Mormons in Italy and Louisiana; Steve Young Immortizalized; and More

1170

Missionaries and Members Safe After 6.2 Earthquake Shakes Italy

The Church released a statement confirming the safety of all LDS missionaries serving in Italy following the devastating earthquake Wednesday August 24. LDS Church spokesman Eric Hawkins released the following statement to Fox 13 News:

“We pray for the people in Italy as they continue their efforts to locate survivors and care for those who have been affected by the recent earthquakes. We are grateful to report that all missionaries in these areas have been accounted for and are safe.

We also recognize events in Myanmar, and likewise pray for the people of that country impacted by the overnight earthquake.”

At the junction of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates, Italy is at particular risk of earthquakes. In 2009, the L’Aquila earthquake razed the country, leaving over 300 dead in its wake. More recently, in 2012, two earthquakes claimed the lives of more than 20 people in the Emilia Romagna region.

amatrice-italy-town-earthquake
Amatrice Italy, via Time Magazine

At the epicenter of the most recent earthquake was the town of Amatrice, a historic commune in central Italy with a history dating back to prehistoric times. The town’s historic buildings, built from stone centuries ago, now remain as rubble.

Today, more than 2,400 rescuers continue to search out survivors among the rubble. The death toll currently stands at 241, but is expected to rise as rescuers continue their search efforts, according to the BBC.

Read more at Deseret News.

Thousands of ‘Mormon Helping Hands’ Clean-up Flood Aftermath

As the rain subsides, volunteers come pouring in to aid Louisiana’s Northshore. Based out of congregations in Hammond, Baker, and Baton Rouge, volunteers with “Mormon Helping Hands” help residents mud-out and gut houses ravaged by the flood.

Louisiana Flooding Helping Hands
image via mormonnewsroom.org

Volunteers began arriving last Friday, bringing with them buckets of cleaning supplies and boxes of food. Hundreds more are expected to arrive throughout the three week operation.

Those in need of assistance from the “Helping Hands” are encouraged to call

1-800-451-1954.

To read more, visit Mormon Newsroom.

Steve Young To Be Immortalized in NFL Films Documentary

20151111-6-youngFans of NFL Hall of Famer and former BYU quarterback, Steve Young, will be glad to know that chronicles of his life will be available in print and on film. LDS author Jeff Benedict has been working with Young on a sports memoir — “QB: My Life behind the Spiral” — set to be released Oct. 11. The synopsis for the book reads:

“Young’s most impressive victories were personal ones that were won off the field when no one was watching. QB is a remarkably revealing memoir of an athletically gifted Mormon boy with a 4.0 GPA, a photographic memory, and a severe case of childhood separation anxiety. At the same time, Young was absolutely fearless — and unstoppable — whenever he had a ball in his hands.”

The memoir can be pre-ordered online from Deseret Book.

Young’s career will also be documented by NFL Films series “A Football Life” as it enters into its sixth season.

Read more at Deseret News.

3 LDS Sisters Fight Cancer Together

LDS sisters Fight Cancer
image via Deseret News

Three LDS sisters (2 sisters and 1 sister-in-law) in Utah are taking cancer in stride and leaning on each other for support.

“When I was diagnosed, it was almost hilarious because it was too comical, too ironic to be real,” Sharee Page told Deseret News.

Just weeks after her sister Annette’s diagnosis of breast cancer, Sharee found a lump on her own breast. Not long after, she was also diagnosed with breast cancer. Their sister-in-law, Lindsay Page, has been battling a form of rare angiosarcoma since 2015. Lindsay takes comfort in Elder Maxwell’s talk “But For a Small Moment.”

“Just knowing that we will have trials in our lives, all will, some are health and some aren’t. Some are emotional or mental or physical. And whatever they are, it’s OK to pray and ask him to take them from us, but if not, then thy will be done. And I loved that because I do feel like this has been an opportunity and I would be sad if I had prayed it away last year and I didn’t get to learn what I have learned in this year and a half, ” says Lindsay.

The three sisters believe that their diagnoses aren’t an unfortunate coincidence, but an opportunity to use the attention they’ve gained to share the gospel.

Annette Page said, “This wouldn’t be happening with (all of) us together if there wasn’t something extra special that we were supposed to learn.”

Read more at Deseret News.

 

Gabriella is a psychology major, Westfalia-dweller, and expert bean-eater. Having spent the majority of her life living in the great Latin-American metropoles of Guatemala and Mexico, Gabriella continues to grapple with the eccentricities of suburban living.