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Study: Liberal anti-Mormonism on the rise

Americans' aversion to voting for Mormons has spiked since Mitt Romney's first presidential bid in 2007 — and that the people most wary of Mormon candidates are not Evangelicals, but rather political liberals and non-religious voters, according to new research from a leading scholar of anti-Mormon attitudes. The overall increase in anti-Mormon attitudes among liberals may be an unanticipated consequence of the "the continuing candidacy of Mitt Romney and Mormon activism against same-sex marriage," the study suggests. And its findings may be alarming to the Romney campaign because among the study's other findings is that voters' perceptions of Mormonism are closely tied to whether they'll vote for him.

W.S. Journal: Muslims, Mormons and liberals

'Hasa Diga Eebowai" is the hit number in Broadway's hit musical "The Book of Mormon," which won nine Tony awards last year. What does the phrase mean? I can't tell you, because it's unprintable in a family newspaper. ...

Elder Cook Takes Florida Governor on Tour of New Temple

Florida Governor Rick Scott toured the new Fort Lauderdale Florida Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with members of Florida’s congressional delegation, American Jewish Committee leaders in south Florida and local religious leaders. Governor Scott visited the temple during an open house with Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and his wife, Sister Mary Cook, on Friday, 18 April, 2014.

ASL seminary classes blossom at site of original seminary class

One hundred years ago, in a building adjacent to Granite High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, Thomas J. Yates served as the teacher of the first seminary class in the Church, a revolutionary undertaking for the time. Today, a century later, much has changed—Granite High School has closed, for instance. But seminary classes are still held at the site where seminary was first offered in 1912—and they are as innovative as their early predecessors. Here Nathan Van De Graaff serves as the coordinator for American Sign Language (ASL) seminary. In this role, he teaches standard seminary curriculum in ASL to classes of up to nine students each—students who are participating from their homes across the United States.

Opinion: Are jokes about Mormons a sign of acceptance?

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Justice Department will add Mormons and Sikhs and five other groups to the hate crime statistics. In other words, they will begin keeping numbers on hate crimes committed against members of the LDS Church, just as they do with gays, African-Americans and other groups where strong prejudice exists. The interesting question is, what about prejudicial remarks or conversation or making fun of Mormons? Will it rise to the same level of political incorrectness as homophobic or racial remarks?

Religious groups, including LDS, sign open letter against birth control mandate

A diverse coalition of religious leaders, including the presiding bishop of the LDS Church, signed an open letter to "all Americans" saying they are not done fighting against health care reform's birth control mandate and its infringement on religious liberty. Acknowledging they don't all agree on religious teachings about contraception, they are united against government requiring any faith or its followers to violate those teachings.

Women and the Priesthood in Mormon Theology

We are in Bali, Indonesia, as we write this column, and while we love so many things about Bali, parts of its culture are distastefully male-dominated. It's causing us to appreciate our own ever-more-equal-but-still-a-long-way-to-go American culture.

Comparative polling suggests public shift in comfort with a Mormon president

A new national public opinion poll suggests that a significant shift may be taking place among Americans relative to their comfort with seeing a Mormon in the White House. And as far as backers of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman Jr. are concerned, it's not a good shift.

Why churches welcome Hispanic converts, with or without papers

A few months ago, I went to a local publisher with an idea for a book. I wanted to spend a year in an LDS ward in Tijuana, Mexico, chronicling the rites of passage of the members — the births and deaths, the baptisms and marriages. I was told that because of the immigration controversy, publishers had a hard time interesting white American readers in the religious lives of Hispanic people.

How an Icy Mountain Road Taught Me the Best Answer to Prayer Is often ‘No’

Like many Americans of all faiths and backgrounds, I like to pray often. You probably do, too. We pray at church, over meals, at bedtime, before road trips and when life presents a need that only heaven can meet.