My Testimony

 My testimony is simple. I know that God lives. And that He loves me. And I know that because He loves me, He sent His son to atone for our sins. I know that The Book of Mormon is true, and therefore I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. I know that we have a prophet in our day who provides revelation for the Church and the world as a whole. I know that President Nelson is supported by a council of Apostles who are also called of God. I know that those apostles are constantly seeking and receiving revelation, including revelation about where to send the Lord’s missionaries, including myself. I can’t wait to serve and love the people of Orlando, and I can’t wait to see who the Lord helps me become through it all. God is good and He loves His Children infinitely. Christ is our Lord, Savior, Brother, and friend and He, too, loves us infinitely. I leave these things with you in His name, Jesus Christ, Amen.

All about the Florida, Orlando Spanish Speaking Mission

 FLORIDA ORLANDO MISSION HISTORY

 

Florida has a deep Latter-Day Saint heritage, going back as far as 1843, when Elders Daniel Cathcart and William Brown were sent to Pensacola, Florida, to “build up churches.” Traveling elders were occasionally sent into Florida until the Florida Conference was officially organized November 1, 1895, which Conference was within the Southern States Mission. The first branch in Florida was organized in Ashville, Jefferson County, on May 9, 1897, and was known as “The Hassell Branch.” By 1900 there were over a thousand members of the Church in Florida. The early missionaries sang many songs one of which was entitled “Florida.”

The Florida Conference of the Southern States Mission covered the entire state initially, with Jacksonville as the center of growth and activity. Traveling elders stopped and preached at Kissimmee and Tampa. Some of the first baptisms occurred near Kissimmee in Boggy Creek. On March 3, 1890, Elders of the Conference called upon the mayor of Longwood, a town just north of Orlando. The mayor granted them the use of a schoolhouse to hold cottage meetings.

In 1915 Julius C. Neubeck, who had moved to Miami earlier, was called by President Charles A. Callis, the Southern States Mission President, to preside over the members in Miami

The Saints organized a Sunday School in Tampa in 1919, and a branch in Ft. Myers and Tampa in 1927.

Then in 1937, the first chapel in central Florida was built in Orlando and was known as the Lake Dot chapel, which chapel was located on the present Orlando Arena parking lot in front of Lake Dot in downtown Orlando.

Also, in 1937, the Southern States Mission reported that 15 missionaries labored in Florida, and that the Church has 14 chapels with over 4,000 members in the state.

The first Florida Stake of the Church was organized in Jacksonville on January 19, 1947, by Charles A. Callis, accompanied by Elder Harold B. Lee. Elder Callis was known as the Apostle of the South and had wished to live to see a stake organized in the South.

In 1950, under the guidance of Elder Henry D. Moyle of the Council of the Twelve, the Church established what is now officially called Deseret Cattle and Citrus Ranch in Osceola County, southeast of Orlando. Today the Church Ranch owns 316,000 acres covering three counties, making it the largest cattle ranch in Florida.

By the late 1950’s, there were enough Latter-day Saints in the central Florida District to organize a stake. Orlando was the second Florida stake, and was organized on February 23, 1958, by Elders Henry D. Moyle and Delbert L. Stapley. The stake at that time covered a large geographical area from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf on the West Coast, including Daytona, Orlando, and Tampa.

A year and a half later (October 1959) the Tampa Stake was established. Then on November 13, 1960, the Miami Stake was organized by Elder Delbert L. Stapley.

On November 1, 1960, the Florida Mission was created out of the Southern States Mission, with Elder Karl R. Lyman as the first mission president. This was the first mission for the State of Florida. The mission headquarters were established in Winter Park (next to Orlando) at the Randall Mansion on the ‘‘Ripples’’ estate overlooking Lake Sue. The spacious Randall Mansion contained over a dozen rooms and six large fireplaces and was considered a masterpiece of design and construction. This mission home, the first in Florida, served as the headquarters for four mission presidents, and had become famous when Winston Churchill stayed at the mansion in January of 1942. It was sold in 1972, soon after the division of the Florida Mission.

The above material are extracts from Mark Skousen, Sunshine in the Soul, One Hundred Years of the Mormon Church in Florida, Skousen Publishing Co., Inc. Winter Park, 1996

The original Florida mission was divided into the Florida South Mission July 1, 1971, then later into the Ft. Lauderdale Mission (June 1974); the Tampa Mission being created in 1976, and the Jacksonville Mission in July of 1987

Then, almost 40 years after the original mission was created in Florida, the Florida Orlando Mission was created from the Florida Jacksonville, Tampa and Ft. Lauderdale Missions. The Mission’s official starting date was on 1 July 1998, as President and Sister A. Paul King arrived from Utah. Headquarters was established this time in Hunter’s Creek of Orlando, Florida. President and Sister Wesley White from Syracuse, Utah served from July 2001 to July 2004. President and Sister Kent W. Farnsworth from Salt Lake City, Utah served from July 2004 to July 2007. President and Sister John C. Darrington from Richland, Washington served from July 2007 to July 2010. President and Sister Garth V. Hall from Rexburg, Idaho served from July 2010 to July 2013. President and Sister Michael J. Berry from Draper, Utah served from July 2013 to July 2016.  President and Sister David K. Clark from Salt Lake City, Utah served from July 2016 to July 2019.  President and Sister Ashcraft from Nampa, Idaho are serving currently.

On 10 January 2016 the Vero Beach Zone was added to the Florida Orlando Mission.  Areas from the Ft. Lauderdale Mission (8 Full Time Missionaries) and the Tampa Mission are now part of the Florida Orlando mission.  The Vero Beach Stake was created by Elder Kopischke of the Seventy and was organized from the Cocoa Stake (Florida Orlando Mission), Sarasota Stake (Tampa Mission), and from the Stewart Stake (Ft. Lauderdale Mission).  With the creation of the Ocala Stake, the Lecanto and Belleview wards became part of the Florida Tampa Mission in June 2019.

The Florida Orlando Mission is blessed to have within its boundaries the first temple of the Church in Florida, the Orlando Temple. The temple was announced in February 1990, with the groundbreaking taking place in June 1992, and the dedication on October 9-11, 1994. The Church Ranch, Deseret Cattle and Citrus, is also located within the Mission boundaries.

What do we know about Orlando?

  

Orlando,  city, seat (1856) of Orange county, central Florida, U.S. It is situated in a region dotted by lakes, about 60 miles (95 km) northwest of Melbourne and 85 miles (135 km) northeast of Tampa. The city is the focus for one of the state’s most populous metropolitan areas.

The region was originally inhabited by Timucua and later Seminole peoples. Settlement began about 1843 around Fort Gatlin, a U.S. Army post. First called Jernigan for Aaron Jernigan, an early settler, the town was renamed in 1857 to honour Orlando Reeves, an army sentry killed during the Seminole Wars. Prior to the American Civil War, the area was a cotton and cattle centre. After the war, citrus became a leading industry. The South Florida Railroad arrived in 1880 and was extended to Tampa in 1883. The development after 1950 of the Cape Canaveral aerospace complex, 50 miles (80 km) east, spurred population and economic growth, which were further boosted when Walt Disney World opened in 1971 about 20 miles (30 km) southwest. The construction of other attractions followed, and the city acquired a National Basketball Association franchise (the Orlando Magic) in 1987.

The Disney complex alone covers 47 square miles (122 square km). In addition to its several large resorts, Walt Disney World has a variety of attractions, including the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Universal Orlando Resort includes the Universal Studiosand Islands of Adventure theme parks. The latter features the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, an attraction based on the popular book series by J.K. Rowling. Also in the Greater Orlando area are Sea World of Florida (a marine-animal park) and Wet ’n Wild (a large water park). Loch Haven Park contains art, science, and history museums. Gatorland, just to the south, is home to alligators and crocodiles.

Hermana Ada Maria Daugs

Opening The Mission Call

Called to Florida, Orlando Spanish Speaking

Ada received her mission call on June 1st.  Ada, Shay and I (her mom) were having a girls trip to Salt Lake.  We were in the City Creek Shopping Center using the bathroom, when Ada got a text sent to her watch saying that she had received her call.  We jokingly talked about how we should just open it as we were in the bathroom.  We had plans to attend Les Miserables at the Hale Center Theater still that late afternoon and wouldn't make it home early that night for a proper reading with family and friends.  We talked about how we would invite people over on June 2nd (the next day) in the evening to do it.  Ada would have to maintain her eagerness to open the email for a whole day.  

That was our plan, but as we started home and I mentioned to Ada that we were making good time getting home and would be home around 9:30, she asked if she could hurry and call people over and do it then.  Well, we called everyone we thought would want to come on short notice as we drove into the valley.  When we got home, Ada rushed upstairs and put on a new dress she bought that day while shopping and came down to meet the family and friends that were able to come.  

Ada asked Addison to print out her call and cover it with a blank sheet of paper so that she wouldn't see the location.  She also wanted to read it the old fashioned way, instead of electronically.  She felt it would be more special and intimate that way. 

Ada bore her testimony first and then began her reading of her call.  

She read through it and as she came to the place of her mission, she was happy to see that she would be serving in the Florida, Orlando Mission~ speaking Spanish.  Her friend Davis Coppin was there and predicted this mission for her.  He had served in the same mission, also speaking Spanish, so it was ironic and exciting to them as she read it.  Ada was so happy and her smile was evident that she accepts this new call in life and will do amazing.  She has been studying Spanish for over 5 years and was really hoping to continue learning and using the language.  We are so proud of her and know that she will be a light to all those she meets and teaches. 

Mom

Shay Daugs

Grandpa and Grandma Eborn

Emma Hulme, Davis Coppin, AnneMarie Barton

Hug from my dad

Hug from my brother Addison

Hug from Grandma Iris