LDS Scene

Panama has its first stake—the Panama City Panama Stake, formed in November. It was created from the Balboa and Panama Districts of the Costa Rica San Jose Mission.

The growth of the Church in Panama was marked by the creation of the first Panamanian branch in 1941 for American military personnel and their families. The Church was officially recognized by the Panamanian government in 1965. The new stake has five wards and five branches.

Counselors have been called for the Provo, Utah, and Los Angeles, California, temples. Serving as counselors to Elder A. Theodore Tuttle, president of the Provo Temple, are Phil D. Jensen, American Fork, Utah, and A. Harold Goodman, Provo. Elder Tuttle is a member of the presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy. Serving as counselors to Elder Robert L. Simpson, president of the Los Angeles Temple, are Chester Cannon, San Diego, California, and Allen C. Rozsa, Santa Ana, California. Elder Simpson is a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.

Tuition at Ricks College will be increased, starting with fall semester. Tuition for members of the Church will be increased from $425 to $460 per semester. Nonmember student tuition will increase from $585 to $637 per semester.

The Church provides more than two-thirds of the funds needed to operate the college. Ricks College President Bruce C. Hafen says that even with the increase, the cost of an education at Ricks is about seventy percent less than the average at private colleges and universities.

A new two-story administration building has been announced for BYU-Hawaii. The 38,000-square-foot building will locate under one roof most of the administrative and business offices now situated in various places on the campus.

The building will be erected on the site of the former athletics field between the campus and the Polynesian Cultural Center, just north of the school’s new activities center which is now under construction.