North America West Area: Young Women Plaque placed on Coray Peak
Melissa Coray Peak, Calif.
Laurels in the El Dorado 1st Ward, El Dorado California Stake, honored the mamory of Melissa Coray with the placement of a monument. Melissa Coray was a young wife who accompanied her husband on the full trek of the Mormon Battalion, some 2,000 miles, only to have her husband, William, die when they finally reached Salt Lake Valley. In 1993, a peak was named in honor of the gallant woman.
To honor her memory, two young women, Tamara Phipps and Katie Porter, obtained a 300-pount stone from a local mortuary, and had an appropriate inscription engraved on it. Then the Laurels and priests and family mambers took the stone to the peak. They hauled it to the top of the 9,700-foot mountain in a handcart. There, at the peak, they dug a hole and placed the stone permanently into the ground.
The following day, they joined 425 youth and adults in a youth trek that traveled between Coray Peak and Traedy Springs, where the Mormon Battalion camped. The trek covered 17 miles and took 2 1/2 days. Historical vignettes were presented along the way to add to the understanding of the youths.
Asia North Area: Blood donated by members
SEOUL, KOREA - More than 1,600 members recently joined Koreans in donating blood through the Korean Red Cross. The blood drive was held in conjunction with the Pioneer Sesquicentennial and under the leadership of Elder Won Yong Ko, Area Authority Seventy, said Elder L. Edward Brown of the Seventy and second counselor in the Asia North Area presidency. The blood drive donation by the members, held on Korean Memorial Day, was covered by several newspapers and on KBS-TV, said Elder Brown.
Europe West: Area Parade opens doors
CHARLEROI, BELGIUM - A parade held here Aug. 23 has opened doors and broken down barriers, according to Pres. Michael Sautier of the Brussels stake. (See Church News, Aug. 30, 1997, p. 6.)
Pres. Sautier explained that the doors of public officials, as well as the public, are now more open to the Church.
Mission Pres. H. Ray Hart of the Belgium Brussels Mission described a "wave of enthusiasm and excitement among the members" and said already missionaries have found an increase in missionary referrals, lessons and baptisms.
Elder Alain Petion, Area Authority Seventy, said, "More good has come to our members through these events than through all the other things that happened in the past 100 years."
He said members have overcome their shyness and now have courage to share the gospel with their friends.
Pacific Area Grounds beautified
PERTH, AUSTRALIA- Three young men in the Duncraig Ward, Perth Warwick Australia Stake, worked together recently to beautify their Church grounds.
Under the direction of Bishop Brian P. Harvey, who heads a construction company, and the Young Men president, Joe Scicluna, the young men transformed a corner of the Church grounds into an area that members could enjoy.
The young men, Alan Grinceri, Jason Glossop and Paul Woodham, constructed benches, laid brickwork, and tidied the garden, providing a pleasant social area, which could also be used for Church classes.
North America Northeast Area: 200 attend conference
EAST LANSING, MICH. - Some 200 young single adults met in an institute conference recently where they built friendships and strengthened testimonies in activities with the theme, "Faith in Every Footstep."
Youths from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Ontario met at the East Lansing Institute near the University of Michigan. Such speakers as Elder Robert L. Backman, General Authority Emeritus; Robert L. Millet, a BYU professor; and George Durrant and other well-known LDS speakers and entertainers gave uplifting spiritual edification.
Among the activities were a fireside, a devotional, lectures, a concert and a special morning sacrament meeting where the young singles were joined by members of the Lansing stake, forming a congregation of 1,200.
In addition, the young singles cleaned up litter along a railroad track, visited a local nursing home, and took a group of underprivileged children on an outing to Lake Lansing.
"With plenty of free-time activities to keep all the members of the conference busy, this was an uplifting conference to be remembered by all those who attended," said Rebecca Dale, co-chairwoman.
Utah North Area: 140-year-old quilt
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - In 1857 more than 60 sisters of the Salt Lake Fourteenth Ward made a quilt with intricate floral designs. Each sister embroidered her name, with many names on the quilt being well-known: Woodruff, Taylor, Snow, Richards, Hoagland, Romney, Horne, Pratt and others.
The quilt that year was given as a prize to 12-year-old Richard Stephen Horne. In 1896, he literally divided the quilt between his two daughters, snipping it neatly in half.
During the next century, the two halves followed their respective family branches. When one half was given to Dan Nielson of Layton, Utah, his wife, Carol, recognized its worth. A search was started for the other half by researching the parallel family lines. The other half was located in the possession of Shirley Knibbe Mumford, a many-times removed cousin. Photos of the quilt blocks will be made and published with biographies of the quilters for the benefit of their descendants, said Brother Nielson.
