An Answered Prayer

Written by Elnora Merrill Pace, daughter of Jesse Albion Merrill Jr.

During the 1940s and 1950s, young men were required to serve in the military. My uncles, Haley Andrew Merrill and Clinton Edgar Merrill both served in the Army. Haley served for approximately four years and although he was sent to the Philippines, he never saw any action. Clinton only served for a couple of years but he stayed entirely in the United States and also didn't see any war action. In the 1950s my father was running the family farm for his father so he was able to get deferred from serving several times. You had to apply for a deferment every six months so finally, Jesse Albion Merrill Jr., decided to enlist.

Clinton had been praying that his little brother would join the Air Force instead of the Army since there was an Air Force Base close to where he lived in Utah and he hoped his brother would be sent there so he would have the opportunity to teach him about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Jesse did join the Air Force in November 1956 but he wasn't sent to Utah. Instead, he was sent to Lackland AFB in Texas.

When Jesse arrived in Texas, he was asked what religion he belonged to. He didn't belong to any religion but he knew his brother, Clint, had joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so he replied that he was a Mormon. After a month in Texas, Jesse was transferred to Colorado to the Lowry AFB. As it turned out, the base chaplain at Lowry was a Mormon chaplain by the name of Joel Garrett. At this point in time, the Lowry AFB was the only AFB with an LDS chaplain. When Brother Garrett discovered that Jesse was not actually a Mormon, he got to work. He started teaching Jesse the discussions and on June 1, 1957 Joel Garrett baptized Jesse A. Merrill Jr. an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was confirmed a day later also by Joel Garrett in the Denver 4th Ward.

Jesse returned to the family farm in November 1957. During this brief one year in the service he received training to repair radar on the F102 and F104 airplanes. He also fell in love with the beauty of Colorado and the mountains of the West. But, most importantly, he was taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and a prayer of a brother was answered.

(Note: The picture of Jesse and his two comrades was obviously taken in Texas. All three of them are pointing at something which is hard to make out but it looks like it could be a dandelion weed. )