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December 5, 2013
Elder Nelson Delivers Spiritual Thanksgiving Feast to MTCs (Church News and Events) (December 5, 2013) On Thanksgiving Day, elders and sisters at missionary training centers around the world feasted spiritually on words of counsel from an Apostle and his wife. Later that day, at the Provo MTC, missionaries helped nourish others physically as they packed ingredients for 350,000 meals to be distributed to the needy through the Utah Food Bank.
Christmas, a Time to Remember (Church News and Events) (December 5, 2013) When I was 13 years old I joined the youth choir of our small Methodist church. That very year the ambitious choir director announced that the adult and youth choirs would perform “Amahl and the Night Visitors” during the Christmas season. With my mediocre voice, I was relegated to the chorus of young shepherds. Stage blocking and practices ground on toward December until I wondered why I had ever signed up for the choir, but the director was adamant—we would perform, no matter what!
LDS Church alters Christmas devotional tradition (Deseret News - Utah) (December 5, 2013) The LDS Church has altered the name and program for its annual Christmas devotional.
Known at least since the early 1970s as the "First Presidency Christmas Devotional," the event traditionally has featured a talk from each of the three members of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as well as Christmas songs performed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
The church's press release, website and tickets to the event this year call the event the Christmas Devotional. The name change signaled a change to the program.
New Youth Site Offers 150 Mutual Activity Ideas (Church News and Events) (December 5, 2013) To assist youth leaders and youth in finding fun and meaningful activities, the Church has launched a new youth activity website packed with more than 150 activities that work anywhere in the world.
Activities are an important part of the youth program in the Church. In addition to Sunday activities, LDS youth are invited to meet together on an additional night during the week to do activities together. “Many youth feel isolated in their efforts to live the gospel in an increasingly wicked world,” said Brother David L. Beck, Young Men general president. “When they gather for activities, they draw strength from one another.”
New Mormon Chapel Opens in Slave Lake After Wildfire (LDS Newsroom) (December 5, 2013) After a long two-year wait, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints once again have a meetinghouse in Slave Lake, Alberta. An open house was held earlier this month to celebrate the event with the community.
Wildfires destroyed close to a third of Slave Lake, a town located 250 kilometres north of Edmonton, Alberta, on 15 May 2011. One of the hundreds of buildings destroyed in the fire was the Slave Lake meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
December 4, 2013
Mormonism: a fledgling faith in India (Livemint.com) (December 4, 2013) Praveen Beesa was born into a staunchly Christian family in Hyderabad. So religion, as a Protestant Christian, was a way of life. However, as a teenager, he began to have misgivings about the family’s faith. His first thoughts were if God and Jesus Christ were one, why did Christ call upon God when he was on Earth; and because Jesus came to preach the truth, he obviously couldn’t have been praying to someone up there, if God and he weren’t two different entities.
Hawn's Mill and Far West Records Wanted (LDS Church News) (December 4, 2013) Staff of the Church History Department are looking for original records relating to the Hawn’s Mill Massacre and Far West burial grounds, including diary or journal entries, letters, newspaper accounts, photographs, and reminiscences.
Bells on Temple Square Ring in Christmas Season (LDS Church News) (December 4, 2013) Few things evoke memories and associations with Christmas better than the chiming of bells, and attendees at the annual Christmas concert of the Bells on Temple Square got an early start on their holiday celebration November 15–16 in the Salt Lake Tabernacle.
December 3, 2013
Court: Mormon church, members not liable in injury (Deseret News - Utah) (December 3, 2013) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members cannot be held liable for injuries suffered by a child on a church-organized outing in Idaho six years ago, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled.
Justices said there was no special duty of care owed by the defendants to then-13-year-old Heidi Beers of Meridian before she suffered a compound fracture of her ankle while jumping off a bridge into the Payette River.
Need caffeine? New business delivers at Mormon-owned BYU (Salt Lake Tribune - Utah) (December 3, 2013) A Brigham Young University spokeswoman famously explained last year why caffeinated drinks are not sold at Mormonism’s flagship school: It is "not a university or church decision, but made by dining services, based on what our customers want."
There has not "been a demand for it," Carri Jenkins said in September 2012, a statement met with guffaws by Coke-guzzling students and faculty at the Provo campus.
Now some enterprising undergrads have decided to test the question of demand.
In November, a group of nine launched "Caffeine on Campus," a service that hand-delivers Coca-Cola products to anyone on campus who puts in an order through the website — wwww.caffeineoncampus.com.
December 2, 2013
Missionaries serve those in need with 350K meals (KSL.com - Utah) (December 2, 2013) Elder Austin Evans used to work at a pizza place, checking the clock constantly to see how much time had passed.
On Thanksgiving Day, thousands of miles away from his family amid people he's just barely getting to know, Evans said he had no idea how long he'd spent packing lentils into a bag to turn into a stranger's lunch or dinner.
Apostles return to southern South America (LDS Church News) (December 2, 2013) A recent apostolic trip to the southern nations of South America demonstrated the growing ties between the Church and the leaders of many Latin American governments — even as the Church continues to develop in both membership and devotion. On Nov. 14-15, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Elder D. Todd Christofferson, both members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, together with Elder Ulisses Soares of the Presidency of the Seventy, participated in a review of the South America South Area. Several training meetings highlighted their tour with priesthood leaders, members and missionaries — along with cordial visits with civic and religious leaders in Chile and Paraguay.
Christmas in Old Nauvoo (LDS Church News) (December 2, 2013) The Nauvoo Visitors’ Center will sponsor its annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony and Christmas in Old Nauvoo on Friday, Dec. 6, starting at 6 p.m. at the visitors’ center, 350 North Main in Old Nauvoo.
Mormons split over same-sex marriage (Salon) (December 2, 2013) On November 4, a critical mass of Mormons in the United States Senate—including Republicans Orrin Hatch of Utah and Dean Heller of Nevada (whose vote broke a filibuster by his own party)—played a critical role in passing the historic Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) protecting gay and lesbian Americans in the workplace.
November 28, 2013
Leaders Say 2014 Primary Theme Teaches "Families Are Forever" (Church News and Events) (November 28, 2013) At a time when the family is under fire, the Church's Primary general presidency is hoping children will understand that “Families Are Forever.”
That simple truth is the theme of 2014 Outline for Sharing Time. It is based on the scripture, “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6).
Children will be blessed by learning that families are forever, said Sister Rosemary M. Wixom, Primary general president. “This is God’s plan and His truth and His Church.”
St. George LDS Temple grounds come to life day after Thanksgiving (St George News - Utah) (November 28, 2013) Hundreds of locals have been busy stringing lights on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints St. George Temple grounds in preparation for the Lighting Ceremony to be held Friday at 5:30 p.m.
This yearly tradition draws the community together to light up the grounds in celebration of the birth of the “Light of the World.”
The ceremony will include a 30-minute outdoor program with a speaker, community singing and music by the Tuacahn High School Madrigals which will lead up to the flipping of a switch to illuminate the St. George Temple grounds with hundreds of thousands of lights.
20 little-known facts about the Mormon Angel Moroni statue (Deseret News - Utah) (November 28, 2013) Did you know that one of the heaviest Angel Moroni statues weighs 4,000 pounds, that one statue was colored white or that the statue usually faces east?
With temples all over the world, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has adorned the skyline with angel statues for 167 years, ever since the Nauvoo Temple was dedicated in 1846.
The Nauvoo Temple, however, did not feature the same type of statue LDS Church members are familiar with today.
Brylee's wings: An intimate account of one little girl's struggle to survive (Deseret News - Utah) (November 28, 2013) The room was still, a quiet moment after the whirlwind that began with the rhythmic thumping of an MRI, the rustling of doctor's notes and admittance papers, and the hiss of the oxygen tube.
Lara Olson clung to her daughter, rocked her gently and began to cry.
"I don't want you to leave me," she said in quiet whisper.
Brylee Olson glanced up at her mother from cradled arms, her large blue eyes glassy, her voice unable to pass from paralyzed vocal cords. The muscles in her face were also stilled, leaving her unable to comfort her grieving mother. Brylee reached for her mother's hand.
The Saratov Approach (Weekly News Journal - Idaho) (November 28, 2013) Two 20-year-old Mormon missionaries hoped to preach their gospel at a Russian investigator’s home, but instead soon found themselves beaten, tied to a furnace and wondering if they’d live to tell the tale.
And they did.
And it’s being told in the movie “The Saratov Approach” now playing at the Century Cinema. One of the missionaries, Andrew Propst met with movie goers at the cinemas to discuss the event that changed his life.
“We were approached by a guy who asked us to come over and talk to him about the church. When we went to his house, he and another kidnapper attacked us with bats and pointed guns in our faces,” said Propst, now of Boise, who with his missionary companion, Travis Tuttle, of Gilbert, Arizona, spent five days blindfolded, handcuffed and shackled to a heater.
Jabari Parker and Duke's early-season scare (Indy Week - North Carolina) (November 28, 2013) Five minutes into the second half of Duke's weird 91–90 win last Sunday over the 1-4 Catamounts of the University of Vermont, Blue Devil freshman Jabari Parker, the 6-foot-8, 235-pound future NBA All-Star, stole the ball from a green-clad guard named Candon Rusin, loped down court and dunked delicately with two hands, as if dropping a bomb down a foxhole.
The crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium went nuts. Vermont called a timeout. The score was 61–49, Duke.
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