Mother Shares Her Daughter’s Miraculous Survival Story In New Book
When Doug and Marcia Hansen learned her daughter had been hit by a car, she thought the worst. Unfortunately, her daughters condition was worse than the worst, and her prognosis uncertain.
“I really didn’t think it was going to be that bad,” Marcia Hansen said in an interview. “Accidents happen to other people; they don’t happen to you.”
Lexi Hansen was in her second semester at Brigham Young University when she was hit by a car when she was long-boarding through a crosswalk. Her serious injuries garnered the attention of the national media. Doctors gave Lexi a 1% chance of survival.
Hansen and her husband were told to gather the family. The medical team didn’t plan on stitching up Lexi’s face; the organ donor team was standing by. With little hope and lots of faith, Marcia Hansen began phoning everyone she knew, asking for their thoughts and prayers to be with Lexi. No one believed that Lexi would pull through.
But she did.
“They came in right after our prayers and said they had seen a slight improvement, so they were going to take her up to ICU and stitch up her face,” Marcia Hansen said in an interview.
As Lexi’s condition began to improve, Hansen knew she had witnessed a modern day miracle.
“When she was healed and the miracle happened, people wrote (on the Facebook page) that they came to church for the first time,” Marcia Hansen said. “They realized God wanted to be more involved in their lives, and miracles are not a thing of the past.”
Hansen felt compelled to share her daughter’s story to a wider audience. So she began writing a book, detailing the experience, in hopes that others might be touched by her testimony of miracles in this modern day and age.
Marcia’s story of her daughters accident, “God Is Still a God of Miracles,” is for sale on Amazon.
“I just knew this wasn’t a miracle for our family and for Lexi, but so that the world could know that God is still a God of miracles,” she said.
Read more at Deseret News.
Sister Burton Announces Updated Relief Society Purpose Statement
A Thursday afternoon Facebook post by Relief Society general president, Linda K. Burton, announced changes to the Relief Society Purposes document. The new purpose statement reads:
“Relief Society helps prepare women for the blessings of eternal life as they: Increase faith in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and His Atonement; Strengthen individuals, families, and homes through ordinances and covenants; Work in unity to help those in need.”
While the original purpose statement offered great guidelines on what Relief Society members should be doing, the new statement tells members how they can go about increasing their faith, strengthening families, and helping those in need.
The changes represent an effort by the Relief Society Presidency to seek the Lord’s guidance to know “what essential things he would have us focus on to continue moving his work forward.”
Sister Burton expressed her hopes that members will study the new statement in order to come to a deeper understanding of the purpose of Relief Society. Sister Burton invited sisters to ponder the new mission statement, ending the post with, “How does understanding this purpose bring hope and meaning into your daily life and actions?”
Read more at Deseret News.
Another LDS Artist Makes NBC’s The Voice
Joining 14-year-old, LDS singer Aaliyah Rose on this season’s The Voice is LDS 16-year-old Lauryn Judd from Draper, Utah.
Starting off strong at the blind auditions, Judd stunned judges with a cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” She was propositioned by three out of four judges, eventually deciding to join vocal coach Alicia Keys’s team.
Lauryn you're so special! So fly to have you on #TeamAlicia! ? #VoiceBlinds
— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) March 8, 2017
“I’ve been singing ever since I could talk,” Judd told LDS Living. Judd grew up performing in school and ward choirs. She also joined a youth theatre group called Utah Copa.
“Lauryn has an amazing voice. She’s only 16 so there’s a ton of stuff we can build and bring out, and I’m very, very excited about her,” said Keys after signing Judd to her team.
Judd’s parents have always been supportive of her passion for singing. Her father performs in ward choirs alongside her, while her mother drives her to vocal lessons.
Read more at LDS Living.
2017 LDS Pageant Schedule
The history of LDS pageants dates back to 1935 as a small celebration of the Book of Mormon in Utah. Today, LDS pageants attract thousands of visitors from across the nation, with venues in Illinois, Arizona, Canada, and California.
This year’s pageant schedule was recently posted to LDS.org . The guide gives details on the dates, times, and location for each of the six listed pageants.
More information at LDS.org
Multi-stake Choir Wows Judges On Mongolia’s Got Talent
In January of 2016, Odgerel Ochirjav received a strange call from his brother-in-law.
“I was watching ‘Mongolia’s Got Talent’ … and remembered your BYU choir which was fantastic,” the stake president’s brother-in-law told him. “I had a strong impression that your church choir should participate and it would be very interesting because it would be something new.”
The multi-stake choir Ochirjav’s brother-in-law referred to had been formed following a visit from BYU’s student choir in 2008, but had never intended to perform nationally. After a brief discussion with the choir director, who relayed the idea to the choir members, all parties came to an enthusiastic agreement.
The group called itself SION, an acronym for Spirit, Faith, Mind, and Union in Mongolian and began preparing for the first round of auditions. A mash up of “Winter Hymnal” and “Rather Be” earned SION all four of the judges’ votes and advanced to the next round.
“This is new and refreshing to have an a cappella choir that moves and dances with the music. In the past I have only seen groups singing without moving in Mongolia,” remarked one judge.
“I see your faces light up! … We need to put your video on YouTube to showcase this show to the world,” said another judge.
SION continued to stun the judges, making it all the way to the semi-finals before being eliminated under unfortunate circumstances.
After preparing all summer for the semi-finals, with only two weeks remaining, SION was told they needed to perform a song in Mongolian, else they’d be removed from the competition. In addition to this curve ball, the group also suffered a reduction in size as members left for college and to serve missions.
The choir spent many a late-night, revising and refining their piece hastily as semi-finals approached. The group awoke at 4 a.m., braving -34C temperatures in order to make it to the competition.
Unfortunately, SION did not receive enough votes to continue on to the final round, but the members did receive an experience that will last a lifetime.
“By being in ‘Mongolia’s Got Talent’ show, I have learned that I should never doubt myself or think that I can’t do something. Singing in the choir has helped me to make many friends,” said Sister Bilguunzaya Tungalagtuul.
The Church was also able to garner valuable exposure thanks to SION’s participation in the competition.
Read more at Deseret News.
