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America's founding relied on faith and reason, writer and theologian says at BYU

Deseret News - The American founding is like an eagle that needed both wings — common sense and humble faith — in order to soar, a theologian, author and former U.S. ambassador said Thursday at BYU. Michael Novak, who has written nearly 30 books, including "The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism," and was awarded the million-dollar Templeton prize for relating theology to economics, explained that many historians today want to eliminate religion from U.S. history and make the eagle fly, impossibly, on one wing. "To think (the founders) were atheists or relativists is simply contrary to fact," Novak said, explaining that in 1776, the colonists...

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Young women walk 22 miles from temple to temple

Deseret News - For a Young Women activity on July 27, we had the opportunity to watch the movie "Only a Stonecutter" and then visit the home of John Rowe Moyle at Moyle Historical Park in Alpine, Utah. As a group of Cedar Hills 6th Ward young women and leaders, we came to learn the sacrifices John made as he walked 22 miles every week to the Salt Lake Temple to fulfill his calling as a stonecutter. We also learned about his famous engraving — "Holiness to the Lord" — on the east side of the temple. Just as the activity was coming to...

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Mormons, Muslims break the fast in Southern California

Deseret News - Mormons and Muslims in Southern California recently broke the fast together at several events scheduled during Ramadan. Ramadan is a 30-day religious period during which Muslims fast from before sunrise to about sunset. It is a common Muslim practice to invite people of other faiths to join them in an interfaith iftar, or fast-breaking dinner, one evening during Ramadan. Southern California Latter-day Saints participated in at least 10 different interfaith iftars throughout the area. Sabiha Quidwai, Islamic Society of Orange County (ISOC) executive assistant, explained that Ramadan is "a month of increased blessings and spiritual upliftment," and it is "the ninth...

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The Wentworth Letter by Joseph Smith

Mormon World - The Wentworth letter was written by Joseph Smith in March of 1842 as a response to a request from John Wentworth of the Chicago Democrat that Smith write a “statement of the origin and progress of Mormonism.” Wentworth had a friend who wanted the information as he wrote a history of the state of New Hampshire. Joseph wrote the letter and outlined the history of the LDS Church to that point in time as well as outlining some of the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In doing so he penned what became known as the 13...

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NPR: Glenn Beck--reading between the coded lines

NPR - When Jon Stewart famously parodied Glenn Beck earlier this year, the Comedy Central host zeroed in on the ways Beck sees hidden meanings or conspiracies in the policies or statements of his political targets. 

 Stewart stood before a Beck-sized chalkboard with the word "libertarian" written in big block letters.  

 "Lie! Lie! Lie!" Stewart yelled, pointing to the first syllable of the word. "Who's doing the lying? Tell me, word on the board!"  

 Stewart paused dramatically. He turned to the board and circled the last two syllables of li-bert-arian. "Aryans!" he yelled.  

 Now, in a new book, it's...

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Sunday School Lesson 39: Isaiah 50-53

Feast Upon the Word - Those who are looking for Sunday School study materials that do not appear on the first page of the site should note that on the left side of the page, under “Categories” is a link, “Lessons: Sun.School.” You can easily find all of the materials for Sunday School lessons there (and you can find other lesson materials under the appropriate links in the same place). These chapters are among the most beautiful in the Bible; they are an important part of Western literary culture, even for non-believers. Many scholars see the chapters as part of larger dramatic structure, a larger dramatic...

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RS/MP Lesson 20: “Baptism”

Feast Upon the Word - Why must we be baptized? We Must Be Baptized for the Remission of Our Sins There are ample scripture references which discuss baptism for the remission of sins, but what does this actually mean? Is there something inherently different between forgiveness and remission of our sins? Remission comes from the Latin remitto meaning to send back (Webster’s 1828 dictionary). Among the definitions is “forgiveness; pardon; that is, the giving up of the punishment due to a crime; as the remission of sins”. Is baptism a required part of true repentance? Is repentance possible without baptism (baptism is the first fruits of...

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Mormon faith infuses all aspects of life for Vai Sikahema

Deseret News - Last in a three-part story. Parts one and two looked at Vai Sikahema's unlikely rise from poor Tongan immigrant to BYU and NFL football star who has become a media celebrity in Philadelphia. The final installment looks at Sikahema's commitment to his faith and an inspirational journey back to Tonga. It should have been a thrilling moment. In 1996, just two years after he began his full-time broadcasting career, Vai Sikahema was invited to a meeting and offered a promotion to sports director and sports anchor. This meant he would anchor the sports news at 6 and 11 on weekday nights...

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Senior missions challenge and bless

Deseret News - For every challenge there is for a senior missionary couple, there are blessings to more than match. In fact, in some families, the children are begging their parents to serve again because the blessings that come while they're serving are so rich. In addition, senior missionaries are badly needed, said Garth A. Hanson, a retired associate professor of Marriott School and a speaker at BYU Education Week 2010. He has served as a mission president as well as several missions with his wife including to Sweden, Germany, Romania, Nauvoo and Israel. "I don't know what you would do if you knew...

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The 10 best places to raise an LDS family outside of Utah

Deseret News - Are you looking to raise your family in an area that mirrors Latter-day Saint values and lifestyles? Although some families may have the option to live in Utah, where LDS values are seen everywhere, many do not. The book "Best Places to Raise an LDS Family" rates and ranks 361 communities according to LDS values and lifestyles. Nearly 100 data sets-mostly from government and nonprofit sources-are broken into seven broad categories: LDS Culture, Education, Crime, Economic Environment, Health, Household Characteristics, and Housing. The data are then weighted according to LDS values (for instance, teen smoking rates are weighted more heavily than...