Developing Talents

“I am a daughter of God, one of his Black daughters, and because I’m Black, I’ve had very specific cultural experiences that influence my perspective, my leadership, and my faith.”

When a leader speaks at general conference, interpreters intensely focus on translating the message into multiple languages for millions of listeners.

Nineteen-year-old baseball phenom Bryce Harper isn’t known for drawing attention to his faith – he’s kinda the anti-Tim Tebow in that way – but he didn’t hide his dismay Tuesday when thrown a question that intersected squarely with his Mormonism. A Toronto reporter asked Harper, a Washington Nationals outfielder, whether he’d have a beer to celebrate a whopper of a home run and the Nationals’ win against the Blue Jays, taking advantage of Ontario’s lower drinking age.

Looking for a new film to watch on Netflix? The Saratov Approach, the film about two kidnapped missionaries in Russia that took theaters by storm last year, is now streaming on Netflix. The movie, which follows the story of two young LDS missionaries kidnapped in Russia, is chock-full of faith and suspense. Because videos on Netflix are often a limited-release, click here if you'd like to have your own copy to add to your movie collection.

For more than 50 years, the twelve paintings printed in recent editions of the Book of Mormon have given us unique access to the world of ancient prophets. Nephi subduing his brothers, Abinadi testifying to King Noah, Samuel preaching from the city wall — these scenes ground scripture stories in a compelling visual world as we study the word of God.

In the midst of World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt came across a newspaper clipping about the ancestry of England's Prime Minister Winston Churchill and his wife, Clementine. The newspaper article noted the couple's common heritage with Mormons in Utah. As Roosevelt and Churchill had become friends by this time, the president sent the clipping to the prime minister, accompanied by a lighthearted letter. "Hitherto I had not observed any outstanding Mormon characteristics in either of you," he wrote. "But I shall be looking for them from now on." He further added, "I have a very high opinion of the Mormons . . . they are excellent citizens."[1]

Proving that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be faithful, active members of the church and follow a Democratic platform is one of the goals of the newly organized MormonPress, according to co-founder Chrystal Young-Otterstrom.

There are nearly seven million Mormons in America. This is the number the Mormons themselves use. It's not huge. Seven million is barely 2 percent of the country's population. It is the number of people who subscribe to Better Homes and Gardens magazine. London boasts seven million people. So does San Francisco. It's a million more people than live in the state of Washington; a million less than in the state of Virginia. It's so few, it's the same number as were watching the January 24, 2012, Republican debate. In fact, worldwide, there are only about fourteen million Mormons. That's fourteen million among a global population just reaching seven billion. Fourteen million is the population of Cairo or Mali or Guatemala. It's approximately the number of people who tune in for the latest hit show on network television every week. Fourteen million Americans ate Thanksgiving dinner in a restaurant in 2011. That's how few fourteen million is.

For a peacemaker like Randall Paul, a good ending doesn't necessarily resolve the conflict between religious believers over who is damned and who isn't. That's why Paul, founder and president of the Foundation for Religious Diplomacy, was intrigued by an obscure documentary about a filmmaker who set out to discover why conservative Christian evangelicals labeled his Mormon faith a cult whose followers were going to hell.