Excerpts of Yearbook stats show SBC, ABC losing members again in 2009
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NEW YORK (ABP) -- Catholic, Mormon and Assembly of God churches all posted membership gains in 2009, while mainline denominations including the American Baptist Churches USA, lost members, according to an annual report by the National Council of Churches. And the Southern Baptist Convention -- the nation's second-largest faith group -- saw its membership decline for the second consecutive year.
The NCC's 2010 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches reported membership of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States -- the largest of 227 national church bodies included in the report -- at 68 million. That represents growth of 1.49 percent, after a slight membership loss in 2009.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (No. 4) grew 1.71 percent to 5,873,408 members. The Assemblies of God grew 1.27 percent to 2,863,265 members, passing the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to become America's ninth-largest religious body.
Membership in the SBC, the second-largest denomination behind Catholics, dropped 0.24 percent to 16,228,438 members. That follows a similar loss of 0.24 percent reported in the yearbook last year.
The 10 largest church groups reported in the 2010 yearbook are:
1. The Catholic Church, 68,115,001 members, up 1.49 percent.
2. Southern Baptist Convention, 16,228,438 members, down 0.24 percent.
3. The United Methodist Church, 7,853,987 members, down 0.98 percent.
4. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5,974,041 members, up 1.71 percent.
5. The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members, no membership updates reported.
6. National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc, 5 million members, no membership updates reported.
7. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 4,633,887 members, down1.62 percent.
8. National Baptist Convention of America, Inc., 3.5 million members, no membership updates reported.
9. Assemblies of God (ranked 10 last year), 2,899,702 members, up 1.27 percent.
10. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) (ranked 9 last year), 2,844,952 members, down 3.28 percent.
With 2.5 million members each, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, National Missionary Baptist Convention of America and Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., all tied for 11th.
American Baptist Churches came in at No. 20, just ahead of the 1.2 million-member Baptist Bible Fellowship International (ranked 22 last year).
Jehovah's Witnesses moved up to No. 22 with a 2 percent increase to 1,114,009 members, passing the United Church of Christ, which lost nearly 3 percent of its members to drop to 1,111,691.
The Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) moved up a notch from last year's No. 25 spot, increasing 1.76 percent to 1,072,169 members.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Mormon church provides Haiti assistance
Excerpts of Mormon church provided $4.25M in Haiti relief, Deseret News
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SALT LAKE CITY — In the first month following Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided an estimated $4.25 million in assistance, with plans for ongoing relief and recovery support for the ravaged Caribbean nation.
To date, the LDS Church has shipped 28 truckloads of relief supplies — including nine air shipments — to Haiti.
Food and relief supplies included 208,834 pounds of food, 16,070 water-filtration bottles, 12,840 hygiene kits, 11,760 blankets, 4,000 first-aid kits, 2,304 newborn kits, 1,696 tents, 1,319 tarps, 600 quilts and 25 medical supply modules.
Additionally, five truckloads of food and relief supplies were driven across the island from the church's Caribbean area facilities in the neighboring Dominican Republic, while local church leaders were authorized to use fast-offering funds to purchase food and water in the first days immediately after the quake.
Nine of the Port-au-Prince LDS meetinghouses have been used as emergency shelters, with up to 9,000 people total — not just LDS Church members — seeking assistance or staying on the meetinghouse grounds.
In addition to servicing its own temporary shelters, the LDS Church has provided food, relief and some cash assistance to a number of nongovernmental organizations, including CARE, Food for the Poor, Red Cross, International Relief and Development, Islamic Relief and Healing Hands for Haiti. Local church leaders also have provided additional assistance to Haitian charitable organizations.
The church has sent several first-response medical teams, totaling 17 doctors and three nurses, with specialties including trauma, orthopedics, family practice, emergency room and critical care.
Two mental health counselors also assisted at the shelters.
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SALT LAKE CITY — In the first month following Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided an estimated $4.25 million in assistance, with plans for ongoing relief and recovery support for the ravaged Caribbean nation.
To date, the LDS Church has shipped 28 truckloads of relief supplies — including nine air shipments — to Haiti.
Food and relief supplies included 208,834 pounds of food, 16,070 water-filtration bottles, 12,840 hygiene kits, 11,760 blankets, 4,000 first-aid kits, 2,304 newborn kits, 1,696 tents, 1,319 tarps, 600 quilts and 25 medical supply modules.
Additionally, five truckloads of food and relief supplies were driven across the island from the church's Caribbean area facilities in the neighboring Dominican Republic, while local church leaders were authorized to use fast-offering funds to purchase food and water in the first days immediately after the quake.
Nine of the Port-au-Prince LDS meetinghouses have been used as emergency shelters, with up to 9,000 people total — not just LDS Church members — seeking assistance or staying on the meetinghouse grounds.
In addition to servicing its own temporary shelters, the LDS Church has provided food, relief and some cash assistance to a number of nongovernmental organizations, including CARE, Food for the Poor, Red Cross, International Relief and Development, Islamic Relief and Healing Hands for Haiti. Local church leaders also have provided additional assistance to Haitian charitable organizations.
The church has sent several first-response medical teams, totaling 17 doctors and three nurses, with specialties including trauma, orthopedics, family practice, emergency room and critical care.
Two mental health counselors also assisted at the shelters.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Reallocation of missionaries
Excerpts of LDS add mission in Utah; cut back in Europe, elsewhere by Peggy Fletcher Stack, The Salt Lake Tribune
In a move that may strike some as ironic, the LDS Church is bringing more of its full-time missionaries to southern Utah, a place dominated by Mormons, and sending fewer to places such as Germany, Ireland and Australia, which have a tiny LDS presence.
The Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also is beefing up its missionary numbers in Latin America, the Philippines and Africa, according to an announcement Friday of 10 new missions and the merging of 14 others.
Peru and Mexico are each getting two new missions, for example, while Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Democratic Republic of Congo are adding one. There will also be new missions in St. George, Utah; Iloila, Philippines; and Farmington, N.M.
By and large, this shuffling represents the 13.5 million-member church's global shift away from more developed societies that have been a mainstay of LDS converts for a century and toward the Third World.
This change, one of the largest restructuring of missions in recent years, also reflects a need to stretch the church's shrinking proselytizing force, which is down to about 52,000 from a high of 62,000 in the mid-1990s.
"While raising the bar [on missionary qualifications] had an initial impact," says LDS spokesman Scott Trotter, "the primary reason for changes in missionary numbers is the fluctuating population of available missionary-age members."
In a move that may strike some as ironic, the LDS Church is bringing more of its full-time missionaries to southern Utah, a place dominated by Mormons, and sending fewer to places such as Germany, Ireland and Australia, which have a tiny LDS presence.
The Utah-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also is beefing up its missionary numbers in Latin America, the Philippines and Africa, according to an announcement Friday of 10 new missions and the merging of 14 others.
Peru and Mexico are each getting two new missions, for example, while Guatemala, Nicaragua and the Democratic Republic of Congo are adding one. There will also be new missions in St. George, Utah; Iloila, Philippines; and Farmington, N.M.
By and large, this shuffling represents the 13.5 million-member church's global shift away from more developed societies that have been a mainstay of LDS converts for a century and toward the Third World.
This change, one of the largest restructuring of missions in recent years, also reflects a need to stretch the church's shrinking proselytizing force, which is down to about 52,000 from a high of 62,000 in the mid-1990s.
"While raising the bar [on missionary qualifications] had an initial impact," says LDS spokesman Scott Trotter, "the primary reason for changes in missionary numbers is the fluctuating population of available missionary-age members."
Secularism is growing obstacle for Mormon Church
Excerpts of Secularism is growing obstacle for Mormon Church by Jamshid Askar, LDS Church News
An attorney for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints predicts secularism will be one of the most significant obstacles facing the LDS Church over the coming decade.
"When governments become neutral towards religion, we see less and less protection of religion and religious activities," he said. "Secularism in the world is neutral at best towards religions and hostile at worst. We're seeing more and more that it is hostile, not just neutral, towards religion."
"We think there's going to be a tightening now of what kind of entities get tax-exempt status," Atkin said. "Maybe churches are no longer going to be viewed as such a positive influence in society -- therefore (maybe) they're not going to be granted tax-exempt status."
"We're seeing more and more, particularly in Western Europe, the countries who are very secular are pushing anti-discrimination and not permitting any religious exclusions," he said.
According to Atkin, additional "trends that are here and coming in the next 5-10 years that have the possibility of impacting the church adversely" include an increase in audits of church financial records as governments searching for more revenue during a global economic downturn and immigration restrictions that stand to severely limit the number of visas available to the church for full-time missionaries.
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"When governments become neutral towards religion, we see less and less protection of religion and religious activities," he said. "Secularism in the world is neutral at best towards religions and hostile at worst. We're seeing more and more that it is hostile, not just neutral, towards religion."
"We think there's going to be a tightening now of what kind of entities get tax-exempt status," Atkin said. "Maybe churches are no longer going to be viewed as such a positive influence in society -- therefore (maybe) they're not going to be granted tax-exempt status."
"We're seeing more and more, particularly in Western Europe, the countries who are very secular are pushing anti-discrimination and not permitting any religious exclusions," he said.
According to Atkin, additional "trends that are here and coming in the next 5-10 years that have the possibility of impacting the church adversely" include an increase in audits of church financial records as governments searching for more revenue during a global economic downturn and immigration restrictions that stand to severely limit the number of visas available to the church for full-time missionaries.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Prop 8 film distribution rights sold
Excerpts of Filmmaker: Prop 8 movie's distribution rights sold, by Jennifer Dobner, Associated Press
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Filmmaker Reed Cowan says "8: The Mormon Proposition" will hit theaters this spring and a DVD will follow. Cowan says he sold the film's North American distribution rights to Red Flag Releasing.
The 80-minute movie had its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City last month. It contends that the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the driving force behind Proposition 8. The initiative reversed a court decision that legalized gay marriage.
Church officials have denounced the film as inaccurate and biased. But at the time of the Jan. 24 premiere, they said they hadn't seen the movie.
Cowan said he'd like to know which parts of the film are wrong. He also wants an opportunity to interview church officials and add their comments to the movie. Church officials declined requests for interviews during the making of the film.
"I would hold a screening at church headquarters for them," Cowan said in telephone interview from his home in the Miami-area. "I would love to know line by line what's inaccurate."
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Filmmaker Reed Cowan says "8: The Mormon Proposition" will hit theaters this spring and a DVD will follow. Cowan says he sold the film's North American distribution rights to Red Flag Releasing.
The 80-minute movie had its debut at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City last month. It contends that the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the driving force behind Proposition 8. The initiative reversed a court decision that legalized gay marriage.
Church officials have denounced the film as inaccurate and biased. But at the time of the Jan. 24 premiere, they said they hadn't seen the movie.
Cowan said he'd like to know which parts of the film are wrong. He also wants an opportunity to interview church officials and add their comments to the movie. Church officials declined requests for interviews during the making of the film.
"I would hold a screening at church headquarters for them," Cowan said in telephone interview from his home in the Miami-area. "I would love to know line by line what's inaccurate."
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Treatment of Divine Influence in LDS History
The Salt Lake Mormon Studies Student Association will host Brian Cannon, Professor of History at BYU, on February 25, 2010 at 7 pm for a public lecture entitled: "Many Refractions of Light: Historians' Treatment of Divine Influence in LDS History." The lecture will be held on the University of Utah Campus in the Carolyn Tanner Irish Humanities Building, room 101 (main floor).
Abstract: "My survey examines the challenges that historians have faced in reconciling their religious convictions with their academic training and professional standards. My paper begins with the first generation of LDS historians like Andrew Love Neff and Thomas C. Romney trained in the decade and a half prior to World War II; follows the experiences and influence of Leonard Arrington, his peers and his protégés through the 1960s, 70s and 80s; discusses the emergence of BYU as a focal point for LDS history in the 1960s and the controversies that arose from writing LDS history at BYU and in the Church Historical Department under Arrington; and surveys trends over the past 15 years (post-New Mormon History)."http://saltlakemormonstudies.wordpress.com/2010/02/10/salt-lake-mormon-studies-student-association-february-25-2010-brian-cannon-on-historians-treatment-of-divine-influence-in-lds-history/
Mitt Romney: No Apology
Excerpts of Mitt Romney's book makes 'No Apology', by Lisa Riley Roche, Deseret News
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Don't expect to read much about Utah or the Mormon Church in Mitt Romney's newest book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness."
Sure, he mentions leading the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and even talks briefly about being a bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But the focus of the more than 300-page book, due to be published March 2, is what Romney believes should be done to strengthen the United States and its role in the world.
Borrowing a theme from his unsuccessful bid for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, Romney calls for a strong economy, a strong military and a free and strong people.
He goes on to detail an agenda that is summarized in 64 "action steps" in the book's epilogue, a list that includes stopping trillion-dollar deficits, ending illegal immigration, building new nuclear power plants and adding at least 100,000 troops.
Writing about boosting the nation's productivity, Romney referred to his time as a "lay pastor" in the Mormon Church, serving a group of Boston-area congregations.
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Don't expect to read much about Utah or the Mormon Church in Mitt Romney's newest book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness."
Sure, he mentions leading the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and even talks briefly about being a bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But the focus of the more than 300-page book, due to be published March 2, is what Romney believes should be done to strengthen the United States and its role in the world.
Borrowing a theme from his unsuccessful bid for the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, Romney calls for a strong economy, a strong military and a free and strong people.
He goes on to detail an agenda that is summarized in 64 "action steps" in the book's epilogue, a list that includes stopping trillion-dollar deficits, ending illegal immigration, building new nuclear power plants and adding at least 100,000 troops.
Writing about boosting the nation's productivity, Romney referred to his time as a "lay pastor" in the Mormon Church, serving a group of Boston-area congregations.
Utah 5th highest foreclosure rate
Utah missed the big property run-ups in California and elsewhere, but it's No. 5 in foreclosures, according to a new RealtyTrac study.
During the housing bubble, they led the nation in bankruptcies. Now that the bubble is bust, they're among the top states in foreclosures. A RealtyTrac report released Thursday showed they had the fifth-highest foreclosure rate among the states nearly double the national rate and not far from No. 4 Florida's rate.
It's relatively straightforward why the housing bubble walloped Florida and the other Big Four foreclosure states (Nevada, Arizona, and California). Home prices there more than doubled since 2000 and people who stretched to buy those homes were pummeled when real estate values plummeted.But Utah homes rose only half that much during the decade. What's going on in Utah?
"It's a lot of younger people who spent way, way beyond their means, absurd amounts of money trying to keep up with their folks," says one Utah resident who helps counsel financially troubled families at his church. They're "cool, nice, wonderful people, but an awful lot of them don't know how to spend money very wisely."
In mid-decade, when Utah was tops in bankruptcies, various commentators pinned the blame on Mormon religious and cultural practices, such as tithing, creating large families, buying homes at a young age, and as one critic put it: "the pressure in Mormonism to be, or at least appear, financially successful as proof the Lord is blessing them."
Indeed, Mormons in 2004 had a bankruptcy rate that was approaching twice that of the national average. But a 2007 study by two Harvard Law School graduates found that rates among non-Mormons in Utah were even higher.
Another research project pointed out that two-thirds of bankruptcy filers in Utah had at least one dependent child, twice the national average.
"Due to the large size of Utah families, it would invariably place Utah among the top 15 states in bankruptcy filings," writes Jerry Basford, professor of personal finance at the University of Utah, in an e-mail.
The study also pointed to the high number for repeat filers for bankruptcy and the effect of having a large proportion of young, middle-class people earning $30,000 to $60,000 a year as reasons for Utah's bankruptcy surge.
Having lots of young people in your population is a good thing for an economy unless, for whatever reason, they decide to buy homes they can't really afford.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Facebook stats about Mormonia
Pete Warden he has gathered and is analyzing 210 million public Facebook profiles and has "been fascinated by some of the patterns that have emerged." He is apparently unaware that a Mormon wrote Twilight, and observes regarding the greater Utah area he calls "Mormonia":
The only region that's completely surrounded by another cluster, Mormonia mostly consists of Utah towns that are highly connected to each other, with an offshoot in Eastern Idaho. It's worth separating from the rest of the West because of how interwoven the communities are, and how relatively unlikely they are to have friends outside the region.
It won't be any surprise to see that LDS-related pages like Thomas S. Monson, Gordon B. Hinckley and The Book of Mormon are at the top of the charts. I didn't expect to see Twilight showing up quite so much though, I have no idea what to make of that! Glenn Beck makes it into the top spot for Eastern Idaho.
Further observations are made here.
Monday, February 08, 2010
LDS Church Almanac Online
An online almanac. . .
Traditionally an "almanac" was an annual publication that contained
information devoted to a particular field or fields and was often
arranged according to the calendar. Astronomical data and various
statistics were also found in early almanacs, such as the times of the
rising and setting of the sun and moon, eclipses, hours of full tide,
stated festivals of churches, etc.
In the mid-1970s the LDS Church News first published a "Church
Almanac" that contained historical material relating to The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These early Church almanacs
contained biographical information for Church leaders, lists of Church
departments and other statistical information. The LDS Church News
continues to publish an annual almanac containing material of interest
to Church members.
In this "almanac" section of the Church News Web site, you will be
able to find historical and statistical material of interest to Church
members, material that comes from the annual Church Almanac (including
past almanacs), and other material of interest.
Signature Books publishing schedule
Forthcoming From Signature Books
Her Side of It. Marilyn Bushman-Carlton. 100 pp., paperback, $16.95. ISBN: 978-1-56085-208-7. April 2010
A Sense of Order. Jack Harrell. 300 pp., hardback, $26.95. ISBN: 978-1-56085-209-4. May 2010
Candid Insights of a Mormon Apostle: The Diaries of Abraham H. Cannon, 1889-1895. Edward Leo Lyman, editor. 800 pp., limited fine edition, $125.00. ISBN: 978-1-56085-210-0. July 2010
The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History. Devery S. Anderson, editor. 500 pp., hardback, $49.95. ISBN: 978-1-56085-211-7. September 2010
Dimensions of Faith: A Mormon Studies Reader. Stephen C. Taysom, editor. 500 pp., paperback, $28.95. ISBN: 978-1-56085-212-4. October 2010
Why I Stay: The Challenges of Discipleship for Contemporary Mormons. Robert A. Rees, editor. 200 pp., hardback, $24.95. ISBN: 978-1-56085-213-1. December 2010
The Nauvoo City and High Council Minutes. John S. Dinger, editor. 500 pp., hardback, $49.95. ISBN: 978-1-56085-214-8. February 2011.
The Midwife: A Biography of Laurine Ekstrom Kingston. Victoria D. Burgess. 300 pp., hardback, $32.95. ISBN: 978-1-56085-215-5. March 2011.
The Amazing Colossal Apostle: The Search for the Historical Paul. Robert M. Price. 450 pp., paperback, $28.95. ISBN: 978-1-56085-216-2. April 2011.
Mormon Apologist on critical scholarship
Excerpts of Countering subversive attacks on Mormon scholarship by Michael R. Ash, Mormon Times
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... claims are designed to "poison the well" of LDS scholarship. ... It means to preemptively discredit an opponent before their arguments can be heard. By casting doubt on Mormon scholarship from the start, critics hope to dissuade people from listening to LDS scholars or giving credence to their arguments. This appears to be effective among the critics themselves, many of whom totally dismiss LDS scholarship without giving it a fair hearing.
...
'Real' scholars reject Mormon scholarship
Certainly, some non-LDS scholars disagree with LDS scholars on issues that relate to the Book of Mormon. Disagreements -- especially in the "soft sciences" such as archaeology, anthropology, and history -- are common in academia. There are two important things to note, however, regarding how LDS scholarship affiliates with mainstream scholarship: First, LDS scholars apply the same methods and techniques accepted by mainstream scholarship -- not fringe scholarship -- to Book of Mormon issues; and second, most non-LDS are not sufficiently conversant with LDS issues to make informed and qualified pronouncements on LDS topics that can be analyzed by DNA, archaeology and so on. As Dr. William Hamblin explains, in the discourses of scholars the "only opinions that matter are informed opinions."
"Even if 100% of New World archaeologists rejected the historicity of the [Book of Mormon], it would be irrelevant unless they had carefully read the [Book of Mormon], and studied the secondary literature. The vast majority of scholars have never read the [Book of Mormon]. Their opinions on the matter are therefore irrelevant.... Uninformed opinion, even if unanimously held, is still uninformed."
Most -- not all, but most -- non-LDS scholars have little interest in Book of Mormon studies and are therefore unfamiliar with the LDS scholarly studies that have been published in favor of the Book of Mormon. Even among those few non-LDS scholars who are familiar with Book of Mormon studies there are extremely few who have actually addressed Book of Mormon scholarship head-on. Is the opinion of an uninformed non-LDS scholar who rejects Book of Mormon studies superior to the opinion of an LDS scholar who accepts the Book of Mormon? This is answered in the final issue.
LDS scholars are biased
According to critics, the opinions and writings of LDS scholars can be dismissed because they are biased. Such a claim, however, is both naïve and over-simplistic. It is now widely recognized within virtually all fields of scholarship that there is no completely objective non-biased observer. There are no completely disinterested parties who approach a topic with an empty mind. Even in the "hard" sciences scientists use techniques (such as "randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled" tests) to help avoid the inherent bias that is part of humanity. In areas such as archaeology and anthropology, data must be interpreted -- it doesn't simply speak on its own. Claiming that an archaeologist's interpretation can't be trusted because she's Mormon is like claiming that an American history book can't be trusted if it's written by an American.
...
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... claims are designed to "poison the well" of LDS scholarship. ... It means to preemptively discredit an opponent before their arguments can be heard. By casting doubt on Mormon scholarship from the start, critics hope to dissuade people from listening to LDS scholars or giving credence to their arguments. This appears to be effective among the critics themselves, many of whom totally dismiss LDS scholarship without giving it a fair hearing.
...
'Real' scholars reject Mormon scholarship
Certainly, some non-LDS scholars disagree with LDS scholars on issues that relate to the Book of Mormon. Disagreements -- especially in the "soft sciences" such as archaeology, anthropology, and history -- are common in academia. There are two important things to note, however, regarding how LDS scholarship affiliates with mainstream scholarship: First, LDS scholars apply the same methods and techniques accepted by mainstream scholarship -- not fringe scholarship -- to Book of Mormon issues; and second, most non-LDS are not sufficiently conversant with LDS issues to make informed and qualified pronouncements on LDS topics that can be analyzed by DNA, archaeology and so on. As Dr. William Hamblin explains, in the discourses of scholars the "only opinions that matter are informed opinions."
"Even if 100% of New World archaeologists rejected the historicity of the [Book of Mormon], it would be irrelevant unless they had carefully read the [Book of Mormon], and studied the secondary literature. The vast majority of scholars have never read the [Book of Mormon]. Their opinions on the matter are therefore irrelevant.... Uninformed opinion, even if unanimously held, is still uninformed."
Most -- not all, but most -- non-LDS scholars have little interest in Book of Mormon studies and are therefore unfamiliar with the LDS scholarly studies that have been published in favor of the Book of Mormon. Even among those few non-LDS scholars who are familiar with Book of Mormon studies there are extremely few who have actually addressed Book of Mormon scholarship head-on. Is the opinion of an uninformed non-LDS scholar who rejects Book of Mormon studies superior to the opinion of an LDS scholar who accepts the Book of Mormon? This is answered in the final issue.
LDS scholars are biased
According to critics, the opinions and writings of LDS scholars can be dismissed because they are biased. Such a claim, however, is both naïve and over-simplistic. It is now widely recognized within virtually all fields of scholarship that there is no completely objective non-biased observer. There are no completely disinterested parties who approach a topic with an empty mind. Even in the "hard" sciences scientists use techniques (such as "randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled" tests) to help avoid the inherent bias that is part of humanity. In areas such as archaeology and anthropology, data must be interpreted -- it doesn't simply speak on its own. Claiming that an archaeologist's interpretation can't be trusted because she's Mormon is like claiming that an American history book can't be trusted if it's written by an American.
...
New York Times on LDS development of downtown Salt Lake
Huge Church Project Renews Downtown, and Debate
The New York Times
Feb 7, 2010
For many devout Mormons, Utah's capital city is important mainly as a setting for the jewel that really matters: Temple Square at the city's center. Brigham Young, the pioneer leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, laid out the urban grid with street numbers starting at the temple. The secular world was thus defined by the sacred core.
City Creek Center, expected to be completed in 2012, will include 20 acres of retail shops and about 700 apartments.
But now a hugely ambitious, $1 billion church-financed redevelopment project near the temple, called City Creek Center, and a wave of recent church property purchases in the vicinity are prompting a new debate inside the church community and out over where the line between culture and economics should be drawn.
.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/us/08saltlake.html
The New York Times
Feb 7, 2010
For many devout Mormons, Utah's capital city is important mainly as a setting for the jewel that really matters: Temple Square at the city's center. Brigham Young, the pioneer leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, laid out the urban grid with street numbers starting at the temple. The secular world was thus defined by the sacred core.
City Creek Center, expected to be completed in 2012, will include 20 acres of retail shops and about 700 apartments.
But now a hugely ambitious, $1 billion church-financed redevelopment project near the temple, called City Creek Center, and a wave of recent church property purchases in the vicinity are prompting a new debate inside the church community and out over where the line between culture and economics should be drawn.
.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/us/08saltlake.html
Sunday, February 07, 2010
National Geographic on the FLDS
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/02/polygamists/anderson-text
The National Geographic channel will air an episode on the FLDS Mormon group this Wednesday:
It's a real-life "Big Love." Winston Blackmore is the family patriarch and leader of a fundamentalist Mormon polygamist community in Bountiful, British Columbia, that includes his 20-some wives and more than 100 children. Winston, like all who practice "the principle," believes that plural marriage and siring dozens of children will help guarantee his entrance into the highest of Heavens.
Oakland LDS Stake tries to heal post-Prop 8 rifts
Excerpts of Gay rights: Oakland LDS Stake tries to heal post-Prop 8 rifts by Peggy Fletcher Stack, Salt Lake Tribune
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'This is the church I know and love'
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Ted Fairchild, who is openly gay, has HIV and serves as a part-time LDS missionary in the Bay Area, left the love of his life to return to church activity.
Linda Schweidel wondered why her bright, successful returned-missionary husband still was not ready for children after eight years of marriage. That's when he broke down and told her he was gay.
Diane Oviatt held her sobbing gay son in a darkened kitchen as he poured out years of grief at the secret he had been carrying for 18 years and wondered how he would get to heaven without marrying.
These were among the anguished stories several Mormons shared during emotional church services Oakland LDS Stake held last summer to heal rifts caused by the faith's activism in the Golden State on behalf of traditional marriage.
Oakland Stake President Dean Criddle, a respected lawyer and gentle leader, sensed the ripples of collective pain and wanted to reunite his flock, says Matt Marostica, bishop of the Berkeley Ward.
They asked each of the 10 wards in the stake to hold a joint meeting of adult members during church services on either Aug. 30 or Sept. 6 listen to personal stories from area members.
The response in Oviatt's suburban Moraga, Calif., ward was electric, Oviatt says. "Everyone in the audience was weeping. Men came up to my husband, crying, and hugged him, saying, 'We love you and we love your son.' "
A couple of the more ardent ballot supporters apologized to Oviatt for having Prop 8 signs on their lawns, saying, "We never knew."
Several people told Berkeley's bishop, Marostica, how much they appreciated the meetings, including one woman who said, "I am so glad we did this. This is the church I know and love."
Till they have faces » The authorities' statements and church setting provided a comfort level to Mormons who rarely discuss homosexuality openly, except to condemn it as a social trend or satanic tool. By all accounts, though, it was the stories that were transforming.
One man, who outed himself from the pulpit during one of the meetings, talked about a life of being scorned, bullied and accused by other Mormons of bringing on the AIDS pandemic. Still, every week when he takes the sacrament bread and water, God's voice whispers to him: "You belong here."
It's the same voice Fairchild has heard over and over since becoming active in the LDS Church as a 17-year-old in Pullman, Wash., in 1970.
He served a two-year mission in Mexico, earned a degree at Brigham Young University and married a woman because, he says, she was pretty and could play the piano. The couple had two daughters.
But Fairchild always knew he was gay and eventually couldn't continue the lie. He fell for a man.
By 1986, he and his partner were diagnosed with HIV, which at the time was a death sentence. Elder Richard G. Scott -- then an LDS Seventy, now an apostle -- gave Fairchild a blessing in which he asked God to build a protective wall around his cells. In that moment, Fairchild believed he needed to live by Mormon standards. He broke up with his love and returned to the church.
Letting go or holding fast » That doesn't work for Oviatt's son, Ross Oviatt, who has not been back to church.
He attended BYU for a few semesters, she says, but it was a "toxic environment." The Prop 8 fallout -- which continues in California with the ballot measure now before a judge - proved difficult for Ross as he tried to weather homophobic slurs and keep his secret. He misses his Mormon experience and friends, but the association is too painful.
It hasn't been easy for the rest of the family, either.
"We had to re-examine our place in the church," Oviatt says. "We are not leaving, but it's hard to stay in a religion that does not embrace our child. If we had to choose between the two, we'd choose Ross."
Some Mormons in the stake see only one choice: following church edicts.
"I am a faithful Latter-day Saint, happily married with children, striving to live up to my temple covenants, fulfill my calling, be a good father and all the other things which active members of the church try to do," one man wrote to Criddle in between the two joint sessions. "According to your definition of homosexuality, I am also a homosexual. I have had strong attractions to men (and exclusively men) my whole life."
But homosexuality is not his identity, just a temptation he refuses to act on, the writer said. He thought the stake should have included more emphasis on heterosexual marriage as the core of Mormon teachings.
Criddle shared the letter (without identification) in all the wards.
Coming back » In what she calls, the "dark days of Proposition 8," Schweidel took a "leave of absence" from the church.
She didn't know if she could return. But when Criddle and Marostica asked her to tell her story at one of the joint sessions, she readily accepted.
She has been attending and involved ever since.
"The special meeting made me want to be part of a positive change in the church," she says. "I want to talk to people, to explain why I feel like I do, and help them try to understand."
That may work in Berkeley, but how about Bountiful?
Schweidel is hopeful. There are two kinds of Mormons, she says, quoting a friend: those who know gay people and those who don't know they know gay people.
The task, she says, is to move more members from the second to the first category.
"If my mom in Orem had gay neighbors next door, I know she would love them," Schweidel says. "The Mormons I have spoken to make an effort to understand. They totally get it."
pstack@sltrib.com
'What's the point of going on?'
"I assured [Ross] of our love and understanding, our unwavering support and loyalty, but when, in absolute despair, he said, 'What's the point of going on? I can't ever marry in the temple and have a family. How do I get to the celestial kingdom? What happens to me?' I had no answers. I still don't.
"I could not advise him to keep coming to church, to hope for peace in the next life. There are graveyards full of young Latter-day Saints who have tried.
"I choose life for my child. I would rather have him alive, living an authentic life, true to who he is, than to live a stalwart steadfast lie that backs him into a suicidal corner."
Diane Oviatt
--
'This is the church I know and love'
--
Ted Fairchild, who is openly gay, has HIV and serves as a part-time LDS missionary in the Bay Area, left the love of his life to return to church activity.
Linda Schweidel wondered why her bright, successful returned-missionary husband still was not ready for children after eight years of marriage. That's when he broke down and told her he was gay.
Diane Oviatt held her sobbing gay son in a darkened kitchen as he poured out years of grief at the secret he had been carrying for 18 years and wondered how he would get to heaven without marrying.
These were among the anguished stories several Mormons shared during emotional church services Oakland LDS Stake held last summer to heal rifts caused by the faith's activism in the Golden State on behalf of traditional marriage.
Oakland Stake President Dean Criddle, a respected lawyer and gentle leader, sensed the ripples of collective pain and wanted to reunite his flock, says Matt Marostica, bishop of the Berkeley Ward.
They asked each of the 10 wards in the stake to hold a joint meeting of adult members during church services on either Aug. 30 or Sept. 6 listen to personal stories from area members.
The response in Oviatt's suburban Moraga, Calif., ward was electric, Oviatt says. "Everyone in the audience was weeping. Men came up to my husband, crying, and hugged him, saying, 'We love you and we love your son.' "
A couple of the more ardent ballot supporters apologized to Oviatt for having Prop 8 signs on their lawns, saying, "We never knew."
Several people told Berkeley's bishop, Marostica, how much they appreciated the meetings, including one woman who said, "I am so glad we did this. This is the church I know and love."
Till they have faces » The authorities' statements and church setting provided a comfort level to Mormons who rarely discuss homosexuality openly, except to condemn it as a social trend or satanic tool. By all accounts, though, it was the stories that were transforming.
One man, who outed himself from the pulpit during one of the meetings, talked about a life of being scorned, bullied and accused by other Mormons of bringing on the AIDS pandemic. Still, every week when he takes the sacrament bread and water, God's voice whispers to him: "You belong here."
It's the same voice Fairchild has heard over and over since becoming active in the LDS Church as a 17-year-old in Pullman, Wash., in 1970.
He served a two-year mission in Mexico, earned a degree at Brigham Young University and married a woman because, he says, she was pretty and could play the piano. The couple had two daughters.
But Fairchild always knew he was gay and eventually couldn't continue the lie. He fell for a man.
By 1986, he and his partner were diagnosed with HIV, which at the time was a death sentence. Elder Richard G. Scott -- then an LDS Seventy, now an apostle -- gave Fairchild a blessing in which he asked God to build a protective wall around his cells. In that moment, Fairchild believed he needed to live by Mormon standards. He broke up with his love and returned to the church.
Letting go or holding fast » That doesn't work for Oviatt's son, Ross Oviatt, who has not been back to church.
He attended BYU for a few semesters, she says, but it was a "toxic environment." The Prop 8 fallout -- which continues in California with the ballot measure now before a judge - proved difficult for Ross as he tried to weather homophobic slurs and keep his secret. He misses his Mormon experience and friends, but the association is too painful.
It hasn't been easy for the rest of the family, either.
"We had to re-examine our place in the church," Oviatt says. "We are not leaving, but it's hard to stay in a religion that does not embrace our child. If we had to choose between the two, we'd choose Ross."
Some Mormons in the stake see only one choice: following church edicts.
"I am a faithful Latter-day Saint, happily married with children, striving to live up to my temple covenants, fulfill my calling, be a good father and all the other things which active members of the church try to do," one man wrote to Criddle in between the two joint sessions. "According to your definition of homosexuality, I am also a homosexual. I have had strong attractions to men (and exclusively men) my whole life."
But homosexuality is not his identity, just a temptation he refuses to act on, the writer said. He thought the stake should have included more emphasis on heterosexual marriage as the core of Mormon teachings.
Criddle shared the letter (without identification) in all the wards.
Coming back » In what she calls, the "dark days of Proposition 8," Schweidel took a "leave of absence" from the church.
She didn't know if she could return. But when Criddle and Marostica asked her to tell her story at one of the joint sessions, she readily accepted.
She has been attending and involved ever since.
"The special meeting made me want to be part of a positive change in the church," she says. "I want to talk to people, to explain why I feel like I do, and help them try to understand."
That may work in Berkeley, but how about Bountiful?
Schweidel is hopeful. There are two kinds of Mormons, she says, quoting a friend: those who know gay people and those who don't know they know gay people.
The task, she says, is to move more members from the second to the first category.
"If my mom in Orem had gay neighbors next door, I know she would love them," Schweidel says. "The Mormons I have spoken to make an effort to understand. They totally get it."
pstack@sltrib.com
'What's the point of going on?'
"I assured [Ross] of our love and understanding, our unwavering support and loyalty, but when, in absolute despair, he said, 'What's the point of going on? I can't ever marry in the temple and have a family. How do I get to the celestial kingdom? What happens to me?' I had no answers. I still don't.
"I could not advise him to keep coming to church, to hope for peace in the next life. There are graveyards full of young Latter-day Saints who have tried.
"I choose life for my child. I would rather have him alive, living an authentic life, true to who he is, than to live a stalwart steadfast lie that backs him into a suicidal corner."
Diane Oviatt
Thursday, February 04, 2010
"Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844" (reviewed by Vickie Cleverley Speek)
Review
======
Title: Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844
Author: Edited by John W. Welch with Erick B. Carlson
Publisher: Brigham Young University Press and Deseret Book
Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 2005
Number of Pages: 500
Binding: Hardback
ISBN: 0-8425-2607-2
Price: $32.95
Reviewed by Vickie Cleverley Speek
"Opening the Heavens" brings together all the known, firsthand historical accounts of the spiritual events that are the backbone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: namely, the First Vision; the translation of Gold Plates into the Book of Mormon; the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedec priesthoods; the spiritual experiences that accompanied the dedication of the Kirtland temple; and the mantle of church leadership passing from Joseph Smith to Brigham Young.
This important book allows these many foundational documents to speak for themselves, although contributors present a summary at the beginning and/or end of each chapter in order to help put the experiences into proper historical context and perspective. Each account, or the relevant portion of each account, is included in the relevant chapter.
This volume is part of the Documents in Latter-day Saint History series produced by the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History and includes bibliographical materials and a historical name index
Editor John W. Welch is a professor of law at BYU, editor-in-chief of BYU Studies, publisher for the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saints History, and the founder of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS). Other contributors include Dean C. Jessee, James B. Allen, Brian Q. Cannon, Alexander L. Baugh, Steven C. Harper, and Lynne Watkins Jorgensen.
Chapter one, "The Earliest Documented Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision," written by Dean C. Jessee, examines all the known primary accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision. These accounts are taken from thirteen documents—eight produced or reported in the first person by or from Joseph Smith and five accounts reported by others—written by people who heard Joseph relate his experiences and recorded what he said.
Compilers James B. Allen and John W. Welch examine Joseph Smith's First Vision in section two, "The Appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith in 1820." Allen and Welch expand on chapter one by providing historic perspective and context for each version of the First Vision. A chart (page 56) which compares the historic background conditions of each of the accounts is especially valuable. Other charts (pages 60, 62, 66 and 68) compare the differing versions by certain words or phrases mentioned in Joseph Smith's own accounts.
Welch is also the author and compiler of chapter three, "The Miraculous Translation of the Book of Mormon." This chapter examines and compares 202 known documents that relate the process by which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. This important chapter is followed by a 80 pages of pertaining documents, printed either in full or with the relevant portions extracted from the original.
Succeeding chapters include "Seventy Contemporaneous Priesthood Documents," an examination of the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedec Priesthoods, by Brian Q. Cannon and the BYU Studies staff; "Visions Upon Visions," by Alexander L. Baugh, relating Joseph Smith's seventy six documented visionary experiences; and "The Restoration of Temple Keys and Powers," by Steven C. Harper, which compares six eyewitness accounts of spiritual manifestations experienced before, during, and after the dedication of the Kirtland temple.
The final chapter, written by Lynne Watkins Jorgenson, relates 121 testimonies given by persons who claim they saw, felt or heard the temporary transformation of Brigham Young into Joseph Smith on August 8, 1844.
To me, the greatest value of this book is the compiling of all the known foundational manuscripts into one terrific reference source. I can pull one book off the shelf instead a dozen or more. There's also a historical names index, and a briefly annotated list of articles that have been published in BYU Studies relating to many important events in early church history, generally events that occurred during Joseph Smith's lifetime. I also enjoyed reading the many firsthand accounts written by persons who were previously unknown to me.
"Opening the Heavens" is an invaluable book, one that should be on shelves of every Mormon History scholar.
Title: Opening the Heavens: Accounts of Divine Manifestations, 1820-1844
Author: Edited by John W. Welch with Erick B. Carlson
Publisher: Brigham Young University Press and Deseret Book
Genre: Nonfiction
Year Published: 2005
Number of Pages: 500
Binding: Hardback
ISBN: 0-8425-2607-2
Price: $32.95
Reviewed by Vickie Cleverley Speek
"Opening the Heavens" brings together all the known, firsthand historical accounts of the spiritual events that are the backbone of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: namely, the First Vision; the translation of Gold Plates into the Book of Mormon; the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedec priesthoods; the spiritual experiences that accompanied the dedication of the Kirtland temple; and the mantle of church leadership passing from Joseph Smith to Brigham Young.
This important book allows these many foundational documents to speak for themselves, although contributors present a summary at the beginning and/or end of each chapter in order to help put the experiences into proper historical context and perspective. Each account, or the relevant portion of each account, is included in the relevant chapter.
This volume is part of the Documents in Latter-day Saint History series produced by the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saint History and includes bibliographical materials and a historical name index
Editor John W. Welch is a professor of law at BYU, editor-in-chief of BYU Studies, publisher for the Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Latter-day Saints History, and the founder of the Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies (FARMS). Other contributors include Dean C. Jessee, James B. Allen, Brian Q. Cannon, Alexander L. Baugh, Steven C. Harper, and Lynne Watkins Jorgensen.
Chapter one, "The Earliest Documented Accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision," written by Dean C. Jessee, examines all the known primary accounts of Joseph Smith's First Vision. These accounts are taken from thirteen documents—eight produced or reported in the first person by or from Joseph Smith and five accounts reported by others—written by people who heard Joseph relate his experiences and recorded what he said.
Compilers James B. Allen and John W. Welch examine Joseph Smith's First Vision in section two, "The Appearance of the Father and the Son to Joseph Smith in 1820." Allen and Welch expand on chapter one by providing historic perspective and context for each version of the First Vision. A chart (page 56) which compares the historic background conditions of each of the accounts is especially valuable. Other charts (pages 60, 62, 66 and 68) compare the differing versions by certain words or phrases mentioned in Joseph Smith's own accounts.
Welch is also the author and compiler of chapter three, "The Miraculous Translation of the Book of Mormon." This chapter examines and compares 202 known documents that relate the process by which Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon. This important chapter is followed by a 80 pages of pertaining documents, printed either in full or with the relevant portions extracted from the original.
Succeeding chapters include "Seventy Contemporaneous Priesthood Documents," an examination of the restoration of the Aaronic and Melchizedec Priesthoods, by Brian Q. Cannon and the BYU Studies staff; "Visions Upon Visions," by Alexander L. Baugh, relating Joseph Smith's seventy six documented visionary experiences; and "The Restoration of Temple Keys and Powers," by Steven C. Harper, which compares six eyewitness accounts of spiritual manifestations experienced before, during, and after the dedication of the Kirtland temple.
The final chapter, written by Lynne Watkins Jorgenson, relates 121 testimonies given by persons who claim they saw, felt or heard the temporary transformation of Brigham Young into Joseph Smith on August 8, 1844.
To me, the greatest value of this book is the compiling of all the known foundational manuscripts into one terrific reference source. I can pull one book off the shelf instead a dozen or more. There's also a historical names index, and a briefly annotated list of articles that have been published in BYU Studies relating to many important events in early church history, generally events that occurred during Joseph Smith's lifetime. I also enjoyed reading the many firsthand accounts written by persons who were previously unknown to me.
"Opening the Heavens" is an invaluable book, one that should be on shelves of every Mormon History scholar.
"Big Love" will be back next year
Excerpts of Big News for 'Big Love': A Fifth-Season Order by DAVE ITZKOFF
The Hollywood Reporter said that the cable channel has officially ordered a fifth season of "Big Love," its hit drama about the familial entanglements of a Mormon patriarch (Bill Paxton) and his three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin). Now in its fourth season, the show saw ratings for its premiere episode rise 49 percent over that of Season 3 and has maintained its viewership despite competition from the National Football League playoffs and the Grammy Awards. The show's creators, Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer, told The Hollywood Reporter that the current season will get "deeper and darker," while Season 5 will settle "into the storytelling" and "take the temperature of the marriages."
The Hollywood Reporter said that the cable channel has officially ordered a fifth season of "Big Love," its hit drama about the familial entanglements of a Mormon patriarch (Bill Paxton) and his three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin). Now in its fourth season, the show saw ratings for its premiere episode rise 49 percent over that of Season 3 and has maintained its viewership despite competition from the National Football League playoffs and the Grammy Awards. The show's creators, Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer, told The Hollywood Reporter that the current season will get "deeper and darker," while Season 5 will settle "into the storytelling" and "take the temperature of the marriages."
Symposium: Organization and Administration of the Church
BYU Church History Symposium (2010)
Saturday, Feb 26, 9-5BYU Conference Center
Organization and Administration of the Church
Featuring Richard L. Bushman, Vaughn J. Featherstone, Susan Easton Black, Ronald Walker, Thomas Alexander, Richard Bennett & others.
Saturday, Feb 26, 9-5BYU Conference Center
Organization and Administration of the Church
Featuring Richard L. Bushman, Vaughn J. Featherstone, Susan Easton Black, Ronald Walker, Thomas Alexander, Richard Bennett & others.
Monday, February 01, 2010
LDS Church buys KJZZ building
LDS Church buys KJZZ building
Deseret News
"The building is being considered for church operations, possibly as an audio/visual studio or warehouse," said LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter. ...
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700005777/LDS-Church-buys-KJZZ-building.html
Deseret News
"The building is being considered for church operations, possibly as an audio/visual studio or warehouse," said LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter. ...
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700005777/LDS-Church-buys-KJZZ-building.html
'Dramatic jump' with Utahns for gay rights
Excerpts of 'Dramatic jump' with Utahns for gay rights, by rwinters@sltrib.com, Salt Lake Tribune
See here for additional background.
---
Opposition dropped, overall, from 40 percent to 23 percent. Among LDS respondents, it plummeted from 48 percent to 28 percent.
See here for additional background.
---
Opposition dropped, overall, from 40 percent to 23 percent. Among LDS respondents, it plummeted from 48 percent to 28 percent.
When Salt Lake City embraced anti-discrimination ordinances for gay and transgender residents last fall -- snagging a landmark endorsement by the LDS Church and widespread support from city officials -- more shifted than public policy.
Public opinion -- throughout Utah -- jumped, too.
Support for some gay rights, short of marriage, climbed 11 percentage points across the state from a year ago, according to a new Salt Lake Tribune poll, and shot up by 10 percent among Mormons.
Two-thirds of Utahns (67 percent) favor employment protections and safeguards for same-sex couples such as hospital visitation and inheritance rights, up from 56 percent in January 2009, when pollsters asked the same question.
"This isn't a gradual change of attitudes. This is a fairly dramatic jump," says Matthew Burbank, chairman of the University of Utah's political science department. "Clearly, the fact that the LDS Church was officially endorsing this position had an impact on people."
A similar number of respondents, 66 percent, also say they support expanding Salt Lake City's anti-discrimination policy -- the first of its kind in Utah and already mimicked in Salt Lake
Former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., a popular Republican who declared his support for civil unions in February 2009, appears not to have budged opinion on the issue. This year, 28 percent of Utahns polled say they support amending the Utah Constitution to permit civil unions for same-sex couples. (In 2009, 25 percent backed such a move, but the change falls within the poll's error margin.)
"Once you know someone who is gay or transgender, you're much less likely to have a negative opinion of them," she says. "People have started to recognize that this really is a basic issue of fairness."
"They have as much love and affection for their soul mates as heterosexuals who are married," Evans says. "I see no reason why they should be denied [basic rights]."
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