Improvement Era, January 1929

Improvement Era t-AJ^-CXTl- Vol. XXXII JANUARY, 1929 Faithful Unto Death No. 3 By Elder David O. McKay, of the Council of the Twelve IN THE bright sunshine of a January forenoon in the year 1924, at a customs house, on the coast of old Tyre and Sidon, I last shook hands with my be- loved brother and esteemed friend, President Joseph Wilford Booth, of the Armenian mission. Little did I realize then, as we bade each other goodbye, that we should never in this life see each other again! That that was our final earthly parting, however, is at- tested by the recent cablegram from President John A. Widtsoe, announcing the sudden and wholly unexpected death of Elder Booth on December 5. At that farewell, just before I entered the auto bus that was to take me to Haifa, my friend and I embraced each other, and ex- changed a mutual "God bless you!" "I'm sorry to have you leave me, Brother McKay," said he, as his eyes became tear-dim- med, and his countenance became saddened by a shadow of sorrow. That sentence was the nearest to a complaint that I ever heard El- der Booth utter. Through that remark, however, and the look that accompanied it, I caught a glimpse of a noble heart longing President Joseph wilford booth After a total of eighteen years of service in the Turkish and Armenian mission. President Booth has been given his final release from his earthly labors. Needless to say. it was a highly honorable one, for every day of all those years was filled with earnest, conscientious effort. A few days prior to his death the Era received a letter from President Booth in which he outlined his program of travel for the ensuing months. His plan was to visit Church members in Beirut. Damascus and Aleppo. On December 5. he died in the latter city and was buried there. President Booth was born August 14. 1866. in Alpine. Utah County, Utah, and was set apart for his last mission Sept. 14. 1921, and left for his field of labor on the same day. He is the fifth missionary to die in the Armenian mission. Elder Ralph V. Chisholm was sent by Pres- ident John A. Widtsoe to accompany Sister Booth home.