General News

Ground Broken for Brisbane Temple

Elder Kenneth Johnson, President of the Australia/New Zealand area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the Church's Brisbane, Australia Temple on Saturday. The ceremony was attended by more than 200 people, although attendance was limited because each stake in the area was only permitted to invite 40 people. The groundbreaking comes after the Church reach an agreement settling a lawsuit over construction of the Temple.

LDS Missionary Injured at Memorial Day Church Picnic

An LDS missionary was hit by a car at a Memorial Day Church event yesterday, confirmed the New York Rochester Mission office, and remains in the hospital recovering from his injuries. Elder Tyler Fordham of Colorado had been playing basketball with some of the kids attending the picnic when a mini van that had just backed out of a driveway hit him as he tried to cross a road and, according to eye witnesses, ran over him.

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Local News

Sandy UT Police: Worst Church Vandalism Ever

Police in Sandy, Utah are calling the vandalism of an LDS Chapel in their town the worst vandalism of a church they have ever seen. Vandals struck the chapel sometime late Friday or early Saturday overturning pianos, file cabinets and a refrigerator and punching holes in the walls. Damage is estimated to be in excess of $100,000.

Judge Throws Out U of U Anti-Mormon Discrimination Claims

U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell ruled last week that claims of anti-Mormon discrimination from other students have no bearing on a federal lawsuit filed against the University of Utah by Christina Axson-Flynn. Flynn is the LDS student who claims the U. faculty forced her to quit acting school because she refused to swear during an audition. The lawsuit accuses several theater department staff members of religious discrimination.

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Sports

LDS Woman Leads Jump Over Track's Last Gender Hurdle

Both women and men compete in every NCAA Track and Field event, from the 100-meter dash to the marathon, except one: the steeplechase. That is, until now. In the NCAA championships, starting today in Eugene, Oregon, BYU's Elizabeth Jackson is favored to lead the field and hurdle this last gender barrier. The event is gaining popularity, and may be added to the Athens Olympics in 2004, breaking the last Track gender barrier there also.

Guthrie Leading Stanford towards the College World Series

In his first year at Stanford University, Sophomore Jeremey Guthrie has surprised everyone and become a starter in Stanford's rotation, helping to put the team two of three games away from the College World Series. Just one year ago Guthrie didn't know what would happen as he expected to return to BYU after completing an LDS mission to Spain.

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Politics

LDS Senator Persuaded Jeffords to Switch

When Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords told Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott he was leaving the Republican party to become an independent and support the Democrats, he caused a political earthquake that rearranged the political landscape in the US. While a number of factors led to his decision, the careful, consistent persuasion of Nevada Senator Harry Reid, an LDS Church member and the Senate's Democratic whip, was critical, leading one aid to call him "The Jim Whisperer." But this wasn't Reid's first connection with a lawmaker who switched parties.

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Internet

LDS.org Adds Meetinghouse Locator

With no fanfare and using information from readily available internal databases, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints added a meetinghouse locator function to its lds.org website. The addition fills a 'holy grail' for Mormons on the Internet, a place for traveling members and interested neighbors to get an address, meeting times and location of the closest LDS chapel. Those members that have used the function found it nearly, but not quite, perfect.

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People

David Leavitt: Bigamy Buster

David Leavitt has done something which hasn't been done in almost 50 years. As Juab County Attorney, Mr. Leavitt convinced a jury last month to convict a polygamist, Tom Green, for his marriages to multiple wives.

LDS Family is in INS Limbo

Rita and Ashley Couch married for eternity four years ago, but the US Immigration and Naturalization Service is keeping them in a kind of purgatory, challenging the validity of their marriage and the validity of Rita's eight-year-old divorce, all because Rita sought to normalize her status and get a green card. Their story was told in today's Orlando Sentinel.

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Arts & Entertainment

Burton Releases Second Album

Last month, Lethbridge native and part-time singer and songwriter Wayne Burton released his second album aimed at Latter-day Saints since "Closer to Heaven" was released in 1998. The 18-title album, according to Burton, is "a musical story of hope, faith and forgiveness" and required numerous musicians, from Canada and the United States, including a member of the Utah Symphony Orchestra.

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Business

Jet Blue's Neeleman Makes Fortune

This week's Fortune magazine looks at the phenomenal success of Jet Blue Airways and its LDS CEO David Neeleman, comparing him to Southwest Airline's Herb Kelleher. With his airline so successful, Neeleman is naturally compared to Kelleher: both have successful airlines providing low-cost service in unexpected places. But Neeleman is very different from Kelleher.

Merger of LDS Publishers Dissolves

The purchase of longtime LDS publisher Horizon Publishing and Distribution by newcomer Cornerstone Books announced last Fall has fallen apart, the victim of financial woes. Last August Cornerstone owner Richard Hopkins agreed to purchase Horizon, where he once worked, from its only owner, Duane Crowther, who was going on an LDS mission. But Hopkins says that when financing fell through unexpectedly, the combined firm was left without enough capital. The unexpected turn of events left the LDS market smaller, without the 12 to 24 new titles that Hopkins planned to publish each year.

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