Jack and Cuddles

Ada Parkinson Thomas was appointed to the Arizona State Board of Education by the Governor of Arizona in 1986. She had developed some expertise in recognizing good educational material and had previously served for sometime on the State Textbook Committee, reviewing and recommending the best textbooks for the Arizona Schools to choose from.  She had worked as a music teacher for many years in California and was active in the Southern California Music Guild.  She taught school for a time in Arizona.  She was active in PTA and saw both excellent and poor educators, books and materials during the many years that her 10 children attended school.  

As a little girl, Ada was blessed with a talent that served her well all her life.  She had the ability to recognize danger before it became apparent to others. 

It all started one day at the beach with her family.  She saw a young man lose his life because he got caught in the undertow and was pulled under the water and out to sea by it.  She learned from her father that day, that rip currents are narrow, powerful currents of water running perpendicular to the beach, out into the ocean. One minute you could be bobbing along peacefully in the surf, the next you are being dragged out to sea at top speed.  It is terrifying because you cannot see it and probably will not notice a rip current until you are right in the middle of it.

Ada never forgot the lesson she learned that day.  She applied what she learned to other things in life.  If something seemed “not quite right”, she became cautious and considered the possibility of “undertow” effects, and would look for them.  She had a mind that could solve mysteries, and she became good at it.  She was blessed with a spiritual gift ....to know if something is of God.

Because of her ability to see things as they are, people would come to Ada for advice.  For this reason she was asked to serve on the State Board of Education.  United State Senators at times would consult with her about the direction that Public Education was going.  She found “undertow” in organizations who were quietly trying to change the definition of “the family”.  Though most people could not see the changes that were taking place,  she spoke up to warn of the impending effect of the attack on the family.  Ada kept her eyes on the Prophet, and knew that “The Family Proclamation To the World" in 1995 was given at the right time,  to keep us from being caught in the undertow.