member Ruth Funk was drowning in work. The MIA’s annual conference was coming up, and she was copro-ducing a musical play for the event. The conference, which began in the 1890s, drew around twenty-five thousand youth leaders to Salt Lake City to receive counsel and training from general Church leaders. Ruth and the members of her committee wanted to put to-gether a good show for the conference, and they were learning as they went.
As the first performance neared, Ruth was asked to attend a meeting about the focus of the Church. She did not know why she was invited, and she was not keen on going. As it was, she barely had time to see her husband, Marcus, and their four children.
Still, on the appointed night, Ruth hurried over to the meeting. There she found a room full of people, including some general Church leaders, discussing the basic goals of the Church. Reed Bradford, a sociology professor from Brigham Young University, conducted the meeting.
Ruth did not say anything at first. Near the end of the evening, though, Reed said, “Sister Funk, you haven’t expressed yourself.”
Ruth did not say anything at first. Near the end of the evening, though, Reed said, “Sister Funk, you haven’t expressed yourself.”
“Well, I have very strong feelings,” she replied. Like many people in the United States and elsewhere, Church members were growing more and more worried about divorce, juvenile delinquency, and other social concerns. “I feel that every stop should be pulled to emphasize the strength of the family,” she said.
The meeting ended, and Ruth returned to her other responsibilities. Later, after the MIA conference was over and the musical had a successful run, she received a phone call from apostle Marion G. Romney. “Ruth,” he said, “we are calling you to serve on the Correlation Committee.”
Ruth’s heart sank. “What in the world is correlation?” she asked.
Ruth’s heart sank. “What in the world is correlation?” she asked.
She soon found out at an orientation meeting with Elder Harold B. Lee. The committee was chiefly re-sponsible for aligning all Church curriculum with basic gospel principles. But with the Church spreading rapidly throughout the world, the program would also put new emphasis on priesthood, home, and family as central to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
Elder Lee described the committees overseeing the programs for adults, youth, and children. To her sur-prise, Ruth was called to the adult committee despite her years of experience working with youth. Like her, the other committee members—three women, five men— were juggling careers and family responsibilities. The youngest member was thirty-four-year-old Thomas S. Monson, who had just finished serving as president of the Canadian Mission with his wife, Frances.
As months passed, and the committee began re-searching the Church’s past lesson plans, everyone was encouraged to express their opinions freely as they dis-cussed the future of Church curriculum. The committee had years of study and work ahead of it, but Ruth was eager to do whatever she could to help the Church move forward.
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