Gay Mormon hoped suicide would help change church

Faithful LDS Church member Stuart Matis was found dead on Friday evening, February 25th, of a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside an LDS stake center on Grant Avenue in Los Altos, California. Matis, a returned missionary who was gay but who had never acted on his feelings and was in full fellowship in the LDS Church, left a suicide note blaming the suicide on the conflict between his religion and his sexual orientation, a conflict that was accentuated by the battle over California's proposition 22, according to a letter he wrote that is available on the Internet.

100 Million Mark Caps 20-year Explosion In Book of Mormon Printing

The news that the LDS Church expected to print its 100 millionth copy of the Book of Mormon comes on the end of nearly 20 years of heavy printing of the book. As recently as 1981, the LDS Church's printing department had estimated that only 27 million copies had been printed and it was then printing about 1 million copies a year. Now, the department is printing more than 5 million copies a year and copies in print have reached more than 3 times what had been printed in 150 years.

LDS Church's Printing Office Prints 100 Millionth Book of Mormon

The LDS Church's printing office expected to reach a milestone yesterday. In a reprint of the Book of Mormon, the office expected to reach the 100 millionth copy printed. The Book of Mormon was first printed in 1830 in a printing of just 5,000 copies, only a handful of which still exist.

Boston Globe Supports Provision That Allowed Boston Temple

A Boston Globe editorial looks at the so-called Dover amendment, the Massachusetts religious-zoning law that had helped the LDS Church get the Boston Temple past the objections of its neighbors. The Globe supports the amendment, saying "the state is wise to interpose the so-called Dover amendment in the way of a neighborhood veto." The editorial puts the Globe on the side of the LDS Church. One of the lawsuits against the Boston Temple claims that the Dover amendment is unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution's 1st and 14th amendments.

For Some, Mormon Stance on Gay Issue Creates a Crisis of Conscience

With the vote in California on Proposition 22 approaching, the Salt Lake Tribune interviewed the LDS family of Alan and Yvette Hansen, who say they are good Mormons, but that they are opposed to proposition 22 and the Church's support of the measure. Alan Hansen says that his speaking on the issue has lead to an "informal probation" imposed by local Church leaders. But Hansen says he continues to oppose the measure, because he says it could lead to discrimination against homosexuals and a loss of rights for children of gays.

Californians Vote Today on Mormon-backed Prop 22

Voters in the state of California will rule today on whether or not to recognize non-traditional marriages performed in other states. The issue has proved highly controversial in California, and polls suggest that the voters will approve the proposition, prohibiting the state from recognizing marriages that don't involve one man and one woman.

LDS Area President Urges Australian Action On UN's 'Children's Rights'

Elder Bruce C. Hafen, the Area President for the LDS Church's Australian/New Zealand Area, is urging Australia to withdraw its support of the United Nations' International Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC). Hafen argues that the convention goes beyond the traditional concern with the care and protection of children, giving them instead legal and personal autonomy -- sometimes at the expense of their parent's ability to raise them.

Does Bush Owe Mormon Church An Apology Also?

After enduring two weeks of criticism from Catholics for speaking at Bob Jones University, a nondenominational Christian school in Greenville, South Carolina that condemns both Catholicism and Mormonism, presidential candidate George W. Bush sent a letter last week to John Cardinal O'Connor of the Roman Catholic Church apologizing for his speech there. However, Bush has not sent any letter of apology to the LDS Church, and most Church members don't seem to care.

Anti-Mormon BJU Has Gentler Side

Here in this beautiful area of the south is found a very unusual place. There are well-kept lawns, yellow brick buildings, young men with neckties and young women who wear skirts with long hemlines...ankle or knee length. There is no cigarette smoke or foul language and you are addressed with a title of respect...Sir or Ma'am. Such an unusual place is Bob Jones University. The way of life for 5000 students is shaped by Christian beliefs and many rules. Classes begin and end with prayer, and Rock music, alcohol and tobacco are forbidden. Curfew is 11:00 p.m.

Utah ACLU Says City Favors LDS Church In Main Street Lawsuit

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah amended its lawsuit against Salt Lake City and the LDS Church on Wednesday, bolstering its claims that the sale of a one-block long stretch of Main Street in Salt Lake City is illegal with a new claim that the city's actions leading to the sale demonstrated preference toward the LDS Church, essentially endorsing the LDS Church in violation of the U.S. Constitution's First and 14th Amendments.

Skiing Magazine Offends Mormons

A New York skiing magazine ran afoul of its Mormon readers when it ran a photo in the February issue poking fun at the LDS Church and Utah's drinking laws. The photo pictured a man drinking a can of beer in front of the Salt Lake Temple, with the caption, "God Milk?" In retrospect, editor Rick Kahl wishes he hadn't run the photo, and the magazine's Boulder, Colorado-based corporate parent has since been running spin control and issuing mia culpas.

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