May 2008
Texas judge refuses to sign order to return FLDS children (5-31-8)
The devil is in the details.
Search warrant seeking Jeffs' DNA accuses him of more child bride marriages (5-30)
Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is accused of squiring more child brides in a search warrant affidavit seeking his DNA.
North County Times--A new beginning: Blacks giving the Mormon Church a second look (5-30)
Angela Carson used to jump up and frequently yell "Hallelujah!" in church. Now, she sits in the middle pew and sings quietly, with a softer, gentler demeanor.
Judge to hold hearing on ruling in FLDS case (5-30)
The judge who ordered the removal of hundreds of children from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch has scheduled a court hearing this afternoon.
Texas can't hold 'em: Supreme court says state erred in taking children (5-30)
Plans are being made to return children seized in the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch to their parents after a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court devastated the case by child welfare authorities against the polygamous sect.
Bush raises $2 million, visits LDS leaders (5-30)
President Bush spent less than 24 hours in Utah, but that was enough time for him to raise more than $2 million toward keeping the White House in Republican hands.
Bush meets with First Presidency (5-29)
President George W. Bush's second, and final, day in Utah began with a helicopter ride from Park City followed by courtesy visit with top LDS Church leaders.
MormonTimes--Raiders of the lost Book of Mormon DNA (5-29)
Part one of a series. "And 'X' never, ever, marks the spot." - Indiana Jones
Ruling: Some FLDS children must go back; dissent says teenage girls remain at risk (5-29)
The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the removal of FLDS children from the YFZ Ranch was unwarranted--and the decision to take them was an abuse of judicial discretion.
ACLU joins legal fight in Texas (5-29)
The American Civil Liberties Union is stepping away from merely observing the situation involving the hundreds of children placed in state protective custody in the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch.
FLDS mothers respond to Texas court (5-29)
Lawyers representing a group of mothers whose children were taken in the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch have filed responses with the Texas Supreme Court.
MormonTimes--What's new? "Defending the Faith' CD (5-28)
Daniel C. Peterson tends to get defensive when it comes to his religion.
MormonTimes--'Emma' play fundraiser (5-28)
A fundraising event will be held Saturday to raise money for a production of a musical about Emma Smith.
FLDS have mother's empathy (5-28)
Heidi Mattingly Foster knows firsthand the unique situation that members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church are in as they wade their way through a child custody case that blends abuse allegations with the faith of a polygamist society.
FLDS couple signs tentative custody agreement (5-28)
The chaotic custody case surrounding hundreds of children taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch remains on hold today, pending a decision by the Texas Supreme Court on whether to return the children to their parents.
Gay Mormons to church: Don't fight California court ruling (5-28)
A support group for gay Mormons is urging LDS church leaders to stay on the sidelines after the California Supreme Court said same-sex marriage there is legal.
Polygamous sect distances itself from FLDS (5-28)
Worried that they are being tarred "with the same brush" that is tainting the Fundamentalist LDS Church, another polygamous sect is speaking out about its beliefs.
Salt Lake revenues, budget in question (5-28)
A slumping economy has Salt Lake City officials nervous about revenue projections for fiscal year 2008-09, particularly as they relate to City Creek Center.
FLDS criminal cases building (5-27)
While the custody fight for the hundreds of children seized from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch has devolved into legal chaos, a criminal probe is quietly moving forward.
MormonTimes--Black LDS family's mission is to help Saints come together (5-27)
Upon entering Kevin and Lita Giddins' high-ceilinged home, visitors will have no question as to their priorities and values.
New Brazil temple thrills Utahn (5-26)
What Robert T. Owens is experiencing today never was part of his imagination when he left Utah 51 years ago to serve as an LDS missionary in Brazil, so it can't be said his dream has come true. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would see a temple standing in a city where there wasn't even a chapel.
MormonTimes--LDS beliefs help, but attitude toward native worship affects, church growth in Africa (5-25)
Because LDS belief in prophets, angels and healing fits so naturally within the context of traditional African faith and practice, it seems logical that the LDS Church would spread rapidly throughout Africa.
HamptonRoads.com--Mormon missionaries spread faith in the Bible Belt (5-25)
Elder Neal Rappleye stood in the doorway of a Chesapeake home, knocking until the homeowner appeared.
MormonTimes--MHA names winners for top LDS books, articles (5-25)
Terryl Givens, a University of Richmond professor of literature and religion, took top honors for his recent book at Friday's annual Mormon History Association awards banquet.
Utah, Texas laws are similar; FLDS population isn't (5-25)
Could the raid on the FLDS ranch in Texas happen here?
LDS Church researchers call massacre documents a 'web of conflicting information' (5-24)
Researchers with the LDS Church's historical department say conflicting accounts and missing documents have vexed historians looking to determine exactly how the Mountain Meadows Massacre came about and who had prior knowledge of the plan to murder about 140 men, women and children in southern Utah.
MormonTimes--President Monson announces another new temple in Arizona (5-24)
President Thomas S. Monson announced May 24 that the Church plans to build a new temple in Phoenix, Ariz., bringing the worldwide total Church announces plans for two new temples in Arizona number of temples already in operation or in the planning and construction phases to 140.
LDS Church historian concludes Brigham Young did not order 1857 massacre (5-24)
There is insufficient evidence to say former LDS Church President Brigham Young ordered the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and ample evidence that says he did not, according to the church's assistant historian.
Allegations swirling in fraud case (5-24)
Attempted bribery of prosecutors. Threats. Questionable campaign donations. Rumors of political pressure from the highest ranks of Utah GOP politics. A judge making the rare move of rejecting a plea bargain as too lenient, and ordering a trial instead.
The quandary of peculiar versus weird (5-24)
THREE MORMONS IN the national spotlight made intriguing ethical decisions over the past few weeks.
Council seeks diversity in prayers (5-24)
It's a common occurrence before public meetings in Utah: A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints offers a prayer asking for guidance from Heavenly Father.
Texas fights return of FLDS kids (5-24)
The day after FLDS mothers celebrated an appeals court decision ordering the return of their children, child welfare officials went to the Texas Supreme Court to prevent it.
Texas fires back with photos in case (5-24)
Shocking photographs of Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs kissing someone that Texas Child Protective Services lawyers alleged is a 12-year-old "wife" have become evidence in a custody battle over a 1-week-old baby.
Historians note early LDS role in California (5-24)
The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has suffered from a kind of "historical amnesia" regarding the contributions and influence of 19th century Latter-day Saints in California and the impact of the gold rush on the fledgling Utah Territory.
FLDS family's case goes to court today (5-23)
On the same day that an Austin appeals court delivered a humiliating blow to the custody case involving hundreds of children taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch, a San Antonio court took another shot.
FLDS win big victory (5-23)
As Julie Balovich stepped out of her car here at the gates of the YFZ Ranch, a woman from the Fundamentalist LDS Church ran up and hugged her, crying softly.
Christianity Today--Can America Still Bar Polygamy? (5-23)
A century and a half ago, Mormons made national headlines by claiming a First Amendment right to practice polygamy, despite criminal laws against it. In four cases from 1879 to 1890, the United States Supreme Court firmly rejected their claim, and threatened to dissolve the Mormon church if they persisted.
CPS attorneys grill FLDS couple in custody hearing (5-23)
Lawyers for Texas Child Protective Services dropped several bombshells in court today as they try to make their case for why the state should take custody of a 1-week-old baby born to a woman who was once declared a minor.
Next step: Prosecutors eye bigamy charges (5-23)
How the Texas appeals court ruling will affect placement of the FLDS children remains to be seen. But a prosecutor says the ruling won't affect her criminal investigations.
East Valley Tribunne--Food shortage fears spur LDS members to stock up (5-23)
Shelves and shelves of home-canned vegetables and meats, dried grains, an electric generator and stored water promises reasonable sustainability for the Mormon family in Gilbert in a world where food riots, starvation and disaster-related food shortages are becoming a kind of norm. There are threats of a United States trucking shutdown over high fuel costs that could lead to empty store shelves. Or there could be an unspeakable disaster in the Valley of the Sun, which has been largely immune from major disasters.
Governor backs changes to club laws (5-23)
Utah's liquor laws need to keep moving toward "greater normalcy" so the state's travel and tourism industry can continue to grow, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. said Thursday.
Texas appeals to state Supreme Court in FLDS case (5-23)
Texas child welfare authorities have filed an appeal with the Texas Supreme Court challenging yesterday's appeals court decision that ordered the return of children seized from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch.
Appeals court rules Texas acted improperly in removing FLDS children (5-22)
An Austin appeals court has ruled that Texas child welfare authorities acted improperly in removing more than 450 children from the FLDS Church's YFZ Ranch.
LDS Church officials to meet with Bush (5-21)
President Bush will meet with the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during his fundraising trip to Utah next week, a church spokesman said Wednesday.
MormonTimes--'Mormon Gold' will be among topics at history conference (5-21)
Hundreds of historians and LDS history buffs are gathering in Sacramento this weekend for the annual Mormon History Association conference, with "Mormon Gold" as one of the themes for this year's event.
Ex-FLDS child bride says she testified to help others (5-21)
Elissa Wall said it is painful to watch the events unfold in Texas involving her kin within the Fundamentalist LDS Church.
FLDS believe Texas is plotting another raid on ranch (5-21)
Members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church say Texas child welfare authorities are plotting another raid on the YFZ Ranch to find what they claim are more children living there.
FLDS hearings advance amid confusion, angst (5-21)
The massive child custody case involving hundreds of children taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch lurches forward with another full day of status hearings today addressing what it will take to reunite parents with their children.
MormonTimes--Having priesthood 'is my better means to serve' (5-21)
The first time Alan Cherry met a Mormon, it was in an unlikely place.
Four more FLDS 'disputed minors' declared adults (5-20)
Four FLDS women whom Texas officials believed were minors have now been declared adults.
Warren Jeffs' influence evident in FLDS hearings (5-20)
Warren Jeffs may be incarcerated in an Arizona jail, but his influence among his followers is front and center in Texas courtrooms thousands of miles away.
Mormon Times--Youth answer Elder Ballard's challenge with video (5-20)
We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the church teaches," said Elder M. Russell Ballard, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in a December 2007 address.
LDS Church leader Elder J. Thomas Fyans dies at 90 (5-20)
Elder J. Thomas Fyans, 90, an emeritus general authority for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died May 18, 2008, of causes incident to age.
MormonTimes--Whittingham explains sportsmanship and LDS beliefs (5-19)
While it may be his rival coach down south who has made noise for doing firesides weekly before football games, University of Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham has plenty of experience in talking about his beliefs as well.
Attorneys agitated about FLDS family plans; judge questions why Books of Mormon were removed (5-19)
Hearings to discuss custody of FLDS children resumed this afternoon with attorneys for parents and children becoming increasingly agitated about the lack of personalization and specifics in the family service plans.
MormonTimes--Former 'Silver Spoons' star, current Mormon, Schroder reflects on religion (5-18)
Throughout his childhood and adolescence, actor Ricky Schroder thought religion was for others, not for a person like himself.
MormonTimes--Stake president has no room in life for prejudice (5-18)
Lina didn't know that Tony decided on a whim to drive from his Army base in Texas to her home in Independence, Mo. She also didn't know that her father slammed the door on Tony, telling him he was not welcome at their house.
RNS--A bastion of Mormonism rises in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains (5-17)
Greg Larsen seems like your typical young Mormon: he was born and raised in Utah, served a two-year mission in San Antonio and is married--at 23--to the woman he met as an undergrad at a Mormon university. But the campus where he and his wife, Alyssa, met wasn't Brigham Young University in Utah. His newly minted degree comes from Southern Virginia University, a fledgling outpost of Mormonism in the heart of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.
FLDS mother victorious in court (5-17)
Pamela Jeffs Jessop's eyes sparkled and she smiled as she walked out of the Tom Green County Courthouse Friday.
Texas is assessing ages of sect 'girls' (5-17)
When Texas child welfare authorities released statistics showing nearly 60 percent of the teen girls taken from a polygamist sect's ranch were pregnant or had children, they seemed to prove what was alleged all along: The sect commonly pushed girls into marriage and sex.
LDS Church expresses disappointment in California gay marriage decision (5-15)
Following the California Supreme Court's decision Thursday to overturn a ban on gay marriage there, both the LDS Church and the Catholic Archdiocese in San Francisco released statements about the decision, reiterating their views of marriage and commenting on the court's action.
Texas governor defends agency's treatment of children from compound (5-15)
Texas Gov. Rick Perry voiced strong support for Child Protective Services officials Wednesday even as a social services official in the state's Hill Country expressed more outrage over the treatment of 464 children removed by the state from a West Texas polygamist compound.
Former FLDS sect member gets favorable ruling (5-15)
Go to the audiotape.
FLDS parents told to appear in court (5-15)
More legal notices have been published, putting the parents of children seized in the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch on notice.
Church Executive--Mormons and Evangelicals cross religious barriers (5-14)
More than 500 Mormons and Evangelicals met last month (April) at the Tempe Institute of Religion at Arizona State University to participate in an interfaith dialogue hosted by Greater Phoenix Latter-day Saints Interfaith Council and the Arizona Ecumenical Council. "A Conversation Between a Mormon and an Evangelical" was led by the Reverend Gregory Johnson, founding pastor of Ogden Valley Baptist Church in Utah, and Robert Millet, dean emerit
Mormon Times--Mission Accomplished (5-14)
At an age when most major league prospects are either under contract or preparing for another year of college, one promising pitcher left Brigham Young University, entered the Missionary Training Center and shut out baseball.
Was LDS handbook posted illegally? (5-14)
The LDS Church has sent notice to the Wikimedia Foundation alleging a copyright infringement by its Web sites Wikinews and Wikileaks regarding posting of a virtual copy of the 1999 LDS Church Handbook of Instructions.
Plans for FLDS families are not so individual (5-14)
Individual family service plans for the children taken into state protective custody in the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch are expected to be filed in a Texas court beginning today.
Canadian polygamist sect under pressure (5-14)
Fluorescent lights cast a yellow-green pall on the posted student artwork. Children's voices recite lessons behind closed doors. A group of seventh-grade girls giggle and whisper as they wander back to class.
Court hears Utah man's claim to cut of Howard Hughes estate (5-14)
It was a fantastic story, and 30 years ago a jury found it too bizarre to believe: A delivery man says he rescued Howard Hughes after he found him face down and bloodied in the desert, so the billionaire left him $156 million in a hand-scrawled will as a reward.
Ex-FLDS bride's book released (5-13)
The former child bride whose testimony led to the conviction of Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Warren Jeffs is telling her story in a new book.
Long litany of legal disputes begins in FLDS raid (5-13)
Legal motions are being filed in several Texas courts challenging the decisions to put 465 people from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch in state protective custody.
Chairman says Texas CPS workers mistreated FLDS (5-13)
John Kight is determined to get the word out that Child Protective Services in Texas is out of control.
FLDS mother declared an adult (5-13)
Texas authorities no longer believe that a woman who gave birth to a child in state protective custody is a minor herself.
Hebrew DNA found in South America? (5-12)
Was Hebrew DNA recently found in American Indian populations in South America? According to Scott R. Woodward, executive director of Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, a DNA marker, called the "Cohen modal haplotype," sometimes associated with Hebrew people, has been found in Colombia, Brazil and Bolivia.
A second FLDS mother gives birth in custody (5-12)
Another child has been born to a woman taken into Texas custody in the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch.
Ex-FLDS member exploring custody solutions (5-12)
Dan Fischer is conflicted.
Warren Jeffs seeks dismissal of incest charges (5-12)
Attorneys for Fundamentalist LDS leader Warren Jeffs are asking a judge to dismiss incest charges in the cases pending against him in Arizona.
Adoption of FLDS name is akin to identity theft (5-11)
In the days following the raid on the Texas polygamous compound, I took a call from a St. Louis radio host requesting one of our reporters to come on his show to "talk about the situation in Utah." Early in this cordial conversation, I informed him that this newspaper is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that I am a member of this church.
Letter asks Bush to help FLDS kids (5-11)
A hand-delivered letter to President Bush at his Crawford, Texas, ranch asks the new father-in-law to intervene in the plight of hundreds of FLDS children and their parents.
Texas says all YFZ kids at risk (5-10)
Texas child welfare attorneys say children were removed from the YFZ Ranch and should not return there because its residents live as one big family and all have the same dangerous belief system.
Church cuts Cache pageants to every other year (5-10)
Not everyone in Cache County likes the LDS Church's decision to stage Clarkston's Martin Harris Pageant every other year instead of every year.
JewishJournal.com--Mormon missionaries meet modern Judaism (5-9)
"Do Jewish people still practice sacrifices?" This was among the questions asked recently by a group of Mormon missionaries, 50 students who came to Palos Verdes' Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to hear a lecture by Rabbi Isaac Jeret of Congregation Ner Tamid, located right next door to the church.
Attorneys general defend Texas (5-9)
The attorneys general for Utah and Arizona agreed Thursday that Texas was right in its removal of hundreds of FLDS children from the Yearning for Zion Ranch near Eldorado, Texas, more than a month ago.
Utah seeks facts about Texas raid (5-9)
Utah authorities will look into claims by members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church that their children were wrongfully taken in a Texas raid of the church's ranch there in April--as long as the members are from Utah.
Texas: All YFZ children at risk because of common belief system (5-9)
Texas child welfare attorneys say children were removed from the YFZ Ranch and should not return there because its residents live as one big family and all have the same dangerous belief system.
Block party: Sales of Utahn's handicrafts soar after a plug from 'Martha' (5-9)
Seven minutes on "The Martha Stewart Show" and the orders keep coming.
George Durrant's life is full of 'best days' (5-9)
The greeting on his home phone's answering machine lets callers know exactly how George Durrant's day is going.
ACLU shares concerns over FLDS case (5-8)
The American Civil Liberties Union said it has "serious concerns" about the way the government is handling the massive child custody case over the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch.
Texas officials drafting plans for FLDS children (5-8)
Texas child welfare authorities have begun drafting service plans for the children taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch.
Reid: Federal prosecutor to review how to help combat polygamy (5-8)
A Justice Department prosecutor has been assigned to review how the federal government can help state and local law enforcement with polygamy cases, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard in a letter sent Monday.
Mormon Times--Uniting the Smiths (5-8)
In 1972, Michael A. Kennedy was a high-school junior in Tonopah, Nev., and he had an assignment. Chalking the word "genealogy" on the board, his American history teacher told her students to learn something about America's past by researching an ancestor.
Legal experts say what FLDS can do now is cooperate (5-7)
Two prominent Utah legal minds say there is little members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church can do to stop the momentum of Texas' investigation. In other words: The train has left the station.
Newsweek--American's Next Top Mormon (5-6)
As reality shows dominate television, they're finding contestants in an unlikely place: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mormon Times--Ex-Black Panther finds strength in gospel path (5-6)
For Ronald McClain, interest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a gradual process.
LDS rebut N.Y. Times Web article (5-6)
The historian for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took issue Monday with a New York Times opinion piece comparing FLDS polygamists in Texas to 19th century Mormons.
Jessop says Jeffs to blame for FLDS troubles (5-6)
It has been a busy month for Carolyn Jessop.
Faith-based groups helping FLDS youths (5-5)
A little more than a third of the foster-care institutions that took FLDS children in state custody are faith-based providers with long and rich histories of helping people.
Catholics told not to give LDS parish data (5-4)
The Catholic Church has ordered dioceses across the globe not to give information in parish registers to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Mormon Times--Mormon Media Observer: Setting the record straight on 'Mormon' semantics (5-3)
Recently Elder M. Russell Ballard again suggested that members of the LDS Church join in conversations on the Internet to share the gospel and to explain the message of the Restoration in simple, clear terms.
'Cultural guide' helps Texans understand FLDS children (5-3)
A newly released "cultural awareness guide" says FLDS children in Texas state custody have made derogatory comments to "staff of color" and women wearing jewelry.
East Valley Tribune--Mormon, Baptist respect differences in faith (5-2)
Headstrong in their two faiths, a Mormon and a Baptist squared off recently at the Tempe Institute of Religion at Arizona State University and spent 2 1/2 hours demonstrating they could aggressively question each other's religions but come away with
Feds are stymied in probes of FLDS (5-2)
Federal authorities have been probing allegations of crimes involving the Fundamentalist LDS Church and its leader Warren Jeffs for years--but have been unable to develop enough probable cause to launch a full-scale investigation or bring charges.
Texas says 41 FLDS children have broken bones, fractures (5-1)
The state's top child welfare official said investigators found "historic physical injuries and fractures" among the children taken from the Fundamentalist LDS Church's ranch.
Joseph or not? Display of photo raises interest, doubts (5-1)
There is no verified photograph known to exist of Joseph Smith, first president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. However, true or not, a special public showing centering on a purported "Joseph Smith photograph" attracted a sizable audience Wednesday.
MormonTimes.com: Modern pioneer will always be linked to 1978 revelation (5-1)
Marcus Martins' life story has been written before. His noteworthy, and in some cases unprecedented, experiences as a black member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are well-chronicled, and Martins says he enjoys reading such accounts.