"By John Williams, Member Tabernacle Choir"
This is a report of my illness in England subsequent to the Choir's Concert Tour which ended in Paris.
At the time of the last concert I was suffering from mild influenza which I thought I could easily throw off. I left Paris and went to Malvern, England, on or about the 20th and 21st of September. During the night of September 20th I stopped over at London. It was late at night when I got to the hotel and all the chemists were closed. None of the hotel employees had any sulfa or other drugs and, as a result ,my condition worsened. Nevertheless, I proceeded on to Malvern the following day and after resting a day at a Malvern hotel the doctor there diagnosed my case as pneumonia. I went to the Malvern Hospital for X-rays and treatment where I remained for ten days and had to postpone my sailing on the "Ivernia" from Liverpool September 29, 1955, to the later sailing of the "Saxonia" on October 5.
The matron of the hospital at Malvern greeted me with the query of how many wives I had. I replied I had just one. She afterwards felt some embarrassment for asking the question and became quite friendly. I had in my suitcase the Triple Combination (Book of Mormon, The Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price) which I had the opportunity of reading to other members of the ward in which I was a patient. One fellow patient, Graham Crews, became most interested in everything I had to say about the Restored Gospel. Among other things, I read to him the 8th Chapter of Moroni, 13th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, and also Sections 76, 110. and 89.
I had written home of my condition to my wife, Marjorie, whom I supposed had contacted the Church authorities in Salt Lake. Brother Murdock at the Church Offices cabled President Hamer Reiser with the advice to contact me immediately and arrange transportation home via the Scandinavian Airlines. President Reiser immediately phoned long distance form London to Malvern and I was progressed sufficiently in my convalescence that I could go to the office and converse with him on the phone. I related to him the advice that he had already received from the matron of the hospital and from Dr. A. L. Brown, my attending physician, that I was better off to come home by sea, using that period of time for further convalescence. President Reiser was very solicitous of my condition and in a few days dispatched two missionaries with the Mission President's car (that is, his car) to Malvern. These Brethren were Elder Hoopes and the Mission Secretary. I told my friend, Graham Crews, in the hospital that when the Elders came to pick me up I would buy a missionary copy of the Book of Mormon and present it to him. I also gave another copy of the Book of Mormon to a William Pickard, another fellow patient. At the time of my parting from the Malvern Hospital I considered this rather an insignificant act, but the day I sailed from Liverpool a telegram was there for me from Graham thanking me for the Book of Mormon and wishing me bon voyage.
The purpose of my originally going to Malvern in Worcester County was to pursue my own genealogy of the Williams family line. My grandfather, John T. Williams I, for whom was named, was born in Cradley, Herefordshire, near Malvern. For two days the Elders who had picked me up at the Malvern Hospital motored me around from village to village in my genealogical pursuits. We accomplished very little, nevertheless, it was as much as I could have done on my own in a week or ten days with no car. The missionaries drove me to Hengoed, Glamorganshire, Wales, where my father's first cousin lived—a Mrs. Lucy Jones.
She had never met any of the family that had gone to America for the Gospel, and was not a member of the Church. Although I was a complete stranger to her, Mother had carried on a little correspondence with her regarding genealogy and she graciously took me into her home. I met her husband, Ernie Jones, and her granddaughter (my sixth cousin), Doreen Lloyd. I stayed with them overnight and the missionaries picked me up the following day about noon. This gave me ample opportunity to tell them a little about the Gospel. Apparently they had never heard anything remotely close to the Restored Gospel before. As I told them the stories of the restoration, Aunt Lucy repeatedly said to me, "Oh, if we could only believe that!" "If we could only believe that!" Since returning home I have sent them a copy of Dr. Talmage's "The Articles of Faith" and have enjoyed some very satisfactory correspondence with Aunt Lucy.
In returning now to this dear friend, Graham Crews, I have enjoyed a host of wonderful correspondence with him in these months following my return home. He has written to the Mission Headquarters in London and purchased, on his own, a copy of The Doctrine and Covenants and The Pearl of Great Price. He has written me his personal testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon repeatedly and has indicated his desire to become a member of the Church. We have exchanged Christmas gifts and among other things, I have mailed him a copy of "Jesus, the Christ," "The Great Apostasy," and "The Articles of Faith," all by Dr. Talmage.
Also since returning home my employers, The Jewel Tea Company of Barington, Illinois, have seen fit to reimburse me for the period of time which I was ill which made me return home late for work. My Jewel hospital insurance and medical benefits under the Lloyds of London Group Insurance were not needed in England. I came under the classification of a tourist and therefore was automatically covered by the British National Health Insurance. I had two X-rays, two consulting physicians on my case, plus a third physician who had treated me in the Malvern Hotel before I was hospitalized. I had the finest care and meals in the hospital, all of which didn't cost me or the insurance company a penny. I have had some very gratifying correspondence from the nurses, two Sisters, and the Matron herself, whom I have reason to believe were pleased to have made my acquaintance as I was of theirs.
I feel it incumbent upon me now to contact the president of the British Mission and ask him if it is possible to arrange for missionaries to go to Malvern and meet with my dear friend, Graham Crews.
All the time I was in the hospital, though I was many miles from any of my acquaintances, I was led to feel that I was in a house of friends and that the Lord's hand was over all.
(This account is found in in Warren John "Jack" Thomas, Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle Choir Goes to Europe - 1955 [Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1957], 251-253).
No comments:
Post a Comment