Dear Meriba!!

March 23rd was Meriba Cornia's birthday - and I meant to post on it. But I couldn't find the photo I was looking for. Then while looking for another photo, I came across this one. This is the story of my life and looking for anything actually!

At Bonny's bridal shower in 1990.

Our family loved Meriba. We first met her when we were put into the Monrovia East Ward back in 1982! She was in her late 70's then and was the Primary Secretary. Later I was assigned to be her visiting teacher, and I got to know her well.

She had a very interesting life. Her husband had died young, and so she had worked most of her life. On Saturdays, she and her children did the housework while listening to the Saturday morning Metropolitan Opera on the radio. The program was sponsored by Texaco and was very well-known - I even listened a time or two!! She was quite an expert on opera.

She was related to President Kimball - Heber C. Kimball was some kind of a great-grandparent - I forget how many greats.

She lived frugally so that she could travel - and travel she did - all over the world. When Harry got his call to Bulgaria, it turned out that she had visited there, so she came over and showed us her slides of Bulgaria.

When we first met her, she had long white hair she wore up in bun. At some point she got it cut and wore it short the rest of her life.

She swam every day in the summer and walked daily too. As a young woman, she had swum across the Great Salt Lake - she had photos of the event and she showed them to me.

After she moved to St. George with her daughter and son-in-law, we would stop and visit her when we went through. They had built a house with an indoor lap pool so Meriba continued to swim daily into her 90's.

She missed living to 100 by a few months.

Sometimes people come into your lives, and you are richer for having known them. Meriba was that kind of person.

"If you build it, they will come!"

After we were seated in the Relief Society room at the Torrance Stake Center, everyone got out their notebooks and pens!! We were ready to record whatever Sister Staples had to say!

She told us, "Write down what the Spirit directs. You will hear what you need to hear."

Let me add here, somewhat parenthetically, that I have been disturbed over the last few years to hear some women complain about visiting teaching. I almost cringed when I heard a young woman say, "I wonder when the church is going to get rid of visiting teaching?" (Answer to that question - from Sister Staples herself - "Never!")

Since many of those complaining were younger women, I wondered why, when I have always been so impressed by the great spirituality of the younger generation, they were so "down" on this particular assignment from the Lord.

This question was answered for me as I read the verse in Moroni 6:4 that Sister Staples asked me to read:

"And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith."

As I read it aloud, I felt that this was the instruction about visiting teaching that I needed to share with the women of our stake. These valiant young mothers are faithful, studious, devoted mothers and wives. They need to know that visiting teaching is not a chore or a task or a another thing to do. It is how we "remember and nourish by the good word of God" those we are asked to look after.

Over the years, I have had a large number of women assigned to be my visiting teacher. Some have been great, some have come often, some have never come, some have truly "nourished me with the good word of God." Others have been "continually watchful unto prayer" in my behalf.
Most have truly blessed my life.

I hope they didn't think that visiting me was a burden. I hope they knew that every time they came or called or sent me a card , that I felt loved and cared for.

Right now, my visiting teacher hasn't come in a few months. She had twins in May. I actually feel like I should be taking care of her. But last week, she invited us over to dinner - so we could all visit and be nourished by good food - and the "good word of God." (Her husband is our home teacher!) I was so touched that she felt that kind of concern for me. I didn't question at all that she hadn't had time to come - I knew she loved and cared about our family and was probably praying for us! That was certainly good enough for me. (And she often commented on our blog!!)

When I shared this with Sister Staples, she commented, "We all go through seasons of life. Sometimes we are more on track than other times. But we don't keep score. We just take turns caring for one another."

I certainly applaud her approach - and recommend it to you all!