The Veness Family History

It was not long after this that a knock on the door was to change all our lives forever. Two Elders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints called at our home to leave a message. They were Elder Lenz and Elder Christensen (we are still in touch with Elder Gordon Christensen after all these years!). They asked could they call back and explain their teachings to us. Both Pearl and Margaret were taken with these American missionaries, who came on numerous occasions, each time explaining more of the Gospel to us. We read the Book of Mormon and prayed for the guidance of our Heavenly Father as the truthfulness of the Gospel. Elder Lenz was moved and Elder Westover took his place (the missionaries were usually moved to different locations every three months or so). The Lord answered our prayers and we were baptised on my birthday, 25 August 1956, at Bankstown. Our families were very much against our joining the LDS Church and gave us a very hard time. However, they eventually came to terms with it, and my mother was baptised into the church in February 1957. At that time there were only three LDS branches in Sydney, and I have been privileged to see this multiply many times over, until the Mormon Church has become a strong influence in the Australia and the world. I have served it in many capacities, both in the ministry (including Bishop of Greenwich Ward, President of the inaugural Ryde Branch, and on the High Council) and in the building program, assisting in the building of the Greenwich Chapel, Dee Why Chapel, Gosford Chapel, Normanhurst Chapel, and numerous others. All Church buildings were built with voluntary labour, and are designed not only for Sunday worship, but to serve as a gathering place for the Saints to participate in many activities including sports. Right: Frank and Pearl in middle years. After the marriage of our two children, we decided it was time to move again. This time we had our dream home built at North Rocks, a new suburb near North Parramatta, only a short distance from Stuart (my son-in-law) and Margaret’s home. Our stay here was not to be for long, as one day Stuart came home and said that due to health problems (he had been a Polio victim in his teens), he was unable to go on in his present work and had decided to buy a Citrus Orchard. After some deliberation, Pearl and I decided to go in partnership with him. 19 | P a g e