Recent
7717

Dave Says: Student Loan Debt Killing Relationship?

Dave Ramsey - Dear Dave, My niece just graduated from college with $20,000 in student loan debt. Her boyfriend graduated as well, and they’re talking about getting married. He has $115,000 in loan debt and wants to go to graduate school. They both want to be teachers, and she’s currently job hunting. The idea of all this debt hanging over their heads bothers her. Do you have any advice on how she can come to peace with the situation? Denise Dear Denise, This is a really interesting question. In a way, I’m glad she’s conflicted about the situation. At the same time, I wouldn’t...

7734

BYU grad, prof help discover Samson mosaic as ancient synagogue is unearthed

Salt Lake Tribune - Bryan Bozung was fresh out of Brigham Young University when he lit out for Israel this summer to volunteer on an excavation of the ancient village of Huqoq on Galilee’s western shore. Hoeing debris that filled what is believed to be a 1,500-year-old synagogue, Bozung’s tool hit what proved to be the synagogue’s floor and an important archaeological discovery. Looking at the ground, he saw a woman’s face staring up at him. For the team of archaeologists working the Huqoq dig, the striking mosaic was proof they were uncovering a structure that could shed new light on Jewish life and religious...

7733

Pocatello wildfire displaces dozens of members

LDS Church News - Early in the afternoon of June 28, Elder Tom Atkins received an unexpected phone call from his son, Dallen. The news wasn't good. A wildfire was spreading near the Atkins family home nestled in the juniper-lined hills on the southern edge of Pocatello. He hung up and hoped for the best. Elder Atkins and his wife, Sister Jean Atkins, who are serving a family history mission together in Salt Lake City, had lived in the home for three decades. It had never been threatened by fire. Dallen called back 45 minutes later with a grim update. The home was gone. After...

Transparent helper

Tijuana temple groundbreaking

LDS Church News - A groundbreaking ceremony for the Tijuana Mexico Temple will be held Aug. 18 at 9 a.m., the Temple Department announced this week. The ceremony will be broadcast via satellite to stake centers in the temple district. The temple district comprises 10 stakes and one mission, with a total membership of 31,206. ...

7732

Reinforce learning: Ask, 'What did you learn in Primary today?'

LDS Church News - "What did you learn in Primary today?" As a parent, how often have you asked that question? Can your question make a difference in your child's life? Yes! ...

7731

Blind LDS teen organist is self-taught, plays by ear

LDS Church News - Members of the Waimea 1st Ward, Kona Hawaii Stake, on the Big Island of Hawaii oftentimes make it a point to arrive early to sacrament meeting each Sunday. As they come in, find a seat and sit, the sounds coming from the chapel invite the Spirit as they enjoy the prelude music and talent of Kuha'o Kawaauhau-Case, a 15-year-old organist. "He is so unique and marvelous. ... I have such a love for Kuha'o and his enthusiasm for life and dedication to the Church," said Barbara Townsend, a member of his ward. "I feel blessed to live in the same ward...

Transparent helper

Mormon temple garments -- they're not magic

Huffington Post - Nobody really likes to talk about their underwear, and Mormons probably have better reason than most to be reticent. They don't even call it "underwear." The term they prefer is "garments," which is taken from the King James Bible, and gives these scraps of white cloth a formal name to go along with the vaguely talismanic character they hold in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They don't look like anything special: a white T-shirt and boxer briefs, slightly longer than average, distinctive in nothing much but their color and the fact that all adult, devout Mormons, men and...

7730

'Heavenly' Katherine Jenkins to join Mormon Tabernacle Choir for Pioneer Day concert

Deseret News - U.S. audiences primarily know her as a dancing queen, after she finished near the top of last season’s “Dancing with the Stars.” Although in the United Kingdom, and internationally, Katherine Jenkins is a “beautiful, prodigiously gifted” mezzo-soprano soloist and top-selling recording artist with a “heavenly voice.” After his interviews with Jenkins, Piers Morgan also wrote that she is “genuinely one of the nicest people I’ve met in the often self-obsessed music industry: a sweet, polite, touchingly naive, unaffected girl from Neath in South Wales, who just happens to have one of the greatest voices in the world.” ...

7729

Religious groups need to back off partisanship to shore up confidence

Deseret News - A growing number of Americans are losing confidence in religious institutions, along with schools, Congress, banks and television news, according to a recent poll. Gallup's annual confidence survey found all of the 16 institutions measured this year either held steady or declined in public confidence. The biggest declines in public confidence, from last year to this year, were in television news, public schools and organized religion. ...

7728

24: The FHE Lesson

Middle-Aged Mormon Man - In a post last month, I posited the questions "What would you do if you knew you only had 24 hours to live?" I was being a bit facetious, (because I asked it merely as a set-up for a joke) but it quickly became engendered something more. People started considering the question seriously, Mama Rachel started to cry (She's pregnant, so no biggie.) (Note: I just read back and realized that I used the words "posited," facetious," and "engendered" in the opening paragraph. I need to be more careful, as I do not want to alienate any of my UofU readers.)...