Banbury Ward of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Message from the Bishopric

Dear Banbury Ward,

One of my proudest accomplishments in my life is graduating from Seminary. My freshman year became a big dilemma to attend since I had basketball practice at the same time as early morning Seminary. Yes, I was fortunate enough (LOL) to get to go to Seminary at 6 a.m. every morning but then basketball season came, and I couldn’t attend. That required me to do home study and to complete several homework assignments in my “free time”. I was thankfully able to catch up in enough time to get credit for the entire year. From there, I went to Seminary for the next 3 years until I graduated. It got really tough to attend, especially on days after my late basketball games on Varsity, but I persevered.

Attending Seminary included many spiritual experiences and gave me insights into the Gospel and scriptures that I would not have learned otherwise. My best friends and I got a chance to hang out in that type of setting and experience that together, which was extremely special to me. We were so tight as a group that we were the four time winners of the annual scripture chase competition. My reward for winning the fastest overall was getting to drive a Maserati on a date!

The Church just announced that more than 1 million students worldwide are enrolled in Seminaries and Institutes of Religion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marking an unprecedented milestone in the program’s more than 100-year history.

The growth reflects youth and young adults across the globe choosing to study the scriptures, strengthen their relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and gather in communities centered on the Savior.

Over the past two years, enrollment has increased significantly, with nearly 200,000 new students joining. Included in the 1 million currently enrolled are approximately 75,000 friends enrolled from other faiths — evidence that youth and young adults are gathering and inviting others in record numbers. This is awesome!

I love this counsel Alma gives to his son Helaman in Alma 37:35-37

35 O, remember, my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth; yea, learn in thy youth to keep the commandments of God.  36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. 37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

In the Bible, young Jesus is described as growing “in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:52). He confounded the wise and challenged the intellectuals as a youth. I’m sure his Seminary classes with the Father were incredible! We are challenging our youth to learn this year’s theme “Walk with Me”. Young Women General President Emily Belle Freeman said, “Every time we open the scriptures, we have an opportunity to walk with Christ. Every time we stand as a witness of Him, we walk with Him. When we mourn with others, or comfort a friend, or help to shoulder a burden, these are the moments we walk with Christ.” “I am looking forward to a year where we will discover that Jesus Christ is in our midst, just as He promised He would be. I am looking forward to spending one whole year walking with Him,” she said.

I started walking with Christ through my experiences at Seminary and encourage all of our youth to please attend (shameless plug to have parents and youth please register on the Church website if you haven’t already done so - link below). I want you all to know how much the Bishopric loves our rising generation. We believe in them. We want them to walk with Jesus. We are all in this together in teaching and learning with them. We are one in purpose and love. They are so strong and so special. Their faith will carry the Gospel moving forward. We pray for them. May they all know how much their Father in Heaven knows them personally and cares for them. Heaven’s angels are behind them. Their Savior is there to buoy them up and lend His hand to them to hold on tight. They’ve got this!

Love,

Bro Ron Thomas

• April 2026 Cleaning Assignments - Please come to the church Saturday morning at 8:00am on the assigned day or trade with another family. 

  • April 25: Cambron, Chaffin, Clark, Clark, Coltrin, Cook, Cranney, Crawford, Crawford, Daniels, Davis

• Youth Camps this year will be the week of June 22-27.

  • • Young Women's Camp - It will be at Hayfork campground near Idaho City (an hour away)

      • • Girls Camp: YCL's will leave Monday, June 22 to set up camp. The rest of the girls will come up Tuesday morning, June 23rd. Everyone will clean up camp and go home Thursday, June 25th.

    • Young Men's Camp – June 24-27th at Northwest Passage Campground - McCall & Garden Valley.  All Young Men - Deacons, Teachers, and Priests are invited.

• Sunday Youth Assignments

  1. • April Chair Set-Up - Deacons

     • April Greeters - Young Women 12-13 Class

• Seminary registration for the upcoming school year is now open. All youth entering grades 9-12 are invited to participate. Parents should register their student at myseminary.churchofjesuschrist.org and select Religious Release.

• April 18 - Ward Activity for Adults - Saturday, April 18 at 6:00 pm at the Stake Center – Pizza, Puzzles & Pickleball – Get to know other ward members by playing board games, building puzzles or learning a new sport, all while enjoying a fun meal together!

• April 22 - Semi-annual Junk Haul - Wednesday April 22 - If you have anything you'd like hauled off, or donated, please contact a member of the bishopric to be added to our route that evening.

• April 23 - Stake Humanitarian Workday - 10am-1pm at the Stake Center.

  1. • Children's Center: 10:30-12:30 for toddlers to 5-year-olds

     • Donation focus: BOOKS for preschool to middle school ages

• April 25-26 - Stake Conference

  1. • April 25th Adult Session 6 PM

     • April 26th General Session 10 AM

     • April 26th Priesthood Leadership Session 2 PM

     • April 26th Youth Session 7 PM

• April 27 - Blood Drive - See flyer below

• May 2 - Primary Potluck - Saturday May 2nd at 5:00 p.m. at the Bishop's house

• The Remember Him Area Initiative, which invites us all to focus on Becoming Lifelong Disciples of Jesus Christ, is featured on the Area website. All members are invited to:

  • • Share the Remember Him Video featured on the Area Website.

    • Invite families and individuals to visit the site and discuss the video message at home.

• Missionary Meals - We can invite the missionaries to dinner any day or night of the week; there is no longer the requirement to have a non-member present. Please reach out to our Ward Missionary Leader, Larry Nelson, if interested, and for further details and options. The missionaries will not be passing a calendar around, you will need to schedule directly with the missionaries. 

• Are you interested in being called as a Temple and Family History Worker with the assignment to work in the Family Search Center? Like a temple worker, this would be a weekly commitment, however each shift is only 2.5 hours. This is an extremely fulfilling calling and an opportunity for anyone to serve the Lord in a meaningful way.  Those who work at the center are witnesses to the miracles that happen there and the joy that the work brings into their lives.  Please reach out to a member of the bishopric if this is something you would like to discuss.

• "To allow for greater access to the words of the living prophets, printed copies of Church magazines are now available at no cost. These magazines include the Liahona, For the Strength of Youth, and Friend. This policy will eventually apply to every area of the Church.

  • • • Members can use their Church account to choose their preferred subscription(s) on a yearly basis at MagazineSubscriptions.ChurchofJesusChrist.org"

      • Please contact a member of the Bishopric, Relief Society Presidency, Elders Quorum Presidency, or your ministering sisters/brothers if you have any questions about this change or if you need assistance with subscribing for no-cost print magazines.

• For temple recommend interviews with the Bishopric and other meetings with the Bishop, please call or text David Swenson at (208) 447-8903.

• All temple recommend interviews with the Stake Presidency must be scheduled ahead of time. There are no walk-in appointments at this time.  For recommend renewal interviews, please visit https://calendly .com/minorth/temple to see available times and schedule an interview with the stake presidency.

Worldwide Church Events

The following link will take you to the church website with a list of all the upcoming and recent church events

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/events/