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December 30, 2006
Most churches skipping Eve parties
New Year's Eve periodically lands on a Sunday, and that's the case this year — but should this Sabbath Day occurrence affect how Christians celebrate the arrival of a brand new year?
Most local churches aren't sponsoring New Year's festivities this year, and so basically it is left up to individuals and families as to how to handle a Sunday New Year's Eve.
"It doesn't make a lot of difference to us," Pastor Terry Long of Calvary Chapel of Salt Lake said of the Sunday New Year's Eve.
He said his church hasn't sponsored an adult New Year's Eve party in many years, but it will have its all-night (7 p.m. to 8 a.m.) party for junior and senior high school students from Sunday night to Monday morning again this year.
New Year's Eve periodically lands on a Sunday, and that's the case this year — but should this Sabbath Day occurrence affect how Christians celebrate the arrival of a brand new year?
Most local churches aren't sponsoring New Year's festivities this year, and so basically it is left up to individuals and families as to how to handle a Sunday New Year's Eve.
"It doesn't make a lot of difference to us," Pastor Terry Long of Calvary Chapel of Salt Lake said of the Sunday New Year's Eve.
He said his church hasn't sponsored an adult New Year's Eve party in many years, but it will have its all-night (7 p.m. to 8 a.m.) party for junior and senior high school students from Sunday night to Monday morning again this year.
Brigham Young University's sober reputation is cemented in the national consciousness — more on that in a moment — but 2006 proved that humor, if not alcohol, flows freely in the shadow of Y Mountain.
The biggest campus wits included the president of the Board of Trustees and the president of the university. Since those men double as President Gordon B. Hinckley, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Elder Cecil O. Samuelson, of the church's First Quorum of the Seventy, students have strong ecclesiastical examples of drollery.
Without further ado, then, let's hand out the 2006 "Sammies."
DESERET BOOK ACQUIRES SEAGULL BOOK & TAPE AND COVENANT COMMUNICATIONS
SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 28, 2006. Deseret Book officials announced today the acquisition of Covenant Communications and its sister company Seagull Book, a retail book chain comprised of 26 stores. Discussions which culminated in this transaction were initiated this past summer by Lew Kofford, who is the founder of both entities.
“Apparently Mr. Kofford had been looking for a transition for some time,” said Sheri Dew, president and CEO of Deseret Book Company. “After lengthy analysis and discussions spanning many months, we reached the conclusion that this acquisition could benefit both Seagull and Deseret Book customers, as well as authors working with both Covenant Communications and Deseret Book Publishing.”
The Deseret Book and Seagull Book brands will continue to operate independently. “Seagull Book is a great discount book retailer,” said Dew. “This acquisition comes on the heels of two banner years for Deseret Book. We feel that Deseret Book as a full-service book retailer and Seagull as a well-established discount book retailer, not only both enjoy tremendous brand loyalty, but between them service the LDS market well. Our strategy is to continue to build both brands.”
“This is the perfect transition for Covenant and Seagull,” said Mr. Kofford. “Deseret Book was an ideal choice to make this acquisition, and I fully expect the companies to complement each other going forward.”
Because Covenant Communications, a well-respected publisher of LDS products, and Deseret Book’s publishing division, are both very successful and enjoy unique strengths, they will not be merged but will continue to operate separately. All existing relationships with the authors of both companies will remain intact.
Similarly, there are no plans to close any Seagull or Deseret Book stores, and with the exception of Mr. Kofford, all of the current management team at Seagull and Covenant will remain in place. Likewise, this acquisition will not affect the employment of any Deseret Book employees. In other words, it will be business as usual for Seagull, Covenant, and Deseret Book.
Established in Salt Lake City in 1866, Deseret Book is Utah’s oldest book company, with five divisions: retail, publishing, wholesale, events, and direct-to-customer. The retail division operates 43 stores in several states in the western United States, including Mormon Handicraft, which is a Salt Lake City consignment shop for handmade goods.
Based and remaining in American Fork, Utah, Covenant Communications is one of the largest publishers of LDS-themed inspirational fiction, games, teaching aids, gift books, and nonfiction. Seagull Book is an LDS-oriented discount book chain with some 26 stores throughout Utah, Idaho, Arizona and California.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are not typically ones to start the party early, or even start it at all. The church disapproves of drinking, smoking and other indulgences.
But this year in Utah, at least two cities will celebrate New Year’s Eve on New Year’s Eve Eve, eagerly embracing 2007 a full 24 hours before it actually arrives in order to appeal to Mormons.
The premature celebration does not reflect a new emphasis on revelry, church officials assure. It is simply that New Year’s Eve this year falls on a Sunday, the Sabbath, and the two cities, St. George and Provo, know that in a state with about 1.75 million Mormons, faith can trump Father Time when it comes to planning a party.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be launching a new-look Newsroom Web site this coming week.
The present site, developed a year or so before the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, contains feature and reference material written in part for the hundreds of journalists who then flocked to Salt Lake City looking for human interest stories.
The new site contains information in easily digestible form to suit not only journalists but other researchers and members of the public who are looking to find factual material on the Church quickly and easily. It is written in non-ecclesiastical language that they can readily understand.
The site will include a much more powerful search engine as well as more multimedia. For example, The World Report, a six-monthly summary of what is happening in the Church around the world, will have a permanent presence.
The site will contain links to other reliable Internet sources of information, and will include a feedback section to constantly monitor user use and make improvements. The site will be beta tested starting this coming week before taking the place of the present site some time in January.
For several years, the Darfur region of Sudan has been an area of conflict resulting in the displacement of over two million people and the death of thousands.
Since 2004, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has cooperated with several partnering organizations, including International Relief and Development, Red Crescent Society, and International Medical Corps to respond to the basic humanitarian needs of the refugee population in Sudan and neighboring Chad.
The emergency response effort of the Church has included providing approximately 400 tons of Atmit, a nutritional supplement for malnourished children. In addition, shipments of medical supplies, hygiene kits and blankets have been sent. Church Welfare Services continues to monitor the situation and to work closely with partnering agencies to assist those in need.
A press conference was held today introducing Sissel Kyrkjebø, the Norwegian-born singing sensation who is this year’s guest performer for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square Christmas concert.
When asked what it is like to perform with the choir, Sissel said, “For me, to sing with Placido Domingo one day and then to sing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, it’s the same level.”
Choir director Craig Jessop remarked: “To meet her [Sissel] and feel her presence, her genuineness, her beauty — the combination is quite disarming — the combination of her natural warmth, her natural beauty and then her beautiful singing. I’d say it’s been a blessing.”
Sissel performed at last night’s dress rehearsal and will perform tonight and Saturday night. She will also give a special performance during Sunday’s Music and the Spoken Word. All tickets for the concerts were taken within two hours of their release. Approximately 21,000 people will attend each concert.
Sissel first performed with the choir last April 2006 during Music and the Spoken Word.
Groundbreaking Held for Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple
resident Gordon B. Hinckley, leader of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, presided today at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. His counselors in the First Presidency, President Thomas S. Monson and President James E. Faust, also participated. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles conducted the service.
President Hinckley announced that the new temple, to be built on a bluff on the west bench of the Salt Lake Valley, will be known as the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. The temple will be the 13th for the Church in Utah and the fourth in the Salt Lake Valley. Both the Oquirrh Mountain and Jordan River temples are located in South Jordan, Utah, making it the first city in the world to have two Latter-day Saint temples.
The sacred edifice will feature a single copper-clad spire soaring to a height of 193 feet, topped by a 9-foot statue of the Angel Moroni. Latter-day Saints believe that Moroni, an ancient American prophet, was a key figure in the gospel restoration that took place in the early 1800s through Joseph Smith, the Church’s founding prophet.
To be built on an 11-acre site, the temple will sit at the foot of the Oquirrh Mountains that form the western edge of the Salt Lake Valley and face east toward a panoramic view of the majestic Wasatch Mountains. From the site, temple visitors will be able to see the other three temples in the valley: the Draper Temple, Jordan River Temple and Salt Lake Temple.
The Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple will serve approximately 83,000 Latter-day Saints living in the western Salt Lake Valley. The building will be faced with light beige granite quarried and milled in China.
Prior to dedication, the public will be invited to tour the new temple during an open house period expected to last several weeks.
To members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, temples are the "house of the Lord," the most sacred place on earth, where Christ’s teachings are reaffirmed through marriage, baptism and other ordinances that unite families for eternity
In the temple, Church members learn more about the purpose of life and strengthen their commitment to serve the Savior and their fellowman. Unlike meetinghouses where Sabbath worship and weekly activities take place, temples are open throughout the week and closed on Sundays.
New Hampshire activist Bruce Keough is signing up with Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's burgeoning presidential campaign for one reason: He considers Romney the opposite of John McCain.
The Arizona senator's run-ins with the Bush administration have convinced Keough — a former state senator who was wooed by both camps — that Romney would be a more ideologically reliable Republican standard-bearer. "There are many conservatives who are not enthusiastic about John McCain's candidacy," he said.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will speak at the Brigham Young University-Idaho fall commencement ceremony on Wednesday, December 20 at 5:00 p.m. in the Hart Auditorium.
Elder W. Rolfe Kerr, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and commissioner of the Church Education System, will also be in attendance.
Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center Gets "Topped"
The construction of the Gordon B. Hinckley Alumni and Visitors Center reached a milestone during a "topping out" ceremony Dec. 8. Topping out is a term used by steel workers that signifies the last piece of steel being hoisted into place on a structure. For the GBHB the designated piece of steel is a pyramid-shaped roof section for the clock tower weighing 14,000 pounds.
"The clock tower is very appropriate to receive the last piece of steel," says King Husein, owner of Span Construction & Engineering, who, in conjunction with Okland Construction, has the responsibility of erecting the new building. "It will become the newest landmark on campus."
Despite death, war and calamity that haunt some even during the Christmas season, Jesus Christ offers the hope of salvation to all.
"He left his mark upon the world, which can never be erased nor diminished," said LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley during the annual First Presidency Christmas devotional Sunday night. "Our eternal lives are in his hands, and our eternal progress lies in obedience to his teachings."
As scholars continue to examine the impact of America's homegrown religious figures, a panel of historians has placed both Joseph Smith and Brigham Young on its list of the 100 Most Influential Americans of all time.
The list is the cover story in the December issue of Atlantic magazine, and ranks Joseph Smith — "the founder of Mormonism, America's most famous homegrown faith" — at No. 52, and his successor as LDS Church president — Brigham Young — at No. 74.
"What Joseph Smith founded, Young preserved," the magazine said, "leading the Mormons to their promised land." (See the list at www.theatlantic.com/doc/200612/influentials)
Temple Square will host multiple free musical performances during the Christmas season and New Year celebration in conjunction with the LDS Church's annual lighting display. Local high school and collegiate choruses and ensembles, as well as choral groups of children, community groups and others will perform. The public is invited.
The LDS Church is moving forward with plans to build its fourth Salt Lake County temple - this one inside Kennecott Land's Daybreak development.
South Jordan City's Planning Commission has unanimously approved a site plan for the 60,000-square-foot building. Across the valley to the east in Draper, construction is under way at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' third Salt Lake Valley temple.
Home to the Jordan River Temple - the valley's second - South Jordan will be the first city in the world to have two of the edifices that LDS faithful hold sacred.
Church Response to Typhoon Durian in the Philippines
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is assessing the needs of those affected by Typhoon Durian in the Philippines, and leaders there are assisting with rescue and cleanup efforts.
News reports indicate that close to 400 people have been killed. More than 20,000 people have been affected by the typhoon and by the mudslides and flooding that occurred following the storm. An estimated 11,000 have been left homeless.
Church Update (as of Friday, 1 December 2006, 3:00 p.m. MST): All missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints serving in the Philippines are safe and accounted for. Preliminary assessments indicate that over 600 member families have been affected by the mudslides and flooding. Two member children are confirmed dead. Two chapels have sustained water damage, while over 40 chapels are being used as temporary shelters.
The annual First Presidency Christmas Devotional will originate from the Conference Center on Sunday, December 3, 2006. This devotional will include Christmas messages from the First Presidency and music by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
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When Sen. Harry Reid becomes Senate majority leader next year, he will be the most powerful Mormon in Washington.
But that reign could be short-lived if Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney makes a bid for the presidency in 2008 and wins. Romney is considering a run in what is expected to be a wide-open field.
Reid is a Democrat from Nevada and Romney is a Republican. Though they have chosen different political stripes, they are bonded in a faith whose leaders encourage members to become active in public life.
When Sen. Harry Reid becomes Senate majority leader next year, he will be the most powerful Mormon in Washington.