From Fox13now.com
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Missionary Sendoffs Altered for Swine Flu Precaution
Thursday, June 4th, 2009Mormon youths unite for dance: Next generation takes pride in tradition
Sunday, August 3rd, 2008
A group of young Mormon dancers from South Sound will spin, leap and kick their way through history this weekend, performing dances originating from 18th century Germany to the roaring ’20s.
More than 2,700 South Sound youths - including 400 from Olympia and Lacey - will head to the Tacoma Dome on Friday and Saturday for a dance festival hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
It’s a way to showcase a bit of the LDS Church’s history and encourage its youths to participate in a safe and wholesome activity, said the Olympia dance directors Michael and Janis Kelson.
“It’s a lot of fun. The kids all get together and they learn and they meet each other and have a good time,” Michael Kelson said.
The performance is a culmination of seven months of practice in 11 cities - each performing a different style of dance ranging from the tango and Charleston to the samba and sock hop.
And the dancers will dress the part: picture polka-dots and sailor suits for swing, and long, flowing gowns and tuxedos for waltz.
Dance festivals have their roots in the pioneer past of the church. Groups of weary travelers often would boost their spirits by dancing to fiddles. In more recent years, the church has organized large, regional dances, but the last South Sound festival was 22 years ago.
“It’s a tradition of the church that we want to try and bring to the next generation,” said Ayana Cleveland, 17. “I think this is an opportunity to see a group of youth create something.”
At a recent practice, Olympia students rehearsed swing and Viennese waltz numbers. Swing was a flirty mix of kicks, pretzels, tosses and spins. Waltz was more formal, with elegant lifts and graceful turns. (cont.)
Mormon Studies and Apologetics-10th Annual Conference Announced
Thursday, July 17th, 2008Press Release:
Mormon scholars to gather for 10th annual conference on defending Mormon beliefs.
Redding, California, 16 July 2008-Mormons-members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints-have received a lot of attention lately; some of it unwanted such as the mistaken association with the FLDS polygamous groups that have made recent headlines. A group of Mormon scholars, however, hope to focus positive attention on unique LDS issues in an upcoming conference sponsored by the grassroots, volunteer organization FAIR.
FAIR-the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research-is an all-volunteer grassroots organization that was created to dispel myths about the Church, to answer criticisms about Mormon beliefs and scriptures, and to help Mormons who struggle with their religious convictions because of critical material. The word “apologetics” means to defend one’s faith or beliefs.
Among the topics being presented at this year’s conference are: Book of Mormon Geography, Philosophy and Mormonism, Joseph Smith’s DNA Revealed, The White Horse Prophecy, the Book of Abraham, the Joseph Smith Papers, and Shaken Faith Syndrome (based on the newly released book of the same title).
This two day event-on August 7-8-will be held again at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy, Utah and is open to the public. More information can be found at http://www.fairlds.org.
FAIR, or the Foundation for Apologetic Information and Research (http://www.fairlds.org) is a tax exempt 501 (C) 3 Corporation staffed by faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seeking to defend the Mormon Church, its leaders, teachings, and practices from inaccurate or deceitful claims of critics. Staffed almost exclusively by unpaid volunteers, FAIR seeks to provide scholarly researched answers in an easily understandable way.
Contact: Scott Gordon (FAIR President)
Phone: 530-356-2070
First Eagle Scout ever awarded in Troop 431 in North Carolina
Wednesday, June 18th, 2008From The Cherokee Sentinel:
RECIEVING RANK: David Abbott awarding the rank of Eagle to Corey Barnum.
Corey Matthew Barnum is the first member of the Murphy Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. “This was an historic occasion and many members of the church here in the fivecounty area and his family were present for this significantevent”, said Branch President Thomas Booth.
The ceremony was held outside the church on Hwy 141 near the flagpole, the renovation of which was part of Corey’s Eagle Project. During the ceremony, the standard U.S. flagwas taken down and replaced by a flagwhich had been flown over the U.S. Capital in Washington, DC.
Additionally, Scout Master Larry Ferguson paid tribute to the four boy scouts who had recently lost their lives due to a tornado which devastated a scout camp in Iowa.
“I wasn’t sure this day would ever come. It’s a great honor, and I am grateful for all those who helped me along the way,” Barnum said.
MEMBERS ATTENDING: These men are all Eagle Scouts who attended the Court of Honor.Left to right are, Howard Brancel, member of the LDS Church in Murphy who received his Eagle in 1956 in Pierre, South Dakota; Charles Reiford who represented the American Legion in Hayesville and played the trumpet for the ceremony. He displays his Eagle medal which he earned in 1948, Woodlawn, NY; Corey Barnum, first LDS Church member to attain Eagle in the Murphy area; David Atkinson, area Boy Scout representative who earned his Eagle in Asheville, 1980.
The rank of Eagle is one of the most challenging awards in any organization to attain. Only about 1 percent of all boy scouts meet the demanding requirements which must be competed before their 18 birthday.
It is the mission of the Boy Scouts of America to serve others by helping to instill values in young people and, in other ways, to prepare them to make ethical choices over their lifetime in achieving their full potential.
NCAA Honors BYU Teams for High Academic Achievement
Friday, May 23rd, 2008From BYUCougars.com:
The BYU men’s basketball team is one of only 10 Division I teams that qualified for APR recognition and the 2008 NCAA Tournament. (BYU Photo/Mark Philbrick) 
The NCAA has recognized the BYU men’s basketball and women’s volleyball teams with public recognition awards for their multi-year Academic Progress Rate scores. The NCAA’s APR calculation includes eligibility, retention and graduation to provide a clear picture of the academic culture of each sport.
Each of BYU’s 21 teams made the mark to be considered in good academic standing by the 2008 NCAA APR report. High-performing teams that recorded scores between 965 and a perfect 1,000 while also ranking among the top 10 percent of all schools in their respective sports received public recognition awards. The BYU men’s basketball team achieved a 987 score, while women’s volleyball scored an exceptional 995. The men’s basketball team received public recognition from the NCAA for the second-consecutive year.
“We have outstanding student-athletes,” said E.J. Caffaro, director of BYU’s Student Athlete Academic Center. “I compliment them on their persistent work ethic and accomplishments inside and outside the classroom. I appreciate the support we receive from the coaches and the diligence of our academic advisors. This achievement is a great representation of Brigham Young University and the athletic department.”
At the Division I level, 33 men’s basketball teams qualified for public recognition out of a total of 328 programs. The Air Force Academy is the only other Mountain West Conference school to be honored. BYU is one of only 10 schools in the nation that earned high academic achievement and also qualified for the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Cougars are one of just six programs to earn APR recognition and an NCAA Tournament berth in each of the past two seasons, joining North Carolina, Villanova, Xavier, Belmont and Davidson.
Out of 325 Division I women’s volleyball teams, 41 qualified for the APR award this year with BYU being the lone MWC institution to be honored. Of those 41 teams, 10 earned an NCAA Tournament berth. BYU joined Stanford as the only two programs to receive APR accolades and also advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament this past season.
Overall, BYU’s teams not only rated well in the APR but also fared well on the field of competition. The Cougars currently rank 32nd in the Sports Academy Director’s Cup Division I standings, which ranks the top overall athletics programs in the country, making it the top MWC school and the top school from a non-automatic BCS-qualifying conference. BYU claimed eight MWC Championship titles during the 2007-08 season. The men’s basketball team appeared in the top-25 rankings and took the outright MWC Championship for the second year in a row. In addition to its Elite Eight appearance, the women’s volleyball team finished the season ranked 12th nationally — the program’s highest final ranking since 1998.
Adoption of FLDS name is akin to identity theft
Sunday, May 11th, 2008From The Deseret News:
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.
After a few minutes, it became clear that he thought I was somehow affiliated with the FLDS group. I felt like an anthropology specimen. The questions were friendly and good natured, but imbedded in them was the notion that there was really no difference between the LDS Church and the FLDS group, they were simply all Mormons to him.
Given the enormous national and international attention focused on the Texas raid, it has been abundantly clear that while many people understand the difference between the LDS Church and this polygamous group, unfortunately there is still substantial confusion between the two.
Much of this confusion comes from misapplying the name Mormon, as in “fundamentalist Mormon” or “Mormon polygamist.” The LDS Church has gone to great lengths to protect the name Mormon (note video of Elder Quentin L. Cook on YouTube, News for Mormons link). However, much misidentification simply results from the confusion between the terms LDS and FLDS.
Not only are many of the FLDS teachings in conflict with, and repugnant to, the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but, in fact, a person who believes in or practices the teachings of the fundamentalists would be excommunicated from the LDS Church.
While not strictly speaking identity theft, the adoption of FLDS by this group at best is confusing and at worst undermines the credibility of the Latter-day Saints and tarnishes the LDS “brand.” Sometimes damage to a brand or a trademark has been called attempted identity theft at the corporate level.
I am not making a narrow legal argument about trademark law issues here. Rather, my discussion is more broadly about brand identification and injury to a brand name.
While the terms LDS and Mormon are not brands in the commercial sense, these terms reflect the identity, reputation and teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS Church has the right and expectation that the use of these terms will convey certain impressions to those who become aware of them. This is known in the business world as brand equity and in the words of NetMBA.com it “is an intangible asset that depends on associations made by the consumer.”
Braveheart–An appreciation
Friday, May 9th, 2008From NationalReviewOnline.com:
Editor’s note: On Thursday night, Governor Mitt and Mrs. Ann Romney received the Canterbury Medal from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. Ann Corkery, who directs philanthropy at Security National Servicing Corporation, introduced the Romneys, reflecting on their contributions to religious liberty in America:
Thank you, Seamus [Hasson, president of the Becket Fund] and thank you all very much. I’m honored to join you in this lovely evening in tribute to our friends Mitt and Ann Romney.
Many other friends are here, and I especially want to recognize the movie producer Steve McEveety. Steve runs what you might call the Hollywood office of the Becket Fund. He is the producer of many films including the Oscar-winning film Braveheart. Another movie title to Steve’s credit caused a slightly awkward moment this evening, when he had to correct our guest of honor on a point of fact. It turns out that on the campaign trail, Mitt had long insisted he was the inspiration for What Women Want.
For the governor’s admirers, though, Braveheart captures the more courageous qualities of the man. And it’s not just the strength of heart that we admire in both Mitt and Ann Romney, and recognize with tonight’s award. It’s their goodness of heart that commands both our respect and our affection.
In the work of the Becket Fund, often you defend the right of worship in faraway places, on behalf of oppressed people whose afflictions are hidden from the eyes of the world. But of course the attitudes and methods of religious prejudice are not always hidden, and they are not always far away. Sometimes they are right in front of us, even in the national drama of a presidential campaign.
A couple of years ago, as the campaign neared, attention turned to the governor of Massachusetts, and everybody noticed the obvious strengths of the man, his life, his career, and his record. There was just that one problem, as many people thought — that one question that wouldn’t go away. And sooner or later, it would have to be addressed.
As it turned out, the governor’s speech of December 6th last year was the high point of the entire primary season. It was one of those moments when a serious thought managed to break through the noise. What left an impression was not just the power of the words, but also the qualities of the man, and of the wife beside him.
One quality of note is surely their forbearance, at that moment and throughout the campaign. If you wonder exactly what it was like for Catholics, in other places and other times, Mitt and Ann could share some details from their own experience. At every turn, they had to explain their faith — to defend the good and venerable teachings of the Mormon Church. They were constantly called to account, even by people not usually interested in spiritual matters … and by others with creeds and churches of their own, but a lot less to show for it than Mitt and Ann Romney.
The reality is that when we meet people of their quality, the most relevant questions are the ones we ask ourselves — about our own beliefs … and whether we reflect nearly as well on our churches as they do on theirs. Yet somehow the governor always remained calm and patient. And this was not just a political instinct. It was the humility of the man, a trait that has somehow survived all his success. Listening to his remarks in College Station, Texas, it wasn’t hard to picture the young missionary who years before has gone door to door in Paris, explaining his beliefs and offering the hope of a better way.
(cont.)
Ex-Black Panther Ronald McClain Finds the Gospel Path
Thursday, May 8th, 2008From MormonTimes:
Editor’s note: Noting the 30th anniversary of the 1978 priesthood revelation, this is the second in a series of profiles on black Mormons and their families. Next week: Tony Parker, president of the Atlanta Georgia Stake.
For Ronald McClain, interest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a gradual process.
He recalls that as a law student at University of California-Davis, a female law student caught his eye. As they became friends, he learned that she was a member of the church. He and Deena Peterson eventually married in 1982.
Although his wife was not active in the church when they married, that soon changed.
“We started going to church together, and we looked at the church as a way to help raise our family,” McClain said in a recent telephone interview from Oakland, Calif., where he is a member of the 1st Ward.
“She didn’t urge me to join, but I saw how the church was part of her life. I learned about her family and her home ward.”
He says her father was especially kind to him. “He welcomed me and made me part of the family. When the elders approached me, I already had a receptive attitude. I thought, ‘I sure can see a lot of good things that can come out of it.’ ”
McClain was baptized in 1986, and he and his wife have been active ever since.
Now working in his own law practice, he is also a sealer in the Oakland Temple and community relations specialist for the church’s Bay Area public affairs — a long road from his younger days as a member of the Black Panthers, a black activist political group in the 1960s and 1970s. (cont.)
Americans Change Faiths at Rising Rate, Report Finds
Monday, February 25th, 2008From The New York Times:
WASHINGTON — More than a quarter of adult Americans have left the faith of their childhood to join another religion or no religion, according to a new survey of religious affiliation by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
The report, titled “U.S. Religious Landscape Survey,” depicts a highly fluid and diverse national religious life. If shifts among Protestant denominations are included, then it appears that 44 percent of Americans have switched religious affiliations.
For at least a generation, scholars have noted that more Americans are moving among faiths, as denominational loyalty erodes. But the survey, based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans, offers one of the clearest views yet of that trend, scholars said. The United States Census does not track religious affiliation.
The report shows, for example, that every religion is losing and gaining members, but that the Roman Catholic Church “has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes.” The survey also indicates that the group that had the greatest net gain was the unaffiliated. More than 16 percent of American adults say they are not part of any organized faith, which makes the unaffiliated the country’s fourth largest “religious group.” (cont.)
Third Book in the Principles with Promise Series Released: A Study Companion to the Book of Mormon
Sunday, February 17th, 2008From PR.com (press release):
Following the recent release of On Common Ground: Bridging the Mormon Evangelical Divide, Celestine Publishing announced the publishing of its third book in the Principles with Promise series; this time an abbreviated concordance cataloging more than a thousand principles found in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.
Raleigh, NC, February 17, 2008 –(PR.com)– Celestine Publishing, LLC, www.celestinepublishing.com announced the release of Principles with Promise: Study Companion for the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. This book is the third in a series of scriptural concordances that focus on different text considered holy writ from God by practitioners of various religions – in this case, it is for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and others who are interested in some of their core beliefs found in the Book of Mormon.
“This edition of Principles with Promise is dedicated to the late President Gordon B. Hinckley whom all Latter-day Saints loved dearly and is my way of thanking him for his tireless years of service to all of us,” commented its author, Vincent DiGirolamo.
The Principles with Promise series catalogs thousands of doctrines, values, and teachings found in the scriptures from various religions. This edition of Principles with Promise captures principles and their associated references found specifically in the Book of Mormon. This is also the volume of scripture the Latter-day Saints are studying this year as part of their adult Sunday school or Gospel Doctrine program.
President Hinckley was known for his love of the Book of Mormon and challenged Latter-day Saints to read it by year’s end during a session of General Conference in 2005. This was a challenge members of the church took seriously. “His love for the Book of Mormon was contagious, and even now, my family along with tens of thousands of people, has taken the challenge anew to read the Book of Mormon in ninety-seven days (Pres. Hinckley’s age) to express our love to him and his memory – see www.hinckleychallenge.com.” remarked DiGirolamo.
LDS artist strives to paint human face on Christianity
Saturday, February 16th, 2008From The Salt Lake Tribune:
Philip Miner modeled with 3-year-old Zambian villager Kennedy for Liz Lemon Swindle’s “Worth of a Soul.” Kennedy is one of the estimated 36 million children under 15 in sub-Saharan Africa orphaned by the AIDS epidemic, according to the charitable group Mothers Without Borders. Mothers Without Borders commissioned Swindle to visually present Jesus Christ’s love for African AIDS orphans. (Photo courtesy of Foundation Arts )
When popular Mormon artist Liz Lemon Swindle was a little girl, she loved to look at the pictures of Jesus in her huge family Bible. But one thing didn’t make any sense.
If Jesus Christ who loved little children - is all loving and kind why did he so often look “foreboding, frightening, angry (and) maybe disappointed somehow?”
Years later, those memories serve as “the catalyst that drives me to have faces of the Savior be loving. His eyes have to be kind, the faces not frightening,” Swindle said at a recent Repartee Gallery signing event.
Swindle was in Repartee’s Midvale branch - one of the gallery’s five locations - to promote three of her latest works: “Son of Man: King of Kings,” the final segment in a trilogy chronicling the Savior’s life; “Silent Night,” a canvas of Joseph, Mary and the Christ child; and “Worth of a Soul,” the result of a recent life-altering trip to Zambia. (Proceeds from the sale of “Worth of a Soul” benefit the charitable organization Mothers without Borders.)
One of the biggest names in the growing LDS art market, Liz Lemon Swindle has sold $1 million of art in the past fiscal year, earning her the distinction of being the top female LDS artist, according to son Steevun Lemon [grandson of prominent Utah County gallery owner and promoter Sharon Swindle] and Repartee Gallery’s managing director, who left a lucrative corporate job to market his mother’s art.
Awe-inspiring stained-glass windows from a Belgium cathedral cast a warm glow on the past
Saturday, February 16th, 2008From The Salt Lake Tribune:
Celestial light beams down, illuminating saints and angels and casting bright jewel tones on the heads of reverential onlookers below.
The scene could be one from the famous cathedrals of Europe, but instead it’s in the showroom at Anthony’s Fine Art and Antiques in Salt Lake City. Owner Anthony Christensen has made a rare acquisition: a set of stained-glass windows from a cathedral in Belgium.
The neo-Gothic windows date back to the mid-19th century and are mounted in stone with dark curtains and backlighting that give a good approximation of their original setting. Christensen has positioned the display so viewers turn a corner and are awestruck by the windows’ beauty and the sense they have stepped into a Gothic cathedral.
Three of the windows feature the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, while the remaining six have a floral geometric pattern. A traditional Nativity represents the birth of Christ, but the other scenes are more commonly found in European art, says Vern Swanson, the director of the Springville Museum of Art and an expert on religious art. The death of Christ is not pictured; instead he is shown carrying the cross on his way to Golgotha. Soldiers, saints and angels surround the struggling Jesus as Mary and John look on in sorrow.
The Resurrection scene depicted by the windows is a lesser-known Bible tale called the dinner in Emmaus, and it is known forits appeal to the common man, Swanson says. The resurrected Christ is shown at the moment he reveals his true identity to the two travelers he met on the road to Emmaus. The backlighting beams through Christ’s stained-glass halo, casting a warm and almost living glow on the astonished men at his sides.
Ancient Iron Ore Mine Discovered in Peruvian Andes
Friday, February 15th, 2008From National Geographic News:
A 2,000-year-old mine has been discovered high in mountains in Peru. The find offers proof that an ancient people in the Andes mined hematite iron ore centuries before the Inca Empire, archaeologists say. The mine was used to tap a vein of hematite, or ochre—the first such mine found in South America that predates the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, experts note.
The discovery, reported by a U.S. archaeologist, was made in southern Peru in the region once inhabited by the ancient Nasca (often spelled “Nazca”) culture.
The rare find adds to a slim body of evidence about New World mining practices, said Kevin J. Vaughn, an anthropologist at Purdue University who reported the find.
“Because mining is an extractive industry, it tends to destroy archaeological evidence,” he said.
“There is very little evidence of this type of mine. It demonstrates that iron ores were important to ancient Andean civilizations.”
The discovery sheds light specifically on how hematite was used by the Nasca, who flourished along the Pacific coast from about 100 B.C. to around A.D. 600.
MormonSpeak: Joyfully overwhelmed
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008By Joseph Walker in The Deseret Morning News:
My favorite part of Monday’s press conference at which a new First Presidency of the LDS Church was introduced was when President Dieter F. Uchtdorf walked into the room. While the rest of the brethren looked pleasant enough — calm, handsome, distinguished — only President Uchtdorf wore a big, broad smile.
As the newest member of the First Presidency, he had to know that every media eye was upon him — well, OK, him and President Monson. But rather than playing it cool, he smiled a smile that perfectly expressed what he was feeling inside — something he later characterized as being “joyfully overwhelmed.”
I could relate to that. Having been “joyfully overwhelmed” a few times in my life, I knew exactly how that felt. And even if I hadn’t actually felt it myself a time or two, I would have understood it perfectly because it was so clearly written on his face with that smile.
My second-most favorite moment of the press conference was also courtesy of President Uchtdorf. Right after he talked about being “joyfully overwhelmed” he testified that “I know this call comes from God because human beings would have had a difficult time to do the same.”
Who hasn’t thought that when an especially challenging calling has been issued? Like when I was called to be a Scoutmaster. For the third time. And I don’t even like camping.
“I know this call must have come from the Lord,” I told my wife, Anita, “because nobody else would have called me to this calling for the third time, especially after the way I messed it the first two times.”
So OK, President Uchtdorf didn’t exactly say anything about messing up. But the sentiment is the same. Or at least similar.
And I guess that’s part of the beauty of the Lord’s method of gospel governance. Even though few of us will ever know what it feels like to be a newly called member of the First Presidency, we all know how it feels to be “joyfully overwhelmed” by a new calling. New bishops are almost always “joyfully overwhelmed.” So are new Sunbeam teachers. And our new ward mission leader, himself a member for less than two years, confessed that his first thought upon being called to his position was: “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Which is essentially saying, “I’m joyfully overwhelmed.” Only with shorter words.
Of course, there were other highlights of the press conference: President Eyring’s enthusiastic deference to President Monson in all things; Elder Scott’s tender and attentive care of Elder Wirthlin; President Monson’s correction of a reporter’s suggestion that he has a special affection for rocky road ice cream (“Yes, I like ice cream,” President Monson said. “All kinds”).
And suddenly, just like that, the administration of President Gordon B. Hinckley is officially over, and the administration of President Thomas S. Monson has begun.
