Salt Lake City, Utah — Fans of pop star David Archuleta did not expect to see him perform for two years because he became a Mormon missionary, but he surprised them on Saturday.

Elder Archuleta showed up on the front row of a special Mormon Missionary Choir which performed at the 182^nd Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Saturday. It was the second of five sessions that continue through Sunday. Over 100,000 attend in person in the Conference Center at Temple Square, while most of the more than 14 million Mormons watch the conference through satellite broadcast to thousands of local congregations throughout the world, and on the Internet at LDS.org.

Archuleta’s career took off when he became a runner-up on American Idol, and has continued to grow. He has not only performed many concerts, but his recordings continue to be in high demand by his many fans. Recently he also performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and released an album of music with them.Information about Mormon missionaries.

Archuleta is now known as Elder Archuleta. He arrived at the Missionary Training Center only a few days ago, and will be there until he completes his studies. After learning the language of the country where he will serve, and after learning to teach religious lessons in that language, Elder Archuleta will depart for an undisclosed location in South America, according to media reports.

When the choir performed the rousing missionary anthem sung by all Mormon Missionaries, “Called to Serve,” the audience gathered in the Conference Center on Temple Square rose to their feet and sang along.

Young Mormon men between 19 and 26 often put aside school, marriage, careers, and sports to give two years of service as missionaries. Not only do they volunteer to serve without pay, they also pay all their own living expenses. Some Mormon women between 21 and 26 also serve as missionaries for 18 months.

Perhaps an even more impressive sacrifice is that missionaries put aside phone calls, texting, video games, IM, movies, and other forms of entertainment typical of their age group. They maintain contact with family members through weekly letters, and only a few phone calls a year on a few holidays. Mormon missionaries say they avoid these things so they can maintain a high level of spirituality, and be focused on the service they are giving to others.

There are now 55,410 full-time missionaries who are serving in 340 missions in over 150 countries. In addition to these proselyting missionaries, 22,299 service missionaries are also giving voluntary service to assist with various projects and services.

Contacts with family and friends during this time of service are limited to letters and occasional phone calls to family at special times. Missionaries avoid entertainment, parties or other activities common to this age-group as long as they are on their missions, so they can focus entirely on the work of serving and of teaching others the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Salt Lake City, UT – I was genuinely amazed at what I saw during the 2^nd Annual RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City that just concluded.

The Salt Palace was packed with wall to wall displays by the many companies providing software, computers, printers, scanners, mobile apps, research services, and all the many tools that make doing genealogy more fun than ever before. It was also packed with a combination of professional genealogists, amateur genealogists, and the many technical experts what want to help them all do it better than ever before.

There were far more classroom presentations than any one person could attend, but fortunately they were all presented live online, and archived for anyone to listen to at any time. The recordings and the syllabus of every presentation are available at http://www.RootsTech.org.

It took me an entire day to make my way through the exhibit hall. The large hands-on areas for http://www.new.FamilySearch.org and http://www.Ancestry.com were the focus of a constant crowd of attendees. There were some very knowledgible people who gave me invaluable help and guidance at both locations.

Most of the commercial booths provided information about software products and online research web sites that are currently in use. Some were there to promote new services that are still in development. A common theme for many of the products being promoted was collaboration between researchers working on the same lines of ancestors.

Perhaps one of the most promising new research tools is http://www.SharingTime.com, which is provided in conjunction with http://www.new.FamilySearch.org. The new service enables researchers who are working on ancestors listed on http://www.new.FamilySearch.org to know about their common connections and share their information quickly and easily.

Another collaboration tool is http://www.GenMerge.com which enables researchers to take the records in two different database GEDCOM files and quickly combine them. This makes it far easier for two or more people to work on the same lines of ancestors and then combine their results into one GEDCOM file. Without a program like this the task of merging the research of two people becomes painstakingly time consuming.

It was announced at the conference that http://www.AncestorSync.com will soon provide a real-time collaboration service. The service will synchronize the data of any family tree across all computers as well as online. The promise of the service is that all users will be constantly updated with a current database. The service promises compatibility with all the major genealogy software programs currently in use.

An online collaboration tool is growing and developing at http://www.WikiTree.com which is operating as a free service. It provides the ability to post a genealogy GEDCOM database online which can be used by other genealogists who are researching the same line or individual ancestors. It provides privacy controls while allowing collaboration between users.

There were additional research tools on display at the conference. One of those is offered by http://www.GenealogyBank.com which offers access to the largest database of newspapers from 1690 to the present. The parent company is NewsBank, which has provided access to the newspapers through local public libraries for many years. Now the same database is available to individuals online by subscription.

Beginning in April 2012 http://www.The1940Census.com will become available to the public for research. There is a need for volunteers to help with indexing. A form is available at the web site to sign up as a volunteer. When the database becomes available the public will be able to retrieve full digital images of the census data. The 1940 Census contains records of 132 million, many of whom are still alive today.

My personal research will be enhanced by several resources I found at the RootsTech conference. My father’s line comes from Ireland, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. I made contact with representatives of the New England Historic Genealogical Society which provides research tools through http://www.AmericanAncestors.org.

Irish family history research is always challenging, and it was good to meet John Hamrock from http://www.Ancestor.ie. Professional genealogists are available to take on any research project at affordable costs.

There were representatives from many other companies present at the conference. Even non-genealogy companies were there to offer products and services. Such companies as Dell and Lexmark offered computers, printers, and scanners. There were also companies that provide help to digitize old audio recordings and home movies.

My personal genealogy research began in 1981, and I have now made some giant leaps forward. I created a new personal family genealogy web site for private use by my family members so we can work together on both my line and my wife’s line. It was a fairly easy install using software I purchased from http://www.tngsitebuilding.com/, with personal help from the developer Darrin Lythgoe by E-mail, and loading my GEDCOM was quick and easy. My family members are excited because now we can easily share research and add new individuals and families to our line.

I also purchased FamilyInsight from http://www.OhanaSoftware.com. I have been using  Ancestral Quest from http://www.ancquest.com to maintain our family database. I expect to continue to use both for a while to compare, but my wife and daughter are already quire pleased with FamilyInsight. It works on my Windows 7 and their Macs, which makes us all happy.

Our family plans to make combined use of these tools, along with all the others mentioned in this report. The day has come when no one tool is sufficient, and serious genealogists need to make use of every tool available.

I cannot help but reflect on the remarkable changes to genealogy research that have taken place since I began my personal research in 1981. I remember thinking how wonderful it was when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints first created PAF, Personal Ancestral File, a software program I have been using since then until only last year.

The growth of technology and the rapid growth of the number of people who are actively involved in researching their ancestors is exciting.

Polls show that a majority of Americans prefer Mitt Romney, or any Republican over President Obama, but if they elect Romney or any other Republican to the White House and fail to provide a majority in the Senate and House it will be difficult if not impossible for any new Republican president to deliver the many reforms Americans say they want.

All the members of the U.S. House and 23 of the U.S. Senate are up for election this year. The House already has a majority of Republicans, but the Senate is held by the Democrats, who routinely block all Republican efforts.

The sweeping reforms to health care, the tax system, the national budget, and the size of government are desired by a majority of voters. Unless those voters give the Republicans a total majority nothing will get done and it will be business as usual in Washington. The nation needs rapid action and sweeping reform without political delays. That will not happen if the Senate remains in control of the Democrats.

Mass. Republican Scott Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate in Jan. 2010 to replace legendary Democrat Ted Kennedy after his death. Brown is now the number one target the Democrats plan to go after in the coming 2012 election.

Negative ads from super PACS have been running regularly in Mass., so Brown made a strategic move to try to reduce the impact of national groups trying to unseat him. He convinced his Democrat opponent, Professor Elizabeth Warren, to sign an agreement that both candidates will work to stop outside groups from running ads.

The people of Mass. will be the winners if the two candidates can actually succeed in preventing the outside groups from running ads. Even though the election is months away, millions have been spent and the residents of the state are already tired of all the political attack ads on radio and television.

The Presidential campaign is capturing the majority of attention in the national news, so most people are not thinking about the fact that 23 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for grabs. Democrats currently hold a slim majority with 53 seats and Republicans with 47. Of the 23 seats up for election this time around there are 13 held by Democrats and 10 by Republicans.

The Democrats have targeted Brown as the one seat they have the best chance to win back and use it to give them an added cushion to their current majority. Brown is in the most Democrat controlled state in the nation.

Brown’s move to get a signed agreement from Warren may give him an advantage for a short time, but it is not likely to stop the outside groups from their plans. They can easily put their millions to work in other ways.

Democrats control the majority of workers through their unions. They can easily put the massive numbers of Teamsters, government employees, teachers, longshoremen, and construction workers to work canvasing neighborhoods, making calls, and conducting rallies where plenty of negative attacks can be made on Brown.

Nationally it will be critical for Republicans to rally in support of the 10 senators up for re-election, and find a way to win at least four of the seats now held by Democrats, making sure to hold onto the seat held by Brown. A majority in the Senate will be critical to the success of any new Republican president.

Republicans all across the country should take an interest in helping Republican Senate candidates in all states if they want to help their new Republican president actually have a chance of success.

It only takes 10 minutes a day for any high school student to learn chemistry, according to Melanie Fine, a high school chemistry teacher who created an economical online chemistry video tutor.

“Any high school student, motivated or not, can master chemistry and get good grades by just watching a 10-minute video each day,” explained Fine.

The online chemistry tutoring service features a series of 10-minute chemistry video lessons produced by Fine. Students watch one video lesson each day, and then respond to a quiz to help reinforce what was learned in the video.

The chemistry videos can be viewed at any convenient time to fit the busy schedule of any high school student. Each lesson is only 10-minutes long, so it is easy to fit into a day already packed with school and activities.

Fine’s daily chemistry videos make high school chemistry fun, and help students learn a subject they thought was tough. After just a few lessons, most students say chemistry is fun and easy.

“The most important part of the daily videos is that they are fun, and that makes it easy and enjoyable to learn. Students might not be very enthusiastic when they start, but they quickly discover the videos are much more fun than they expected so they look forward to them each day,” said Fine.

A short 3-minute video on the site at http://www.Chemin10.com explains how the online chemistry tutoring program works.  Each online 10-minute video provides a fun chemistry lesson, followed by a short quiz to help students remember what they learned in the video. Students are able to ask questions through an online forum, which Fine will answer.

The online chemistry lessons cover all the normal subjects found in a basic high school chemistry course. These topics include such things as matter, atoms, molecules, states of matter, solutions, acids and bases, oxidation-reduction reactions, rates of reactions and equilibrium, thermochemistry and stoichiometry.

Eamonn Sheridan has combined the role of story-teller and Irish historian to bring us a remarkable story of Ireland and its people. “Me Father was a Hero and Me Mother is a Saint” helps us to experience the lives of an ordinary, Irish working class family as they lived through the war for Irish independence, World War I & II, poverty, and the struggles of life in this remarkable first-hand account.

This captivating, true story of a humble Irish family helps us to understand the experience of all Irish families, and the events that shaped their lives. Anyone with Irish blood will gain a greater understanding of their ancestry through the lives of the Sheridans.

The story begins with the Irish struggle for independence from Great Brittan as Sheridan shares his father’s personal written accounts telling of the events that gave birth to the Republic of Ireland. His father tells us what it was like for neighbors to battle neighbors, and families to be divided in a bloody war in a country struggling with poverty and disease. Though he fought wars, he was a man of great integrity and honor.

The strength of family comes through as the Sheridans teach their 11 children to overcome life’s difficulties. They survive through separation and poverty, yet they manage to endure through strength of character and faith. He is correct that his father is a hero, and his mother is indeed a saint. Sheridan has qualities of both. He has spent his life working diligently to make his country better, and raise his family to have honor, faith, loyalty, and love.

The unique lilt of the Sheridan Irish accent comes through in his entertaining and enlightening style of writing. The story is lively, entertaining, fascinating, and true – making it extremely tough to put down. It is a must read for everyone, Irish or not.

The book is available in hardcopy or Kindle.

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Father-Hero-Mother-Saint-ebook/dp/B006KE2MK6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325099944&sr=8-1

Hardcopy: http://www.amazon.com/Father-Hero-Mother-Saint-extraordinary/dp/1609768205/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1325100249&sr=8-3

Troubled teens have been getting early intervention help at the Utah Boys Ranch, which began in 1964, and now at West Ridge Academy, the new name since they added a program for girls in an adjacent facility. I’ve known about the program since the early 1990s when I served on the West Jordan Chamber of Commerce board of directors and we used to help with fundraising (West Ridge is a non-profit). It did not occur to me then that one day I would need their services for my family.

This year our family needed help. West Ridge has been the answer to our prayers, and we don’t mind talking about it because we hope that we can help spread the word that this great resource is available to those who may need it. Any family with a troubled teen looking for possible resources can contact us and we will gladly answer any questions.

Most youth treatment programs for troubled teens are successful in getting kids to go along to get along, and then they send those kids back home. Usually the same problems return very quickly. West Ridge is much different, and that is why we selected them over others.

West Ridge Academy focuses on bringing about a change of heart for the youth who attend, and then those young men and ladies decide that they want to change, rather than just go along to get along. The best way to know about the change of heart and the genuine effectiveness of the West Ridge program is to watch this brief music video. Please use this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONi8qMTx-J0 It will touch your heart when you hear what these kids have to say, and you will know it comes from their heart.

It is very short. Please take a moment to view it, and share it. The more people who learn about this wonderful facility the more likely another struggling young man or young woman will receive help and a family will be made whole.

West Ridge has a web site where they offer full details of their program, that includes an accredited school, sports teams, and the highest quality staff. Check out their web site at http://www.WestRidgeAcademy.com

To all the staff and teachers at West Ridge Academy, thank you for the greatest gift we could ever receive. Merry Christmas and God bless you all for your dedicated, loving service.

Atlanta, GA – LeaseTerm™ Insurance Group, LLC (LTI) has announced the introduction of LeaseTerm Insurance, an innovative business solution that helps multi-family property owners and managers reduce the risk of lease defaults and turnover expense.

“In today’s economic climate, property owners and managers are looking for new and innovative ways to reduce their risk and improve their bottom line. LTI is a powerful, new risk transfer solution that will help property owners and managers reduce expenses and increase their revenue and NOI, ultimately raising the value of their assets,” explained Walter Shealy, Chief Executive Officer of LeaseTerm Insurance Group, LLC.

The introduction of LeaseTerm Insurance is a major milestone within the real estate and insurance industries. This innovative new solution fulfills a significant need within the multi-family marketplace. LTI can man make a significant, positive impact on both operational and strategic results for property owners and managers.  LTI is underwritten by the Great American Insurance Group, rated “A” (Excellent) by the A.M. Best Company for over 100 years.

Shealy has been a financial services innovator for 40 years in banking, capital markets, insurance, real estate, acquisitions, and strategic consulting. He was one of the seven founders of Amerin Insurance Company, the first wholesale mortgage insurance company in the industry. He was also a founder of WDS Investments, Inc., a strategic consulting firm, and in 2005 he joined ITC Holding Company where he served as CEO of both ITC and GVG Holding Company.

“Working together with Great American Insurance Group, we have created an insurance product that transfers risk and expense away from the property owner. This enables an extreme reduction in the hard and soft costs normally associated with lease defaults and turnover. This includes administration of security deposits, collections, eviction, and recovery expenses,” explained M. Derek Thomas, one of LTI’s co-founders and managing directors.

“We are really excited to be distributing LTI through a select network of preferred insurance brokers across the country. Each broker has the expertise and training required to deliver first-class service and customized solutions, tailored to each property within a portfolio,” explained Thomas.

Thomas comes to LeaseTerm Insurance Group, LLC as the former Senior Vice President of Strategy / Business Development and Chief Sales Officer of Aon Affinity Insurance Services. He has over 25 years of progressive leadership experience with insurance company and brokerage firms, Internet and   e-commerce companies, and non-profit sector organizations. Thomas has served in a number of executive positions with the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies and GMAC Insurance.

LeaseTerm Insurance Group, LLC provides more information through a web site www.LeaseTermInsurance.com

About LeaseTerm Insurance Group, LLC

LeaseTerm Insurance Group, LLC (and its subsidiary DBAs) is a Managing General Agency specializing in LeaseTerm™ business solutions, initially serving the Multi-family Real Estate segment. We have assembled a team of thought leaders garnering over 150 years of combined expertise in risk management, financial services, real estate, private mortgage insurance, underwriting, leasing, banking, affinity sales and marketing, business development, predictive analytics, channel management and strategic alliances.

Media Contact:

Shelley Dawson

678-206-2921

LeaseTerm Insurance Group, LLC is responsible for all content. Press release writing and distribution services provided by www.ThatPRGuy.com

Ridgefield, CT – The market trends in the United States and the even worse foreign markets present a unique opportunity for investors to prosper, according to a new web site offering gold and foreign currencies and other investment insights and strategies from an expert money manager.

Walter Bahr formed World Trends Capital, LLC and www.WorldTrendsCapital.com to educate and inform investors about a unique gold investment strategy that enables investors to capitalize on a bleak global macro-economic outlook. The firm is a Registered Investment Advisory operating in Ridgefield CT.

“With interest rates at record lows, the U.S. stock market in turmoil, the global economic outlook worsening and the debasement of the U.S. Dollar, World Trends Capital is sensitive to the fact that there are few places to hide. World Trends Capital manages assets on a discretionary basis using a global macro approach, proprietary trading models, and then filtering out the best investments by value,” explained Bahr.

Bahr offers a threefold strategy that involves proprietary trend trading models placing some investments in cash, gold and silver, and constantly searches global markets for value without undue risk. He says his strategy is to protect clients from rapid deterioration of the U.S. Dollar.

“The asset class I found most attractive was gold and silver. I knew the value of the U.S. dollar would erode because of the U.S. monetary policy of quantitative easing, and as the easy Fed money found its way back to the equity markets. I allocated 20 to 30 percent of my client portfolios in gold and silver. That bet paid off well when gold and silver appreciated 130 and 300 percent respectively,” Bahr explained.

The gold and silver strategy has been an excellent one for his investors, but additional strategies are needed for a successful portfolio. Bahr was discouraged with foreign and emerging market company balance sheets that were not strong, and were too risky. He knew he could find something better for his clients, and so the hunt for global value began. The result of his on-going search has brought the success he was seeking , and he shares his successful strategy with no cost or obligation on his web site at www.WorldTrendsCapital.com.

About  World Trends Capital, LLC

World Trends Capital, LLC was founded by money manager Walter Bahr. It is a Registered Investment Advisory operating in Ridgefield, CT.  The firm has announced a new web site that provides free information on global investment strategies, as well as a free newsletter. Bahr says the strategy of the firm is to protect clients from rapid deterioration of the U.S. Dollar through carefully selected investments in dividend-paying equities, gold, silver, and direct investment in currencies through the foreign exchange market.

Press Contact:

Walter R. Bahr

203-244-5370

Walter R. Bahr is solely responsible for all content. Public relations services provided by http://www.ThatPRGuy.com

The National Do Not Call Registry offers a free service to everyone with a phone or cell phone. After a phone number has been on the registry for 31 days it is then possible to file a complaint against commercial calls made to the phone.

Do not put up with phone solicitations, computer calls, or unwanted sales calls to your home phone or cell phone.

Phone numbers can be added to the Do Not Call Registry by calling from the phone to be listed on the registry, or by going to a web site. Call 1-888-382-1212 and follow the recorded instructions. After 31 days call the same number to file a complaint if a SPAM call is received.

It is also possible to go to www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx to enter one or more numbers to the registry.