{"chapter_no":"1","chapter_title":"Leonard and Carina Hunter","book_id":"3","book_name":"Springville","subchapter_no":"0","page_no":"395","page_number":"1","verses_count":0,"total_pages":4,"page_content":"

 <\/p>

Chapter 1<\/p>

Leonard and Carina Hunter<\/h1><\/p>

 <\/p>

Leonard and Carina Hunter sell their vast real estate holdings in California and move to
Springville, Utah<\/i>—<\/i>Inspired by the famous story of Scrooge during the Christmas season, they dedicate
their wealth and remaining years to the gospe<\/i>l—T<\/i>hey are a fabulous team.<\/i><\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

 <\/p>

Upon their arrival from Pasadena, California two years before, Leonard and Carina
Hunter officially became residents of the Springville East Stake via the Hobble Creek 2nd Ward.
Born and raised in the Church, they had been strong and active members all of their lives. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Leonard, age fifty-nine, with nicely tanned skin and graying hair, was the patriarch of the
family. An illness in recent years had forced him to use a wheelchair, but he was still quite an
energetic and charismatic person. Long since retired from the company he had founded, he wore
a button-down shirt and formal slacks on weekdays as before, only adding a tie when it was
temple day. He kept up with his former business regularly by phone and email, traveling back to
California for annual board meetings when his health allowed.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Carina, also in her late fifties, was a kindly woman. Her arms and legs were thin but
boasted an equally impressive Southern California tan. She used simple makeup that accented
her face well––something that had changed little over the years. She had long gray hair that was
pinned into a bun in back. She dressed well, and indeed quite formally, wearing her favorite
bright blue Sunday dress when going to the temple each week. To Leonard, her eyes always
seemed to sparkle, a likely result of her continuous smile. <\/p>

 <\/p>

The couple had three children. Edward, the oldest, and married with six children, lived in
the Ogden area, and served as the bishop of his ward. Diane, at age 36, was the next oldest. Like
her mother, she was a kind and gentle person. She had gone through a divorce in recent years,
but had easily won full custody of her two children. She lived close to her parents and was also a
member of the Hobble Creek 2nd Ward. The youngest member of the family was Jackie. Thirty
years old and single, she lived in an upscale apartment only a few blocks away from Diane.
Geographically, Jackie lived in a different ward of the stake, but she preferred to attend church
with her parents and sister. She had served a mission to Argentina at the age of twenty-one, and
after her return, she completed a Master of Engineering degree at UCLA. Like Diane, when her
parents had decided to relocate, she was eager to join them in the move. Once settled in Utah,
she took a top management position with a manufacturing company in Provo.<\/p>

The Hunters had lived in Pasadena for over thirty-five years before coming to Utah, and,
as one might imagine, had seen the value of their home there increase many times in value. The
same was true of the many acres of land that had come with the home when it was purchased.
The area surrounding their property later became fully developed with streets and new houses,
further increasing the market value of their land. In recent years, a number of local developers
had asked if they were interested in selling, each time offering a great deal of money. This gave
them cause to think more seriously about retirement and where they might want to live out the
remaining years of their lives together. These deliberations continued for some time until one
day a sort of watershed moment occurred in their lives. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Carina related this special story to a friend of hers soon after their arrival to Utah:<\/p>

 <\/p>

“One week before Christmas three years ago, Leonard and I decided to read the lovely
story of A Christmas Carol<\/i> by Charles Dickens once again. It took several hours to read aloud,
but we found it to be a joyful experience. Leonard is such a wonderful storyteller! He did all of
the reading and I just listened. It reminded us once again of what’s most important in life; the
story is not just for the Christmas season, but for all year round. There was a feeling inside us
that our accumulated wealth in real estate holdings was not unlike the great possessions had by
Scrooge; and that, like him, we needed to take the opportunity for a new start in life. <\/p>

 <\/p>

“As the day wore on, and we reached the final pages of the book, we sensed the presence
of the Spirit in the room. I helped Leonard out of his wheelchair and we knelt down in prayer
together beside the kitchen table. The prayer came in the context of all we had been thinking
about in recent months, wondering what direction we should take next in our lives. <\/p>

 <\/p>

“As we arose from prayer, we looked at each other to see if one of us had received any
kind of answer, but nothing obvious stood out in our minds. We continued talking about the
simple and beautiful message of the book over the next couple hours. It was a wonderful
discussion. Never before had I felt more in love with Leonard than I did during those hours. It
was amazing to hear him talk about us and what we might still do in life. He talked to me with
the vigor of a young man and, the reality is, he still is one. His youthful energy made me feel so
old! <\/p>

 <\/p>

“Now Leonard and I cannot really say for sure whether we received guidance from the
Spirit on that day. It’s possible that our decision was not really inspired at all and was just our
own minds at work. You see, it was getting late in the evening, and both of us were feeling tired.
So finally, in our tired state, we decided to move forward and take the responsibility upon
ourselves to decide the matter. In the end, our decision was basically this––we would live out the
remaining years of our lives dedicated to the true, restored gospel of Jesus Christ and consecrate
our wealth to bless the lives of all people, both inside and outside of the Church. This was what
we both wanted most in life.<\/p>

 <\/p>

“There was one other important aspect to our decision to think about––determining how
best to assist our children in their lives, particularly our two single daughters. While we loved
California, it seemed that a move to Utah at this point in time might be good for everyone. Our <\/p>

thought was that the change in location might help jumpstart Diane and Jackie on the dating
front, allowing them to meet new people and develop more friendships within the Church.<\/p>

 <\/p>

“So we talked with the kids about our decision, telling them that we wanted to sell the
house and all of our property and move to Utah. Thankfully, we were able to persuade both
Diane and Jackie to come along with us. Our son Edward had already been living in Utah for
many years. <\/p>

 <\/p>

“After all of our properties in Pasadena had been sold, and after subtracting out taxes due,
tithing, and some money for fast offerings, we found that we were still left with almost fifteen
million dollars, if you can believe that! We had already decided to give the kids one third of this
amount for an early inheritance, something they could use right away for anything they wanted.
The rest we put into a savings account for safekeeping after purchasing this nice little home here
in Utah County.”<\/p>

 <\/p>

Enjoying retirement in their new Springville home, Carina and Leonard tended to spend a
great deal of time reading every day. They read books of all kinds, including novels both old and
new, but the gospel-oriented books and scriptures were what they enjoyed the most; and of these,
the Book of Mormon was their favorite. <\/p>

 <\/p>

They also kept handy the last twenty or so years of the Ensign<\/i> magazine. These they
picked through to read every so often, and even more around conference time. They had also
recently discovered the vast gospel resources available to them on the Church website,
something they found themselves using more and more every day.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Reading, however, was just a starting point for them. After reading, they would often
have long talks about all they had read that day, discussions which might go on for hours,
branching off to any number of interesting topics, including a great deal of reminiscing about the
past. As neither of them was able to move around easily, particularly Leonard given his most
recent illness, they relied upon each other for their daily activities. Both of them looked forward
to their discussion time together; typically, this was the same time every day, around two o'clock
in the afternoon. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Although Leonard’s mobility was limited, his demeanor and countenance were those of a
young person. His mind was well-developed and he was extremely intelligent. He was a gifted
communicator—he spoke, he listened, and he was able to help counsel others when called upon.
He had owned and managed a business for most of his life, so he knew how to tackle difficult
problems and get things done. And while Carina had more in terms of formal schooling, Leonard
had worked hard in recent years to catch up with her through additional studies on his own. At
this stage of their lives, the ability to grow and develop their minds together was a great blessing.
They enjoyed this regular exchange of ideas immensely. <\/p>

 <\/p>

In terms of travel, they tried to go on at least two trips per year, trips that were generally
planned well in advance and required that Jackie come along with them to help manage things
and decide what to do. Jackie enjoyed going along; she was a take-charge type of person like her
father and would often plan things out in great detail. <\/p>

 <\/p>

Like Mark and Kathleen Chandler, the Hunters enjoyed sitting out on a patio swing in
their backyard. Theirs, however, was set up much closer to the house. The backyard was a
favorite place for all when the grandchildren came around to visit, but on regular days, when
they were alone, the evening dinner came first, and then afterward, the two of them would rock
gently together on the swing. Prayer together at bedtime usually followed. Simple routines such
as these made their lives sweet; they didn’t really need much more than this to be happy. Carina
fulfilled and completed Leonard in his life, and Leonard fulfilled and completed Carina in hers.
And through their prayers, they could look up into the stars at night and feel close to their Father
in Heaven. Drawing closer and closer to God lifted their marriage relationship to new heights.
The excitement of eternity awaited them.<\/p>

 <\/p>

Like the Hancocks and the Chandlers that we have seen thus far, Leonard and Carina
were a wonderful team. In the stories of this book that follow, we shall see again and again this
familiar pattern––the presence of these wonderful pairs, the marriage companionships that exist
throughout the Church.<\/p>

 <\/p>

As we seek for perfection and the ideal in the gospel, we must first seek for the ideal in
marriage. Marriage, families, and the gospel are like three interlocking gold rings, linked
together in an unbreakable chain. And with marriage, two individuals are linked together
eternally with rings once more and, indeed, more supremely. The male and female characteristics
we have been blessed with on earth are not somehow discarded arbitrarily at death; marriage and
families were always intended by God to be eternal. For just as the Lord loves little children, so
He loves the covenant of marriage.<\/span><\/p>

 <\/p>

Eternal, celestial marriage, like Zion itself, is the crowning achievement of the gospel of
Jesus Christ<\/span>. <\/p>"}