Samuel - Patriarch

Story of Samuel I. Goodwin

As told by his daughter, Myrl Goodwin Gudmundsen

My father, Samuel Goodwin, was bishop for twenty-one years, and then he was a patriarch for the stake - how many years I don’t know. They asked him to be a patriarch down in Inglewood. I think it was Bro. Peterson, and my Dad said, “I just didn’t feel like I was really worthy to be one.” And he said, “And I don’t know why they asked me.” He was a very humble man.

He had had an operation, a hernia or something. It didn’t heal, and he was not well at all. And they kept a’coming and asking him for Patriarchal Blessings. He’d been set apart for one, and he just was not able; he was ill.

He said one day he went into his bedroom, and he kneeled before the Lord and said, “Now I didn’t seek for this position; but if you want me to be a patriarch and bless the people, I’ll just have to be made well.” And he said the strangest feeling came over him. He said, “I stood up and I was completely healed, and I felt ten years younger.” He wrote this in his diary, and he said, “I’m now on my 344th Patriarchal Blessing.” So you see what a blessing he had.

Now I knew that he wasn’t well, and then he was alright. I guess that he didn’t tell us exactly what happened. It was just almost too sacred. But he wrote it in his diary, and that’s the only way I found out about it. And I was so grateful for the diary.

I can see why President Kimball wants us to keep histories and diaries. Look what that meant to us as we got older and realized just what he had done.