February « 2009 « News for Mormons

Brooke White Returns to 'Idol'

Friday, February 27th, 2009

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OUR VIEW: Huntsman going national

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

How about this presidential ticket? Huntsman-Gingrich 2012?

Gov. Jon Huntsman, by all signs, is making a push into the national political scene. In an interview with the conservative national newspaper, The Washington Times, he found a target that is, frankly, easy to bash — Republicans in Congress.

And, he’s embraced as an ally a GOP leader from the past — Former Speaker Newt Gingrich. The pair have spent time discussing reform ideas for health care, energy and the environment.

Huntsman told the Times he never talks to current GOP congressional leaders Sen. Mitch McConnell or Rep. John Boehner. He labels their ideas as completely “inconsequential.”

They’re just empty words, or as Huntsman, speaking Mandarin Chinese, says “fei hua.”

(To read the news story on the interview, go to: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/24/utah-governor-ignores-top-gop-legislators/)

No one likes to see a political party decline, but right now Huntsman is right. Republicans, particularly on the national stage, have no credibility on fiscal restraint. Huntsman told the Times: “Our moral soapbox was taken away from us because of our behavior in the last few years. For us to now criticize analogous behavior is hypocrisy.”

Not surprisingly, Huntsman sees — besides Gingrich — Republican governors and state officials as the ones who will drive the ideas that resonate with the public. He says Congress can’t focus on those ideas so long as the GOP partisan rhetoric dominates the debate on issues.

Huntsman is right to unapologetically take the federal stimulus money. The growing economic crisis has dragged down state budgets. It is appropriate for the federal government to do something to boost state revenues. Huntsman is the CEO of Utah. He would be derelict in his duties if he rejected the money for narrow ideological reasons. His chief responsibility is to the well-being of Utah and its residents.

So what of Huntsman’s chances as a 2012 presidential hopeful? We venture to say that they are not too bad. Huntsman shares Mitt Romney’s reputation for competence and fiscal prudence. What’s more important is that Huntsman will not make the key mistake that sank Romney’s presidential bid. He will not make a craven shift to the right that repudiates his moderate stances on many issues. Huntsman is not that type of politician.

Although many may still regard Gingrich as an overly ideological GOP ally for Huntsman, the truth is that the former speaker of the House has moved closer to the center in recent years. He’s no longer the petulant, rigid ideologue who threw a tantrum in 1995 because he got a bad seat on President Clinton’s plane. Gingrich’s organization, American Solutions (www.americansolutions.com), is a conservative-leaning think tank seeking bipartisan solutions to issues and policies. That’s pretty wonky stuff, but we need leaders — from both parties — who can be policy wonks and voices of moderation.

Who knows, maybe “no more fei hua” will be a rallying cry in a few years?

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BYUH suffers budget cuts

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

From Ke Alakai (BYU Hawaii):

This year BYU-Hawaii is cutting near $2.1 million out of the annual budget due to the affects of the poor economy on the LDS Church’s tithing fund, said Steve Tueller, budget director at BYUH.

Each year, BYUH, BYU-Idaho and BYU in Provo submit a proposed expenditure budget to the commissioner of Church Education. In the end, the First Presidency, since they are on the Board of Trustees and the Council of the Disposition of Tithes, reviews the budgets and determines if the budgets are supportable with the expected tithing income of that year. Because the economy is faltering this year and annual household incomes are expected to decrease, the estimated amount of tithing is forecasted to be lower. This requires all the LDS Church schools to cut money from their budgets.

Although the church does have income from other sources, the BYU schools are paid primarily through tithing funds, Tueller said. The church has the option of taking money from other places, but since they advise members not to spend more then they make, they are deciding to follow this principle by not spending more money than what is coming into the church’s tithing funds.

“When times are tough, we can’t expect it not to affect us. I have all the confidence in the world that the leaders of the church will be guided on where to use tithing and other church funds,” said Jacob Hansen, sophomore in business from Reno, Nevada.
The First Presidency sent a letter asking each of the schools to reduce their budgets to the 2008 budget levels. This means spending the same amount of money that was spent last year, even though more money was requested for 2009.

President Steven C. Wheelwright initially submitted a lower than 2008 level expenditure budget to the commissioner of Church Education for 2009. BYUH was able to do this because it eliminated pockets of the budget that were not being spent from the previous year. Because the other BYU schools are making a sacrifice, President Wheelwright felt that BYUH should do the same, said Tueller. It was decided that 3 percent would be taken out of all budget categories resulting in the $2.1 million reduction.

Four main measures are being taken to save money, he said. First, hiring is on freeze. The BYU schools are not hiring any new employees except for student employees. Second, travel costs are being reduced by 20 percent. This is harder for BYUH than the other BYU schools since travel is only possible by plane. This means about 175 less trips will be taken this year. Third, the amount of money spent on supplies and equipment is being slashed. Lastly, the amount of money spent on projects will be less. The church will only allow projects that are required for safety, code and regulation, and the preservation of facilities.

Students can also help with the amount of money spent in the school’s budget. “Try and take care of facilities so there is no unnecessary wear and tear of things that cost money to fix,” said Tueller. He also urged students with jobs to do their best work and work an honest day’s labor.
Kylie Hislop, sophomore in history from Morgan, Utah, said, “To keep our resources available, students need to take advantage of what is given. Let’s not waste what we’re paying for.”

Posted in BYU, LDS Church | No Comments »

Mormon youths dispel falsehoods

Tuesday, February 24th, 2009

From The Indy Star:

As they endure others’ rejection of their church, they say faith is most important part of their lives.

Misconceptions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon church, have abounded since the Book of Mormon was first published in 1830. Since then, Mormons have suffered ridicule and persecution as they have defended their faith — which was founded when Joseph Smith dug up and then transcribed golden tablets inscribed with an ancient language.

Some observers, such as the creators of the animated TV program “South Park,” have been skeptical about the faith’s origins. Others have taken aim at the officially discontinued practice of polygamy, or plural marriage, and say that is reason enough to question Mormonism and the people who believe in it.

However, five Mormon youths in the Indianapolis area say they are unaffected by the misconceptions and criticism of their religion. To them, their faith gives them joy and peace, and they are happy to abide by some practices that others find outdated.

The youths say they attend services twice on Sunday and youth group one evening a week. In addition, high school students attend Seminary, an early-morning Bible study, every weekday before school. “It really starts your day on a positive note,” said Alex Green, 17, Clayton.

Most Mormon youths aren’t bothered by getting up early to reaffirm their faith. Alex says attending Seminary is a personal choice, not an obligation. “My parents don’t push me. . . . I go because I feel it makes me happy, so there’s no pressure.”

Many Mormon youths believe that modern culture downplays the meaning of family and family values, leading to popular depictions of Mormon women as “breeding machines.”

“In today’s world, people don’t put as much emphasis on family as our church does. We believe that family is this really big part of our lives, and it’s really important to us. And that’s why we usually reproduce more, because we think that it’s important to have children,” Alex said.

Ben Taylor, 14, Plainfield, said Mormons view children as gifts from God. “Lots of people think that it’s important to bring children into this world — little spirits. That way, they can raise them and they can have an opportunity to have a body on this earth.”

Many youths today also would consider the Mormon church to be too strict regarding personal freedoms. Mormon youths are advised to follow the Word of Wisdom, which instructs them on how to take care of their bodies. “The church gives you ways to live your life that would make you happy, but it doesn’t, like, say, ‘You have to do this’ or ‘You have to do that.’ . . . The church emphasizes that you make the right decisions, but it’s ultimately up to you to make that decision,” Alex said.

For example, dating before age 16 is discouraged, and only group dating is advised until age 18. “If you wait until you’re 16 to date, then you’re a lot less likely to get in trouble and to follow the wrong people,” said Lauren Cameron, 13, Plainfield.

The Mormon church also encourages its members to marry fellow Mormons or have their partners convert before marriage so that they share beliefs and values. It hosts many dances and social programs where Mormon singles can meet.

“The church advises you to marry someone of the same beliefs so that they can help support you and they’ll have the same standards and beliefs as you, so that you will be able to continue to prosper,” Alex said.

Mormon youths also refrain from consuming food and drink of questionable benefit, such as caffeine. “(Drinking caffeinated beverages) is one of those things that the church advises that we don’t do because it’s very addictive and it’s not really doing us any good,” Ben said.

Ignorance fuels most misconceptions about the church. The youths said that by far the biggest fallacy is that Mormons still practice polygamy. “The one that they ask most is, ‘Is it true that when you’re married, you have more than one wife?’ I’m like, ‘No!’ ” said Benjamin Smith, 10, Plainfield.

In fact, the church disavowed the practice in 1890 and excommunicates any Mormon who is involved in it. That hasn’t stopped some sects, such as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the students reject the practice and said it has brought them nothing but grief.

“Many people have misconceptions about polygamy and why it was practiced in our religion at one point. And because of that, they don’t see how our church really is and that we don’t practice it anymore,” Alex said. “So they totally reject our church.”

Some of the rejection has taken the form of teasing or mocking. Spencer Hunt, 12, Plainfield, said, “My dad, actually, when he was young, woke up with a kid feeling his head because his parents said that Mormons had horns or something.”

The youths say their faith is the most important facet of their lives, and they’d like others to view them as any mainstream religion.

“Don’t listen to all the stereotypes. . . . Find out your own personal opinions about our church,” Alex said.

However, the youths cautioned about turning to the Internet for information, saying there are many anti-Mormon Web sites.

“Go to lds.org. That’s the only reliable Web site that I know of that tells the truth about Mormons,” Benjamin said.

Posted in Families, LDS Church | Comments Off

How Does this Recession Compare?

Friday, February 20th, 2009

Chart courtesy of Calculated Risk:

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Eamonn McCann: What if Mormons are right and Catholics and Protestants wrong?

Friday, February 20th, 2009

From The Belfast Telegraph (Northern Ireland):

Given Christian teaching, does it make more sense to baptise dead adults rather than live babies?

Why are the Catholic bishops so concerned about Mormons baptising dead parishioners? The Mormons didn’t invent baptism of the dead. The practice has a significant history within mainstream Christianity. The decision to order its abandonment was taken only after heated debate, and was a close-run thing.

What’s the difference, anyway, between baptising the dead and baptising babies? A tiny infant will have as much understanding as a dead person — none at all — of the complex philosophical belief-system it’s being inducted into when baptised, say, a Catholic. Transubstantiation? There’s daily communicants go to their deaths without any clear understanding of the concept. So what chance the mewling tot?

Indeed, given that all Christian Churches believe that the soul lives on after death and retains understanding and consciousness of self, doesn’t it make more sense to baptise dead adults than live babies?

Apart from which, if the Catholic bishops hold that the beliefs of the Mormons are pure baloney (as they must), and their rituals therefore perfectly meaningless, how can it matter to them what mumbo-jumbo Mormons might mutter over Catholic cadavers?

The current controversy has been prompted by Archbishop Dermot Clifford and Bishop Bill Murphy complaining to the National Library in Dublin about records handed over by the Church being made available to all and sundry. The Mormons are believed to have taken advantage of this facility to comb through parish records and baptise the souls enumerated therein, a batch at a time.

The bishops stepped in after the Vatican warned all national churches earlier this year about Mormons misusing diocesan records. I have heard it suggested that the alarm of the Holy See had escalated after reports that Mormon multiple baptisms were regularly breaking the official record set by General Liu Kung Lee who, in one afternoon, baptised seven regiments of Chinese soldiers into Christianity with a fire-hose.

Let’s look at the facts as understood by the early followers of Christ. For more than 300 years after the Crucifixion, baptism of the dead was widely accepted, its biblical basis located in 1 Corinthians 15, 29: “Otherwise, what shall they do who are baptised for the dead if the dead rise not again at all? Why are they then baptised for them.” In other words, a deceased person could be baptised by proxy: otherwise, how could such a person be included in the Resurrection? A good question.

The radical Cerinthians and the Marcionites were especially energetic baptisers of the dead. It was to wrong-foot these sects, seen as competitors with the official Church at a time when it was consolidating its position as the State religion of the Roman Empire, that the Synods of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397) voted, after bitter debate, to condemn the practice.

Interestingly, a clear trace of baptism of the dead has lingered in official practice to the present day, in the form of prayers for divine intercession on behalf of the unbaptised souls. Prayers for intervention were encouraged in Catholic schools in the 1950s. For all I know, this remains the case.

Baptising the dead might be seen as analogous, too, to the Jewish prayer of intercession. Which serves as a reminder that US Jews put a halt to galloping post-mortem Mormonism a couple of years ago by arguing that deJudaising those who’d perished in the concentration camps constituted a profound insult to Holocaust victims. Following talks in New York between leaders of the two religions, the Mormons backed off.

The key point is, surely, that all religions believe that the soul, after death, at last knows what’s what — whether Hinduism, Free Presbyterianism, Jainism, Judaism, Islam, Catholicism or whatever is the true religion. What if it’s Mormonism? What if it’s an everyday occurrence on the other side that Catholics and Protestants are left standing dumbstruck at the Gates, gasping: “Mormons! Who’d have believed it?” And maybe a wife berating her husband: “There! I told you it would be the Mormons! But would you listen?! Now it’s eternal hellfire for the two of us, I hope you’re satisfied.”

In that scenario, shouldn’t all members of all other religions be literally eternally grateful to the Mormons for sharing their saving grace even unto and after death?

If, on the other hand, it isn’t the Mormons at all, those who turn out to have been right can wave a merry farewell to the crestfallen followers of Brigham Young as they trundle downwards to their eternal comeuppance.

What’s the problem?

Posted in LDS Church, LDS Doctrine, Temples, Theology | No Comments »

Florida Marlins' LDS closer Lindstrom is armed and dangerous

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

From The Miami Herald:

The folks in tiny Rexburg, Idaho, witnessed their 100-mph legend firsthand, and they rejoiced when Matt Lindstrom got a chance to show the Major League Baseball world as the Florida Marlins’ closer.

REXBURG, Idaho — The fastest pitcher in the majors comes from one of the slowest towns in America. The schools close in October for the potato harvest, the nearest stand-alone tavern is 30 miles down the road and some locals prefer to leave their cars unlocked and the keys in the ignition.

It’s the place where Marlins reliever Matt Lindstrom grew up as a person and developed as a pitcher, from Little League through college. It’s a town where most everyone in the close-knit community of 17,000 — ”America’s Family Community,” the sign leading into town reads — have long known that Lindstrom could hum it like nobody else around, from Rexburg all the away to Yellowstone across the border in Wyoming.

They didn’t need some fancy radar gun to prove it. Word of mouth did the job. The stories about Lindstrom’s bazooka arm got around.

There was the kid he accidentally nailed in the face with a fastball and another he hit in the helmet with a poorly aimed pickoff throw. Both kids quit baseball, right then and there. And there were the scores of batters he left gawking at blurs that stung the catcher’s mitt — that is, if they didn’t stray wildly over their heads or behind their backs.

Problem was, Lindstrom threw plenty hard in his younger days, just not accurately.

”The way to win a Little League game,” said Ray Lindstrom, Matt’s father, “is to have a hard thrower like Matt hit the first kid, have him start bawling. And then the game’s over. None of the other kids wants to get close to the plate after that.”

Matt Lindstrom said he never tried to hit anyone on purpose. But the mere possibility struck fear in the hitters, who quaked and shivered in his presence.

Big-league hitters don’t frighten like that, but they respect the smoke. They see the three-digit readings — 100 mph — and the scoreboard bulbs seem just a little bit brighter.

”It’s like a carnival effect,” Marlins catcher John Baker said. ‘You look up on the scoreboard and you see 101, and you say, `I’m supposed to hit that thing?’ ”

Last season, nobody in the majors threw it harder than Lindstrom. Not on average.

According to the Bill James Handbook, Lindstrom’s average fastball of 96.9 mph topped the sport. Lindstrom also was one of only three pitchers to throw as many as 10 pitches measured at 100 mph or faster. The Dodgers’ Jonathan Broxton and Tigers’ Joel Zumaya were the others.

Lindstrom’s heat doesn’t surprise anyone in Rexburg.

What does is that, as erratic as he was, he made it to the majors in the first place, and that the Marlins have him primed to be their closer, their man in the ninth. It causes Ray Swanson, who coached Lindstrom in high school and college, to shake his head in mild disbelief.

”Sure, he threw plenty hard,” Swanson recalled. “In high school, he was throwing 90. Around here, we don’t see 90. Around here, people see 75 and they think it’s 90. But he couldn’t throw strikes. He’d win games 8-7 with 15 strikeouts and nine walks. If [hitters] went up there with a Wiffle bat and didn’t swing the thing, they could beat him.”

A MISCHIEF-MAKER

Back then, Lindstrom couldn’t envision where he is now, either. He dominated in Little League, but so do hundreds of kids. And he was busy enjoying life, on the field and off. In school, he was a bit of a mischief-maker. Once, he got in trouble for tying a hook to a string, hanging it from a classroom ceiling and howling with laughter when the dangling contraption caught the teacher’s wig and yanked it off.

When Ray Lindstrom found out, “I drove from Idaho Falls, went to the junior high, and kicked his butt down the hallway, I was so mad. I got calls from the teachers all the time because he was such a pain in the butt.”

Matt Lindstrom interrupts the stories as they’re being told in the family living room, gets up from his seat and walks over to a window, looking out on the back yard.

”See that blue spruce over there?” the younger Lindstrom said, pointing. “In the winter, just like it is now, I’d stand behind that tree, wait for the cars to come down the road, and hit ‘em with snowballs. Then I’d run into the house and wait for the coast to clear.”

Lindstrom’s shenanigans didn’t go over well in a family that adhered to its strict Mormon values. The Lindstroms, like so many families in Rexburg, are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

”I thought I was going to have to send him to a school for juvenile detention,” said the elder Lindstrom, who supported the family as a beef jerky and sunflower seed salesman.

Eventually, though, Lindstrom calmed down and remained out of trouble. He played all the major sports — football, basketball and baseball. And like most high school students in Rexburg, Lindstrom helped with the potato harvest, the most important time of year in southeastern Idaho. One year, he stacked the potatoes in neat piles. The next, he drove a spud truck back and forth from the fields.

It was hard, dirty work.

”All through high school, we would work on the potato farms all day, and at night, at 9:30, we’d come back down and have football practice,” he said. “That’s how a lot of us in high school made money to buy basketball shoes, or have extra spending money during the school year.”

Lindstrom helped to lead his high school team to a state basketball championship, but baseball always was his first love.

He walked on at the local junior college, which was then known as Ricks College. The most famous athlete to come out of Ricks was Rulon Gardner, who won gold at the 2000 Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling, super-heavyweight class.

But Lindstrom didn’t receive a scholarship his freshman year because he wasn’t good enough.

”He got a uniform, and that’s pretty much it,” Swanson said. “ He was the 10th or 11th pitcher on an 11-man staff.”

Lindstrom was used for mop-up duty in more ways than one. He and his brother, Rob, remember the winter and early spring months when, using snow blowers and brooms, they would clear the diamond of snow in order to play. Sometimes they played while it was snowing.

”We had some guys who could flat out throw,” Swanson said. ‘Lindstrom was just `there,’ just a local kid.”

GROWTH IN SWEDEN

After his freshman year, Lindstrom, like most of the Mormon-based students at Ricks, left for his two-year mission. Lindstrom served his in Sweden, the country from which his great-grandparents had emigrated in the 1890s, eventually settling in Idaho, homesteading a piece of property and becoming farmers.

Baseball was the last thing on Lindstrom’s mind when he left for Scandinavia.

”I took two gloves and a ball over there, but I only used them twice,” Lindstrom said. “Once I played some catch on a soccer field. The other time I worked out with the Swedish baseball team. They were terrible. I was hitting balls over the fence. I was kind of putting on a show.”

After his two-year hitch was up, Lindstrom returned for his sophomore year at Ricks and tried out for baseball again. Swanson was flabbergasted when he learned the new coach had offered Lindstrom a scholarship.

‘I said, `Why in the world would you do that?’ ” Swanson said. “He said, `Well, he’s a local kid and he’s pretty good.’

‘I said, `He is not very good, and you just spent $1,000 of precious scholarship money on him.’ ”

Swanson said his biggest shock came next, when he quickly discovered that Lindstrom — who was now older (21) and larger (by 15 or 20 pounds) than before leaving on his mission — was vastly improved.

‘When I saw him throw, I’m like, `Holy Cow, this is unbelievable,’ ” Swanson said.

Ray Lindstrom believes the two-year break from baseball enabled the bone and muscle in his son’s arm to mature and strengthen. Swanson doesn’t disagree with that theory.

”It’s tough on hitters when you go a few years without picking up a bat,” Swanson said. “But for pitchers, it can actually be a bonus for them if they’ve been throwing all along. Their arms get a rest.”

Lindstrom didn’t just throw hard anymore. He began to confuse hitters, changing pitch speeds to keep them guessing. More importantly, he started throwing with accuracy.

”Everybody and their dog was in love with him,” Swanson said.

Scouts, radar guns in tow, started showing up to watch whenever and wherever Lindstrom pitched. Idaho. Utah. California. It didn’t matter. The New York Mets took him in the 10th round of the 2002 draft. (cont.)

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Housing Experts Skeptical Over Foreclosure Fix Plan

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

From FoxBusiness.com:

Cartoon link

President Barack Obama is expected today to announce a plan with a price tag of anywhere from $50 billion to $100 billion aimed at rescuing homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

The intention seems honorable: help homeowners stay in their homes, while at the same time shoring up the assets of the banks that hold many of these loans in those now notoriously complex securities constructed around home mortgages.

By some dire estimates, 10 million American homeowners could face foreclosure in the next few years if the economy continues to slide. The pattern has already been established. More than 2.3 million mortgage holders entered the foreclosure process in 2008, a shocking 81% increase from the year before.

But, as is often the case with these economic relief programs, the solutions often raise as many questions as the problems themselves.

Indeed, housing experts are skeptical that any government program can slow the record pace of foreclosures.

“I would be shocked beyond words if, after they roll this out, I feel that the nation’s housing problems have been fixed,” said Debi Averett, who runs the Web site Housingdoom.com.

According to information leaked by government officials ahead of Obama’s announcement, key elements of the plan include lowering mortgage holders’ monthly payments so that they comprise about 31% of the homeowner’s monthly income.

Some homeowners at risk of default are reportedly paying out as much as 40% of their monthly income on their mortgages.

A family with an annual income of about $50,000 will usually pay about $19,000 toward their mortgage, according to government figures. Under Obama’s housing proposal, that figure would be reduced to $15,500, a savings of $3,500.

Banks would also be required to reduce the principles of some mortgages. The idea being that the loss absorbed by the write-down would be far less than if the mortgage was defaulted on altogether.

Obama also wants bankruptcy judges to be allowed to renegotiate mortgages, a concept housing and consumer lending advocates have preached since the dawn of the economic meltdown that followed the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble three years ago.

An early red flag for proponents of renegotiating mortgages is that many banks – and the government, as well – have already put in place such programs, and the results aren’t pretty.

Consider these figures from John C. Dugan, U.S. Controller of the Currency, for loans modified in the first quarter of 2008: after three months, nearly 36% of the borrowers had re-defaulted by being more than 30 days past due. After six months, the rate was nearly 53%, and after eight months, 58%.

The data is similar for mortgages modified in the second quarter of 2008. According to Dugan, the re-default rate after three months was 39%, and after six months, 51%.

Averett said the government is clearly trying to prop up the housing market by slowing the rate of foreclosures, an honorable gesture if it means keeping a roof over childrens’ heads.

But Averett maintains that the housing market will not stabilize until prices reach their own bottom, and buyers begin stepping in to buy up the huge surplus of homes now for sale.

“Ultimately it’s supply and demand. They can readjust all the loans they want, but there’s still too much supply. What they need to do is buy up all those houses and bulldoze them to get rid of the supply,” she joked.

And beyond simple economic laws, there is the moral question raised by using taxpayer dollars to help homeowners, many of whom simply bought houses they couldn’t afford.

“Why should the Amercian taxpayer pick up the bill for a situation like that?” Averett asked.

Gimmicky loans with low initial interest rates allowed untold numbers of borrowers to buy a $300,000 home when they should have bought a $200,000. After the teaser rate expired and the interest rate adjusted higher, many of those borrowers have found themselves unable to cover the mortgage.

It’s sad, but should taxpayers who stayed within their means be asked to cover the losses for borrowers who didn’t.

That’s just one question raised by the “solution” to the foreclosure problem. There are many others.

Posted in Economics, Member News | No Comments »

Gladys Knight Opens Atlanta Restaurant

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

From MyFoxAtlanta.com:

Posted in Entertainment, Member News | No Comments »

Elder Daniel H. Ludlow dies at age 84

Wednesday, February 18th, 2009

From The Deseret News:

Elder Daniel H. Ludlow, 84, former director of the Correlation Department for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; college professor; and editor of the “Encyclopedia of Mormonism” died Feb. 14, 2009, at his home in Provo of causes incident to age.

Elder Ludlow had served as director of the Correlation Department for 15 years.

He had also taught at BYU-Hawaii campus; worked as director of Teacher Support Services for the Church Education System; served on the Scriptures Publication Committee of the LDS Church; and had been the editor-in-chief of the “Encyclopedia of Mormonism,” published by Macmillan Publishers.

He founded and served as the first director of the BYU Semester Abroad in Israel and the Faculty Study Tour of the Lands of the Scriptures. He had directed many tours to Israel (often including nearby countries), Central America, Mexico and conducted numerous church history tours.

Elder Ludlow had served in many leadership positions, including branch president; member of a bishopric; on four high councils and two stake presidencies; regional representative of the Twelve; president of Australia Perth Mission; and an ordained temple worker.

He was also author of several books — including a series of scripture references — numerous magazine articles, and chapters in various church manuals.

Born March 17, 1924, to Daniel and Wilma Hansen Ludlow in Benjamin he married Luene Leifson on June 10, 1942, in the Salt Lake Temple. The couple had one son and eight daughters.

He attended public schools in Benjamin, Goshen, and Spanish Fork. He also attended Utah State University where he was elected student-body president twice (1942 and 1946); Indiana University, where he earned a masters degree; and Columbia University, where he received his doctorate.

Elder Ludlow taught at Utah State University from 1947-52 and Brigham Young University from 1955-72, where he served as dean of religious instruction and director of the Institute of Mormon Studies.

He received an honorary doctorate degree from BYU in 1995. He authored several books, numerous magazine articles, and chapters in church manuals.

Sports, gardening, playing games with the family, golfing, fishing, camping, genealogy and traveling were his hobbies, along with a great love of learning and teaching.

Friends may call on Tuesday from 5-8 p.m., at the Provo Walker Mortuary, 85 E. 300 South, Provo.

Memorial services will be Wednesday at 11 a.m., in the LDS church at 2400 N. 1060 East, Provo. Friends may also call there, from 9-10:30 a.m., prior to services.

Interment in the Benjamin Cemetery.

Link to article

Posted in General Authorties, LDS Church | No Comments »

Mitt Vs. Harry Reid?

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

From The Boston Phoenix:

If you’re looking to sell a palatial estate in Nevada, I think I might know somebody who’ll be looking to buy soon.

You may have noticed that Mitt Romney is once again a ubiquitous presence, making speeches, doing fundraisers, getting interviewed on cable news, sitting down with Time Magazine, etc. etc. — and getting talked about as a potential HHS Secretary or Economic Advisor or whatever else comes up. The pace is only going to increase: later this month he’s booked for a huge DC fundraiser for his own PAC, a Virginia fundraiser for Barbara Comstock, the California state GOP convention in Sacramento, and back to DC for the conservative CPAC conference. (I wonder how Ann, who in addition to her MS had surgery to remove breast cancer in early December, feels about all this.)

What you might not have noticed is that another PAC — the American Future Fund — which was started by some of Romney’s former campaign people after he dropped out, has turned its sights on attacking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid back in his home state of Nevada.

The GOP is aching to defeat Reid, or at least give him a real challenge, in his 2010 re-election. But all of their prospective nominees have been fading; their most likely candidate at this point is former congressman Jon Porter, who lost his own re-election bid this past November. The Republican Lieutenant Governor, who also wants to run, has recently been indicted.

Where oh where might they find a candidate who can run a serious, high-profile, multi-million-dollar campaign against one of the three most powerful Democrats in the country?

Hint: Mormonism is an asset in Nevada. (Reid is Mormon, in fact.)

Romney, you might recall, campaigned hard in Nevada and won the caucuses there, helping to blunt his loss in South Carolina. The genius of running against Reid is that, win or lose, Romney becomes a hero to the GOP just for taking it on. I think he’s planning to do it. Of course, he doesn’t actually live there, but that’s easily fixed. So, anyone got a home for sale?

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Steve Young Headlines the 2009 NCAA Silver Anniversary Class

Tuesday, February 17th, 2009

From BYUCougars.com:

Steve Young receives the prestigious 2009 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award from BYU Director of Athletics Tom Holmoe at the 2009 NCAA Convention. NCAA Photo

Former BYU football All-American Steve Young headlined a group of six former NCAA student-athletes who received the prestigious 2009 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award at the NCAA Convention in January.

The honor recognizes former student-athletes who successfully completed collegiate careers in various sports and have excelled in their chosen professions. The Silver Anniversary Award acknowledges the former student-athletes on their 25th anniversary of completing their athletics eligibility.

The Silver Anniversary Award recipients are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee and were honored on January 15 at the NCAA Honors and Delegates Celebration in Washington, D.C.

Young set 13 NCAA records (four total offense and nine passing) and seven Western Athletic Conference marks during a prolific career as quarterback at BYU.

Other 2009 NCAA Silver Anniversary Award winners included:
> Darrell Green, Texas A&M (football & track)
> Deidre Collins-Parker, Hawaii (volleyball & basketball)
> Mark Fusco, Harvard (ice hockey)
> Earl Graves Jr., Yale (basketball)
> Kathy McMinn, Georgia (gymnastics)

Young, who is currently a NFL studio analyst for ESPN, was the 1983 Davey O’Brien Award winner and the 1982 WAC Offensive Player of the Year. As a senior he posted a completion rate of 71.3 percent (306 of 429 for 3,902 yards and 33 touchdowns) — the highest single-season percentage in NCAA history at the time.

The highest-rated quarterback in NFL history, Young was named MVP in the San Francisco 49ers’ Super Bowl XXIX victory in 1995. The two-time league MVP was selected as the 1992 NFL Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News. During his career, appeared in seven consecutive Pro Bowls and won four straight NFL passing titles. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

A 1984 NCAA postgraduate scholarship winner and NCAA Top Five honoree, Young graduated with a degree in international relations from Brigham Young and earned a law degree from the Brigham Young’s J. Rueben Clark Law School in 1994.
An active participant in numerous charities across the nation, Young serves as honorary chair of the Children’s Miracle Network in San Francisco and is a member of the Dream Team of Children’s Miracle Network and Parents of Children with Disabilities. He also is the founder of the Forever Young Charity Foundation.

Young is the fourth BYU Cougar to receive the prestigious NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, joining Larry EchoHawk (1995), Gifford Nielsen (2003) and Danny Ainge (2006).

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Which religious groups are Creationist?

Sunday, February 15th, 2009

From Scienceblogs.com:

Pew has the numbers:

The main surprise here are Mormons. I knew that they had become much more Creationist over the past 3 generations due to their identification with conservative Protestants, but I didn’t know that it went this far. In The Creationists Ronald L Numbers states:

In 1935 only 36 percent of the students at the Mormons’ Brigham Young University denied that humans had been “created in a process of evolution from lower forms.” By 1973 the figure had risen sharply to 81 percent.

This is interesting because Mormons have no objections to evolution which are distinctively Mormon. This is why a prominent Mormon such as Mitt Romney didn’t have a problem taking a relatively strong position in favor of evolution.

The data above was from the Pew Religious Landscape Survey. I decided to see how various parameters would predict acceptance of evolution for these groups.