In the Spotlight

Chinese Member Sings in National Opera

Tang Yau-Ngan Lai, a member of the Ma On Shan Ward, Hong Kong Tolo Harbour Stake, was the only opera singer from Hong Kong invited to Beijing to perform in a nationally televised Cantonese opera. The opera was recently broadcast by China Central Television.

“I am grateful for a gifted voice that allows me to carry on the heritage of Chinese art and culture and, at the same time, to share the gospel through my example,” Sister Lai says.

When not performing, Sister Lai spends time with her husband, Tung Sang Lai, as a temple worker in the Hong Kong Temple, which she has done since 1996. Sister Lai joined the Church in 1980 as a teenager in Hong Kong.

BYU Athlete Sets American Record

Brigham Young University runner Elizabeth Jackson won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 3,000-meter steeplechase title on 1 June. This was the first women’s steeplechase competition in NCAA history. In the race, Sister Jackson set the American record and had the third-fastest time ever recorded in the world.

A few weeks later, Sister Jackson earned a spot on the USA National Track and Field Team by placing second in the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She is a member of the BYU 23rd Ward, BYU 20th Stake.

Latter-day Saint Woman is Miss Indian World

KeAloha Alo, whose heritage includes White Mountain Apache, Hawaiian, and Samoan ancestry, was selected as Miss Indian World 2001 at the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on 29 April.

Sister Alo, a member of the Pinetop-Lakeside Third Ward, Pinetop-Lakeside Arizona Stake, is the first Miss Indian World to represent the Hawaiian Islands, where she was reared. The competition is based on talent, speaking, interviewing, and traditional dancing. As Miss Indian World, she will spend the next year promoting education for native youth worldwide.

A Chinese opera singer, Sister Tang Yau-Ngan Lai also serves as a temple worker in Hong Kong.