May 2006
Gays fighting marriage amendment (5-31-6)
Gay
and lesbian activists hope to use this weekend's Utah Pride Celebration
to counter the LDS Church's latest campaign in support of traditional
heterosexual marriage.
LDS Church sends supplies (5-31)
Aaron
Meachan from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, hangs a
banner from a skid of supplies to be flown to Indonesia for earthquake
relief.
Documentary explores handcart tragedy (5-29)
An
LDS filmmaker whose latest work will portray the tragedy of the 1856
Willie and Martin handcart companies said historians, writers and
filmmakers who recount the past have a shared and sacred trust to
ensure that their work accurately reflects the events that occurred.
Handcart story need revision? (5-28)
With
the 150th anniversary celebration of the LDS Church's handcart pioneers
scheduled in the coming days, new details are emerging about the
location of the tragic events that befell the ill-fated 1856 Willie and
Martin handcart companies.
Joseph Smith bio claims top award (5-27)
A
highly touted biography of LDS Church founder Joseph Smith earned top
honors Friday at the 41st annual Mormon History Association conference.
LDS to push marriage amendment (5-27)
Voice
your support for a federal marriage amendment, the First Presidency of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints urges in a letter to be
read in LDS sacrament meetings Sunday.
Historians fault leaders in LDS handcart tragedy (5-27)
Contrary
to common historical accounts among Latter-day Saints, a failure of
leadership among top LDS Church officials was the catalyst for the
tragedy that befell the Willie and Martin handcart companies in October
1856.
Names still in LDS database, Jews say (5-27)
Jewish
leaders in a dispute with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints over the practice of posthumous baptisms say there is new
evidence that names of Jewish Holocaust victims continue to show up in
the church's vast genealogical database.
Huntsman declines Dobbs invitation (5-27)
Gov.
Jon Huntsman Jr. declined to appear on the Lou Dobbs show Friday,
saying he wanted to avoid giving more airtime to respond to remarks
Dobbs made earlier this week that suggested the state and the LDS
Church encourage illegal immigration.
USU seeks scholar for LDS-studies post (5-27)
Utah
State University has formally announced its search for a scholar to
fill its new Leonard Arrington Chair in Mormon History and Culture, as
part of establishing the first religious studies program at a
state-sponsored university in the Beehive State.
LDS leaders' letter (5-27)
The
following letter has been sent by the First Presidency of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to church leaders in the United
States: We are informed that the United States Senate will on June 6,
2006, vote on an amendment to the federal Constitution designed to
protect the traditional institution of marriage.
Utah holds out as tide of gambling rises in U.S. (5-25)
Utah
is an increasingly unusual and isolated island in a sea of states
addicted to gambling money, according to two new, separate reports by
Stateline.org and the Pew Research Center.
Church denies it lures members from Mexico (5-25)
The
LDS Church issued a statement Wednesday rebutting news reports that it
was encouraging its Mexican members to immigrate to Utah.
'Little Denmark' festival starts today (5-25)
Scandinavian
and Mormon pioneer history and culture will be on display starting
tonight in the Scandinavian Heritage Festival in Ephraim, a town that
bills itself as "Little Denmark."
Mormon Connection in Next Dan Brown Book? (5-24)
With the success of the film version of 'The Da Vinci Code', many wonder what's next from author Dan Brown.
A visit with LDS leaders (5-24)
Mexican
President Vicente Fox is to meet privately with the First Presidency of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today in what a church
spokesman said would be a courtesy visit.
Lion House celebrating 150 years (5-23)
The
Lion House is holding its age well, for being 150 years old. Originally
built as a home for Brigham Young's family, the Salt Lake landmark has
played many roles, from college to cafeteria, office space to social
center.
Anti-polygamists protest panel (5-22)
An
anti-polygamy group is criticizing Sen. Orrin Hatch for his financial
support of a committee set up by Utah's attorney general to handle
abuses and build bridges with polygamous communities.
Like pioneers, 'Saga has a musical history (5-21)
Any
way you look at it, the story of the Mormon pioneers is one of the
great epics of the American West. Over the years it has been looked at
in many ways: Words have been written, songs have been sung, dances
have been danced.
Neeleman's talents took flight with JetBlue (5-21)
JetBlue
Airways founder David Neeleman never excelled at school or sports, and
he remembers painfully the self-doubts that plagued him as a teenager,
when he lacked the patience to read an entire book or write adequately.
"It really didn't feel like I was going anywhere," he said.
BYU upholds firing of adviser (5-21)
Brigham
Young University has upheld the firing of a student adviser who wrote a
critical letter to the editor that led to a rare campus protest at the
church-owned school.
Draper officials approve plans for LDS temple (5-20)
A
year and a half after the LDS Church announced plans to build a temple
in Draper's Corner Canyon, site plans have been approved for the
edifice--a building Mayor Darrell Smith said will become a city
landmark.
Martin's Cove goes under new restrictions (5-20)
A
legal settlement reached earlier this week among the ACLU, the BLM and
the LDS Church over improved public access at Martin's Cove, Wyo.,
details restrictions for LDS proselyting activity in the area. And new
restrictions on the number of visitors allowed to pull handcarts mean
some groups are now tweaking their travel plans.
Israel Ambassador Visits Utah Governor (5-18)
Israeli
ambassador Daniel Ayalon said Thursday his country wants to strengthen
ties with Utah and find solutions to shared problems, such as a lack of
water and homeland security.
THEN & NOW: Aloha spirit once blossomed in desolate Skull Valley (5-18)
Out
in Skull Valley, about 16 miles south of Interstate 80 along Utah
Highway 196 is a tiny hamlet belonging to Ensign Ranches. If you take a
left in the middle of this settlement at the green sign post that reads
Iosepa, you will follow a dirt road about 1/4 of a mile to a pavilion
and a cemetery at the western base of Salt Mountain. This is the final
resting place for many Hawaiian settlers who followed their faith and
church out to this forlorn and inhospitable place. The following is
their story.
Signs to alter access at Martin's Cove site (5-18)
An
agreement has been reached on the management of Martin's Cove, a
stretch of federal land where Mormon handcart pioneers died in a
blizzard 150 years ago.
LDS allow 'crisis' use (5-17)
Davis
County officials estimate they could vaccinate all 280,000 county
residents in six hours, thanks to an agreement with The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints.
LDS do not endorse claims in 'Da Vinci' (5-17)
LDS doctrine does not endorse claims made in a popular book and movie that Jesus Christ was married.
Plea deal reached in Sandy assault (5-16)
A
man who committed what was at first thought to be a hate crime aimed at
LDS missionaries pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Monday--and his
attorney said there was no hate crime involved.
Did Jeffs sense the law was closing in on him? (5-13)
Warren
Jeffs seemed to know that law enforcement was closing in on the
Fundamentalist LDS Church. "In the last moments...the final
preparation...the storm clouds are gathering against us," he said in a
secretly recorded priesthood sermon obtained by the Deseret Morning
News.
BYU-Idaho to augment its Harvard connection (5-13)
Kim
Clark still gets peppered with questions from former Harvard colleagues
who can't quite grasp why he would give up the prestigious ranks of the
Ivy League for the halls of Brigham Young University-Idaho.
Errors in 'Da Vinci' covered (5-13)
If
there is one topic of particular interest to Latter-day Saints in "The
Da Vinci Code," it is the assertion that Jesus was married to Mary
Magdalene, because many believe it could well be true.
Mitt can't pull a JFK (5-12)
WHERE
IS THE (BIG) LOVE?: Kennedy sidelined his Catholicism. But if Romney
were president, would his loyalty to the Constitution really trump his
loyalty to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
Media get a big 'F' for stories on FLDS (5-12)
The
FBI's Ten Most Wanted listing for fugitive Fundamentalist LDS Church
leader Warren Jeffs late last week has not only turned up the heat for
those pursuing him but has again created media confusion with the Salt
Lake City-based LDS Church.
3 Bountiful wives ordered out (5-12)
Three
American women living in the polygamous B.C. community of Bountiful
have been ordered to leave the country by Canada Immigration.
Latter-day stripper (5-10)
It's
Friday night and Tori, the long-legged brunette, struts in 7-inch heels
toward the stage. Wearing a thin black thong and bra, she grabs the
pole with her right hand, spins in a swift circle and smiles at the
staring men as they sip from longneck beer bottles.
LDS event honors Bolton, U.'s Young (5-10)
University
of Utah President Michael Young was honored Wednesday by The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints along with U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations H.E. John Bolton.
BYU to review 'die-in' (5-10)
The
Honor Code Office at Brigham Young University is conducting a review of
the actions of five students who participated in a gay-awareness
demonstration on campus last month.
BYU creates genealogy tutorial (5-10)
A
team of Brigham Young University students and faculty members have
created a new free online tutorial for the Personal Ancestral File
program.
Did FLDS 'cook the books'? (5-9)
The
noose around fugitive polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is tightening.
Just days after Jeffs was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list,
Utah's attorney general confirmed to the Deseret Morning News that his
office has been quietly conducting an organized crime investigation
into Jeffs and the Fundamentalist LDS Church.
Firms with FLDS ties to present financial records (5-9)
Businesses
that have ties to the Fundamentalist LDS Church and a troubled school
district in the polygamous border towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado
City, Ariz., are scheduled to appear in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake
City today.
Jeffs on FBI's Top Ten (5-7)
The
FBI has named Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs to its Top
Ten Most Wanted list, fueling the nationwide manhunt to find the
fugitive polygamist prophet.
FLDS told to pay taxes or else (5-7)
The
man appointed by the courts to oversee the Fundamentalist LDS Church's
financial empire has compiled a list of the polygamist group's top
leaders targeted for possible eviction--if they don't pay their
property taxes.
Democrats applaud LDS stance on waste (5-7)
Democrats are applauding the statement Thursday from the leadership of the LDS Church opposing nuclear waste.
Millennium--Christian faiths have various views on Christ's reign (5-6)
The
"Second Coming of Jesus Christ" is a subject often discussed in
Christianity. Less often explored, however, are beliefs regarding the
period after Christ's return--the "millennium."
Brother Derek's namesake won't be watching (5-6)
Elder Derek won't be watching Brother Derek.
No to nuclear storage, LDS say (5-5)
The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Thursday reaffirmed its
opposition to storage of high-level nuclear waste in Utah, asking the
federal government to search for creative ways to dispose of it.
LDS Business College graduates 336 (5-5)
Just as LDS Business College is on the move, so are the 336 members of its Class of 2006.
Embrace diversity, women urged (5-5)
Susan
Gong said she had the perfect Latter-day Saint childhood, growing up in
Taylorsville, but wonders how she ever internalized the belief that she
was somehow better than others.
Utahns gather in Day of Prayer (5-5)
Scores
of Utahns gathered at a variety of venues around the state Thursday to
celebrate their faith and that of others during the National Day of
Prayer.
LDS update after quake (5-5)
Reports
Wednesday of an 8.0 earthquake 90 miles off the coast of Tonga had
officials with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt
Lake City on alert. The church reported that "all its missionaries were
accounted for in Tonga after Thursday morning's earthquake (Wednesday,
U.S. time). The church has received no reports of other member deaths
or injuries."
Foundation is using the Internet to fight anti-Mormon literature (5-4)
The
More Good Foundation is taking the battle of good versus evil to the
frontlines in cyberspace by providing positive church information to
counteract the negative blogs and Web sites that misrepresent and tear
down the church's credibility.
Mom at peace with coed's death (5-4)
The
mother of a Brigham Young University coed who went missing two years
ago says she has made peace with the realization that her daughter is
dead and that the death was "dark, painful, lonely and ugly."
'Elder Buns' is home (5-3)
Most
LDS missionaries make it a point to let people know about their
farewells. That wasn't the case for the 20-foot-tall inflatable "elder"
tethered atop the Missionary Mall store on University Parkway.
Vocal Point wins world championship (5-3)
Vocal
Point, the Brigham Young University sponsored a cappella group, sang
its way to the world championship Saturday night in New York's Lincoln
Center, when it took top honors at the 2006 International Championship
of Collegiate A Cappella.
Conversion or Understaning? (5-1)
Reformed Baptist Thinker Blog
With nods from President Bush and LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley, along with conductors and organists past and present, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir celebrated and performed its 4,000th consecutive broadcast on Sunday.