British Isles/Africa Area: Guild stops tea drinking
ST. ALBANS, ENGLAND - Members of the Hitchin Townswomen's Guild are giving up tea, coffee, alcohol and tobacco at least once a month - when they meet at the Hitchin Ward meetinghouse. The women began using the building on a temporary basis after a committee member, Auriol Flatman, attended a community dinner at the meetinghouse last year to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Church in the British Isles. Conformity to the Church's Word of Wisdom was one of the conditions for use of the building outlined by Bishop Steve Kilbey and Stake Pres. Keith Dunford. After being served samples of "Mormon-style" refreshments, the women agreed to abide by LDS standards during their meetings.
Europe Area: Madiera native on mission
MADIERA, PORTUGAL - Elder Joao Antonio Pinto, the first native of the Madiera Islands to be called on a mission, is now serving in the Portugal Lisbon Mission. Elder Pinto, 26, had been a member a year before his call, said Pres. Aleixo Fernandes of islands' Funchal Branch, Santo Andre District.
Asia Area: Missionaries show up on TV
OSAKA, JAPAN - Nine missionaries of the Japan Osaka Mission performed "Snow White" in Japanese, then watched while local Japanese kindergartners acted the same parts in English for a school Christmas program. A film crew from the Japanese Television Network recorded the event, and it was shown that night on a national newscast. A few of the missionaries were also interviewed for the program.
Philippines/Micronesia Area: Banner year for mission
BAGUIO, PHILIPPINES - The Baguio Mission has had a banner year with the highest number of baptisms for the mission, reported Pres. Heber J. Badger. "The bigger part of the story is that in 2 1/2 years, our retention rate has improved from 18 to 75 percent," he said. "That's exciting to us. We attribute it to the involvement of the missionaries in assisting the stakes and wards in what we call retention and reactivation." He said the people in the Philippines are ready to accept the gospel, and 80 percent of his missionaries are native Filipinos.
Mexic/Central America Area: Newly opened city flourishes
CORTAZAR, MEXICO - This city of 25,000 people, located in central Mexico near Celaya, Guanajuato, was closed to missionary work until three months ago. Now it has a thriving branch with about 50 Church members, said Pres. Servando Rojas O. of the Mexico Mexico City North Mission. Before missionaries arrived, four LDS families lived in Cortazar, three of them inactive. All four families now attend Sunday meetings and are joined by several new convert and investigator families each week. A missionary couple, Peter and Eileen Young of Calgary, Alberta, joined with Sister Norma Anaya of Mexico City, Mexico, and Sister Raceli Avalos of Oaxaca, Mexico, in re-opening the city.
South America North Area: Book program a great success
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - More than 500 baptisms have resulted from a Book of Mormon placement program in which local members accompany full-time missionaries to present a copy of the book to friends and relatives. The program, begun in December, has already resulted in 5,700 copies of the Book of Mormon being placed in homes, and more than 3,000 families beginning the missionary discussions, according to Pres. Frank E. Berrett of the Colombia Bogota Mission.
Brazil Area: LDS youths learn wrestling
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - A number of LDS youths are being trained as wrestlers in hopes of making the Sao Paulo Brazil Greco Roman/Freestyle wrestling team. The team, coached by Roy Golladay Jr., former bishop of the Cerquiera Cesar Ward of the Sao Paulo Perdizes Stake, recently captured its second straight national championship. The team also won its first silver medal at the Pan American games.
South America South Area: Seminary goals set
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - Seminary goals for 1988 in this area are clear-cut - enroll more youths, and motivate them to complete more courses, said CES directors Hugo Salvioli and Hugo Catron, Argentina; Jorge Ventura, Uruguay; and Pablino Nunez, Paraguay. The directors recently told Liahona reporters that the Church has 4,814 youths enrolled in seminary and 5,222 in institute.
North America Southeast Area: `Honestyville' taken to school
MARION, N.C. - After presenting the Primary's "Honestyville" program in the ward's sacrament meeting, Primary children in the Marion Ward, Ashevill North Carolina Stake, presented a modified version of the program at the Old Fort and North Cove Elementary School. Pupils at the school learned that "Being honest makes you happy."
North America Northwest Area: Rare copy donated
REXBURG, IDAHO - A first edition of the Book of Mormon, of which about 100 are known to exist, has been donated to Ricks College by Dewain Sylvester in the name of his deceased son, David. The book has been placed in the Special Collections area of the David O. McKay Library. David Sylvester, who obtained the book from a friend, died in 1980. He was a cum laude graduate from Ricks, BYU and the BYU J. Reuben Clark Law School.
North America Central Area: Warm clothing given
BROOKFIELD, WIS. - The Lac du Flambeau Indians living on a reservation in northern Wisconsin will have a warmer winter because of the Young Men and Young Women of the Brookfield Ward who collected, sorted and sent 29 boxes of warm clothing to them. The entire ward backed the project, and the chief of the tribe expressed gratitude of their time and the donated items.
North America Northeast Area: Youths `serve' at conference
WESTON, W. VA. - Youths from the Charleston, Fairmont and Huntington West Virginia stakes recently held a youth conference that included a string of service projects, said Wendy Dyck, one of the youths. The projects included passing out pledge cards to support a financially troubled library, refurbishing a community center inside and out, cleaning and repainting a widow's home, entertaining residents of a nursing home, and cleaning up trash alongside four main roads and in two city parks. "We knew that those who had participated in the service projects left the conference feeling better about themselves because they had helped someone else," said Pres. Gale Beaman, counselor in the Huntington stake presidency.
North America Southwest Area: Spanish library dedicated
PHOENIX, ARIZ. - The first family history branch library for Spanish-speaking members has been opened in the Phoenix 27th Ward, said library director Moroni Mejia. The library will serve the Spanish-speaking Phoenix 27th and 42nd wards.
North America West Area: Read Book of Mormon
SAN JOSE, CALIF. - Missionaries in the California San Jose Mission, challenged to read the Book of Mormon in its entirety during December, have gained stronger personal testimonies, and the spirituality of the mission has increased, said Pres. Leo Douglas. Missionaries met the same challenge on two previous occasions, and increased spirituality and convictions resulted in an increased number of baptisms, he said.
Utah North Area: Mill wheel found
BOUNTIFUL, UTAH - Construction workers hooked on to more than they bargained for as they recently removed a tree at the site of the old Heber C. Kimball Gristmall here. They pulled up the long-lost millstone, which the tree had grown up through. Plans are being made to excavate the site for archaelogical purposes. The mill is important in the early history of south Davis County, according to local historians.
Utah South Area: Programming goes nationwide
PROVO, UTAH - All-LDS radio programming in now being broadcast nationwide via satellite. The station is on SpaceNet 1, Transponder 17 at 6.8 Megaherts, and features LDS music, news, firesides, general conference and scripture readings. The station is not affiliated directly with the Church.