Most recent position: Green Bay Packers defensive line coach and running game coordinator (not retained) Age: 44 Playing background: A two-sport athlete during his time at Virgin Valley High School in Mesquite, Nevada, Montgomery was a standout defensive tackle for the Bulldogs. He was named All-American two straight years to close out his high school career, and was the Nevada Player of the Year in 1997. In total, he recorded 38 career sacks, including 16 as a senior, and scored 10 touchdowns. The New England Patriots have started filling the vacancies on their coaching staff beyond the coordinator level. The first domino to fall is Jerry Montgomery, who the team hired as its new defensive line coach on Monday — filling a spot that was previously occupied by new defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington. Way to go VVHS Bulldog!

Filipe and Kristi Tausinga of the East Stake are the facilitators for the Addiction Recovery Program meetings that are held in Mesquites. The meetings are on Monday evenings at 6:00 PM in the Seminary Building and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM AZ time (6:00 PM NV time).

Women's Conference was a joint activity with YW. The YW Presidency arranged 2 classes for them,but they spent the rest of the day with the RS sisters. Sisters enjoying one of the Young Women's class.

We would like to invite all members and friends of the Mesquite Nevada West Stake to join us for our Stake Conference next Saturday and Sunday (Feb 17 & 18). We testify that making the effort to attend these meetings will help you learn more about Jesus Christ and strengthen your personal relationships with the Savior. We promise that if you come prepared to listen to the Spirit, you will receive personal revelation that will guide your life. We hope all will attend. What Is a Stake Conference? A stake is the name of a regional administrative unit in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It comprises multiple congregations called wards and branches. The word stake is taken from Isaiah 54:2 in the Old Testament, and alludes to an image of a large tent (the Church of Christ) being supported by many stakes.  The purpose of a stake conference is for members and friends of the Church to come together to be taught doctrines of the restored gospel, to feel the Spirit, and to experience the peace that comes through following the Savior. There are two public meetings during the Stake Conference. Who Speaks in Stake Conference? The speakers at the conference are brothers and sisters from worshiping units within the Mesquite NV West Stake. Each speaker has prayed and studied to give inspired messages. What Is the Meeting Schedule? -Leadership Session: Saturday at 4:00 - 5:30 pm for all members of Stake and Ward Priesthood leaders (youth and adult complete presidencies). -Adult Session: Saturday at 6:30 - 8:00 pm for all members over 18 years old and their invited friends. -Youth Session: Sunday Morning at 8:00 am to 9:00 am. Any youth (12 and older) are invited. Parents and leaders can attend. -Sunday General Session: Sunday at 10:00 am for all members of the Stake, the community, and their invited friends. Can I Attend If I am Not a Member of the Church? Yes. We invite all members of the community to attend the Adult Session (Sat at 6:30pm) and the General Session (Sunday at 10am). Where Are the Meetings Located? The meetings are located at 100 North Arrowhead in Mesquite. Can I Watch the Conference? Although we prefer members to be present so we can worship together, we understand that not all situations allow for this. The Adult and General Sessions will be streamed on Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/94779739532#success). Will There Be Translation? The speakers' messages will be translated into Spanish for anyone who attends face-to-face. Questions: If you have any questions, please contact Rich Rushton (rhrush7@gmail.com), the stake representative over Public Relations. He will guide you to your answer.

Mesquite Nevada West Stake held a Women’s Conference titled ‘Mental Health Matters’ on Feb. 3, 2024. The young women had two classes to attend – ‘Overcoming Adversity and Building Resilience by thinking Celestial’; these were taught by Ehrin Johnson, Anna Bullock, Mindy Hughes and Jennifer Brotherson. The young women were reminded that even when bad things happen, Heavenly Father will be there. The teachers asked the young women to do self-reflection and acknowledge all the good things in their life - not to make a list of things they are bad at or comparing themselves to others. They were reminded, “Don’t be afraid to ask for help; talk to parents and leaders. The song, ‘Peace in Christ’ was played to remind them find hope and joy through our Savior, Jesus Christ. The young women all received stickers with “Think Celestial” and a bracelet. ‘Identifying Your Children’s Struggles’ taught by David Taylor was about open communication to help with emotional and mental well—being. ‘How to Alleviate Stress in a Full House’ was the title of Emily Waite’s class. She gave suggestions on looking at situations in a different perspective. She presented ideas on simplifying home chores and organizing schedules and routines to alleviate stress in homelife. Glen & Kelle Horlacher titled their class ‘Identifying and dealing with’ Moods, Depression, Anxiety.’ They spoke about the signs of anxiety, telltale signs of moods and their effect. They emphasized that “your soul is bigger than all of it!” Bob Lystrup spoke about ‘Caring for the Caregiver’ and how to seek help for yourself that is vital when you are caring for another family member. “There is a life jacket to save and strengthen; they spoke of resources to help care for loved ones who are ill. ‘Lightening and Brightening your Path’ was the subject of Jodi Hughes’ class. She spoke about looking for joy and expressing gratitude. Look to the Lord and He will help us lighten our path. Keep life in perspective. She had the class visualize the juggler twirling the plates on the end of sticks – some day we feel like the juggler and that we have to get everything done. She reminded the sisters that hope can always be found - hope helps with challenges. For more resources see Life Help in the Gospel Library app. Life Help A delicious breakfast including pancakes, scrambled eggs, ham and orange juice was served by the stake presidency, high council and missionaries. Thank you was expressed to Pres. Hollingshead and the men that served, set up tables and took down. Thank you to Mitsi Bender who shared piano music during breakfast. Thank you to the stake Relief Society presidency for organizing this conference – it was a learning time, a time to visit and greet other members of the stake.

Elder Jack and Sister Cheryl Rochford of the East Stake are called as service missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They will serve as group leaders in the Church’s Addiction Recovery Program. Weekly meetings are held Monday evenings at 6:00 PM in the Seminary Building and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM AZ time (6:00 PM NV time).  If addiction of any type affects your life or the life of other loved ones, we invite you to join with others with similar experiences in safe and discreet weekly meetings. “Through the atonement of Jesus Christ we are healed”, ARP Manual

January 27, 2024 work day, Ladies were scraping paint on window frames Sydney Rowley, Shane and Conner Zarate West Carter and John Zarate fixing joists in the kitchen area which used to be over the cellar.

President Cindy Barnard 1st Counselor Ashlie Cowley 2nd Counselor Tiffany Porter Secretary Jennifer Brotherson

The restoration project of the Relief Society House will be on Saturday morning, January 27, starting at 8:00 am.  and continuing through the morning. The house is located on Yucca Street in Mesquite. Volunteers are need to help with the restoration work which includes patching drywall and stucco, stripping paint on the window frames, painting, roof repairs, and some electrical work. All the materials and tools will be provided; it is suggested to wear work clothes and bring gloves.

The YSA eating after their scavenger hunt activity.

A program to commemorate the 137th anniversary of the settling of Virgin Valley was held at the site of the first home on the hill overlooking the Virgin River on Saturday, January 20. Jeff Jensen life-time resident of the valley spoke about growing up on a farm, milking cows, ranching, playing in the river, and being among friends – “the population was small and all the families looked out for each other and were helpful.” The program started with a flag raising by Shea, Adler, and Ammon Shaner and Adron Klug, cousins and brothers. It was followed by the hymn, ‘Come, Come Ye Saint’s and a prayer. It was on January 7, 1877 that 23 people held the first church service on the hill with Edward Bunker, Jr. holding a handful of soil in one hand and wheat in the other dedicated the valley to the building of a peaceful settlement. Jeff Jensen, son of Melburn and Leah Jensen, grew up on a farm on Riverside and Hafen Lane. He graduated from Virgin Valley in a class of 15, served 15 months in in the U.S. Army in Vietnam and served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Colorado. He is the father of two daughters, grandfather to eleven and great-grandfather to one. He told about dairy farming saying, “After the war the government encouraged more people to go into the dairy business and so my dad built a new barn behind the house. When the barn was finished, I remember driving the cows west on the main street to get them to their new home. We used to have a town milking barn that the community used for milking which is still on First South. Times were rough for a lot of families and my dad wanted to expand his dairy business. My dad bought 100 acres in three different places – Willard Leavitt’s field, Angie Barnum’s field and the Hunt field – they were all named and so we knew which field needed water or hay bailing. The dairy business didn’t pay as much as expected. You had to go bigger and bigger and therefore my dad dropped out of the dairy business. My dad worked construction to pay the bills and my brothers and I had to do the farm work. “Meb, my dad, also had a range on the mountain that ran clear to Key West. The cows were running in common with Bill Pulsipher and others. In order to separate the areas, we had to build a fence. We were over in the area of Scenic and the truck wouldn’t start so we couldn’t drive home. We had always parked it on a hill so we could get it started but this time it was parked in a wash. Why? We had a gallon jug of water but one of the boys dropped it. No truck! No water! We started to walk home and I was so thirsty that I finally took a drink of the Virgin River bloat!! It was awful to say the least! He laughed as he talked about the silage pit across the river and how his dad was tossing silage on the bed of the trailer hooked to the old Ford tractor – “as my dad tossed a big pile up from the pit it landed squarely on the back of my sister, Christine! We all laughed but she was hopping mad!” “There were sad times too,” he said as he related the story of the house fire that totally destroyed their old adobe home. “There was no air conditioner and we had a swamp cooler. We think the stand fell over and started the fire which then caught the wallpaper on fire. All of the kids were on sleeping on the front lawn because it was so hot, so all my brothers and sister were safe but we lost everything – it was burnt! We had no clothes! My parents saved the set of encyclopedias, the radio and some pictures. The fire truck was in the old building that is next to what is now the museum. The truck was old, wouldn’t start and so they drug it out and down to the homestead, but the pump wouldn’t start! By that time the house was gone! We walked up the street and slept at our grandparent’s home.” “It was sad, “he continued.” But the worst part was that I lost my frog feet I had received for my birthday a few weeks before. I hardly had a chance to use them to learn to swim!” Jeff finally did learn to swim the hard way – being tossed into the big ditch by his brothers. “We used to go down and easily cross the river as there were no tamaracks and get to the big irrigation ditch. The boys would lift the sand gate to clean it out – but they just threw me in! But I can’t swim! They yelled, just swim like a dog!” The ditch was dirt back then and my brothers and I were assigned to clean out a section of the ditch just as other families were assigned to clean a part of the 2.5-mile irrigation ditch. Jeff also told stories of the three horses they owned. “We had Brownie and a quarter horse named Kokomo Star and a gray mustang. These horses loved to race and got very competitive. Sometimes you couldn’t get them to stop racing. We were riding along Smoky Lane when they picked up speed and we couldn’t stop them. They turned into the Easton’s yard and went right under her clothes line, hit the fence and stopped! She came out and was worried about us, gave us water and asked if we were ok.” Another horse story he told was about his sister, Christine. “My sister had ridden over to the Reber’s and Faught’s and then the mustang refused to return home. Ken, my older brother, went over and got to whipping the horse with the reins. The horse took off and ran all the way to our house and beyond before he threw on his brakes sending Ken over the top of the horse! The mustang, having expended his energy plodded slowly home. “ Some past-times during the summer were “sampling the watermelons from various fields, he said. “We had gone to every patch except one and it had a lot of elephant grass where we saw a huge watermelon! I made a low crawl out through the grass to get it but the big dog started barking and the owner turned on the light! I slowly backed out and left that big watermelon! It was not worth it!” There were lots of rabbits and one of my favorite things to do was to chase them. Another favorite was the steak sandwiches my mother made us for school lunch. We were too poor to buy school lunch so she made us steak sandwiches and milk. Sometimes it was from road kill. Another past time was sliding down the big hill on an old car hood. I built a “car” and attached a rope to the back and when it got going, I cut the rope and went flying downhill and rolled, “he said. We listened to the radio on the evenings and later we watched TV. Homemade bread and butter with jam and honey was served to the attendees along with donuts, hot chocolate and juice. Thank you to those that set up chairs and to the many boy scouts who made the site a place to visit. Eagle project have included building the stairs, the rock fence around the foundation, flag pole and the sign to commemorate the site of the first home in Virgin Valley.