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14 September 2012
Mormonism in the News: Getting It Right | September 14
September 14, 2012
Today we feature a Salt Lake Tribune article about one man’s journey out of and back in to the Church, two articles (one from the Boston Globe) about Mormon missionaries, a commentary from The Independent (UK) about the Church’s social media presence and a piece from Colorado’s Craig Daily Press that clears up common misconceptions about Mormons.
http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-news-getting-it-right-september-14
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Mormons and Evangelicals
September 14, 2012
PBS
PROFESSOR STEPHEN DAVIS (Philosophy and Religious Studies, Claremont McKenna College): If the question is, is Mormonism a legitimate expression of Christianity, honestly I would have to say no. I think that legitimate expressions of Christianity can be found in Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism, virtually all the Protestant denominations, but not Mormonism, because too many of their doctrines and beliefs are non-Christian.
PROFESSOR PATRICK MASON (Chair of Mormon Studies, Claremont Graduate University): Mormons take real offense when people tell them that they’re not Christian.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/episodes/september-14-2012/mormons-and-evangelicals/13007/
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Evangelicals and Mormons together
September 14, 2012
World Magazine
By 2012, Rick Santorum – who, unlike John Kennedy in 1960 and John Kerry in 2004, is a very conservative Catholic – created no stir at all among evangelical voters. Many viewed him as “one of us.”
But Mormons are different. They are not part of the Christian tradition broadly conceived, though, of course, they claim to be. They cannot affirm even the broad, earliest ecumenical creeds, such as the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds. And yet, as Falwell saw, there is political common cause between Christians and Mormons. Most Mormons seem patriotic, productive, and protective of the family.
Another reason that Gov. Romney’s Mormonism seems to be less of an issue now than it was in 2008 is that such issues loom larger in primaries than they do in a general election, when the finer details of a candidate become obscured by the deeper differences he has with his opponent. If the mischief of his competitor for office seems grave enough, partisans will form otherwise unlikely alliances to stop him. Sometimes that mischief is not a man but a grave national threat that perhaps the other candidate is clearly not up to addressing, such as a foreign enemy or an economic or fiscal crisis. It is certainly the economic issues that are driving Republican views of their nominee in this election.
http://www.worldmag.com/2012/09/evangelicals_and_mormons_together
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Brigham City, church reach deal in speech dispute at Mormon temple
September 14, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
A Christian church is passing out fliers on all public sidewalks surrounding a new LDS Temple in Brigham City as of Thursday evening after the city agreed to not enforce a free-speech ordinance.
The Main Street Church of Brigham City filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against the city earlier this week that alleged its constitutional rights were violated when the city used its Free Speech Zone Ordinance to limit its activity to two lightly trafficked sidewalks.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54896808-78/ordinance-church-brigham-speech.html.csp
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Protest dispute settled at Mormon temple
September 14, 2012
San Antonio Express News (Texas)
A settlement reached by the American Civil Liberties Union and Brigham City allowed a non-denominational Christian church to distribute fliers Friday outside a Mormon temple.
By distributing the material, the Main Street Church of Brigham City says it’s pointing out differences between its Bible-based faith and that of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“We are thrilled that our clients are no longer being banned from public sidewalks merely because they would like to express their views, assemble and freely exercise their religion,” John Mejia, legal director of the ACLU of Utah, said in a statement.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Protest-dispute-settled-at-Mormon-temple-3866244.php
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Utah city suspends enforcement of “free-speech zone” ordinance after lawsuit
September 14, 2012
Chicago Tribune (Illinois)
A northern Utah city has temporarily suspended enforcement of a “free-speech zone” ordinance on Friday after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit claiming the law unconstitutionally restricts the right to free speech.
The ACLU sued Brigham City earlier this week on behalf of the Main Street Church, a non-denominational faith barred under the municipal statute from distributing pamphlets on some sidewalks near a new Mormon temple in town.
In a statement issued on Friday, attorneys for Brigham City said city officials agreed to suspend the ordinance through Saturday in return for a promise that the church limit its presence to four members per block and not disrupt traffic or block visitors from accessing the temple.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-usa-freespeech-utahbre88d1hz-20120914,0,2675520.story
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Mormon marchers taking new strides toward LGBT harmony
September 14, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
By singing together, the group hopes to “promote mutual understanding,” said director Bryan Horne, “and share the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The choir will hold auditions for singing and instrumentalists soon, Horne said, and plans to have weekly rehearsals in Salt Lake and Utah counties. The group will be open to all interested performers, he said, regardless of skill level or LDS membership.
“Even if you can’t sing or play an instrument,” he said, “we’ll find something for you to do.”
The choir will perform religious music –not just LDS hymns — including a range of pieces from classical Christian to African American spirituals.
Horne grew up as a Mormon in Nashville, Tenn., and served a two-year mission to Las Vegas. A few years ago, he resigned from the Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but still attends services regularly with the man he considers his husband (though they are not legally married).
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/54897936-80/choir-bridges-group-horne.html.csp
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Keck’s Exclusives: TV Stars Descend on The Book of Mormon’s L.A. Opening
September 14, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
Drawing parallels between The Book of Mormon and his NBC sitcom Rannells said, “The overarching message of Book of Mormon is about faith and how all things sound ridiculous and silly and made up, but if it preaches acceptance and love, then what’s the harm? I don’t think we ever converted anyone to Mormonism through that show, but we made people smile. In a different way with The New Normal I hope we get to show audiences an honest portrayal of the challenges of being gay parents.”
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Mormon Singles, LDS Singles Wards Rise As Members Delay Marriage
September 14, 2012
Huffington Post
The Latter-day Saints church is by many measures one of unparalleled modern success. With a million new members across the globe every three years — it has 7 million in the U.S. and 14 million worldwide — the church is one of the fastest-growing religions in the country. It sends tens of thousands of missionaries throughout the world annually, and its faithful are blossoming in South America and Africa.
But despite these triumphs, a key part of the religion has struggled in the U.S. In a faith that’s centered almost exclusively around marriage and children, where the highest level of heaven is reserved for the married and where singledom carries not just a social but a spiritual stigma, people like Rinehart are becoming increasingly common.
A crisis of singles has arrived.
Just a few decades ago, the marriage age among Mormons was often as low as 18. Mormons still marry younger than most Americans, but most now marry in their early to mid-20s and singles in their 30s and 40s are quickly on the rise — once unheard of.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/14/mormon-singles-lds-singles-wards-marriage_n_1875524.html
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Survey: Americans overestimate Mormon, Muslim numbers
September 14, 2012
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
The typical American underestimates how many Protestants there are in the U.S., and vastly overestimates the number of religious minorities such as Mormons and Muslims, according to a new study.
Grey Matter Research and Consulting asked 747 U.S. adults to guess what proportion of the American population belongs to each of eight major groups: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Muslim, atheist/agnostic, believe in God or a higher power but have no particular religious preference, and any other religious group.
The average response was that 24 percent of Americans are Catholic, 20 percent are Protestant, 19 percent are unaffiliated, 8 percent are Jewish, 9 percent are atheist or agnostic, 7 percent are Muslim, 7 percent are Mormon and 5 percent identify with all other religious groups.
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/lifestyle/54897058-80/percent-protestant-groups-mormon.html.csp
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A Mormon, 2 Catholics and a Protestant go into a homeless shelter
September 14, 2012
Associated Baptist Press
Religiously speaking, this presidential election is a fascinating moment in our national life, and for multiple reasons.
First, one party nominated a Mormon and a Roman Catholic as president and vice president respectively, the first time in American history that a major party ticket has excluded a Protestant! This is not the first time a Mormon has sought the presidency. The father of the present Republican nominee unsuccessfully pursued that party’s nomination in 1968. Mormon patriarch Joseph Smith ran for president in 1844, the same year he was assassinated by a “gentile” mob in Nauvoo, Ill.
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Election 2012: Catholic and Mormon Voters Face a Difficult Choice Between Obama and Romney
September 14, 2012
Phoenix New Times (Arizona)
“…Both Mormon and Catholic doctrines preach anti-abortion and traditional family values that align with the Republican way. At the same time, church leaders also publicly adopted a Democrat-esque, humane approach to immigration enforcement, including a path to citizenship.
“The softer stance stems from a growing number of undocumented immigrants converting to Mormonism — an estimated 70 percent of Latino Mormons are undocumented. In the Catholic Church, where membership is steadily declining, immigrants are offsetting those losses.”
Yet the church, whether Mormon or Catholic, continues to dictate to followers that they should vote against abortion rights and gay marriage, regardless of their stance on immigration. With Latino voters’ political leanings and faith at odds, many feel they face an almost impossible choice.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/09/election_2012_catholic_and_mor.php
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In blasting Obama did Romney side with an anti-Mormon, anti-Catholic group?
September 14, 2012
Examiner
Max Blumenthal, award-winning journalist, wrote an article shedding a little light on who else is behind the film. Blumenthal says another character, who has been publicly listed as a consultant on the film, is an anti-Muslim activist with ties to the militia movement. He is Steve Klein, a Hemet, California insurance salesman who claims to have led a “hunter-killer team” in Vietnam.”
Klein is closely affiliated with the Christian right in California, organizing against Muslims, homosexuals, feminists, and even Mormons. He is a board member and founder of a group called Courageous Christians United, which promotes anti-Mormon, anti-Catholic and anti-Muslim literature on its website.
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On campaign trail, Romney ratchets ups God rhetoric
September 14, 2012
CNN
At campaign events these days, Mitt Romney often says that if he is elected president, he will emphasize the role of God in American society and will not “take God out of the public square.”
That kind of rhetoric is a departure from earlier less God-focused versions of the Republican candidate’s stump speech and his early apprehension with discussing his Mormon faith.
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Truths and misconceptions about the Mormon faith
September 13, 2012
Craig Daily Press (Colorado)
The scene Tuesday night at the home of Ron and Kim Schnackenberg consisted of people gathered to share food, stories and laughter.
Members of one of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ three wards in Craig, the Schnackenbergs hosted an open house for members of the community to come and ask questions about their religion.
They acknowledged there is plenty of speculation surrounding their faith, and with presidential candidate Mitt Romney being a member of the LDS church questions have been raised as to the misconceptions and truths regarding the faith better known as Mormonism.
http://www.craigdailypress.com/news/2012/sep/13/church-jesus-christ-latter-day-saints-truths-and-m/
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Ten congregations from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints deliver with a food drive
September 14, 2012
Kentucky Post
Ten congregations from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will deliver a truckload of non-perishable food to a Covington, Ky. food pantry on Saturday, Sept. 15.
The food drive by the congregations located in Northern Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana will benefit Be Concerned Inc. at just the right time.
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New Mormon Bishop Called to Serve in Anderson
September 13, 2012
Muncie Free Press (Indiana)
Tom Burdett, President of the Muncie Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has issued a call to Terry Frandsen, of Anderson, to serve as Bishop, or lay leader, of the Anderson Ward. Bishop Frandsen will be assisted by two counselors, Brother Gene Helm of Anderson, and Brother Jeff Fowler of Pendleton.
Bishop Frandsen replaces Carl Black of Anderson who served as Bishop of the Anderson Ward for six years.
Anderson Ward, made up of approximately 400 members throughout Madison County, is one of twelve congregations that make up the LDS Muncie Stake (total of 3,400 members).
For more information on the lay leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, visithttp://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormon-lay-ministry
http://www.munciefreepress.com/node/26883
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2nd Opinion: Should I vote for a Mormon?
September 14, 2012
Dallas Baptist Standard (Texas)
Both Caesar and God are legitimate entities. Yet they are not equal in authority. When government serves the best interests of the people, even unknowingly or even without belief in the true God, then it is fulfilling its purpose and should be obeyed (Romans 13:6-7). When a government is not serving the best interests of the people, then it violates its purpose, and the Bible does not obligate people to be subject to that government (Revelation 13:6-7).
When Jesus was asked the question, he used a Roman coin to make a point. The coin contained the image of the Roman emperor and a list of the offices he held. One of those offices was “Pontifex Maximus,” the highest priest of the pagan religion of Rome. Still, this fact did not sway Jesus from affirming the acceptability for believers of the true God to serve the best interests of the nation. Of more paramount interest to him was that God had placed his image within every human being, and that image always would take precedence over any other.
Candidates are people and not God.
http://www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14299&Itemid=9
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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.
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