Bill Ferguson joined the Church in 2007, the culmination of a search prompted by the gift of a sword.

As a small boy of perhaps 5 years, Bill was given a sword that had belonged to his Irish great-grandfather, Gen. James Ferguson of the Nauvoo Legion in Salt Lake City. His mother or grandmother decided that since he was the oldest son in the family, he should have it. No one in his family at the time was a member of the Church.

Bill's father and mother had divorced, and his mother had told him nothing of his father, so over the years, Bill collected various articles and information that related to his ancestry. He kept a notebook with the title "Ferguson Family History." Time passed, Bill married and had a family, and he and his wife searched for a church they liked but gave up in dissatisfaction. It did not occur to him at the time to look into the church of his great-grandfather.

Well into his 80s and by this time a widower, Bill was one day working at his computer when he happened to look up and see the title of that notebook. It caused him to reflect on his family and the sword of his ancestor, which was engraved with these words:

"Presented to General James Ferguson of the Nauvoo Legion as a token of esteem and confidence by the Dublin Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. December 26, 1855."

Bill knew a member of the Church, Barbara Marsh, who had worked for him in his real estate business. He admired her principles and the way she dealt calmly with any difficulty that came up. Curious about her church, he contacted her. She had him attend a meeting with her, and he took the discussions from two sister missionaries, Hallie Baker and Erin Moody. At 84, Bill joined the Church of his ancestors and is presently a beloved member of the Los Robles Ward of the Newbury Park California Stake in Southern California. The friends Bill has made in the Church love hearing about his conversion and seeing the sword that led to it. His ancestor James Ferguson served as adjutant general in the Utah militia in Salt Lake City. It was called the Nauvoo Legion in honor of Nauvoo, the city from which the Latter-day Saints had been driven not many years before. Gen. Ferguson was born in Ireland in 1828, joined the Church in Liverpool at age 14, and emigrated to the United States, eventually becoming a close friend to Brigham Young. He died in 1863.

Bill has now been to the temple and had ordinance work performed for his wife and a deceased daughter in the Salt Lake Temple. — Susan Davis, Los Robles Ward, Newbury Park California Stake