Mormonism in Pictures: Church Celebrates 170 Years in French Polynesia

 May 2014.
Preparation for the events has been going on for six months, and the festivities included service projects, a cultural night with singing and dancing and a scripture reading challenge. Community service projects were carried out around French Polynesia by thousands of Church members along with their families and friends. Among the service given was a general cleanup and the planting of 170 plants around the islands.

During the last part of May, Latter-day Saints of all ages ran, walked and biked in a torch relay around the entire island of Tubuai, a distance of about 43 miles.

The torch was passed from one participant to another, until it landed in the hands of the oldest Latter-day Saint in all of French Polynesia, 99-year old Doyenne Hoffmann.

The torch relay represented the responsibility the Polynesian Latter-day Saints feel to pass the gospel of Jesus Christ from generation to generation. It underlines the legacy that started with the first missionaries that arrived in the Pacific. The relay included every generation—old and young—and included women, men and children.

Part of the celebration was remembering the Mormon pioneers who traveled from Nauvoo, Illinois, to the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah in 1847. Several congregations portrayed through song and dance the history of the first Polynesian pioneers.

Latter-day Saints, some in pioneer costumes, pulled handcarts in a parade, and islanders played pioneer games such as stick pull and had handcart races.

In addition to the pioneer reenactment, games and other activities, there were workshops and presentations focusing on principles of self-reliance such as recycling, collecting home storage items and growing nutritious food. Members demonstrated their skills in making clothes, preparing food and creating handicrafts.

Pioneer crafts were displayed.

A cultural night on the island of Takaroa started with a depiction of the first missionaries of the Church coming to the Pacific and depicted the early converts’ gratitude toward Addison Pratt for bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the islands of Tubuai and Takaroa.

More than 700 youth performed and retraced the history of the first missionaries to the islands through dance.

Latter-day Saint youth performed traditional dances representing Tahiti, the Marquesas, New Zealand and Hawaii.

A 400-voice choir also performed beautiful old Tahitian songs between performances.

Elder James J. Hamula (left) of the Seventy explained, during a Saturday religious devotional, that, “where there is faith, something happens, and the 23,000 members of the Church in French Polynesia . . . are all reflections of faith planted several years ago.”

More than 10,000 people attended the evening performance 24 May at Pater Stadium, which included many mayors and town representatives.

The family is the foundation of society, said French Polynesia president Gaston Flosse to all in attendance at the devotional. “This is the basis of our society and I know that in the Church, the family is really something sacred.” He said he was very impressed by the talents of the hundreds of young people who come from across the Pacific. “On behalf of our government, thank you.”

President Gaston Flosse (left) and Elder James J. Hamula of the Seventy (right) wave to those attending the festivities that celebrated 170 years since Mormon missionaries set foot in French Polynesia to begin sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Hello sorry i havent post that much i was super busy

Hello my fellow saints how are you doing today nothing to report here i fell thew a deck yesterday but i am fine lol. All and All we are moving the work and baptizing new people

Mormonism in Pictures: Mormon Helping Hands Aid Fire Victims in Chile

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are providing ongoing cleanup efforts following a devastating wildfire that destroyed hundreds of homes in Valparaiso, Chile last month. Thousands of people were left homeless and 15 people died in the port city, located northwest of Santiago in central Chile. The fire began on 14 April 2014 and burned for days.

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Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are providing ongoing cleanup efforts following a devastating wildfire that destroyed hundreds of homes in Valparaiso, Chile, last month. © 2014 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thousands of Mormon Helping Hands volunteers from various Latter-day Saint congregations and missionaries organized immediately after the fire to help those affected. Assisting in cleanup and debris removal was the main task for workers right after the fire. Here a group of volunteers prepares for a day of service in the hills of Valparaiso.

Latter-day Saint volunteers also deliver comfort to residents who lost their homes in the fire.

Missionaries from the Viña del Mar Mission put on volunteer vests to serve those impacted by one of the largest fires ever known in Chile.

Sisters of the Relief Society of the Church receive and sort clothing and other donations for the victims.

The youth of the Church also help the fire victims.

Online Collections of Civil War Records Updated for Memorial Day

If you have an ancestor who served in the American Civil War, it may now be easier to find information about that relative online. In conjunction with Memorial Day, FamilySearch.org is announcing significant updates to its Civil War historic records collections available online.

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President Abraham Lincoln meets with soldiers during the Civil War.© All rights reserved.

A new landing page provides a quick overview of the vast array of historic records and resources from federal and local sources for those researching casualties and veterans of the Civil War, also known as the War Between the States, which took place from 1861 to 1865. More than 600,000 soldiers were killed in what remains the bloodiest conflict in the history of the United States.
The Civil War collections include: Union and Confederate pension records, service records, prisoner of war records, pictures and information about key figures from the Civil War, including President Abraham Lincoln; Ulysses S. Grant, commander of the Union armies; and Robert E. Lee, general of the Confederate Army.
The searchable records are available by state from sources such as widow’s pension records and headstones of deceased Union soldiers. United States census records from 1850 and 1860 help locate those who lived at the time of the Civil War. Locating African American Civil War ancestors is possible through Freedmen’s Bank and Bureau records, including correspondence and marriage documents. 
“Each soldier family has a story, and these stories are handed down from generation to generation,” said Ken Nelson, collection manager for FamilySearch, a nonprofit volunteer-driven group sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. “When you want to get the particulars of what that service was, you start going to these government records that document this service.”
Nelson said the census data gives people a “glimpse of what the towns looked like prior to the war.” He explained the state information is useful because “a majority of the men were in volunteer regiments raised out of counties and towns. These regiments represented their homes.”
Women also contributed to the war effort by serving as nurses and working in soldier aid societies that sent supplies to the front. Nelson said many of their stories are preserved in letters and diaries.
Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is an outgrowth of the Civil War. Union veterans of the Civil War formed the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1866, which was instrumental in organizing an annual event honoring the war dead from the Northern states by placing flowers on their graves. The first official observance of Decoration Day was held on 30 May 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, which is commemorating its 150th anniversary.
Southern states didn’t honor Decoration Day until the end of the First World War in 1918, when the holiday began honoring the American dead from all wars. Decoration Day was officially established as Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law in 1971.
“If you think about it, veterans themselves perpetuated Memorial Day,” said Nelson. “A lot came out of the Civil War. We saw the beginnings of national cemeteries.”
Today, the observance has also evolved to include family and friends. Flags are also placed on graves at Arlington and in many cemeteries across the country to honor veterans. This year, Memorial Day will be held in the United States on Monday, 26 May.
“I’ve enjoyed working with these records because they tell a story and these lives are relived through these records,” added Nelson, who said that additional military records will be added to FamilySearch’s database as more indexing work is completed.
Those who have photos, stories and correspondence of family members who served in the armed forces may also share those memories with future generations at FamilySearch.org.
“There are deeds that must not pass away and memories that must not wither,” reads a Civil War monument in the Mt. Olivet cemetery in Salt Lake City, Utah, dedicated on 30 May 1894. Some Civil War veterans are buried at Mt. Olivet and other cemeteries in the state.
Nearly 2 million veterans settled across the country when the Civil War ended in 1865.  Census information from 1890 counted 800 Union veterans in Utah.

Why Religion Matters: The Ground We Walk On

What does it mean to take something for granted? Every day we walk on ground we seldom notice. It’s just there, underneath us, supporting our feet as we go about our days learning, working and worshiping. Though often unseen, the ground of our lives is full of religious meaning. Many of life’s compelling questions tend to be spiritual. How do we achieve our deepest longings? What makes something right or wrong? Whom should we love? How do we overcome suffering? The answers we receive shape our reality. But religion is always contested. Some even imagine a world without faith. What, then, do we stand to lose?
 
The rigors of science and technology open us to many wonders and truths, but they cannot, as one writer explained, “connect with purpose, intimacy, emotion—the stuff that matters most in people’s everyday lives.”[2] The highest in human accomplishment often traces to religious inspiration. Much of the world’s finest art, architecture, music and literature are clothed in the beauty of spiritual longing. Sacred writings provide ethical frameworks that spark deeds of self-sacrifice, integrity and love. Religion gives societies a shared moral aspiration, instils social commitment without legal compulsion, encourages voluntary compliance of the law and reminds us of our inherent dignity. Belief in deity motivates people to overcome the despair of death and turn suffering into good.
The values of society have roots in the ground of religion. Our modern aspirations toward human rights, altruism and humanitarian aid, for example, have religious pedigrees. Behind efforts to feed the poor, house the homeless and treat the sick, a church ministry is likely to be found.[3] Trust in our civic foundation depends on the spiritual disciplines of honesty, empathy and reciprocity. Everyone benefits when we live up to these ideals. Secular journalist Will Saletan wrote: “Religion is the vehicle through which most folks learn and practice morality. In the long run, it’s our friend.”[4]
And then come all the precious, indefinable things. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that human beings are born with a “taste for the infinite” and a “love for what is immortal.”[5] Individuals across time and culture have pondered and sought these intangibles. Identity, understanding, salvation, belonging — the things of the soul — never stray far from our hearts. Agnostic writer Julian Barnes tapped into something profound when he said, “I don’t believe in God, but I miss him.”[6] A world without religion looks flatter, emptier and simpler, yet still craves the God it once knew.
Today people across the globe find refuge in God and their faith communities. Eighty four percent of the world’s population identifies with a religious group.[7] The world is not sinking into disbelief, but that belief is becoming more rich, pluralistic and complex. We are all stewards of society, and our choices determine who we become. The ground of religion needs constant cultivating and nourishing. A garden cannot take care of itself.

 

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[1] Theo Hobson, “The Return of God: Atheism’s Crisis of Faith,” The Spectator, Apr. 19, 2014.

[2] Alasdair Craig, “God Is Dead — What Next?” Prospect, May 1, 2014.

[3] See Robert A. Putnam and David E. Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us (2010).

[4] Will Saletan, “When Churches Do the Right Thing,” Slate, May 8, 2014.

[5] Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (2000), 510.

[6] Julian Barnes, Nothing to Be Frightened Of (2009), 1.

[7] Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project, “The Global Religious Landscape,” Dec. 18, 2012.