Two missionaries visited us in Winton, Calif., in the summer of 1959. I was an airman stationed at Castle Air Force Base. They committed us to read the Book of Mormon. I worked in aircraft refueling and took the book to work. I would read it between deliveries. When I finished reading the book, I knew it was true.
The elders taught us all the discussions and were exhorting us to be baptized, but my wife, Della, and I were having some problems that we felt we could not readily overcome. We asked the elders not to come back.
One week later, on July 13, 1959, we drove to Delhi, Calif. On our way home, a truck driver ran a stop sign and hit us broadside. Our 10-month-old daughter was killed and we sustained serious injuries.
My wife's parents, new converts of about one year, asked the stake president to conduct the funeral in Paso Robles, Calif. The stake president promised us that we could have our daughter Susan back someday if we were willing to pay the price.
I was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force in September 1959. We got our lives in order and were baptized in November. We were sealed in the Los Angeles California Temple in May 1961.
Since joining the Church, we both have held many teaching and leadership callings and have always been active in the Church. We are currently serving together as ordinance workers in the Los Angeles California Temple and work in our family history center. We have had 10 more children, all married in the temple and active in the Church.
We don't remember the names of the missionaries who first taught us, but we are grateful to them for teaching us the gospel. — George James, Highland Manor Ward, Bakersfield California Stake