Comments on: Do You Happen to Know So and So….

By: Refugee

Refugee — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:27:44 +0000

Sorry – I need to proofread better . . .

By: Refugee

Refugee — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:25:49 +0000

I grew up across the river from Burley – - – and interesting place. But that’s another matter entirely. Someday I’ll have to post a story about the BYU Burley Steinbeck story.

My oldest son was at BYU had one particular roommate for about six months before we got it put together that the roommate’s mother and my son’e mother (my wife) were roommates at BYU – and when my son was still a toddler, the roommate babysat him on occasion. Upon learning who her son’s roommate really was, she produced a photograph of the two little boys playing together. Each served as the other’s best man when they mnarried.

By: Rural Mia Maid

Rural Mia Maid — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:44:16 +0000

It’s always been a small world, and I’ve definetly had experiences like that. A stake leader and our ward’s young women first counselor found out they were somehow related throught the “Do you happen to know…” phonomenon. Most of my other experiences were more brought about by our uncanny obsession with geneology. Example: We recently found out that my best friend’s family and my family are cousins. Seventh cousins, around three times removed, to be exact. Now, in what other religion would you know that?

By: walnut

walnut — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 06:17:47 +0000

hey folks/admins, my name is mentioned in one of the above comments, and it really bothers me that google search results of my name bring this page up as one of the 2nd or 3rd hits. I haven’t had anything to do with the church for many years, and am extremely ashamed and frustrated by the association… particularly in the fallout of the church’s recent political action, and because my business shares my name. I have attempted to contact the commenter who referenced my name repeatedly over the last year with no response. If there is a way for a name to be edited from the comments and you know how this can be done, I would greatly appreciate an email to the account linked to my profile. Thanks.

By: mac

mac — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:29:52 +0000

Jeff, Correction: Kraig Hall is from Rigby, ID, not Burley. (Well, actually he lived in Anis, but Rigby is where he went to high school.)

By: Carlos U.

Carlos U. — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:05:55 +0000

While on my mission in Sweden, we did a split with another companionship for the day. The Elder I was with, finding out that I’m from Costa Rica, asked me if I ever met his buddy, who served a mission there. Sure enought, I did. As a brand-new convert, I had done splits with the missionaries in my ward in Costa Rica. I told the Elder: “well, when you see him again you can tell him that you both went on splits with the same guy”.

By: Rhanda

Rhanda — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 17:25:33 +0000

This article was so fun to read. That lady that arranged for you to be at the podium in the Conference Center- Jo Foulger is my grandma! It is fun to go and visit her because we get to go places not everyone gets to go. I am so glad you had that opportunity and had a chance to meet her.

By: nita

nita — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:03:38 +0000

Oops- just to finish, my post posted before I was done!

but I meant to say, the similarites between those two sisters was astounding!

quite astounding!

By: nita

nita — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:02:11 +0000

I work as a therapist in a nursing home in a large metro area in the East. One day, I had a new male patient. Both he and his wife were nonLDS. As my coworker and I were assessing this man, his wife stood nearby watching.

In a joking manner, I told his wife, I have to tell you, you look so much like this lady in my church congregation. I said, “You don’t happen to have a sister that lives in Blah Blah City?” And then she said, Yes- and told me the name of the exact sister in my ward of whom I was thinking!

Turns out they were sisters! THe similarities in their appearance, style of dress, voice and mannerisms were

By: Stephen Marsh

Stephen Marsh — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:43:47 +0000

“Speaking of Geneva, Switzerland” the Swiss Temple president has his daughter come to visit him and bring cheddar cheese from the states from time to time.

By: Shawn L

Shawn L — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:55:40 +0000

Jeff S. — see what I mean. Those Burley-ites are everywhere!

By: John Hamer

John Hamer — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 22:19:18 +0000

On this theme, I was surprised when I found out that danithew from MormonMentality was the same Daniel Bartholomew who was one of my best friends in the ward, back when we were 4 and 5 years old, growing up in Westchester County, New York: http://www.mormonmentality.org/archives/author/danithew.

By: Jeff Spector

Jeff Spector — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:04:29 +0000

One of my former Bishops, Kraig Hall, is from Burley.

By: Shawn L

Shawn L — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 19:50:03 +0000

Great post. This happens to me and my wife all the time. She’s from Burley, ID, a town of no more than 10,000. But amazingly, every single Mormon knows someone from Burley. Usually they are an old missionary companion or BYU roommate. In fact, years ago, we visited Church History site in NY and ran into a senior missionary couple from the next town over, Declo. They, of course, knew everyone in Burley.

By: missionarycousin

missionarycousin — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 20:42:43 +0000

A couple years back, the missionaries in our ward had to find some alternative housing and we temporarily put them up in our finished basement. During this time my mother in law came for a visit. The night she arrived, me, the MIL and my wife were sitting in our living room when the missionaries walked in. Before I could introduce my MIL to the Elders, she cut me off and called one of the elders by his first name, to which he replied Aunt Doris?!?!? Turns out, that Elder was my wife’s cousin. Neither the Elder nor my wife had any idea they were so closely related. (Large, spread out extended family) My MIL called her sister, the Elder’s mother, and they had a good laugh. (The missionary declined the invitation to talk to his mother on the phone.) Funny, though, as soon as he was transferred my wife lost contact and would not recognize him today if he came and lived with us again, at least without the intervention of my MIL.

By: Jeff Spector

Jeff Spector — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:33:34 +0000

Michael Stimpson I know. I was his family’s Home Teacher and he was in my Deacon’s quorum when I had that calling. His parents moved to Boise some years ago.

By: Clay Whipkey

Clay Whipkey — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 16:21:24 +0000

******* (Censored at the person’s request) , and his wife ******(not sure the maiden name), are from San Jose. ****** is a custom furniture maker, a short guy, and looks like he was time-warped right from the 50’s. I knew him because he served his mission in Arizona and came back after it was over to start an indie rock band. I knew him from when our bands would play shows together. He made my custom guitar speaker cabinet.

I also have a friend named Stephanie Yegge from somewhere near that area. As well as a guy named Michael Stimpson, who I hear was often called Michael RedHair by friends on account of his, well, red hair.

I came from Sacramento, CA and I have a good friend here in Arizona who moved from Utah, but had lived in Germany when his father was in the Air Force. In one conversation it came out that one of his friends while in Germany was now oddly one of my little brother’s best friends in California. Yeah, small world.

By: Jeff Spector

Jeff Spector — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:55:23 +0000

Here is a link to the Kevin Bacon Game

http://www.thekevinbacongame.com/

By: John Nilsson

John Nilsson — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:44:27 +0000

By the way, my uncle and aunt live in Palos Verdes. Is this one of those Kevin Bacon six degrees of separation deals?

By: John Nilsson

John Nilsson — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:41:14 +0000

The missionary system as we know it today was specifically designed for these small world encounters, not for proselyting purposes. It’s a common misunderstanding.

I was attending an airshow in rural Wisconsin with some relatives and saw two missionaries on one of the tour buses. I noticed the nametag of one of the elders and noticing the uncommon name, asked him if he had relatives in Southern California. It turns out we came from the same town, and that I had accompanied my dad on home-teaching visits to him and his family when we were both young’uns.

My wife’s stepdad, a solid Lutheran very familiar with Mormonism, was astounded. It reinforces the perception that we are a tribal religion. I like it.

By: Jeff Spector

Jeff Spector — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:30:22 +0000

Jared or Justin?

By: Michelle

Michelle — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:22:51 +0000

How’s this: I grew up in western Canada. Once, during my first visit to the DC area for a roommate’s wedding, I walked into a random pizza hut in northern Virginia. Before I could order, the girl at the register (who I had never seen before in my life) looked at me oddly and said, “Are you Canadian?” I said yes. “From Calgary?” Yes. “And you’re LDS?” Yes (by this time I was really weirded out). And then she smiled and said, “Wow, do you ever look like your dad!” Turns out that she had grown up in my dad’s parents’ ward and had met my father there during his (relatively rare) visits.

I also accidentally went on a few dates with a 2nd cousin. I thought it was just a funny coincidence that we were both LDS and had the same last name. I don’t make THAT mistake anymore.

By: Clay Whipkey

Clay Whipkey — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:14:34 +0000

Hey Jeff, Do you know *******?

By: KC Kern

KC Kern — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 13:59:14 +0000

Speaking of Geneva, Switzerland, that’s the ward my family attended while living in France. Later, on my mission, my companion turned out to be from that ward (his family moved in much later than we had left.) While we were serving together, my Dad had a business trip to take back to Geneva. You guessed it, My Dad met his parents on Sunday in Geneva amid a ward of mutual acquaintances, all while we were both serving together in Korea.

And to top that, my home ward Bishop and my Mission President are brothers.

I also volunteered to interpret at a local school parent-teacher conference, and the first Korean family that walks in was the Branch President’s family from one of my areas! Apparently they had moved to Utah since I left, and fate brought us back together.

There’s more, but I’ll leave it at that for now.