“It’s OK to be different and it’s OK to stand up for what you believe in,” said Miss Idaho 2023 Reagan Yamauchi, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In January 2022, the new Hawaii Laie Mission was created, a separation from the Hawaii Honolulu Mission. The new mission includes the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors' Center, three young single adult stakes near BYU–Hawaii and two stakes in the Laie area. Since the creation of the mission, only sisters have been called as young full-time missionaries, with the exception of some elders who were assigned from the Honolulu Hawaii Mission to serve in Laie for nine months. The mission also includes senior missionaries serving in the area at the Polynesian Cultural Center and BYUH.
When President Sidney J. Bassett returned to graduate school in his 50s, he said he felt he did not belong in many ways. In his first online class, he shared he was discouraged, embarrassed and his confidence was shot from everyone ignoring and talking over him. He explained he later realized that he had been on mute the entire time. He unmuted, waited his turn, then jumped in to be heard. “It wasn’t profound in any way, but at that moment, I chose to belong.”