General News

LDS Missionary Work Faces Government Opposition in Russia, Far East A number of recent news reports indicate that the LDS Church continues to face significant opposition from governments in Russia and the Far East. While the difficulties are not new, they demonstrate that the political difficulties that the LDS Church faces in these cases is due at least in part to a dominant religion.

New York Missionaries Talk Baseball in 'Fearless' Contacting Two LDS missionaries told the New York Times about a challenge many missionaries face -- trying to make contacts during a major sporting event. The missionaries tried to make the best of the difficulty, however, talking about baseball when making street contacts.

Local News

LA Times Says Mormons in Gilbert, AZ In Denial Over Gang Violence In a major article detailing the trouble Mormon-dominated Gilbert, Arizona has had with gang violence, the newspaper claims that Mormons and city officials have failed to acknowledge the gang trouble. It also says that Mormon culture has led witnesses and victims to prefer handling the trouble through the Church, rather than with the local police. The article ties the gang to both racism and to a mafia-run drug ring.

Thousands Hear President Faust At New York Regional Conference Thousands of LDS Church members packed 15 local stake centers and chapels to hear President James E. Faust of the Church's First Presidency speak via satellite from the Plainview New York Stake Center. The New York Regional Conference included 9 stakes and districts covering New York City, Long Island and lower New York state, as well as the New York New York North and the New York New York South missions. In his remarks, President Faust said several recent regional conferences had been broadcast in this manner, with video feeds of speakers at one LDS facility being broadcast to others.

Sports

LDS Hockey Player Gets Second Shot at Pros John Shockey, the Cleveland Lumberjacks defenseman, received a Utah hometown welcome while playing one of four games for the Grizzlies, even though he never lived in Utah. Shockey, a Lethbridge, Alberta native is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The southern part of Alberta is predominately Mormon, but Salt Lake City is the home of the LDS church.

Politics

At Least Seven Mormons Running for Colorado State Offices The results of candidate questionnaires by the Rocky Mountain News have allowed Mormon News to identify seven Mormon candidates who are running for Colorado state offices and two that are running for the US Congress from Colorado. Unfortunately, not every candidate responded to the questionnaires, or even to all the questions asked, so the list is probably incomplete.

Utah Lawmaker Says Good LDS Church Members Can't Be Democrats An LDS lawmaker in Utah has caused a controversy by claiming that it is not possible to be a good Mormon and a Democrat. Bill Wright, a member of the Utah House of Representatives who is running for a seat in the Utah Senate, made his comments in a recent column in the Payson, Utah Chronicle, soon after the LDS Church released its regular letter affirming the Church's political neutrality.

Mormon Women's Boston Globe Declaration Yields Debate A declaration signed by more than 50 Mormon women and first published in the Boston Globe has led to a debate over what it means to be "feminist" in a Mormon context, as well as questions over what the declaration meant to accomplish. After the declaration was also published in the Salt Lake Tribune, Cambridge, Massachusetts LDS Church member Elizabeth Dionne wrote an editorial for the Tribune disputing the declaration's claims.

People

95-year-old Newlywed's Bliss Cut Short in Auto Accident Lula Johnston, 95, left a nursing home to move in with her family after tragedy cuts short her three-month wedded life with her college sweetheart.Johnston was injured in a car crash in July, just one month after she married Paul Johnston, also 95.

Arts & Entertainment

LDS Artist Turns Family History Into Queens Museum of Art Exhibit LDS Artist Valerie Atkisson has taken her family history to a new level, integrating it with her artwork in a way that is garnering praise and attracting attention to her work. Atkisson's latest work, entitled "Family in Norway" opened Tuesday evening at the Queens Museum of Art in New York City.

Dallas Morning News Explores Boom in Mormon Science Fiction A feature article in Saturday's Dallas Morning News looks at the surprising number of Mormons who write science fiction. A website that tracks religious affiliation counts 175 Mormon science fiction writers, and many of the writers credit LDS Church theology for the strong showing. According to the article, the trend started with a BYU literature class started in the late 1970s.

God's Army VHS and DVD to Hit Stores Nationwide on November 14 God's Army gave the outside world it's first glimpse into the inner workings of the lives and minds of Mormon missionaries when the film hit theater screens in cities across the nation this summer.

Business

How Utah Video Store Pornography Prosecution Led to Criticism of Marriott Corp. The prosecution of a Utah county video store chain here has exposed the involvement in the industry of a number of large corporations, either for producing and distributing the videos, as companies like AT&T, TimeWarner, and General Motors do, or for providing access to the films, like hotel companies Hilton Hotels and Marriott Corp. Marriott has come under criticism especially because it was founded by Mormon J. Willard Marriott, Sr., and is even now run by his son, LDS Church member J. Willard Marriott, Jr.

Internet

LDS Nevada Newspaper Goes Online An LDS newspaper that covers Nevada and Arizona is now online, bringing news and information oriented to those US states. The Beehive, a well-known print publication distributed through LDS bookstores and offices throughout Arizona and Nevada includes on the website articles from its print edition, a calendar of events, a business directory and classified ads.

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