(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - What do you do after you've dirt biked across the desert of Wendover, walked away from a small plane crash in the wintry mountains of Idaho and survived a brown bear attack in the wilds of Alaska.... you move to Thompson, Manitoba, Canada. Or at least that is what former Ketchikan resident Doug Burkman and his wife Patricia did.

Burkman, called to serve in Manitoba, is the new branch president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church) in Thompson. Burkman and his wife are both serving as senior missionaries in Thompson. The LDS Church in this community covers a very large area including communities as far away as Norway House and Churchill with Thompson being the center point.

Doug and Patricia Burkman pose for a photograph after hiking to the top of Ketchikan's Deer Mountain in 2012.
Photo courtesy Doug Burkman

Burkman's adventures as an outdoorsman were the subject of an open house fireside earlier this month in Thompson where he presented photographs of the Alaska wilderness. Burkman's story had something for everyone. It was a “cautionary tale with a happy ending,” according to Burkman, who was attacked by a brown bear in the Alaska wilderness while bow-hunting. Burkman is a master bowman, and has taught many classes over numerous years on bow-hunting safety.

According to information provided, the LDS Church has over 15 million members worldwide. Less than one per cent of Canadians are members but that number is growing. The reason for its fast growth is said to be the church's focus on the family. The church believes that families are eternal and that God commands men to treat their wives as equal partners in the marriage and to love and treasure them always.

On the first Sunday of each month, several men will take their turn at the pulpit to publicly proclaim their love for their wives and families. This is a regular occurrence on what is referred to as Fast Sunday. Fast Sunday is a day when members of the church go without two meals and commit the money saved to helping those in need. It is also a day in which no traditional sermon is given; instead, it is a day to reflect on the many blessings in one's life and to share a personal testimony of God's blessings.

The Church of Latter-Day Saints is also world-renowned for their assistance and help in times of crisis. The Red Cross considers the members of the LDS church as “essential” to moving relief personnel into an area. The Red Cross has also credited the LDS Church for being on the ground in a crisis ahead of them and often long after the Red Cross and other volunteer groups have left a devastated area.

In a time when fewer people are involved in organized religion, one must wonder what the LDS Church does differently. Members of the church are compelled to help others. They believe that they are literally representatives of Christ and that every day, in all that they do and say, that they should act as Christ would. Members of the LDS Church, on average, volunteer approximately 427 hours a year to helping others. This does not take into account the hours members put into running the church. All positions within the church, from the church's leader president Thomas S. Monson down to the local youth serving missions, are unpaid.

There have been several professional athletes, such as New Zealander Sid Going, a professional rugby player, that turned down million-dollar contracts in order to spend two years serving missions around the world. Other professionals like doctors will take breaks from their practices or business, at considerable cost to themselves, in order to spend multiple years providing free medical care and other much-needed assistance and training around the world.

Doug Burkman is known in the Ketchikan area for his amazing scenic photographs. He is the owner of Whale Pass Photography and the owner/operator at Cedar Hollow Bows.

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Ketchikan, Alaska

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