Our love continued to grow and I was soon faced with some difficult choices. It had all progressed so quickly that I wondered if I was yet prepared for marriage. We got along so well that I was afraid to pray and ask the Lord if Susan was the one for me to marry. I compromised by praying for direction so I would be doing only those things that would please the Lord and lead me to an eternal relationship. Many times before some problem would arise, I was blessed with many strong spiritual experiences on my knees at night.
I invited Susan to accompany me and my family to the Idaho ranch. We had an enjoyable time; Susan even slept with my mother. Once I had returned and was alone one Sabbath day I had an unquenchable desire to know [if I was to marry Susan]. I [had] prayed only a few minutes when I was given a feeling, a warm and wonderful feeling, and I knew that she was the one I was to marry. When Mom came home, she knew something had happened and once everyone in the [my] family had heard, I decided to ask Susan.
I had always had a difficult time with what should have been romantic moments. I remember getting the idea across [the night that I decided to tell her about my experience] and she seemed to accept, but since I had no ring and hadn't dropped to my knees for the asking she had to call the next day to make sure she had gotten the right message the night before. To solidify the commitment, I remembered a trophy I had purchased years before so I arranged for a much larger one that said, "I WIN", meaning that I was the one who stood to gain the most.
I had purchased a diamond that Noel had brought from Belgium and we made arrangements for a setting. Our engagement began in July and wedding plans were for December. Our days were filled with wedding plans and plans for our marriage and future. We would meet on those Sundays when she [Susan] had to work and we would have a family home evening between the work she had to do. Our mothers helped so much to make our wedding just as we had dreamed it [would] be. Our excitement for the occasion must have brushed off on someone [else] because Mom soon announced plans to marry John Taylor in late November and Noel announced plans to marry his sweetheart a week after our December 19th wedding.
A great deal of our engagement time was also spent preparing and refinishing some old furniture we had found in Grandma's home. We would have a dresser, table, and chairs, and cedar chest [from Susan's mother] to start off with. Susan also purchased a bed and stereo to complete our collection. Some days before our wedding we went through the temple for Susan's endowments so our wedding day wouldn't be so full of activity that it would be less enjoyable.
I drove to pick Susan up and together we with her parents, road to the temple where we were to be sealed. I was less nervous than excited but everyone treated us as if we were something special. The sealing was done by someone who was surprisingly young; we had a smaller ceiling room but it was filled with family and friends. Susan left to change into her wedding dress and then [we] waited in line for the traditional pictures in front of the temple. Our wedding breakfast was at the Printer's Loft and our reception that evening at Susan's home. All our sisters had traveled many miles to participate in the wedding and share in the joy of the occasion.
Our honeymoon was a wonderful experience. Susan has sacrificed and chosen to work so we could spend two weeks traveling to the Homestead [resort] in Heber [City, Utah], California, and Mexico. It was difficult for us to accept that we had to return and begin work again. Susan returned to work and I continued my studies at the University of Utah.
I had also been offered a job at AAA Engineering and Drafting. My duties were map drawing. We updated maps of Russia, China and many parts of the United States. We had chosen to live in my... Next Page
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