Welcome to MormonVoices. Our volunteers respond to public discussions and comments from public figures that misrepresent The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We encourage and direct Mormons to get involved in online discussions and thereby help shape the public understanding and perceptions of the Church. Please join your voice with ours, and become a member of MormonVoices.
MormonVoices is an independent organization that is supportive of, but not
controlled by or affiliated with, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
search the site
31 July 2012
A Complete, Pictorial Guide To The Book Of Mormon
July 31, 2012
Business Insider
In the wake of the Aurora shootings, when Mitt Romney told the country that “we mourn with those who mourn,” most people listening agreed with the somber sentiment. But few outside of the candidate’s Mormon faith recognized that Romney was quoting the Book of Mormon, the sacred text of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Although curiosity about the Mormon Church has reached a fever pitch with Romney’s ascension as the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, most people remain relatively clueless about the American-born religion.
To find out more about Mormons and their beliefs, Business Insider traveled to upstate New York earlier this month for the Hill Cumorah Pageant, the flagship pageant of the LDS Church, which takes place on the hill where Mormonism’s founder, Joseph Smith, is believed to have found the Golden Plates that he later translated into the Book of Mormon.
http://www.businessinsider.com/book-of-mormon-guide-photos-2012-7?op=1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
JFK and Mitt: The Media’s Double Standard on Faith
July 31, 2012
NewsBusters
During the 1960 presidential campaign, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy was attacked for his Catholic faith, then viewed by many as subversive and un-American. Anti-Mormon bigots are now targeting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his Mormon beliefs, which are now viewed by many “progressives” as a “transparent and recent fraud.” But in those 50 years, the role of the media has changed significantly.
A June 2012 study performed by American National Election Studies (ANES) found that 43 percent of liberals would be “less likely” to vote for a Mormon candidate for religious reasons. An essential point, given how often news outlets highlight Romney’s religion.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/paul-wilson/2012/07/31/jfk-and-mitt-media-s-double-standard-faith
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Split Mormon families must choose who gets to hug the kid before mission
July 31, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Split Mormon families are out of luck when it comes to the curbside farewell for their departing son or daughter at Provo’s Missionary Training Center — only one car per family allowed.
And there’s no allowance for a second set of parents to park elsewhere and walk to the curb for a last minute hug, either.
“We understand emotions are tender when saying goodbye to [their] sons and daughters as they enter the Missionary Training Center,” said LDS spokesman Scott Trotter on Tuesday, “and the extenuating circumstances for wanting to bring more than one car to the drop-off point.”
However, Trotter said, “logistical reality dictates our small campus, traffic patterns and volunteers can only accommodate a limited number of vehicles when 400 families bring their missionaries to Provo MTC every Wednesday.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Isaac Russell, New York Times journalist, PR specialist for the Mormon Church
July 31, 2012
Standard Examiner (Utah)
At this year’s Mormon History Association conference in Calgary, two contributors, Michael Harold Paulos and Kenneth L. Cannon II, continued an annual practice of producing a keepsake booklet for attendees. This year’s booklet provided an abridgement of the Reed Smoot U.S. Senate hearings from Feb. 20, 1907, as well as a short feature on essays and correspondence provided by newspaperman Isaac Russell, both a Mormon and leading journalist in the first 20 years of the 20th century. In the booklet, the authors recount how Russell used his influence to recruit former President Theodore Roosevelt to harshly criticize a much publicized “magazine crusade” against the Mormon Church.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mormon Olympians: Hayley Palmer of New Zealand
July 31, 2012
Meridian Magazine
Born in Cheltenham, England, but now a swimmer for New Zealand, 23 year old Hayley Palmer is competing in her second Olympics.
Hayley is a member of New Zealand’s 2012 Olympic Swimming Team, and was also on the team in the 2008 Beijing Games. She competed over the weekend in the qualifications trial for the Women’s 4×100 Freestyle Relay. She is expected to participate in the qualifying trials for the Women’s 50m Freestyle race on Friday, August 3.
http://ldsmag.com/article/1/11210
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mitt Romney’s tax returns: Can we judge leaders by how much they give?
July 31, 2012
Boston Globe (Massachusetts)
But there is one way that Romney is a little bit like the Kwakwaka’wakw. In that Indian society, everyone joined in the ceremony of giving and receiving, because that was how you got your place in society’s pecking order. The Mormon Church follows a similar ethos. Mormons must give at least 10 percent of their income. That money is collected in Salt Lake City and redistributed to congregations around the world. If you don’t contribute to the community, you can’t be a Mormon in good standing.
Instead of tithing the minimum — “and not a dollar more” — Romney has given over and above what his church requires. Last year, he donated 12.4 percent of his income of $21 million. In addition, he gave $500,000 to his family foundation, the Tyler Foundation, which has given three-quarters of its funds over the years to the Mormon church or Brigham Young University.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mitt Romney Threw One of the Most Gay-Friendly Olympics in History
July 31, 2012
Towleroad
Stephanie Mencimer at Mother Jones chronicles the changes Mitt Romney’s team made to the Olympic Games bin terms of diversity, opening the Games to LGBT organizations for the first time and being “very, very supportive of the diversity of the workforce.”
Apparently, LGBT groups were not at first included at all, and assumed they didn’t have a chance given Romney’s Mormon background, but were surprised.
http://www.towleroad.com/2012/07/mitt-romneys-gay-olympics.html
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mitt Romney’s Big, Gay Olympics
July 31, 2012
Mother Jones
Of course, given the heavy involvement of the LDS Church in the games, and the fact that Mormon men like Romney (and Eynon) were heavily represented on the SLOC, gay and lesbian Utahans had some basis for their assumptions. The church, after all, has had a long-standing history of intolerance toward gays and lesbians.
Michael Marriott, the ex-Mormon executive director of the Orem, Utah-based B.W. Bastian Foundation, which supports gay rights, was involved in the first meetings with Eynon as one of the representatives from the gay community. He explains, “There was an unhappiness because they didn’t reach out to the LGBT community at first. We had to go to them and say, ‘We want a seat at the table.’”
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mitt-romney-big-gay-olympics
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pastor Geronimo Aguilar on the Impact of a Candidate’s Faith during Presidential Elections
July 31, 2012
Digital Journal
Although the U.S. Constitution calls for a “separation of church and state,” Americans still closely examine the faith of presidential candidates. Mitt Romney has received much criticism for his Mormon faith, but the issue has recently been overshadowed by a growing interest in Barack Obama’s spirituality; although he has proclaimed himself to be a Christian, many suspect him to follow Islam. A recent article from CNN observes this current focus and delves deeper into the subject by discussing the impact religious faith has had on some of the most notable leaders of the United States. Pastor Geronimo Aguilar, who leads Christian services at the Richmond Outreach Center, responds to the question, “Does the faith of the President matter?”
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/817031
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Man killed by suspected DUI driver a father of five
July 30, 2012
San Diego Union Tribune (California)
An Escondido man who was killed Saturday when his motorcycle was hit by a suspected drunken driver was a recently retired neurophysiologist who was preparing with his wife to serve an 18-month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the family said in a statement Monday.
Dr. Robin Vaughan’s motorcycle collided with a Dodge Ram truck headed the wrong direction on Interstate 15 near Via Rancho Parkway in Escondido about 12:40 p.m. Saturday, the California Highway Patrol said.
Vaughan, 60, and his wife of 40 years, Donetta, are parents of five children and 15 grandchildren. Vaughan was a Boy Scout leader for 20 years and was active in the Mormon church.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jul/30/man-killed-by-suspected-dui-driver-a-father-of-5/
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NOTE: This is posted for those who are interested in keeping abreast what is being said around the world about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members. MormonVoices cannot and does not guarantee the validity or truthfulness of any information reported. The responsibility for the interpretation and use of this information lies with the reader. As all information comes from other news sources and has not been independently verified, MormonVoices cannot guarantee or be responsible for the security of links in the clipping service. MormonVoices will attempt as much as possible to exclude news articles containing strongly offensive language or which lead to offensive images, but cannot guarantee that some will not slip through.
Journalists
