Helping Hands In Action: Moore, Oklahoma

After the EF-5 tornado hit the town of Moore, Oklahoma, thousands answered the call to give service to the city and it's residence. Yellow Mormon Helping Hands shirts could be seen all over the city as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints came to give aid to the stricken city.



"Yellow Mormon Helping Hands shirts dot a park in Moore. Working with the city of Moore, Church leaders sent hundreds of volunteers to neighborhoods and parks to clean up debris and remove fallen trees on Sunday, 26 May 2013. More than 2,300 members of the Church and their neighbors donned the familiar Mormon Helping Hands shirts to assist in cleanup and relief to tornado victims over the Memorial Day weekend."

See more pictures and the whole story here.

Stake Formal Dance

Sparkle, dazzle and shine! Stake Prom night was a smashing success,
and the youth came dressed in their finest for the occasion. They danced and
socialized the night away. The music was great and so was the ice cream!
Rogers and Fort Smith stakes were also invited. It was a big crowd but a lot
of fun for those who attended. A big thank you to Brother Sedrick, Sister
Dobson and everyone else who helped organize this fun evening.

Wife of LDS Prophet Passes Away

"Frances Beverly Johnson Monson died Friday at 6:35 a.m., surrounded by family. She was 85. An LDS Church news release indicated she died of 'causes incident to age.'"

Read a full article about Sister Monson here.

Video Tribute:

Free Music Album from Brigham Young University’s Men’s Chorus

PROVO — Brigham Young University’s Men’s Chorus has raised its voice in a tribute to the increased missionary effort by recording a new album for Mormon missionaries, "Set Apart: Beloved Missionary Hymns."

“The album (was) created as a gift to all who share in the love of missionary work,” according to a press release from BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications.

The choir, the largest collegiate men’s choir in the nation, worked with arrangers of original compositions of well-loved missionary hymns who agreed to wave royalty fees so the album could be downloaded for free at setapartalbum.byu.edu/download.

Due to the unique composition of the choir, many members felt fit for the task of creating a missionary-themed album. Of the 180-member choir, 60 percent have served missions with many others preparing to serve missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“You feel that tremendous power coming from them when they sing and the enormous collective goodness that they emanate,” according to the press release. “There’s nothing in the world that could be a stronger power for good than that.”

The album was released online April 5.
In addition to recording and giving service, the choir spends time performing concerts on the BYU campus and abroad.
The choir was established in 1958 and for the past 12 years has been under the direction of Rosalind Hall.

Emmilie Buchanan is an intern for the Deseret News with Mormon Times. She recently graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho. Her views do not necessarily reflect those of BYU. Her email is at ebuchanan@deseretnews.com.

Funeral Service

The funeral service for Brother Jerry Haptonstall will be held Thursday April 25 at the Zion Road Church. The viewing will be at 1pm in the Relief Society room. There will be a flag ceremony to start the viewing at that time by the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. Funeral Service will begin at 2pm in the Chapel.

FamilySearch.org Redesign

Digital technologies have progressively made family history work easier and more accessible. A new version of FamilySearch.org, which launched today, makes family history research more interactive and conveniently collaborative, with added social media, photo and story elements that create a more personal family history experience for each user.


 FamilySearch.org is boasting many new features including:
 Family Tree
Photos and Stories
Interactive Fan Chart
Family Tree Wizard
Live Help Page

Read more HERE

LDS missionaries now allowed to email friends, priesthood leaders and new converts

Keeping in touch with friends just got easier for full-time missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For years, the church's Missionary Handbook limited email correspondence for young single missionaries to weekly communication with their respective families and mission presidents. But church spokesman Scott Trotter said this week that missionaries now "can also communicate by email with friends, priesthood leaders and new converts."

While in the mission field, Trotter noted, "missionaries should get permission from the mission president before communicating with converts and others of the opposite gender within the mission."

Other handbook policies regarding missionaries and email remain in place, including:

•Missionaries should only use MyLDSMail.net, the filtered service established by the church;

•Email should only be used on the missionary's preparation day;

•Email should be accessed on computers in public places, and never in a place where the missionary's companion can't see the computer screen;

•Missionaries should not use members' computers.

"As your call letter states, you are 'expected to devote all your time and attention to serving the Lord, leaving behind all other personal affairs," the Missionary Handbook indicates. "Do not become preoccupied with communicating with family and friends."

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