"News of the Church," Ensign, Aug 2010, 74-78
"New Area Leadership Assignments," Ensign, Aug. 2010, 74-75
The First Presidency has announced changes in area leadership assignments effective on August 1, 2010. All members of Area Presidencies are members of the First or Second Quorums of the Seventy except as noted.
Ronald A. Rasband Assists in All Areas
Claudio R. M. Costa 1. North America Southwest
Steven E. Snow 2. Utah North 3. Utah Salt Lake City 4. Utah South
Walter F. Gonzalez 5. North America Southeast
L. Whitney Clayton 6. North America Northwest 7. North America West
Jay E. Jensen 8. North America Northeast
Donald L. Hallstrom 9. Idaho 10. North America Central
Benjamin De Hoyos First Counselor
Daniel L. Johnson President
Octaviano Tenorio Second Counselor
Enrique R. Falabella First Counselor
Don R. Clarke President
James B. Martino Second Counselor
Gary J. Coleman First Counselor
Francisco J. Vinas President
Wilford W. Andersen Second Counselor
Rafael E. Pino First Counselor
Marcus B. Nash President
Juan A. Uceda Second Counselor
Carlos A. Godoy First Counselor
Ulisses Soares President
Jairo Mazzagardi Second Counselor
Lawrence E. Corbridge First Counselor
Carlos H.Amado President
Jorge F. Zeballos Second Counselor
Marcos A. Aidukaitis First Counselor
Mervyn B. Arnold President
Bradley D. Foster Second Counselor
Gerald Causse First Counselor
Erich W. Kopischke President
Jose A. Teixeira Second Counselor
Larry R. Lawrence First Counselor
Gregory A. Schwitzer President
Aleksandr N. Manzhos*Second Counselor
Bruce D. Porter
Paul B. Pieper
Administered from Headquarters
John B. Dickson First Counselor
Craig A. Cardon President
Joseph W. Sitati Second Counselor
F. Michael Watson First Counselor
Paul E. Koelliker President
Dale G. Renlund Second Counselor
Kent D. Watson First Counselor
Anthony D. Perkins President
Carl B. Pratt Second Counselor
Yoon Hwan Choi First Counselor
Gary E. Stevenson President
Koichi Aoyagi Second Counselor
Won Yong Ko First Counselor
Keith R. Edwards President
Michael John U. Teh Second Counselor
James J. Hamula First Counselor
Tad R. Callister President
Brent H. Nielson Second Counselor
* Area Seventy
By Lauren Allen Church Magazines
Lauren Allen, "New Orleans Members Exemplify the Rescue," Ensign, Aug. 2010, 76-77
In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina left the New Orleans area of the United States under as much as 15 feet (4.6 m) of water; homes were destroyed and many lives left in shambles.
Five years later, the recovery of the New Orleans First Ward is evidence of how, through the members of the Church, the Savior provides both physical and spiritual rescue to those in need.
The physical damage Hurricane Katrina spread across the southeastern United States was worse than anticipated; its economic damages were unprecedented. The city of New Orleans, in particular, and its people were devastated.
Many lives were lost (more than 1,400). Many others watched their lives seem to disappear before their eyes as the storm washed away their homes and livelihoods. Thousands were left homeless.
Temporary shelters, including the Louisiana Superdome, housed approximately 26,000 people, including many who no longer had a home. LDS meetinghouses provided refuge for 4,000 people, in some cases for several weeks. Crime rates soared; so did hopelessness.
Four months after Katrina, sacrament meetings were again organized within the city of New Orleans in the only meetinghouse still usable of the three in the New Orleans stake. With many members having been forced to move away and some having drifted away spiritually, an average of 15 to 20 people attended the meetings. Consequently, the New Orleans First Ward, the Chalmette Ward, and the Uptown Branch were reorganized as the New Orleans First Branch.
As with the people of Limhi in the Book of Mormon, often temporal and spiritual rescue go hand in hand (see Mosiah 21:22-36). During this time of need in the Gulf Coast, the Lord's Church offered both immediate and long-term temporal and spiritual support to many who felt defeated and lost.
Temporally, with thousands of refugees throughout the area in need of assistance immediately following the hurricane, the Church responded with shipments of food, water, tarps, and other emergency supplies. Bishops' storehouses throughout the region provided everyday commodities free of charge. Members from hundreds of miles away traveled to the area to help with clean-up efforts.
For months teams from LDS Family Services assisted anyone who needed trauma and grief counseling, and as time wore on, Church employment resource services specialists played a major role in assisting people who had lost their jobs.
With regard to the spiritual rescue, the Lord sent rescuers both from among members in the area as well as from the outside. David Van Dam, president of the branch, oversaw efforts to take care of members' temporal and spiritual needs in the disaster's aftermath.
As the area recovered, one of those who felt led to New Orleans was Terry Seamons, who was prompted to come out of retirement to take a job in New Orleans in 2007. Three months later he was called as president of the New Orleans First Branch.
He said there were many who responded to the promptings of the Spirit to move back to New Orleans to help rebuild the Lord's Church and rescue His people. They, along with many members who had endured the heartbreaking disaster, resolved to reach out.
Members who had the means to get to Church meetings took time to pick up those who did not. Home teachers kept careful watch over their families. One home teacher spent time each day with a less-active brother, teaching him how to read so he could study the scriptures. Their love and examples influenced missionary efforts in the New Orleans area.
"People took care of each other and strengthened each other," then President Seamons said. "We have had amazing stories of people wanting to find out more about the Savior."
Five years have passed since the hurricane hit New Orleans. The downtown area has recovered greatly from the hurricane, and the city is growing quickly.
President Scott Conlin of the New Orleans Louisiana Stake said the stake has also grown since Katrina. He attributes some of this growth to members' rescue efforts within the stake. The influence of the members brought inactive families back to church. "We see the arm of fellowship reaching out all the time," President Conlin said. "People are reaching out to those who are less fortunate."
Evidence of this spiritual rescue came when the New Orleans First Branch grew to average more than 125 members attending each week and was reorganized at the end of 2009 into a ward again, with President Seamons as bishop.
However, according to Bishop Seamons, the real evidence of the rescue can be seen "in the lives of those who have accepted the invitation to follow the Lord."
President Conlin agrees. "We see evidence of the rescue in measures of Church growth, including convert baptisms, sacrament meeting attendance, and becoming worthy for and renewing temple recommends," he said.
Natural catastrophes become a catalyst in people's lives, President Conlin believes. "It either brings out the best in them, and they become more humble and teachable, or it brings out the negative in them."
Members of the New Orleans First Ward and across the Gulf Coast have exemplified the best, living in gratitude for the blessings they've received and seeking to bless others.
Members came from hundreds of miles away to help clean up after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States in 2005.
Photograph by Craig Dimond
Five years after Hurricane Katrina, Bishop Terry Seamons (second from right), his counselors, and many other faithful members have helped rebuild the Church in New Orleans.
Photograph by Gloria Seamons
"In the News," Ensign, Aug. 2010, 78
Elder Donald L. Staheli, a former member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy, passed away on May 29, 2010, due to cancer. He was 78 years old and was serving as president of the Draper Utah Temple at his death.
Elder Staheli was born on October 19, 1931, to Lafayette and Grace Sullivan Staheli. He married Afton Stratton on September 24, 1952, in the St. George Utah Temple. They have three daughters and a son.
As a Seventy, Elder Staheli served in the presidencies of the North America Northeast and North America Central Areas. He was released in 2006. He and his wife were called as the first president and matron of the Draper Utah Temple in March 2009.
Subscribers to the Liahona and Ensign magazines will receive the revised booklet, Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in place of the October 2010 issue.
New articles include "Blessings of the Temple," by President Thomas S. Monson, and "Prepare for the Blessings of the Temple," by Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The booklet contains answers to commonly asked questions and photo essays highlighting temples throughout the world.
The booklet will be available in 45 languages through Church distribution centers and LDScatalog.com.
"Temple Briefs," Ensign, Aug. 2010, 78
President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the Church's 131st temple just outside Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 2, 2010. Nearly 40,000 people toured the temple during the public open house, which was held two months after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. The Vancouver British Columbia Temple will serve members in British Columbia and northern Washington, USA. The Church now has seven planned or operating temples in Canada.
President Thomas S. Monson dedicated The Gila Valley Arizona Temple on May 23, 2010, in three sessions. The temple serves members in southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico. The temple is located in southeast Arizona, not far from the area where President Spencer W. Kimball (1895-1985) grew up. The Gila Valley Temple is the third to open in Arizona, and two more (Gilbert Arizona and Phoenix Arizona) have been announced.
President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the second temple in the Philippines on June 13, 2010. The Cebu City Philippines Temple is located about 350 miles (563 km) from the Manila Philippines Temple. The temple will serve more than 200,000 members in the Visayas and Mindanao areas. More than 45,000 people attended the two-week public open house. On the night prior to the dedication, more than 3,000 youth performed in a cultural event.
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