March 2009
MormonTimes--Archiving Mormon composer Crawford Gates (3-31-9)
For the last few years Darcy Whetten has been helping 87-year-old Crawford Gates clean out his garage. Well, not exactly.
MormonTimes--President Henry B. Eyring: A lifetime of learning (3-31)
President Henry B. Eyring once asked his father a simple question: "Why do you ask gas station attendants questions?" His father's response was profound: "I never met a man I couldn't learn something from," he told his son. Years later, President Eyring would describe his childhood home as a laboratory where he learned to cherish science and religion and to respect others.
MormonTimes--LDS general conference information (3-31)
Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday general sessions will be at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sunday sessions will be at 9:30 a.m. (which includes the "Music and the
Spoken Word" program) and 2 p.m. The general priesthood meeting is 6 p.m. Saturday.
Jezebel.com--Oprah Asks FLDS Members If They're Taught Racism; They Lie To Her Face (3-30)
On today's episode, Oprah personally visited the Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado, TX. When asked, Willie Jessop denied that church members are taught that nonwhite people are evil. We have proof to the contrary.
Bucking trends, Utah's Mormon newspaper sees gains (3-30)
A dozen years ago, the publisher of The Salt Lake Tribune walked into a board meeting at the city's other newspaper, the Deseret News, and offered a blunt assessment.
MormonTimes--Mormon tradition stands out in hard times (3-30)
The sign out front -- "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" -- is the first clue that the brown brick building is a little different than the other warehouses that dot Triad Industrial Park.
MormonTimes--The calming, renewing effect of general conference (3-30)
When I was a kid, my only solace in going to bed was that I could spend the half-hour or so before I fell asleep imagining things or telling myself stories (in which I, of course, was always the heroine). Other than that, I hated it. There was always something better to do -- books to read or movies to watch or conversations to have. It always seemed like a crime to waste so much time sleeping.
MormonTimes--Men on a mission (3-30)
Life is about to return to normal for Alex Denney.
MormonTimes--Kansas State University LDS branch reaches out (3-30)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsored an open house Sunday at its Manhattan university branch to encourage more effective communication in the community.
MormonTimes--Writing fantasy novels proves to be good career choice (3-29)
Brandon Mull thought a career utilizing what he considered his best talent -- his imagination -- was impossible, so he did the practical thing and took a public relations job to support his growing family.
FLDS are still feeling effects one year later (3-28)
Annie Jessop breaks into a smile whenever someone walks into her home. But her brothers are wary.
MormonTimes--Tabernacle Choir names associate director (3-28)
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir announced March 27 that Ryan T. Murphy has been named the organization's associate music director. He will assume the position formerly occupied by Mack J. Wilberg, who was appointed music director in March 2008.
MormonTimes--ABC does it again (3-28)
Last year I wrote about problems with a story linking Utah's low depression ranking with the LDS faith. Well, ABC is at it again.
MormonTimes--Are there any Mormon books left to collect? (3-28)
In the good old days of Mormon book collecting, Peter Crawley could have purchased a first edition copy of the Book of Mormon for about $250 -- a third of his monthly salary. That was 1963.
MormonTimes--The Mormon marriage proposal (3-27)
So, I'm engaged. And aside from the fact that it stamps a clear expiration date on my job as a "single, Mormon twentysomething," I couldn't be happier.
MormonTimes--Review: Illustrating church history (3-27)
"Illustrated History of the Church," Brian and Petrea Kelly, Covenant Communications, $39.95
MormonTimes--Mormon bookstore opens off Liberty Square (3-26)
A historical labor of love" is how proprietor Pete Grigsby III describes his Eden Bookshop just off Liberty Square.
MormonTimes--Generosity, humility reflected in lives of donors (3-26)
McClain Bybee remembers when his team of fundraisers was told to consider their background in sales and marketing -- and "throw it away." The counsel came during a meeting in the early 1970s when President N. Eldon Tanner addressed employees of the Church Development Office, a fledgling department charged with correlating the church's various fundraising efforts.
Portraits of the past: Smith child's grave (3-26)
Emma and Joseph Smith's first child was a boy who died at or shortly after his birth. The date was June 15, 1828.
New LDS library has some history (3-25)
Items provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for a time capsule inside the new Church History Library were collectively called "a snapshot of our day" at ceremonies Wednesday.
MormonTimes--Family, orchestra find unity in music (3-25)
When the Orange County Mormon Choral Organization needed a great soloist on viola for its 2007 Christmas concert at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, concert master Barbara Bell approached one of her San Clemente neighbors.
MormonTimes--Emma Smith's writings about Joseph very telling (3-25)
Emma Smith took up her pen in the summer of 1842 to save her husband's life. The governor of Missouri, Thomas Reynolds, was trying to get Joseph Smith extradited to Missouri to answer charges of being an "accessary before the fact" to the attempted murder of former Missouri Gov. Lilburn W. Boggs.
MormonTimes--Vaifanua reflects about American Idol (3-24)
When Taylor Vaifanua auditioned for "American Idol" in Salt Lake City last summer, judge Randy Jackson said he was impressed with her natural potential.
MormonTimes--LDS Church in Spain marks 40 years (3-24)
During 2009, the church in Spain is awash in meaningful milestones. This week marks exactly 10 years since the Madrid Spain Temple was dedicated, and in May the Spanish Latter-day Saints will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their country's dedication for preaching of the gospel.
3-day Draper Temple dedication concludes (3-22)
Over a three-day period from Friday to Sunday, President Thomas S. Monson presided over 12 sessions to dedicate the Draper Utah Temple. In addition to offering the dedicatory prayer in each of the sessions, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints addressed several of the sessions.
MormonTimes--Beck's backing bumps Skousen book to top (3-21)
Move over, Oprah. Apparently, a book recommendation from Fox News Channel talk show host Glenn Beck carries a lot of punch, too. Beck, who will speak at the Stadium of Fire during America's Freedom Festival at Provo on July 4, has told viewers and listeners of his TV and radio shows to buy a book published nearly 30 years ago by late Utah and Mormon author W. Cleon Skousen.
MormonTimes--The Osmond magic lives on (3-19)
The Osmond magic lives on. Brandon Osmond, a Utah Valley University student from Provo, was announced Thursday night as winner of "Showcase," online music video contest.
MormonTimes--Are new 'Puritans' gaining? (3-19)
It was interesting to see how many American religions had lost ground in the past two decades, according to the American Religious Identification Survey.
MormonTimes--'Ordinance' (3-19)
"Ordinance" is defined as the action of ordaining, ordering or arranging. It is the action or process of making ready, preparing or providing. It is "a practice or usage authoritatively enjoined, especially a religious or ceremonial observance, as the sacraments, particularly applied to the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper" (Oxford English Dictionary).
MormonTimes--Challenges facing church history (3-19)
Compiling the history of the 20th-century international church has its own set of challenges, some of which were described in two presentations at a session of the Feb. 27 Church History Symposium at BYU on "Preserving the History of the Latter-day Saints."
MormonTimes--Zion waits (3-18)
If you and I had been in charge of restoring the church, we might have postponed the subject of "Zion." After all, there were already plenty of new truths for people to sort out. Let the quest for Zion wait until later.
MormonTimes--Mormons: the uniter of faiths? (3-18)
In a whimsical moment, Richard D. Land -- the generous Christian thinker -- said The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints could make things easier for itself by simply declaring Mormonism to be the fourth, great religion in the Abrahamic tradition. We all know the first three.
MormonTimes--LDS beliefs in focus: From fasting to service (3-18)
It's been an unusual few weeks where LDS beliefs on a variety of topics have emerged in the news. These include the value of missionary work on
young men's maturity, service, fasting, happiness and stem cell research.
MormonTimes--Prophet's scribes (3-18)
The fourth annual BYU Church History Symposium Feb. 27 focused on the theme "Preserving the History of the Latter-day Saints."
MormonTimes--Pageants celebrate local history, church heritage (3-18)
Mormons involved in the local Western region pageants invest in their productions which include the Clarkston "Martin Harris, the man who knew" pageant in Cache Valley, the Mormon Miracle pageant in Manti, the Mesa Arizona Easter pageant, and the Castle Valley Pageant in Emery County. They are in the cast. They sew costumes. They usher and in some cases, even serve up dinner.
Choir's 80th anniversary marks 30th year of broadcasts in Denmark (3-17)
When the Mormon Tabernacle Choir celebrates its 80th year of broadcasting "Music and The Spoken Word" throughout the United States on July 15, it will also mark another milestone--30 years of uninterrupted weekly broadcasts to Denmark.
MormonTimes--Vacation through church history (3-17)
Visiting LDS Church history sites is more than just walking through restored homes and listening to the history. There are pageants in a handful of cities from New York to Arizona; the pioneer pastimes, wagon rides and other activities in Nauvoo; and interactive visitors centers across the U.S. that help explain Mormon history. And, they don't have to break the budget, either.
MormonTimes--The Irish Mormon prophet (3-17)
When people think of St. Patrick's Day and famous Irishmen they probably don't think about Joseph Smith Jr.
Draper temple dedication is this weekend (3-17)
After one of the most widely attended open houses for an LDS temple, the Draper Utah Temple will be dedicated this weekend, with President Thomas S. Monson conducting the 12 dedication sessions spread out over Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
MormonTimes--African Americans invited to search out ancestors (3-17)
Ron McDowell clunks open a metal drawer, one of many at the Sacramento Family History Center, to reveal stacks and stacks of microfilm. "Those are the census records from 1880," he said, pointing down the line of drawers. "They just go on and on." As co-director of the center, McDowell, along with his wife, Lynette, watch over a small part of the treasure trove of genealogical records belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
MormonTimes--Plagued by crickets, ranchers see earmark as essential (3-17)
Big bugs with bulging goggle eyes swarmed the remote Utah ranching outpost of Grouse Creek like a biblical plague. Each of the past four summers, the hungry critters known as Mormon crickets have marched by the tens of thousands over grassy hillsides, past juniper trees, across dirt roads and through ranch houses.
MormonTimes--Benefiting the church is Willes' new task (3-16)
Looking out the window behind his desk in his fifth-floor Eagle Gate Building office, new Deseret Management Corp. president and chief executive officer Mark H. Willes can't help but come face-to-face with a reminder of his new employer, as "THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS" title across the facade of the facing Church Administration Building on the opposite side of Salt Lake City's South Temple Street dominates his view.
MormonTimes--LDS missionaries 'grow up' as they serve God (3-16)
Elder Matt Connell expected to strengthen his faith in God as well as to help others when he volunteered to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
MormonTimes--Gospel Art Book for teaching, learning (3-16)
The church released a new Gospel Art Book this week. The spiral-bound book will give Latter-day Saints access to 137 color pictures for use in conjunction with the scriptures in gospel teaching and learning.
MormonTimes--Family history is professor's 'great joy' (3-16)
At age 13, Susan Easton Black embarked on a quest for "great joy," one of the promises in a patriarchal blessing she received at that age.
MormonTimes--The role of LDS women in today's world (3-15)
There is still much discussion as to the role of women in the church today. The "Proclamation on the Family" makes only one gender distinction with regard to women and men. Men are instructed, “By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.” Women are enjoined, “Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children.” This is followed by a powerful injunction, “In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.”
Mormon 'idol' being crowned (3-15)
Late last summer, after David Archuleta and Brooke White made it to the finals of the 2008 "American Idol" competition, Bob Wood began to wonder just how many other singers raised in the LDS culture had that kind of talent ...
Religious leaders say HBO overstepped bounds (3-15)
Some local religious leaders and experts believe Hollywood overstepped some tacit bounds in depicting sacred rites and beliefs in Sunday night's episode of "Big Love" on HBO. The show included a portrayal of a temple ceremony considered sacred by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
BYU NewsNet--LDS-themed TV series to be shown (3-15)
The Sundance Film Festival has been over for weeks, but Hollywood is back in Utah, this time to film a brand new LDS-themed television series. This past weekend, a Provo neighborhood became the filming site for “This is the Place.”
The old Hotel Utah has long, storied history in Salt Lake (3-15)
For thousands of visitors throughout most of the 20th century, the Hotel Utah was an ultimate haven for guests, an elegant white wedding cake of a
building with restaurants serving savory dishes, comfortable rooms and a great chandelier, plush lobby and mezzanine.
MormonTimes--Relief Society united worldwide in faith and service (3-14)
One of my acquaintances of recent years is Julie Bangerter Beck, who was a young girl in Brazil in the early 1960s when her father presided over a mission
in São Paulo. The little girl who played in the mission office with her coloring book and Crayolas has become a great woman of faith.
MormonTimes--Kane a friend to the underdog, i.e. the Mormons (3-13)
Thomas L. Kane not only befriended the Mormons but helped fight slavery, helped women gain their rights and fought to get rid of the death penalty.
MormonTimes--What motivates us to seek our ancestors? (3-12)
A friend once recounted his standing in the monument pavilion on the outskirts of Nauvoo, Ill., and how his eyes fastened to a plaque as he read each name engraved thereon.
History shows TV boycotts only backfire (3-12)
Here's a little quiz for you: What do these TV series have in common? "Cheers," "Gilmore Girls," "Friends," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "The Simpsons." Answer: They all joked about Mormons. And in the case of "Gilmore Girls," "Friends" and "The Simpsons," each show featured Mormon jokes in at least three episodes.
MormonTimes--Video: Why Mormons build temples (3-12)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has posted several informational videos on YouTube, including one titled "Why Mormons Build Temples." In the holy temple, the precious plan of God is taught," said LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson during the three-minute clip. "It is here that eternal covenants are made. The temple lifts us. It exalts us. It stands as a beacon for all to see and points us to celestial glory. It is the House of God. All that occurs within the walls of the temple is uplifting and ennobling. The temple is a place of tranquility. It is a place of kindness, and love, and light."
MormonTimes--Joseph Smith and difficult doctrines (3-12)
"I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything comes that is contrary to their traditions." -- Joseph Smith
Temple Square ranks 16th in visitors (3-11)
Tom Alms strolled through Temple Square, a camera dangled from around his neck. The Missourian's visit Wednesday is one of the roughly 5 million reasons
annually the iconic square is the state's top tourist draw and one of the country's Top 25 attractions, according to a new list from http://ForbesTraveler.com.
HBO apologizes to LDS; will still air offending episode (3-11)
Cable television network HBO on Tuesday defended its plans to depict a sacred Mormon temple ceremony in an upcoming episode of "Big Love." The drama about a Utah polygamous family will depict an endowment ceremony Sunday.
MormonTimes--Just what is the church? (3-11)
One morning in the state of New York, I woke with an unexpected image in my mind's eye. It was a young man asking, "What IS the church, anyway?"
MormonTimes--Compiling modern history of church is challenging (3-11)
Compiling the history of the 20th-century international church has its own set of challenges, some of which were described in two presentations at a session of the Feb. 27 Church History Symposium at BYU on "Preserving the History of the Latter-day Saints."
MormonTimes--Chicago Temple reopens to gratitude (3-11)
The Chicago Illinois Temple reopened on March 3 after what a recorded message at the temple had called "emergency repairs." The temple, located 20 miles north of Chicago in Glenview, had been closed after a water pipe burst at about 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 24, according to Gary Eldredge, second counselor in the temple presidency.
Mormon Metaphysics--The Coming Evangelical Collapse? (3-10)
Someone emailed me a provocative editorial from the Christian Science Monitor called The Coming Evangelical Collapse. I tend to be skeptical of predictions of future social changes — especially relative to religion. Everyone is overly optimistic or pessimistic but worse tend to think only in terms of current trends. Whereas what's usually interesting about the future are the unforeseen aspects.
MormonTimes--HBO "Big Love" response shows ethical lapses, arrogance (3-10)
For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Time Warner's Home Box Office network will cross a very bright ethical line when it airs an episode of "Big Love" Sunday that producers ironically said Tuesday depicts LDS temple ceremonies with "dignity and reverence." HBO apologized if the episode
offends but is not likely to pull from its lineup.
MormonTimes--First Mormon stake organized in Trinidad & Tobago (3-10)
Thirty-two years after the first missionaries arrived in Trinidad and Tobago, the church organized its first stake in the south Caribbean nation March 1.
MormonTimes--Chiasmus as a divine pattern of teaching (3-10)
"The course of the Lord is one eternal round" (1 Nephi 10:19). Eric Graham believes that chiasmus is not just a literary device favored by Hebrews in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, but a pattern that helps in teaching and understanding.
Texas lawmakers forming panel to examine FLDS raid (3-10)
The Texas State Legislature is forming a special subcommittee to take a second look at the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch. At the start of a hearing of the Texas House Human Services Committee on Tuesday, Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, announced the formation of the subcommittee.
MormonTimes--'Big Love' prompts LDS Church response and analysis (3-9)
Like other large faith groups, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sometimes finds itself on the receiving end of attention from Hollywood or Broadway, television series or books, and the news media. Sometimes depictions of the church and its people are quite accurate. Sometimes the images are false or play to stereotypes. Occasionally, they are in appallingly bad taste.
MormonTimes--Zionist Organization's new Mormon director (3-9)
The Los Angeles office of the Zionist Organization of America has had a difficult search for a successful executive director. The two most recent hires lasted only a few months. Now it’s Mark Paredes’ chance to try to turn the office around.
MormonTimes--Mormons help Canadians tap family history (3-9)
Researching your ancestral roots has become a little easier with the Vancouver Public Library's agreement with the Genealogical Society of Utah.
MormonTimes--Joseph Smith, the editor (3-9)
A student studying Joseph Smith's corrections to his translations says the LDS prophet was working hand-in-hand with God as Joseph fixed mistakes in the text.
MormonTimes--Mormon food bank a private welfare system (3-8)
Unemployed for a year and with an ailing wife at home, Mike Hammer stepped out of his truck in a Concord strip mall and walked into the heart of one of the most sophisticated private welfare systems in the country.
MormonTimes--'Even greater comfort' in troubled times (3-6-9)
Church members find themselves caught up in an extraordinary financial crisis. It is sweeping not only across the United States, but also across the rest of the world, costing tens of millions of jobs and destroying vast amounts of wealth. Well-funded retirement plans have been devastated. Homes have become unsalable. To stem the crisis, the federal government has enacted legislation and programs costing hundreds of billions of dollars. Record demands are also being placed on the church's storehouses.
MormonTimes--A First Vision harmony (3-6)
Michael Baldwin never realized that there were several accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision until he took a class about the Prophet. "It interested me, so I studied them all," he said.
MormonTimes--Review: 'Emma: Woman of Faith' (3-6)
The events are well known in LDS Church history -- when Joseph Smith Jr. received the plates, when the church was organized, the early Saints kept moving from place to place to as persecution intensified and life in Nauvoo.
MormonTimes--LDS Latinos being served by Scouting (3-6)
When Noel Rios sat out on his front porch last summer to enjoy the evening cool, he'd witness a procession outside his home that left him troubled. Latino teenage boys -- many of them immigrants to Brother Rios' Heber City, Utah, community -- would pass by each night, wandering up and down his street. The boys appeared to have no structure in their lives and little direction.
MormonTimes--KSL-TV's Mark Eubank leads Hawaii visitor center (3-6)
A popular figure familiar to millions of people in the Intermountain West for decades as the on-air weatherman for KSL-TV in Salt Lake City is now director of the Laie Hawaii Temple Visitors Center for the next two years.
MormonTimes--Family Values Award Presented at British Parliament (3-6)
The United Kingdom Parliament provided a prestigious backdrop for the presentation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Family Values Award -- the first time the honor has been awarded at the UK House of Commons. The award is given annually by the church in the United Kingdom.
WFAE--A closer look at the Latter-Day Saints (3-5)
To a nonmember, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a new faith that's less than 200 years old. But this is how Mormons see it:
Deseret Management reorganizing boards (3-5)
The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced Thursday a restructuring plan that will affect each of the seven companies run by the church-owned Deseret Management Corp.
Polygamy 'Safety Net' helps hundreds (3-5)
In only three months, 557 people were helped by a coalition seeking to combat abuse and neglect within often isolated polygamous communities.
MormonTimes--The First Vision and 1820 revivals (3-5)
The account of Joseph Smith's First Vision in 1820 makes a critic's claim that there were no religious revivals in Palmyra, New York that year worth examining.
Compromise near on liquor reform (3-5)
An agreement on liquor reform is being quietly negotiated by a group that includes the legislative sponsors of the two biggest bills and lobbyists representing groups on both sides of the issue.
MormonTimes--The true church is born (3-4)
A great beginning, no matter how earth-shaking, isn't the same as a "grand opening." There were no big banners over Peter Whitmer's home on April 6, 1830. No clamor, no fanfare. No "look at this" news coverage.
Arrests could put FLDS 'stand down' in question (3-4)
The ongoing feud over land in the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., has now led to the arrests of two members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church and placed a "stand-down" on litigation over the United Effort Plan Trust in jeopardy.
MormonTimes--A bishop in the clouds, LDS writers and other good news (3-4)
It's been a nice week to see positive stories about Latter-day Saints. Here's a nice feature on LDS bishop Craig Snyder in Sioux Falls, S.D. who is also a tower climber.
MormonTimes--The Manti Temple is the white building of dreams (3-4)
When Nani Bendixen was a small girl, she loved visiting her grandfather in the Sanpete Valley. He would often take her on bumpy rides around his farm and point out a white building in the distance on a hill.
MormonTimes--Around the world in latter-days (3-4)
Andrew Jenson's 1895 trip around the world was unprecedented in Mormon history. Reid L. Neilson, an assistant professor of church history at BYU, presented an overview of the 19th century historian's little-known odyssey and its impact on history today.
MormonTimes--Congress includes 14 LDS members (3-4)
The majority leader in the U.S. Senate and one of the most tenured Republican senators are two of the 14 church members serving the 111th United States Congress this year.
MormonTimes--'Pioneer profilers' bring history to life (3-4)
The clanging of metal rang through the quiet lobby of the Church History Museum early one Thursday morning. Up on the second floor, pioneer blacksmith Thomas Tanner, who arrived in Utah with Brigham Young's company more than 160 years ago, was at his workbench awaiting the arrival of scheduled guests.
FLDS mother accused of switching babies (3-3)
Texas child welfare authorities are accusing a 17-year-old girl from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch of switching babies to avoid having
to undergo a DNA test.
MormonTimes--Calendar creator still won't get BYU diploma (3-3)
Brigham Young University has denied an appeal to award a diploma that the creator of a Mormon beefcake calendar says he earned.
MormonTimes--Missionary preparation: Aaronic Priesthood and Scouting (3-3)
February is "Scout Month" -- an opportune time for Aaronic Priesthood-age boys, their parents and their leaders to remember Scouting's essential role as a preparatory activity program for future missionaries.
MormonTimes--Musician covers field from singing to producing (3-3)
Aaron Southerland can not only sing a catchy tune, but is also an expert in the technological side of music as well. He recently finished producing his own album, "Coming Back Around," which he hopes to release sometime within the next few months.
MormonTimes--Assisting Mormon history (3-3)
Who better to give an overview of assistant church historians than the current assistant church historian? Richard E. Turley, Jr. spoke on Friday afternoon to BYU's Church History Symposium. The theme for this year's symposium was "Preserving the History of the Latter-day Saints." Turley explained the role of assistant church historians and what they contributed to Mormon history.
MormonTimes--Missionary candidates must watch weight -- or wait (3-2)
America is getting heavier every day. Many are familiar with this Centers for Disease Control graphic of the states first becoming one color then another as the percent of the population with body-mass index of obesity grows and grows like a plague across the land.
Lawsuit against FLDS Church settled (3-2)
A federal lawsuit against the Fundamentalist LDS Church, its leader, and a Hildale cabinet-making shop has been abruptly settled.
MormonTimes--Deep symbols in the Book of Mormon (3-2)
Layers of symbolism are under the surface of the Book of Mormon according to Joseph Ostenson, a doctoral candidate in theoretical and philosophical psychology at Brigham Young University. These symbols build on each other like layers of translucent paint -- each adding a color while changing the color underneath to create a masterpiece describing the mercy of God.
MormonTimes--Mormon background may factor in Gilbert mayoral primary (3-2)
When Gilbert, Ariz., politicos handicap the mayoral race in the March 10 primary, the first issue many look at is not fiscal policy or prior experience but what faith the candidates embraces and how likely those who sit next to them in the pews are likely to vote.
MormonTimes--Boston Globe: Finding niche in young adult genre (3-2)
Julie Berry's first novel is a fairy tale with a prince and a witch and love and despair. But there's no swearing, and no sex. The novel is, she grudgingly admits, wholesome.
MormonTimes--Another temple for Alberta (3-2)
As Latter-day Saint colonizers moved into the southern part of Canada's Alberta province in the late 19th century, they established communities such as Cardston, Magrath and Raymond.
MormonTimes--Thai queen impressed with Mormon welfare program (3-2)
Not surprisingly, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit declared herself very impressed after visiting some of the welfare facilities in Salt Lake City 27 years ago. The Queen, accompanied by Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn, spent four days in Utah during the first stop of her three-week tour of the US in 1981.
MormonTimes--Terryl Givens: Pre-mortal existence not a new concept (3-1)
The idea of a pre-mortal existence has been prevalent among philosophers and theologians for centuries, though it never has been accepted by the bulk of Christianity, said Terryl L. Givens, who is working on a book about the subject.
MormonTimes--Eternal family is theme for Primary in 2009 (3-1)
The church's 2009 Primary sharing time theme -- "My Eternal Family" -- provides a foundation on which the general Primary leaders hope children will someday build an eternal family.