((PKG)) MORMON POTATO FARMER
((Banner: A Calling to Farm))
((Reporter/Camera: Arturo Martínez))
((Banner: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) 1.6%))
((Map: Glenns Ferry, Idaho))
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
I am Justin Wootan and I am a farmer, Idaho potato farmer. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
My brother, my dad and I kind of run the farm. It's definitely a family thing. Our farm is unique in that we only raise 660 acres (260 hectares) of potatoes on the 4000 acre (1600 hectares) farm and then we rotate it around and so it's a seven year rotation before we get back to potatoes.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
We are just out back, looking at the omnitrac. Thanks. Love you. Bye. My wife came up. She helps with the bills and helps keeping me organized in the office. She does a lot. A lot.
((Shannon Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
They need to be filed?
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
Well, they have to make copies and then be bound.
((Shannon Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
We both have our master's degree and 10 years ago he said, "I think I want a farm." Okay. So, we moved down here and his whole idea was that this was the best way to raise a family and teach them how to work hard and how to play hard.
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
And if you look way over there, that's Oregon. Over there.
((Shannon Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
We have five children, so I stay pretty busy at home. So, I come up and help him whenever he needs help and I try and come up a couple times a week at least.
((NATS))
((Julia Wootan, Daughter))
We are so thankful for this day. We are thankful that we could all have a good day today, that we could have a good day at school. Please bless our physical and spiritual safety. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
((Wootan family))
Amen.
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
We try to practice our religion in our daily life.
((Julia Wootan, Daughter))
"The Jews shall be scattered among all nations; yea, and also Babylon shall be destroyed; wherefore, the Jews shall be scattered by other nations."
((Shannon Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
Our religion we have, I think the two main differences is, well, three actually, that we have a living prophet on earth today that speaks to us just like Moses did in the olden times. We have the Book of Mormon, which is a testament of Christ when he visited the American continent after he was crucified in Jerusalem, and that was recorded in the book of scriptures, and the priest of authority has been brought back to the earth through Joseph Smith, when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was restored to the earth. So, I think those are the things that set us apart from other churches. But I believe all churches are good, and they all have good in them.
((NATS))
((Shannon Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
There’s steps that we have been taught in our church that we take such as getting baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and a final step that it says in the scriptures is to endure to the end.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
I served a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and I was called to São Paulo, Brazil. I learned Portuguese and taught people about what we believe and taught them the gospel. These are some of the families that we’d go out and teach. So, we believe in baptism by immersion in the water. So, I baptized these two folks. The joy you see when you bring the Gospel to people that may not have that in their lives, it’s humbling to see how they can change their lives and how they find joy in that.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
So, the gospel of Jesus Christ provides the greatest perspective of truth and offers the richest blessings.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
I've just gone over a couple of crisis. Having that internal perspective kind of changes the way you look at it. My mother, father, sister and grandfather were in a car accident on the way to a family reunion in Arizona. My grandfather was killed. My mom, she lost the ability to walk and my dad has had multiple knee surgeries since and is tough for him to get around a little bit. When you get that phone call at two or three in the morning, knowing the eternal perspective that we'll be able to see our grandfather again, I think that helped calm my nerves and feeling that the spirit of Lord tell us, “this is what happened. It's going to be all right.”
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
How are you doing José?
((José, Black Mesa Farms))
Good, how are you doing?
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
Good.
((NATS))
((Shannon Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
We were talking to the kids and they said, “we don't practice our religion when we go up to work” and I said, yeah, you do. We make sure that we're honest in our dealings with everybody and we're telling the truth and we're doing what we know is right and we're respecting people from all different walks of life.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
And he's studying to be an engineer.
((Shannon Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
Nice.
((NATS))
((Banner: In the 1800s, the early years of their religion, Mormons often met with suspicion and violence))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
The LDS Latter-Day Saints, the early members of the church, they came into a city and pretty soon they're a majority of the population, and people are a little reluctant to change and so that created the persecution. And today, you're seeing large movements of migrants.
I think everybody deserves a safe place to live and practice a religion in a way that's beneficial to society. You can't judge a religion by the extremists out there.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
The guys are out there right now hooking up the solid set lines.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
We hire laborers that come up on the H2 program and they're hired for a certain period and then they go back. These are jobs that we advertise a couple months here in the States and in the last five years, we've never had somebody come and interview for the job, and so then we go and pick these folks up from, in this case, Mexico and bring them in and they help us in the fall. As far as faith, I think it's important that people have a way to provide for themselves and I think that this H2 program does that.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
Aren't you going to eat a little? It’s midday. Are you going to eat?
((Laborer))
You mean lunch?
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
Yes, lunch.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
As a farmer, I do feel like I'm a good steward of the land. We go to great lengths to keep the weeds down. We go to great lengths to keep the soil biology active and growing. It's making the world fruitful.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
We want to be good stewards of the land for the environmental impact as far as preserving for our future generations. We look to build the soil, create a vegetative culture that's beneficial to the land.
((NATS))
((Justin Wootan, Black Mesa Farms))
When the Lord and Heavenly Father gave Adam and Eve the garden he said, “Go forth, till, work this ground, make it beautiful.”
((NATS))