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7 July 2012
Fire at Tolleson Mormon church was arson, officials confirm
July 7, 2012
Arizona Republic
Investigators from the Tolleson police and fire departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined a fire at a Mormon church last week was arson.
ATF officials are offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the arsonist or arsonists responsible, said Thomas Atteberry, special agent in charge of the Phoenix field division.
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ATF: Fire at Mormon church in Tolleson was arson
July 6, 2012
San Francisco Chronicle (California)
Federal investigators say a fire at a Mormon church in Tolleson west of Phoenix was arson.
Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest in the case.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/ATF-Fire-at-Mormon-church-in-Tolleson-was-arson-3689208.php
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Guess what: Mitt Romney is still Mormon
July 7, 2012
Get Religion
Let’s be honest: Mitt Romney isn’t exactly giving reporters many religion angles for reporters to pitch. He doesn’t talk about his faith much, so you won’t necessarily see how it explicitly plays out his policies. What’s a reporter to do? Write about his Mormonism, all the time, it seems.
Thankfully, we do have an interesting piece from the Associated Press about what that means, exactly. It’s not couched in polls about whether it’ll hurt him. It merely shows what practicing Mormonism looks like by following the Romney family to church in New Hampshire.
http://www.getreligion.org/2012/07/guess-what-mitt-romney-is-still-mormon/
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North Texas evangelicals unenthusiastic about Romney, Obama
July 6, 2012
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Texas)
Some religious figures, such as Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress, have labeled Romney’s Mormon faith a non-Christian “theological cult.” But others, like Newell Williams, president of Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University, believe that attacking a political candidate because of religion is unfair.
A sampling of likely voters from among the thousands of evangelicals in Fort Worth this week to attend Kenneth Copeland Ministries Southwest Believers’ Convention indicated a lack of enthusiasm for either major party candidate, with Romney’s Mormon faith a factor.
http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/07/06/4083837/evangelicals-unenthusiastic-about.html
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Opening doors: New Mormon church readies for services outside Auburn
July 7, 2012
Auburn Citizen (New York)
A year ago, the only sign of the new Auburn ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was a patch of soil, split and sifted by shovels.
But by Thursday evening, the newly finished chapel — complete with lush grass lawns and verdant, cone-shaped shrubbery — sat ready for worshipers, its brick facade and white steeple attracting inquisitive looks from passing Grant Avenue drivers.
Inside, the church was bustling with men, women and children preparing for Saturday’s open house, decorating classrooms and practicing different legs of the chapel tour.
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Mormon scholars having day in sun
July 7, 2012
Halifax Chronicle Herald (Nova Scotia)
For a century and a half, Mormonism has been something of a paradox in the history of the American West: passionately argued about by the church’s adherents and detractors, but largely ignored by professional scholars unsure of what to make of the religion Joseph Smith founded in 1830 or the communities created by what Mormon scripture itself described as a “peculiar people.”
But now, as Mitt Romney’s candidacy prompts talk of a “Mormon moment,” a growing cadre of young scholars of Mormonism are enjoying their own turn in the sun, and not just on the nation’s op-ed pages. Books relating to Mormon history are appearing in the catalogues of top academic presses, while secular universities are adding courses, graduate fellowships and endowed chairs.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/religion/114637-mormon-scholars-having-day-in-sun
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What a year it’s been for Alex Boye
July 7, 2012
Rexburg Standard Journal (Idaho)
Boye converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he was 16.
It wasn’t until his mission in Bristol, England, that he performed for the first time in public.
After completing his mission, he formed the European boy band Awesome and became the lead singer. While the band became hugely successful in Europe, Boye disliked the lifestyle of a touring musician.
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Frederick-area Mormon youth to follow in footsteps of pioneer ancestors in 3-day trek
July 7, 2012
Frederick News Post (Maryland)
Over the past year, Talbot has planned and organized the Pioneer Trek, a three-day event scheduled for July 19 through 21 that will test area Mormon youths’ spiritual and physical mettle while they live for a few days as their pioneer ancestors did.
“Life’s not always a bowl of cherries,” Olson said.
About 170 teenagers between 14 and 18 from the Frederick Mormon stake, or district, will have to push and pull their own wooden handcart through the wilds of Michaux State Forest near Fayetteville, Pa., Talbot said.
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/art_life/display_features.htm?StoryID=137872
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Descendants of Deer Lodge settlers mark 150 years in America
July 7, 2012
The Missoulian (Montana)
Nancy Tyrell of Missoula left June 26 with her husband David for Henry, Neb., on the Wyoming state line. There they met up with a dozen or so other “cousins” at the spot they believe Nancy’s grandmother, Augusta Eliasson Trask, was born on Aug. 10, 1862 – on a wagon train headed for Mormon country.
From there the modern-day voyagers traced by automobile, camper and recreational vehicle the paths the Eliassons followed, sometimes on foot, over the next several years – up the North Platte to Fort Laramie, Independence Rock, and South Pass on the Oregon/Mormon Trail; to Salt Lake City, Farmington and South Weber, Utah; to Soda Springs, Idaho, and on to the Deer Lodge Valley.
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Kid-friendly: Days of ’47 Family Fun Day
July 6, 2012
Salt Lake Magazine (Utah)
Locals are stocking up on fireworks, and organizations are getting their floats ready for the big parade in downtown, SLC. The Days of ’47 are upon us.
And if you just can’t take the anticipation, you can start celebrating the Mormon pioneers arriving into the Salt Lake Valley a bit early on Saturday, July 7 as Family Fun Day makes its way to the Utah State Fairpark.
http://saltlakemagazine.com/blog/2012/07/kid-friendly-days-of-47-family-fun-day/
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