LDS Church Starts Perpetual Education Fund

More that a year after President Gordon B. Hinckley mentioned a planned "Perpetual Education Fund" in a speech at the National Press Club, he officially announced the fund in the Priesthood Session of the LDS Church's General Conference. The Fund, modeled on the Church's Perpetual Emigration Fund that was operated from 1849 to 1887, will provide funds to assist needy Church members, generally in third world countries, to assist them in obtaining marketable skills.

Young Women Urged to Remain Chaste; Working Mother Cited

President Gordon B. Hinckley of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke Saturday night at the annual Young Women's meeting, urging young women to get an education and remain chaste, citing as an example a working mother. Hinckley spoke in the LDS Church's Conference Center to 20,000 young women and many thousands more around the world along with the members of the Church's Young Women's Presidency.

PBS News Program Looks at LDS Missionaries

The PBS weekly news program Religion and Ethics Newsweekly spent 10 minutes of its half-hour program this weekend looking at the missionary program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reporter John Dancy interviewed Elder Earl C. Tingey, Executive Director of the LDS Church's Missionary Department. President David Wirthlin of the Provo Missionary Training Center and several returned missionaries. The program even drew on the film "God's Army" to get a picture of the Church's missionary program.

Some Clergy Find Utah Supreme Court Ruling Incomplete

In spite of the recent unanimous ruling by the Utah Supreme Court to uphold the First Amendment's ban on government regulation of religious practice, Utah men and women of the cloth say they will not lower the standards they have set for themselves in counseling troubled parishioners.

Church Raising Profile in Scotland

The Edinburgh-based newspaper The Scotsman says that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is raising its profile in the land, launching a "charm offensive" in this northern part of the United Kingdom. The newspaper says the Church has sent public relations officers to Scotland, is forging links with local groups and is staging events in the country that feature Mormon celebrities. The article goes on to imply that the purpose behind this activity is 'recruitment.'

New York Times Looks at Missionary Work in Utah

An article in today's New York Times looks at the LDS Church's missionary efforts in Utah, saying that the effort is due to two trends -- the growth of the LDS Church worldwide and the boom in Utah's population, which has raised the non-Mormon portion of Utah's population to 30%. Looking at missionaries in Utah, reporter Gustav Niebuhr discovers that they are like missionaries elsewhere, but they get more referrals from local members.

Elder Green and Family Found Success in Attack

Elder Bradley Green, a missionary from Cedar City, Utah, is a poster child for the old adage, "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade." While being shot in the chest will have a tendency to dampen the spirits of even the most optimistic of folks, Elder Green and his family have shown how a positive response to a violent and potentially tragic event can become an occasion for joy and celebration.

Funding the Church: Tithing and Other Practices

An article in the Idaho State Journal compares the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to a Jewish synagogue and a Lutheran church and how their members donate to the churches. While LDS Church members are familiar with their system of paying tithing to fund the Church, other religions have different ways of funding their activities.

Other Churchwide News

LDS Church Assists Red Cross in Mozambique

WASHINGTON, DC -- The American Red Cross reports that the LDS Church is assisting in an effort to provide emergency relief to the victims of massive floods in Mozambique. Together, the Red Cross and the Church will deliver five 40-foot containers of clothing and one 20-foot container of soap to Maputo, Mozambique for distribution in April.

American Red Cross Escalates Response To Southern Africa Flood Victims; Food, Clean Water, Health Care, Shelter Needed Most USNewswire 30Mar01 N1

LDS Church's Role Enhanced Ellis Island Center

NEW YORK, NEW YORK --The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints played a key role in developing the American Family History Immigration History Center at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. A grand opening and dedication of the facility is planned for April 17. A joint venture of the Church and the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation has created a database of all the immigrants that passed through Ellis Island, accessible on the Internet at http://www.ellisisland.org . The project represents the work of 12,000 LDS Church volunteers who spent 5.6 million hours to complete the 25 million entries in the database.

Did kin stop at Ellis? Deseret News 30Mar01 N6 By Lynn Arave: Deseret News staff writer

Dalai Lama to Meet LDS Church's First Presidency

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- His Holiness the Dalai Lama will visit Utah on May 11th and 12th and plans to visit with the LDS Church's First Presidency while there. The tibetian spiritual leader is visiting six US cities with resettled Tibetan populations. He will also speak at several fundraising events and at Utah Valley State College, where he will receive an ethics award.

Hot ticket: Dalai Lama selling out Deseret News 26Mar01 N1 By Elaine Jarvik: Deseret News staff writer

Missionaries Enjoy Parade While Working

ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA -- Elders Cameron Connolly and Jake Stephenson enjoyed the 79th annual Chasco Fiesta parade in St Petersburg while trying to interest those attending in hearing the gospel. They admitted that the parade wasn't necessarily the best place to find interest, but it does have its advantages. "There's no door to slam in our faces," Elder Connolly told the St Petersburg Times.

Pasco: Paraders, onlookers, protesters converge St Petersburg FL Times 26Mar01 N2 By Ryan Davis

Anniversary of Publishing of the Book of Mormon Noted

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- CNS Religion News notes that March 26th is the anniversary of the day the Book of Mormon was published in 1830. The service's note about the event says that Joseph Smith derived the book from plates he "discovered with the aid of the Angel Moroni" and " translated with the aid of "Urim and Thummim," two stones through which he had viewed the writings."

Religion History for Monday, March 26th CNS Religion News 26Mar01 N6

Kirtland Temple Dedication Anniversary

KIRTLAND, OHIO -- The Kirtland Temple was dedicated on March 27th, 1836, 165 years ago. The Temple's dedication date is included in the Associated Press' 'On This Date' feature.

On This Date Salt Lake Tribune 27Mar01 N6

[an error occurred while processing this directive]