A group of youth from the Mesquite 6th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continued a tradition of singing Christmas Carols from a hay wagon. This year as they caroled in the neighborhood they stopped and paid a visit to the elderly residents of the Beehive Home in Mesquite. The young people gathered in the entrance to sing to all who would listen and then went to the rooms of those who are bedridden to sing to them individually. It would be difficult to determine who enjoyed themselves the most, the young or the not so young. Back row L-R Abby Barnum, Becky Teschner, Sarah Walters, Stacy Brown, Cameron Cox, Mark Larsen, Spencer Cox, Jarron Hafen Front row L-R Skyler Adamson, Mira Larsen, Eris, Lewis, Sarah Barnum, Alyssa Kruse , Drew Davis, Kelci Cardinal, Kyler Worthen, Adam Teschner and Nathan Reber

The Mesquite 6th Ward activity girls enjoyed caroling. Their leader is Jennifer Reber.

Eight scouts from Pack 8 sponsored by the Mesquite Resort Association earned their Arrow of Light and will now be a part of Troop 40 sponsored by the Elks Lodge. The scouts are Aidan Oliver, Andrew Benda, Andrew Leavitt, Drew romero, Juan-Carlos Silva, Kyan Monsen, T.J. Buerrero, and Tristing Murguia. Kelton Chamerlain represented Akela and gave each boy an arrow. Dave West is one of their leaders. The Arrow of Light Award is the only patch that boys can earn in cub scouts and wear on their Boy Scout shirt. To earn the Arrow of Light the Webelos scout must be active in his pack, complete 5 activity badges including Fitness, Citizenship, Ready-man,and Outdoors-man and understand the Honesty Character Connection. The scout also goes on an overnight camp or a day hike with his pack to earn the Arrow of Light Badge. Photo info, l to r... Aidan Oliver, Andrew Benda, Andrew Leavitt, Drew Romero, Juan-Carlos Silva, Kyan Monsen, TJ Guerrero Kelton Chamberlain and Dave West in the back (Tristin Murgula was not able to attend that night)

December 13, 2015, a leadership change happened in the Mesquite 5th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Travis Wakefield was called as the new Bishop with Kai Davis, 1st Counselor and Art Shaner, 2nd Counselor.

A crowd that filled the chapel and beyond were delighted with the presentation " The Spirit of Christmas" Sunday evening, December 13, 2015. The Mesquite Nevada Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were represented with musical groups and speakers from Littlefield, Mesquite and Bunkerville. Each ward or congregation provided a Christmas musical number interspersed with interpreters representing figures from the nativity. The variety and wide age range of the performers added a special spirit of joy and wonder. On a large screen at the front of the chapel specially produced videos showed the wondrous events of that sacred night long ago. David Anderson, President of the Mesquite Stake concluded the program with a moving testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He encouraged everyone present to take the spirit that we felt there and carry it through all our activities this season. Videos may be viewed at mormon.org

Ted & Nancy Mickelson will serve a 23 month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will leave on December 28, 2015 to the Canada, Winnipeg Mission and will be member and leadership support missionaries for 23 months. Brother and Sister Mickelson will speak in the Mesquite 2nd Ward meeting on December 13, 2015 at 10 am in the Littlefield Chapel.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has called Theron N. & Chris Jensen to serve in the Urdaneta Philippines Mission. On December 14, they will leave Mesquite for a twenty-three month mission. Brother and Sister Jensen will speak in Mesquite 2nd Ward November 29, 2015 at 11 am in the Littlefield Chapel located 3260 E Old Hwy 91, Littlefield, Arizona.

They are the first 3 Eagle Scouts from Troop 87. Boy Scout Troop 87, sponsored by the Virgin Valley Spanish Branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, held a special Court of Honor on Sunday, January 26, 2014, at the LDS chapel 100 North Arrowhead, to honor three young men who earned Scouting's highest honor, the rank of Eagle Scout. There were 65 in attendance, including many Scouts and their families. Edgar Silveyra, 18, completed all of the requirements for Eagle, which included a service project. His project was re-striping the parking lot of the Mesa View Regional Hospital. He was assisted by several Scouts and adults. Fernando Gonzalez, 17, also completed all of the requirements for Eagle, which included a service project. The project consisted of painting the curbs red for the No Parking zones at the Sports Complex for the City of Mesquite. Many Scouts and some adults helped with this project. Kevin Zúñiga, 17, completed the requirements for Eagle Scout, including a service project for the City of Mesquite and the Mesquite Fire Department. He and his team of 10 Scouts re-painted approximately 45 fire hydrants and the red curbing nearby each one. Congratulations Eagle Scouts!

Cub Scouts from Bear Den 2640 sponsored by the Mesquite 6th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were given a tour of the Mesquite Veteran’s center by Ed Fizer, Vietnam Veteran. Mr. Fizer taught them about the history of the U.S. flag and to be respectful of our flag. He gave each of the scouts a star from a retired flag to put in the pocket of their scout shirt. “This little star will help you know that the U.S. flag is not forgotten,” he said. He also gave them a Vietnam Veteran coin as a keepsake to remember their visit to the center. The scouts saw many uniforms of the different services, equipment and memorabilia of different wars. The scouts saw 55 plaques of Veteran’s that hang in the center. Ed showed them his office where he has many pictures of his time in Vietnam. The scouts were accompanied by their leaders, Blake and Michelle Syndergaard.

The Littlefield Ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Desert Rose Baptist Church participated in a food drive on November 24, 2015. Together with Boy Scout Troop 2042, over 650 pounds of canned food and various other food products were collected. Food Bank Director Darr Willy and Bishop Bob Frisby were pleased with the communities’ response to the food drive. The Food Bank will benefit the residents of the Littlefield/Beaver Dam area. Photo names l to r: Mike Martin, Bob Frisby, Bruce Quittschreiber and Darr Willy

Boy Scouts from Virgin River Valley BSA will doing their annual Food Drive the week of November 17-21, 2015. The cub scouts will deliver the yellow bags Nov. 17-20 and hang them on your door. The boy scouts will then pick up the bags of food on Saturday, Nov. 21. Please have your food out before 10:00 am. They will also pick up any bags that are still on the doors. Scouts from Troop 2060 sponsored by the Elks Lodge will be at Smith's Food on Sat. Nov. 21 and you may donate your food there. Littlefield scout troop will collect food and give it to the Beaver Dam food bank. There are 11 scout troops in Virgin Valley sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The food collected in Mesquite and Bunkerville will be taken to the Salvation Army where it will be weighed and the girl scouts will sort and stock the shelves. The cub scouts and boy scouts receive service hours for the time they spend delivering and picking up the bags. The Salvation Army will be able to distribute the food to those in need this winter. We thank you for your support of this service project by the scouts in the Valley. Ezra Baker, Andrew Cox,Josh Matthews back row: McKay Mulitalo, Hyrum Baker, Chance and Zackery Thornton

A 50 mile hike in the high Uintas was completed by 7 Varsity and Venture Scouts and 6 leaders from Virgin Valley and Maryland. They are members of Varsity Teams and Venture Crews sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kameron Mickelson, Virgin Valley District Activities chairman BSA, planned and coordinated the hike. The scouts who went were: Colton Mickelson, Christian Martinez, Dorian Fisher, Dawson Abbott, Chandler Abbott, and Brenden Irvin. The leaders were Kameron Mickelson, Curtis Jensen, Chad Abbott, Mark Tichenor, and Tanner Tichenor. Tim Franklin and his father, Dale, came from Maryland to join the group. The actual mileage by GPS was 63 miles. Mark Tichenor, Virgin River Valley district chairman, carried a step calculator that logged 182,000 steps along the trail. They hiked 6 mountain passes that averaged 12,000 feet. They followed the Highline Trail and hiked through Dead Horse Pass and Porcupine Pass at 12,200 feet. The hike took them 6 days as they started on the trail on Monday morning and completed it on Saturday. The scouts carried 35 lb. packs with all their sleeping gear and food. Mr. Mickelson said “We had a campfire on Thursday night and talked about what we had learned along the way, but most nights they were too tired to do anything but go to bed. Every morning we would give a cheer and when we reached the top of a pass we would yell, still alive! We saw great scenery and counted the trip as a great experience. “ Names for the pictures: #13 Front row: Brenden Irvin, Christian Martinez, Dawson Abbott, Chandler Abbott Back row: Dorian Fisher, Dale Fisher, Colton Mickelson, Curtis Jensen, Mark Tichenor, Kameron Mickelson, Tim Franklin, Chad Abbott Very Back: Tanner Tichenor Picture # 81 Porcupine Pass 12,200 Feet. Curtis Jensen, Brenden Irvin, Chad Abbott, Chandler Abbott, Dawson Abbott, Dorian Fisher, Christian Martinez, Mark Tichenor, Tanner Tichenor, Tim Franklin, Dale Franklin, Colton Mickelson, Kameron Mickelson