General News

The Invasion of the Saints Major articles this weekend, the first in Time Magazine and three related articles in the Deseret News, look at the LDS Church's construction of a Temple in Nauvoo, Illinois, the effort going into the Temple and the effect that the building will have on the town.

Judge Rules Against Polygamist Tom Green's Scheme to Avoid Bigamy A judge in Nephi, Utah ruled Tuesday that admitted polygamist Tom Green must stand trial for bigamy. 4th District Judge Donald Eyre issued a written ruling calling Green's practice of divorcing each wife before taking another a "systematic scheme" and that Green could still be prosecuted for bigamy, even though he had divorced prior wives. Eyre ruled that Green still lived with his wives, in spite of the divorces.

Missionary Dies in Ukraine Accident LDS missionary Elder Clark Henry Pixton of Logan, Utah died Friday following injuries sustained in a July 5th fall. Elder Pixton, believed to be 20 years old, had served in the Ukraine Donetsk Mission for 17 months. The missionary failed to regain consciousness following surgery.

Local News

Beaverton, Oregon LDS Chapels Vandalized A string of 10 church break-ins in Beaverton and surrounding areas during the weekend included 6 LDS Church buildings, leading police to offer a $2,000 reward for information about the vandals. All 10 of the churches were ransacked and had equipment destroyed by the vandals, who entered the buildings through broken or forced-open windows or doors.

LDS Leaders Urge Members To Become Foster Parents The LDS Church's First Presidency is renewing its call for Church members to provide foster care. The Church has sent a letter to local stake presidents in Utah asking them to encourage families "to volunteer their time and homes as foster parents," and telling  them that many of the children in need are LDS Church members also.

LDS Missionaries Win Discussion Through Basketball Maybe this will be a scene in the next Richard Dutcher film about LDS missionaries. Seeing a group of teens playing basketball, four LDS missionaries challenge them to a game. What's at stake? Five minutes listening to the missionaries. Who wins? The Elders.

Sports

Jeff Kent Becomes All-Star San Francisco Giants baseball player Jeff Kent has risen from an unknown second baseman to play in the all-star game. When he was traded to the Giants, fans openly questioned the move. But Kent has proven them wrong. After three consecutive seasons hitting 20 home runs and 100 RBIs, Kent joins such famous Giants as Willie Mays and Barry Bonds.

People

Osmonds Find Home In Wax Donny Osmond is now appearing in a long-term engagement at Fisherman's Wharf. He and many other entertainers join historic figures at the new building housing the Wax Museum, where you can see statues of Donny along with Gandhi, Jesus, Muhammad Ali and many other interesting or important people.

Samoan Mission President & Temple President Dies Former LDS mission president and temple president Charles Ivan Sampson died July 11th. Sampson served as president of the Samoan Mission in the late 1950s and later served as the first president of the Apia Samoa Temple.

Arts & Entertainment

Gilgal Now Owned by Salt Lake City, But Not Park Yet The status of the Gilgal Garden is finally settled. The non-profit Trust for Public Lands purchased the sculpture garden from the Fetzer family and turned over the title to Salt Lake City on Friday, finally saving the Garden from possible destruction from developers. But several steps remain before it becomes a public park.

LDS Composer Merrill Bradshaw Dies Merrill K. Bradshaw passed away Wednesday, July 12 at Lakeview Hospital, Bountiful, Utah. He is survived by his wife, Janet and their seven children. Merrill was born on June 18, 1929 in Lyman, Wyoming. He will be remembered for his long and distinguished career as Composer in Residence and as John R. Halliday Professor of Music at Brigham Young University, where he served on the faculty for 37 years before retiring in 1994. In spite of all of his musical accomplishments, he always counted his family as his most important success.

Business

Mormon Stock Index Adds 4 companies, Rises Nearly 2 Points Mormon News subscribers helped identify four additional stocks that qualify for the Mormon Stock Index, raising the number of stocks in the index to 22 and increasing the market capital it represents above $180 billion. The performance of the index itself, both before and after adding the four stocks, increased about 1.5% during the week, a little less than most indicators for the entire market.

Eccles to Get Bonus, Serve on Wells Board A pending deal by Wells Fargo &Company to buy Utah's First Security Corporation will see LDS executive Spencer Eccles receive one million dollars (U.S.) a year until his 2004 retirement, than a 1.5 million dollar bonus.

Denver Post Manager will be Publisher of Deseret News The Deseret News appointed Jim M. Wall, currently executive vice president and general manager of the Denver Post, as Publisher of the LDS Church-owned paper. Wall will replace the retiring Wm. James Mortimer, publisher of the Deseret News since 1985.

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