Editor’s note: This is the primary of two articles that give attention to Latter-day Saints serving at Naval Station Newport and the U.S Naval War College in Rhode Island.
NEWPORT, Rhode Island — For the previous couple of years, as many as 200 sailors stationed on the U.S. Navy’s Naval Station Newport have been showing up at the bottom’s Kay Hall auditorium on Friday nights for an hourlong interfaith event referred to as the Sailors’ Devotional.
The devotional is organized by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, however the overwhelming majority who attend are from different faiths and spiritual backgrounds.
Dressed in camouflage fatigues on Feb. 2, the sailors placed their weapons and equipment along the wall and sat in rows of folding chairs during their only free time outside of Sunday’s designated religious service time.
Following a gap prayer, Jesse Daily, a Latter-day Saint who works on the Naval Undersea Warfare Center and serves as a counselor within the Newport Ward bishopric, presented a nondenominational spiritual thought on the healing power of gratitude and engaged the group briefly discussion.
The devotional then concluded on a sweet note with tables filled with treats, from homemade cookies and desserts to store-bought snacks and chips, provided by missionaries and members. The sailors are usually not allowed to have candy or junk food, but an exception is made for religious activities. A protracted line quickly formed, and the food was devoured because the sailors socialized.
Not removed from the refreshments was a table with free copies of the Book of Mormon and other Latter-day Saint materials for anyone interested. No proselyting is allowed, but missionaries and members can answer questions if asked, which does occur.
Most of the sailors who attended the devotional are in the midst of the Navy’s Officer Candidate School, a mentally and physically demanding 13-week program. A smaller percentage are in Officer Development School, a five-week course designed to check and train the Navy’s commissioned officers, and other programs.
“All of them are having almost universally a foul day. The drill sergeants are really hard on them. They are having a rough time, they usually miss their family. They are out of their element, they’re uncomfortable,” Daily said. “Anything to assist them get through it really helps.”
Holding a plate of goodies, Officer Candidate Mikhail Scheel, originally from Minot, North Dakota, described the devotional as “a ray of sunshine” that sailors sit up for all week.
“It’s an incredibly difficult time physically, mentally and emotionally. You get up at 5 within the morning, and also you’re consistently doing physical exertion all day,” said Scheel, who felt inspired to affix the military after serving within the El Salvador San Salvador East Mission. “ [The devotional] allows us to have social interaction, and it’s a way for us to decompress. It’s really a godsend.”
Along with a moment of peace and spiritual reflection, perhaps the best good thing about the nondenominational event is the way it provides the sailors with a positive first impression of the Church that can go along with them after they leave Naval Station Newport and serve in locations worldwide, said Clark Hartley, a member of the Newport Ward and a medical service corps naval officer who works on the Naval Health Clinic New England.
“They take that positive first impression about what the Church represents, they usually take it out into the fleet all around the world,” Hartley said. “Whenever I run into any of those guys out within the fleet on a ship or on shore, we discuss Newport, they usually have fond memories of the Church. The influence I feel this program has on the Navy as an entire is impressive.”
The weekly devotional has also been a blessing to members of the Providence Rhode Island Stake, said its President Walter Rehon.
“It has encouraged our members to do more missionary work. Those who take time and attend this on Friday night leave here uplifted and strengthened,” he said. “I leave here a greater person each time I visit. We will do all we are able to as a stake to be sure this continues.”
Naval Station Newport
With its history tracing back to the early Eighties, Naval Station Newport is the Navy’s premier site for training officers, officer candidates, senior enlisted personnel and midshipman candidates, in addition to for conducting advanced undersea warfare and development systems. The base can be home to the U.S. Naval War College, which provides more in-depth military education and training for senior officers.
“Newport isn’t just Officer Candidate School and Officer Development School, it’s the hub of naval officer education,” said Jessica Nilsson, Navy Supply Corps School public affairs officer.
How the Sailors’ Devotional began
The first Sailors’ Devotional was began by Steven and Deborah Anderson, who served as Church military service missionaries within the Newport area from February 2018 to April 2019.
With Steven and a son having served within the military, the couple was sympathetic to the trials of basic training and officer school.
“The training may be very difficult and emotionally stressful,” Deborah Anderson said. “We kept praying to know the way we could help them get through this difficult time.”
They got here up with the thought and received permission in early April 2018 to arrange a weekly devotional for the handful of Latter-day Saint servicemen at Naval Station Newport on Friday evenings.
Similar to a house evening, the primary devotionals consisted of a prayer, a brief video with a gospel message, and a game or activity to assist the sailors unwind and chill out.
The Andersons also obtained special permission from the bottom commander to supply treats — something not otherwise allowed of their training programs. Cookies, pizza and other goodies were an fast hit.
“There were times once we first began once we only had three or 4 members, and I’d make 4 dozen cookies, and they’d be gone before we left,” she said.
It didn’t take long for the word to spread. The members’ dorm mates heard what was happening and asked in the event that they could participate. Attendance on the weekly devotionals quickly increased to greater than 30 sailors.
Over a yr later, there have been 100 coming each week, and the devotional was moved to a bigger venue. Following a short lived suspension as a consequence of COVID-19 pandemic precautions, attendance on the devotional ballooned again to 200.
The Andersons, who now reside in Aztec, New Mexico, rejoiced to listen to how the devotional has continued to flourish at Naval Station Newport.
“My husband and I each feel blessed that we found a approach to plant seeds,” Deborah Anderson said.
Daily assumed responsibility for the devotional a short while after the Andersons left and has continued until the current time.
“I believe it’s successful because we attempt to make it as accessible as possible,” said Daily, who understands most sailors likely come for the food. His top goal is to supply the sailors with a spiritual boost “in order that they can get through one other week.”
“I’ve had several sailors tell me, ‘We just must make it to the subsequent Friday,’” Daily said. “Some have said if it wasn’t for the Friday night devotional, they’d have dropped out of Officer Candidate School a protracted time ago.”
‘My interest within the Church grew’
The devotional has proven to be an efficient missionary tool, said K.C. Nilsson, a Latter-day Saint who works because the director of Officer Development School.
“I believe that is considered one of the best missionary tools we now have,” he said. “In my 20 years of service, it might be among the best ways the Church is showing those of other faiths how inclusive we’re.”
One example is Ensign Jared Davenport, who began attending the Friday devotional on the suggestion of a fellow sailor in Officer Candidate School. He was impressed by the “healthful” event and touched by the spiritual messages. For him, it represented a “godly community and sincere worship.”
“My attendance served to fortify my character against whatever slings and arrows of outrageous fortune our instructors had devised for us that week of coaching,” Davenport said. “From there my interest within the Church grew.”
Davenport began meeting with missionaries and was eventually baptized in Norfolk, Virginia, on April 16, 2022. He is currently stationed in South Carolina. The gospel has helped him to search out more joy in his life.
“The little triumphs which I do know are usually not coincidence are apparent and bountiful wherever I am going, and repeatedly obstacles appear to be summarily faraway from my path no ahead of they seem,” he said. “I actually have absolute trust that I’m being taken care of by a presence which cares for me, and that I’m a steward of an incredible tradition on this Church. I feel that there’s a spot for me as long as I keep the religion as best I can, which is a boon so great that I can’t really measure it.”
Daily told of one other sailor who drifted away from the Church after his mission. He joined the Navy and got here to Naval Station Newport, where he heard others talking concerning the “LDS Night” devotional and decided to examine it out.
The young man began attending the weekly devotional and commenced going to Sunday worship services. There he introduced himself as a Church member and accepted an invite to bless the sacrament. Over time the sailor returned to full activity within the Church.
“He said when he joined the Navy, he had no intention of being reactivated within the Church,” Daily said.
Officer Candidate Abraham Rais converted to the Church a couple of years before he joined the Navy. After graduating from college in New York, Rais took a job in Salt Lake City and met missionaries while touring Temple Square. He told them he was on “a journey to search out Jesus Christ,” they usually gave him a replica of the Book of Mormon. Through nightly study, prayer and spiritual impressions, he realized, “Yes, that is the precise Church for me,” he said.
Less than three years later, Rais joined the Navy and was sent to Naval Station Newport, where he has been for over a month. Like the others, he counts the times leading as much as the Friday devotional.
“This event is just so wonderful. We are only one big, completely happy Navy family,” he said. “On the surface, OCS is rough. It’s been numerous learning. The person I’m now, in comparison with the person I used to be 5 or 6 weeks ago, is night and day. I actually have OCS and my Heavenly Father to thank for that. I’m grateful for what I’ve been doing here.”
Refreshing break
Alexis Randle, of Chicago, Illinois, and Tristan Fuller, of Orlando, Florida, each with the rank of petty officer second class within the Navy, agreed the devotional is a refreshing break from the constant stress of their day. Randle also likes the spiritual thoughts because they’re centered on universal truths.
“I do just like the messages since it’s not so churchy. It’s very relatable and straightforward for me to know,” she said. “And we are able to talk over with one another and just be regular humans.”
Officer Candidate Damiyan Caldwell, from Norfolk, Virginia, temporarily dropped out of this system when his son was in a coma. When he returned, Caldwell desired to know in the event that they were still having “LDS Night,” and will he attend Latter-day Saint Sunday worship services on the bottom.
“I believe ‘LDS’ is an incredible approach to chill out. It’s not any pressure to be denominational. It’s just an incredible time to fellowship and meet together with your fellow classmates, share the identical struggles and accomplishments,” said Caldwell, who considers himself to be a spiritual person.
He also loves treats. “I’m an Oreo guy,” he said with a large smile. “Maybe next time we’ll get them deep fried.”
Member and missionary support
A bunch of local members and missionaries got here to the devotional early, loaded down with bags and pans of treats, listened to the message and served the refreshments with a friendly smile until the hall was once more empty and prepared for cleanup.
Elder William Doty and his wife, Sister Mary Anne Doty, military service senior missionaries since July 2022, are sometimes moved by the gratitude of the sailors.
“What lifts my spirits every Friday night are the unsolicited comments about how grateful they’re for us being here, for the service that we’re providing them,” Sister Doty said.
Mike and Allison Balmforth, local members, have heard similar remarks of appreciation.
“It’s nice, you get that feeling of service, but one of the best part is after they say ‘that is what gets me through the week. Thank you a lot for doing this,’” Mike said.
Expanding this ‘heartfelt ministry’
Maj. Spencer Cooper, a Church-endorsed chaplain for the U.S. Air Force who works for the Church’s Military Relations Division, attended the Feb. 2 devotional. He said the Church Military Relations desires to learn the dynamics of the Sailors’ Devotional and implement similar programs at other military bases.
“Replicating this sort of real and heartfelt ministry in every single place that we now have servicemen and girls in training facilities across the country, and across the armed forces of each country, could dramatically change perceptions of our faith and firmly instill the true nature of our faith within the minds of thousands and thousands in the approaching years,” he said. “We want those leaders, a lot of whom will even develop into civic, business and even political leaders after their time within the service, to know that we welcome the support and share in the will to minister to all different faith backgrounds as we seek to do the work of the Savior Himself and help the hands which hang down.”
This is how the gospel spreads, said Elder Scott N. Taylor, an Area Seventy, who attended the event together with his teenage sons.
“When you begin something small, but it surely’s a great thing, it brings light, and it reverberates,” he said. “That’s the best way goodness spreads. It’s the best way light spreads. So it’s exciting to see these days of the world wherein we live.”
