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Summarized by Kent Larsen
New LDS Groups Seek Volunteers at Conference
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Two new LDS groups are seeking volunteers
during this weekend's General Conference, according to an article in
the Deseret News. The groups are looking to make connections and
promote their missions in meetings held in the LDS Church's Joseph
Smith Memorial Building (formerly Hotel Utah) in Salt Lake in the
days before and after General Conference. LDSmentalhealth.org
provides a collection of articles, conference talks and other
materials on mental health for assisting Church members and their
therapists with mental health issues, while Unitus is trying to
become a clearing house for information on humanitarian efforts in
the Third World, especially those efforts run by LDS Church members
or that are compatible with LDS beliefs.
LDSmentalhealth.org is the website of the Hidden Treasures Institute,
a two-year-old nonprofit organization founded by Ogden, Utah
psychologist Rick Hawks to provide information on how to deal with a
host of mental health issues, including various addictions, bipolar
disease, depression, etc. The group has already collected many
sermons, professional papers, pamphlets and books, creating a
clearinghouse for professional social and emotional materials. They
have also made many of these materials available on their new
Internet website.
Hawks says the site is needed because religious belief and practice
has historically been frowned on by psychologists, making it
difficult for LDS Church members, as well as members of other
religions, to find psychologists who respect their beliefs. This same
dilemna led to the formation of the Association of Mormon Counselors
and Psychotherapists (AMCAP) 25 years ago. That group meets
semi-annually at General Conference time, including yesterday and
today in the LDS Church's Joseph Smith Memorial Building.
The other organization, Unitus, is much newer, holding its first
meeting on Tuesday, October 10th in the Joseph Smith Memorial
Building. It is trying to assist the many small humanitarian groups
formed by LDS Church members in recent years by helping them share
information, resources and volunteers. Representatives of many of the
groups will be at Tuesday's meeting.
However, Unitas spokesman Mike Murray says that the group will focus
on those providing assistance to the Third World, because of the
tendency to simply give handouts instead of finding long-term
solutions to problems. Unitas also plans to meet semi annually at
Conference time.
Source:
2 groups try to Net 'helpers'
Deseret News 5Oct00 P4
By Carrie A. Moore: Deseret News religion editor
LDS volunteers plot how to reach those in need
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