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September 2, 2010
Church and Jewish Leaders Resolve Concerns Over Baptisms (LDS Church news release) (September 2, 2010) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Jewish leaders issued the following statement today: "Goodwill and friendship have marked the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Jewish people. The support that the state of Israel has given the Church in helping establish the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies is appreciated and continues to foster greater understanding between us.
Jewish, Mormon leaders issue joint statement (Deseret News - Utah) (September 2, 2010) Jewish and Mormon leaders issued a joint statement Wednesday acknowledging that concerns between members of both groups over a sensitive doctrinal issue have been eliminated.
According to the statement, which was issued to news media simultaneously in New York and Salt Lake City, The American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and Their Descendants had pointed out to the LDS Church that its practice of proxy baptism had "unintentionally caused pain" because of the inclusion of names of Holocaust victims in the religious rite.
Mormons, Jews In New Pact On Baptisms (Jewish Week - New York) (September 2, 2010) Two years after a rupture in Mormon-Jewish relations in America, leaders of the two groups believe they have achieved “a breakthrough” and finally solved an issue of major contention between them — the Mormon Church’s practice of proxy baptism of souls, including of Jewish Holocaust victims.
The new pact, which was announced in a statement Wednesday simultaneously through The Jewish Week and The Deseret News, the Mormon-owned Salt Lake City daily, stipulates that the Mormon Church will allow Jewish Holocaust victims to be the only category exempt from Church doctrine that calls for vicarious baptism for the dead, giving souls the choice to enter the Kingdom of God.
LDS, Jews resolve proxy baptism dispute — or have they? (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (September 2, 2010) The LDS Church and Jewish leaders in New York are looking forward to working together on relief efforts and other endeavors after announcing Wednesday the resolution of a sticky dispute: posthumous proxy baptisms by Mormons of Jewish Holocaust victims.
But not everyone is convinced the problem is settled.
The Utah-based church reiterated its willingness to eliminate names of Holocaust victims from its massive genealogical database. The Jewish delegation, headed by Robert Abrams, New York’s former attorney general, acknowledged the church’s good intentions.
Elder Cook responds to bishop slaying (LDS Church News) (September 2, 2010) Our hearts go out to Bishop Sannar's family and we mourn with and pray for them, together with their friends and ward members. It is a tragic event. We are confident that the extended family, friends, ward members, the community and the Church will stay close to this family and bless them in every possible way.
Slain Mormon church leader remembered as humble, heroic (Bellingham Herald - California) (September 2, 2010) Clay Sannar, the young Mormon church leader gunned down on Sunday by a mentally ill stranger, would want his family to heal and move on without him, his brother said Wednesday.
"That was his whole life - his wife and his children. That meant everything to him," said Jared Sannar of Fresno.
Clay Sannar, 40, is survived by his wife, Julie, 39, and six sons ages four months to 14 years.
Jacksonville one of nine markets selected for Mormon campaign to dispel myths (Florida Times-Union) (September 2, 2010) Dennis Berry has heard the stereotypes about Mormons.
“A few people that think we’re maybe a little strait-laced and rigorous in our actions, and we can’t do this, this and this,” the Orange Park resident said. “We’re just everyday people, and we do the same things you do.”
As Mitt Romney’s 2008 presidential campaign also revealed, many believe Mormons aren’t Christians.
As president of the West Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Jacksonville, Berry’s done plenty of talking to educate folks about his faith, one conversation at a time.
Payson annexing land for LDS temple (Daily Herald - Utah) (September 2, 2010) Payson City is annexing several swatches of Utah County land for a little more elbow room for southern expansion, which includes a forthcoming temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It's a subtle game of tug-of-war between Payson and Santaquin, with unincorporated Spring Lake caught in between. There is no single boundary line between the two cities, Payson city manager Rich Nelson said, so until there is, Payson is going after it chunk by chunk.
BYU football makes 8-year deal with ESPN (Universe - Utah) (September 2, 2010) BYU officially declared its independence in football Wednesday, but not for the reasons many people expected.
As rumors of an imminent move swirled in recent weeks, speculation focused on BYU’s desires to rake in more money and have a stronger shot at a national championship.
But BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson, in making the announcement at a press conference on campus, said the greater motivations were access and exposure.
Mountain Meadows affidavit Hofmann forgery? (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (September 2, 2010) Mormon bomber Mark Hofmann’s calling card has popped up again, signaling that the forger’s handiwork may be more widespread than previously believed.
But this time, instead of bogus documents surrounding the origins of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an embarrassing affidavit on the Mountain Meadows Massacre has surfaced.
Just shy of the 25th anniversary of Hofmann’s deadly Salt Lake City-area bombing spree, a written record quoted by historians has become the focus of an investigation.
Is Glenn Beck preaching Mormon 'restoration' theology? (Washington Post) (September 2, 2010) "Does God speak through Glenn Beck?" While secularists at MSNBC smirk and some on the "permanent left" deride this question, believers understand that God chooses special messengers. Catholic theology says you don't have to be a saint for God to speak through you. So does God speak through the Fox News man?
Knowing that Beckian revelation could happen raises the question if it did happen. In the light of Beck's August 2010 rally at the Lincoln Memorial, when Beck attributed his words to God's power, a Catholic theological test helps decide if his was truly a "God moment."
Mormon Media Empire Goes More Digital (The New York Times) (September 2, 2010) The Deseret News has been around since the days after Brigham Young led the Mormons to Salt Lake City, and the fastest way to spread news was on a machine called the telegraph.
Now Utah’s oldest continuously published daily is trying to embrace a 21st-century media model.
Emphasizing just how forward-looking its new strategy is, the paper explained the reorganization (how else, you ask?) in a virtual press conference on Twitter on Tuesday.
PVH surgical nurse volunteers talents in Indonesia aid effort (Coloradoan) (September 2, 2010) Kaye Christensen of Windsor, a surgical nurse at Poudre Valley Hospital, traded operating-room locations for five weeks this summer, working aboard the U.S. Navy ship Mercy on a humanitarian aid assignment to Indonesia. "We operated daily on persons of all ages from underdeveloped areas in Indonesia; persons who would have not had such medical attention if the ship had not stopped in their area," said Christensen, who volunteered for the mission through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Christensen learned of the volunteer opportunity in November through the Brigham Young University Alumni Association. She had accumulated substantial paid time off through her 16 years of work with Poudre Valley Hospital and decided to apply for the volunteer, unpaid effort. The hospital allowed her a five-week leave of absence
September 1, 2010
Ukraine members celebrate heritage (LDS Church News) (September 1, 2010) Members of the Kyiv Ukraine Temple District honor their ancestors. Such attitude was demonstrated in the cultural program they staged Saturday evening, Aug. 28, in conjunction with the dedication of the temple the next day.
Slain LDS bishop remembered (ABC 4 - Utah) (September 1, 2010) There’s new information about the motive that led a man to kill a Mormon bishop in California over the weekend.
Shortly after noon Sunday, Kenneth James Ward walked into a Visalia, California ward house and shot the bishop, 40-year-old Clay Sanner.
August 31, 2010
President Monson Dedicates Kyiv Ukraine Temple (LDS Church news release) (August 31, 2010) Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ukraine no longer need to travel 30 hours by bus to Freiberg, Germany, to attend the nearest temple. The Church’s first temple in the former Soviet Union was dedicated 29 August 2010 in Kyiv, Ukraine, by Church President Thomas S. Monson.
Kyiv Ukraine Temple: Expressing love for a prophet (LDS Church News) (August 31, 2010) The love members in the Kyiv Ukraine Temple district feel for President Thomas S. Monson is, quite literally, beyond description. Even if there were no language barriers, many would have no difficulty expressing their feelings for President Monson’s legendary role in bringing the first temple to Eastern Europe in the vast area once under Soviet control.
China official looking to improve relations with Church (LDS Church News) (August 31, 2010) Recent talks by Church leaders with a high government official in the People's Republic of China are expected to result in "regularized" activities for the Church in that nation, the First Presidency has announced.
"The First Presidency and other senior leaders at Church headquarters in Salt Lake City have had discussions with a senior official of the People's Republic of china from Beijing and have established a relationship which we expect will lead to regularizing the activities of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in China," read the brief statement released Aug. 30.
China a prize in LDS’s eyes (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (August 31, 2010) There is no hint of a Mormon presence in the high-rise where the Beijing LDS branches meet.
Visitors must pass through a lobby featuring several boutiques, including a liquor store, find their way to the elevator, take it to the fourth floor and then stroll down a long hallway. No familiar logo above the door. No church name or meeting times on the directories.
Slain Mormon bishop 'a family man' (Deseret News - Utah) (August 31, 2010) Colleagues and ward members of Bishop Clay Sannar, the ecclesiastical leader of the Visalia, Calif., LDS ward who was shot to death Sunday afternoon, say he was a good father, good husband and a hard-working, honest man.
Jerry Rivers, an independent consultant for Soil Basics — the Sannar's family-owned fertilizer business — said he has known 40-year-old Sannar for 12 years and found him to be a good manager and excellent family man.
Slain Mormon bishop: Reaction from neighboring minister, alleged shooter's family (Deseret News - Utah) (August 31, 2010) The tragic events of past 24 hours that left a Mormon bishop dead have left a neighboring minister and the family of the alleged killer with heavy hearts.
KSL-TV is reporting on its website that Mike Ward, the younger brother of alleged shooter Kenneth James Ward, said his brother was mentally ill and felt wronged by the LDS Church – a church which he belonged to in the 1980s. His brother said Kenneth believed he had been "shunned to hell" by a bishop in 1988, and that is why he asked for a bishop when he went to the church in Visalia on Sunday.
Suspect in Mormon church attack was former member (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (August 31, 2010) The suspected gunman in the fatal shooting of a Mormon church official in Central California was mentally ill and believed the church had wronged him when he was a member in the 1980s, family members said Monday.
Kenneth James Ward, 47, would go through delusional spells when he blamed the Mormon church for his troubles, according to his younger brother, Mike Ward.
Memorial Account For Family of Murdered Visalia Bishop (KMPH Fox 26 - California) (August 31, 2010) A memorial account has been established for the family of a Visalia Mormon Bishop, who was murdered at his church over the weekend.
42 year-old Bishop Clay Sannar was shot and killed Sunday by 47-year-old Kenneth James Ward at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Tulare St.
Sannar leaves behind a wife and six sons.
Contributions to Sannar's family can be mailed to
The Sannar Family Trust Fund
PO Box 3328
Visalia, CA 93278
or
The Sannar Family Trust Fund
Citizens Business Bank
500 West Main Street
Visalia, CA 93291
Jubilee year marks Toronto stake's 50th (Deseret News - Utah) (August 31, 2010) The Toronto Ontario Stake celebrated 50 years with a Jubilee meeting on Aug. 15, which capped a year of special events from celebrating the anniversary.
The stake was organized by President Thomas S. Monson — the Canadian Mission president at the time — on Aug. 14, 1960, in the Odeon Carlton theater. Elder Mark E. Petersen presided and William M. Davies was sustained as the stake president of the LDS Church's 300th stake.
KSL Newsradio host Doug Wright's son, Eric Wright, dies in D.C. (Deseret News - Utah) (August 31, 2010) Eric Wright, the 22-year-old son of KSL Newsradio host Doug Wright, died this weekend in Washington, D.C., in an apparent fall.
Police found Wright's body in the rear alley of the 3700 block of Georgia Avenue, NW, shortly before 2 a.m. on Saturday, according to a news release.
August 30, 2010
Shootings leaves Mormon official, suspect dead (Associated Press) (August 30, 2010) A gunman killed a Mormon church official after a church service Sunday, then police fatally wounded the man suspected in the attack less than a half-hour later, officials said. Clay Sannar, 42, a lay bishop with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Visalia, southeast of Fresno, died after being shot in his office, said Visalia police chief Colleen Mestas.
Mormon bishop fatally shot in California chapel; gunman killed (Deseret News - Utah) (August 30, 2010) A man shot and killed a Mormon bishop at a chapel in California and then was later shot dead by police Sunday afternoon, according to multiple reports.
The shooting took place around 12:30 p.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel on Tulare Avenue in Visalia, Calif., according to Visalia Police Capt. Rick Haskill.
Police and church officials identified the slain bishop as Clay Sannar, 40, of the Visalia 2nd Ward. Visalia Stake spokesman Ralph Jordan said Sannar was conducting interviews after the three-hour block of morning meetings when a man asked to see him.
Beck, Palin Rally the Faithful as Other Rallies Focus on MLK Jr. Legacy (PBS Newshour) (August 30, 2010) They came looking for hope, for change, for like-minded people. They came because they didn't want to be alone. They came because of a belief that "they" (the government, politicians, someone) is taking away their freedoms.
"Glenn Beck said this is about God, and not about politics," said Jolynne Manon, of Hollidaysburg, Pa. "It's mostly about not losing any more of our freedoms."
Point of View: God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck (Florida Baptism Witness) (August 30, 2010) A Mormon television star stands in front of the Lincoln Memorial and calls American Christians to revival. He assembles some evangelical celebrities to give testimonies, and then preaches a God and country revivalism that leaves the evangelicals cheering that they’ve heard the gospel, right there in the nation’s capital.
The news media pronounces him the new leader of America’s Christian conservative movement, and a flock of America’s Christian conservatives have no problem with that.
If you’d told me that ten years ago, I would have assumed it was from the pages of an evangelical apocalyptic novel about the end-times. But it’s not. It’s from this week’s headlines. And it is a scandal.
BYU still pushing for football independence (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (August 30, 2010) With a Wednesday deadline looming, indications abound that Brigham Young University is still doggedly pursuing a plan to go independent in football and has been in simultaneous membership negotiations with both the Western Athletic Conference and the West Coast Conference for the rest of its nonfootball sports teams.
What is at stake as the two conferences wrangle for the Cougars became clearer Sunday. More e-mails and internal documents surfaced showing WAC Commissioner Karl Benson had preliminary discussions with ESPN in June in which the television sports giant indicated a WAC-BYU agreement might result in a 300 percent increase in television revenue over the roughly $500,000 per school currently being received by WAC institutions such as Utah State.
August 28, 2010
President Monson expresses thanks (LDS Church News) (August 28, 2010) Greetings have poured in to President Thomas S. Monson's office in honor of his 83rd birthday on Aug. 21. Since it isn't possible for him to personally respond to each one, President Monson has asked the Church News to help him express his gratitude to all those around the world who took the time to prepare and send cards, letters and other forms of birthday greetings.
More honor for the Mormon Battalion (LDS Church News) (August 28, 2010) The Mormon Battalion story, a heroic subplot in the grand saga of the Latter-day Saint exodus from Nauvoo, Ill., to the Salt Lake Valley, is now memorialized at Salt Lake City's This Is the Place Heritage Park, which commemorates the canyon location where Brigham Young led pioneers into the valley.
Conference edifies Korean youth (LDS Church News) (August 28, 2010) More than 1,100 youth ages 14-18 from across Korea attended a special multistake youth conference held July 26-31 at the Chonnam National University campus in the southern ocean resort of Yeosu.
Together with more than 100 advisers, consisting mainly of recently returned missionaries, the youth participated in learning and recreational activities that became experiences not soon to be forgotten.
Evangelical Megachurch Pastor Defends Support for Glenn Beck (The Christian Post) (August 28, 2010) Around 2,000 ministers and religious leaders are expected to attend Glenn Beck’s “Divine Destiny” event Friday night ahead of the television and radio personality's more publicized “Restoring Honor” rally on Saturday.
Beck will hold Friday’s faith-based event at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington to rally conservatives of different faiths around their shared values, principles and strong belief that faith can play an essential role in reuniting the country.
Is Glenn Beck, a Mormon, more or less Christian than Obama? (USA Today) (August 28, 2010) A week ago the news was all about how Christian was President Obama. Now, conservative envangelicals, the prime audience of Fox host and conservative activist Glenn Beck, are questioning Beck's Christian credentials just as Beck, a Mormon, is ramping up his religious rhetoric before a rally Saturday at the Lincoln Memorial.
Mormons give Obama lowest ratings (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (August 28, 2010) Mormons give President Barack Obama the lowest approval ratings of any religious group, according to a new poll underscoring the faith’s conservative bent.
A Gallup survey released Friday shows only 24 percent of LDS faithful approve of the president’s job performance, down from 43 percent a year ago. Mormons have consistently given Obama his lowest ratings among religious groups, according to Gallup polls dating to the beginning of his presidency.
Mormons seek service opportunities (Williams Lake Tribune - Canada) (August 28, 2010) Elder Devin Anderson and Elder Benjamin Carles from the Church of Latter Day Saints, better known as the Mormon Church, are the newest mission team to arrive in the lakecity and have been volunteering time in community service.
All young Mormon men spend two years in mission service after they graduate from high school and before settling down.
South Bend: Reaching out in a religiously charged atmosphere (Deseret News - Utah) (August 28, 2010) Their schedules are busy, but they find time for the religious class anyway.
More than 30 students, many married and in graduate school, participate in a weekly evening institute class at a local LDS Church building less than 15 minutes from campus.
Craig Isenbarger, who oversees the church's institute program at Notre Dame, Indiana University/Purdue University-Fort Wayne, the University of St. Francis, Purdue University and Ivy Tech, said the church is making a great effort to reach out to students in a religiously charged atmosphere.
Mormon sisters head to 'Talent' finals (Deseret News - Utah) (August 28, 2010) Christina and Ali Christensen will be singing in finals for NBC's "America's Got Talent."
The Mormon sisters from Idaho Falls, Idaho, ended up vying for the fifth spot with kite-flying Connor Doran in the last moments of the show Wednesday, Aug. 25.
BYU’s electric streamliner hums quickly, quietly over Salt Flats (BYU news release) (August 28, 2010) Faster than a speeding Corvette, more environmental than a locomotive and turning heads with a single run. Look! It’s BYU’s new electric racecar.
After nearly six years of designing and building, BYU students watched their lightweight, electric car achieve a top speed of 139 mph this month at the Bonneville Salt Flats.
August 27, 2010
BYU cornering the market with juco corners (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (August 27, 2010) Hill said it reflects a change in recruiting philosophy, to a certain extent. Coaches decided that it was difficult to recruit non-LDS high school players to the position and ask them to stick around for four or five years. So they went the junior college route, and lured a guy such as Logan, who was a two-year starter for Foothill College in California before landing in Provo.
August 26, 2010
Church Assisting with Aid to Pakistan (LDS Church news release) (August 26, 2010) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is coordinating with other relief agencies to provide aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan. The Church has partnered with International Relief and Development, International Medical Corps, and Saba Aslam Welfare and Trust to locally purchase and distribute immediate relief supplies.
Manti could sell block of street to LDS Church (ABC 4 - Utah) (August 26, 2010) In a move that brings back memories of the battles over the Main Street Plaza in downtown Salt Lake, the Manti City Council is considering offering for sale a block of 1st East – and it appears the only interested party is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The stretch of 1st East between 400 North and 500 North is already the last block of a dead end road. It is bordered both east and west by property owned by the LDS Church – the Manti temple to the east and a park and family history center to the west.
Mormon ads trying for a new brand (Philadelphia Inquirer - Pennsylvania) (August 26, 2010) The ads are catchy. Upbeat music plays as the surfer, the artist, or the skateboarder states his or her beliefs about life.
They all end with, "And I'm a Mormon."
On July 26, Pittsburgh became one of nine test markets for the advertising campaign that cheerfully counters stereotypes of Mormons as straight-laced, white, humorless, and sexist. The campaign from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints includes a revamped website at www.mormon.org.
The ads arrived on the heels of a backlash by gay-rights activists over Mormon support for the 2008 campaign in California for a ban on gay marriage. But the campaign's designers said it responds only to numerous survey findings that half of Americans don't know a Mormon.
Kyiv Ukraine Temple fulfills 1991 prophecy (LDS Church News) (August 26, 2010) "Prophecy Fulfilled and Blessings Bestowed" could be the title of a new chapter in Church history that opens when Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve offered a blessing upon the land of Ukraine and continues through Aug. 29, 2010, with President Thomas S. Monson dedicating the Kyiv Ukraine Temple.
LDS Church sued for baptism for the dead injury (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (August 26, 2010) A Las Vegas man is suing The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for medical expenses after he injured his back in 2007 performing baptisms for the dead.
In a civil suit filed in 3rd District Court on Wednesday, Daniel Dastrup claims he suffered a severe herniated disk in his lumbar spine after performing about 200 baptisms on Aug. 25, 2007. The then 25-year-old claims some of the young men and women he completely immersed in water in the name of the dead weighed as much as 250 pounds.
Families, employees mourn two Provo friends killed in Nepal plane crash (Deseret News - Utah) (August 26, 2010) At 9 p.m. Monday, Cesar Cardoso printed a five-page e-mail from his wife telling him about her most incredible adventure yet.
Leuzi Cardoso was in Katmandu with her best friend, Heather Finch, waiting for a plane to fly them to the base of Mount Everest.
"She said she was having the time of her life," Cesar Cardoso, who is Provo High School's soccer coach, said Tuesday.
Victim's family forgives accused drunken driver (Union-Tribune - California) (August 26, 2010) A funeral service will be held Saturday at a Rancho Bernardo church for Marc Durham, a father of five and grandfather of nine who was killed in a multivehicle crash Friday night that San Diego police have said was caused by a drunken driver.
The service will be held at 10 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 15750 Bernardo Heights Parkway in Rancho Bernardo, where Durham, a devout Mormon, was a church leader, said his youngest son, Brandon Durham, who is in San Diego from his home in Phoenix.
Friends are invited to visit with the family at the church on Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. Marc Durham and his wife, Elaine, were married for 42 years.
LB Te'o feels at home with Notre Dame (Associated Press) (August 26, 2010) Manti Te'o left the beautiful vistas, the sand and the ocean of his native Hawaii for a long journey to Indiana, where he's found peace and a new home as the leader of Notre Dame's defense.
As a Mormon, there is much more to his life than just knocking down ball carriers as a linebacker. There is self-discovery, sacrifice and an inner discipline.
"Faith is a high priority up here," Te'o said of Notre Dame, a Catholic institution. "Coach Kelly said no matter what your religion, it's a very special place and you can grow spiritually here."
Sources: BYU to remain in Mountain West (Denver Post - Colorado) (August 26, 2010) The Mountain West Conference-BYU impasse could be resolved as soon as today, numerous sources said Wednesday, with all indications that the Cougars will remain in the MWC.
The Provo, Utah, school doesn't have many alternatives since the Mountain West pulled the rug from under the Western Athletic Conference by raiding Fresno State and Nevada. BYU was contemplating going to the WAC in all sports except football and becoming an independent in football but playing a handful of WAC opponents.
New York City: Blending cultures in the gospel at institute (Deseret News - Utah) (August 26, 2010) The Brooklyn and Staten Island Institute of Religion is a world of its own.
"This is New York — and Brooklyn and Staten Island have people from every country across the globe … we are a world melting pot," said John Stephenson, institute director.
Students from places such as Ecuador, China, Peru, Mexico, Trinidad, Africa, Europe and around the United States come together and are united through the gospel.
August 25, 2010
Redesigned LDS Temple will cover more of site in Phoenix (Arizona Republic) (August 25, 2010) The redesigned Phoenix Temple has expanded in size because it went from a two-story building under the original plan to a one-story building with a basement, church officials said.
Last week, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unveiled a new design to neighbors at the church's meeting house, 5104 W. Pinnacle Peak Road. Neighbors noticed a taller spire but paid less attention to the 27,423-square-foot temple with a basement, which is an increase from the 9,500-square-foot footprint the church proposed last year.
New Zealand Prime Minister Meets Pacific Islander Missionaries (LDS news room) (August 25, 2010) Prime Minister John Key met several young missionaries from Pacific Island nations yesterday, when he visited the new Mormon Missionary Training Centre in South Auckland. Missionaries from Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, New Zealand, the United States, and other countries joined in welcoming the Prime Minister to the training centre.
After being greeted by the missionaries, who sang the New Zealand national anthem in Maori and English, the Prime Minister met with Elder Tad R. Callister, Pacific Area President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and other Church officials.
When asked about her experience with the Prime minister, Sister Janet Jenice Elisaia, a missionary from the village of Tulaele in Samoa said “ the gospel is for everyone and it felt good to be able to share a little of our message with the Prime Minister”. Sister Elisaia has been serving in Auckland for just over a year and says that she has loved every minute of it.
Deseret News introduces Editorial Advisory Board (Deseret News - Utah) (August 25, 2010) Today the Deseret News is introducing a new Editorial Advisory Board. The advisory board provides a collection of thought leaders from here in Utah and around the country. They include faculty from great universities, a former senator, prominent political advisers, community activists, educators and philanthropists. They are an impressive group of thoughtful, intelligent and purpose-driven individuals. And they reflect a commitment to the continued reach and impact of the Deseret News.
Haiti now: Mormon Church members resume lives after quake (Deseret News - Utah) (August 25, 2010) Five days after the Haiti earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010, I was witness to the massive destruction of a city and an enormous loss of life and misery. To say that covering this scene was jarring would be the understatement of the century.
Most photojournalists would agree that somehow a camera held to the eye acts as a shield and barrier while photographing the worst moments of life and death.
Romney’s cave-in on mosque violates his own principles (Boston Globe - Massachusetts) (August 25, 2010) THERE IS, in this country, an “essential connection between the survival of a free land and the protection of religious freedom.’’ Indeed, “religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.’’ We know this because former Governor Mitt Romney reminded us of it when, during his presidential campaign, some fundamentalist Christians started raising objections to his Mormon faith.
August 24, 2010
Kyiv Ukraine Temple: Photo gallery (LDS Church News) (August 24, 2010) Sister Gerry Avant, Church News editor, is in Kyiv, Ukraine, to report on events relating to the Kyiv Ukraine Temple dedication. Here are some of the photos she has sent from Kyiv. (This gallery will be updated as photos arrive from Sister Avant.)
Education Week: The cure for gospel guilt (Deseret News - Utah) (August 24, 2010) She was faithful, but overwhelmed. So she wrote a letter to her stake president. He, in turn, read it to his counselors:
"Dear President, I want to do everything the Lord expects of me. I want to do everything the church expects of me. I decided to make a list of the things that I've been asked to do in church in the last six months. Enclosed is a copy of that list …"
Roots in church, family keep Notre Dame's Te'o grounded (Chicago Tribune - Illinois) (August 24, 2010) Outside the chapel walls on the first Sunday of August, there is little more than sunlight and a tinny thrum of cicadas.
A moderate crowd filters into the parking lots and then through the doors for the 9 a.m. service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They're quiet and happy. Nothing breaks the tranquility except the occasional interjection of a car door snapping shut.
First institute of religion rooted in faith (Deseret News - Utah) (August 24, 2010) Dennis A. Wright has always had a soft spot for the Moscow, Idaho, Institute of Religion.
That's where he meet his wife — though at the time he was a lofty college kid, and she was merely a high school girl who attended church in the building.
As a student at the University of Idaho he attended institute classes there for three years.
Tribune: Mormons had their own 'mosque moment' 100 years ago (USA Today) (August 24, 2010) The Salt Lake Tribune, watching the heated debate over an Islamic community center in Manhattan, notes that Mormons had their own "9/11 mosque" moment more than 100 years ago when Utah tried to send a Mormon leader to the U.S. Senate.
The state's pick (then done by the legislature) was Reed Smoot, an apostle with the Mormons, or Church of Latter-Day Saints.
Nutty Putty tragedy part 2: ‘We’re going to get you out’ (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (August 24, 2010) Ryan Shurtz usually feels at home underground.
Since he was 4, he has spent most of his free time exploring caves and more than once acted as a trapped victim for Utah Cave Rescue, a group his father helped found. At 6-foot-1 he’s taller than most cavers, yet is whip-thin, flexible and seemingly immune to claustrophobia.
But when he reached the narrow crevice trapping 26-year-old John Jones in Utah County’s Nutty Putty Cave, he had to fight back tears.
On going independent, luck of the Irish unlikely for BYU (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (August 24, 2010) If Brigham Young University follows through on its plans to declare its independence in football, the Cougars would not only be walking away from the Mountain West Conference, but also the millions of dollars of revenue distributed from the MWC when one of its teams — such as Utah in 2008 or TCU last year — makes it to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game.
That BYU as an independent would earn more revenue from television than the paltry $1.5 million it currently makes from the MWC’s contracts with Comcast, Versus and the CBS College Sports network is not really debatable. If reports that a deal with ESPN could bring in $4 million to $5 million are true, it is probably safe to say BYU could be looking at close to $10 million in TV money per year if it bolts.
But would BYU have to kiss BCS money goodbye, too?
What the locals ate 10,000 years ago (BYU news release) (August 24, 2010) If you had a dinner invitation in Utah’s Escalante Valley almost 10,000 years ago, you would have come just in time to try a new menu item: mush cooked from the flour of milled sage brush seeds.
After five summers of meticulous excavation, Brigham Young University archaeologists are beginning to publish what they’ve learned from the “North Creek Shelter.” It’s the oldest known site occupied by humans in the southern half of Utah and one of only three such archaeological sites state-wide that date so far back in time.
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