Make this page a daily stop to get all of the latest news of interest to members of the
Church.
April 24, 2007
Two teenagers plead guilty to arson in blaze of Sugar House LDS church
Two teens who broke into an LDS church in Sugar House last year and vandalized the building before setting it ablaze have admitted their guilt in 3rd District Court and will be required to pay restitution toward the estimated $1.9 million refurbishing cost.
Michael Aaron Ferguson, 19, who pleaded guilty in 3rd District Court to second-degree felony arson, has been sentenced to probation and given credit for the 157 days he spent in jail.
Place-making in SLC: Conference Center fits, library doesn't
OK, I might as well say it: I like the new LDS Church Conference Center (designed by Zimmer, Gunnsel, and Frasca, 1999).
As a gentile and consummate bo-bo ("bourgeois bohemian" - a cross between a hipster and a yuppie), I should hate it, or at least that's what all my aesthetically astute friends and colleagues tell me. The unfavorable response the building gets from the local literati runs from mild scorn to outright hostility, particularly among those who consider it "terribly fascist." By this I'm assuming they mean that the building's imposing size and monumental frankness equate nicely with their vision of the all-encompassing, authoritarian LDS Church. And on cold January days I might agree with them - devoid of summer greenery, the sky-gray Conference Center, fronted by its barren plaza, can be intimidating. Still, for me the building works as a piece of architecture, and it works better than our other new building, the Salt Lake City Main Library (Moshe Safdie, 2003).
“You mark that word, and from this school, I’ll tell you, will go men and women whose influence will be felt for good towards the establishment of peace internationally.”
These words spoken by President David O. McKay in the dedicatory address of the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Church College of Hawaii, February 12, 1955, have been heard many times since they were spoken.
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir returned to the Salt Lake City landmark that gave the choir its name with a stirring concert Friday. The event, which also spotlighted the Orchestra at Temple Square and the three Tabernacle organists, felt more like a worship service than a concert, but it's unlikely that many of the thousands in attendance were inclined to complain.
The fact that the choir was back in the Tabernacle after more than two years of seismic upgrades was itself reason to rejoice. The LDS Conference Center across the street may seat four times as many people, but it's no concert hall.
The Salt Lake Tabernacle, completed in 1867 by the faithful of the fledgling Mormon religion and home of the world-famous choir, reopened over the weekend after a two-year top-to-bottom renovation.
The Mormon church has drawn criticism from preservationists for replacing the tabernacle’s original pews, made from pine and “grained” by artisans with paint and etchings to appear like oak, the wood favored by Brigham Young, the pioneer Mormon leader. The new pews are made of oak.
Salt Lake Tabernacle to be Rededicated this Weekend
Calling it a rare gem of architecture, President Gordon B. Hinckley, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, announced in October 2004 that the Salt Lake Tabernacle would undergo retrofitting and renovation. He will rededicate this unique building with its shiny new roof this weekend during the church's annual general conference.
Before there was a Temple Square, when the trees were newly planted, the Mormon pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley undertook a project to build a large meeting place, a building where they could unite under one roof and hear the words of their leaders.
As Latter-day Saints get their first peek into the newly restored Salt Lake Tabernacle later this week, questions about what has changed and what remains the same are inevitable.
Yet curiosity about the 140-year-old building has been a discussion point throughout much of its history and rekindled by its closure for seismic retrofitting and upgrading in late 2004.
The historic building is to be rededicated this weekend during the 177th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, many of them from out of town, descend on Salt Lake City this weekend for the LDS Church's annual General Conference, they are certain to notice some commotion: Two blocks in the heart of downtown are kind of a mess.
The blocks that encompass the Crossroads Plaza and ZCMI Center malls are the site of a massive downtown renovation project, spearheaded by the LDS Church in its efforts to bolster the economy and tourism of its headquarters city.
Downtown Rising: Vision of what S.L. might become is unveiled
Six community districts, eight "signature projects" and one big vision.
The Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance unveiled their vision for Utah's capital city Tuesday, a blueprint connecting mountains and metropolis, communities and cultures, residents and guests.
"This is one of the most exciting endeavors I've been involved with in my life," said Salt Lake Chamber President Lane Beattie. "What is Salt Lake City going to be in the next 30 to 40 years? What could it be?"
Hundreds of downtown state employees may soon be replaced by students and, eventually, cars under a real-estate deal between the state and the LDS Church.
Lawmakers on Wednesday approved an offer from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to purchase the state's Human Services Complex, on the corner of North Temple and 200 West, for $11 million.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, who, as an elementary-age student, was grateful that the library was strategically located across the street from the Thomas Judd general store, returned to his native city of St. George Monday to dedicate a newly constructed Washington County Library.
Introduced by Douglas Alder, chairman of the Washington County library board, as one who learned to love books, Elder Holland of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve "rhapsodized" about childhood memories.
The Salt Lake City Planning Commission on Wednesday unanimously signed off on four 100-foot-plus residential buildings planned for downtown, including one that would be among the state's tallest structures.
The LDS Church may have lost a court battle in its fight against a strip club opening a block from Temple Square. But, in the end, it got what it wanted: The Crazy Goat Saloon, formerly the Dead Goat, has closed.
And no other strip club can take its place anywhere downtown, thanks to recently enacted zoning rules.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
Latter Day Saints church to hold rededication ceremony Sunday
Since Hurricane Katrina, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Pascagoula has been the site where more than 100,000 church volunteers across the United States have come to help residents rebuild.
The church received be-tween 5 and 6 feet of water during the Aug. 29, 2005, storm and had to be gutted and repaired from the steeple to the floors.
But now that work has been completed, and a rededication service will be held at the church, located at 1302 Martin St, at 9 a.m. Sunday.
