July 2004 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

PHOTOGRAPH BY JULIE RICH GREER
Full-time missionaries answered questions at the Church’s
booth in the recent International Aid & Trade Europe 2004
Conference & Exhibition, held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Besides offering financial assistance
from the Church,
Brother Flake hopes to provide
field support later this
year in the form of members
helping with vaccination campaigns,
especially in regions
where immunization levels
are low.
Anchorage Week
of the Family
The first-ever Week of the
Family in Anchorage, Alaska,
was held in April, promoting
the belief that healthy family
relationships are a benefit to
communities and nations.
“[Families are] your first
place to learn about human
relationships. It’s your jumping-off
point,” Felicia Paskett,
one of the presenters, told
the Anchorage Daily News.
The family unit allows children
to learn values and traditions
while flourishing as
individuals, she added.
The seven-day conference
included a series of seminars
on topics such as creating a
stable family and building a
support network.
The Family Fair kickoff,
held at a Latter-day Saint
meetinghouse, was attended
by Anchorage mayor Mark
Begich. Booths at the fair
were staffed by members of
the Church and other local
groups and included information
on topics such as
self-reliance, family home
evening, and combating rape.
Aid Effort a Highlight
of Women’s Conference
An estimated 17,000
attendees at Brigham Young
University’s 2004 Women’s
Conference rolled up their
sleeves and assembled more
than 44,052 hygiene kits,
16,138 school kits, and 5,016
newborn kits during the conference,
held on 29–30 April.
They also made 1,000 topical
sore bandages, painted 1,000
toys, tied 210 quilts, and
stuffed and sewed 350 teddy
bears.
Some attendees crocheted
quilt squares in the Marriott
Center at BYU while listening
to such speakers as Elder
Robert D. Hales of the
Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles and BYU President
Elder Cecil O. Samuelson of
the Seventy and his wife,
Sharon. Others prepared kits,
tied quilts, made greeting
cards, assembled toys, and
completed fleece blankets in
various areas around the BYU
campus.
In two major service projects,
conference attendees
were also asked to cut out
patterns for children’s clothing
and to use old airline seat
covers to make school bags
for children.
The quilts were to be sent
to Chile as part of a request
from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles to send 4,000 quilts
to the poor citizens of the
country, where many families
have only one blanket. The
kits with bandages will be
sent to Africa to help those
suffering from leprosy to
cover their sores.
Baseball Team Welcomes
Saints to “Pioneer Night”
More than any other
church, foundation, school,
or corporation, members of
the Church are the single
largest group-ticket client the
Los Angeles Dodgers has.
To celebrate this relationship,
the Dodgers organization
will be hosting “Pioneer
Night at Dodger Stadium” on
23 July. All Latter-day Saint
families, wards, and stakes
will be able to buy tickets for
that evening’s game at a discounted
rate.
The event is intended to
honor the Church and the
role that Latter-day Saint pioneers
played in the settlement
of California. Latter-day
Saints settled San Bernardino
County, and the Mormon
Battalion helped build roads
and settle other parts of
California.
At the game, fans will be
able to visit a display including
pioneer crafts, costumes,
and historical documents. A
tribute to the pioneers and
salutes to outstanding members
of the Church will take
place during the pre-game activities
and game-time breaks.
“Our hope is that there
will be a greater awareness of
the Latter-day Saint community
in the Los Angeles area,
and [awareness] that we
are good neighbors,” says
Elder R. Randall Huff, Area
Authority Seventy.
Church Invites Youth
to Monthly Devotional
on Temple Square
Devotionals for youth and
their parents and leaders will
now be held monthly on
Temple Square. Following the
success of the April devotional
featuring Elaine Dalton,
Second Counselor in the
Young Women general presidency,
and Brazilian singer
Liriel Domiciano, a similar
event will be held each
month in the Salt Lake
Tabernacle.
In May, Charles W.
Dahlquist II, Young Men general
president, and Eclipse, a
popular a capella performing
group, participated in the
devotional.
Upcoming devotional
dates are 14 July, 10 August,
and 1 September. Speakers
and performers had not been
announced at press time.
Tickets are required but can
be obtained free of charge.
For tickets or more information
about upcoming devotionals,
call the Conference
Center ticket office at 1-801-
240-0080 or go online at
www.lds.org/events. ■
ENSIGN JULY 2004 79