Nephi Gaylon Hopkins was born May 30, 1939 in Soda Springs, Idaho. He served a mission in 1959 in the Central America Mission. After returning from his missionary service, he enrolled at BYU where he met and married the love of his life, Margaret Ann Childers.
Brother Hopkins earned a bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Spanish from Brigham Young University. He began working for the Church Education System after graduation. He taught seminary in Kaysville, Utah for two years, and was then asked to transfer to Ashland, Oregon where he started an institute program at Southern Oregon College. He also earned a master’s degree in Sociology while at SOC. After four years in Oregon he was asked to transfer to Logan, Utah where he taught institute at Utah State University for 21 years; his responsibilities included directing the Student Leadership Program and 9 years as director of the teacher training program.
In 1993 he was transferred to the Central office of the Church Education System. His assignment in the central office was to provide training to seminary and institute teachers involved with the PDP program throughout Central and South America. He was then called to serve as president of the Venezuela Valencia Mission. When he returned from his assignment in Venezuela he taught institute at Utah Valley University for two years prior to his retirement. After retirement he was called to serve as president of the Guatemala MTC, president of the Montevideo Uruguay Temple, and then he and Sister Hopkins served a mission as temple workers in the Washington DC Temple.
Brother and Sister Hopkins served faithfully by each other’s side throughout all their mission and teaching assignments, including teaching at the BYU Jerusalem Center during Winter Semester 1989. They developed a deep love for the Holy Land and took every opportunity possible to travel to that sacred place. They led numerous tours to Israel and surrounding countries. Brother Hopkins also spent a summer working on an archeological dig at Tel Lachish. They spent innumerable hours reading, teaching, and studying everything they could about Israel, its history, both ancient and modern, and books and scriptures related to all things in the Holy Land.
Although it was Brother Hopkins who was the religion professor at the Jerusalem Center (Winter 1989) he always said Sister Hopkins knew more than any guide and nothing could have proven that more true than when she needed to assume responsibility for the class during the Sinai field trip without Brother Hopkins, who was required to leave the group to help a student through a medical emergency. A student was climbing over a fence and caught her ring on a piece of metal sticking up from the fence, severing her finger. Brother Hopkins immediately took the student to Tel Aviv while Sister Hopkins soldiered on with a bus full of students to hike Mt. Sinai and teach the related events and lessons associated with the field trip. Sister Hopkins was also traveling with four of their children, ages sixteen to six. I was sixteen and will never forget watching my Mom take over that group and lead and guide them through that trip. I will also never forget watching all the students come together in faith and offer a prayer on behalf of the injured student and my Dad. It was a life changing experience and a faith promoting occasion in my life. (As a side note, the student’s finger was reattached and she eventually gained full function of her finger and was blessed to complete the semester.)
The love that Brother and Sister Hopkins had for Israel was shared with everyone they came in contact with, including their children. They have been able to take all eight of their children to the Holy Land. Six of their children were able to experience the BYU Jerusalem semester with them, two of their children returned as students themselves and one of their grand children has also attended the center.
As my Mom always said……”Next year in Jerusalem!”
Written by Lisa Brennan (daughter)