In the News

Elder Perry Creates First Stake in Guam

Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Guam in December 2010 to create the Barrigada Guam Stake, the first stake in the territory of Guam. While there, Elder Perry, who served in the United States Marine Corps in the area during World War II, also visited the Pacific War Museum and the neighboring island of Saipan. There are 1,971 members of the Church living in Guam. The territory of Guam is part of the Asia North Area of the Church.

LDS Doctors Treat Cholera in Papua New Guinea

A handful of LDS doctors from Australia spent time treating victims of a cholera outbreak in remote villages of northwest Papua New Guinea in late 2010.

The doctors worked with hundreds of patients, saving one man who was minutes from death when he arrived at the hospital and others who would not have lasted 24 hours without treatment.

People flocked by land and canoe to the doctors. David Williams of Brisbane and Anthony Mahler of Cairns said that within one day of arriving at the village of Sogere, they had treated more than 200 cases of cholera. In referring to the overall experience, Dr. Mahler said, “[It] was the most professionally rewarding experience of my life,” in spite of the difficulties and the exhausting workload.

In addition to sending doctors, the Church has provided relief supplies, including medical aid and water purifiers. Food shipments and soap were also shipped to the crisis areas from the Church in Port Moresby, and shipments of personal hygiene kits are being sent from Port Moresby and Brisbane. A missionary couple with expertise in water treatment went to Papua New Guinea to help coordinate relief efforts.

DVD Introduces Mutual Theme for 2011

In January, the Church began distributing the DVD, We Believe: Strength of Youth Media 2011, to Church units around the world to use in support of the 2011 Mutual theme.

The DVD is filled with multimedia designed to help the youth make the theme, Articles of Faith 1:13, a central part of their lives. Segments feature President Thomas S. Monson, the Young Men and Young Women general presidents, music, youth testimonies, and more.

Much of the content consists of youth testimonies and motivational experiences.

The music, messages, and testimonies can be used to enrich youth classes, meetings, and activities throughout the year.

All of the material is available online for download at youth.lds.org.

The DVD also includes translation in the following languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.