LaFawn's Art in The Children's Friend

I spent several hours today at the Church History Library scanning Mom's artwork in old copies of The Children's Friend magazine.
Prior to the new library, you could only print from old microfiches and the quality of the pictures was poor due to bad lighting and bleed-through from the reverse side. Now they let you do high quality scanning from original magazines, which you can save to a thumb drive or SD card. I only finished 2 1/2 years worth and will need to go back again. Lots of memories in the pages I skimmed today. I will be posting all of LaFawn's Children's Friend artwork and activity pages on this blog.

The Children's Friend was the official magazine of the LDS Church for children between 1902 and 1970. May Anderson, a convert and immigrant from Liverpool, England was the first editor-in-chief of The Children's Friend, as well as the second general President of the Primary. During her tenure, Anderson initiated the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake. I well remember the Primary penny collection fund drives to support Primary Children's. Mom did the artwork for at least one fund drive.

The women I remember Mom working with in the 1950's were LaVern Parmley and Erma Gardner.

Parmley served as Primary president until she was succeeded by Naomi M. Shumway in 1974; in total, she served 23 years as president and 32 years as a member of the presidency.

During Parmley's tenure, Scouting was integrated into the Primary program for boys ages eight through eleven. The Primary curriculum was also revised and became more centered on teaching doctrines of the LDS Church, as did the magazine. "I Am a Child of God", written by Naomi W. Randall, was introduced to Primary in 1957 as part of the annual Primary sacrament meeting program. It was first printed in the same issue as Mom's first artwork in The Children's Friend, June, 1957. From 1951 until 1970, Parmley was the final editor of The Children's Friend. Parmley oversaw its phase-out and the launch of the church's new magazine for children, The Friend.


Erma and Harold Gardner lived near our Wyoming Street home. They had about 12 kids and owned a fruit farm on the east bench of Salt Lake City and sold bedding plants and fruit for many years. I remember watching the kids make lunches in their kitchen in an assembly line : sandwiches from homemade bread at the two picnic tables they used for meals.

Erma served on the Primary General Board, Adult Correlation Committee and Children's Writing Committee. She wrote Three Steps to Good Teaching, which Mom illustrated, numerous lessons for family home evening and other parenting articles in the Children's Friend, which Mom illustrated, and primary manuals, especially the new manuals for the girls 8-11: Gaynotes, Firelights and Merrihands. LaFawn worked on covers and interior art for all three; her favorite was the Gaynote manual, for which she did the cover artwork. Karen found that Helen Stay, her other grandma, had torn off and saved the cover from that manual in her Primary files; it was beautiful.

Sadly, Mom was never called to the General Board, as Dad was not a full-tithe payer during the years she served, but she had a tremendous impact on Primary by improving the quality of artwork and increasingly using Gospel-related materials in the curriculum and magazine rather than talking animals and fairy stories.

Day 11 : The Wise Men

Matt. 2:1-23

No doubt there were many back east - where everyone is so much smarter - who thought the wise men were foolish for setting out on their journey on such slim evidence. Piecing together hints from the scriptures, these scientists believed the new star they had found marked the coming of the King and decided to fulfill prophecy by taking Him gifts (Read Isaiah 60: 1- 6, 9-10, 14, 17). They had to cross deserts and mountains and rivers and endure scorching sun by day and cold winds at night. Danger confronted them all the way: wild animals, wild men and robbers, sickness and exhaustion, it was a struggle just to find water to drink. But they knew what they had seen, and they knew what it meant so together they traversed the wasteland and were led to the home of the king.



He probably wasn't what they had expected. After all, they went to the palace first. But they had eyes of faith to see the star and ears to hear the angel's warning voice. So they presented their gifts to the child of the poor couple: gold, frankincense and myrrh.



The gold was a kingly gift. Some of it have been used to pay for the family's flight south to Egypt out of harm's way. Maybe there was enough left to tide them over until Joseph reputation as a good carpenter spread around enough for him to provide income for his growing family. Or maybe they used a lot of the gold to hire a tutor from the college town of Alexandria or buy some prophetic scrolls that their very bright son could learn to read. His Father knew what they would need and He provided it through some wise men who listened.

The frankincense was a priestly gift: it was the incense which was burned at the temple every day. The smoke rose toward heaven from the altar in the Holy Place, symbolically carrying with it the prayers of the saints. An appropriate gift for the Lamb, who, upon His death, returned to His Father in Heaven, bearing our pleas for mercy.



And the myrrh was appointed for that death. It is an aromatic resin which when melted becomes an amber liquid which gives a lovely scent to olive oil it is blended with. It was used to anoint the bodies of the dead. And the Babe of Bethlehem was born to die. Not that year, in Herod's slaughter, but in the meridian of time, a death without which, life would have no meaning.




Jesus came into the world to die. The painting "Destiny" by an anonymous artist depicts the child Jesus in the carpenter's shop with Joseph. He casts the shadow of a cross.

From the beginning, He came to give us life. And the wise men knew it: gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, and myrrh for the Lamb who must die that we might live. Against all odds they sought Him to offer their all.

Wise men still seek Him.



GIFTS OF SELF
Ardeth G. Kapp
It was Christmas Eve. The magic of Christmas seemed more real this year, not so much from the lights and tinsel but the feeling of excitement from the inside out. Family members had gathered at our house. After our traditional family dinner, Grandpa gathered us in the living room where he opened the Bible and read once again the Christmas story from Luke.
"And it came to pass in those day, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus" (Luke 2: 1), and the story continued. I noticed his hands trembling as he held the sacred record. Grandpa's voice was weaker now, but strong in the message that he and Grandma knew in their hearts and had taught us through the years. After the stockings were finally hung and treats left for Santa, the children reluctantly, yet eagerly, doubled up in beds trying hard to get to sleep while listening intensely for any sounds from the expected night visitor. Finally, one by one, each family member had slipped off to bed. The fire was burning low. Now if my husband, Heber, would just go to bed, I could finish my gift for him. I needed about three more hours to complete the plan I had been so excited about and working on for months. But in spite of my encouragement for him to leave, he lingered. It was evident he would wait for me. I decided to go to bed and wait until he dropped off to sleep, then slip out and finish my project for him.
With the lights out and the house quiet, I lay in bed looking into the dark. I was too excited to sleep. I waited to hear his heavy breathing announcing that it would be safe to slip away. To my amazement, and after only a little time, he whispered, "Ardie." I didn't respond. A conversation now would only delay the time before I could finish my work. When I didn't answer, he slipped out of bed as cautiously as I had planned to. What was he up to? I would go to sleep, I decided. If I could sleep now and awaken about 3:00 A.M. I could still finish my project before six o'clock in the morning, the time Grandpa Ted had agreed we should all gather around the tree.
I woke up off and on during the short night, glanced at the lighted clock, saw that Heber was still not in bed, and tried to doze off. But I didn't want to fall too soundly asleep and spoil the plan I had been working on so diligently.
Finally, I again woke up, and this time I realized Heber was getting into bed ever so quietly. It was only minutes until his heavy breathing assured me that he was sound asleep. It was 3:00 A.M. If all went well, in three hours I could still complete this special gift on time. I knew he would be pleased. "But what in the world kept him up half the night?" I wondered. In just a few hours, I would know; but for now I must concentrate and work fast.
Months ago we had talked about the forthcoming Christmas and made the traditional gift list that ranged from ridiculous to the sublime. At the top of my list was a wish that we could have more time together for him to teach me of his great understanding of the gospel. But I was driving two hours each day to BYU, and his schedule was very busy. Our time together was precious.
Heber's list of wants was short, as usual; but he did express a concern for the responsibility he had as a stake president to lead the way, and it bothered him that his family history was not compiled. His family group sheets were incomplete. While the information was probably available from aunts and uncles, his own brothers and sisters had little or no information. He felt anxious about this, but wasn't sure it was a Christmas list item, at least not the kind you could get from the mail-order catalog or even ZCMI. That was months ago, and now my prayer was being answered. The hands on my watch seemed to stand still while I worked. Everything was coming together so beautifully.
The gift was finally wrapped. I could hardly believe I had done it, but there it was—the evidence of hours and hours of work. I hurried back and slipped into bed. It was 5:45 A.M. I had made it! It didn't matter now, and it's a good thing, because children's voices were heard from the other room. "Grandpa says it's time we can get up. Hurry, hurry. We can't wait," they said. And neither could I. There were so many gifts for everyone.
Heber handed me a package. What in the world could it be? I opened it. It was a box of cassette tapes. On the top of the box was a message, "My dear Ardie. While you are traveling each day, I will be with you and will teach you. As you know, the Doctrine and Covenants has been a special interest to me over the years. I have enjoyed reading and recording for you the entire book. Reading it with the purpose of sharing it with you, I have endeavored to express my interpretation and feelings so that you might feel what I feel about this sacred book. I finished it only a few hours ago. It has been a most rewarding experience for me. Remember the Lord's promise, "Therefore, if you will ask of me you shall receive; if you will knock it shall be opened unto you. No, as you have asked, behold, I say unto you, keep my commandments, and seek to bring forth and establish the cause of Zion; Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that has eternal life is rich.' (D&C 6:5-7.) May these tapes add to you wisdom and help unfold the mysteries of God and prepare us for our eternal life together."
I immediately thought of my friend who had recently lost her husband with cancer and wondered what price she would pay for such a gift, to be able to hear her husband's voce read the scriptures to her and her children over and over again, even in his absence. What a priceless gift! No wonder some of his meetings had seemed to last longer than usual. How could I ever thank him enough?
I handed Heber my gift. He tore off the cover. A book. A book of remembrance—full. Pages and pages with pictures and stories never before recorded, a result of many secret trips to Ogden while he was in his many meetings, interviewing relatives and sorting through records and histories. The first page of the gift began with a letter, "Dear Heber. As I have copied, reviewed, and prepared these sheets and interviewed family members, your ancestors have become very real to me, and I have an increased appreciation and understanding of the greatness and nobility in the man I married. In interviews with those who knew and remembered your parents, I learned that your father always wanted your mother to be with him, in the fields if possible, and even wherever he was in the house. You must have inherited that. Although I never met your father, and your mother only once, when we meet, I know I'll love them and know them better because of this gift I have prepared for you, which really has been a gift for me."
I don't remember any of the other gifts that year, but Heber and I will never forget the spirit of that glorious Christmas celebration.

Day 10 : Anna and Simeon at the Temple

Luke 2.-21-39
These two old people are often overlooked or forgotten in the telling of the Christmas story. Old people often are. But not by the Lord.
Simeon was a good man. He had a testimony and had tried to be a good member all his life. He had learned how to recognize the Spirit and had probably often been prompted to go help some widow with her sickly donkey or a broken door hinge. It was because of a life-long habit of listening to and obeying the Spirit that Simeon happened to be at the temple on the day Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to be redeemed.



And his old eyes were opened and he knew who Jesus was. He offered Mary a priesthood blessing: he could see how hard yet rich her life would be. Like Eli of old, he blessed parents who had given their son to God, blessed them with more sons and daughters. And his old mouth was filled with marvelous words. And the service of his whole life was paid in full in that moment in the temple.

He was not alone. Anna (named for Hannah, the mother of Samuel) was also at the temple. Lots of old widows are, serving day and night with fasting and prayer and washing and ushering and folding clothes and welcoming people to the house of the Lord. And in that instant she too rejoiced and, like so many of our sisters, told EVERYONE she met about the marvelous babe

12 Days of Christmas - Day 9: Shepherds

Luke 2:8-20

Did you ever wonder why shepherds were given the great opportunity to go see the baby Jesus?

Why not the cooks in town? This was Bethlehem (Hebrew for "house of bread"). [I once had a rabbi tell me there must have been famous bakery there.] I say/go read John 6, esp. 35).

Or maybe blacksmiths: there would be one or two around the local stables, surely.

But instead God sent the angelic message and choir to the shepherds. They were out on the hills, watching the sheep by night because this was spring, the lambing season, and they would need to witness the births of the lambs in order to separate out and mark - perhaps with a scarlet cord tied around the neck - all the firstborn lambs, which would then all belong to the Lord and His temple (Ex. 13:2).




So, this was their job: to witness the birth of the Lamb of God, His Firstborn who was slain before the foundation of the earth.

Oh, and did you know that ra'ah, the Hebrew word for shepherd, also means friend? Who better than His friends to witness to the rest of the world of the birth and rebirth of the Lamb?

12 Days of Christmas - Day 8: Baby Jesus

We think that this card, printed in The Children's Friend sometime in the 1950's is one that Grandma might have drawn. It certainly has the feel of the work she was doing at the time.

THE BABY JESUS

Luke 2:7 and 12

I was wondering how swaddling clothes could be a sign to the shepherds. Weren't all babies wrapped up in clean cloths? And even then, what might it mean?

So I looked up the Hebrew and Greek and, of course, there is so much wonderful symbolism drawing on earlier Biblical imagery. It seems the word for "swaddling" (Hebrew chatal) is used only in three places in the Old Testament and each refers to a different "infant."

First, Jeremiah refers to the "swaddled infants" - literal innocent newborn children in Judah - who were killed by order of the King of Babylon in Lamentations 2:22. Some scholars point out that Luke's not mentioning the slaughter of the babies by Herod is a glaringly irreconcilable difference between his record and Matthew's, but this word may have been his way of "getting past the censor's" of the Roman society he lived in. A JEW reading his book would catch this reference and remember Herod's infamous order as copying the slaughter by the King of Babylon.

Next, Ezekiel (16:1-14) records the Lord speaking of the birth and nativity of the whole House of Israel. He reminds them that they were an unwanted newborn girl, left unwashed, unanointed, and unswaddled, left to die in an open field. But then the Lord passed by and, in spite of all the blood and pollution, He caused Israel to live. He swaddled her, nourished and carried her all the way to Sinai where Israel (now the grownup bride) was again washed, anointed and clothed, this time in marriage (Hebrew chatan) garments, to make covenants with the bridegroom on the mountain temple there.

Finally, in Job 38, the Lord reminds Job of the birth of the earth, when the sea broke forth as if it [the earth]issued out of the womb. Then the Lord swaddled the newborn pure and innocent earth with clouds and soft darkness. Recall that in the Old Testament, clouds are a common symbol indicating the presence of the Lord. Later He would send the Dayspring (see Luke 1:78) to bring light and, after shaking the wicked off the earth, He would press His name into the soft clay of the earth, sealing (Hebrew chatam) it His.

Birth and death, marriage and sealing, washing, anointing and clothing, real and restored innocence: it's all there in the sign of the swaddling clothes.

What an awesome opportunity for Mary and Joseph, to wash and anoint and clothe, to nourish and carry and teach the very LORD of heaven and earth. But is not every child born in His image and through His tokens of blood and water and spirit (see Moses 6:59)? Every parent can swaddle and cuddle and sing lullabies with the angels to their own divine children, for each comes 'trailing clouds of glory from heaven, which is their home.' (Wordsworth)

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This next activity is from Jeni Brinton Gouchnour's book, "24 Days 'Till Christmas." Please do not use it for any commercial purpose.

This fold-up manger is a good one to use with the family service activity where you put a piece of hay on the manger for each act of service you do, making His bed soft.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 7: Innkeeper

INNKEEPER

Luke 2:1-7

Many poems and songs have been written of the lost opportunity of the innkeeper who turned away Mary and Joseph, of how his perspective may have changed once he knew who the Babe was. But have you ever thought that he was not alone in his rejection; surely there was more than one inn so close to the Holy City. Was there no one else who noticed that Mary needed a place to rest? No residents or shopkeepers or fellow travellers with friends in the city? And ignorance is no excuse: his ignorance did not spare the innkeeper the loss of welcoming and hosting Jesus.

Nor will ignorance spare us the blessings awaiting us if we but make room in our lives for those who need help, space to rest, a listening ear, a hot meal in a warm home. "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ... ye have done it unto Me."


I've included this activity here because it has the stable provided by the final innkeeper. I personally like to focus on the one who came up with a creative solution to give them a private space even though it seemed impossible at first glance.

This activity comes from a Ross and Guyman "Primary Partners" book.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 6: Joseph

JOSEPH

Matt 1:18-24

Joseph must have struggled with God, asked Him some tough questions. "Dear God, the woman I am engaged to is with child and it is not mine. Now what?" Typical of life to toss some tough questions with no easy answers.

Then the angel arrives, a message is received. "Joseph, it's OK. Be at peace. My Son is in the middle of this. Everything will be fine." Then the pieces began to fall into place: Elizabeth's son, shepherds who saw angels, foreigners bringing the money to pay for schooling. Joseph himself was a key piece in the plan: a faithful and loving foster father to protect, instruct and wonder at God's Son.

When Jesus is at the center of our lives we can forgive and be at peace, we can move ahead in faith even on dark nights.

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His Father's Eyes

by Christy Riches Hinkson

A manger cradle, a brighter light.
Light of the world is here tonight.
Angels singing praises of joy.
Welcoming the newborn boy.
Mother sings lullabies.
Look, he's got his Father's eyes.
Those eyes see blessings in the pain.
They see sunshine in the rain.
They see love behind the lies.
Yes, he's got his Father's eyes.