Women's Conference 2025 - BE ONE

 

 

Recipes for Women's Conference

Greek Chicken Gyro Bowls

Ingredients

•  2-3 large, boneless, skinless chicken breasts - pounded to even thickness
•  ¼ cup olive oil
•  juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon chopped oregano
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill
• 1 teaspoon chopped thyme
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• salt and pepper - to taste
• 2 cups cooked rice
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
•  3 pita breads

Cucumber Salad

•  1 cup cherry tomatoes - diced
•  1 peeled cucumber - diced
•  ¼ red onion - diced
•  1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper - to taste

Tzatziki Dressing

• ½ English cucumber - peeled and diced
•  2 cups cold - plain Greek yogurt
•  4 teaspoons minced garlic
• ⅓ cup chopped fresh dill
• juice of ½ lemon
•  ½ teaspoon salt - or to taste
•  ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

Dressing

• Puree all sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor. Cover and chill until ready to serve. (If you have time, make this a few hours in advance or the night before so that the flavors can marinate)

Cucumber Salad

• Combine cucumber salad ingredients, stir, and set aside until ready to use. 

Chicken

• Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, dill, thyme, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine marinade and chicken in a large ziploc bag, seal and chill for 15-30 minutes. 
• Cook chicken on the stove, or on the grill over medium-high heat for 5-8 minutes on each side until cooked through. Allow to rest for 5 minutes, then thinly slice into strips.

 

 

Killer Cupcakes

Killer Cupcakes
4 Squares (4 oz) semisweet chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 sticks butter
4 eggs
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 cup flour
FILLING
8 oz cream cheese softened
1/4 Cup sugar
1 egg beaten
dash of salt
3/4 Cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips.
Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tins with paper cupcake liners. In top of a double boiler over simmering water, melt chocolate with vanilla and butter. In large bowl beat the eggs until thick and add the sugar. Beat in the flour. Fold in the butter-chocolate mixture. Spoon into tins filling the cups 2/3 full. Filling. Mix the cream cheese sugar, egg and salt until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop a rounded teaspoon of filling onto the top of each cupcake. Bake for 30 minutes.

 Raspberry Streusel Bars

Ingredients

Crust

• 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour

Filling

• 3/4 cup (240g) raspberry preserves*
• 12–16 fresh raspberries*

Streusel

• 1/2 cup (43g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
• 1/3 cup (70g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• optional (but encouraged!): vanilla icing for topping

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on all sides. Set aside.
2. Make the crust: Stir the melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add the flour and stir until everything is combined. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
3. Remove the crust from the oven, and turn the oven up to 350°F (177°C).
4. Spread preserves over warm crust. Dot the preserves with raspberries on top.
5. Make the streusel: Whisk the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender or two forks (or even with your hands) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the filling with streusel and bake for 30–35 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown. The raspberry filling should be bubbling on the edges.
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or overnight). Lift the foil or parchment out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into bars. I usually cut them into 16 smaller bars, but you can cut them into 12 larger bars. Drizzle the bars with vanilla icing, if using. These raspberry bars can be enjoyed at room temperature or cold. I personally like them cold.

Carie Skinner - KEYNOTE SPEAKER

We are so excited for our keynote speaker for our Arcadia Stake Women's Conference which will be held on Saturday, January 25, at 9:00 at the Foothill Building.  Get to know her. 

"Carie Jones Skinner was born and raised in a small town in Washington state. She was lucky enough to have 4 sisters (the oldest one being Arcadia Stake’s own Trista Jones Ogilvie!) Carie went to BYU for college and probably had a little too much fun as her B+ grade point average may attest. Carie met her husband, everyone’s favorite, Mark Skinner while at school. They were sealed in the Seattle, Washington temple. By the time she left BYU she had a degree in History, a minor in English, a husband and a child on the way! Carie and Mark have four brilliant, charming, darling children: Hailey, Andrew, Harrison and Avery. They are lucky enough to have one amazing daughter in law who can do no wrong. The Skinners have lived in Utah, Nevada and California, but they spent most of their child rearing years - 17 in total - in a leafy suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. They moved back west to Corona, CA seven years ago. Carie is interested in pretty much everything and everyone. She is funny and clever and never runs out of things to say and has never met a stranger. She loves her family, reading, walking, and hot chocolate. (Not necessarily in that order.) While she was primarily a stay at home mom, she also worked part time for Anthropologie for years and as a county librarian. Now that they are empty nesters, Carie has her dream job as an elementary school librarian. She relishes having a captive audience of small children to read books to all day. Carie loves the gospel of Jesus Christ. She has served the Lord throughout her life in many callings: a seminary teacher, Primary president, Primary song leader (who got by on personality over skill), in Stake Relief Society presidencies, as Stake Young Women’s president, but most often as a teacher.

 

Shannon Cisneros - Youth Keynote Speaker - "We, Being Many are ONE"

Shannon loves chips and salsa, chocolate chip cookie dough, and pork dumplings

from Din Tai Fung. More than that, she loves working with the youth and opportunities she’s been given to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

A life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Shannon is currently serving as second counselor in her ward’s YW presidency. She and her husband Dave were blessed to live in the West Arcadia Ward when they were first married, but they moved across country, living in Michigan, Kansas, and Minnesota before finally returning to Southern California. They currently reside in the nearby Glendora Stake and love being back close to the family and friends they grew up with.

Shannon has served in many auxiliaries in the Church, but her favorite callings have been seminary teacher, Stake Young Women’s President, and primary music leader.  (Even though she can’t carry a tune, she loves the simple gospel truths that come from knowing “I am a Child of God,” and she really does “love to see the temple;” in fact, she can often be found “going there some day.”)

Shannon is the mother of five children, and loves being “Grannie Shan” to her four grandchildren. She enjoys reading, running, and hiking in the foothills. She loves podcasts and warm, sunny days, and she credits the teachings of President Nelson and the Come Follow Me program with her deepened love for and understanding of the gospel.

Shannon graduated from BYU with a bachelors degree in history and from Cal Poly Pomona with a masters degree in English and has loved the opportunities it has given her to teach formally and informally in church callings, in the schools, and in the community. She loves the youth and is honored to be invited to be part of this year’s Arcadia Stake Women’s Conference.

Debbie Kao, Alva Tsai, Jing Ying Yu, and Chu Chu Garrard - Chinese 101

Chinese 101 where we will learn about Chinese culture, holidays, food and a few words.

Chu Chu was raised in China and she is the only child in her family. She earned a bachelor's degree in economics in Beijing. In her junior year of college, she met Steve Sessions, a business professor from Denver who is a member of the Church. In 2010 she came to the United States for her master's degree in public administration at USC. Upon her arrival in Los Angeles, she was introduced to the Church by Steve. She started to investigate the Church at the Institute of Religion at USC and was baptized six months later in the Los Angeles Stake center by one of the missionaries that taught her in Mandarin. In 2012 she received her endowment in the Los Angeles Temple. In 2013 Chu Chu met her husband Ricky Garrard through mutual friends and got engaged after dating for two months. They were sealed in the Los Angeles Temple in April 2014 and started their life together in Arcadia. They welcomed their daughter Lily in 2022 after a long journey in pursuit of building their family and Lily has been the biggest gift and blessing in their life. Chu used to work in Higher Education Administration and she has many hobbies but right now the one she has been having time to do is cooking only. She cooks three meals a day. Chu has served in the Relief Society, Young Women and Primary organizations. She is grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it has brought so much light and joy into her life" 

 

Jingying Yu was born in China.  She loves her parents and grandparents who taught her good values and to be a good person.  She is a mom of an almost 6 year old, super energetic son, smart and kind son, Nelson.  Nelson is named after President Nelson and Nelson Mark Day who baptized her while he and his wife Pat Day were serving the Lord on a mission in San Diego.  Pat Day gave her tremendous love only a mother can give.  The Days became her family and they are deeply connected by the Love of the Lord. Jingying is a high school teacher in Glendora High School.  She loves working with the youth although it is quite challenging.  The Lord is using the teaching profession as an important tool to increase her capacity to love and to give.   

 

Debbie Kao attends the Mountain View Ward. "I was born and raised in Taiwan

and immigrated to the U.S. in 1983. My husband and I met in 1990 through mutual friends. He introduced me to the church, and I was baptized five months after we met. We were sealed in the L.A. temple in 1991 and are blessed with two beautiful daughters. When our first daughter arrived, I decided to become a stay-at-home mom. Before that, I had worked for a law firm for 12 years. While both our daughters were in high school, I returned to work. Since then, I have continued to help families in the local school district through my position as a translator. I am grateful for the gospel and the many blessings in my life. Through the years, it has been a humbling experience to have served in various church callings at the branch, ward, and stake levels. l am incredibly thankful for the opportunities to serve and meet many wonderful sisters in the stake because of my current calling.  In my free time, I enjoy music, traveling, being with family and friends, and doing temple and family history work for my ancestors!"

Alva Tsai attends the Mountain View Ward. She will be on the Chinese 101 panel. I was married in Nanjing, China in 1995 and immigrated to the United States in 1996. Los Angeles was my first stop, and I have been living here ever since. In the same year, three months before I gave birth to my daughter, I was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2016, my daughter served her mission in Minnesota, where she currently lives with her lovely, humble, upright husband. They just had their first child, my extremely cute granddaughter. In 2007, with the help of God, I received a degree in graphic design. Although my job was not related to my degree, I liked working at an engineering firm as a drafter for 8 years, and now I have my favorite job as a property manager. I have served in my ward's Primary, Sunday School, Young Women, and Relief Society. I love my current calling as a Ward Primary president. I like art, cooking, music, dancing, and I include exercise in my daily routine. I love the gospel and serving with a passion. They have helped me become a confident woman through the decades.

Mayelli Hernandez - Caring for the ONE

¡Hola! Hermanas me llamo Mayelli Hernandez. Soy del barrio de Temple City. Soy originaria

de Hidalgo, Mexico. Soy nueva conversa de solo un año. Mi esposo y yo tenemos la bendicion de tener dos hijos un varon de 18 años y una linda bebe de un año. Yo cuido a personas de la tercera edad y mi esposo es jardinero. Gracias a nuestro Padre Celestial, juntos hemos formado una familia que ni uno de los dos penso jamas tener.

Hello! Sisters, my name is Mayelli Hernandez. I'm from Temple City Ward. I am originally from Hidalgo, Mexico. I am a new convert of only one year. My husband and I are blessed to have two children, an 18-year-old son and a beautiful one-year-old baby. I take care of the elderly and my husband is a gardener. Thanks to our Heavenly Father, together we have formed a family that neither of us ever thought we would have.

Candy Pantoja UNITY Through the Temple

Soy Maria Pantoja,soy de Yucatán Mex.me uní a la iglesia de Jesucristo de los Santos de los

Últimos días,en Julio del 2018,después de mucho tiempo de no asistir a ninguna iglesia,soy viuda y tengo 3 hijos Oscar de 36,Karla de 32 y Germán de 28 y 6 nietos y 1 más para Junio de los cuales 3 nietos son miembros,he recibido muchas bendiciones desde ese tiempo,me gusta servir a los demás,asistir al templo me fortalece más y leer las escrituras del evangelio aprendo lo qué Mi Padre Celestial tiene para mi.

 

I am Maria Pantoja, I am from Yucatan, Mex. I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in July 2018, after a long time of not attending any church. I am a widow and I have 3 children Oscar, 36, Karla, 32, and Germán, 28, and 6 grandchildren and 1 more in June, of which 3 grandchildren are members. I have received many blessings since that time. I like to serve others, attending the temple strengthens me more, and reading the gospel scriptures I learn what my Heavenly Father has for me.

Brooke Hendry and McKenzie Turner - ONE step (or a few) to a More Organized Life

My name is Brooke Hendry and I am a hot mess. My house is not always clean.  My

children are not perfect. I will always be working on my patience. I frequently do not say or do the right thing. These are only a part of my shortcomings. HOWEVER, It is because of my imperfections that I have come to rely upon and love my Savior.  I grew up in Arcadia, California.  I graduated from the University of Utah with biology and chemistry degrees. This is where I met my Husband Tyler Hendry and was married in 1999 in the San Diego Temple. While, Tyler attended UCLA dental school, I worked as a special education teacher and a volleyball coach for LAUSD.  In 2004 we welcomed our first child Elle Hendry.  I stopped working in 2008 when Tyler graduated from periodontics at UCLA. I was able to be a stay at Mom as we welcomed our second child Tatem Hendry.  We moved to Monrovia in 2013 were we purchased our family home.  Our family did not feel complete yet so we went through the strenuous process of in vitro fertilization and were blessed with Hannah Hendry in 2015.  Shortly before her birth my husband was called to be the bishop of the Monrovia Ward.  Being a bishop’s wife is hard enough but with a new born and at age 40 it made it even tougher.  Luckily my sister McKenzie also lived in Monrovia.  She had a little girl 8 months after Hannah was born and we have raised our girls like sisters. Now a days I drive my kids to their appointments and extra curricular activities.  I stay pretty active by playing pickleball and boxing.  I have always enjoyed working out and COVID gave me an excuse to put a gym in my basement.  I am so grateful for the love of my Savior. I believe Christ when he says he can make up for my personal weaknesses.  I have felt his strength give me power when I have fallen. His mercy and grace have touched my life in so many ways that I know he is aware of and loves me. But most importantly, I have faith that he can and will atone for our sins. Christ is my rock upon which my simple testimony stands.

McKenzie Katherine (Miller) Turner was born in Pasadena, California at Huntington Memorial Hospital on May 10th 1986. She was the youngest of 6 kids and loves having a big family.   She spent most of her life attending the Arcadia and Pasadena stakes. She was very lucky to have been born into the covenant.  She grew up in Arcadia California. She attended Arcadia High School and played volleyball in her youth. She next attended PCC and continued playing volleyball until she was injured. Unfortunately, at a young age her parents split up and McKenzie fell away from the church for a bit. She moved to Arizona for school but missed her family and friends. After returning home McKenzie married her best friend and eternal companion, Tadd Turner.  They were sealed in the Los Angeles temple on October 11^th 2014.McKenzie is now a dedicated mother of 2 very active children. Billie is 8 years old. She is a girlie girl who loves to sing and dance, play soccer and baseball and is quite the social butterfly.  Walker is 5 and is all BOY.  He loves sports, jumping off all things, pulling pranks and being the class clown.  McKenzie is grateful to be able to call herself a full time Mom and care for her amazing kids 24/7.  She has worked in many different fields of occupation but being a Mom is definitely her favorite. Currently McKenzie is an avid pickleball player.  She has competed in 7 tournaments and has medaled every time.  She and her sister Brooke Hendry box, do Muay Thai and enjoy working out together.  McKenzie was just released from being Monrovia Ward’s Primary President.  She was in this calling for over 4 years and truly loved it.   “I am in awe of the amazing youth and children of our rising generation.  They have taught me so much.  I am humbled by their eagerness to help, serve and care for others.”  McKenzie loves her parents Donna (Miller) Price and Ronald Miller who taught her the importance of the Gospel and hard work.  She loves her Heavenly Father and is so grateful to have the light of Christ in her life.  “I have lived with and without the gospel in my life. I testify to you that the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true. In times of trials and tribulation turn towards your Heavenly Father, not away from him.  He loves you and your life will be so much more rewarding with Him in it"

Karen Foutz - ONE percent Better

 Karen will be teaching a class with the topic of "One Percent Better."  The objective of the class is  that
every effort to change we make—no matter how tiny it seems to us—just might make the biggest difference in our lives.  "My name is Karen Foutz, and I live in the Valley View Ward. My sweet husband, Kelsey, died five years ago in January. I have lived in the same house in El Monte for fifty years, and during that time, I lived in four wards and two stakes. I am retired from El Monte High School, where I was the Music Department Secretary (Band Mom) and then the manager of the Student Store. At both of those jobs, I became known as "Mom." All of my seven children graduated from El Monte HS, and the last three got to have their mom at school. Those seven children have long since married wonderful people and have produced twenty-two grandchildren. Two of those are currently serving missions in Utah. Elder Foutz and Sister Foutz are cousins. Those amazing grandchildren range in age from twenty-three to six years old. I am still teaching early morning Seminary. I also get to teach a Primary class, and I am a BYU-I Pathways student studying Family History Research. I joined the church when I was sixteen years old, along with my sister and my mother; my dad was already a member. We lived in Hawaii at the time because my father was in the U.S. Navy, and that is where he was stationed. When people ask me where I am from, I say Hawaii because we lived the longest when I was a child, but I was born in Brooklyn, New York. I testify that the Plan of Salvation is real, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, makes it work for us. He does that because He is real, and He knows us, and He loves us."

Emily Barth - Being ONE in our Family

Emily Barth, MA, LFMT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist practicing in Monrovia, California.

She was born and raised in Glendale, California and has earned degrees in history, education, and marriage and family therapy from Brigham Young University (BYU) and the University of Southern California (USC). Her research has included studies in depression, addiction, eating disorders, and intimate partner violence and abuse, and grief. She has worked as a teacher, coach (basketball), and therapist with at-risk youth in schools in both Utah and California over the last twenty years. For the
past 8 years she has been in private practice providing psychotherapy for children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. Emily loves the great outdoors, hiking, reading, good food, and good music. She is an avid fan of Dodgers
baseball and tries to catch as many local live concerts as she can. Although she is divorced and has no children of her own, she is passionate about helping individuals, marriages, and families thrive. She strives to live a life of authenticity, compassion, creativity, and courage. Her favorite scripture is found in
2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Karen Schultz - Caring for the ONE

My name is Karen Schultz and I’m a member of the Monrovia Ward.  I am originally from Rancho Palos

Verdes, CA where I lived with my parents and two older brothers until I left for BYU at 18. I was raised in the church, but it was mainly my mom and I who were active.  My dad was not a member and my brothers fell away in high school.  I always loved languages and learning about other cultures so it was a natural fit to major in Anthropology.  I had excellent professors and loved my college experience.  Highlights for me were the devotionals, International Cinema, and the general intellectual and spiritual environment there.  Seeing the sister missionaries from the MTC around campus influenced me to think about serving a mission myself.  I prayed and got an “Of course, you should serve!” response, and was later called to the Honduras, Tegucigalpa mission as a welfare services missionary.   

My mission experience really deepened my commitment to the Lord.  Witnessing another person come alive with the Spirit as they come to know God’s love for them was a priceless experience that to this day nourishes my own testimony.   The Honduran people across the board are kind, soulful ,generous people and it was a privilege to serve there. 

After graduating my plan was to go on to graduate school, but I wanted to take some time off to work and travel.  My first job out of school was as a bilingual (Spanish) Eligibility Worker for LA County Dept of Social Services.  You assess eligibility of applicants for welfare funds.  That was an interesting experience, and made me thankful for my blessings and aware of how hard some of God’s children have it in this world. 

   I had studied Chinese at BYU and wanted to improve my Mandarin so after a year working for the County I moved to Taiwan for about a year.  I taught English and took Mandarin classes at Taiwan Normal Teaching College in Taipei.  I met great friends still to this day that were part of a vibrant LDS young adult ex pat community there.  Upon returning to the U.S. the country was in a bit of a recession so instead of going to graduate school right away I took a job at a customs brokerage firm near LAX.  It was a great company with wonderful people and before long I was a licensed Customs Broker and a supervisor and nine years had flown by.  Long story short I stayed in international logistics for a total of 17 years eventually working at Vivitar Inc (camera company) in Newbury Park, CA and then Talbots HQ in Boston, MA.  I hadn’t given up on graduate school entirely so while I was working I pursued a Master in Religious Studies at Claremont Graduate University.  Leaving to work in Boston curtailed my completion of my degree but I cherish the knowledge I gained and learned so much. 

When I was working in Boston my friend, Marge Berkey, who I’d served with in East Pasadena Ward, called and said there was someone she wanted to set me up with.  I was pretty jaded by this time as a single 42 year old who had gone on her fair share of blind dates, but I agreed she could give him my email.  Also, at the same time I was in the process of adopting a baby from Nepal!  Marge said he always wanted more children so that wouldn’t be a problem.  Well, I was matched with my daughter Anjali in January of 2005, got my first email from future husband, Phil, in February 2005, got engaged in June 2005, and we picked up Anjali in Kathmandu, Nepal in August 2005, and married two days after returning home!  Phil was like no guy I’d ever met- kind, no ego, smart, and incredibly nurturing.  He was just the right blessing at just the right time.  He is a practicing Episcopalian.  We  lived in Mar Vista, CA the first year and a half of our marriage, and then moved to Monrovia in 2007 so he could be closer to his work at Kaiser in Pasadena.  He’s a computer engineer.  I resigned at Talbots after adopting Anjali, and besides a part time sales rep job for a few years I’ve been a full time mom.  We had wanted to grow our family and the opportunity arrived when Anjali was around 9 and I met a foster girl that came to one of our youth activities. We welcomed Darla Hernandez into our home in Dec 2013 about a month before her 14th birthday.  Children bring blessings and challenges as do their parents!  I’m glad for this mortal experience where we can grow together in love and tears and joy as a family. 

As the kids have grown and are in college my focus has turned to my aging parents.  My father passed away a year ago at age 95 and we help take care of my 94 year old mother, both bringing her to our home and staying at hers.  My husband, Phil, was diagnosed with Parkinsonism a year and half ago so I’m dealing with his declining physical and cognitive abilities.  We never know what life will throw at us, but my faith sustains me, and the example of an enduring all loving Savior powers me through the hardest times.  I know my Savior lives and that membership in His church, no matter the flaws of its human membership or leadership, is the best way to refine us and help us to be worthy to live with our Heavenly Father again.

Sister Nancy Schmidt - ONE with our bodies

Sister Nancy Schmidt will be teaching a class on Women's Health entitled "ONE With Our 

Bodies".   "I live in Logan, Utah but am thrilled to be serving full-time as the Mission Health Advisor for the California Arcadia Mission. My husband and I are members of the Temple City Ward. I'm a mother of 6, grandmother of 21. I'm a nurse by profession but not an expert on health. I do enjoy a healthy lifestyle with family and friends as I hike, run, and bike in the beautiful outdoors.  Fifteen years ago I, with a neighbor, started a hiking group. I needed friendship (her). She needed someone who knew where to go (me). I planned the first hike and three showed up. Since then our group has grown and grown. The largest group we have had on a hike is 30 but we average 10-15 each week. I have learned a lot from these women. As we hike, our fitness improves. As we talk as we hike our spirits and our souls are fed and inspired. Several have said the hiking saved their marriage, their sanity and/or thousands in therapy. We have all experienced joy as we strengthen our bodies and nourish our souls.  I have learned that as I care for my body as well as my spirit I can find joy in this blessed mortal life.