Member Stories (part 1)

David Aspinall

Born: London, England

Date of birth: 4 SEPT. 1929 

Passed: 28 April, 2023 in Sidney , BC

Wife: Karen

Joined the church: April 30, 1987 - First in family to join [ and the only one]

Age when joined the church: 58

Sailed to Vancouver Island from Vancouver in 1991 in a 27 foot sloop

[ built  with Karen ] and lived in Sidney in the boat for 9 years.

Callings: Home Teacher, Clerk to the Bishop, Sunday School Teacher, High Priest teacher [more than once], Choir Director , Ward Emergency Specialist, Ward Mission Leader

Conversion: Met the missionaries while living in Japan with wife Karen, both teaching ESL 

Studied and read the Book of Mormon for 9 months 

• all the time while living there.

Was baptized at the same time with wife Karen on April 30, 1987 in Ibaraki City.

Karen Diane [ Moyer ] Aspinall

Place of birth: New Westminster, BC Canada

Date of birth: 12 DEC 1948

Email address: dkaspinall@gmail.com 

Currant ward: Sidney Ward

Joined the Church: 1987 in Japan

First in my family to join - yes

I was 39 years old when I was baptized

Came to Vancouver Island in 1991

Callings I have held: Counselor  in Relief Society, Ward Music Director [ many times ]

*Please see CONVERSION STORY BLOG for Karen’s beautiful testimony and conversion story

Joyce Flowers-Hage Stratton 

Place of birth: Verdun, Quebec

Date of birth: 11 FEB. 1932

Current Ward : Sidney Ward

What year to join the church? 1959

First in family to join? yes

How old when baptized? 27

What year came to the island? - Came to Vancouver Island in 1965

Callings I have held: Stake Magazine and Publications Director JAN. 1981, RS chorister 

Conversion:

I was searching for a church with living apostles and a living Prophet. I attended many different denominations; the people were nice, but I did not find ALL truth, just some  truth and error.  After the trial of my faith, two Elders knocked on our door in Winnipeg. I had never heard of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [ I had heard of the Mormon Church, but did not investigate it because of that name. ] All my questions were answered by the Elders: Do you have a living Prophet? - yes. Do you have 12 living Apostles? - yes.Three months later I was baptized. 

McGovern Muriel Arnott (maiden name)

Place of birth: Michel, BC Canada

Date of birth: OCT 11, 1927

Current Ward: Sidney Ward

Joined the church in 1961

First in family to join - yes

I was 34 when I was baptized

Came to the island in 1972

Callings I have had: Primary teacher and counselor, and President, Relief Society teacher, RS Stake secretary and 1st Counselor, Nursery, choir member 

The calling I enjoyed the most: RS Secretary

Conversion: In 1960, missionaries came to our door, and we invited them in 

and we were taught by the missionaries. They came every week with a new lesson.They had many exciting pictures and our 4 little children, Greg, Duncan, Lesley and Judy, looked forward to their visits. I felt the spirit, and we were baptized in North Vancouver in 1961.

Martin Raymond Hall

Place of birth: Victoria, BC

Date of Birth: July 16, 1953

What is your current ward or branch: Victoria Third Ward

What year did you join the church: 1961

Are you the first in your family to join: no

How old were you when you were baptized: 8

If you were not born here, what year did you come to the island to live: born here

What callings have you held: young adult rep, full time missionary (1974-76), ward clerk, stake seventy, ward mission leader, Sunday school president, deacon’s quorum advisor, scout leader, ward young men’s president, ward young men’s counselor, Bishopric counselor, member of High Council, Bishop, full time senior missionary (Jamaica Kingston Mission, 2014-2015), full time senior missionary (Barbados Bridgetown Mission, 2022-2024), elders’ quorum counselor, Vancouver temple ordinance worker.

What calling have you enjoyed the most: Bishop, ward mission leader and full time missions, and also being a temple ordinance worker.

Conversion Story:

I was raised in the church and my parents were wonderful in their example and teaching. I received all of the support of the programs of the church. When I turned 20, I moved out and lived with 3 non-member friends, while working at the BC Forest Products mill and not attending church. After about 3 months, while working on the chipper, I began to have thoughts like “You’re going on a mission” and “go to a mountain and pray”. These thoughts continued for several weeks. As I began to think more about spiritual things, I gained a desire to read my scriptures again. I had graduated from seminary and knew the church was true, but had not, as yet, had this “mighty change of heart”. As the Holy Spirit worked within me, I felt greater desire to live the gospel, which led me to overcome my bad habits and temptations, move back home and begin anintense study of the gospel. It was as if I was being awakened from a deep sleep, as I transformed into my real self. Within a few months, I was serving in the church, fully participating in gospel living, and later that

year, I received a call to be a full time missionary.

Elaine Betts Hall

Place of birth: Sydney, Nova Scotia

Date of Birth: May 12, 1953

What is your current ward or branch: Victoria Third Ward

What year did you join the church: 1961

Are you the first in your family to join: no

How old were you when you were baptized: 8

If you were not born here, what year did you come to the island to live: 1977

What callings have you held: ward Primary President, ward Relief Society president, ward Relief Society counselor, Relief Society teacher, Sunday school teacher, Primary chorister, Primary pianist, Seminary teacher, ward Young Womens 1st counselor, Stake Young Women’s President, full 4me senior missionary (Jamaica Kingston Mission, 2014-2015), full time senior missionary (Barbados Bridgetown Mission, 2022-2024), Stake Relief Society President, Vancouver temple ordinance worker.

What calling have you enjoyed the most: It’s to hard to choose, but I can say it’s usually the one I’m serving in at the time.

Conversion story:

My parents joined the church in January, 1961 when I was seven, and a few months later, I was baptized by my father, on my 8th birthday. My conversion began when the missionaries were teaching my family; I knew the church was true when I was seven, and throughout my childhood, my parents continued to teach me more of the gospel plan. Thought the teen years were challenging, in my young adult years, as I moved to the west coast, I began to strengthen my faith and testimony through associating with other young adults, receiving my patriarchal blessing, serving others and attending institute of religion classes. Through

making and striving to keep the sacred covenants made in the temple and following the Saviour, the joy of the gospel blesses my life every day.

Marlon and Kathy (Anderson) Badesso

Marlon is and always will be a “Vancouver Island boy” – he was born in Port Alberni, August 11, 1954.  After returning home from his mission, Marlon attended UBC where he met Kathy in a Young Adult Institute class. Kathy was born, Sept. 21, 1960, in Vancouver, and grew up in the Richmond ward. Marlon and Kathy married Aug. 16, 1979 and moved to Victoria to live, and raise their family – which eventually grew to be with six children: Sarah, David, Pamela, Ellen, Daniel, and Anna.

Currently we are active in the Sooke Branch.

Kathy:

i was born in the church, and baptized at 8 years of age. At an early age, i noticed that younger children would often stand in Fast & Testimony Meeting and bear testimonies that i did not have. This bothered me; how did they know, yet I didn’t? I decided to set to work to discover my own testimony. Through prayer, reading the Book of Mormon, and putting Moroni’s invitation to work, I gained witness that the Book of Mormon truly was the word of God. I was so excited to have my own testimony that the very next Fast Sunday I stood and bore witness that I too, knew the church was true because the Book of Mormon was true. When I turned of age to attend Seminary, my testimony really took off. I have increased in faith, knowledge, and witness since, and continue to grow and love the gospel and church.

Callings I have had privilege to serve in include – teacher in SS, YW, RS and Primary. I served as a RS President in 3rd ward and currently serve as the RS President in Sooke Branch. I have served as ward and stake Girl’s Camp Director for several years (super fun times!) and also served as ward and stake Music Chairman. (When Pres. Hinckley came to Victoria, I had the blessing to prayerfully choose the music and organize our stake choir. Angels were singing with us – it was amazing!) Another calling I loved, was teaching the youth in 3rd ward seminary. Brent Herrington was the Bishop who requested my name to the stake as the teacher. We did not have a convenient place for class as most of the students lived in the Western communities (not close to the church). Bishop Herrington and the Gordon & Leslie Conrad Family offered the high crawl space room in their basement. The construction of a seminary room was underway, and it became a most sacred place for me, and for those youth who attended.

I also had the opportunity to play the lead role in “My Turn On Earth” play that the stake put on in 1982. What a great time. Many non-members came to see it and it was a testimony booster particularly for my family. My baby son, David, starred as the baby in the play.

Marlon:

My mother and some of her sisters joined church in the early 1960’s.  I was baptised at the age of 8 in Sproat Lake, at our home (with the bullheads biting my toes) - in the summer of 1962 along with my sister Julie who was 10 years old at the time.  My father did not join the church but enjoyed visits from the missionaries and the home teachers – and would attend activities where food was served.

Our first meeting location was a community centre in Port Alberni.  When a church was constructed, it was a multi-purpose room / kitchen and three classrooms.  It was many years before we had a chapel.  For a number of years, our family could not get into the church – so we met with a couple of families at a near by community hall.  The branch had to send priesthood brethren to conduct the meeting and administer the sacrament.  My Sunday School classroom was the back seat of a car.   As a deacon in the Aaronnic Priesthood, I was always worried that the brethren conducting the meeting would be late – as I, as the senior priesthood holder – would be required to conduct the meeting.

My first calling was the Deacon’s Quorum advisor – where I taught the one deacon in the branch.  That deacon later became a bishop of one of the Vancouver Island wards.  Upon marriage, Kathy and I moved to Victoria where my callings included:  Teachers’ Quorum advisor / Elders Quorum president / Scout leader & Deacons quorum advisor (5 years) / a second opportunity as Teachers Quorum advisor / Young Mens president / Counsellor in Stake Young Mens’ presidency / Stake clerk / 1st Counsellor to two Bishops / High Councilman / Counsellor of a Branch President / Branch President / Stake Financial Clerk …………… amid these callings, I served in twice in the only calling that I “coveted” – Primary pianist. I currently am the Sooke Primary pianist.

In the summer of 1975, Robert McCue visited our branch and called a number of us to serve missions.  I was about to start my fourth year of university … and I said that I did not think it was possible.  I prayed about the situation and asked the Lord to show me a sign that I would not injure my degree by taking two years out.  Later  that day, my younger brother and I were sitting together as we were preparing to pass the sacrament.  Abruptly, my brother turned to me and said that I needed to serve a mission.  That was enough of a sign for me – and I sought out Brother McCue after the meeting and said that he better get me assigned right away – I could miss two years of schoot …….. but not three.  Unknown to my family, a letter was received three weeks later from Salt Lake.  I opened it at the dinner table and casually said that I had been assigned to the Canada Montreal Mission ---- my mother was so excited that she could not eat / my father was so upset (thinking that I ruined my education) that be could not eat … He came around a little later when he would take my weekly letters and share them with the neighbours.  For me – I was excited to serve the people of Canada and get to know more about my country.  The people of Quebec were very open to me …….. a young man from British Columbia who was learning French.I was able to see a number of individuals converted to the gospel.  One of the young med ended up being a roommate of my brother at the language training mission as they prepared for missions in Italy.