laguna beach interfaith celebrates national day of prayer

The National Day of Prayer was first established in 1952. In 1988, lawmakers chose to set the date on the first Thursday in May. The Laguna Beach Interfaith Council held a prayer meeting Sunday, May 2nd, at the Laguna Beach chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Twelve faith leaders from Laguna Beach gave messages and prayers including Pastor Jay Grant (Net-Works Church), Pastor Lynn Muson Francis (Laguna Beach United Methodist Church), Ellie Eataii (Baha’i of Laguna Beach), Rev. Dr. Kathy Sizer (Laguna Beach Presbyterian Church), Rev. Lester V. Mackenzie (St. Mary’s Episcopal Church), Bishop Andy Hanson (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), Pastor Roderick Echols (Neighborhood Congregational Church), Father Pat Rudolph (St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church), Kerry Mogharebi (Baha’i of Laguna Beach), Jason Feddy (Temple Isiah of Newport Beach/Jewish Collaborative of OC) and Fr. Edward Becker (Diocese of Orange).

Three members of the Laguna Food Pantry were awarded the “Make a Difference” award which highlights volunteers in our community. Congratulations to Cynthia Carson, Lesli Henderson, and Susan Thomas. There were also beautiful musical numbers from Laguna Beach high school students Caroline Kimball and Aurora Lundquist, and Linda Christensen closed the event by singing “Let There Be Peace on Earth”.

The Laguna Beach Interfaith Council represents 8 faith based organizations within our community creating multiple opportunities for building understanding and support within Laguna Beach. The purpose of The Laguna Beach Interfaith Council is to further communication and cooperation among the faith groups of Laguna Beach and the community Social Service organizations to serve the needs of this community, especially the needs of the poor, the sick and the disenfranchised. The homeless in Laguna Beach who are at the ASL (Alternative Sleeping Location) in the canyon are fed dinner every night of the year, and the Laguna Beach Interfaith Participating Churches are responsible for a major part of providing those meals. They also have food, fruit, etc. available at those dinners for the homeless to take for their breakfast the next morning.

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You can watch the entire event below.

From Iraq to Laguna

“When my mom was in her 20’s, she left Iraq and was a refugee in Jordan after the Gulf War. My uncle had a friend who had a barbershop and he liked to get his hair cut there. One day he told my uncle about some people who were American and Christian and were helping out with refugees. They ended up being humanitarian missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ.

My mom had explored many different churches. She had friends of many faiths, but nothing really stood out to her. She was baptized, along with my uncle and his family. Eventually, it became harder to be an Iraqi refugee in Jordan, and my family returned to Iraq in 2006. We had no formal contact with the Church for the next 5 years, but my mom raised us in the Gospel. She taught us the scripture stories, we sang hymns.

One day, out of nowhere, someone called my mom and says 'Is this Sister Tiyari?' (Who else would say that, if they weren’t members of the Church!) My mom started crying and jumping and saying 'They found us!' It was an American member that got a job in Iraq in a city three hours away so he would come and do the sacrament for us every other month. The Church in Iraq is small, one branch in all of Iraq. We don’t have a building because the members are scattered all over. My family meets at my house, and my uncle comes over. We do church on Fridays, because that’s the Sabbath for us. The nearest members live in a city six hours away.

I decided to serve a mission. I flew to Provo to the Missionary Training Center and studied Farsi for 9 weeks. It was my first time in America. I’ve spent most of my mission serving in the Farsi branch in Newport Beach. My cousin is also serving a mission right now. My mom was the ultimate member missionary. She would invite my cousin Valentina over for church. She got baptized when she was 18 and is now serving in the England, London mission. She is the only member in her family.

I share my story because it shows the power of the Gospel. No matter what the circumstances, no matter which country you’re from, whatever the situation is; the standard of truth will be proclaimed everywhere. It will truly reach every corner of the world.” -Elder Tiyari

As far as we know, Elder Tiyari is the first missionary from Iraq! (And his cousin Valentina is the second!)

Celebrate the 179th Birthday of Relief Society

From the very beginning when Emma Smith said, “We are going to do something extraordinary,” Relief Society women working together have done remarkable things. Celebrate the 179th birthday of Relief Society with beautiful music and inspiring messages from members of our stake. Speakers include Debbie Bell, Michelle Kimball, Madison Davis, Laura del Rosario, Linda Budd, Sally Hatch, and President Evanson; with musical numbers by the Lawrence family and our favorite trio (Megan Peo, Angel Westover, and Laura Thompson).

Stake Conference - January 17, 2021

The biannual Laguna Niguel Stake Conference was held Sunday, January 17, at 10:00 am. Due to Covid-19 precautions, the conference was held virtually via YouTube Live. The stake presidency asked everyone to study President Russell M. Nelson's October Conference talk "Let God Prevail" (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/10/46nelson?lang=eng) in preparation for the conference.

Speakers include Jeana Persson, Sam and Jenny Bruni, Cameron Chao, Dave Rogers, Carina Novillo, George Miranda, Ann Marquis, Kenna Graham, Newport Beach Temple President Zundel and his wife, and President Evanson.

2020 Virtual Christmas Concert

Music is a cherished part of the Christmas season. We wanted to share some beautiful musical numbers from members of the Laguna Niguel stake which you can enjoy from the comfort of your home.

With performances from:

The Kimball Brothers

The Hepburn Family

Megan Peo, Laura Thompson, and Angel Westover

Shaun Beckerman

ReahAnn Nobleza

Brynn Johnson

The Talbot Family

Russell and Krystal Holmes

Hanna Eyre

and a violin and piano duet from Steven Olsen and Emily Lawrence.

Special thanks to Emily Lawrence and Megan Peo for their help gathering these numbers.

Our Missionaries' Favorite Names For Christ

Jesus Christ goes by many names: Healer, Cornerstone, Alpha & Omega, The Good Shepherd, the Great I Am, Savior, the Price of Peace, Redeemer, Friend. We asked the missionaries serving around the world from the Laguna Niguel stake to share their favorite name for Christ and why. We hope that remembering these names for our Savior will bring you peace and joy this Christmas season. Merry Christmas!

Special thanks to all our missionaries for sending in videos, and to Hanna Eyre for her arrangement of "I Love to See the Temple".

Christmas Chalk Walk 2020 Award Winners

We were awed at the amazing artwork that was created for the Chalk Walk this year! We want to thank all of our artists for sharing their talents and their time with us. Thank you for making this Chalk Walk a success and for putting in hours and hours creating your works of art.

Celebrating the Life of Patriarch Clawson

On the afternoon of Wednesday, November 18th, Patriarch Alvin George Clawson slipped from the bonds of this earthly life and into the arms of those he has “loved long since, and lost a while.” And while we unite in this deeply personal sorrow, we joyfully celebrate the goodness of one who loved us all so completely.

Patriarch Clawson served as bishop, stake president, temple sealer, temple president, and stake patriarch. He was known as charitable and Christlike. But the name he most surely would have us know him as is “friend”. We asked a few of those who worked alongside him, were influenced by him, received blessings from him, and felt his unique love to share a few words about our beloved Patriarch Clawson.

LN Stake Christmas Playlist

Today's prompt to Light the World is to post something that brings you peace. Music is one of the best ways to help bring the spirit into a room and feelings of peace. Emily Lawrence, our Stake Music Director, put together this playlist of Christ centered Christmas music. It includes over an hour and a half of beautiful songs including The Tabernacle at Temple Square, Josh Groban, The Lower Lights, Shawn Colvin, Jenny Oaks Baker, and Millenial Choirs and Orchestras. We know it will fill your home with the peace only Christ can bring. You can listen over at Spotify or on Apple Music.

addie may graham scholarship fund

Addie May Graham was a ten-year-old from our Aliso Viejo ward whose enthusiasm and joy for life showed in everything she did. Addie loved math and was determined to major in engineering at BYU one day.

On November 9, 2019, Addie and her family were in Provo to attend a BYU football game. They spent the entire day touring BYU’s campus and specifically locating the science/math buildings that she would attend during her future BYU career. Later that day, Addie was involved in a tragic fatal accident. Her family would later find a note she had just written that read, “I LOVE BYU.” Even at the young age of ten, Addie was a Cougar at heart.

For those interested, donations are being accepted to set up the scholarship, with a goal of $120,000. This is a replenishment grant/endowment which means once the $120,000 is reached it will be invested and should provide a new scholarship opportunity each year based on the interest generated. This will allow the “Addie May Graham Scholarship” to be given out annually for many more years to come.

You can make an online donation here (it’s titled ”The CA Orange County Replenishment Grant)

If you would like to learn a little more about Addie or leave a note for her family, you can do so here.

mission moment: teaching among the kuna indians

Jeff Turner from the Wood Canyon ward shares this mission moment:

“I served my mission in Panama during 1981-1982. For the last four months, I lived among the Kuna Indians on the very remote islands of Nargana and Carti Tupili. The experience was unforgettable.

The Kuna are a tribe of American Indians that has remained pure due to very strict cultural practices. It is believed they once lived in the Amazon Basin, but migrated to the coast of Panama in the late 1400's to avoid contact with the Conquistadors. They came to inhabit some eighty islands of the San Blas Archipelago, which comprises approximately 360 islands. These remote islands are located on the coast west of the portion of Panama that is the Darien jungle, a tract of land so dense and inhospitable that, even now, it remains inpeneratable with no roads that transverse its length and uninhabited. For that reason, the Kuna remained untouched by Western culture until well after WWII. 

The Kuna have a unique verbal dialect that, when I was there, was not written, as the people could not read or write. Three Silas (chiefs) were named on each of the eighty islands. The role of the chiefs was to gather the people on their island three nights a week and sing to them the stories of their people. Thus, the history of the Kuna's past was remembered through oral traditions. They kept these stories unchanged by always having two of the three chiefs at the gathering from different islands. If the song was altered even slightly, the portion was re-sung until it was presented word-for-word perfect. I witnessed a great many of these "songs." They sang of Iban, who went to the top of a tall mountain with all the kinds of animals until rain had destroyed all other life. They sang of the Garden, of the Creation, of Dakin, who deceived the first parents.  My favorite was the song of Ibibali Pepeleli. The Sila (chief) said he doesn't always sing this song, only once a year:

    "Ibaleli Pepeleli anciently was an old nele (prophet)
    Pab Dumat (The Great Father) made the way in the sea
    The sea was calm
    Ibaleli Pepeleli sang to his people to teach them
    The way was great
    He saw the road, that it was good
    He walked the road by the sea
    A great shining tree was there at the end
    Two of his children are ichiguagua (bad)
    They don't want to walk the road by the sea
    Ibaleli Pepeleli was showing his children the good way
    Ibaleli Pepeleli fell into sleep
    He dreamed
    A spirit came and taught Ibaleli Pepeleli all things about Pab Dumat
    In the dream it was told him not to stay where he lived because the people wanted to kill him
    Ibaleli Pepeleli was to go to a different place
    Pab Dumat would destroy the people of his home place
    We (the ancient people) came to this place
    The sea destroyed Ibaleli Pepeleli's old home
    Snakes came
    The people of the old land, many died
    The old land became desolate
    The people of Ibaleli Pepeleli remembered Pab Dumat and thus were saved
    Ibaleli Pepeleli tells us two of his children were angry and wanted to hit their mother and father. 

Two were nuegambi (good or kind) and walked the past with their father
    I shall sing no more now
    I end"

Of all of the songs that are sung, the one that is held most special recounts the coming of Ibiorgum, the son the of the Great Father, Pab Dumat. Descending from a high hill, Ibiorgum came among the people.  His face and clothes glowed white above the glowing of the sun over the water.  He wore a beard.  When he smiled, the people felt joy.  It is said that Ibiorgum taught the people how to live well and promised to come again. The Kuna also have a ritual in which a drink is passed through a curtain of dried leaves. Their chiefs say that this drink represents the blood of Ibiorgum, the son of the Great Father. They say that you must partake or you cannot live with the Great Father in the life to come. The ritual also incorporates elements of modern temple worship. The sila said, “We don't remember for how long, many many generations, but our fathers have always taught that Pab Dumat gave to us this land".

The first missionaries from our church arrived in 1979 on the island of Nargana. It had taken them nearly two days by boat and canoe to get there. As they arrived at the beach, a large crowd had gathered and the knelt in the sand before them. When the Elders inquired about the reception they received, they were told that the last Kuna nele, or prophet, had died some six months before. On his deathbed, the nele told his people that soon, men bearing the true history of their people would come wearing white shirts and what he described as ties. They had been waiting for those men. Many are now members of the church. They remain child-like and humble. President Kimball once said that they would one day stand as a witness of the Book of Mormon to all the world.”

the refiner's fire

"Many of you may know that basically all of Oregon is on fire. 477 active fires and most of them in our mission have been at 0% containment. I haven't seen the sky or sun in a week now because the smoke has been so thick. We wake up in the morning and the ashes look like snow coming down. The smoke gets worse every day!

My heart ached this week when I woke up to news that my old apartment in Medford had been burned down. The area I was in had been flattened by the fires. There was literally no sign of any building structure other than a few brick chimneys that still stood. All I could think about were my members and people I had taught that had lost everything they owned other than what they could fit in their cars.

On Sunday we had a testimony meeting. Half of our ward was homeless from the fires and showed up wearing jeans and shirts. I could not believe what I was hearing. After being in the same homes for 30-40 years they had just lost everything. However they STILL were expressing gratitude to the Lord for being protected and that everyone made it out alive. I was dumbfounded by their resilience. They had so much faith in God that they knew in the end, this didn't matter. They had their families and the truth of the restored church of Jesus Christ. That was enough for them."

-Elder Tanner Hunter from the Aliso Niguel ward, currently serving in the Oregon Eugene Mission

intermission: missionaries during covid-19

“The adventure of a lifetime” is the label used by Elder Brent Nielson, a General Authority Seventy who is executive director of the Missionary Department. That phrase describes what missionaries across the world, including many from the Laguna Niguel stake, have gone through as they've been sent home temporarily from their missions.

We asked several of our missionaries to describe what they saw on their missions all around the world as the pandemic began. Some were allowed to stay in the countries where they were serving and quarantine for months at a time, others ended their missions a few months early due to health concerns, and many were sent home to California temporarily and then reassigned to missions in North America.

Elder Nielson remarked, “When I see their pictures on the planes, they are today’s ‘army of Helaman’ — they are very impressive. I hope everyone, in the middle of all this, doesn’t miss the historic experience this is for these young men and young women who were the ones who made it through the pandemic.”

Thank you to the missionaries who shared their stories, and to those who have been reassigned and are working hard every day, serving in various places they never expected all across the country.

This video was produced by Aubry Mackin of the Wood Canyon ward. (Thank you Aubry!)

cleaning up in the wake of hurricane laura

Two elders serving from our stake in Houston, Texas (temporarily reassigned from their missions in Mexico and the Dominican Republic due to the pandemic) have been hard at work the past few weeks cleaning up after Hurricane Laura.

Elder Jason Cook: "Tuesday and Wednesday we went to Louisiana and stayed the night to do some hurricane cleanup. It was crazy down there. Tons of trees snapped in half or uprooted, every single person's roof had been mildly to severely damaged, the telephone poles and the billboards had all been knocked down, random stores had shattered windows from all the debris flying around, huge sheets of metal strewn out on every lawn, etc. Lots of damage. The first day, we spent our time going house to house cleaning up the trees and shingles and debris from the yards.

The second day we went into this house that had flooded from the roof and the ceiling collapsed in the kitchen. The whole house was drenched and there was tons of insulation from the ceiling covering the whole kitchen. We took everything out, cleaned up all the insulation, and ripped all the carpets out. That one house took 10 of us the entire day to empty out. Saturday and Sunday was more hurricane cleanup. Taking massive fallen trees, some on houses, some just on the lawn, and cutting them up with a chainsaw and putting the wood into a pile. Pretty fun stuff.

All in all we probably did about 40 hours of service this week. I have found service to be extremely satisfying, as I KNOW for a fact that I'm helping somebody. We'll probably have more to do this coming week. There is SO much hurricane cleanup to do."

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Elder Truman Minor: "Last week we were helping a family clean up their attic and roof. It took a couple days of hard work, I mean HARD work! We were exhausted, it was hotter than anything, and the humidity here is NO JOKE! While we were working and sweating , I thought to myself, "Why am I in an attic with dust everywhere in the 110 degree and super humid weather!? This isn't all a mission is! I haven't been able to teach anyone. We can't go out and track, or go into anyone's homes!" A couple times I wanted to just lay on the ground and pass out but then I realized that this IS what a mission is about! Serving the Lord's sheep!

The last day we were at this house, we finished cleaning up, and the family that lived there wanted to talk to us. The family was thanking us and they just started crying. I was a little confused and didn't know what was going on, but they then explained how it would've taken them months to remove all the damaged parts of the roof and attic and that our service was an answer to their prayers. When they told us that, I forgot all about the super hot humid stickiness and could only feel the spirit. The spirit testified to me that I was there for a reason. There is a reason I was sent home from Mexico, was home for a couple months, got reassigned to Houston Texas, and was assigned to do service for this family for just a couple of days. It was so I could help the Lord fulfill what he wanted done for this family at that time.

From that experience I learned that each of us can help change someone's life. Even if it's just by serving others or helping others with some minor things. Service in the Lord's eyes is service! No matter how great or small! I now try to put myself in others shoes when we are serving to help me work harder and it makes me want to serve even more. I know that when we are serving others we are also serving our Heavenly Father."

i love to see the temple

As part of our celebration of the Newport Beach temple’s 15th anniversary, we asked children and youth from wards across the stake to form a virtual choir and sing “I Love to See the Temple”. Special thanks to these talented kids for sharing their voices with us; to Emily Lawrence, our stake music chairman; and Hanna Eyre of the Laguna Niguel ward, who arranged and played the beautiful piano accompaniment.

Pay attention to the words of the third verse, written just for this occasion:

“I love to see the temple,
I’ll be back inside someday.
To gather all my family
And help them find the way.
For the temple is a special place,
Where I can hear Him better,
I can feel His love when I am there,
Our temple is forever.”

understanding temple symbolism

Ron and Joyce Hanson, of the Laguna Beach ward, share their thoughts on temple symbolism with Beth Garlock, our Laguna Niguel Stake Relief Society President. Learn more about the symbolism used in most temples of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints including gardens, fountains, the angel Moroni, steeples, windows, artwork, and the rooms of the temple.

Temples are the bridge between earth and heaven and provide a path for a journey of ascension from worldly to celestial. Temples allow us to find and understand our place. They are a place of learning, a place of joy, and most importantly, temples are all about Christ.

This video is part of a 6 part series to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Newport Beach temple on August 28th, 2020. We are so grateful for our temple and how we long to be inside it again soon!

Special thanks to Ron and Joyce Hanson, for their time and preparation, and for Beth Garlock for hosting our discussion. Thank you to Hanna Eyre for the piano arrangement of "I Love to See the Temple". Photographs provided by Ron and Joyce Hanson, the Church of Jesus Christ media library, and members of the Laguna Niguel stake; with special thanks to Robyn Ellsworth, of the Laguna Hills ward, for her beautiful photographs of the exterior of the temple.

Joyce mentions a video she used to use when teaching Temple Prep class called “Between Heaven and Earth”. You can watch the video on YouTube here.

What does the temple mean to you?

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As part of our stake’s efforts to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Newport Beach temple coming up on August 28th, 2020, we’ve invited a few members of our stake to share their testimonies of the temple and answer the question, “What does the temple mean to you?”. We hope you will find some time this week to listen to these honest testimonies and think about what the temple means personally to you.

Listen on our stake podcast, hosted by Richard and Janna Zinke of the Newport Beach Temple presidency (and members of our Laguna Niguel ward). Testimonies from:

Noel Hatch

Aliso Viejo Ward

Loran Anderson

Dana Hills Ward

Logan Stites

Wood Canyon Ward

Jonny McKeon

Aliso Viejo Ward

Eden Wallin

Aliso Viejo Ward

Tawny Morris

Laguna Niguel Ward

Laura Thompson

Laguna Niguel Ward

Doug

Stevens

Dana Hills Ward

Mark Andraszczyk

Dana Hills Ward

Rich and Janna Zinke

Laguna Niguel Ward