Elder Cody Burnside has been called to serve in the Texas South Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. To begin his 24 month mission, he will report to the Missionary Training Center on August 26th. Cody’s parents are Jody and Nichole Burnside of the Mesquite 2nd Ward. Elder Burnside will be speaking August 23, 2015 at 9am in the Littlefield Chapel, Arizona.

Brayton Tobler received his Eagle Scout Award at a Court of Honor. Brayton is a member of Venture Crew 2493 sponsored by the Mesquite 4th Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He organized a Gala for Gifts Community Benefit Concert to benefit Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City. Members of the community and the Virgin Valley High School’s music department shared their talents and the attendees donated needed items. The donations exceeded more than $1000 in merchandise and nearly doubled the toys and items in the supply room at the hospital. Brayton is a junior at Virgin Valley High School where he is a member of the show choir, cross county team and the track team. He is the son of Brad and Stephanie Tobler of Mesquite. On August 22nd, Scoutmaster Brent Hughes spoke and recited the Scout Prayer. He said, “Brayton, you have shown responsible character as a Patrol Leader and I would like to present you with a hand carved deer antler knife that I made.” Ben Rebman, youth leader and an Eagle Scout, said, “Brayton, I charge you to be Honest, Kind and Courageous in all your actions as you go forward in your life.” His father, Brad Tobler, presented the Eagle ribbon and pin and changed Brayton’s neckerchief from Boy Scout to the blue Eagle Scout neckerchief. Brayton presented his mother with a pin in gratitude for all she has done to help him through the ranks of scouting. Brayton’s parents said, “It’s been our privilege to watch and support his efforts in achieving all the necessary goals required for the rank of Eagle Scout. He has always enjoyed scouting, even as a cub scout, he excelled and delighted in the program. We’ve noticed he’s a better person as he’s participated in scouting. He’s learned many useful lessons and made lifelong friends. Coming up with an Eagle project took some time and careful thought. Brayton is one who has much to offer through his talents and his ability to uplift others. His project met him with a few obstacles, but through patience and perseverance he succeeded. We are very proud of his accomplishments and have always encouraged scouting in our home.” Brayton received a letter from Primary Children's Hospital's Foundation Director, Sharon Goodrich who wrote, "Please know that your gift of toys and craft items delighted patients at Primary Children's Hospital. With your support, we are able to further the hospital's philosophy, "The Child First and Always". On behalf of the children and families we are privileged to serve, we express our heartfelt gratitude for your kindness." Brayton said, “I am grateful to be able to benefit the children at the hospital and I feel uplifted to have the community's support in my Eagle Project.” Brayton presented the Mentor pin to his grandfather, Eric Norried, who always encouraged and supported Brayton to complete his Eagle Rank Advancement. He said, “I would like to present you with this hand carved 6” eagle walking stave that I had saved for the last 30 years to pass on to you to remind you to continue to uphold the scout oath and law.” Mark Tichenor, Virgin River Valley BSA Chairman, said, “Brayton, I would like to present this pocketknife engraved with the words, “Eagle Scout” to help you remember this advancement and the Eagle Scout Charge.”

Elder Nick White has returned from serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in the Texas Lubbock Mission for 24 months. Steve and Jan White of Mesquite 5th ward are Nick’s parents. Elder White will speak August 16, 2015 in the Whipple Chapel at 11:00 AM.

Elder Dacen Cox of the Mesquite 6th Ward has been called on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Dacen will report to the Missionary Training Center on September 2nd. Elder Cox will serve 24 months in the Independence, Missouri Mission. His parents are Kurt and Ronya Cox of the Mesquite 6th Ward. Elder Dacen Cox will speak Sunday, August 16, 2015 at 9 am in the Whipple Chapel, located on N. Arrowhead.

Elder Tyler Hughes has been called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Yakima, Washington Mission will be his home for 24 months. Tyler is the son of Jeff and Jodi Hughes of the Bunkerville 2nd Ward. On August 26, 2015, he will report to the Missionary Training Center. Elder Tyler Hughes will be speaking in the Bunkerville Chapel, Sunday, August 16, 2015 at 9:00 am.

Cache Burnside received his Eagle Scout Award in a ceremony on August 12, 2015. He is a member of Venture Crew 2082 sponsored by the Mesquite 2nd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His Eagle Project was planting and installing a watering system around the backside of Hunter Park to help beautify the city park and provide shade. He earned a total of 26 merit badges; only 21 are required to earn the Eagle Scout Award. He is a junior at Virgin Valley High School and a member of the wrestling team, football team and competes in roping. He is the son of Jody and Nichole Burnside . A video of eagles was shown explaining the meaning of the Eagle, “The Eagle is a symbol of strength and courage, of victory and spiritual energy; it shows triumph of good over evil. The Eagle’s gaze is fixed on heaven and is a symbol of ascension soaring to the highest height.” Mark Tichenor, District Chairman, opened the Nation Boy Scout Court of Honor stating, “The Eagle Scout Award symbolizes years of work, 7 tracks of increments in learning safety for oneself, working as a team or being a leader. It symbolizes many hours of service and living the Scout Oath and Law. It is not a certificate to pack away but to remember in your daily activities and live to the best you can be. The character leaned in scouting will carry you throughout your life and in your work and business. The Eagle award represents you for the rest of your life – stick with your goals.” Rusty Hughes, scout leader, gave Cache the Eagle Charge, “The Eagle Award is an honor that carries with it a responsibility. You have a duty to your fellow scouts to honor the scout oath and law. America has many good things and it depends on the quality of its citizens. I charge you to lead and lead to the best and finest living. Dedicate your life to the common good, honest citizenship, unselfish service and reverence for God.” Cache presented his mentor pin to Ray Toombs, his scoutmaster for helping him along the trail and helping them have fun while learning and camping. His mother, Nichole said, “Cache is a true scout. He could survive out in the wilderness by being creative with his surroundings. There are many skills he has learned that he enjoys & developed hobbies from, others he has learned he can do without. Thank you to all of his Scout Leaders, for their time, talents, & dedication.” Cache said, “Working toward my Eagle has helped me learn to plan and organize people to help. My favorite merit badge was horsemanship. We went on some camp out and took our horses; those were the best times.”

Sister Myrissa Bunker will be returning home on August 4, 2015 from her 18 month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She served in the Chesapeake, Virginia Mission. She will be reporting her mission on August 9, 2015 at 9:00am in the Bunkerville 2nd Ward at the Bunkerville Chapel.

Elder Cecil and Sister Carol Leavitt have been called to serve another mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This time they will be in the Ohio Cleveland Mission as Office Specialists. "Our first mission together was to Johannesburg South Africa from September 19th 2011 to August 29th 2013. Cecil's first mission was when he was single and served in Northern California, 1958 - 1960. We are excited about returning to the mission field and will do our very best to represent our Ward, our Stake, our family, and our Savior the best we can" said Sister Leavitt. They will enter the Missionary Training Center on August 11. Brother and Sister Leavitt will serve. On Sunday, July 26, 2015 at 11 am they will speak in the Bunkerville 2nd Ward, in the Bunkerville Chapel.

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".