Romney's LDS faith examined on ABC's 'Nightline' *see the video*

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the least-known of the top-tier candidates mentioned for president, the least-liked, and probably faces the greatest challenge of any of them.

The issue: his religion.

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Mormon questions dog Romney in S.C.

Republican Mitt Romney yesterday dismissed questions about whether his Mormon faith would be an impediment to his campaign and defended his changing views on abortion.

Insisting he was making inroads in this early-voting Bible Belt state, Romney said he has had “a number of meetings with pastors of various faiths and religious leaders. Almost to a person they’ve subscribed to what Dr. Richard Land (of the Southern Baptist Convention) said, which was: ‘We’re not electing Mitt Romney as pastor in chief.’ ”

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Mormon exodus to be commemorated

Events in Nauvoo will commemorate 161 years since Mormon pioneers left Illinois' once–largest city on a historic trek to the Salt Lake Valley.

The commemoration begins Saturday with a re–enactment walk beginning at White and Main streets.

At 9:30 a.m., a flag ceremony and program will be at the corner of Parley and Water Streets near the Mississippi River in Nauvoo. The commemoration will conclude at 7 p.m. with a fireside program at the Joseph Smith Auditorium, 165 N. Wells St.

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U. chief exhorts students to push religious freedom

University of Utah President Michael Young put the secular rivalry between his school and Brigham Young University aside on Tuesday, asking LDS students to help create an environment that promotes religious freedom for all nations.

Speaking during a devotional assembly at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, the former chair of the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom said he believes Latter-day Saints "have the privilege and the opportunity to create a world in which the gospel can prevail. We have the opportunity to create an environment where people can choose whom they will serve," in a religious sense, he said.

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Church Talking More Through the Internet

The latest Web site for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was launched today — part of a series of initiatives aimed at streamlining and improving the way the Church communicates through the Internet.

The changes made today to www.lds.org — a site aimed primarily at Church members around the world — include access to scriptures in multiple languages (now available in English, German, Italian, French and Spanish) and a substantially improved search engine and easier navigation.

New content management software will allow for more collaboration between Church headquarters departments to make information about the Church more accessible via the Web. Together, Church Web sites often already receive up to 12 million page views in a single week.

Meanwhile, the Church is continuing to develop sites and technology to meet growing interest around the world. Two existing Church sites — www.mormon.org and www.familysearch.org — specialize in, respectively, messages for people who are not members of the Church but who are inquiring about it, and resources for those who are undertaking genealogical research.

A new Newsroom Web site was launched in a beta (test) format in December and is expected to replace the current Newsroom Web site in February. Earlier this month, the Church launched the LDS Tech Web site, which includes a forum for technology discussions.

The first blogs by Church representatives are also starting to appear, on topics ranging from the Church and technology to the place of the Church in society.

Read the article here.

Eastern Kentucky lawsuit accuses Mormon missionary of sex abuse

A Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints missionary who was accused of sexually abusing three people during a 2005 missionary trip to Kentucky and Indiana has been sued along with the church by the mother of one of the accusers.

The eastern Kentucky woman contends that Jason Stark's conduct damaged her son psychologically, socially and mentally. The lawsuit says the boy, who is younger than 18, has suffered public scorn, ridicule and embarrassment because of Stark, who is from Idaho.


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LDS affirms neutrality on Romney and others

Top LDS Church leaders are trying to make it clear that Mormon political candidates, including former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, won't be expected to follow their direction on matters of public policy.

Political observers knowledgeable about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints see the move in a variety of ways, but all agree that an expanded explanation of how the church interacts — or doesn't — with LDS politicians could benefit Romney, or at least give him something to point critics to.

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LDS President Hinckley steals the show in rare night out at the movies

It isn't often that LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley gets to go to the movies, but there he was Thursday night, taking his reserved seat with an unobstructed view of the big screen.

The hushed crowd at the Gateway Theaters in Salt Lake City rose to their feet as the 96-year-old Mormon leader walked slowly in, but he laughed and said, "Sit down." He didn't seem to have grabbed the free popcorn and Coke products provided in the lobby, although many others did.

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Missionaries go the extra mile

His face is soft. His shirt is pressed. As the 19-year-old missionary speaks, he sounds rehearsed but sincere.

"And if you don't mind, I'd like to tell you what Joseph Smith saw in his own words ..."

Patrick Loftus goes on to talk about pillars of light in a forest, a teenage boy unearthing ancient tablets, testaments of Jesus Christ's journeys through North America.

Read the entire article here.

How deep is religious divide?

"The Religious Divide" in Utah — the alleged chasm between Mormons and non-Mormons — was played down in a lecture Tuesday by David Knowlton, a sociocultural anthropologist who teaches at Utah Valley State College. Knowlton spoke at a diversity and social-justice session sponsored by the University of Utah College of Social Work.

Borrowing a declaration from the best known non-Mormon historian of Mormonism, Indiana-based Jan Shipps, Knowlton called the American West "a donut with something missing — a hole" — and that hole is Utah.

Read the entire article here.

Do some good

For Brad Risenmay, president of the LDS Church's Utah Salt Lake City South Mission, the purpose of proselyting is simple.

"The whole premise [of serving a mission] is to go out and do some good," says Risenmay, who presides over 171 missionaries in one of top-baptizing missions of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Read the entire article here.

Author screens film ‘The Mormon Way of Doing Business,’ Monday at the Waterford library

“Without Reservation” author Jeff Benedict will screen his first film “The Mormon Way of Doing Business,” Monday at the Waterford Public Library.

The film is a 30-minute documentary featuring interviews with CEOs of major corporations such as Dell, jetBlue Airways, and American Express on how their Mormon faith has affected their business. The movie will also be shown on PBS in February.

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LDS Church News

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From high school dropout to SLCC basketball star

For someone who never finished high school and never played organized basketball in his life prior to college, Salt Lake Community College men's basketball star Gary Wilkinson has come along way with a little hard work and determination.

Wilkinson dropped out of Bingham High School as a senior and had no direction in life for a time before he found guidance and motivation when he joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a mission to Calgary.

Read the entire article here.

6 BYU professors foresaw Iraq war pitfalls

PROVO — They told us so four years ago this week, and their expert predictions about the aftermath of an American invasion of Iraq now appear downright prophetic.

In hindsight, what may be most striking about a guest editorial written by six Brigham Young University political science professors and printed in the Deseret News on Jan. 23, 2003, is that their questions about going to war in Iraq made little or no dent in public opinion.

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Wandering Jew: Missionaries impossible

When I walk into the Santa Monica restaurant, it's easy to spot the Sisters, as they are young, fresh-faced, sitting straight backed, looking expectantly at the door.

They're not nuns, but missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which means Mormon by the way, although I know as little about their religion as they know about mine.

Read the entire article here.

Media get it wrong regarding Romney and religion

On paper, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is a very attractive presidential candidate. For those who don’t know who Romney is, Troy Senik, a friend of mine, described the Republican: “He is the smartest kid in his class that is also quarterback of the football team.”

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Press off the mark

As a practicing Mormon, I am responding to Bill Press's "unofficial synopsis" of the doctrines of our faith in his column, "Would you vote for a Mormon?"

Mr. Press states that we believe "all Christian doctrine developed after the crucifixion of Jesus was a whopping lie." Although we certainly have significantly different beliefs from other churches, we also believe many of the same fundamental principles shared by other followers of Christ. To quote a Book of Mormon prophet: "We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ ... that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26).

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LDS plans call for tower of 32 stories

If the LDS Church's real-estate planners get their way, a few people in Salt Lake City will be living 400 feet above ground.

Plans for City Creek Center, a mixed-use development proposed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to replace the downtown Crossroads Plaza and ZCMI Center malls, call for at least five residential towers.

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Member of the Seventy encourages BYU-Idaho students to bring balance to their lives

Elder Robert F. Orton, a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, asked Brigham Young University-Idaho students to "seek and obtain the balanced life" in a devotional address given Tuesday, January 23.

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Talking About Technology in the Church

Since the formation of the Church, technology has played an important role in its progress. The Prophet Joseph Smith utilized the technology of his day—newspapers—through advances in printing presses. Under President Heber J. Grant, Music and the Spoken Word made use of the radio. And President Gordon B. Hinckley continues to employ technological advances to spread the gospel across the globe.

In the spirit of this tradition, several directors of technology for the Church are employing the forefront technology of the 21st century to continue the work.

Joel Dehlin, chief information officer for the Church, has a vision of what technology should do for the Church.

"[It should deliver] high quality content to every corner of the earth, decrease administration and increase ministration, and bring souls to Christ," he said during a "Tech Talk" discussion held in Salt Lake City on January 18 and 23.

At the first Tech Talk, Brother Dehlin highlighted the headway the Church has made in utilizing various technologies, including satellite conferences, which have given most Church members the opportunity to participate in general conference and enabled many others to participate in several temple dedications. Also, with the rise of the Internet, 61 country Web sites are now available in 42 different languages on the Web through LDS.org.

Brother Dehlin also addressed some of the challenges on the path to truly utilizing today's technology. The Church's 12 million members live in many different countries and speak many different languages, making things complex, he said. Furthermore, the Church is spreading in large numbers in third–world countries where easy access to the Internet and other technologies is not possible. Despite that, Brother Dehlin and his colleagues are optimistic about the usefulness of technology in spreading the gospel.

Many of the Church's advances in technology are being discussed on the new Web site ldstech.lds.org, which was recently launched to offer deeper insight into the technological aspect of the Church. But more than that, the site is aimed at getting people involved.

There is a great, untapped resource of people who are tech–savvy and could improve the technology of the Church, Brother Dehlin said. The time has come to utilize their knowledge.

Visitors and contributors to the site can post questions or respond to one another's quandaries. Contributors can also offer up their own ideas and suggestions that "the Church or community need to develop," according to the site.

Read the entire article here.

Mormon Movie Mayday

There’s a controversy brewing at the movies this spring, and don’t expect to see September Dawn playing in a lot of theatres in Salt Lake City. Daily Variety reports Black Diamond Pictures and Slo Hand Releasing have set May 4th as the release date for September Dawn, starring Jon Voight, Lolita Davidovich, Dean Cain and Terence Stamp as Brigham Young.

Read the entire article here.

Missionary carries a second message

Brandon Wright - he prefers the title Elder Wright - is on a mission for his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but he has a secondary message for cancer survivors and amputees.

Life is not over when a limb is lost. Wright had his left leg amputated below the knee three years ago after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer in his foot. An active volleyball, basketball and football player and snowboarder, he freely admits to some down days when he lost his leg.

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Ceran family 'dumbfounded' by fundraising

His wife's daily planner, his daughter's bow, his son's highlighted scriptures, a cup any of them drank from -- nearly a month after Gary Ceran lost his wife, daughter and son in a fatal car crash, the 45-year-old father is gathering mementos of his loved ones and still holding back tears.

"Every one will set you off at any given moment," he said. "We're trying to put the house into a condition where we can move forward without being tortured every day. The very day I came home from the hospital I walked in and Julie's nightgown was on the counter in the bathroom. On the fridge was a photo of Clarissa and Julie. Everywhere you turned it was that way."

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Press: Mormonism and Mitt Romney

For Republicans, Mitt Romney's an attractive candidate. He has a good track record as head of the Salt Lake City Olympics and governor of Massachusetts. And, thanks to a convenient, pre-presidential conversion, he's now anti-choice, anti-gay rights and anti-gun control. There's only one problem: He's a practicing Mormon.

Should Romney's religion be an issue in politics 2008? It already is. Indeed, given the basic tenets of Mormonism, there's no way Romney could escape it.

Read the entire article here.

Pilot Shot at, Brother Killed in Iraq Chopper Crash

A Utah helicopter pilot survives after being shot at in Baghdad, but his brother is killed when his chopper goes down. Both were on a security detail over one of the most dangerous sections of Baghdad.

Art Laguna was among five civilians killed in Baghdad when their chopper was shot down by insurgents. His brother Dan lives in North Salt Lake.

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LDS Church, Scouts face sex-abuse suit

PORTLAND, Ore. — Two brothers filed a $6.5 million lawsuit against The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Boy Scouts of America on Monday, alleging they were sexually abused as children in the 1980s by a LDS "home teacher" who was also a Boy Scout leader.

The lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court alleges the church and the Boy Scouts were responsible because Timur Dykes was an authorized representative of the groups.

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Is Utah's success too much for economy?

Negative perceptions about Utah still linger — strict liquor laws, a conservative monoculture and the dominant influence of a single church.

However, a new survey of more than 100 businesses that have relocated or expanded in Utah during the past five years shows that those perceptions may be turning.

Read the entire article here.

Church Works to Eradicate Measles in Africa

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is seeing success from its partnership with several organizations — including UNICEF and the American Red Cross — to help eradicate measles in Africa.

UNICEF announced last week that the combined efforts of several organizations have led to a 60 percent drop in deaths since 1999. UNICEF representative Edward Hoekstra told National Public Radio that this percentage translates into 1,000 children a day who do not die from measles.

The Church became involved in the measles campaign in 2003. It has since included the program as one of the Church’s major humanitarian initiatives, along with clean water projects, wheelchair distribution, neonatal resuscitation training and vision treatment training.

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Brigham Young University: Somewhere over the rainbow

Mormon community went through trials and tribulations until finally being permitted to build academic complex on Mount Scopus. Ron Peled tours the impressive complex

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Mitt Romney's great trek

At first, it sounds like a bad joke: What if a woman, a black, and a Mormon ran for president? Yet with Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), and Mitt Romney running for the White House, this welcome burst of diversity in US presidential candidates is no joke.

Each of these politicians comes with enough experience, patriotism, and popular support to be taken seriously for the 2008 contest. Yet polls show a number of Americans still hold some prejudice against them simply for their sex, race, or religion.

Read the entire article here.

Critic at LDS film fest urges others to go deeper

Let's just tell nice, positive stories.

LDS filmmakers were chided by film critics during the 6th Annual LDS Film Festival at the SCERA in Orem on Saturday for not telling stories with depth.

"We are such good people and we have all the truth, so let's just tell nice, positive stories," said Thomas Lefler of BYU theater and media arts, speaking during a panel discussion on the next generation of LDS filmmaking. "In an effort to fit the mold of the Latter-day Saint, we sometimes just don't find very engaging material ... I think we've got to go deeper into who we are.

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The religious test

Should Americans fear Mitt Romney because he is a Mormon? In spite of what some political pundits have recently argued, the answer is a resounding no.

Should Romney fear how some Americans will react to his religion? Unfortunately, recent polls say yes. But just like another Massachusetts politician who faced questions about his religion, namely John F. Kennedy, Romney can, and should, tackle uneasiness about his religion head-on — sooner rather than later.

Read the entire article here.

Y. students return to Jerusalem for studies

PROVO — A group of 44 Brigham Young University students arrived in Israel on Wednesday ready to become the first to study at the university's Jerusalem Center in six years.

Classes are scheduled to begin today despite opposition from some Jews and against the backdrop of a power struggle between the Palestinian movements Hamas and Fatah.

BYU is preparing to announce that it will double — to 88 — the number of students admitted to the center for both the spring and summer terms, university spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said. The center has room for 170 students.

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'The Mormons' on PBS takes aim at stereotypes

PASADENA, Calif. — Award-winning filmmaker Helen Whitney has one over-arching goal for her four-hour production "The Mormons," which airs this spring on PBS.

"I hope that most of the stereotypes — ideally, all of them — will be blown away," she told the Deseret Morning News on Saturday. "Because so many of them are just based on ignorance. Ignorance about Mormon history, ignorance about Mormon theology. Ignorance."

The two-part, four-hour documentary, a presentation of both "American Experience" and "Frontline" — their first co-production — is to air nationally on April 30 and May 1.

Read the entire article here.

Pres. Monson receives award for lifetime of service to others

Nearly 50 years ago, President Thomas S. Monson appointed himself the personal guardian for 87 widows in his LDS ward.

All of those women have passed away, and President Monson, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has spoken at every single funeral of the women he visited for so many years.

That attitude of service earned President Monson the Worldwide Humanitarian Award at the Salt Lake Rotary International convention Saturday.

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Five-Story Church Building Opens in Singapore, Will Benefit Community

SINGAPORE — A five-story building of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been completed and will accommodate approximately 2,500 Mormons in Singapore.

The building, located on Bukit Timah Road, not only has a place for worship, but also has been equipped with an indoor basketball court, family history research center, emergency preparedness facility and other rooms to be used for community programs.

The multipurpose building will also benefit members of the community. People of all faiths are welcome to participate in the various activities and programs hosted in the newly constructed building.

Local Church leader Elder Tan Su Kiong said: “We worship each Sunday, but we also have educational, social, sporting and other activities throughout the week. We want our neighbors and friends to develop friendship and understanding regardless of our race or faith.”

While multistory Church buildings are not common in the United States, the Church builds them in other countries when land availability or prices may present difficulties. The multistory buildings have smaller footprints than their U.S. counterparts but are almost equal in square footage.

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Burglars hit churches in Anchorage, Eagle River

Police are investigating a rash of break-ins at churches in and around Anchorage, including six in Eagle River recently.

The thieves are prying doors open with crowbars, breaking into safes and making off with Sunday collections, according to the police.

There have been at least 10 break-ins at nine churches in Anchorage since late December, with additional churches in Wasilla also being hit, police said. In most of the cases, the thieves have left thousands of dollars worth of mess in their wake, including setting off fire extinguishers and destroying office equipment.

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LDS leaders urge youths to make good choices

While most youths rang in 2007 at New Year's Eve parties Sunday, thousands of young Latter-day Saint faithful filled the seats of the LDS Conference Center and lined the pews in church buildings across America, to hear prominent church leaders encourage youths to make wise choices.

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News

LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley speaks during a youth fireside at the Conference Center Sunday night.

President Gordon B. Hinckley, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve and Young Women's President Susan W. Tanner counseled youths during the Sunday night fireside to "Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly," which is the Mutual theme for 2007.

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