"As I reflect back over my life, it seems that there were many problems to solve, and many times there were things we had to forego because we could not afford them, but that on the whole it has been a most wonderful life, and that the promise that the last years would be best--that would mean that the last had to be too good to miss.

"As I look back over the past, I am so thankful for LaPriel--and ralize that without her love and loyalty, it might have been many years later that I would become active--and without her support and constant love, I would never have had the privilege of serving as a Bishop and Stake President, and had the opportunity to touch the lives of many people."

I (Julie) was a freshman at BYU in Provo (where Rudger was living at the time) when he wrote this.  I remember he called me and asked if I'd like to come over to the house one Sunday night and have bread and milk with him (his favorite Sunday night meal!).  How could I turn that down?!

As we sat there together, he told me that he had written this memory down, and asked me to read it.  I did, and could barely keep the tears out of my eyes (much like this very moment!), and thanked him so much for being so faithful to the Lord and for capturing this memory--this very direct blessing from Heavenly Father that allowed him to be there with me that night.

There are many other memories.  Many other stories.  Many other chapters in the life of Rudger Grant Smith--and we'll discover them together, one by one.