The LDS Scene

Elect Lady

Sister Camilla Eyring Kimball, wife of President Spencer W. Kimball, was recently presented with the Elect Lady Award by Lamba Delta Sigma, an international LDS sorority founded in 1936 for college-age women.

The award, in the form of a crown suspended from a necklace, was given in recognition of Sister Kimball’s example in seeking for excellence all her life.

Sister Camilla Eyring Kimball

Cuban Queen

Carmen Estrada, a freshman at Brigham Young University who once lived under the rule of Premier Fidel Castro in Cuba, was recently named Miss International BYU as part of International Week ceremonies at Brigham Young University. As a youngster she attended government school in Cuba, but later moved to Florida with her parents. Chosen as attendants were Jolanda Przewrocka from Zurich, Switzerland, and Satu Kariniemi, a native of Finland now from Phoenix, Arizona.

“Eight Verses a Day”

“Eight verses a day, the London Stake way” was the slogan used last year in the London England Stake to encourage members to join in a program to read the Pearl of Great Price. Stake President John Cox assigned a high councilor to plan the program with the main objective of establishing daily reading habits in those who thought they were too busy to read the scriptures. A study guide, a weekly reading schedule, and information on the key scriptures to mark were furnished to participants. In addition, a list of cross-references and a verse to be memorized each week were provided.

The program was launched in sacrament meetings, and monthly reviews were held in quorum and auxiliary meetings. Home teachers motivated and encouraged active and inactive members to become involved in the program, and the stake newsletter carried a Pearl of Great Price crossword puzzle.

The result of all this effort was that a survey of stake members showed approximately 75 percent of those who had never read any part of the standard works had completed the Pearl of Great Price.

Heads Purchasing Department

Robert E. Wells has been named to succeed Gordon B. Affleck as head of the Church’s Central Purchasing Department. Brother Affleck has retired but is working under a special assignment with offices in the Church Administration Building.

Brother Wells, who has served as assistant to Brother Affleck, is a Regional and Mission Representative of the Council of the Twelve, and was mission president of the Mexico North Mission. Prior to his call to serve as a mission president, he was a banking executive in Central and South America.

Navajo on Council

Nora Begay, former Miss Indian America and presently a junior in broadcasting at Brigham Young University, has been appointed to a two-year term on the National Advisory Council on Financial Aids to Students, organized under the United States Office of Education. A Navajo Indian from Kaibeto, Arizona, Sister Begay is the first BYU student to be appointed to this position; she is the only college student on the council.

Legislative Counsel

Dennis John Taylor, Darien, Connecticut, has been appointed legislative counsel to the minority leader of the United States House of Representatives, Congressman John J. Rhodes. Brother Taylor formerly served as associate counsel with the United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Committees. Prior to that he served as a minority associate counsel with the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Research Fellowship

A Commissioner’s Research Fellowship has been established, to be awarded to a distinguished LDS scholar to help him in the preparation of a scholarly work for publication. In announcing the new fellowship, Brother Maxwell said the first recipient is Dr. Richard L. Anderson, professor of history and ancient scripture at Brigham Young University. He is preparing for publication a recently discovered manuscript of the history of Lucy Mack Smith, mother of the Prophet Joseph Smith, written in her own handwriting. Dr. Anderson’s work is being undertaken in cooperation with Dr. Leonard Arrington, Church historian.

Brother Maxwell said that the focus of this fellowship will be in the social and behavioral sciences, humanities, and fine arts.

Scout-Liaison Director

Ross J. Taylor has been appointed director of Mormon relationships for the Church and the Boy Scouts of America. Brother Taylor succeeds Folkman D. Brown, who has been assigned by BSA to be area director for Area II in the North Central Boy Scouts Region. Brother Brown was Mormon relationships director for ten years.

Brother Taylor has been a professional scouter since 1941, and prior to his current appointment in Salt Lake City he served as area director for Area II, Western Region. Previously he was national director of the professional training division and national director of training for the BSA.

Assistant Appointed

Evan J. Hale, a member of the Wakefield Ward, Annandale Virginia Stake, has been appointed administrative assistant to United States Secretary of Agriculture Earl L. Butz. Currently executive secretary of the Wakefield Ward, Brother Hale is married and has five children.

“Kia Ora”

A party of 162 returned missionaries from New Zealand recently returned with their families to their former mission areas in that country. The former missionaries, from Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Ohio, Alberta, British Columbia, Michigan, Washington, and California, met in Salt Lake City where they flew for a two-week vacation in the “Land of the Long White Cloud.” Among those on the tour were former New Zealand South Mission President Alexander Anderson and his wife, and Sister Robert L. Simpson, wife of Elder Robert L. Simpson, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve. Elder Simpson is a former president of the New Zealand North Mission.

Constitution Intact

Todd Christofferson, law clerk to Chief District Judge John Sirica in Washington, D.C., stressed the need for the citizens of the United States to uphold good men in government when he spoke to a Ricks College student assembly during their “Week of Concern.” A member of Rock Creek Ward, Washington D.C. Stake, Brother Christofferson said that although he did not minimize the seriousness of the Watergate affair, “the Constitution is intact and will remain so through this crisis.” He said that the future of the government depends on good citizens who believe in government and in appropriately supporting the men and women in office. Brother Christofferson urged his listeners to halt “unthinking criticism of public officials and know there are good men in government.”

Nora Begay

Ross J. Taylor