Who is the real Rodrigo Hurtado?

I may not really be Rodrigo Hurtado, but that’s the name printed in gold on my scriptures.

These are the scriptures I read every day.

These are the scriptures I take to church.

So, who is the real Rodrigo Hurtado?

A long lost love?  Of course not.  You would have heard of him by now.

A distant cousin?  Blonde hair, green eyes, fair skinned girl and from what I know, I do not have a trace of Mexico running through my blood.

Best friend?  I’m sure he’s a nice enough person, but I’ve never meet him in my life.

So why do I have his scriptures?

I purchased a beautiful set of scriptures, the Bible along with the Book of Mormon before I left on my mission in 1995.  My name was printed in gold on the cover.  My scriptures were my constant.  I read, studied, highlighted and carried them with me everywhere.  They were in my lap the morning Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley spoke to us sister missionaries in the Salt Lake City Tabernacle.  I had them when I met Margaret Thatcher as she walked through the visitor center and shook the hands of us missionaries.  I had my scriptures when Mike Wallace of 60 minutes walked through Temple Square with Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley at his side, interviewing him for a television feature.  

My scriptures were also there when I escorted the ambassador of Iceland and his wife on a tour of the Temple Square grounds.

After my 1 ½ service, a time I will forever cherish, I packed my bags, scriptures included and flew back home to Mesa where my scriptures stayed with me until a few months into my marriage.  I left them at church, on a chair and when I returned just a few minutes later to get them, they were gone. I was concerned, but certain they would be found.  For months, I searched the lost and found.  I wondered who would want an old pair of mission scriptures, but they never turned up.  To this day, I still ache for my scriptures from my mission.  The photos tucked in between the pages, notes, letters and poems from family and friends, impressions I’d written in the pages while I learned about Jesus, dreams, concerns and hopes I shared while pondering God’s plan for me.  It was all gone.

The counselor purchased a new set of leather scriptures for Christmas that year, engraved with my now married name on the front cover.  I cherished those scriptures and used them for almost 10 years, but still I ached for my mission scriptures.  No longer did I have the time to read like I did before and the everyday miracles that came from scripture reading were tucked in the back of my mind.  I had high intentions to read everyday, but most days it didn’t happen.  I packaged them in a box in 2008, the day we moved two houses down the street to our new home.  Reef was 3 months old and it took weeks, even months to unpack all those boxes.  I didn’t know the garage leaked, so the day we had a huge monsoonal rain, I didn’t think anything of it.  It was too late when I noticed a mildew smell.  I inspected the unpacked boxes and found them full of photos and books, including my soaking wet green and black moldy scriptures.

Two sets down, and now my third set from Rodrigo Hurtado, found at Desert Industries, a thrift store owned by the Mormon Church.  When I purchased them for $4.00, I was thrilled.  Not only were they in excellent condition, but they didn’t have a single marking in them.   I wanted a new set as soon as possible, but didn’t have the money for a new $60 set.

I carry my Rodrigo Hurtado scriptures with pride, just don’t call me Rodrigo.  Sure, I still hope my mission scriptures will turn up, but until they do, these work just fine.