The Multi-Stake Single Adult Conference held by the nine Pocatello stakes of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last weekend provided single adults of all ages with inspiration, fellowship and a chance to meet new friends.

    About 150 single adults attended the conference held on Saturday at the Alameda Stake Center in Pocatello.

    The conference was open to all single adults in the community, and was particularly intended for singles 31 years of age and up.

    The conference offered various activities, such as a keynote speaker, workshops, and a banquet followed by a dance. Dr. James L. Parkin traveled from Utah along with his wife, Bonnie, to serve as the Keynote speaker.  

    Roger Kunz coordinates the Single Adult work in the nine LDS stakes in Pocatello.

    This annual Single Adult Conference is one of the areas of responsibility for Kunz and those that work with him in the program.

    “The good thing is that I get to see people have a good time,” he said. “They enjoy being here and being together,” he added.

    Attendees at the conference ranged in age from their 30s into their 70s and 80s, and represented a variety of life circumstances from never married, to widowed, or divorced, some single parents, some retired, and even included out of town visitors.

    “It’s always a challenge to provide a program that will really benefit them in all their different circumstances,” said Kunz, noting that the committee he works with develops the topics and themes for the conferences, and then seeks out speakers and presenters who can help meet the needs of the diverse single community.

    Jean Satterfield Simpson attended the conference and said she thoroughly enjoyed it.

    At 89 years of age, she is still active in church activities, and previously led Single Adult work in the Pocatello area for 38 years.

    “It was my lifesaver,” she said, becoming involved in that area of church work after her husband was killed in an accident while working as an engineer on the Palisades Dam 45 years ago.

    “I still participate in everything,” she said.

    As a former member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, she especially enjoyed the conference workshop on music.

     In his workshop, “The Power and Impact of Music,” presenter Steve Baer related his thoughts about how music can impact a person’s life.

    He shared the story told in a church publication about a severely disabled person named Jean, who could only communicate through blinking her eyes, yet was able to be touched by music.

    “I think we all have voids in our lives, and music can help fill those,” said Baer, a retired Highland High School music teacher. “Music is a great healing balm, because it is aesthetic. It deals with feelings, and it’s so diverse.”

    A unique feature of this weekend’s singles conference was a workshop on Social Mixing.

    But it wasn’t so much a workshop as it was a mini-carnival.

    Attendees were able to participate in games and activities like a bean bag toss, golf putting, basketball toss, or have a funny photo taken, and play a name guessing game.

    By playing the games, attendees earned Single Bucks, the more Single Bucks the better.

    Prizes for the most Single Bucks included free dinners and movie tickets.

     Rafael Cortez said he enjoyed all the workshops, but his favorite was the Social Mixing.

    “No doubt about it, I like this one,” Cortez said. “Plus they have cookies,” he quipped, as he went back to enthusiastically throwing darts at the targets.  

     As a part of the Pocatello East Stake Single Adult Committee, Mia Benkenstein helped to organize the unusual Social Mixing Workshop for the purpose of providing a way for people to touch base outside of a more formal workshop setting.

    “The response has been very positive,” Benkenstein said. “Our goal was to get people to mingle and talk, and to introduce them to other like-minded people,” she said.   

    Kenneth Southwick, director of the U.S. Idaho East Area for LDS Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, taught a workshop titled “More meaningful Scripture Study.” He was pleased with the attendance at the conference and the responsiveness of those in his workshops.

    He explained the importance of Scripture to members of the LDS church.

    “We believe that the scriptures lead us to Jesus Christ,” he said.  “That’s the function of the Scriptures. The better we can understand the Scripture, the more Christ can be revealed to us, and the more we can be like Him.”