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Dismissing Book of Mormon geography inaccuracies

Deseret News - One issue that relates in important ways to Book of Mormon geography is the human composition of the ancient Americas. The traditional LDS folk-belief asserts that the Lehites arrived to a nearly vacant New World, with the possible exception of some Jaredite survivors and the Mulekites. This tradition implies that virtually all Native Americans are descendants of exclusively Book of Mormon peoples. This assumption -- like many other assumptions about the Book of Mormon -- comes from a naive reading of the text that was filtered through the 19th century misunderstanding of the human migrations that populated the ancient New World....

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Donny Osmond talks life in the spotlight on Canadian radio

Deseret News - Donny Osmond's interview with Jian Ghomeshi on "Q" on CBC Radio One, provided personal insights into both the "teeny-bopper" star Osmond was and the adult star he has become. During the interview, held by phone from Donny's home-made studio in his Las Vegas dressing room, the recent winner of this season of "Dancing With the Stars" came across as those who have met him know him to be: sincere, natural, funny and, though aware of his significant status in the celebrity stratosphere, even humble. The brief conversation with Ghomeshi, regarded as one of Canadian radio's premier interviewers and an entertainer in...

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Status of Church operations after 8.8 quake in Chile

LDS Church News - All Latter-day Saint missionaries serving in the Church’s nine missions in Chile are safe and accounted for after a massive 8.8 earthquake rocked the nation early Saturday, killing more than 140 people and triggering tsunami warnings for the entire Pacific basin, according to Church public affairs. Most missionaries in the Chile Concepción South Mission are without water and electricity and several buildings, including missionary apartments, are not habitable. The missionaries are pairing up in apartments that are safe, according to Church Welfare Services. Also, two elders serving on the Juan Fernandez Island, who were unaccounted for earlier Saturday, are safe. They...

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Elder Oaks: Higher education marginalizing religious beliefs

Deseret News - Colleges and universities have largely abandoned teaching religion and are actively pushing religious belief to the margins of society, Elder Dallin H. Oaks said Friday during a speech at Harvard Law School. "Despite most colleges' and universities' founding purpose to produce clergymen and to educate in the truths taught in their chapels, most have now abandoned their role of teaching religion," said Elder Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "With but few exceptions, colleges and universities have become value-free places where attitudes toward religion are neutral at best. Some faculty and...

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When BYU was closer to joining the Pac-10

Deseret News - With Utah and BYU being mentioned in conference expansion stories, I got wondering just how close that came to happening in years past. Was either of them ever truly poised to move to a bigger league? As far as I could ascertain, Utah was never in a strong position until now. But BYU was. So I phoned a pair of former BYU athletics directors, Glen Tuckett and Val Hale, to see what exactly happened. Opinions vary, but both agree there were overtures. In the early 1990s, BYU was the prettiest girl at the Western Athletic Conference dance. That isn't entirely the...

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A call for Mormon Democrats to throw their hats in the ring

Deseret News - Last week, in writing on my blog about what a Mitt Romney presidency would mean for Mormonism, I shared an experience one of my friends had while living in Massachusetts. I wrote: "Shortly after Romney's gubernatorial election, the Boston Stake planned a 'mini-mission,' in which 60 LDS teenagers spent a weekend proselyting with the full-time missionaries in Eastern Massachusetts. In the testimony meeting that followed the activity, everyone took turns swapping their best rejection stories. The winner came from a kid who had spent the afternoon knocking on doors near Cambridge: "'This really isn't a good day for you guys to...

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Mormons and Catholics join forces

Guardian.co.uk - * Comment is free * Cif belief Mormons and Catholics join forces A US cardinal has been talking up Mormon-Catholic relations. It's conservatism, rather than theology, that brings them together * Digg it * Buzz up * Share on facebook * Tweet this * Comments (15) * Riazat Butt * o Riazat Butt o guardian.co.uk, Friday 26 February 2010 15.31 GMT o Article history Francis Eugene George is not just a cardinal. He is also president of the United States conference of catholic bishops and sets the tone and direction for church policy and position in the country. His comments, therefore,...

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College targets LDS high school students, debate ensues

Billings Gazette - A recruitment letter sent by Northwest College President Paul Prestwich to students who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has sparked controversy on campus. It also has led many to speak out about conflicts that students and teachers are having with the school’s top administrator. Earlier this month, Prestwich, an LDS church member, sent about 1,000 letters to LDS high school students touting the school’s benefits and “remarkable opportunities for LDS students.” First reported a week ago in the Northwest Trail campus newspaper, the letter was sent to a list of students provided by Fred Hopkin,...

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LDS 4-man bobsledder ready for Olympic Games

Deseret News - Chris Fogt was running track for Utah Valley University in Orem when a couple of men approached him and asked him a question that would take his well-planned life in a totally different direction. "After my race, some guys said, 'Hey you're pretty fast. Do you want to try pushing a bobsled?'" the American Fork High graduate recounts. "I didn't know anything at all about the sport." Which is why his parents were a little surprised he jumped at the chance to give it a try. "It was kind of out of the blue," said his mom, Janet Fogt. "He was...

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Utah liquor laws make national news

Business Week - Finding a cocktail in heavily Mormon Utah isn't likely to get any easier this year. Legislative leaders and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert's spokeswoman said Wednesday they remain opposed to lifting the cap on the number of establishments that can serve liquor, but that might not be the case next year. In Utah, the number of liquor licenses is tied to the state's population. As recently as Tuesday, some business owners who met all other state requirements were unable to get liquor licenses because of the quota system. They will have to wait until someone else goes out of business before they...