General News

English-Speakers Now Less than 50% of LDS Church Members The LDS Church News reported Saturday that the proportion of Church members that speak English fell below 50% for the first time last month. The change came as the Church passed the 11 million mark and growth outside the US continues at twice the growth rate in the US.

LDS Church Struggles with Who to Please over Mountain Meadows Buttons Since you can't please everyone all the time, you're often left trying to figure out who to please. When contractors building a new monument at the site of the Mountain Meadows Massacre near Cedar City, Utah uncovered the remains of several victims and buttons and other property that belonged to the victims, the Church quickly re-buried the remains. But recently the status of the buttons and the other property has become uncertain.

LDS Church Takes Mountain-Meadows Buttons to Arkansas The LDS Church decided last week to give the artifacts accidentally uncovered last year at Mountain Meadows to a Museum in Harrison, Arkansas. Glen Leonard, director of the LDS Church's Museum of Church History and Art, traveled to Harrison on Friday to "indefinately loan" the artifacts to the Carroll County Historical Society.

Local News

LDS Church to Comply With Subpoena in Green Polygamy Case In an unusual move, Juab county, Utah prosecutor David Leavitt issued a subpoena last week requesting LDS Church records on polygamist Thomas Arthur Green, currently under prosecution for polygamy. The subpoena covers the period before the birth of a child to his then 14-year-old wife, Linda Kunz. Green, who has been excommunicated from the LDS Church, was no longer a Church member in 1985 and 1986, the period covered by the subpoena.

Birmingham Temple Dedicated The LDS Church's Birmingham Temple was dedicated on Sunday by LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley, and local members got to participate in the traditional cornerstone laying ceremony, which was covered by the Birmingham News. About 2,800 Church members attended the dedicatory ceremonies in the Temple while another 7,000 watched through satellite hookups.

Both BYU Campuses Advance In US News Rankings Both BYU's main campus in Provo and BYU-Hawaii in Laie, Hawaii advanced in US News &World Reports' annual survey of US colleges. BYU advanced in the "National Universities" category, ranking 78th out of the 228 universities in the category, up from 80th last year. And BYU-Hawaii ranked 11th among "Western Liberal Arts Colleges," up from 14th last year.

Sports

LDS Coach Andy Reid's Sons Get Fame and Father Time Many fathers to the same thing. Garrett and Britt Reid got summer jobs at their father's work. The fact that their father is the boss made it easy to arrange. But, as sometimes happens, even in these cases, they go no special treatment from John Hatfield, who they report to.

Politics

Mormon Candidates Win In Yesterday's Nevada Primary Several articles in the Las Vegas Review-Journal indicate that several Mormon candidates for state assembly and for the Clark County Commission appear to have won their primaries and will go on to the November general election. However, four of those candidates, all Republicans, face difficult races in which their opponents have raised more money than they have.

People

Open House Makes Strange Bedfellows The Salt Lake Tribune's Rolly & Wells report that US Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass) will be escorted on his tour of the LDS Church's new Boston Temple today by his former opponent, Salt Lake Organizing Committee President Mitt Romney. Kennedy is just one of 500 VIPs that will be given special tours of the building, which is scheduled to be dedicated on October 1st.

Arts & Entertainment

LDS Author David Howard Wins Hugo Award for 'Galaxy Quest' Author David Howard wrote a story that made hard core science fiction fans its heroes, and now the fans have returned the compliment, giving Howard, his co-author Robert Gordon and director Dean Parisot a Hugo award for the Best Dramatic Presentation in 1999."Galaxy Quest" beat out critically acclaimed films like "Being John Malkovich" and "The Matrix" to win the award, perhaps the largest of the three major awards in science fiction.

'Nurse Betty' Leads To LaBute Profile in LA Weekly Much like the title character in his new movie, LDS writer Neil LaBute is following his own glittering road.

Business

Small LDS Publisher Cornerstone Buys 29-year-old Horizon Cornerstone Publishing, a small LDS publisher started about two years ago by Richard Hopkins, last month purchased the older and larger book publisher Horizon Publishing and Distribution, owned and operate by LDS author Duane Crowther. The purchase makes Cornerstone one of the five largest LDS publishers, increasing its number of titles inprint from less than 20 to more than 400. Crowther reportedly sold his business to serve an LDS mission in Mexico.

LDS Man's Buyers Club Collapses After Suit by State of Ohio A buyer's club started by an LDS man and based in Westerville, Ohio, closed September 1st, a week after Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery filed a lawsuit to force the company to return to its customers $100 million. The Attorney General claims that the Purchase Plus Buyers Group was a ponzi scheme that prayed on relationships, primarily in the LDS community.

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