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Jane Seymour, Nathan Gunn to perform in annual Christmas concert

Newsroom - Actress Jane Seymour and opera star Nathan Gunn will join the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square for their 2011 Christmas concerts, titled “Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square.” Mack Wilberg and Ryan Murphy will conduct the concerts. The concerts will be presented in the Conference Center in downtown Salt Lake City on Thursday, 15 December, Friday, 16 December, and Saturday, 17 December. All the evening concerts begin at 8 p.m. The weekly half-hour CBS radio broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word on Sunday, 18 December, at 9:30 a.m. in the Conference Center...

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Would Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman Jr. prosecute porn? Morality in Media wants to know

Deseret News - President Barack Obama's administration has failed to initiate a single federal obscenity prosecution, and Morality in Media president Patrick Trueman wants that trend to change in a big way. So with an eye to the future, the former chief of the Justice Department's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section is launching a campaign asking all 2012 presidential candidates to clarify their stance on enforcing federal obscenity laws against producers and distributors of hard-core pornography. ...

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Church asks Mormons: Which websites, writers do you read?

Salt Lake Tribune - The LDS Church is surveying its members about their readership of key websites and Mormon writers, a move that reflects the faith’s growing interest in managing its public image as two Mormon candidates make headlines pursuing the White House. Church officials confirmed this week that the survey on a range of social, political and doctrinal matters — including the trustworthiness of specific journalists — is partly intended to gauge how and where Latter-day Saints get their information on LDS-related issues. "This kind of survey is one way church leaders have to hear from members,’’ church spokesman Scott Trotter said in a...

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Temple is the center of the LDS universe

Deseret News - In memory of Matthew Brown "It is doubtful whether Joseph sensed the truly staggering implications of his endowment system," Fawn Brodie wrote in her imaginative 1945 biography of Joseph Smith. "Upon his church now rested the burden of freeing the billions of spirits who had never heard the law of the Lord. Nauvoo had become the center not only of the world, but of the universe. But Joseph laid no great emphasis on the temple ordinances." As she usually did, Brodie portrayed Joseph here as a thoughtless but sometimes likable scamp, improvising his frauds on the run. This time, though, she...

4599

Payson Mormon Temple Groundbreaking Set for Saturday

Deseret News - Groundbreaking ceremonies for the Payson Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be held Saturday, Oct. 8, at 9 a.m. at the temple site, 930 W. 1550 South in Payson. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles will preside at the groundbreaking. ...

4598

LDS church surveys members about illegal immigration

Salt Lake Tribune - A portion of a nationwide survey recently commissioned by the LDS Church is attempting to delve into Mormons’ understanding of illegal immigration, including whether undocumented immigrants are able to get temple recommends and be baptized into the faith. Church officials have been largely mum on the survey, which was sent out to members via email. However, it was a wide-ranging survey of 66 questions — about six of which tackled the controversial immigration issue. Scott Trotter, spokesman for the LDS Church, said it regularly asks questions of members on a wide variety of topics. ...

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The third moral dialogue

Deseret News - Last of three articles Jack: I get it, Bishop. The story of that quarrel between your children — I don't suppose it was really about knocking down blocks or hitting your sister. Or about what a patient father you are. Bishop: I need to ask you the same question I asked my kids. And I think you came to me so you could answer that question. J: You asked them both, "What did you do?" B: They wanted to tell me how they felt. What they were thinking. Why they did what they did. But the beginning of everything is: What...

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Southeastern Idaho teems with early Mormon and emigrant history

Deseret News - For centuries, the region where the Bear River wriggles north from the Uinta Mountains then turns south toward the Great Salt Lake has been a pathway and a crossroads. Indians, trappers, explorers and emigrant wagon trains bound for Oregon and California passed this way. Today, the borders of Idaho, Wyoming and Utah meet here. Modern U.S. 30 makes a generally southeast to northwest diagonal slice through the landscape, following, with modern engineering variations, the Oregon Trail. ...

4596

LDS author, scholar Matthew B. Brown passes away

Temple Study - It is with sadness that I learned shortly ago that Matthew B. Brown has passed away. He was dealing with complications after a heart failure incident which occurred on September 23rd while he was in the BYU library. He was about 47 years old. He will be sorely missed. Matt Brown was a well-known scholar, historian, lecturer, and author of LDS temple and gospel studies, and a great influence and inspiration to me, and I’m sure many others. ...

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Famed BYU religion professor, Monte S. Nyman, dies

Deseret News - When Richard Whitehead first met former BYU professor Monte Nyman, he was immediately lifted by his sheepish grin and quirky stories. "I love his fun-loving little quips he told," said Acting President of Southern Virginia University Richard Whitehead. "He was always polite and kind to everyone he met." The Gospel scholar, professor and family man passed away Friday from a long battle with cancer, leaving those who knew him to cherish their time spent with him. ...