Darrell Bevell was born on 6 January 1970 in Yuma, Arizona. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (inadvertently referred to as the “Mormon” Church by the media and others). He is a returned missionary, having served two years in Cleveland, Ohio.
Bevell is also a four-year collegiate starting quarterback for the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is currently wrapping up his third season as the offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, and the big news is that he is headed to Super Bowl XLVIII.
A True Football Legend
Bevell graduated from Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. After high school he attended Northern Arizona University (NAU) where he redshirted as a freshman quarterback under offensive coordinator, Brad Childress. Shortly after that, he left for his two-year LDS mission.
He had received scholarship offers from NAU and Utah, but made the decision to play for Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin-Madison. In 1993, he was named starting quarterback, and led the Badgers to become “co-champions of the Big Ten and securing the school’s first Rose Bowl invitation since 1963” [1] with a year-end record of 10-1-1. The team ended the season with their first ever Rose Bowl victory by defeating the UCLA Bruins in the 1964 Rose Bowl with a final score of 21-16. (more…)
Catherine M. Stokes graduated from DePaul University in Chicago with a Bachelor’s degree in nursing. She served as vice-chairman of the board of trustees of the InnerCity Youth Charitable Foundation in Chicago from 1990 to 2006. In 2006, she retired as a Deputy Director for the Illinois Department of Health.
After moving to Utah, she served on the board of the Utah AIDS Foundation, and currently serves as the membership chair of the Utah Chapter of the African-American Genealogy & Historical Society. She is featured in the book, Mormon Women: Portraits & Conversations, and was recently named a member of the new Editorial Advisory Board for the Deseret News.
Finding the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Stokes first became acquainted with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in June 1978, while flying to a nurses’ convention in Honolulu, Hawaii. The pilot had suggested that those visiting the islands should visit the Hawaii Temple, which had just been renovated and was open to the general public. The temple was closed the day Stokes went there. She did meet a pair of missionaries at the visitors’ center who were unable to satisfactorily answer the questions that she had, so she filled out a referral card, requesting more information. (more…)
Mindy McKnight has 5 daughters (and one lone son) and sent her girls to school with hair masterpieces. The girls’ friends, and friends’ mothers, wanted to know how to do the dos. So, Mindy McKnight began the Cute Girls Hairstyles blog to share requested “how- tos” for her daughters’ hairstyles.
One morning, Mindy made a couple of videos for friends demonstrating how to do trickier hair dos and posted the video on YouTube. She really didn’t think about the videos again. YouTube contacted Mindy about six months later to see if she would host a YouTube channel because the videos had become extremely popular. The Cute Girls Hairstyles YouTube channel has 1.6 million subscribers and posts new hairstyle (more…)
Think about what it feels like to come home after a long day. Think about that relaxation you feel as you enjoy a hot shower and climb in a comfy bed with clean sheets. Now think about how you would feel if you didn’t have a bed, a shower, a home. Refugees from around the world come to the United States with practically nothing. The US has programs in place to help refugees start a life here, but the stipends given those refugees aren’t enough to cover all the costs of starting over from scratch. That’s where the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints comes in (this faith is often inadvertently referred to as the Mormon Church).
Deseret Manufacturing, a company owned by The Church of Jesus Christ, donates beds and bedding to refugees settling in Utah. Deseret Manufacturing works together with Salt Lake City’s Catholic Community Services, the International Rescue Committee, the Refugee Immigrant Center – Asian Association of Utah, and the Utah Department of Workforce Services refugee office.[1]
It’s January, and the internet is swimming in articles and blog posts about resolutions, goals, and change. These resolutions are often pretty standard: get in shape, save money, find a new job, try something new. Those goals aren’t bad, and if you’re committed to them, can actually be really good for you, but they aren’t the only ones you should consider as you dive into the new year. When you sit down to make goals for the new year, think about what you want to be and not just about what you want to do. Here are some ideas for resolutions you can make that will bring you closer to the Savior.
1. Seek out someone in need
Seeking out those in need can mean assisting the homeless, or stopping for that friend who needs someone to talk to. Resolve to be more aware of those around you and more attuned to the ways you can serve. Throughout Christ’s ministry, He was constantly aware of those who needed help, and He always served where He was needed. This year, let’s make a goal of being where we need to be and acting on those generous thoughts that cross our minds. Let’s serve in that wonderful way that the Savior did.
I had the good fortune to interview filmmaker Adam White today. Adam is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (often inadvertently called the Mormon Church). He wrote and directed the feature film Inspired Guns premiering in Utah, January 24, 2014.
What happens when two [Mormon] missionaries get mistaken for mafia?
The inspiration for Inspired Guns came while Adam served as a Mormon missionary in Argentina. People congregated in the town plazas, and the missionaries talked to people there. Adam said that since missionaries always wore suits, Argentines often mistook him and his companion (missionaries are assigned to work in twos) as CIA agents. Repeatedly being mistaken for CIA, FBI, or some other agency, sparked the concept for Inspired Guns, which Adam thought would be entertaining and funny. (more…)