Touching Lives
Stories of Lives touched by Dr. Einar Erickson. To share your own story, just write it here
Br. Erickson, after over 30 years since we first met, you have impacted me anew with what I've learned from you. I have long appreciated what you taught me going back to Simi Valley. But having recently listened to some of the information you have taught about Adam, the early temple, and related doctrines, I've gained an even greater appreciation for the antiquity of the temple endowment and a deeper appreciation for the magnitude of the restoration through Joseph Smith. The last few times my wife and I have attended the temple, I have felt a new connection to the ancient saints and a new sense of connection to the early saints. I am partaking of the same rites as Heavenly Father's children thousands of years ago. Perhaps not new information but a new appreciation for what we enjoy and what can too easily slip past us- or at least past me.
Thank you for the years of study and for sharing what you have learned. I'm so glad to have had the chance to have known you personally, however fleeting.
In the 70's we lived in Simi Valley and very fortunate to hear him give a fireside on the dead sea scrolls. We bought several tapes at that time. After moving to Texas, Florida and now St. George, we were able to once again hear him speak at our fireside at the Dixie Downs Chapel tonight. This is so exciting because we had just joined the church in 1968 and he played such a great part in our lives. We search many books and also joined FARMS. Now I want to rejoin FARMS. Thank you so much for all you do to keep up with this website..which will be one of my favorites now... Sincerely, Marilyn Miller
I stumbled onto a cassett tape many years ago in a flea market while living in Los Lunas, New Mexico. I had an interest in Dead Sea Scrolls since hearing Hugh Nibley lecture at Utah State University when I first entered college in 1957. This tape popped out at me from a stack of many. I had not previously heard of Einar Erickson, but after just one hearing of that tape, I started watching for more of his materials, watching for other books, and talked with an LDS archeologist about what Erickson was discussing.
That original tape has been heard by all of my immediate family and others with whom I shared relationships. I've personally listened to that tape about 15 times and now find that it is beginning to loose audio quality. The case and labels have all disintegrated by now but I know the cassette tape by it's gray color. I'm truly grateful that someone decided to work with Dr. Erickson to get recordings of his lectures. Just this one tape has opened an entire new world of ancient manuscripts and other sacred writings that I never even dreamed of. Dr. Erickson absolutely ignited a fire under me.
I lived in Simi Valley when my wife and I joined the church. My cousin in Phoenix gave me a copy of a tape by Br. Erickson. I was fascinated and found out how to contact him. I was a councilor in the Elders Quorum and our president authorized me to set it up. Br. Erickson flew down in his own plane and stayed at our home. He spoke to our Stake Saturday and in our ward on Sunday. One of our Seventies received permission to tape it. Mike O'Keefe taped him after that whenever he was close enough and as a result of his work, became an accepted "taper" when Church authorities visited. He sent over 5,000 (the last I heard) copies of Br. Erickson's lectures all over the country and overseas.
We so enjoyed having him visit. Our oldest son was about 2 at the time and Br. Erickson had a son about the same age at the time, as I recall. This would have been about 1975 or 1976. As a result of the tapes going all over, he began speaking more often, or so it seemed. He once credited me for that but he was just being gracious. I invited him to speak and he knocked their socks off. And I really don't know that he was any busier than he had previously been. But I was thrilled to look him up on line and see that he was so well read. Great guy.
After sending my previous email, I went to look at the home page and I read the section on tapes. I was thrilled to see that the taping in Simi Valley was indeed a significant event.
As a newly baptized member of the church in 1978, I was hungry to learn more about the church and church doctrine. My grandparents had been given copies of lectures that Brother Erickson had given on the Dead Sea Scrolls. I used to listen to them often. I was recently listening to one of the tapes and decided to look up Brother Erickson's name on the internet. Please pass on my sincere gratitude to him for having stimulated my lifelong study of the scriptures and these ancient texts.