At the end of August 1977, my wife, Betsy, our four kids, Sasha our dog, and I headed for beautiful Vancouver Island in a heavily laden station wagon towing a small trailer. I was soon to take up a position as a history instructor at the new North Island College (NIC) in Campbell River, modestly dubbed “the salmon capital of the world.”
On our first Sunday there, we attended Latter-day Saints services in the Eagles’ Hall, which reeked of tobacco smoke and stale beer from the attached bar. The branch was more of a twig. It had been organized a year earlier and consisted of about twenty active members who welcomed us warmly. We soon found, however, that all was not well in the branch. Half of the members, including the branch president, wanted the branch disbanded and the members return to the larger branch in Courtenay, about thirty miles away. The stake presidency, however, felt inspired that the branch should continue.
I was soon called as a counselor in the branch presidency. Over the next year the branch struggled to survive. There were no baptisms, and we couldn’t find a more suitable venue. One bright spot was that in the summer a group of Latter-day Saint fishing enthusiasts, mostly from Utah, spent a few weeks in Campbell River and attended our meetings.
Sentiment to disband continued and in January 1979, the stake presidency visited to discuss the branch’s future. Eventually, the branch president was released, and I was called to replace him. Upon my call, the stake president assured me that it was the Lord’s will that the branch continue and that He would reveal to me and my counselors the way forward.
One of the first things we did as a new presidency was to hold an outdoor, sunrise ceremony where among other things we petitioned Heavenly Father for increased membership and a more appropriate meeting place.
Will Heavenly Father hear our prayers?
Shortly thereafter, we received the membership of Woodrow (Woody) Green. One evening I visited with him and his wife, Margaret, who was not a member. Woody was a little gruff, but Margaret was most gracious. Woody was an Albertan, who hadn’t been active in the Church for years. He did, however, proudly show me his deacon’s certificate, signed by a Hyrum Smith. “Hyrum Smith?” I said, “How old are you Brother Green?” This brought a smile and his gruffness evaporated. Actually, he was in his sixties and he and Margaret had retired to Campbell River. The Greens promised to come to Church when their grandchildren, who were active members, visited.
Not long after meeting the Greens, I got a phone call from the Canada Vancouver mission president. He said that he had assigned a senior missionary couple to an area on the island, but that the area didn’t have a place to park their motor home. “Did Campbell River have such a place?” “Yes!” I said, assuming we had one. Thus, Elder and Sister Frampton were sent to us. What a blessing!
As it happened, the first Sunday the Framptons were at church, Woody and Margaret were there also. The two senior couples bonded. Woody was soon reactivated and Margaret was baptized by him. Eventually, Woody became my first counselor and Margaret the Relief Society president. During the following months the Framptons taught and baptized several others including David Corlett, a young man with building skills, which were needed later. We also had several move-in families.
More blessings came
In December 1979, the Pentecostal Church put their chapel up for sale. It was a beautiful building with cathedral ceilings of varnished wood. Contrasted with the smelly Eagles’ Hall it was heaven. I immediately contacted the stake president and soon a church building representative visited us. He was equally impressed with the chapel. But there was a problem. Although attendance at sacrament meetings had risen considerably, it had not quite reached the threshold warranting a building. The representative questioned me about the branch, and I happened to mention that attendance swelled in the summer with the Utah visitors. “That’s it!” he exclaimed. Apparently, the Church made an exception in tourist areas. As a matter of fact, in some places, such as Waterton Lake Park in Alberta, the chapel is closed for the winter. The representative returned to Church headquarters and soon made a bid. Unfortunately, the bid was rejected in favor of a funeral parlor. We were crushed.
Several months later, I was outside my house washing the car when the Pentecostal pastor dropped by. He asked if our Church was still interested in buying the chapel. He explained that in order for the chapel to be turned into a funeral parlor, a zoning change was required. On the night the zoning change was discussed at a city council meeting the building was packed with local residents. They vociferously opposed the change, and it was rejected. I immediately phoned Salt Lake City and a new bid was made and, to our great delight, was accepted. On June 1st a jubilant special meeting was held in our beautiful chapel.
Right away, renovations were started to turn the Pentecostal chapel into a Latter-day Saint meetinghouse. Brothers Woody Green and David Corlett were put in charge of the work. Fifteen years later, Campbell River, now a ward, got a new church-built chapel. As I look back on the morning of our sunrise service, I have no doubt that the Lord smiled on our efforts to follow the stake presidency’s revelation that Campbell River should continue to be blessed with the presence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.