Media Find LDS Name Request Unpersuasive

An article in the Salt Lake Tribune says that most media are either refusing or studying the LDS Church's request that they stop using the terms "Mormon Church" and "LDS Church." Quoting editors with the Associated Press and New York Times as well as several Utah newspapers, the Tribune's Bob Mims was only able to find acceptance of the stance from the LDS Church-owned Deseret News, which nevertheless indicated that it had not yet formally adopted the style change.

LDS Church Criticizes CNN Reporter for Story

Bruce L. Olsen, Managing Director of the Public Affairs Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sent a letter Friday to CNN.com Senior Writer Jamie Allen, criticizing Allen for violating "the most basic tenet of journalism ethics -- objectivity." Olsen was responding to an article posted on CNN.com Thursday which suggested that the LDS Church's dominance of Utah led some to leave.

Salt Lake Temple a 'High Profile' Security Problem During Winter Olympics

When see the 2002 Olympic Games you will be seeing the majesty of Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The majesty of the granite downtown temple, that lies in a 17-block "secure area" of Temple Square, will pose a high profile security problem. The high profile security zone will be surrounded by chain-link fences that will stretch from North Temple to 400 South and from 500 West to West Temple and surround the Medals Plaza, the Delta Center and the Salt Palace.

Church Growth Down in 2000

Pres. Hinckley challenged us to double baptisms last year, but LDS convert baptisms actually fell to only 275,000 in 2000. While the number of full-time missionaries increased by 35% in the 1990s, we were baptizing more people a decade ago. Since only about 25% of LDS baptisees worldwide remain active long-term (40-50% in North America and 20-25% outside of the US), the real growth of the Church is much less even than these modest statistics convey.

Book of Mormon Language Translations Released

The Book of Mormon is now available in full or in part in over 100 languages with the release of several new translations. Recent Book of Mormon translations include Albanian, Amharic (spoken by 25% of people in Ethiopia), Bulgarian, Estonian, and Xhosa. Latvian, Lithuanian, and Serbian translations are nearing completion.

President Monson's Humanitarian Efforts Recognized

The Salt Lake City-based Humanitarian Resource Center will honor President Thomas S. Monson, first counselor in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's First Presidency, with a 2001 Globus Award. The award recognizes President Monson's humanitarian efforts assisting the needy worldwide.

Official Name of Church Re-emphasized

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is calling on its members, news organizations and others to use its full and correct name and to avoid use of the term "Mormon Church."

Other Churchwide News

Elder Perry shares insight about restoration at CES Fireside

PROVO, UTAH -- Elder L. Tom Perry of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke to a worldwide audience Sunday night in a Church Educational System Fireside, and told those attending that "It is a wonderful time to be alive." Elder Perry said that technology has made the world a better place and furthered the Lord's work today.

Elder Perry shares insight about restoration at CES Fireside BYU NewsNet 4Mar01 N1 By Suzette Grebe: NewsNet Staff Writer

Ricks Scroll Reviews 'Every Member a Missionary'

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- John Walker of the Scroll looks at how the concept of 'Every Member a Missionary' applies to the lives of each church member, including students at Ricks.

Every Member a Missionary Ricks Scroll 5Mar01 N1 By John Walker: Scroll staff

Church Says Immediate Families Only at MTC and Airports

PROVO, UTAH -- BYU NewsNet's Friday Edition program reports that a letter from Elder Boyd K. Packer, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve, to stake presidents and bishops asks church members to stop bringing extended family, friends and ward members to the Provo Mission Training Center and to the Salt Lake airport to see off missionaries. The letter says that immediate family members may come, but aren't expected, and specifically discourages others from coming. The NewsNet story cites congestion at the airport and MTC for the policy.

Friday Edition: March 2 BYU NewsNet 2Mar01 N1

Mormon Subjects Presented at Kansas Cultural Studies Symposium

MANHATTAN, KANSAS -- The 10th annual Cultural Studies Symposium, "Family, Kinship and Cultural Studies," at Kansas State University will include papers on Mormonism by graduate student Jennifer Henderson. The symposium, held March 8-10, will include two papers by Henderson, "Geneaology" and "Modernity and Polygamy in Contemporary Mormonism."

Kansas State University: K-State graduate students to present original works at symposium M2 PressWire 1Mar01 N6

Tribune Links Gold-laden Sunken Ship to Mountain Meadows Massacre

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The Salt Lake Tribune sought to connect the sunken SS Central America, which sank in a storm the same day that the Mountain Meadows Massacre started, to the after effects of the Massacre. According to the Tribune, the sinking of the Central America, laden with gold from the California gold rush, led to the panic of 1857, which helped force US President James Buchannan to offer a peace deal to Brigham Young and the Mormon settlers in Utah, effectively ending the Utah war.

Gold From Sunken Ship Put on Display Salt Lake Tribune 8Mar01 N6 By Christopher Smith: Salt Lake Tribune

William Jefferies Discusses Marriage Roles At BYUH Devotional

LA'IE, HAWAII -- Speaking in a devotional assembly at BYU Hawaii March 1st, William Jefferies sought to define and distinguish the equally important roles in a celestial marriage, but noting that people often take offense to having gender roles defined, even if it is gospel truth. "Equal partners in marriage are spouses who view one another as persons of equal value and importance, and are committed to pursuing the roles together," Jefferies said.

Equal partners BYUH Ke Alakai 7Mar01 N1 By Megan Gooch: Staff writer Jefferies speaks on obtaining a successful marriage -- the Lord's way

Toledo Blade Editorial Trumpets Church's Release of Freedman Bank CD-ROM

TOLEDO, OHIO -- Calling the Freedman's Bank CD-ROM a "mother lode of genealogical data about black Americans," the Toledo Blade expressed its approval of the CD's release. It also hoped that the Church's work would encourage others to release records, "Scholars say there are plenty of other records of genealogical value to black Americans preserved in the albums and attics of descendants of slave-owners. The good work of the Latter-day Saints Church will hopefully prompt their release."

A rich, historic, lode Toledo OH Blade 9Mar01 N6

Utah anti-Porn Effort Not New

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The Tribune's Rolly &Wells note that Utah's current effort to combat pornography, embodied in the state's new 'Porn Czarina' isn't exactly new. Senator Reed Smoot, who served from Utah from 1904 through the 1930s, led an anti-pornography effort in the US Senate, leading humorist Ogden Nash to compose a poem called "Invocation" about the effort. Smoot was also a member of the LDS Church's Quorum of the Twelve at the time.

Smiting Smut Nothing New For the State Salt Lake Tribune 9Mar01 N6

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