Mormon Church To Build New Temples

In final comments made at the close of the LDS Church's 170th semiannual General Conference, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced plans to build six new temples, raising the total number of temples operating, under construction or planned to 121. 76 temples are currently in operation, with 2 more to be dedicated this week.

New Mormon Temple

The new Palmyra, New York Temple received national attention with a nearly 5-minute story about the new building. The story, by Brenda Tremblay of NPR member station WXXI (Rochester, New York), talks about the unique nature of the Temple because of its location near the birthplace of Mormonism.

Palmyra Temple Dedicated

About 180 years following the vision in which Joseph Smith was instructed not to join any Church then existing, LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley dedicated the Palmyra New York Temple this morning. The Temple is located just 1/2 mile from the grove of trees where Smith received the vision.

Building on Spiritual Foundations

Gordon B. Hinckley, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, spoke before 21,000 Mormons meeting for the first time in the new Conference Center, and to millions via television and satellite broadcast, during the church's 170th Annual General Conference on Sunday. In nearly nine decades, President Hinckley spoke of the phenomenal expansion the Church has experienced as it has grown from a regional sect to one of the world's fastest growing religions.

Los Angeles Times Looks At LDS Temple Marriages

The Los Angeles Times' Lobdell takes a look at the relative success of LDS Temple marriages in an article published in the Times' Orange County section on Saturday. The article finds 10 reasons why LDS Temple marriages claim a divorce rate of just 6%, while the overall divorce rate is much higher (27% according to Barna Research Group).

RLDS Church Decides To Change Name

Two-thirds of the delegate to the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints's biennial conference have agreed to change the Church's name to the Community of Christ. The name change, which will go into effect next January, was agreed to on a vote of 1,979 to 561, more than the two-thirds required. The older name will remain the legal name of the organization.

LDS Law Professor Urges China To Tolerate Religion

In a letter addressed to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, top religious freedom monitor Michael Young joined colleague David Saperstein in calling upon China to abandon recent steps toward restricting religious freedom. Young and Saperstein serve as vice chairman and chairman, respectively, of the U.S. Commission of International Religious Freedom. Young's former positions include stake president of the New York, New York LDS stake, Columbia University professor of law, and Bush administration State Department official. Young is currently Dean of the Georgetown University Law School.

Kirby, Tribune Embarrassed Over Printing Email Message

Salt Lake Tribune humor columnist Robert Kirby was embarrassed Sunday morning to discover that the author of a humorous e-mail message he had reprinted in his column Saturday hadn't meant for it to be printed in the newspaper. Kirby had received the message, titled "Important Facts: New LDS Conference Center," from at least a dozen readers who thought it was funny. The message was a list of 'facts' about the LDS Church's new Conference Center which it said were not true.

MTC language program evolving to better meet missionary needs

For the past five years the Missionary Training Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has been using a computer system dubbed Technology Assisted Language Learning program, or TALL, said Elaine Lindsay, a BYU linguistics masters student. Lindsay recently conducted a study on how LDS missionaries were responding to the system.

LDS Congressman Pushes Holocaust Museum Funds

As a prominent booster of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Utah Rep. Chris Cannon has introduced federal legislation to reauthorize the budget for the 7-year-old collection of exhibits on one of the darkest periods in history. "The museum offers an opportunity for its visitors to reflect upon the moral and spiritual questions raised by the Holocaust," said the Republican from Utah's 3rd District, who is now in his second term.

LDS Congressman Votes Against Internet Gambling Ban

Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, a member of the LDS Church, stunned some fellow House Judiciary Committee members Wednesday by opposing a bill to ban Internet gambling. Cannon is a staunch opponent of gambling, but announced he will fight the bill because, in part, it bans only some Internet gambling while allowing other types. "It doesn't ban Internet gambling, just SOME Internet gambling," Cannon said.

LDS Church Founding Recognized

The founding of the LDS Church on this day in 1830 -- 170 years ago -- was recognized in the "Today in History" and "Anniversary" columns in newspapers worldwide. The Associated Press included the date in its "Today in History" feature, distributed to newspapers throughout the United States and the World. The information was also included in the similar Reuters feature and even appeared in the London Times.

No Article Available

[an error occurred while processing this directive]