North America Northeast Area
Early converts honored
ALVINSTON, ONTARIO - About 200 members of the London Ontario Stake gathered Aug. 9 at a historical monument to commemorate the departure from their city of converts who traveled to Nauvoo, Ill., more than 150 years ago.
The Nauvoo historical monument, which consists of a plaque placed in a millstone in 1947 by the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, honors early converts Archibald Gardner and family, who left their mill in 1846 to join the Saints in Nauvoo.
Because the departing Saints built a road through a forest as they left, members today walked the road as part of the commemoration. The road cleared by the emigrating Saints is now called the Nauvoo Road.
"Our trek today, a mere 5 kilometers (3 miles), was to give us the opportunity to remember, to be thankful for those who had gone before," said stake Pres. Harold F. Walker. "The pioneer legacy lives on. The restored gospel, like a wagon train, is moving forward, guided by a living prophet and apostles. It is the pioneer efforts of today that will answer the questions of the future."
Following the three-mile walk, members finished the day with pioneer games and square dancing.
Europe West Area
Meetinghouse in north Spain
VITORIA, SPAIN - The first meetinghouse to be built by the Church in northern Spain was recently dedicated by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the Seventy and president of the Europe West Area.
"This is the only building in this part of Spain that the Church has constructed, and we are pleased that the members now have a place to meet that will accommodate all of their activities," he said.
The chapel was nearly filled to capacity as 180 members, friends and special guests attended the dedicatory service, including Jose Angel Cuerda, mayor of Vitoria, who expressed his appreciation for a "new place for prayer and spirituality in the city."
The meetinghouse is situated near three Catholic convents, and representatives of two of the convents attended the dedication.
"They will find us to be very good neighbors," Elder Uchtdorf said.
Mexico North Area
Pioneer members honored
LOS MOCHIS, MEXICO - Pioneer members from the Guasave, Guamuchil and Los Mochis areas were recently honored in a special program by the Los Mochis Mexico Stake. Los Mochis lies on the coast at the mouth of the Gulf of California.
The stake's sesquicentennial committee invited all its living pioneer members, some of whom now reside thousands of miles away, to return and be honored by the stake. Many of these early members traveled back to Los Mochis. At the program, each of the pioneer members was cited and given special recognition by stake Pres. Alejandro Jimenez Chavez.
Pres. Chavez also presented a giant cake with 150 candles that was shared by stake members.
Pres. Arnoldo Felix, first counselor in the stake presidency, commented, "That was really a wonderful experience and we will keep it in mind for a long time. People in the stake have great desire to leave a better world to their posterity."
North America West Area
BYU-Hawaii choir tours Pacific
LAIE, HAWAII - The BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir recently returned from a tour of the South Pacific that included stops in Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
The 44-member choir, led by Dr. James A. Smith, sang for audiences at sites ranging from chapels to the palace of the King of Tonga.
Highlights of the tour were a performance for the Lord Mayor of Suva, Fiji; a concert at Trinity Cathedral in Auckland, New Zealand; and firesides in which the choir participated each Sunday of the tour. During the firesides, choir members had opportunities to speak, bear testimony, and share the spirit through their music.
