Mormon Helping Hands: California Day of Service

Posted by karenrose on Apr 27, 2013 in Events, Mormon | 0 comments

Saturday, April 27, 2013, is California’s statewide service day, in which thousands of members of The Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints (nicknamed ”Mormons”) coalesce with friends of other faiths in efforts to improve California’s communities. To become involved and find a project, visit mhhcalifornia.org.

View these comments and suggestions for participating:

Here are some of the California participants’ comments regarding “Mormon Helping Hands”–a global outreach of caring and community service, alleviating stress, assisting one another in times of need and emergency.

Pablo Paniagua ·

Coordinator/Director at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We in the Santa Ana South Stake have a major project at the Heritage Museum of Orange County. We will begin at 7am and conclude at 1:30pm we expect to have 180 people. We will paint, pour concrete, repair a wooden 150 covered walk way and many more. April 20, it’s our day. We are looking forward to an amazing experience.

Carmela Gonzalez ·

Owner-Operator at Social Media Services Santa Barbara, CA Stake-Carpenteria Ward, Santa Barbara Ward and El Camino (Spanish) Branch will be working together at Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens. They will be planting, landscaping, and outdoor maintenace of the Gardens. The address there is 115 East Micheltorena St. in Santa Barbara and will go from 9-12am. Mesa Vista Ward will be working at San Marcos High School doing landscaping, and maintanence from 9-12am their contact is Lawrence Stehmeier at 570-4046 or coachstehmeier@gmail.com. El Camino (University) Ward will be at the Santa Barbara Zoo participating in the Zoo-to-Do work day from 8:30am to 1pm doing maintenance and upkeep at the zoo. Their Contact is Michael Gunson at mgunson@me.com. Goleta Valley Ward is working at the Stow House Property (the old train depot and museum) at 304 North Los Caneros Rd. Gole…See More

Blythe Boozer Passanando ·

This is something for the ENTIRE community— If you have found yourself looking at this and thinking, “I’m not Mormon!” It’s okay, you can still participate! This is an event to beautify our community and create unity. Come and help to clean grave markers, garden the grounds, and paint the necessary items at the East Lawn Memorial Park – Sacramento! Please come at 8:30a (or sooner) to sign up for your duty of choice…first come, first serve. **There will be a BBQ lunch served following the event**. Please invite family, friends, neighbors, and strangers to participate as we gather together to serve!

LDS Church Sponsors United Nations Event to Discuss Violence Against Women

Posted by Keith L. Brown on Mar 16, 2013 in Events | 0 comments

Violence against women is not a new topic of discussion by any means. It is an everyday reality of life, and therefore is a topic of discussion that demands some sort of resolution.

On Wednesday, 6 March 2013, during a United Nations side event featuring the humanitarian outreach of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (mistakenly referred to as the Mormon Church by people of other faiths) to women worldwide, the executive director of LDS Charities, Sharon Eubank, stated, “Violence against women isn’t just physical, it can be structural.” She further commented:

If women don’t have access to health care because the roads are too dangerous, if they are turned away from care because they are too poor or too disabled, if there is no equipment to save their newborn, if no one believes girls need wheelchairs — they are bullied by a societal structure that is so much bigger and meaner than they have power to fight. [1]

During the past quarter-century, the Church of Jesus Christ has provided assistance to nearly 30 million people in 179 countries. The LDS Church hosted this event as part of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women. Featured speakers at the event included: Sharon Eubank, Ambassador Charles T. Ntwaagae, Botswana’s permanent representative to the United Nations, and Dr. Dennis C. and Nancy C. Hughes, LDS humanitarian medical trainers.

Eubank began her remarks talking about a humanitarian effort that predates LDS Charities. She spoke of the Salt Lake Valley in 1870, when inexperienced midwifery and home births contributed to a high infant mortality rate. She said,

A visionary woman named Eliza Snow went to the territory governor with a plan, requesting that six women be sent to the Eastern United States and trained in medicine. They would return and train others.

One 28-year-old woman, Ellis Shipp, left Salt Lake City for medical school. She was expecting a baby herself, found a job guarding the cadaver lab at night and studied by candlelight.

In 1879 she came back to Salt Lake City with a medical degree. Over her lifetime she delivered 5,000 babies. And she trained 500 midwives to be certified and licensed. She was the beginning of the drop of the infant mortality rate in (Utah). [1]

Ellis Shipp was an ordinary woman of 1879 who dared to do extraordinary things, and the work that she begun continues today. Eubank stated that the work of Shipp has evolved into the modern-day work by LDS Charities on neonatal resuscitation training. She further stated, “LDS Charities’ great strength — which may be unique in the world — is the organization’s ability to combine big vision and strategic multilateral relationships with grass roots voluntarism to tackle intractable problems.” [1]

Eubank noted that there are more than 1 million infants every year that die of asphyxia, and there are many doctors who know how to save these babies, but they do not have the necessary equipment to do so. In an effort to address this problem, LDS Charities donates medical equipment to hospitals, and couples such as the Dr. Dennis C. and Nancy C. Hughes train medical professionals. In 2012, LDS Charities trained 28,000 medical professionals in 48 countries. During the event, Dennis Hughes, using a training doll, demonstrated some of the equipment and training given to these professionals.

“We know our work is very valuable,” Nancy Hughes said. “The distribution of medical equipment through LDS Charities and the skills that are learned help babies live.” To those attending the United Nations conference, she added, “Our goals are your goals.” [1]

Ambassador Ntwaagae said Botswana is one of the countries that has, over the years, benefited tremendously from the support of LDS Charities — especially when it comes to wheelchair distribution. Later this year, Botswana will be among the first African countries to implement the newly released World Health Organization wheelchair-training curricula. The multiyear effort between the Botswana Ministry of Health and LDS Charities trains physical therapists and technicians to properly fit wheelchair recipients and then provides a variety of mobility aids for distribution. [1]

Eubank pointed out that there are 45 million people in the world who need wheelchairs but don’t have access to one. She added that men and boys get 70 percent of this equipment. “When we distribute wheelchairs we look for partnering organizations that have a commitment to address this gender bias,” she said. [1]

In expressing his appreciation for the years of support from LDS Charities, Ambassador Ntwaagae said:

This particular commitment has been very helpful in uplifting the lives of our vulnerable population, especially the women and children.

As a country, Botswana is committed to the concept of social inclusion and integration, including people with disabilities. However, we continue to face challenges in terms of a shortage of equipment. [1]

Eubank closed by asking those in attendance to work with her to “inoculate people at an early age against violence and the acceptance of violence because it is like a disease.” “We can commit that we will speak and learn ourselves and then train eight other people by our personal example,” she said. “We can find ways for inclusion and rehabilitation to bring people back into the mainstream of society. It is only in those skills that we have a clear road to be able to go forward in this way. It is important for every person in this room.” [1]

Latter-day Saint Charities

Alfie Boe Joins Mormon Tab Choir in Christmas Concert

Posted by karenrose on Dec 17, 2012 in Events, Mormon, Music, The Church | 0 comments

Alfie Boe, Tony-winning British tenor who never saw a live musical show until he starred in one, completely enraptured audiences once again in the 2012 Temple Square Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert.  Beloved and renown for his showstopping rendition of “Bring Him Home”–the Les Mis prayer-song of Jean Valjean which Alfie added to the musical numbers performed at the Choir Concert–brought him and the Choir and orchestra, an unsurprising standing ovation. The Christmas extravaganza featured distinguished journalist, Tom Brokaw, NBC News Nitely Anchor and Today Show host.  Brokaw narrated the story of the Salt-Lake City born, World War II Air Force Pilot “Candy-Bomber”–Gail Halvorsen, who dropped candy from C-47s to children he came to meet behind a barbed wire fence one day on his mission in Germany.

As the music crescendo-ed, Tom continued to recount Gail’s story of giving against the backdrop of airplanes and min-parachutes dropping candy on video sweeping across a white-screen floating vertically from top to bottom of the Tabernacle Choir Stage.  Just as Tom completed the story of the candy-bomber, the screen lifted.  The Candy-Bomber himself stood in uniform on stage, wrapping the audience in love and cheers.  Meanwhile, mini white real parachutes dropped from the ceiling of the Conference Center mirroring those dropping from those WWII planes. The audience was riveted and overcome with the Spirit of Christ–the spirit of giving, the spirit of Christmas–as children approached the Candy-Bomber, and he has came to share a few words with Tom and the audience about giving, about gratitude, about finding real joy in service.

Merry Christmas to each of you.

May you also enjoy various other Christmas songs performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra on Temple Square are available for download on Mormon.org (list courtesy of mormonwoman.org).

Parent/Youth Resources: Mormons Teach Gospel to High-School Students

Posted by Guest Author on Jan 20, 2012 in Announcements, Events, New Media, Technology | 0 comments

100 Years of Seminary Celebration President Boyd K. Packer, modern-day apostle of Jesus Christ (Mormon leader), spoke last evening at a special broadcast to youth, teens, Mormons and friends of other faiths at what was called the “Seminary Centennial Broadcast.”  Seminary is a high-school course of religious instruction for youth, equipping them to face their daily challenges and draw nearer to Jesus Christ.  Church youth, Mormon/LDS leaders, parents and the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints–the First Presidency–attended and addressed the gathering. Over 350,000 youth are participating globally in a scripture study course with their peers during their high school years.  It produces a youth fortified by the word rather than the world, and enables them to understand the divine doctrines of Christ’s gospel and atoning sacrifice and to apply them personally.  President Eyring addressed the youth, sharing the history and growth of this marvelous inspired program, and Elder Packer addressed issues of morality and the standards of truth around relationships, gay lifestyles, and facing the future. Parents of all faiths and youth, teens, young adults, are invited to view the archived Mormon Seminary Broadcast/Devotional on Educating Youth in Truth and Righteousness here. The Centennial program will additionally be rebroadcast on January 29 at 6 pm MST and it is already available online in ASL, English, French, Portuguese and Spanish and in stake (LDS/Mormon meetinghouse) centers around the world.  Listed below are additional resources about Seminary and the 100 year celebration: President Boyd K. Packer in Earning Answers in Seminary Newsroom article Seminary Program Celebrates Century of Teaching Mormon Teens Seminary Centennial Broadcast webpage Seminary 2011-2012: Welcome from Elder Oaks

Pew Study Mormons in America A report based on a study by the Pew Center’s Forum on Religion and Public life titled “Mormons in America” has been released, showing findings about members of the Church in the United States. Read more about the study and its findings in the Newsroom. New Duty to God Website A newly updated version of the Duty to God website is now available for the young men of the Church. Through this website, young men can create and save Duty to God plans, record journal entries, and watch videos.

Closed Captioning added to October Conference videos Closed captioning in English has been added to the October 2011 general conference videos found on LDS.org. This new feature will allow deaf or hard-of-hearing members to enjoy their conference experience more fully. President Uchtdorf and Elder Andersen visit Guatemala Watch videos and view photos of President Uchtdorf and Elder Andersen’s visit to Guatemala in this article published on Prophets and Apostles Speak Today, a section on LDS.org that highlights teachings and experiences from living prophets and apostles. Scripture Mastery iOS App In his October 2011 General Conferenceaddress, Elder Richard G. Scott said “To memorize a scripture is to forge a new friendship.”  TheScripture Mastery app, available for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, is a handy tool for anyone trying to memorize scripture mastery verses and the Articles of Faith.

LDS (“Mormon”) Apostle of Jesus Christ Addresses Young Adults Worldwide

Posted by karenrose on Nov 4, 2011 in BYU, Events, Mormon, Speech | 0 comments

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is under the direct divine administration of the Lord Jesus Christ, who revealed its name, and facilitated the restoration of His pure, undiluted doctrines and organization as existed at the time of His ministry. What a glorious message to the world!

One of the modern-day twelve apostles, Boyd K. Packer, of The Church of Jesus Christ (sometimes mistakenly referred to as The Mormon Church by the media or those of other faiths who aren’t familiar with the full name), will address the young adults of the Church and any interested friends of other faiths in a devotional address on November 6, 2011, at 6:00 P.M. MST.
2011 November Educational and Spiritual Devotional for Young Adults

The one-hour broadcast will originate from the Brigham Young University (BYU) campus in Provo, Utah. The Church of Jesus Christ’s satellite system will subsequently rebroadcast the devotional to many areas of the world.

According to LDS/Mormon News source, the Newsroom of The Church of Jesus Christ, there are several ways to watch and listen:

This broadcast will be available in English on Mormon Channel HD Radio and the following BYU Broadcasting services: BYU Television (BYUtv), BYU Radio, KBYU‑TV (Eleven), and KBYU‑FM Radio (Classical 89). It will be available in Spanish and Portuguese on BYU Television International.

Live audio and video of the Latter-day Saint (“Mormon”) broadcast will be available online at 6:00 p.m. mountain standard time at cesdevotionals.lds.org. An audio-only live broadcast can be accessed at mormonchannel.org at the same time.  [“CES” is an acronym for the Church Educational System which provides continuous spiritual and doctrinal instruction to young adults as they transition through school, marriage, and life.  Mormons believe highly in educating minds, hearts, and hands to be of service in families, communities, and the world.)

Within three weeks of the apostle’s address and this spiritual devotional event, audio and video will be archived online at cesdevotionals.lds.org in more than two dozen languages.

Check local program listings for availability in your area, or visit broadcastinfo.lds.org, mormonchannel.org, or byubroadcasting.org for more broadcast information.

 

Additional Resources:

For more information and events visit the official site for The Church of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is central tot he beliefs of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”)

Mormon Youth are often counseled by the Prophets to live righteously

Mormon Tabernacle Choir 2011 Christmas Concert

Posted by karenrose on Nov 3, 2011 in Announcements, Events, Mormon | 1 comment

More news of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir–a choir composite of 360 ambassadors-of-Christ, faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called The Mormon Church by friends of other faiths). These talented singers who’ve graced 28 nations with performances and who participate in the longest running Christian Choir Sunday Morning broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word, have announced their 2011 Christmas concert venue.Mormon Tab Choir: 2011 Christmas concert guest performers announced! Two internationally renowned performers—Jane Seymour, British actress, artist and author, and Nathan Gunn, much sought-after American baritone—will join with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square December in performances on December 15-18.As per the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s official site:Seymour is a familiar face on the Broadway stage, motion pictures and television. A recipient of the Officer of the British Empire, her long list of credits includes the James Bond film Live and Let Die, romantic classic Somewhere in Time and six-season television classic, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. She holds an Emmy and two Golden Globes for her work. She has a thriving career as an artist and has written several books including a children’s series.  Gunn has appeared in opera houses around the world from the Met in New York to the San Francisco Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, the Paris, Bilboa and Brussels Operas and so many more. In addition he has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Boston, Chicago, London, and Rotterdam Symphony Orchestras. He also got rave reviews for his role in Camelot with the New York Philharmonic and Showboat at Carnegie Hall.  Online registration for random ticket selection will begin on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 12:01 a.m. and continue through Monday, October 17, 11:59 p.m. Those without Internet access can register by phone at 801-570-0080 or 1-866-LDS-TIKS Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert registration, visit this page. Further details are also available on the page. Mormon Christmas Concert: Mormon Tabernacle Choir Performs in Salt Lake City Conference Center Thursday, December 15, 8:00 p.m. Friday, December 16, 8:00 p.m. Saturday, December 17, 8:00 p.m. Sunday, December 18, 9:30 a.m. For current LDS news (Mormon News) and events of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please follow respective link. Do Mormons Celebrate Christmas

Additional Resources:

For more information and events visit the official site of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently called by friends of other faiths as the “Mormon Church”)

Mormons both recognize and celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas

Thanksgiving and Christmas are often referenced and spoken of during this season. Attend a local meetinghouse and learn for yourself.