When I was about 16 years old, my history teacher touched on the subject of the Mormons. I mentioned this to my dad, Robert L. Clow, and he said, "I knew a Mormon family once, and they were the nicest people I have ever met."
He was referring to the time he moved to Salt Lake City in about 1917 when he was 21 years old to work for a railroad company. While in Salt Lake City, he met a young lady named Mary McCloud, who was LDS, and she invited him to her home to meet her parents.As time went on, Dad missed his family and friends, so he returned to West Allis, Wis., but he didn't forget the fine example the McClouds had set.
One day in 1958, my dad came to visit my husband, Ken, and me. During the visit, he looked out the window to see what he called "two salesmen coming down the street." He asked my husband to take him home, and they left.
In a few minutes those two "salesmen" rang the doorbell and introduced themselves as Mormon elders. They asked if I would like to know more about the Church. Immediately, I remembered what my dad had related to me 19 years before about the McClouds. I opened the door and let the missionaries in. Years later, my husband told me that it was a good thing I was home alone because he probably would not have let them in.
We listened to the message they brought each time they came. When the elders taught, they taught with the Spirit, and we knew that what they were saying was true.
We were baptized in December 1958. Since then, all four of our children have been married in the temple. In addition, we have 19 grandchildren and one great-grandchild and all are faithful members of the Church. Our three oldest grandchildren have been married in the temple.
My dad did not join the Church, but still became involved in family history research and went on to do 21 years of this work before his death in 1978. Just before he died, he gave a book of our family's history to a grandson, who carried on the work. In 1979, my husband and son did my father's temple work in the Hawaii Temple, and we have felt impressed that he has accepted the gospel.
Little did the McClouds realize what their good example would do for our family. - Dorothy A. Clark, Brookfield Ward, Milwaukee Wisconsin Stake
