Comments on: Small World Times Two!

By: Bruce Crow

Bruce Crow — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:31:29 +0000

I moved quite a bit as a child. We had a new Ward every couple of years. In every single one we found ward members we were related to. The pattern contined after I moved out. I even had Mission companions I was related to.

By: Andrea Pratt

Andrea Pratt — Sat, 23 May 2009 03:55:30 +0000

Ben do you keep a journal? You should archive everything you write, and save it forever like your scriptophile sister. I love reading the little glimpses into your experience.

Oh yeah, we had a potluck at work some time ago, and as it turns out, the guy who brought the veggie tray is our third/fourth cousin once removed. He sits in a cubicle around the corner from my department. Crazy!

By: Steve G.

Steve G. — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:46:58 +0000

On my mission I was talking to my trainer while waiting for a bus one day. The topic of his girlfriend came up, and he showed me her picture. I was shocked and said “hey that’s Ann” (or whatever her name was) She was in my ward at Ricks College and I hometaught her and her roommates.

At the end of my mission I was training a kid from American Fork, and one day I asked my companion if he knew a certain girl I had dated in High School who had since moved to American Fork. Turns out they were best friends.

By: Ben Pratt

Ben Pratt — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:15:01 +0000

Agreed, Chris. These are great stories, everyone!

By: JA Benson

JA Benson — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:29:48 +0000

Megan#6- The story behind our “inbreeding” is I have always been interested in Family History. Since DH and I are both from pioneer lines in every direction, I checked both of our genealogies way before we got married. As it turns out my FIL did not disclose a name change in one of the lines and naturally that was it.

As for “inbreeding” biologist have established that humans subconsciously seek out people who are similar to them genetically for friends and mates. We subconsciously send out some kind of homing signal to our “own” and our “own” respond. Crazy, but true.

By: Chris H.

Chris H. — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:44:52 +0000

I just want to say that I love reading these stories at M*. Thanks Ben.

By: Ginger

Ginger — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:16:03 +0000

On my Dad’s mission, he and his companion felt inspired one night to go tracking on a certain street, where they met the B family. They taught them a couple of times, but then my Dad was transferred to a different area. Fast forward about 30 years, and my fiance and I were at dinner with our parents where they were meeting for the first time. My MIL mentioned that she had lived in ****, NY, and my dad vaguely remembered teaching a B family, but he thought it was a different part of NY. After the dinner, we went home and my dad got out his mission journals. It turns out he had tracked out my MIL’s family (and recorded it in his journal), and she had gotten baptized a few months after he was transferred.
I always knew we met in the pre-existence! Actually, there was a Mormon Journal article in the Ensign a few years back. It’s kind of a fun bit of connection for us.

By: John Mansfield

John Mansfield — Wed, 20 May 2009 12:53:29 +0000

My favorite story of this sort involved two college roommates, K and G, who lived downstairs from me. G was invited to share Thanksgiving with K’s family, who lived not so far away. When G chatted with K’s mother it was learned that before she married K’s father, she had been engaged to G’s father.

By: megan

megan — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:26:47 +0000

I took a class on social networks last semester and ended up coming up with a list of five reasons why the mormon world is so interconnected in a way the rest of the world isn’t (wards based on geography, high attendance of universities in Utah, mission, etc). I really think someone should write a book on this, or at least a decent article. Its too bad that effective social networks experiments are difficult, because there really is something fascinating about just how small the mormon world is.

And JA Benson, some friends and I have developed the theory that the church’s focus on genealogy is really all about inbreeding avoidance.

By: Ben Pratt

Ben Pratt — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:41:12 +0000

Brian, it’s too bad that I use a bus pass! Unfortunately, N. is a part-time driver and will receive a different assignment after next week.

Joanna, you reminded me that Brother J. and I are both descended from Jesse N. Smith, which would make the young father in the post mostly likely my 4th cousin. Crazy!

Speaking of small world family connections, I have a post in mind that I’ve been thinking about since I was a teen, though when I first conceived of it, it was going to be a movie, not a blog post. Watch for it.