In memory of Elder Dean Davies

Last Wednesday, we got word of Elder Dean Davies passing, five days shy of turning 70. He was also in the Presiding Bishopric for several years who attended several D.T.A. cluster meetings where we became better acquainted. One very memorable meeting was held in Hawaii. He met with us and offered to give us a blessing which we accepted, of course. I was dealing with some trials and he told me: “Veronica, I feel prompted to tell you that your prayers will be answered” I have never forgotten those words.

 

As we watched his funeral services attended by the First Presidency and many General Authorities, I couldn’t help to think how lucky we were to call him our friend and mentor. One daughter commented on a question she asked: “Dad, how is it that you are calm even when people tell you things that are hard to hear.” He responded, “I found that many situations, even things that seem very terrible, are often resolved over time, or they simply aren’t that important after a year or two goes by.” He had a gift of patience.

 

Bishop Davies was special to us because he had served in Uruguay as a young missionary and Presided over the San Juan, Puerto Rico mission. He was responsible for finding the land where the temple of El Salvador was built. He gave an amazing devotional at BYU on November 3, 2015 (God will Use you, God Will Bless You) telling of the miracles he saw as he went about purchasing land for temples. 

 

Bishop Davies was the one who came to the Philippines to announced Daniel as the new Director for Temporal Affairs and came back four years later when our time there was up. He spoke so well about Daniel and shared the copy of his talk with us. We had a special dinner at our home. It was just him and us. He wanted it to be private. As you can imagine, it was wonderful to have so many things in common. He truly was a disciple of the Lord who influenced the lives of all with whom he came in contact including us and for him and his example of a hero who endured to the end, I am grateful. 

 

Con amor,

Vero and Daniel