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News about Mormons, Mormonism,
and the LDS Church |
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| General News |
| Boy Scouts Under Pressure Year After Court Ruling |
| It has been one year since the United States
Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America is a private association
which can exclude gays. This week, Newsweek's August 6th issue offers a
portrait of Scouting in the United States and describes the reactions across
the country and within the organization to the Court ruling and how
pressures during the past 12 months are impacting the Boy Scouts. |
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| SeaTrek Sails; Commemoration Gets International Attention |
| After more than a year of news reports and advance
publicity, eight tall ships sailed out of Esbjerg harbor this morning on the
first leg of a 59-day, 3,000-mile voyage. The publicity persuaded some 2,000
people to pay as much as $12,000 to participate in the re-enactment of the
emigration of more than 90,000 European members of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints to the United States and Utah. Like the
re-enactment of the Mormon pioneer trek across the US four years ago,
SeaTrek is also getting international attention, as news reports of the
voyage have appeared in the Associated Press and Reuters news services as
well as news sources with international reach like the New York Times and
the BBC. |
| More General News ... |
| Local News |
| Town Meeting Highlights Neighbor Feelings Over Harrison Temple |
| If the opposition to the planned Harrison New York
Temple wasn't clear before, it was after a July meeting of the Harrison Town
Board. Opponents vented their anger and frustration at The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints in the meeting, claiming that the Church is
showing contempt for their community. Since then at least one neighbor
family has decided to sell their home because of their uncertainty about the
controversial proposal. While the town board was scheduled to discuss the
issue at a meeting tonight, the public hearing isn't expected to lead to a
decision. |
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| Naked Man Breaks Into St. George Visitors Center |
| A naked man smashed through a 1/2-inch thick plate
glass window in the St. George Utah Temple Visitors Center early
Friday morning, closing the center for the weekend. Police were
forced to use an electric stun gun to subdue the "combative and
resistant" man, but his motives for the attack remain a mystery. |
| More Local News ... |
| Sports |
| Andy Reid Now More Than Just Eagles Coach |
| Once mentioned as a possible successor to
the legendary BYU football coach LaVell Edwards, the Philadelphia Eagles organization has done
just about everything possible to make Andy Reid happy to stay in
Philadelphia. A pay raise. Tremendous deference in personnel
decisions. Even additional authority in the organization that extends
far beyond most head coaching jobs. No longer just the coach, Reid
has been granted enormous authority and enormous responsibility. |
| More Sports News ... |
| Politics |
| How Mormon Theology Supports Stem Cell Research |
| An enlightening article in the online magazine Slate
Thursday argues that LDS theology supports stem cell research while still
prohibiting abortion, in direct contrast to the Catholic theology often
cited by stem cell opponents. Drew Clark, a senior writer at National
Journal's Technology Daily and an LDS Church member, argues that this
theology is behind the views of Orrin Hatch and the four other Mormon
Senators who support the research. |
| More Politics News ... |
| Internet |
| Major LDS Music Websites Make News |
| An article in the Deseret News this past weekend
looked at three major LDS music websites, discovering a growing
collaborative movement that "isn't just church hymns and choir music
anymore." The article looked at LDSMusicWorld.com, an LDS music directory,
and KZION.com and EnsignRadio.com, two "Internet Radio" websites that stream
music to listeners. But while the collaborative nature of these websites is
spreading familiarity with LDS music, all three are part-time efforts with
varying amounts of investment and it remains to be seen if any of these
efforts can become a self-supporting operation. |
| More Internet News ... |
| People |
| Indictment in 1974 Missionary Murders |
| A grand jury in Austin, Texas has indicted Robert
Elmer Kleasen for the second time in the 1974 murder of LDS
missionaries Mark Fischer and Gary Darley, 24 years after his first
murder conviction for their deaths was overturned. Travis County
Assistant District Attorney Claire Dawson Brown opened the case
Wednesday and sought and obtained an indictment today. According to
District Attorney Ronald Earl, advances in DNA analysis made it
possible to connect Kleasen to the murders. The indictment means that
Kleasen will likely be extradited to the US after he completes a
sentence in England in November. |
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| LDS Drama Student Loses Profanity Case |
| A court room drama ended Friday when U.S.
Distric Judge Tena Campbell ruled to dismiss a lawsuit by University
of Utah student, Christina Axson-Flynn, who claimed her rights were
violated when she received a drama assignment that included reciting
a script that contained profane language. The use of profane language
was required only as an academic exercise and the curriculum did not
take a position on religion according to the Judge Campbell's ruling. |
| More People News ... |
| Business |
| Deseret News' Dean Photo Editing Makes Worldwide News |
| A single cigarette is world famous. In a recent
edition of the Deseret News, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, actor James Dean's photograph appeared without his
customary cigarette. The manipulation violated newspaper policy against
changing photographs, said managing editor Rick Hall and a clarification ran
the following week, but news reports of the error have appeared in hundreds
of newspapers around the world, even as far away as Malaysia, and, to the
News' embarrassment, made the trade publication Editor &Publisher. |
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| Forbes Reports Huntsman in 'A Very Tight Spot' |
| The August 6th issue of Forbes Magazine reports that
LDS billionaire Jon M. Huntsman is in a "very tight spot" because of
long-term debt taken on to finance acquisitions. The company has had to sell
some assets and take on minority investment in order to meet the interest
payments on its debt. The company has also recently cut back, dropping 700
of its 3,500 US jobs in an effort to pare costs in the face of lower prices
for its products. |
| More Business News ... |
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