FYI:
For Your Information

The great use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts it.

—William James

Announcing the King James Version Plus!

Wouldn’t it be great to have a Bible with footnotes, a concordance, and a topical guide that would refer you to other Latter-day Saint scriptures? And wouldn’t it be great to have noted in your copy of the King James Version some of the places where the Joseph Smith Translation offers needed clarification of selected passages? Well, “wouldn’t it be great” has happened. The Latter-day Saint edition of the King James Version of the Bible will be available this fall through your seminary, nearby Deseret Book outlets, and the Church distribution centers (near the end of the year). And beginning this fall it will be used in seminaries and institutes, along with the regular King James Version.

Included in this edition will be an entirely new set of footnotes referenced to (1) all standard works, (2) some portions of the Joseph Smith Translation, and (3) the “Topical Guide and Selected Concordance” found in the back of the book itself. The footnotes will also contain the etymology or origin of certain words.

In the appendixes of the Bible will be several hundred pages of new study aids. First is the new “Topical Guide and Selected Concordance” (598 pages). Next is a “Bible Dictionary” (196 pages). Following is a section called “Joseph Smith Translation: Excerpts Too Lengthy for Inclusion in Footnotes” (17 pages). At the end will be found a 24-page, full-color section of maps and a gazetteer.

The publication of this book is an exciting event for all students of LDS scriptures.

“Project Uplift”

Names and addresses of LDS servicemen and women are being sought by the Women’s Office at Brigham Young University for its annual Christmas undertaking, “Project Uplift.” The names and addresses will be used as a mailing list for boxes of cookies and accompanying letters to be sent to Church members in the military who will be serving away from home at Christmastime. Friends and relatives are asked to send names, addresses, and marital status of military personnel to Denise Tucker, ASBYU Women’s Office, 432 ELWC, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602, by October 19, 1979.

Mormons Making Mention

[Worldwide Church]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is worldwide! Our brothers and sisters live in Tonga, Norway, New Zealand, and South Africa; in Europe and Asia; on tropical islands and in lands of snow. Because we can’t visit each of you (although we’d like to!) we want to invite you to write and tell us about yourself. In half a page to a page and a half, describe what it’s like to be a young Mormon in your part of the world, and from time to time, we will print some of these stories in this section of the New Era. (Please also include black and white photographs with negatives, or color slides if possible.) To begin this series, we’re going to head just south of the Arctic Circle to Baffin Island in the Northwest Territories of Canada.

“My Experiences in the North”

by Jackie Martin

Driving between the snow-covered hills on my snowmobile, I look up into the sky and partake of the peaceful picture formed by the dancing northern lights, full of greens and blues, and the moon and stars that surround them. It is cold, yet peaceful and quiet, and my body feels invigorated and recharged for the trek home.

I live on Frobisher Bay in the southern part of Baffin Island, which has a total population of 2,500, most of whom are Jnuit Eskimos. Sunday morning, two other Mormon families join with ours in the small high school music room for our services. Although sometimes it is very cold, we always try to hold our meetings. I remember waking up one morning when it was minus 40 degrees centigrade, and then squeezing into a tow truck with five other people to go to church.

I really look forward to the day when this small unit of the Church will grow to include all important meetings and organizations. Our group presently includes three sisters, one Melchizedek Priesthood holder, two Aaronic Priesthood holders, nine children, and one Laurel (me). My hope is for the missionaries to come to this settlement, and all of Baffin Island, and speak to this special race of Jnuit people.

School brings many great learning experiences. In home-ec the Jnuit women teach crafts, and I am learning to make duffle slippers and mittens. In art I print my own drawings and watch the Jnuit people create their famous pictures and carvings. I don’t understand the language, but with a shake of the head, or a nod, or a smile, we communicate.

The very short summer brings a new pattern to arctic life. Children play in the 24-hour sunlight, and we go for picnics in the hills amongst the lichen and small arctic flowers. The beautiful evening sunsets are full of brilliant yellows and oranges. Most people receive their yearly supply of food from the ships that come up in July and August while the bay is free from ice. All the goods and supplies for the whole town are brought up then. Fresh products such as eggs and cheese are brought up on the jet that flies in from Montreal, 1,600 miles away.

Living in the Northwest Territories has brought me closer to my family and given me some wonderful memories. It has also strengthened my testimony and brought me closer to the Lord, as I realize He is with us wherever we live.

“Mothers’ Night” in Colorado

It was Mothers and Sons’ Night at the Fort Collins Second Ward, Fort Collins Colorado Stake. Thirteen priests in suits and ties sat proudly with their mothers as the Laurels served a delicious dinner of roast beef prepared earlier that evening by the priests themselves. Afterwards, a beautifully decorated cake with “MOM” written in the middle was cut and eaten and a program was presented. Bishop Owen Smith began by paying a tribute to all mothers. Quorum member Ron Wallace followed him with a musical number on his cello. The finale of the program was when the priests sang in two-part harmony all four verses of “There Is Beauty All Around.”

Quorum secretary and chairman for the evening, Paul Simons, then read from Alma the tribute to the mothers of the 2,000 stripling warriors: “Now they never had fought, yet they did not fear death; and they did think more upon the liberty of their fathers than they did upon their lives; yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them” (Alma 56:47).

As successful as the meal and program were, the highlight of the evening came when each boy pinned a corsage on his mother and told her of his love for her. Perhaps Sister Simons expressed the feelings of all the mothers present when she said, “It was thrilling to hear my son express his love in public—it was a warm, spiritual evening.”

A Stake Full of Service

To encourage and spotlight well-planned and successful service projects, the Vernal Utah Ashley Stake Mutual has initiated a traveling “Good Samaritan” award. It is presented each time a Mutual class or group organizes and participates in a service project requiring extra time and effort to carry out. Vernal Second Ward, the first group to receive the award, sponsored a dinner for the elderly members of their ward. Vernal Ninth Ward received the award next for making baskets of fruit, cakes, and goodies to take to the widows and widowers in their ward. Several other groups are currently planning service projects.

The award itself is made of white oak that is over 300 years old and includes a replica of the “Good Samaritan” made and donated by a Vernal resident. A local jeweler donated the engraving that reads, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matt. 25:40). Each time the award is given, the name of the winning ward or group is inscribed on an accompanying plaque.

Sister Saints
Vicky Burgess-Olson
BYU Press $7.95, pp. 494

They crossed the plains and buried children along the way, leaving behind previous life-styles and, often, horrified families, to build new lives hundreds of miles away. Most married, many in polygamous unions and some remained single. They came from England, Italy, West Virginia, and Ohio, the daughters of businessmen, farmers, and preachers. Their faith in the restored gospel enabled them to stand firm in the midst of trial, suffering, and sacrifice.

Sister Saints, a collection of essays compiled by Vicky Burgess-Olson, gives new insight into both the similarities and differences in these early Mormon women. Included are biographical sketches of Aurelia S. Rogers, the first president of the Primary; and Eliza R. Snow, author of the hymn, “O My Father.” Stories of lesser-known but equally courageous women, such as Louisa B. Pratt, who labored as a missionary in the Pacific Islands, and Patty B. Sessions, an early midwife, help to create a picture of the strength and faithfulness of the pioneer women.

The greatest stories, however, are found in the simple accounts of everyday living—the loneliness endured as husbands were called on missions for two, three, four, or five years; the unselfishness required to accept the new doctrine of polygamy; the pain of giving birth in leaky wagons, to babies born too soon. Poverty, sickness, and loneliness were endured out of love for the gospel and faith in its divine teachings. These were the first women of the Church—sister Saints from yesterday—who still stand as examples for us to follow today.

[Logan Seminary Council]

[Orem 72 Ward Tapestry]

The first page of the book of Genesis and the “Topical Guide and Selected Concordance”

The Idaho high school state wrestling champion in the 167-pound weight class is a member of the Nampa Seventh Ward, Nampa Idaho South Stake. Jim Russell was named outstanding senior wrestler and most valuable wrestler at Nampa High School last year. He has been wrestling since junior high school and also enjoys doing landscaping and woodworking. He is currently a freshman at Ricks College and is preparing for a mission when he turns 19.

Illustrated by Shauna Mooney

The Logan Utah Senior Seminary Council presents to Logan Temple president Reed Bullen a portion of the 225 triple combinations donated by the Logan seminary students last spring. The service project was undertaken for the benefit of the newly renovated and rededicated Logan Temple. Each book, which contains a special seal and the signature of the student who donated it, will be used by the temple patrons in the waiting areas of the temple.

The bishopric of the Orem 72nd Ward, Orem Utah North Stake, have one of the most beautifully sound-proofed offices in the Church. One wall is covered with a tapestry, made by the Young Men and Young Women of the ward, that depicts Joseph Smith in the sacred grove. The wall hanging is made of different shades of 1/2-inch to 5-foot green and brown carpet scraps stapled together. After the drawing and cutting were completed, the young people (assisted by their leaders) spent five hours one evening putting the tapestry together. The finished piece of art is six feet wide and nearly five feet high and was displayed in the foyer for the week following its completion.