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4 November 2011
Christianity: Following Jesus in Word and Deed
November 3, 2011
Anyone familiar with the history of Christianity knows that it has been quite a complicated matter. The word “Christian” was first used during New Testament times (see Acts 11:26) to describe the disciples who accepted the message and redemption of Jesus Christ. Now after two millennia, Christianity has weathered centuries of change and experienced periods of growth, persecution, reformation, schism, globalization and more. While inspiring believers of every race and nationality, Christianity has taken a multitude of forms and advanced a diversity of doctrines. As a result, questions about who should be called a Christian and who should not continue to be discussed by some within the religious world.
Religious beliefs are no light matter, and it’s only right that they are taken seriously. Yet, earnest and well-meaning interlocutors have sometimes, in the words of the president of Fuller Seminary, Richard J. Mouw, “talked past each other,” due to their differing doctrinal lenses.
For some in the Christian tradition, an individual’s Christianity is defined primarily by theological boundaries. Accordingly, one must adhere to a theological tradition stemming from formalized creeds or statements of belief (such as the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian formulation) composed several centuries after Jesus Christ died and the New Testament was written.
http://newsroom.lds.org/article/christianity-following-jesus-in-word-and-deed
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CNN: Diversity Reflected in Church’s Congregations
November 3, 2011
Eric Marrapodi, co-editor of CNN’s Belief Blog, has penned an insightful piece that highlights the growing diversity of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons). He had this observation after visiting a congregation during a Sunday worship service:
On this Sunday, the Sacrament — what Mormons call the remembrance of the Last Supper and what other Christians call Communion — is said in French, a nod to the area’s burgeoning West African population.
It is not a special multicultural celebration Sunday. For this growing Mormon congregation in northeast Washington [D.C.], it’s just another weekend.
Read Marrapodi’s entire article at CNN Belief Blog.
http://newsroom.lds.org/article/cnn-diversity-reflected-church-congregations-cnn-belief-blog
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Mormon on ‘Survivor’ almost voted off
November 3, 2011
Deseret News
One Mormon on “Survivor: South Pacific” had immunity by winning a challenge, but the other was almost voted off the island during Wednesday’s episode of Days 19, 20 and 21 of the reality show on CBS.
Dawn Meehan, a BYU English professor from South Jordan, won one of two immunity necklaces during the individual challenge. Each contestant had to stand on a board and hold a coconut suspended on two ropes. The man and the woman who lasted the longest without falling or dropping their coconut through each round won.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705393687/Mormon-on-Survivor-almost-voted-off.html
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Religious right leaders admit Romney’s Mormonism matters to evangelical electorate
November 3, 2011
America Blog
In a long article in which the leadership of the religious right claims, repeatedly, that far right Christian voters don’t care if Romney is a Mormon, suddenly two of them let slip that, yeah, they care. From HuffPo:
In fact, the problem for Romney with many conservatives and evangelicals, [Souther Baptist leader Richard] Land said, is that they do not think he has been “Mormon enough” because of his flip-flops on abortion and gay marriage in particular.
“That’s what’s more of a challenge for Mitt Romney,” said [hate group Family Research Council head Tony] Perkins. “His past positions on many of these issues are not where most Mormons are. That’s more of a level of discomfort.”
Hallelujah, they finally admitted it. The Mormons have been wooing religious right political activists for years (in a large part via their profligate spending in anti-gay civil rights advocacy). And part of the reason – hell, probably most of the reason – has been to aid Romney’s eventual presidential run. And clearly Romney hopes to convince evangelical Christians that his Mormonism is right in line with their conservative evangelical world view.
http://www.americablog.com/2011/11/religious-right-leaders-admit-romneys.html
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Can Mormons Be Trusted? A Shallow Guide to Managing Your Most Ill-Informed Fears.
November 3, 2011
Dallas Observer (Texas)
If patriots didn’t take heed, Jeffress cautioned, America would soon be possessed by heretics.
The nation was shocked. Until that moment, Mormons were considered a mere nuisance, polite yet pesky young men who came to the door when you were trying to watch Supernanny. Or perhaps they were paid spokesmodels for the short-sleeved dress shirt industry. No one was certain.
But Jeffress uncloaked them as enemies of Jesus. They might even be worse than Muslims, who at least offered competitively priced 40-ouncers of Midnight Dragon at their convenience stores.
So we decided to get to the bottom of this menace, providing answers to your most alarmed and misguided questions:
Why do Mormons worship Satan?
They don’t, actually. They believe in God and Jesus. It’s just that those guys get busy, so they named Joseph Smith their VP of Operations here on Earth.
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2011/11/can_mormons_be_trusted_a_shall.php
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Bully meets Nice Guy
November 5, 2011
The Economist
RUSSELL PEARCE is a tough-talking Mormon Republican from Mesa, Arizona, a bedroom community near Phoenix that was settled by Mormons and is a conservative stronghold. He likes to wear bulging belt buckles and American-flag shirts. He was a deputy of the notoriously forceful county sheriff, Joe Arpaio, before entering politics and, with his gun-loving and government-hating conservatism, rising to become president of the state Senate. Last year he became famous as the author of SB1070, Arizona’s harsh law against illegal immigrants, whom he blames for most things. Sometimes called a “shadow governor”, he has become a sort of brand statement for Arizona politics.
For many of Mesa’s conservative Mormons, not to mention the rest of the population, all this started seeming excessive. So, earlier this year, Mesans invoked a rarely used Arizonan privilege and petitioned to recall Mr Pearce. Mobilised by Randy Parraz, a Latino activist, volunteers stood on Mesa’s sun-scorched streets and collected signatures. Mr Pearce called them anarchists, and worse. The volunteers called Mr Pearce a sociopath, and worse. The petition succeeded, and Mr Pearce became the first Arizona state legislator ever to be recalled.
http://www.economist.com/node/21536608
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With New Leadership, Mormon Church Settles Into Harlem Home
November 3, 2011
Uptowner (New York)
A bulletin board hanging outside the bishop’s office of the Harlem First Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints displays pictures of congregation members — a sea of various ethnicities and backgrounds. Church member Ned Gardner, the former president of the ward’s Elders Quorum, matches the smiling faces to countries of origin. “Honduras, the West Indies, she’s from Iran, Panama, Brazil, Pakistan,” he says, pointing to each picture.
Bishop Jay Salmon — who began his tenure about three months ago and has been a member of the ward, the name for a large congregation, for two years — explains that the Harlem ward prides itself on the diverse makeup of its congregation. “We’re one of the most diverse wards in Manhattan because of the local people born and bred in Harlem,” Salmon says. “Other congregations are full of interns or students, where our ward is much more local.” Church members say that individuals, like students, stay in a ward only temporarily while they are in school. Their congregation feels like more of a long-term community.
http://theuptowner.org/2011/11/03/with-new-leadership-mormon-church-settles-into-harlem-home/
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Definition of Hipster Has Been Reduced to Music and Pants
November 3, 2011
The Atlantic
It’s doubtful that “being a hipster” ever meant anything, but the ever-lowering standards have made it really easy for hipster to pop up everywhere these days and today’s unlikely breed are Hipster Presbyterians, just a week after last week’s Hipster Mormons, also from The New York Times. These unlikely hipster groups have three things in common: clothing, music and lameness. From the cops to Christians, everyone gets to join in. The Presbyterians wear “high-waisted skinny jeans,” the Mormons “black skinny jeans,” and Hipster Cop, detective Rick Lee, revealed he wears skinny jeans off duty. They also like music, but not the same kind. The Hipster Presbyterians rock out to Christian artist Sufjan Stevens. Or, at least they did a year ago, when The New York Post first discovered these “engimas.” The Mormons and Hipster Cop are of course into music, too, but instead go for The Killers (a Mormon fronted band) and Radiohead, respectively.
Sure, those are all bands. But, that’s about where the similarities end.
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Group wants Mormon church out of liquor debate
November 2, 2011
Bloomberg Businessweek
A trade group for bars and restaurants is asking a federal judge to block Utah legislators from considering input from the Mormon church when drafting future liquor laws.
The Utah Hospitality Association contends that considering the views of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is unconstitutional under federal laws separating church and state.
The claim is part of an amended lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
“We know the LDS church wields a lot of influence with the Legislature, especially as to liquor policies in this state,” association board spokesman Kenneth Wynn said Tuesday. “I think we’ve felt this for a long time. The church ought to butt out of state business … we’re just bringing it to the forefront.”
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9QOL8PG0.htm
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Anybody But Romney?
November 3, 2011
PBS
“Some Ozarks evangelicals continue to see Mormonism as outside the boundaries of Christian faith,” he writes in an email. “It is hard to get a fix on how widespread this perception is. I have heard it from students (including those from Nixa). But I have also heard people willing to give the LDS Church the benefit of the doubt.
“[On Monday] a letter writer made the opposite case in the Springfield News-Leader. He argued that ‘Mormons are Christians.’”
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/11/anybody-but-romney.html
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Biden defends Romney against Mormon attack
November 4, 2011
USA Today
Someone from the Obama administration defended Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney today.
Vice President Biden denounced questions about Romney’s religion, saying it is wrong and unfair to suggest the former Massachusetts governor shouldn’t be president because he is a Mormon.
“I think it is outrageous,” Biden said during remarks at the University of Pittsburgh, repeating, “I think it is outrageous.”
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How Many Ways to be Mormon and Gay?
November 4, 2011
Religion Dispatches
Gay. Lesbian. Bisexual. Transgender. Queer. Same-sex attracted. Same-gender attracted. LDS. Mormon. Active. Less active. Unorthodox. Open. Ex. Mixed-orientation married. Same-sex married. Partnered. Single. Divorced.
Pick any two or three of these adjectives. Link them with a conjunction like “but” or “and.” As many combinations as you can imagine: that’s how many ways there are to negotiate being gay in the Mormon tradition.
And this weekend in Salt Lake City, Mormons from across the sexuality and orthodoxy spectrums will gather for what organizers are describing as a potentially historic gathering: the Circling the Wagons conference.
The historic question at the heart of this enterprise: can such a diverse group of people find common grounds for mutual acknowledgement and respect?
According to conference co-organizer Kendall Wilcox, “The challenge is how to be fully and truly inclusive on such a delicate issue.”
http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/joannabrooks/5354/how_many_ways_to_be_mormon_and_gay/
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Fort Collins Residents Fight Mormon Temple Plan
November 4, 2011
7 News (Colorado)
FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Neighbors of the proposed site for a Mormon temple are asking the Fort Collins planning board not to change zoning that would allow plans for a 27,000-square-foot Mormon temple to advance.
Planning and Zoning Board members said Thursday their hands are tied and they recommended that the land at Trilby and Timberline roads be annexed into the city and rezoned.
According to the Loveland Reporter-Herald, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has said it plans to build a large temple on the land.
Opponents say the area is not suitable for a temple because it is surrounded by a subdivision with a fire station, day-care center and church.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/29682980/detail.html
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Hilary Weeks Becomes First Mormon Artist to Rank in Top 10 on Billboard Christian Albums Chart
November 4, 2011
Billboard
Although Christian music is widely known for its imposing diversity in source, style and theme, contemporary inspirational music aimed at Mormons gives the genre an added dimension, as veteran artist Hilary Weeks becomes the first such act to debut in the top 10 on Billboard’s Christian Albums list. With more than 4,000 copies sold according to Nielsen SoundScan, the artist’s eight album “Every Step” (Shadow Mountain) opens with Hot Shot Debut honors at No. 6. Previously, the highest rank for such an artist happened when Weeks’ fellow artist Jenny Oaks Baker peaked on opening week at No.26 in May 2010 with “Then Sings My Soul.”
Weeks is headlining the current women and youth tour, “Time Out for Women.”
Despite the fact that the internationally renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir has been a staple on Billboard’s religious and classical music charts since the 1950s-alongside other well known artists that happen to be members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), such as Marie Osmond and Gladys Knight-Weeks’ career has been spent making music specifically for Mormon audiences. Her first solo album was released in 1996, and she has been honored multiple times by the Utah based Faith Centered Music Assn. (FCMA) at the group’s annual Pearl Awards. That group reportedly suspended its awards activities last year, and is planning to relaunch at some point in the future.
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Targeting Mormon faith should be off-limits in election, statement says
November 4, 2011
Georgia Bulletin
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Comments made recently about the religious affiliation of presidential candidates — notably the Mormon faith of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — have no place in American political campaigns, say several dozen academics, diplomats and other prominent Catholics. In a statement released Nov. 2 at a Washington news conference led by former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican Thomas Melady, the statement says there is “significant danger to the goal of our forefathers; maintaining harmony and understanding among all faiths and rejecting bigoted questions and comments about personal religious beliefs.” Melady said the impetus to issue the statement arose from comments made in early October at the Values Voter Summit in Washington by the Rev. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of a megachurch, First Baptist Church of Dallas. Rev. Jeffress told reporters that Mormonism is a “cult,” and that Romney is not a Christian. In their statement, the Catholic signers recalled the history of anti-Catholic rhetoric in elections, from the 1928 campaign of Al Smith through John F. Kennedy’s 1960 race and the 2004 campaign of Sen. John Kerry. It noted that there has been less expression of religious bias or bigotry in recent elections, but that the comments at the Values Voter Summit “bring to the forefront the unfortunate prospect that the discussion of a man’s particular religious belief may become a major divisive political issue.” It said that as Catholics of different political persuasions, they “wish to cite our concern and our determination to assure that not only civility be maintained in the public discourse but that all inclinations to raise the issue of personal religious affiliation be avoided.
http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2011/11/03/NEWS-2/
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Mormon church sues Mission over land-use permit
November 3, 2011
The Monitor (Texas)
MISSION – Keeping with its promise, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sued the city of Mission on Monday for denying a permit to build a church.
On Aug. 23, attorneys for the Mormon church sent a notice of claim to the city of Mission giving council members 60 days to allow two congregations to build a church on Bryan and Mile 2 roads or they would sue. The deadline was Oct. 22, and the church filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday, Oct. 31, alleging that the Mission City Council violated its own ordinances and broke several laws that protect practicing religion.
The church applied for a conditional use permit to build on the property in December 2010. The planning and zoning board, which is appointed by the City Council, approved the request. Because nine of the 12 property owners within 200 feet of the site opposed it, city officials said four of the five City Council members had to approve the permit. Two councilwomen, Norie Gonzalez Garza and Maria Elena Ramirez, voted against the permit and therefore it did not go through. The same thing happened when the church reapplied for the permit in June.
http://www.themonitor.com/news/mission-56308-mormon-permit.html
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Presidents and Gods
November 2, 2011
El Paisano (California)
There is a history of anti-Mormonism here in America. From the time their founder, Joseph Smith, ran for president on a protest campaign, after asking all the candidates if they would support The Church of LDS, all of them telling him no.
Smith wished some candidate would have given him a yes so that he wouldn’t have to take up the job himself, but they didn’t. His campaign was over when he was shot dead in June 1844, while in jail for treason.
Maybe this is why Romney isn’t one of those Republican candidates who brandishes his religion like a badge of honor, he has a double MBA and Law Degree from Harvard where he graduated Summa Cum Laude.
He always stays neutral when remarks are made about his religion saying things like “I am shaped by the Judeo-Christian values which I have and hope that those will hold me in good stead as they have so far,” but I would respect the guy more if he stuck to his guns and said “Yeah, I’m a Mormon, so what? You doubt me being able to separate church and state? It is I who doubts you.”
http://www.elpaisanonewspaper.com/opinion/presidents-and-gods-1.2682420#.TrQr3JviGU8
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Weekly Standard: Bigoted Against Brigham’s Faith?
November 4, 2011
National Public Radio
One intriguing, even unexpected, aspect of the race for the Republican nomination has been the emergence–perhaps we should say the reemergence–of the religious issue in presidential politics. Anyone who thinks that John F. Kennedy put it definitively to rest in 1960 in his famous address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association should be aware that the passage of 51 years seems not to have done the trick. As everybody knows, Mitt Romney is a Mormon, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and while he is hardly the first Mormon to run for president (Morris Udall, Orrin Hatch, his own father George Romney), he is the first member of his denomination to have what appears to be a plausible chance of being elected. This has awakened some disquieting ghosts.
Governor Romney’s religion is an unexpected issue, but we should not have been surprised. Two years before Romney first sought the nomination in 2008, Jacob Weisberg, then-editor of the online magazine Slate, wrote a column lampooning the history and beliefs of Romney’s religion, and concluded, “I wouldn’t vote for someone who truly believed in the founding whoppers of Mormonism.” Nor is Weisberg’s casual bigotry an isolated phenomenon. When, in 1994, Romney sought the Senate seat held by Edward Kennedy, and pulled even with Kennedy in the polls, the Lion of the Senate resorted to sly pejorative references to Romney’s faith. The tactic worked. In the current political season, the press has wondered out loud about whether Romney’s religion might be an electoral liability, and published more than a few stories about evangelical Christian objections to Mormonism. Analysis, or wishful thinking?
http://www.npr.org/2011/11/04/142014074/weekly-standard-no-bigotry-for-brigham-followers
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Which ‘Jesus’ Do You Accept?
November 4, 2011
Christian Post
Gordon Hinckley was the President and prophet of the Mormon church from 1995 to 2008. Hinckley did the world a favor by proclaiming: “There are those outside the church who say Latter-day Saints do not believe in the traditional Christ. No, I don’t. The traditional Christ of whom they speak is not the Christ of whom I speak.” (LDS Church News, June 20, 1998) If only Mormon leaders today would follow Hinckley’s example and instruct their missionaries to be that open and honest about it.
His organization had previously said the same thing: “It is true that many of the Christian churches worship a different Jesus Christ than is worshipped by the Mormons.” (LDS publication, Ensign Magazine, May 1977, p. 26) The “Jesus” of the Mormon organization is a different “Jesus, ” just like the “Jesus” of Islam is a different “Jesus.”
http://www.christianpost.com/news/which-jesus-do-you-accept-60364/
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On the Culture Front: The Moth Raises a New Roof
November 4, 2011
Huffington Post
Elna Baker’s story focused similarly on the necessity to leave one life behind in order to step into a new one. Specifically, she described how she struggled to tell her Mormon parents that, at 28, she’s not a virgin anymore.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kompanek/moth-storytelling_b_1074408.html
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Club warns about dangers of pornography
November 3, 2011
Utah Statesman
Merial Hutchison, an undeclared sophomore, said she attended the event because she was hoping to hear pornography addiction explained on a non-religious level.
“A lot of people think it’s just a Mormon issue,” she said.
However, the “Mormon issue” might explain why pornography has such a high subscription rate in Utah, according to Swink, who said porn is addictive because it causes emotions that release the nuerotransmitter dopamine at a much higher quantity than other everyday events.
The brain, especially in times of stress, then reminds individuals of ways to receive those high levels of dopamine, he added. One of the emotions that causes this feeling is guilt, so when an individual viewing porn feels guilty or ashamed, their brain release more dopamine, increasing the likelihood of addiction.
Swink said in Utah this guilt or shame could be triggered by the LDS church’s stance — a common Christian view — on pornography.
http://www.usustatesman.com/club-warns-about-dangers-of-pornography-1.2665393#.TrQt9ZviGU8
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