SCRIPTURES OF THE DAY:
John 14:26-27
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"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
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QUOTE OF THE DAY:
David O. McKay
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 "Satan is still determined to have his way, and his emissaries have power given them today as they have not had throughout the centuries. Be prepared to meet conditions that may be severe, ideological conditions that may seem reasonable but are evil. In order to meet these forces, we must depend upon the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, to which you are entitled. They are real" (The Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, p. 84).
The Life and Ministry of
David O. McKay
In April of 1951, at the age of 77, David Oman McKay became the ninth President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During the nearly 20 years he served as President, he was revered by Church members and many others worldwide as a prophet of God. In addition to his teachings, his physical appearance made a powerful impression. Upon meeting him, many people commented that he not only spoke and acted like a prophet, but that he looked like one. Even in his later years, he had a tall, impressive physique and thick, wavy white hair. His countenance radiated the righteous life that he led.
A Heritage and Childhood of High Ideals
In his teachings as a General Authority, David O. McKay often referred with gratitude to the heritage and example he received from his parents. The family of his father, David McKay, had joined the Church in Thurso, Scotland, in 1850. In 1856, the family traveled to America and, after working and saving money for three years, crossed the plains to Utah, arriving in Salt Lake City in August 1859.
In the same year that the McKays joined the Church in Scotland (1850), the family of David O. McKay’s mother, Jennette Evans, embraced the restored gospel near Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales. Like the McKay family, the Evans family sailed for America in 1856 and arrived in Utah in 1859. Both families soon settled in Ogden, Utah, where David McKay and Jennette Evans met and fell in love. They were married on 9 April 1867 in the Endowment House by Elder Wilford Woodruff.
On 8 September 1873 in the small Utah town of Huntsville, David O. McKay was born—the third child and first son of David and Jennette Evans McKay. His childhood was happy but not without trials. In 1880, a series of events tested and proved the family’s faith and brought early maturity to young David O. McKay. His two older sisters, Margaret and Ellena, died within days of each other, one of rheumatic fever and the other of pneumonia. Approximately one year later, his father received a mission call to Scotland. David McKay was somewhat concerned about accepting the call because it would mean leaving his wife (who was expecting another child) alone with the responsibilities of the family and the farm. However, when hearing of the call, Jennette was firm in her response: “Of course you must accept; you need not worry about me. David O. and I will manage things nicely!” With this encouragement and the assurance of help from neighbors and relatives, David McKay accepted the call. His parting words to seven-year-old David O. were to “take care of Mama.”
“Family prayer was an established procedure in the McKay home, and when Jennette was left alone with her small family it seemed an ever more important part of the day’s events. David [O.] was taught to take his turn at morning and evening prayers and learned the importance of the blessings of heaven in the home.”
President McKay often spoke of his mother as an example worthy of emulation. On one occasion he stated: “I cannot think of a womanly virtue that my mother did not possess. … To her children, and all others who knew her well, she was beautiful and dignified. Though high-spirited she was even-tempered and self-possessed. Her dark brown eyes immediately expressed any rising emotion which, however, she always held under perfect control. … In tenderness, watchful care, loving patience, loyalty to home and to right, she seemed to me in boyhood, and she seems to me now after these years, to have been supreme.”
When David O. McKay was asked to name the greatest man he had ever met, he replied without hesitation, “My father.” The strength of his father’s example and testimony sustained him as he grew in his knowledge of the truth.
He once told of an experience when he was collecting hay with his brothers. The tenth load was to be given as a tithing offering to the Church. David O. McKay’s father told the boys to get the tenth load from a better spot than where they had been gathering. His father said, “That is the tenth load, and the best is none too good for God.” Years later, David O. McKay said that this was the “most effective sermon on tithing I have ever heard in my life.” His father also taught him to respect women. President McKay told youth, “I remember my father’s admonition when I started in my teens to court a young girl: ‘David, you treat that young lady as you would have any young boy treat your sister.’”
Later in life, while serving as President of the Church, he gave the following tribute to his parents: “I am grateful for the wise and careful guardianship and training of noble parents … a guardianship which kept me from turning to paths that would have opened to an entirely different kind of life! Every year increases my appreciation and love for an ever watchful, precious mother, and a noble father.”
Youth
As a young man, David O. McKay was called to serve in the presidency of the deacons quorum. At that time, the deacons of the ward were responsible to keep the chapel clean, chop wood for the chapel stoves, and make sure that the widows in the ward always had firewood.
As the bishop’s son, he had the opportunity to meet Church leaders who visited the family home. On one occasion, in July of 1887, Patriarch John Smith visited and gave him his patriarchal blessing (David O. was 13 at the time). After the blessing, Patriarch Smith placed his hands on the young man’s shoulders and said, “My boy, you have something to do besides playing marbles.” David later went into the kitchen and said to his mother, “If he thinks I’m going to stop playing marbles, he is mistaken.” His mother set aside her work and tried to explain what Brother Smith had meant. Although neither David O. McKay nor his mother knew exactly what his future held, the experience showed that the Lord had greater responsibilities in store for the young man.
Throughout his teenage years, he remained active in Church service and continued to gain knowledge and experience.
Education, Missionary Service, and Marriage
David O. McKay once wrote, “There are three great epochs in a man’s earthly life, upon which his happiness here and in eternity may depend, [namely], his birth, his marriage, and his choice of vocation.” Already blessed by birth and upbringing in a righteous family, he continued to benefit from wise decisions relating to his education, profession, and eventual marriage.
After completing his studies through the eighth grade in Huntsville, he attended the Weber Stake Academy in Ogden for two years. Then, during the 1893–94 school year, at the age of 20, he returned to Huntsville and worked as a teacher at the town’s grade school. Around this time, his Grandmother Evans made a financial gift to each of her living children of $2,500. Money was scarce for the McKay family, and neighbors suggested that David O. McKay’s mother, Jennette, invest the money in stocks. However, she firmly declared, “Every cent of this goes into the education of our children.” Therefore, in the fall of 1894, he and three of his siblings (Thomas E., Jeanette, and Annie) journeyed to Salt Lake City by wagon to attend the University of Utah. The wagon was filled with flour and jars of fruit and had a milk cow trailing behind.
Of David O. McKay’s university experience, his son Llewelyn wrote: “School was important. The love for learning grew by leaps and bounds; deep friendships were formed; and his fine sense of values was enhanced. He became the president of his class and was selected valedictorian. … Participating with enthusiasm in sports, he became right guard on the university’s first football team. The greatest event during this time was his acquaintance with Emma Ray Riggs.”
During the second year of their university education, the McKay students rented a house from Emma Robbins Riggs, the mother of Emma Ray Riggs. One day, the mother and daughter stood at the window and watched as David O. and Thomas E. McKay arrived with their mother. Emma Ray’s mother commented: “There are two young men who will make some lucky girls good husbands. See how considerate they are of their mother.” Emma Ray then remarked, “I like the dark one,” who was David O. McKay. Although he and Emma Ray Riggs saw each other occasionally, they did not develop a serious relationship until a few years later.
Upon completing his university studies in the spring of 1897, David O. McKay was offered a job as a teacher in Salt Lake County. He was happy for the position and wanted to begin earning money to help the rest of his family. However, around this same time he received and accepted a call to serve a mission in Great Britain.
On 1 August 1897, he was set apart by President Seymour B. Young to serve as a missionary in the British Isles. The first part of his mission was spent in Stirling, Scotland, where the work was slow and difficult. He fulfilled his work diligently and on 9 June 1898, he was called to preside over the missionaries in Scotland. Upon receiving the calling, he turned to the Lord for help. His responsibilities in this calling gave him maturity and experience beyond his years and prepared him for future service.
Another significant experience took place just three months before he went home. As a youth, he had often prayed for a spiritual confirmation regarding his testimony. On 29 May 1899, he attended a memorable missionary meeting. He recounted: “I remember, as if it were but yesterday, the intensity of the inspiration of that occasion. Everybody felt the rich outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord. All present were truly of one heart and one mind. Never before had I experienced such an emotion. It was a manifestation for which as a doubting youth I had secretly prayed most earnestly on hillside and in meadow. It was an assurance to me that sincere prayer is answered ‘sometime, somewhere.’ During the progress of the meeting, an elder on his own initiative arose and said, ‘Brethren, there are angels in this room.’ Strange as it may seem, the announcement was not startling; indeed, it seemed wholly proper, though it had not occurred to me there were divine beings present. I only knew that I was overflowing with gratitude for the presence of the Holy Spirit.” Elder McKay finished his mission honorably and was released in August of 1899.
During his mission he had corresponded with Emma Ray Riggs, or “Ray,” as he affectionately called her (her parents had named her for a ray of sunshine). Their courtship began to blossom through the mail between Scotland and Salt Lake City. He found in her a person who was his equal in every way, including intelligence, social graces, and spiritual qualities.
She had continued her schooling while David O. McKay was on his mission, and after graduating with a B.A. in education, she took a position at the Madison School in Ogden, Utah. At the same time, the fall of 1899, he joined the faculty of the Weber Stake Academy. During that school year, the two of them often met in a park between their schools. It was there, in December 1900, that he asked her to marry him. She asked, “Are you sure I’m the right one?” He said he was sure. On 2 January 1901, Emma Ray Riggs and David O. McKay became the first couple in the 20th century to be married in the Salt Lake Temple.
The above is just a small part of his life's story, but it gives us a feeling for the way he was prepared to become a Prophet one day!
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This was taken when we had our oldest 4 children, Wayne M, top, and left to right, Anita, Allen, and Delsy taken in 1963 about. I believe the visit at the airport took place about a year before this photo was taken, as I remember, Anita and Allen were too young to take for that trip to the airport. 
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