Paul Hartvigsen remembers a visit by a Guatemalan Couple

I received a fun text from Paul Hartvigsen this week.

"I think it was 1974 or 1975 the ward sponsored a couple from Guatemala to go through the Temple to receive their Endowments. ... I was a Priest and Richard Cook was the Bishop. The Ward held fund raisers to raise money for the event that was mostly carried out by the youth of the Ward."

Paul visited with Karon Cook who remembered the event and believed that Larry Fisher might have more information as he may have been the returned missionary who translated the sacrament meeting where they spoke.

Larry replied to Paul's inquiry, "What I remember is that the youth of the 9th Ward wanted to do something special and raised money to bring a couple from Guatemala to be sealed in the temple. Their mission president picked an older couple who were faithful members but would normally not be able to travel to a temple in their lifetime. They were able to attend the temple in Salt Lake and also in Provo (where the endowment was available in Spanish). They also attended April General Conference in Spanish and spoke in our 9th ward sacrament meeting. It was fun for me to see them watch ice skating and try to figure out if there were little wheels on the bottom of the skate blades. They also asked if the mountains were topped with white sand. Later it snowed and they got to see what the mountains were really covered in. David Hansen and I both helped translate. Overall they had a wonderful visit to Utah."

What remarkable memories. In the 1975 "Historic Events" submitted to the Church Historical Department was found the following note:

Living in the 21st century, of course I wondered, "Can I find this couple in FamilySearch?" After a few minutes, I found Jose Mariano Villatoro Felix married to Villatoro Berta Melos de Castilla sealed in the Provo Utah Temple on 8 April 1975 in the Provo Utah Temple, the same day they received their other temple work. That seemed to be the evidence I needed to believe that I had found them. I then went to the "memories" page of Mariano Villatoro Felix and when I saw this, I thought, "That organ sure looks familiar." 

It is heartwarming to consider the impact the Bountiful 9th Ward youth had on this family. Here are some more photos found on FamilySearch.

As I look at these photos of Mariano and Berta Villatoro in their senior years, I wonder if their trip to Salt Lake City to receive their temple work and be sealed to their spouse was a bright memory of their lives.

What does this page of life events say for April 1975? Certainly several ward members read Spanish better than me, but I believe its essence is that on April 2, 1975, Mariano traveled with his wife to Salt Lake for fifteen days. Can someone translate the rest of these notes? This page seems to document his baptism date, various priesthood ordinances, and other significant church-related events.

I love this certificate of merit in connection to the pioneer sesquicentennial celebrations of 1997.

Today, there are two dedicated temples, two temples under construction, and an announced temple in Guatemala.  Before there were five temples in Guatemala, the youth of the Bountiful 9th Ward sacrificed and worked to bring a Guatemalan couple to Utah to receive their temple work. That is a pretty sweet memory.