Western States Mission - Denver, Colorado

Ben rode the Inter-Urban Electric Train to Salt Lake City around the first of December, 1945. He found the Missionary Training Center near the Eagle Gate and Brigham Young's Lion House. (Across the corner from Z.C.M.I.) It had served as a U.S.O. for military personell until a few days before Ben arrived. In one room was a Juke Box. Ben and a Lady Missionary going to Mexico on her mission, decided to dance. The Juke Box was stopped and Ben and his partner were informed that there was no dancing for missionaries. One missionary did get permission to attend his farewell party in one of the Salt Lake City Wards, but dancing was not permitted. Ben was assigned to be his Missionary Companion, so they sat out the dancing. (It was held on Saturday evening, they had great music, and all the girls were beautiful. A few of them enjoyed making the missionaries miserable with their teasing.)

General Authorities came to teach us how to be missionaries. A Doctor, Creed Haymond, was going to be a Mission President. He taught us how to remain healthy during our missions. Ben was ordained a Seventy by Seventies President, Milton R. Hunter, and was Set Apart for his mission by Elder Joseph Fielding Smith. We received our Endowments in the Salt Lake Temple, and then were taken on a tour of the Temple. We went to the Assembly Hall on the top floor, we saw the Holy of Holies room. (We were not invited in.) We saw the room where Elder James R. Talmage stayed while he wrote the book, "Jesus the Christ."

Ben was given a ticket on the Denver and Rio-Grande Rail Road Train December 12. He was required to stop over in Provo three days to allow his Mission President time to arrive in Denver before Ben did. He was instructed that he was not to touch a female person above her wrists except his mother. He could give and receive a hug from her. On the 15 th he boarded the train for Denver. President Francis A. Child and Mission Secretary, Elder Kenneth Sundberg, met him at the train station in Denver. Ben had been informed that he would recognize his greeters because they would be the tallest two men at the Depot. He had no difficulty spotting them. Ben was assigned to work in the mission office and lived in the Mission Home in Denver. His companion was Elder Sundberg. The Denver Ward Meeting House was next door to the Mission Office, so a few Saturday evenings were spent watching kids have fun, dancing. My, what torture! Sundays were spent traveling by bus to branches near Denver. Ben gave a lot of talks. Some weekday evenings were spent tracting or holding Cottage Meetings.

Elder Homer had his 21 birthday in the Mission Home. After about six months, he was assigned to go to Boulder, Colorado with Elder Burt U. Dickerson, from Ogden. When Elder Dickerson was released, Elder Varsel Jenks, from Idaho became a Jr. Companion. We had no church organization in Boulder, so we organized a Home Primary. A sister with several small children wanted to have a Primary. Her oldest daughter invited her school class to the first meeting. We had one class with 25 students and three classes with one student each. The large class shrunk each week until it stabilized at five.

We were invited to attend the Saturday services of the Seventh Day Baptist Church. After a couple of visits, we were asked to teach the lesson in the adult class. We chose, "Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy". Some were so impressed with our class lesson that we were asked to preach the sermon in the main service on a Saturday that the Pastor was out of town. However, someone in Denver learned about our appointment, and we were cancelled. Someone came from Denver to preach the sermon that Saturday. It was interesting while it lasted. My brother, Marion, came to visit me while he was on leave from the Navy. Marion and Raymond were both in the Navy, and both sent me support money for my mission.

I was transfered to Colorado Springs, with Elder Wm. Kent Marsdon as my companion. The branch met in a college building with 60 to 80 members attending during the school year and 5 or 6 attending during the Summer. Two lady missionaries were assigned to Colo. Springs while Elder Marsden and I were there. Sister Lois Clark and Sister Janis Weeks. Elder Marsden married sister Weeks when they were released. Elder Homer dated Sister Clark after their releases. They were engaged for about a year, but the whole idea fell through before they got close to a temple together.

Elders Homer and Marsdon started attending the Pilgrim Holiness Church on Wednesday evenings. he preacher started introducing us as his "regulars". We were never invited in while tracting before attending the P.H. Church. After meeting people at church, we were invited into nearly every home we tracted. We didn't baptize any one, but did get to talk to a lot of people.

While tracting one day we met a lady who said she would love to visit with us, but she was too tired. She was tending her brother who was dying with cancer. She had no one to spell her off, so we volunteered. We would sit with him while she slept. We gave him his medicine and water to drink. He died in a few days, and she asked us to preach his funeral sermon. Not many Elders had that experience.

Branch President, Rolleigh Gardner, came one day to ask Elder Homer to perform a marriage ceremony while he was out of town. He had obtained permission from President Child. Elder Homer spent much time rehearsing the ceremony. Then he learned that the couple he was joining in marriage were deaf-mute. Their relatives would peform the translation needed. WOW ! The ceremony was conducted, the papers filled out and signed and mailed in. About ten years later some of the relatives located Ben Homer in Salt Lake City and informed him that the couple had lived in sin for five years. The state of Colorado finally located them and informed them that Elder B.F. Homer had never been registered with the state of Colorado to perform marriages. They did have the ceremony repeated by someone with authority in the state of Colorado. Not many missionaries have tried that, either.

New Mexico was exciting. My last missionary assignment. When I first met President Child, I told him how disappointed I was to not be assigned to a Spanish speaking mission. I studied Spanish at the "Y" after I met Kathleen Bowman. President Child promised me that if I behaved myself, he would send me to New Mexico before I was released. New Mexico was included in the Western States Mission. We only had a Spanish speaking branch in Santa Fe.

Some of the members in Santa Fe were in the F.B.I. , working with people at Los Alamos. We were asked to visit Los Alamos to organize a Sunday School. With Permission from President Child, we obtained passes to visit Los Alamos, and got the Sunday School started. While visiting the members at Los Alamos, Elder Homer was invited to submit an application for employment. President Child gave permission for that, so we spent another day "on the Hill". Several interviews and a physical exam were completed. About three months would be required for a background check by the F.B.I. They suggested that I attend another Quarter at B.Y.U. while I waited.

I was released 12 December 1945, and went to work at J.C. Pennies for a couple of weeks before going home for Christmas. The manager of Pennies was married to one of our members in Santa Fe. He tried to persuade me to come back and work at Pennies, but my heart was set to work at Los Alamos.

Three months went by quickly. I was attending Conference in Salt Lake when I heard my name over the p.a. system. I had an emergency phone call, "Go to the nearest pay phone and ask for operator 753." So, I did. It was a call from Los Alamos. My security clearance had come through and I was to report for work in two weeks. When I returned to Pleasant Grove I told Mom about my exciting phone call. She said the call came to our home and she told the girl that I was attending L.D.S. Conference in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City. The girl said thanks and hung up. She didn't give up, she found me.

I became a Jr. Scientist at $160.00 per month. I lived in an Army Barracks. I worked mostly for Dr. Newell Hart Smith. He had lots of fascinating projects to work on. On the phone, I tried to propose to Kathleen Bowman, but she finally said, "Ben, let's stay friends." So....On one of my trips home I went to Salt Lake and got a date with (Sister) Lois Clarke. One date led to another date and a lot of letters, and one night we became engaged to be married. We kept the postal service in business for a year. Then I received a request to re-schedule our wedding, then another and ... I finally wrote and asked if she wanted out, and she wrote back, "Yes". I waited a year for her to change her mind, and then traded the rings for a down payment on a car. One day my boss called me into his office. "Ben, take a leave of absence, go back to B.Y.U., marry one of those beautiful Mormon girls and come back here with your mind on your work". So, I did.

I liked Vesta Ann Ball a lot. She was chair woman, or on every committee at the "Y". She was fun to date, but impossible to catch up with. I had a date with her to go to the New Years Dance. Our Stake President, Wilford Warnick, organized a Returned Missionary Fireside. We met once a month to hear the testimony of the recently returned missionary. I went to David Smith's fireside and met a cute red head that didn't know. Her folks moved to Pleasant Grove while she and I were on our missions. She was fun to flirt with. Her name, Verda Adams. It was cold outside when we went to our cars, and Sister Adams said, "I wish some one would drive me home to get my gloves". I quickly responded, "I will." So, I drove her home to get her gloves, she drove me back to get my car. (A new blue Crosley.) The car was so cute she accepted an invitation to try my car. We dated a few times, and I was definitely interested in her. I asked David Smith to get a date with her for the New Year's dance, with the understanding that we would trade a lot of dances. She was as fun to dance with as she was to flirt with. But I soon saw my mistake in asking David Smith to help. He refused to recognize that his help was no longer needed. I warned him that we were on a collision path. He promised to leave Verda alone, the liar.

One night I was feeling a bit down, so I went over to the Adams home to chat with Verda a few minutes. She was wearing a bath robe and her hair was in curlers. She said she couldn't visit, she didn't have time. I pleaded for just a few minutes, so she said ok. A few minutes. Time goes so fast when....There was a knock on the door and she said, "Oh, no! I'm not ready." She answered the door and in came David Smith wearing a Tux, with a beautiful corsage of flowers in his hand. He said, "You're not ready!" Then he saw me. Every one became quiet. Finally, Verda said, "Well, I may as well bake a cake." So she did. She put white frosting on it. We enjoyed the cake. Finally, David said, "I might as well go." So I said. "I'll go too." I got in David's car and read the riot act to him for a while. He finally apologized and promised, "Never again." So I got out of the liar's car. I drove home feeling much worse than I had been feeling when I came.

We both had Temple Recommends, so some of our dates were going to the temple together.

We started kidding each other about which Temple we would rather be married in. We finally settled on Manti as our favorite. Verda was the most stubborn woman I had ever met. Once she made a decision, she didn't consider changing it. I had a friend who was the U.S.A. champion vacuum cleaner salesman. I told him Verda had just purchased a new carpet for her parents home. She had to drive a mile to borrow her sister's cleaner, and I bet him a malt he couldn't sell her a cleaner. He lost the bet. I wanted to propose marriage to Verda (Seriously), but I didn't dare try it. I knew one turn down would be the end. One night she went to sleep on our way home. I asked her, "Verda, did you enjoy the dance?" "Uum hmm." "Shall we go to one next week?" "Uum hmm." I had just finished a sales training thing, and I thought, "Wait a minute, we have something going here." So I asked, "Verda, will you marry me?" "Uumm hmm." I didn't dare push my luck, so I took her home. Next morning I phoned her at work. I didn't know that all phone calls were monitored by 30 other girls. I thanked her for accepting my proposal and told her I was leaving for Los Alamos to to work. She had said that she would never marry a sales man. She wanted an income that could be depended on to pay the rent and buy the groceries. All the girls asked her, "Verda did you accept a proposal?" "Did you get a ring?" "Well, I guess so, and no, no ring." I left for Los Alamos, determined to keep my mind on my work.

Verda flew to Albuquerque, and I rented a car to pick her up. We toured Los Alamos and picnicked in Frijoles Canyon. She accepted my proposal and ring. After we had been married a week she exclaimed, "Oh, my. I still have one engagement ring to return." I asked, "How many engagement rings did you have?" She just smiled.