LDS Radio station stands behind Limbaugh

Excerpts of "LDS Church-Owned Radio Station Stands By Rush Limbaugh" by Joanna Brooks, Religious Dispatches
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No other religiously-owned or affiliated radio network in the country airs Rush Limbaugh—except the LDS-owned Bonneville International.

Jane Manning, black Mormon pioneer

Jane Manning James

Excerpts of  "See Jane pray — remembering a black Mormon pioneer and her decades of devotion," Peggy Fletcher Stack, Salt Lake Tribune

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"Jane" is Jane Manning James, a friend of Mormon founder Joseph Smith and his wife, Emma. James was also a servant in the LDS prophet's Mansion House. In 1894, she was "sealed" to Mormonism's first couple "not as their spiritual child but as their eternal 'servitor,' " Mueller notes.

Chronology of events leading to black men being restricted from the priesthood

BYU Professor Randy Bott's controversial comments to the Washington Post earlier this week elicited a response by the church which said in part:

"For a time in the Church there was a restriction on the priesthood for male members of African descent.  It is not known precisely why, how, or when this restriction began in the Church but what is clear is that it ended decades ago. Some have attempted to explain the reason for this restriction but these attempts should be viewed as speculation and opinion, not doctrine. ... We condemn racism, including any and all past racism by individuals both inside and outside the Church."

The following chronology provides a sense of events leading to the establishment of a the priesthood ban.

First Presidency letter on Baptisms for the dead

Feb 29, 2012: Letter to be read in Sacrament Meetings

Complete translation of the Joseph Smith Papyri published

 The relationship between the Book of Abraham and the Joseph Smith Egyptian papyri continues to receive scholarly attention from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. For a century now, professors and LDS students from this leading institute of Egyptian studies have analyzed and debated the papyri and its relationship to Joseph Smith's translation. The translation was called "The Book of Abraham" and incorporated into the Pearl of Great Price which became the fourth foundational scripture of the LDS church.

Considered one of the country's foremost Egyptian scholars, Dr. Robert Ritner is the latest University of Chicago Egyptologist to turn his attention to the papyri. His book, The Joseph Smith Egyptian Papyri: A Complete Edition, includes the first ever complete translation of the papyri.

Utah legislators concerned about Martin Luther King plates

"Utah Afraid License Plates Honoring Martin Luther King May Support Abortion" by Robin Marty, care2.com

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Usually when it comes to controversies over license plates and choice issues, the instigating factor are "Choose Life" plates being created by the states, with donations going to fund religious, anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers.

But in Utah, an abortion debate is being fought over a different type of plate — one honoring the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, conservative lawmakers are criticizing  proposal to create special plates in honor of the civil rights leader, with a portion of the proceeds going to promote "human rights."  Opponents say "human rights" is too broad a category, and worry that one "right" may be a woman's right to choose. "Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, asked Roderic R. Land, chairman of the Utah Martin Luther King Human Rights Commission who pushed the bill with [Rep. Rebecca] Chavez-Houck, to define human rights — and asked him if he personally feels abortion is a right. Land responded that he is pro-choice. Daw said the wording of the bill was too 'wide open.' He said, 'We leave ourselves open for things that frankly I don't agree with,' and opposed the bill."

Other "rights" that concern the lawmakers are education and ending hunger, both of which the Utah politicians state should not be issues the government gets involved in.

Apparently the legacy of Dr. King isn't terribly inspiring to Utah Republicans.

http://www.care2.com/causes/utah-afraid-license-plates-honoring-martin-luther-king-may-support-abortion.html

1 in 9 republican voters are Mormon

Note that this stat is based on 2008 exit polls. If Mitt Romney runs in the November election, it is likely this ratio will increase. Letters were read in Mormon wards this month encouraging political involvement.

Excerpts of "Mormon voters wary of too much public support for Romney" by  Sandhya Somashekhar, Washington Post

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In 2008, Mormons made up about 11 percent of the Republican primary electorate, according to exit polls. Though they are not a large group nationally — about 2 percent of the U.S. population — they are overwhelmingly conservative and are more likely to vote than other groups.

Radical new theory of first Americans arriving by boat

Excerpts of "Radical theory of first Americans places stone-age Europeans in Delmarva 20,000 years ago" by Brian Vastag, Washington Post

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When the crew of the Virginia scallop trawler Cinmar hauled a mastodon tusk onto the deck in 1970, another oddity dropped out of the net: A dark, tapered stone blade, nearly eight inches long and still sharp.

Forty years later, this rediscovered prehistoric slasher has reopened debate on a radical theory about who the first Americans were and when they got here.

Baptism for the dead continues to draw attention

Baptism for the dead continues to draw attention to the LDS temple practice allowing Mormons to be baptized for deceased individuals.


The latest parodies of the issue comes from Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert, who performed a mock posthumous conversion of Mormons to Judaism.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Also, the site All Dead Mormons are Now Gay allow users to "convert" dead Mormons to homosexuality "for eternity," allowing them to experience the "joys of homosexuality."  

Anne Frank re-baptized for the dead

Below are two stories related to baptism for the dead of Holocaust victim Anne Frank.  The Huffington Post story reports the baptism of Anne Frank last Saturday.  Also included is the strongest statement yet by the L.D.S. church, threatening discipline to any of its members who continue such baptisms.

Mormon Conferences

Excerpt of "5 Mormon Studies Conferences," Jana Riess, ReligionNews

• At the Crossroads Again: Mormon and Protestant Encounters in the 19th and 21st Centuries
• Sunstone Ohio
• "Circling the Wagons" conference for LGBTQ/SSA Mormons, Their Families, and Friends --

Documents owned by the Community of Christ shared with Joseph Smith Papers Project

Manuscript containing Joseph
Smith's translation of the Bible (now
part of the 'Book of Moses')

Excerpts of Smith Papers Website Publishes Documents from Community of Christ Collection, Joseph Smith Papers

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The Joseph Smith Papers Project released to its website a dozen Joseph Smith documents owned by Community of Christ, adding to the several hundred documents already available on the site. Researchers who formerly would have had to travel to repositories across the nation to access original documents are increasingly being served by the website, josephsmithpapers.org, which is collecting into one place images and transcripts of all extant Joseph Smith documents.

Hindus concerned over baptism for the dead

Excerpts of Hindus concerned at proxy baptism of Jews by Mormon Church, Baltic Review
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 In view of reported proxy baptisms of some prominent Jews, concerned Hindus have urged The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) to set-up a mechanism to avoid baptizing by proxy their deceased ancestors without their will.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement from Nevada (USA) today, said that although they had not received any reports yet of such proxy baptisms of deceased Hindus by LDS, but they were simply concerned after learning of posthumous baptizing of parents of a well known Jew, whose names were not submitted for baptism.

Church History Symposium: Joseph F. Smith

Church History Symposium 2012

Join us for the annual Brigham Young University Church History Symposium. The focus of this year's symposium will be the era of past President of the Church Joseph F. Smith.

Exploring Mormon Conceptions of the Apostasy

Exploring Mormon Conceptions of the Apostasy

Examining claims of historical apostasy is a pertinent task for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For the last hundred years, the Great Apostasy narrative has shaped Latter-day Saint historical assumptions, contributed to the construction of Latter-day Saint social and theological identity, and impacted the ability of the Church to develop ecumenical relationships. The contributors want to raise awareness about the influence of this narrative as well as to reconsider some of the assumptions made by this narrative. We hope to cultivate scholarly discourse among the contributors as well as the Latter-day Saint community about the challenges and consequences of simultaneously acknowledging complexity, causality, and providence when interpreting history for theological purposes. We hope to develop a richer understanding of the definitions, connotations, social functions, and theological implications of Latter-day Saint conceptions of the apostasy.

Religious Mormons and Jews have highest "well being"

Survey: Very religious rate higher on "well being" scale by Dan Merica, CNN
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Very religious people rate higher – compared to the moderately religious and nonreligious – on a Gallup "well being" survey released Thursday.

According to the survey, very religious people from all religious groups surveyed higher than their nonreligious brethren. Very religious Jews scored highest on the survey with a score of 72.4. Very religious Mormons finished a close second with 71.5.

Church leaders meet with Washington anti-gay marriage group

Excerpts of Mormon church leaders meet with anti-gay marriage referendum backers in Washington, Mormons for Marriage

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Less than 24 hours after personally filing Referendum 74 with the Washington state attorney general's office, Joseph Backholm of the Family Policy Institute of Washington and John Paulton of Focus on the Family met with "Mormon Church Leaders" in Washington.  A staffer at the Family Policy Institute initially disclosed the meeting by phone, the meeting was later confirmed directly by Joseph Backholm.

It is unknown what was discussed or agreed to at the meeting, or which "Mormon Church leaders" attended the meeting.  However given the church's pivotal involvement in Proposition 8, and the razor thin edge that gay marriage supporters in Washington have in the polls, it isn't a stretch to think that Focus on the Family is keen to have significant involvement from the Mormon church in the effort to gather 120,000 signatures by June.  ....

Nobel laureate condemns church over baptisms for the dead

Excerpts of Elie Wiesel Shines Spotlight On Romney Over Controversial Mormon Practice by Howard Berkes, NPR

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Romney "should speak to his own church and say they should stop," said Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel. "I wonder if as a candidate for the presidency Mitt Romney is aware of what his church is doing ... I hope that if he hears about this that he will speak up."

Wiesel was reacting to news this week that his name, and the names of his father and grandfather, were found on a genealogical database kept by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and used to select deceased souls for a Mormon practice known as proxy baptism.

Focus on the Family leader says they're losing battle against gay marriage

Focus on the Family Leader Sees Likely Loss on Marriage by Advocate.com Editors

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Jim Daly, the president and CEO of Focus on the Family, which funds attacks against marriage equality across the country, concedes in a new interview that his side has "probably lost" on the issue.

An Introduction to Religious Freedom

Excerpts of Religious Freedom Series, Part 1: An Introduction to Religious Freedom,  LDS Newsroom

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This article is a broad introduction for a forthcoming series of articles on religious freedom.

Contrary to what some may assume, religious freedom is not simply the freedom to worship or to believe the way one chooses. Neither is it just for religious people.