Elder Bryton Henderson returned from his mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Henderson served for 24 months in the Texas San Antonio Mission. His future plans involve attending SUU in the fall. Phillip and Kimberly Henderson are the parents of Bryton. Elder Henderson will speak in the Mesquite 5th Ward July 26, 2015 at 11 am in the Whipple Chapel.

Nearly 300 local girls aged 12-18 years old attended the Mesquite Nevada Stake Girls Camp of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They spent the week of July 7th on Kolob Mountain in Utah where they participated in activities represented by the theme “Decisions Determine Destiny”. Guest speakers like Yori Ludvigson, Stake President David Anderson, Kena Toone, and Nikki Owsley helped the girls understand how decisions they are making now will affect the rest of their lives. They also showed the girls how to carefully make wise decisions and set worthy goals. The camp also emphasized Latter Day Saint Olympic athletes and the hard work and preparation they had to do to compete and excel. Each ward focused on a different Olympic event and used it to teach something about decisions. Presenter Owsley shared her experiences at the Olympic trials in 2004 after she had been a highly successful athlete at Virgin Valley High School and Brigham Young University. It was a week of friendship and fun as the campers learned and certified in skills such as navigating by stars, starting fires without matches, building emergency shelters, and utilizing first aid skills. The girls competed in some of these areas winning bronze, silver or gold medals. Although it rained several times on the mountain the girls still participated in 3 and 5 mile hikes, an overnight hike for the 15 year old, stargazing, a water-slide, archery, and a .22 rifle shooting range. Girls that had certified for at least 4 years of camping were recognized with a small, engraved wooden jewelry box. The Stake Young Women's presidency led by President Amy Marshall expressed their gratitude, “We would like to send a big thank you to all the leaders and instructors who helped to make this year’s camp such a huge success”.

The mountains around Kolob were filled with laughter the week of July 7th – 11th as approximately 300 girls and leaders attended the Mesquite Nevada Stake Girls Camp. The theme this year was “Decisions Determine Destiny” and there were many great guest speakers who helped the girls think about the decisions they are making now, how they can affect the rest of their lives and how to make wise decisions. The camp also focused on the Olympics and especially some of the decisions made by LDS Olympian athletes that helped them get to the level of accomplishment that they did. Each ward focused on a different Olympic event and used it to teach something about decisions. Guest speakers included Yori Ludvigson, Stake president, David Anderson, Kyna Toone and Nikki Owsley who competed in the Olympic trials in 2004 after a stellar career at Virgin Valley and BYU. Also speaking were several girls who had just graduated from Virgin Valley who focused on some of the decisions they were making as they prepared to leave to college or missions. It was a week of friendship and fun as the girls participated in learning and certifying in many different camping skills, including (but not limited to) being able to navigate with the sun and stars, building a fire without matches, building emergency shelters and reviewing first aid skills learned earlier in the spring. A challenge was held after these skills were taught to see which ward was the fastest at some of these camping skills with bronze, silver and gold medals handed out. Some of these skills would come in handy as the group had to deal with rain showers several times during the week. Unfortunately this meant the annual snipe hunt was rained out! Also included in the weeks activities were 3 and 5 mile hikes, an overnight hike for the 15 yr. old, stargazing, a water slide,a shooting range with .22 rifles, an archery range and a cope course with a trust fall. These activities were all led by well qualified instructors and the girls learned many new skills as well as uncovered some new talents they may not have known about. Each girl that certified in the camping skills received a certificate and the girls that had certified for at least 4 years also received a small engraved wooden jewelry box for their hard work. The YW stake presidency and the stake camp directors would like to send out a big thank you to all the leaders and instructors who helped to make this camp such a huge success.

The Mesquite Nevada Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds Camp Ruth every 2 years, for young women, 16-18 years of age. This year it was held the second week of June at the beautiful Cedar Mountain cabin provided by Todd and Keri Leavitt. The Camp is designed to help prepare young women prepare for the time when they will be out making their own lives, whether they choose to go to college, work, get married or even go on a mission. The theme this year was based on the scripture “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.” (Doctrine & Covenants 50:24) The Youth Leaders had the job of planning, delegating, conducting and running much of Camp Ruth. They prayerfully decided which group each young woman attending would be part of, their sleeping area of the cabin, and where they participated in morning and evening devotionals. The other activities enjoyed by the girls were games, quilt-making, singing and something called GAP sessions. GAP stands for Girls Along the Path. These were talks or devotionals given by different leaders on topics that were chosen by the Youth Leaders. One of the favorite GAP sessions was when the wives of the Stake Presidency told about their husbands, how they met, were proposed to, and they then answered questions from the girls. “That one is always a lot of fun for the girls, to be able to put themselves in these ladies' shoes, so to speak, because they were once their age,” said Luana Browning. For two evenings, there was a panel of bishops from the Mesquite NV LDS Stake that answered the girls’ questions. The young women put anonymous questions in a box and the bishops took turns answering them. They learned about the importance of being a good wife and mother, how to handle life when it doesn’t go as planned, and making good choices even when your parents aren’t there. Among the topics for the GAP sessions; Enjoying the Journey, Your Body is a Temple, Overcoming Trials and Repentance, and Individual Worth. The girls had goals to complete to earn a lanyard with the embroidered "R" for Camp Ruth. Some of the goals included memorizing scriptures, a hymn and reading specific passages from the scriptures. Emma Dodenbier loved hearing the quote, "You are better than you think you are". Danielle Wilson presented a talk, "Only You Can Be You." Luana Browning said “I think Josie Garlick summed it up well, when she said, "Camp Ruth is an experience that has helped shape my life for the better. The lessons I learned won't soon be forgotten".

Sister Taylor Empey has been called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She will enter the Missionary Training Center July 1 and serve in the Washington Spokane Mission, English speaking. Craig and Cindy Empey of Bunkerville are her parents. Sister Taylor Empey will speak June 28, 2015 in the Bunkerville 1st Ward at 11 am.

Cynthia Kuta will serve an 18 month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the Japan Sapporo Mission, reporting to the Missionary Training Center on July 1st. She is the daughter of Frank and Elspeth Kuta of the Mesquite 7th Ward. Sister Kuta will speak on June 28, 2015, 10 am in the LDS Stake Center, 100 N. Arrowhead Lane.

Elder Addison Biasi will serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He will report to the Missionary Training Center on July 8th, and then serve in the Costa Rica San Jose West Mission, Spanish speaking, for 24 months. The parents of Elder Biasi are Mark & Marnie McEwen, and Bruno Biasi. On Sunday, June 28, 2015 at 9:00 am, Elder Addison Biasi will speak in the Bunkerville Chapel, in the Bunkerville 2nd Ward.

Young men from the Mesquite Nevada Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attended a gathering on Kolob Mountain in Utah June 24-27 called Camp Helaman, named after a great prophet and warrior from the Book of Mormon. These young men, ages 16 to 18 years of age had the opportunity to learn and experience the responsibilities of being missionaries as they were joined by their counterparts from the Hurricane Utah LDS Stake bringing the number of attendees to 130. Each boy was paired with a companion they had not previously met just as they would be on their future mission. All were expected to keep mission hours of 6:30 AM to 10:30 PM and use that time in scripture study, gospel education, and inspirational meetings. Camp Director Robert Bunker and Assistant Camp Director Shawn Hughes had planned an amazing program of hard work and spiritual experiences for the young men. They were assisted by a council of young men from the stake who had ideas and suggestions of their own. “This camp is very much not a Boy Scout type camp. They may go to scout camp too but here the young men are expected to conduct themselves as missionaries, keeping the schedule, and doing the work necessary to learn lessons they will be teaching,” said Bunker. Presentations by Priesthood leaders enriched and deepened their understanding of the Gospel and their determination to live their lives in such a way as to be worthy to serve missions and be examples of dedicated disciples of Christ. The parents of the young men were given the opportunity to be present and witness some of the activities such as “The Iron Rod” where the attendees were tested on their ability to make choices by listening to voices that encouraged them or tempted them. Parents also participated as their sons taught them a missionary discussion they had studied and learned during their stay on the mountain. A popular and fun time was Culture Night when the boys got to learn about different countries in the world and their cultures. Because of the world wide nature of the church these future missionaries know they could serve their two years in nearly any country in the world. In expressing his appreciation for the leaders and the camp Dade McCann said “I am so glad I went to Camp Helaman. My testimony has grown so much and I learned a lot.” Mother Kelli Mitchell said of her son Kai, “It is such a joy to watch your son grow and learn the things that will make him a great missionary. Camp Helaman is the best experience that he could be having.”

6-2015 Andrew Memmott, a member of Varsity Team 2998, sponsored by the Mesquite 7th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints received the Denali Medallion. The Denali Award is the highest award in the Varsity scout program. It is named after Mt. Denali, the Alaskan name for the highest mountain in Alaska, Mt. McKinley. A scout must show advanced leadership and participation in his team and advance one rank or earn a palm. He must live the scout oath and law and then complete a progress review with a board of review by leaders in the Virgin River Valley BSA. Andrew earned his Eagle Scout Award in 2013 and now has earned his bronze and gold palms. Each palm represents 5 extra merit badges. Another requirement of the Denali Award is to organize 2 activities for the Team and be a Team Captain or program manager for these 2 activities. Andrew planned a family history indexing day for the youth in the Mesquite 7th Ward of the LDS church. Indexing consists of reading computer images of original records of birth, death, marriage, immigration or military records and then entering the information in a data base that can be searched to find genealogical information. He also organized a trip for the youth 12 years and up in his ward to attend the St. George LDS Temple. Andrew said, "I really enjoyed completing the Genealogy Merit Badge. I interviewed my grandfather and learned about his life. I also earned the Scouting Heritage Merit badge. One of the requirements was to learn and play some games that scouts did many years ago." Andrew will be a junior at Virgin Valley High School in the fall. He has participated in football, swim team and basketball. He is the son of Kyle and Christine Memmott.

Eagle Scout Dacen Cox a member of Venture Crew 2640 sponsored by the Mesquite 6th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints received his Eagle Scout Award at a ceremony on Saturday, June 6, 2015. He identified veteran's graves in the Mesquite City Cemetery and placed flag holders near the headstone so that American flags could be posted there on Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. He is the son of Ronya and Kurt Cox. He graduated from Virgin Valley High School this year. He has been called to serve a 2 year mission for the LDS Church in the Independence Missouri Mission in September. Merlin Hafen gave Dacen the Eagle Charge and asked him to "reaffirm his allegiance to the three points of the Scout Oath and Law." Dacen repeated the words, "I thoughtfully accept this obligation and responsibility of an Eagle Scout and promise to do my best to assist others in climbing the trail to Eagle; to build America on a solid foundation of clean living, honest citizenship and reverence to God. I promise to work for better citizenship, service to my family, community, country and contacts with other people." Merlin said, "This is not the end of the trail but the beginning; now you can go forth using the skills and knowledge you have learned to serve others." Don Penrod spoke about the meaning of being an Eagle Scout. He said, "You have just participated in the high school commencement and that is really a new beginning. Achieving the rank of Eagle is a commencement now to go forward and use the skills you have learned to help others. It is an incredible sight to see the Eagle soar, there is a message in watching an Eagle!" Don asked Dacen to now give back to others what he has learned. Bishop Kevin Jensen said, "It is a privilege to see these boys grow and do great accomplishments. Dacen is a great example. Scouting give boys opportunities to grow to become men of honor. Don't underestimate your duty and responsibility to study and be involved in affairs of our government. If we as a nation become complacent in our duties of voting and searching out wise and honest candidates to serve, we will lose our freedoms. " Keith Belnap, a member of the Virgin River Valley BSA, presented Dacen with an engraved pocket knife as a remembrance of his earning the rank of Eagle Scout. Dacen presented his mentor pins to Merlin for helping him with his project and to his parents for helping him with his paper work and encouragement.

Twenty-five local high school seniors graduated from the four-year religious educational program operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called Seminary. It is a worldwide program open to teenagers from the age of 14 to 18 of all faiths that meet each weekday during the school year to study scripture. The graduation ceremony was held June 3rd which also awarded certificates of completion to 126 students who have finished one to three years of study. Those seniors receiving diplomas are Luke William Sessions, Danielle Wilson, Addison Bruno Biasi, Resha Nicole Bunker, Emma May Dodenbier, Tyler John Hughes, Dallin Russell Garlick, Josephine Garlick, Kaylin Louise Knapp, Sara Jane Anderson, Cody Vernon Burnside, Kasen Joshua Tietjen, Alex Daniel Beaumont, Alicia Renee Matthews, Fe'ofa'aki Fulton Paongo Jr., Jeremy Christopher Vogel, Charles Avery Woods, Dacon Leon Cox, Emma Estelle Hafen, Lorin Samuel Reber, Amber Nicole Sandoval, Micayla Renae Teschner, Brett Lee Black, Isabella Arsenia Wahl, and Taylor Marie Bryant. "These students have come to appreciate the time they have spent in study of the scriptures and recognize that the time each day they devoted to more spiritual pursuits has enriched their lives and set a pattern for the future," Chris Garner, the seminary instructor, said. A graduating student, Estelle Hafen said " Sometimes it's hard to cut into your school day to attend seminary but you can really learn things. This year I especially liked reading the Doctrine and Covenants because I learned so much about the history of the church and the early days of the restoration."

Sister Hailey Bunker has been called to a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her mission will be served in the Japan Nagoya Mission, Japanese Speaking, for 18 months. Robert and Jocelyn Bunker of Bunkerville are her parents. Sister Hailey Bunker will speak in the Bunkerville Chapel, Sunday, May 31, 2015 at 9am.