LDS Scene

President Marion G. Romney, First Counselor in the First Presidency, celebrated his 87th birthday September 19 at home with a group of family and friends. President Romney was born in 1897 in Colonia Juarez, Mexico. Sustained as the first Assistant to the Twelve on 6 April 1941, he has been a General Authority longer than any other living person.

A professor at Brigham Young University—Hawaii has found what he calls “a bonanza of records” for those interested in tracing ancestors back to Japan. Dr. Greg Gubler, a recognized authority on Japanese genealogy and methods, found the historical documents in the Japanese government’s Diplomatic Records Office in Tokyo while researching a book. The documents include passport applications dating from the government’s 1885 Convention with the Kingdom of Hawaii, as well as exit permits and records of various emigration companies.

Brigham Young University scored a first this fall with a new computerized registration system that allowed thousands of students to register using only a touch-tone telephone. Students respond to a human-sounding voice that guides them through the procedure of punching class codes using buttons on the telephone. University officials report that the system has cut drastically the number of registration problems usually handled. Schools from throughout the United States have been calling to inquire about the system.