Beginning My LDS Mission
I didn’t have an idea where I would be called, and it really didn’t matter to me because I knew that the Lord would call me where He wanted me to go. It also didn’t matter if it was a foreign or a United States mission.
When my mission call came, I was at work at the M&W Market. Mom and Dad brought the letter to me just before my lunch hour. After they left, I went to the restroom and knelt down to thank God for the call and to tell Him I accepted it with all my heart.
Dale Olpin was my bishop at the time and Ted C. Peck was the stake president. President Peck set me apart as a missionary on July 28, 1974.
My farewell talk was on July 28, 1974. I spoke about ways that Satan tempts us and how to overcome those temptations. Listen to my farewell talk
Larry Richman missionary farewell in Boise. Front row (left to right): Rick, Margorie, Tonya; back row (left to right): Donna Nelson, Jim Seely, Larry Richman, KaLee Neal, Jeff Richman, Lynn Richman, Jennifer Richman (baby), Julie Richman (baby), Mary Richman, Grace Smith, Boston Richman, Reta Nelson.
Mom, Dad, Joy, Rick, and I traveled to Logan, and I received my endowment in the Logan Temple on August 2, 1974.
Larry, Mary, and Lynn Richman at the Logan Temple, August 2, 1974
Larry and Mary Richman at the Logan Temple, August 2, 1974
Larry and Lynn Richman at the Logan Temple, August 2, 1974
In Brigham City, I said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa Seely. We met Grandma Richman, Reta, and Diane at Temple Square and took some pictures.
Elder Larry Richman on Temple Square before entering the Mission Home
Elder Larry Richman on Temple Square with his family before entering the Mission Home
Elder Larry Richman and family entering the Mission Home
I entered the mission home on Saturday, August 3 where I received basic orientation until August 7. While there, we learned the 226 pages of missionary discussions with 50%-word accuracy. In those days, missionaries were expected to learn the discussions word for word. We went through two temple sessions and had a question-and-answer session in the upper room of the Salt Lake Temple with O. Leslie Stone, an Assistant to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. He pointed out a room off the side of the upper room of the temple where James E. Talmage wrote the book Jesus the Christ in 43 days.
Language Training Mission (LTM), August 7 to October 2, 1974
The LTM was held at Knight Mangum Hall on the BYU Provo campus.
Knight Mangum Hall, site of the Language Training Mission on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah. See additional photos 1, 2, and information.
My LTM teacher, Elder Bruce Powell
My LTM district. Front row (left to right): Elder Dan McClurg, Greg Martin, _______, _______, _______. Top row (left to right): Steve Fackrell, ________, John Hafen, _______, Alan MacIver.
District members: James Taylor, David Marshall, Robert Burdett, and Scott Johnson.
House at BYU where we met for language classes (for part of my stay at the LTM)
The missionary on the right was my LTM companion, Elder Dan McClurg, from Hopkinsville, Kentucky
My time at the LTM was spent learning Spanish from my teachers, Elders Jones, Powell, and Rojas. Later, my teachers were Elders Vermillion and Haddock. We also had to memorize 40 lines of the discussions in Spanish each day, for a total of 55 pages during our time in the LTM. Then, on the mission, I had to memorize the rest of the total of 232 pages of the discussions.
A quote from my missionary journal on August 16, 1974: “I really am content here. I guess that a good definition of home is where you belong. I belong here, so it is my home. When I get into bed, I look out the window at the beautiful mountains and sky and feel that I belong here at the LTM. This is where I should be. And when I go thousands of miles away from here to Guatemala and El Salvador, I’ll feel the same way—at home. It’s a wonderful feeling.”
I had never worked harder in my life. It is hard work when you work against yourself. I was not competing with anyone but my own potential.
On September 7, 1974, we attended the temple. I wrote this in my journal: “As I walked back from the temple to Knight Mangum Hall, I passed Deseret Towers [where I lived during my freshman year] and remembered the ‘good old days.’ That was ‘the life’ then, but this is ‘the life’ now.”
On September 11, they moved our sleeping quarters from Knight Mangum Hall to the Motel 6 for two nights, and then to the Rodeway Inn in South Provo because they had so many missionaries. There were about 275 missionaries in motels in the city.
Elder Larry Richman leaving the Salt Lake airport for Guatemala
Larry Richman and his grandmother Boston Thomas Richman
Larry leaving on his mission from the Salt Lake airport
I left the LTM on October 2, 1974, to fly to Guatemala. All my family and Grandma Richman met me at the airport to say goodbye. The travel agency sent the plane tickets to the airport, but not the passports, so we couldn’t leave. I said my goodbyes to the family, and we returned to the LTM and spent the night at Amanda Knight Hall. My journal entry that night read as follows: “I am really going to miss the LTM. I don’t believe I’ve worked harder in my life than I have here. But I don’ think I’ve ever been more blessed or happy. Last night, when we thought we were leaving for good, I really felt sad. We saw all our teachers and said goodbye and had our abrazos. I was actually crying when we left for the motel. The LTM really is a special place.”
On October 3, 1974, we flew to Guatemala City. That night, we had a home evening at the mission home with President and Sister Arnold. President Arnold was only 33 when he was called as a mission president. (He was 58 when he died of a heart attack at his home while shoveling snow.)
The next morning, we had orientation with the office staff and interviews with the president. I was assigned to be a companion with Elder Mathew Greer in Ahuachapán, El Salvador. (Ahuachapán was the name of our district in the LTM!) At noon, we boarded a Tica Bus headed for San Salvador.
Read about my adventures in Ahuachapán.