Tongan Update March 21, 2998 Meeting John

Tongan Update, 21 March 2008, Meeting John

Elder Thompson and I were invited to the Liahona 1^st Ward’s Relief Society Birthday Party. The Bishopric member who was in charge of the social had all the men sing Happy Birthday to the Relief Society. Then each man had to tell something about their wife. Many talked about how they had meet their spouses. I started to reminisce about how I meet John, and then I decided to write it down.

In 1968 I was at the University of Utah majoring in Elementary Education. As I was running from Orson Spencer Hall (upper campus) to the music building which is in the horseshoe (lower campus) to get to my next class, I couldn’t help seeing many banners and posters set up on the lawn in the middle of campus. It was election time for new University student body officers, and the hopefuls were trying to get our votes. One campaign gimmick stood out above all the others. The posters said, “Everyone needs a John! Vote for John Thompson!” It was the authentic toilet by each of the signs that caught my attention and everyone else. I voted for him! And he was elected as a student body officer.

It wasn’t until several weeks later that I actually met this John Thompson. I had been invited to a Delta Phi cabin party by Jim Hampshire. Because I had to work Saturday morning, Jim and I arrived later to the cabin than the main group. We had followed a map which lead us up Smith and Morehouse Canyon, across the Weber River and into Hidden Lake Cabin Resort. There we finally found the cabin, but no one was there. We decided to go for a walk and check things out. We climbed a hill in back of the cabin where we looked down upon a small lake. We traipsed down the mountain to this lake and saw a couple in a canoe out on the water. The fellow yelled, “Do you want a ride?” I answered, “yes!” as my date answered, “no!” “What?” I thought. I questioned Jim about his decision, and what could the poor guy do but agree to go into the boat.

The people in the canoe were John Thompson and his date. I can’t remember her name, but she was hanging tightly onto the sides of the canoe. She had a distressed look on her face. When Jim got into the canoe, he looked about the same. Upon seeing their panic, some little imp took over, and with a mischievous smile I started to rock the boat. Our two dates were so concerned about their own safety that they didn’t say very much. Soon it was John Thompson and I on either ends of the canoe talking to each other.

Several days later John called me up for a date. I already had other plans. He asked again, and I was busy again. Then he asked me out for lunch. It was a date! But when the big day arrived, I had a huge, huge cold sore. I tried calling everywhere he might be to cancel our date, but I couldn’t reach him. So I couldn’t do anything about it, and he met me on campus after class. I was so embarrassed to have this stuff growing down from my lips that I tried to keep my face turned away from him. When we got to the restaurant, I hid behind the menu. I couldn’t use that protection for long so I put my hand in front of my mouth. It was awful. I thought he’d never ask me out again because I acted so dorky.

But John said it was “love at first sight” for him. It took me a little longer to work a few things out. He gave me a diamond for Christmas that year, and we were married in the Salt Lake Temple in June of 1969, a few days after we both graduated from the University of Utah.

Ahh…such a lovely story. We are now heading towards our thirty-ninth wedding anniversary.