St. Thomas Receives a Church of their Own

When Thomas S. Monson was mission president he was invited to speak at the St Thomas Branch. As he and his wife drove along the main street he saw many churches and wondered which was ours.

None was. They met in the basement of a decrepit lodge hall. There were twenty-five members about half in attendance. The same individuals conducted the meeting, blessed and passed the sacrament, offered the prayers and sang the songs.
At the conclusion of the services, the branch president, Irving Wilson, asked if he could meet with Pres Monson. He handed him a copy of the Improvement Era and pointed to a picture of a new chapel in Australia. "This is the building we need here in St Thomas."
President Monson smiled and responded, "When we have enough members here to justify and to pay for such a building, I am sure we will have one." At the time, the local members were required to raise 30 percent of the cost of the site and the building.
President Wilson said, "Our children are growing to maturity. We need that building, and we need it now!" President Monson encouraged them to grow in numbers through missionary work. President Wilson requested six additional missionaries to be assigned to St Thomas.
When the missionaries arrived, President Wilson called them to a meeting in an office in the back of his small jewelry store where they all knelt in prayer. He then asked one elder to hand to him the yellow-page telephone directory.
"If we are ever to have our dream building in St Thomas, we will need a Latter-day Saint to design it. Since we do not have a member who is an architect, we will simply have to convert one."
With his finger moving down the column of listed architects, he paused at one name and said, "This is the one we will invite to my home to hear the message of the Restoration."
He followed the same procedure with regard to plumbers, electricians, and craftsmen of every description. Conversions resulted. The newly baptized members then repeated the procedure, inviting others to listen, week after week and month after month.
Within two and one-half years, a site was obtained, a beautiful building was constructed and an inspired dream became a reality. Inspring Experiences that Build Faith, Thomas S. Monson

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