From Deseret News archives:
Missionary did right thing at the right time
A Mormon elder from Bountiful, Utah, with pioneer roots is shot and killed while tracting on his full-time mission.
Twenty-one-year-old Morgan Young was two months from the end of his two years of missionary service early last Monday evening in Chesapeake, Va., when an assailant shot his companion, Joshua Heidbrink of Greeley, Colo., and then turned the gun on Young, who had come to the aid of Heidbrink and, according to sources, took two bullets in the back of his head. For Young, the gunshots proved to be fatal.
The missionaries were proselyting door-to-door after taking the daytime hours of Monday off for Preparation Day, the traditional missionary day for doing laundry, writing letters and recreating.
It isn't unheard of for missionaries to stretch P-Day a bit past the evening deadline, but Elder Young and his new companion from Colorado, not long removed from the MTC, did not fudge. As Larry Kocherhans, the bishop of the Bountiful 31st Ward that sent Young off to the Richmond Virginia Mission 22 months ago, said, "He was doing what he was supposed to be doing. That's a good place to be when your time comes."
In such temperate climes, Morgan Young did not stray.
"He was always good, he never caused any trouble," remembered Kocherhans.
But neither was he just one of the sheep, rotely following where others had gone before.
When he turned 19 and became eligible to serve a church mission, the bishop recalled that Morgan wasn't sure if he should go. For six months he deliberated about his future.
Mike Willden, 26, a shift manager at Pace's Dairy Ann Drive-In in Bountiful, where Morgan worked before his mission, remembers it was the first time he ever saw Morgan anything but lighthearted.
"He was just this fun, goofy guy, always smiling; if you were in a bad mood he'd pull you out of it," said Willden, "the only time he got serious was about going on a mission. I'd been on a mission so I talked to him about it. I could tell he was really thinking hard. A lot of guys will go because of pressure. But he didn't do that. I know when he made the decision it was his own thing. That's what impressed me most. He went because he wanted to."
Comments
- Hall would rather take a hit 10:54 p.m.
- Correction 10:54 p.m.
- Cougars' defensive hoops clinic 10:52 p.m.
- Utah Jazz gameday 10:51 p.m.
- Am.F. teen seeks to honor soldier 10:45 p.m.
- Boundaries for new high school 10:37 p.m.
- Grieving UK mother rips into Brown 10:26 p.m.
- North and South Korea clash at sea 10:25 p.m.
- Robbers see Army ID, return wallet 10:25 p.m.
- Base opens rift in U.S.-Japan ties 10:19 p.m.
- Utah group finds homes for orphans
- Pratt pleads not guilty to sex charges
- Y. tight ends talented tandem
- Jazz blow big lead, hang on
- Utes get extra motivation
- Senators want food tax restored
- Hair-pulling raises more questions
- BYU soccer incident still popular
- Lobo land like home for BYU lineman
- U. hopes to keep clicking
- House passes health care bill
263 - TCU showdown has big implications
188 - Lobo suspended
185 - Cougars crush hapless Cowboys
155 - Senators want food tax restored
148 - Utah Jazz fall apart against Kings
131 - TCU 4th in AP poll; U. 16th, Y. 22nd
119 - No 'backlash' for pioneers, gays analogy
105 - S.L. vote pending on gay protections
104 - RSL rallies to advance
103
Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants nationwide will honor...
Meghan McCain, the daughter of former presidential candidate John...
A profoundly different standard exists between legal wrong doing and adequate...
and it is going to be played in the semi's... Does anybody else have a...
"Matheson is a DINO" "He needs to be gone Long gone" "Along with the rest of...
Federal law PROHIBITS anyone EVER convicted of a domestic violence...
Fair question. Here is what I consider ideal: 1) Stick to the enumerated...
The driver is unhurt physically, but lost his wife and unborn child. Who...
Each one of these men is a real hero! God bless the USA!
What COURAGE! For Mr. Gale to speak out in this way is what free speech is...
It may retain heat, but the fact is, ice records etc, show first warming then...
If Utah can keep the score in the 20's they have a real chance to win. ...



You can be the first to comment on this story.