Visitors to the small home of E. McClain Barrus in Sacramento, Calif., find somewhat of a mini-Church library within its walls.
What was once a side entry hallway into the home has been converted into a small study, complete with filing cabinets, a desk and book-packed shelves mounted on the wall. Stretched out into the living room is a computer area. In addition, he has compiled years of journals and some 27 binders containing Church lessons and notes on gospel subjects.Saying that Brother Barrus of the Sutter Ward, Sacramento California Cordova Stake, loves to learn and serve others is an understatement. The nearly 88-year-old holds four positions in the Church. He's a stake missionary, a ward family history consultant, a temple worker and has been high priests group instructor for eight years.
"I just get so much pleasure out of serving in the Church," he said. "I like to keep busy. I get up early in the morning."
He added, "The full-time and the stake missionaries meet every week here for their business and planning meeting.
Speaking of his lessons, he explained: "I always have a hand-out. I get wide-spread participation in my class."
In his missionary work, Brother Barrus reaches out to many. He eats dinner several times a week at the local senior citizens center. "I go from one table to another and introduce myself, and they all know I'm a Mormon.
"I took the Primary children from our ward over there once, and they sang for the senior citizens. The residents just loved that. The manager asked, `Can those children come back?' "
Brother Barrus's service in Sacramento goes back many years to the 1930s when he settled here with his wife, Maxine, who died in 1989. He lives today in the home he built for his family, which includes one daughter. In the 1950s, he helped the stake in recording a series of talks that were broadcast over a local radio station that allowed the Church some air time.
Today, Brother Barrus fosters a happy spirit in his home. How could one not feel so when he greets a visitor at the door with his missionary name tag on and a welcoming smile?
