For the first time ever, I visited Samaria, Idaho just off Interstate 15. Long ago, President Lorenzo Snow proclaimed, “This place shall be named Samaria.” (He was thinking about how kind the citizens were to travelers and natives like Chief Pocatello.)

 

Traveling northward along the Samaria road, I felt like I had been transported back to the days of the early LDS pioneers. It reminded me of the historic LDS community of Chesterfield in Southeastern Idaho. But where Chesterfield is now museum territory, Samaria is alive and real.

 

Along the base of the Samaria Mountains (Big Canyon Peak at 8,500 ft, is the highest of the seven peaks), I drove through open range. Old corrals, rustic barns, gnarly cottonwoods, abandoned shacks, and junk cars dotted the landscape. My pulse quickened. This is truly – rural Southeastern Idaho at its best.

 

The Spirit of God in John 4 brought me to Samaria. I am sure of it.

 

Slowly, I started knocking on doors, passing out John’s Gospel and Romans to the neighbors. (more…)